Silician Lady

Kabanata 61 Five years later... "Noah Alexander, are you not taking your mafia boss seriously?!" Hinigpitan ko ang hawak ko sa aking espada at sinamaan ko siya ng tingin. Dumistansya siya sa akin at yumuko, "I don't want to hurt you, Sapphire..." Tumulo ang butil ng pawis sa kanyang noo, he put his sword in its sheath, dahil sa matagal naming pag-ensayo ay parehas kaming pawisan na, dahil sa pawis naman niya ay kumapit ang damit sa kanyang katawan, I can see his well carved muscles clearly. His sexy body was a distraction. "How can you truly test me when you're going easy on me?" Kumuyom ang kamao kong nakahawak sa espada, "are you underestimating me, Madness?" Naging malamig ang boses ko. I demanded answers, is my endless training for three years useless? Hindi pa ba ako handa para sa mafia war?! I need to be stronger, I know I'm stronger than before but I need to still be stronger, I need to be the strongest. "Sapphire, I am sorry." Lumuhod si Noah gamit ang isang paa niya at yumuko, "I'm just afraid I might hurt you." "Fight me seriously, this is an order." I snapped. Lumunok si Noah at nagdalawang-isip bago tumango, dahan-dahan siyang tumayo, nilabas niya ang kanyang espada sa dating lalagyan nito, he positioned himself to a perfect stance, I did my part. We both walked in reversed circle, our swords ready to clash, nauna siyang umatake, hinarang ko naman ang atake gamit ang espada, mabilis ang kanyang paggalaw, I smirked as I do the same. The clashing of our swords erupted the ring, I was happy. I smiled as we fight with our swords, nang tumigil kami ni Noah ay pareho kaming hinihingal at habol ang hininga. "Sapphire, you've become stronger." I wiped the sweat on my forehead with my arm and smiled, "thanks to you." It feels really great to be able to fight at the same level with Noah, considering he is Madness, one of the fearsome men of the underground organization whom a lot are no match of. Yumuko siya, "are we done, Sapphire?" Satisfied with today, I nodded and dismissed him. Binigay ko sa kanya ang aking espada, agad naman niyang niligpit ang mga kagamitan, nauna na akong lumabas sa training room ng labas ng mansion. Tumungo ako sa aking kwarto at agad na nagbihis, I looked at myself in front of the mirror, my hair shifts color from white to silver depending on the light, I dyed it three years ago, the color made me colder and unique. I tied my hair into a messy bun and went out, agad ko namang nakita ang magkambal ko, "Levitrish, Levitrei." They were playing with their water guns inside the mansion. Yumuko naman ang lalaki na nagbabantay sa kanila. "Mommy!" Sabay silang tumakbo papunta sa akin nang mapansin nila ako, lumuhod naman ako at hinayaan silang yakapin ako. I pecked their cheeks with a kiss before holding their hands. "You two should not be playing water guns inside, okay? You should play it outside." They nodded, napatingin ako sa bagong dating na si Stella na umaakyat mula sa hagdanan, "Sapphire." She said when she saw me, "kids." She smiled to my twins. "Hi, Tita!" Sabay na bati nila. Tumingin ako sa magkambal ko, "why don't you two go to your rooms, change, and brush your teeth? I'll come later to read you fairy tales." "Yes, mommy." Levitrei answered, hinawakan niya ang kamay ni Levitrish at sabay silang naglakad papunta sa kanilang kwarto. Nang wala na sila ay tumingin ako kay Stella, "what's the update?" Stella knew I was asking for my mother, alam ko namang nag-iisip siya ng ibang topiko, I sighed, they must still have no lead of her. "Arthur discovered something when he tried to hack the main base system of the Silician mafia, it seems like they're attending a masquerade party tomorrow held by Raffaelle mafia." Stella said, dodging the real news I wanted. Kumuyom ang kamao ko, "how can Arthur even hack the base? Alam nating mahigpit ang seguridad sa system ng mafia ni Liham, what if they meant to expose the event they are going to attend? It might be a trap." Tumango si Stella, "what is your plan, Sapphire?" "I shall go." Sagot ko sa kanya, "I can't let this chance slip away, plus... Archelaus just gave me an invitation, I never thought it'd be useful." "Ano ang plano mo kapag nandoon ka na?" "Show Liham that I am ready for war." Ngumisi ako, "I prepared all these years, I'll show him that I am no longer the same." Tumigas ang boses ko, "and it was his fault, no, I should thank him because without him, I could never find in myself to embrace being a mafia boss." "I heard Lessana is attending too." That caught my attention, "oh, that b***h?" I grinned, "kumusta ang buhok niya?" "She's wearing a wig, her hair is still growing, her eyebrows grew back already though." Sagot naman ni Stella. "The next time you have a chance, why not pluck her eyelashes?" I grinned. "I'd love to, Sapphire." Stella smirked, "hindi pa sapat ang ginawa ko sa kanya, she deserves far worse." "Prepare me a white ballgown and white eye mask, I'll use it tomorrow night." Stella nodded. "You're not planning to go alone, right?" Stella asked, "you need a guard." "No, I need a date." Ngumisi ako, "I can protect myself, Stella." She doubted for a second before sighing, "just make sure not to do anything stupid, Sapphire. And if you feel anything out of the ordinary, call me or Castro, we will be ready to rescue or do what you want." "Okay." Tipid na sagot ko, nagpaalam na ako kay Stella at tumungo sa kwarto ng aking magkambal. "Mommy?" Levitrish said when she saw me. "Hi, baby." I smiled and went to their bed, pareho ang pajama at damit na suot nilang dalawa, pink lang ang suot ni Levitrish at blue kay Levitrei. "What story book do you two want?" I showed them the story books I always read to them. "None of the above." Levitrei pouted. "They're boring, mommy. Can't you tell us a story yourself?" Her voice was adorable as she asked. Ngumiti ako at nag-isip. "Okay, I've got a story." Kumislap ang mata ng magkambal ko at naghawakan sila ng kamay, they always hold hands whenever I start reading a story, but tonight might be a little different, for I am about to tell a story about my own fairy tale. "Once upon a time, a prince fell in love with a maid." The eyes of my twins was on me, they were listening intently to my words, "the maid eventually fell in love too, little did the maid know that the prince was not really a prince but a knight, a knight who must kill to protect the ones he love." "Cool! I want to be a knight too!" Levitrei interrupted. "Me too!" Levitrish followed. A knight is a mafia boss, my sweet twins... "We want to protect you, mommy!" They said in unison. Naging tahimik ulit sila, senyales na gusto nilang ituloy ko ang pagkukwento. "The maid eventually found out that she was a princess," a mafia boss, "but something happened, the knight was fooled by a bald witch." By Lessana. "And he betrayed the princess." "What is the name of the princess, mommy?" "She doesn't have a name, sweety." Sagot ko naman, "their story is still ongoing, there is still no ending and if ever the ending comes, the princess don't expect it to be happy." Unti-unting pumikit ang magkambal ko, pinagmasdan ko muna ang maamo nilang mukha bago ko sila hinalikan sa kanilang noo, "good night, my loves." I smiled and was about to go out when Levitrei grabbed my hand, "mommy, sleep with us..." I stopped on my tracks and smiled, "of course, Levitrei. Of course..."