Not like Us

Chapter 10

" What are you doing? "

Timpi asked as he entered the prince's room. Gat Lamang was just laying on his bed. Eyes glued to his room's ceiling and hands situated on his stomach. He looked like he was in deep thoughts.

Timpi stood near him but he still did not noticed him. He broke the silence to get Lamang's attention. " Why are you spacing out? " Timpi asked. He succeeded. He finally got Lamang's attention. Lamang rolled on the bed towards Timpi's direction and faced him. " You have been like that since you got home from the human world, " Timpi added. Lamang did not know that Timpi noticed. He made sure to keep what he was feeling a secret. He was so good at hiding emotions. How was it visible to him now?

Lamang sat up and looked at Timpi, " I feel so empty, Timpi, " he honestly confessed. He felt that his heart was so light. It was like there was nothing in it. Was that girl's heart influenced his?

Timpi stared at him and raised his brows. " How? This is the first time you said that. But come to think of it, are you not empty in the first place? "

Lamang threw Timpi a pillow made of feathers covered with big leaf. It was soft and it did not hurt.

Timpi caught the pillow and put it back to his bed nicely. " If you are not just the prince, I should have thrown this to you. "

" I have met a human girl, " Lamang briskly said. He was not ready to tell him but he was his best friend.

" What did you say again? " He asked. Timpi did not caught what he said because it was fast.

Lamang sighed, " I have met a human girl, " he repeated but this time it was slowly and clear so Timpi could process it easily.

Timpi's eyes widened and held Lamang oh his shoulders. He shook him. " What do you mean?! " He shockingly asked. Why did he let that happened? He was not allowed to meet a human especially a girl! Timpi thought. He was forbidden to do that.

" I was drawn to her, " Lamang admitted. Timpi's jaw dropped.

" What do you mean drawn to her? " he asked. After a hundred years, this was the first time he heard Lamang said that. He never thought about being drawn to someone. Was it love? It should not be.

" Drawn to her, " Lamang simply said. He shove Timpi's hands away from his shoulders and stood up from his bed. He tied his long white hair into a ponytail. He was wearing a white rolled long sleeve into three - fourths with two buttons opened. It was tucked in his gray pants. He reached for his gray boots and wore it.

" Why are you here? " Lamang asked to Timpi.

Timpi disheveled his hair. Because of Lamang, Timpi became the opposite of his name. Timpi means calm and patient but he was now becoming impatient and anxious.Timpi hopes Lamang could still remember his destiny.

Lamang opened his door and went out of his room.

" I do not want to talk about this with you, Gat Lamang, but you could still remember your destiny, right? " Timp said as hei followed Lamang out of his room. " You still remember, right? " Timpi repeated in gritted teeth.

" I do, " Lamang answered. " How could I not remember when the hot topic around the whole kingdom right now is about my soon to be fiancee? It is a talk of the town, " Lamang added.

Timpi rested his chin between his thumb and index finger. He nodded. Everyone in the town knew about it the incoming marriage between him and his fiancee whom he had not meet ever since. " Right, you are not allowed to spend time with her as well. "

Lamang did not answered him and just smiled to the people they passed in the hallway of their castle.

Timpi remembered about the human girl. " How many times have you meet the human girl? "

" Three days, " Lamang unconsciously answered. " Three days?! I thought you only went there yesterday? " He asked in a whisper. No one should hear about Lamang meeting a human girl.

Lamang shrugged his shoulders. " She already bid her good bye, so you do not have to worry about anything, okay? " Lamang assured.

Timpi sighed in relief. He thought Lamang would do something risky and unacceptable to the kingdom. He was the crowned prince, he should always do what should be good to the kingdom.

One of the guards went towards Lamang and Timpi. They looked at him. Timpi made sure that his mouth was zipped. " Gat Lamang, Dayang Vivien wants your presence to the throne room. "

Lamang and Timpi looked at each other. They could not possibly knew about Gat Lamang came across to a human girl, right?

" Thank you for informing me, " Gat Lamang answered. The guards went back to his station.

" What does they need from you? " Timpi asked in fear.

Gat Lamang sighed. " We will know once we get there, " he answered.

As soon as Lamang opened the door on the throne room he saw two people kneeling down in front of the King and Queen. One was a man and the other one was a woman. Her face was covered in white veil.

Gat Lamang aligned his self to the visitors and kneeled in front of his parents while Timpi stood near the door. " I heard you called for me. "

He was beside the women who was covered in veil. She looked at him. Gat Lamang was really really perfect to look at in physical aspect. He was handsome, he had pointy nose, his lips were pink, his eyelashes were long, his ears was not as pointy as the other engkantos but that was what makes him stood out. A half-human prince. The woman heard Lamang was a great fighter, too. He could lead the knights in the kingdom if he wanted to. However, as a man, it was unfortunate for him to live his life bound to be alone.

Gat Lamang felt that someone was staring at him. He looked at the woman beside him but that did not took long for his father stole his attention. " Lamang, " his father called.

Lamang looked at him, " Yes, Gat? " he replied.

" Beside you is Dayang Maria and his father, Gat Gunita. They were part of the higher rank of our kingdom, " the king introduced. Gat Lamang faced them and bowed his head. Gat Gunita was familiar to him. He already meet him a few times.

" Dayang Maria will be your fiancee. "

Dayang Mutya acknowledge Gat Lamang by bowing in response.

" You would be husband and wife, soon, on the upcoming full moon. However, there must be rules that both of you should follow. "

The next full moon would be in four days. He would be a married man in four days.

Dayang Maria raised her head to looked at the King. " What is it Gat Maharlika? " She asked. Maria already had a hunch on what were the rules. Everyone in the kingdom knew but she wanted it to come out from the mouth of the King.

The king looked at them intensely. " You should not fall in love with each other. "

The king looked at Gat Lamang, solely. " Lamang is forbidden to fall in love to someone. Ever since he was still on his mom's womb, he was destined to be alone and that destiny is fixed and no one should break it or else the kingdom would be at stake if that happens. So, for the best of the kingdom, do not fall for each other. "

" But as a compensation for Maria, you are pardon to fall in love with another noble man but with our consent, " Dayang Vivien added. Dayang Vivien's face was a very distinct feature in their kingdom. Only some of them had it. She had a black hair, round eyes, and a round shape ears. She looked human. She was a human.

The king looked at the two of them again. " So it is best to give the two of you just a little bit of interaction. Even if both of you are already married, you would have a different room. Each on opposite wing and no one should be allowed to enter each other's room. You are only allowed to interact in important occasion as rulers. The purpose of this marriage is diplomatic, " the king declared.

" I hope you two will keep that in mind, " the king added and looked st Lamang. " Especially you, Lamang. "

Lamang faced the ground. " Understood, Gat. "