The Next Heiress

Chapter 6 - Place

Thick fluffy clouds. Familiar.

Dripping ring finger. I had it.

Tall figure of a man. Him...again?

Messy handwritten letter. Is that for me?

Old oil painting. There's something about it.

Suddenly, a heavy force drags me towards an empty space. It is dark and wide. Frightening.

In the middle of the night, my eyes burst open, causing me to raise my back from the bed involuntarily. I find myself gasping for air, and drops of sweat trickle down to my forehead. My right hand crawls towards my chest in an attempt to soothe my unstable breathing. What just happened? I ask myself, letting my head roam around the place. Nothing has changed. I am still in my own bedroom, the one that I have been using since day one. To start calming myself even more, I close my eyes and begin to relax my breathing. On the spur of the moment, the door opens, revealing my mother. She stares at me, her eyes are tight and worried.

"Celine," she calls me. "Are you okay, dear?"

"Yes," I nod.

"Do you want me to accompany you?" She steps one foot inside. "I think you're having nightmares."

I squint, bending my head in wonder. "How did you know it?"

Her eyes widen. "I heard you making panting noises," she answers, looking a bit uneasy.

I glance at the clock on my bedside table. "It's almost one, Mom. Are you still awake?"

"No, I—uh, I just really want to check up on you," she gives a small and tensed smile.

Before I could ask more questions to her, my mother closes the door in a quick yet gentle manner. Her actions appear a little strange, and her reasons don't just make sense to me. My bedroom is three rooms away from hers. Even if she's still awake, my panting noises are not that loud. How come she heard them and made it in time?

Everything starts to become weird.

First, she is not as easily concerned as she used to get when it comes to my bruises and wounds before. Plus, I have this feeling that she has been watching me the whole time, and that brown envelope that she has given for my birthday...it still feels odd. Or, maybe, I'm just overthinking?

Feeling a bit better than earlier, I lay back on the soft mattress. I cover myself with a baby pink blanket. As my eyes stare at the ceiling, I can't help but recall the things that made their appearance in my dream. Some of them may just be fragments of my real-life memories and daily scenes, but there is one thing that really bothers me the most.

And that is the tall blurry man.

Who is he? Will he show his face to me? I ask myself before drifting back to sleep.

✥━━━━━༺◈༻━━━━━✥

YOLANDA ALCANTARA'S BEDROOM. YEAR 1931.

Silence had been staying inside my bedroom for almost an hour. In boredom, my fingers tapped the wooden desk repetitively. Come on, I told to myself. Staring at its long hand, the golden antique clock hit eleven o'clock in the evening. As soon as it happened, I stood up from my seat, and my big eyes lighted up in the excitement—one of those emotions that I badly missed the feeling.

"I can't wait to meet him again," I cover my mouth with my palms, trying to conceal my eagerness.

To my surprise, the room was still awkwardly quiet. My eyes moved in Asuncion's direction. There, she was busy fixing my things for the past thirty minutes. Her hands moved fast in folding my clothes. Each one was neatly placed inside a dark brown bag. Just by judging her actions, I could really tell that something was off and that I needed to ask her about it to relieve my uneasiness.

"Asuncion," I called her name in a soft voice.

She glanced at me, a hint of anxiousness was plastered on her face. "Yes, Miss?"

"Do you think they'll catch us again?" I asked, straight to my point.

My body didn't want to waste its own energy in vain again. We had to be more cautious this time. The last thing on my mind was seeing Tadeo, getting beaten up by the servants of my father for the second round. It could be worse than before. They might just kill him to finish this problem. Nobody would know.

And I won't let that happen. Ever.

"Honestly...I'm afraid," I stared at Asuncion, letting out a bag of air. She thought deeply before answering. Her face seemed like she wanted to assure me that everything will be fine, even if the situation was getting more dreadful. My anxious ears had almost quit waiting for her answer, when several seconds later, a tiny smile flashed on her dry lips.

"We will be more careful, Señorita Yolanda," she replied in a wistful tone.

Upon hearing her few yet comforting words, I stepped closer to her. My arms were opened wide, and I leaned in to give her a tight hug. She was caught a little off guard, but she managed to return the affectionate gesture to me. Because of that, a warm smile played on my bare lips.

"I am beyond grateful to have you, Asuncion," I told her, my voice almost coming out as a squeak.

It was true. I was very thankful to have her in my life. She wasn't just a personal servant of mine, but also my best friend in this pitiful villa. The one whom I really leaned on with my problems and trusted with my secrets. My life would never be the same if Asuncion wasn't here. It could be a living hell that I wouldn't survive.

Well, it already was.

She touched my hair, letting her thick fingers slide between the strands. "Always remember that my loyalty to you, Señorita, won't change. I have dedicated my whole life to you since you were young."

"It's too much," my hand gave a soft squeeze on her arm. "I feel like I don't deserve it."

Asuncion smiled, shaking her head. "Serving you is my duty, but supporting you in your own happiness is my choice."

With no hesitations, I let the countless drops of tears fall down to my face. Asuncion had been there for me whenever I needed her. This woman had given me all of the attention, care, and love that I longed for from my mother. She was the only person who supported my relationship with Tadeo. Yes, the only one who understood my feelings for him.

"Thank you...for everything," I murmured between tears.

"Let's meet him," Asuncion hugged me tight once more. "Do you believe we can make it?"

"Yes," I nodded in response.

"Good," she detached herself from my body. "Wait for me here."

Asuncion went outside my room in the quietest movement that she could ever make. Due to our intimate conversation earlier, I didn't notice that our villa had started closing. When I glanced at the clock again, it was almost twelve the midnight. The audible click of the lights turning off was heard. I stood up from my bed to peek in the window. My eyes examined the surroundings outside. Unfortunately, the gates were already closed, and for worse, four of our best guards were placed near them. The first two were standing across from each other close to the gate, and the other pair were roaming from side to side as if they were waiting for somebody who would escape from this place.

This is quite difficult, I whispered to myself, biting my lips in frustration.

As for the servants, I was sure that they had already fallen asleep to get ready for the next day. Knowing my parents and their strict rules, they weren't surprising. I'd noticed this odd routine every night before the clock would strike at twelve. Probably, this was the new enhanced policy to ensure the security of the villa.

Or maybe, they just don't really want me to escape.

While waiting for Asuncion, I continued peering at the outside surroundings through the window. Still, the first pair were still close to the gate, and the other partners were standing near the bushes. Seeing them all, a frustrated grunt escaped from my mouth. There were so many thoughts running inside my mind. My flickering light of hope was attacked by my growing sets of what-ifs. Those bad thoughts continued to linger until all of a sudden, the doorknob moved. My eyes widened in shock. Quickly, I jumped back to my bed and covered myself with a blanket.

"Who's there?" I gulped down, feeling the quick beats of my heart.

The door opened, and the sight of a middle-aged woman stood before me.

"Thank goodness, you're here," I heaved out a sigh, touching my chest in relief.

Asuncion bowed respectfully. "Are you ready to go, Señorita?"

"Not yet," I raised my pointer finger in halt. "I have to dress up."

"Uhm," she smiled playfully. "I really don't think Tadeo would mind if your attire is like that," then moved in shaking her head.

My left brow raised up. "Asuncion, I'm meeting the love of my life again after six weeks. Do you think it's appropriate to wear a little more presentable than this one?"

I stared at myself in the mirror. There was no way that I would be continuing to wear this plain old nightgown. Checking the sleeves and hemline of it, everyone could tell how dull it was. It would be good if I change into something nice before heading outside to see my lover.

She scoffed lightly. "But you look good in every clothing you wear, and besides...we don't have much time, Señorita."

"Wow," my head shook. "My personal servant got a little attitude, huh," I joked, smirking in amusement.

Asuncion laughed. "If we're talking about using our time efficiently, then yes."

I rolled my eyes at her. She was right. I should be using this opportunity in an effective way. Time was running out. This was the only chance I got to see Tadeo again, yet here I was, complaining about my dress.

"Okay, I think this will do."

Using my bare hands, I just straightened the uninteresting nightgown that I was wearing. My mind concluded that a few touches would make it a little better, but after doing so, I glanced once more in the mirror with a heavy heart.

"What's wrong?" Asuncion asked.

I pouted. "I look so boring."

Suddenly, the impatient-looking Asuncion grabbed my hand and the bag that she had prepared before. "Señorita Yolanda, I respect you, but don't bring your nitpicky trait in this kind of situation," she scolded me before heading to the door. "Come on, let's go."

After opening the door, Asuncion looked at both sides of the hallway. It was so dark. The only light that was guiding us was the light bulbs that were still lit up from the outside. After a few minutes of observation, when she noticed that there were no humans in sight, she glanced at me and nodded her small head. That was a sign that we must keep on walking quietly.

As we stepped outside, tension started to grow. While my feet were doing their job, my heart wasn't cooperating. There was mixed of emotions playing inside my body. I was frightened of sneaking again, yet I was confident enough that our plan would be successful.

As we proceeded, Asuncion suddenly paused from walking, causing to bump me from behind. In worse luck, she accidentally dropped the bag on the floor.

"No!" She gasped.

Quickly, I shut her mouth with my palm before she would say something else. She held me tight with her hands as we waited for any reactions to the sound that we caused. Luckily, after a few minutes, there was none.

"Calm down," I shushed.

She nodded once more, and we continued heading out. After taking a right turn, we went downstairs three times. My eyes widened in surprise when an old basement was displayed in my sight. Never in my eighteen years of existence had I encountered this place. What is this? I asked myself. We refrained from walking, and Asuncion dropped the bag on the ground, then she got a key from her pocket to open the door.

"He's here," she half-whispered, beaming at me in excitement.

At the moment the door opened, I stepped inside and let my feet go down the old wooden stairs hurriedly. From my behind, I heard Asuncion locking it and clicking the light on. My eyes scanned the whole room. There were lots of antique possessions. Some of them were guns, clothes, baskets, and caps that were placed in opened crates. Plus, I saw other sets of boxes—big and small, that were closed with different kinds of locks. Fragile chairs and tables were also present, but what made me fascinated was the huge floor clock that stood proudly in the middle.

"Tadeo?" I called out. My heart kept on pounding fast.

"I'm here," a deep voice answered.

When I heard his voice, my eyes lit up. Before I could turn around, I was welcomed with two gentle squeezes on both of my arms. As soon as those strong arms wrapped around my back, a sense of relief washed me. This emotion was so familiar. It felt like home. I blinked my eyes rapidly, trying to hold my tears back.

"I miss you...so much," a person whispered in my ear, then he kissed my temple.

I turned around to look at him. Tadeo gave me a delightful smile with his crooked teeth. His wounds were almost healed. Even if there were traces of violence on his face, his beauty didn't fade away. I was so speechless. My eyes were so focused on this man that I didn't know that he was already wiping the teardrops off my cheeks.

"I thought you died," I sniffed. "And Asuncion is just giving me a false hope."

With my statement, my servant and my lover looked at each other, and then they laughed. Tadeo shook his head in disagreement. He leaned on me to plant a sweet kiss on my lips, then on my forehead. I hugged him once more, the type that was tighter than our past embraces.

"Let's get out of here," he stated, giving another peck on my mouth.

We were about to climb the stairs to begin escaping from this villa when suddenly, loud footsteps were heard above us. Dirt and dust from the wooden floor above had fallen down due to the weight of the walking individual. Immediately, Asuncion pulled us both back inside the basement.

"Where should we hide?!" I squeaked in fear.

Asuncion bit her lips in nervousness.

"Here, come on, quick!" Tadeo motioned us, girls, to come near him. His hands pulled us both behind a big wooden box that was a meter away from the brick wall. Fortunately, it was enough to cover the three of us sitting with our legs on our chests.

"W-what are we going to do?" My voice trembles in fright. "I'm so scared!"

Tadeo shushed me down with a hug. He kept on whispering in my ear that everything will be okay, even if the footsteps were already getting loud as they come closer and even closer. I looked at Asuncion. She was completely speechless and awfully distressed, just like us.

When the sound of clinking metal keys was heard, my heart almost stopped beating. The person seemed anxious about finding the right key for this place as we listened at the continuous clanking of the items. Due to the growing tension, I grabbed Asuncion's arms, pulling her back and forth, while my tears were still streaming down to my cheeks. Tadeo tried stopping me, but I was too terrified at the situation.

"Please, Señorita, stop," Asuncion pleaded. "I can get us out of here."

I raised my voice. "But how? Please do something!"

Suddenly, my servant pointed to something on the left side. All of our heads turned to that place. There, stood an old oil painting, leaning helplessly on the corner. There were webs hanging around the artwork. The illustration was so long in the tooth that I could barely distinguish its appearance.

"Get it," she ordered sternly.

My forehead creased in a daze. "But why?"

The clanking of the keys from the door continued.

"Asuncion!" I cried in frustration.

"Please, Tadeo," she begged. "Get it!"

With a confused look, Tadeo moved himself out from the body of the big wooden box.

"Cover your noses and mouths," he gave a signal.

My lover crawled closer to get the artwork. Upon retrieving it, he shook the wooden frame in a repeated manner, letting the dirt and dust go away. Asuncion covered her nose and mouth, while I watched him doing his thing, causing me to cough from his actions.

"Yolanda, I told you to—Are you okay?!" He asked me, displaying a greatly anxious face.

"Yes," I held my mouth with my hand. "Just do it."

Tadeo continued on. He also removed the webs from the artwork. After a few seconds of eliminating the dirt and exchanging of soft coughs, a Nipa Hut in the middle right of the painting appeared before us. Moments later, another image had shown. Up above lain the wonderful rays of sunlight and cotton of clouds.

Beautiful, I thought to myself.

As my eyes moved to the left, there was a water well made of wood and rocks. On the other hand, near the hut, we saw a ravishing garden with lots of flowers and plants that were beautifully colored. Then, at the bottom, there was a flowing stream of water. The artistic work was so magnificent like it was a real-life picture. I hadn't seen this painting all my life, and it left me entirely speechless.

"Tell me. What are you going to do?" Tadeo asked, looking at my servant in curiosity.

Asuncion closed her eyes as she let out a deep, nervous sigh. "Just trust me."