Siegfried

Chapter 9

What could possibly

Say about life

To a person who has

Already seen the smirk

On deaths face.

- G. Yamazawa

Chapter Nine

By the light of the moon

Gulat pa rin ako sa mga nalaman kong kakayahan nila. Mas nadagdagan ang takot para sa kinila. Pero ngayon, alam ko na dapat akong maging maingat sa mga kilos ko, sa mga sasabihin, sa pakitungo sa kanila. Kahit ayaw ko dapat akong maging mabait sa kanila at sundin sila.

Ilang minuto silang natahimik bago nagsalita si Elric.

"So, what else do you want to know?"

"We will just talk if you only have questions." Daelan stated.

Napatango ako, sa totoo lang madami akong gustong malaman pero hindi ko alam kung saan ko sisimulan.

"Why nightwalkers have silver eyes? Are nightwalkers have the same eye colors? How about Siege? What about you? The descendants? What's your eye colors?" Sunod-sunod kong tanong.

Nagpalumbaba si Felix at tila inaantok na tumingin sa'kin. "f*****g seriously?"

Inirapan ko sya.

"Nightwalkers have silver eyes because they're not pure. While us," Elric explained, he glance at them before looking at me. "We have red."

I c****d my brow in surprise and pressed my lips together.

Kung ganon, sino sa kanila Lyon, Felix at Siege si Mr. Stonesifer?

I scrutinized Felix, he wiggled his brows at me while sexily smirking like he's seducing me. I roll my eyes at him.

He's out, I know he'll not going to waste a hundred million dollars to a girl like me.

I glance at Lyon. He's the oldest, siguradong may trabaho o business. Pero ganon na ba sya kayaman?

Kung ganon sino sa kanila ang naka-puting maskara at pulang mata sa auction? Alam ko at sigurado ako, ang naka-puting maskara at may pulang mata ay iisa. Maybe, naglakad lang sya sa ibang direksyon pero sigurado akong iisa sila. Isa sa kanila iyon dahil sila lang ang may pulang mga mata.

Wait, and where did they even get a hundred million dollars? I know they're rich. But where are their parents?

"So... Elric told me that you can speak and understand Tagalog?" Tanong ko kalaunan.

"Yes!" Aiken raised his hand. "Sebastian thought us."

I stared at them, dumbfounded. "Se-Sebastian? Sebastian B-Beltran?"

They nodded.

I threw my back and let out a delirious laughed. I don't care if the world or whole universe hear me, I don't care if they think I'm crazy.

Humihingal pa ako at medyo natatawa ko pa silang tiningnan pero seryoso lang silang nakatitig sakin.

"I-It's not a j-joke?" I startled.

They shook their head.

"H-How?" My eyes filled with confusion. "Sebastian was like... My great... Great... Great... Great... Grandfather... He was my ancestor"

Napatingin ako sa bookstand ng magsimulang gumalaw ang mga librong nakalagay doon. Kinilabutang napatayo ako at napatingin kay Felix pagkatapos ay bumalik ang tingin sa bookstand.

"You're scaring her." Daelan spat at Felix.

Natigil ang paggalaw ng libro saka may isang larawang lumutang at lumipad palapit sa'kin.

"It's actually an old painting but because of 'technology' nowadays, we took a picture of it and ta-da." Elric quoted the technology in the air.

Sa nanginginig na kamay ay hinawakan ko iyon.

Namukhaan ko silang anim doon, nakasuot ng mga sinaunang damit. Mukha silang karespeto-respeto doon, parang mga inosenteng hindi gagawa ng kahit na anong kasalanan at kababalaghan. May iba rin silang kasama, ilang babae't lalaki. Mukhang nangyari sa isang mahalagang pagsasalo.

Nakakunot noong tiningnan ko si Daelan. "You have a twin?"

Akala ko nga namamalikmata lang ako.

"He's dead." he said in a dark, dismissive voice, he's face went blank as he clenched his jaw and his hands tightened into fists. Tila ayaw pag-usapan ang tungkol sa kambal nito.

"Daelan." Aiken rebuked.

Mukhang hindi maganda ang nakaraan nito sa kakambal.

Napatango na lang ako't tinitigan ulit ang larawan.

Napangiti ako ng mamukhaan si Sebastian. May paintings and pictures na tinatago si dad tungkol sa mga ninuno namin. Dito ko namana ang hilig sa mga antiques.

"H-How?" Nuutal kong tanong. "He was like dead hundred years ago." Nagugulhang napaupo ako. "H-How old are---"

"I'm seven f*****g hundred ninety-five, my birthday is Oct. 18, 1221." Felix answered. "Lyon is 797, Daelan is 794, Aiken and Elric is 795, and Siege is 793."

"We are all born in 13th Century, Frances." Lyon blurted.

Hindi makapaniwalang tinitigan ko sila isa-isa. And here I am, thinking that they're teenagers or in their twenties.

Nasapo ko ang noo ko. Ano ba itong joke na napasukan ko?

"O-Okay, tell me everything... Gusto kong malaman lahat, ayaw ko ng magtanong pa. And please, if all of you really can speak in Tagalog... Then speak in Tagalog."

"We're in America, so why would we speak in Tagalog?"

Tinaasan ko ng kilay si Daelan. "Because you all know how to speak tagalog and I am a Filipino---"

"First of all, Sebastian is not a Filipino." Lyon cut me off. "But, fine... We're going to speak in Tagalog." He heaved a sigh. "Sebastian is a Spanish philanthropist---" ngumuwi ito.

Natawa naman sila.

Si Elric ang nagpatuloy. "Si Beltran ay nanunungkulan sa pamilya ng mga Laurentein. At dahil malapit na magkakaibigan ang mga magulang namin, namulat kami na magkakasama na kahit napakalayo namin sa isa't-isa. Si Beltran ang nagsilbing guro, tagapangalaga at gabay namin---"

Felix and Aiken yawned.

"How poetic." Aiken said with his hooded eyes.

Tiningnan ko sila ng masama. "Kung ayaw nyong makinig... Gayahin nyo na lang si Siege, mag-walk out na rin kayo."

Napaayos ng upo si Aiken.

"Woah! f*****g scary." Felix smirked.

"Felix!" Lyon warned.

"In 1209, Sebastian started teaching us all the language he knew... Arabic, Spanish, Russian, Latin, Mandarin, Tagalog and so on" Lyon resumed. "We treated him like a brother, a father, a friend. We even treated him like our own family more than our real parents."

"In 1237, laganap ang digmaan at may gusto sumakop sa mga ari-arian ng pamilya namin. At noong 1238, may isang pamilyang nag-alok sa magulang namin na maaring mabuhay kami ng panghabang-buhay." Elric said. "Knowing our parents, nasilaw sila doon at nakipagkasundo."

"At sa sumunod na taon, 28 kaming kinatawan para sa plano ng mga ninuno at magulang namin. May ginawa silang ritual sa gitna ng gabi, sa ilalim ng kabilugan ng buwan. Our grandparents and parents slit their palms in unison and their blood flowed in a goblet. Inuna nila ang anim na kalalakihan, they slit their throats hanggang sa tuluyan silang mamatay..." Tumigil si Aiken at kasabay ng pagdilim ng mukha ay kinuyom nya ang kamay. "Saka nila pinainom ang dugo sa goblet habang ang mga kasamahan ng mga magulang namin ay may mga ibinibigkas na salita, but instead they flamed... Until there's nothing left of them."

Ramdam ko ang galit nito habang nagsasalita. Ini-imagine ko ang mga ikinuwento nya, and if I were in their foot... Ganon din ang mararamdaman ko.

"After a year, it happened again... We tried to refused, some tried to escaped and got punished." Lyon recalled. "Sebastian helped us to escape but we got caught and was punished... They punished Sebastian too... Ang ibang naparusahan ay hindi nakayanan ang parusa't namatay... Hanggang sa labing-lima kaming natira, they repeated again the ritual in six men... But like what happened before, they failed... And the men became stone."

"Imagine that, all of us are their descendants... Their sons, their flesh and blood." Daelan clenched his fist. "Pero nagawa pa rin nila iyon sa'min."

"Their excuses? They want us to be immortal, to become more powerful... To rule the world forever." Aiken gave us a mirthless laugh. "Hindi nagkakasakit, hindi nasasaktan at magkaron ng kapangyarihan... Iyon ang sinusubukan nilang gawin sa'min."

"What happened next?" I asked, I folded my hands in my lap.

"In 1241, after the ritual, Sebastian talked to us..." Malungkot na ngumiti si Lyon. "Mas may malasakit pa sya sa'min kaysa sa sarili naming pamilya. Gagawin nya raw ang lahat ng makakaya nya para makaligtas kami... And the ritual begun, we felt the tormenting pain."

"Then we f*****g died, yes we were." Felix smirked. "And imagined our surprised when we woke up in Sebastian tomb."

"The agonizing grief we endured." Elric gritted his teeth.

"The unatonable hatred we keep." Aiken

Daelan c****d his head. "The abominable lust we resist."

"And we will never stop until we obtained justice." Lyon's brow furrowed as his mouth turned grim.

Ramdam kong walang makakapigil sa mga binabalak nila. It's evident in their faces. The wrath, the hunger, they all looked like a devil planning something wicked.

"It feels like yesterday." Daelan heaved a sigh.

"K-Kayo ang nakalibing sa Sebastian tomb?" I asked. "W-What did you all do to my friends?"

Nagkatinginan sila.

Si Elric ang sumagot. "I'm sorry, Frances."

Natutop ko ang bibig kasabay ng pagtulo ng luha.

"H-How? D-Did you... Did y-you all..." I shook my head, tila nawalan ako ng lakas.

"After hundreds of years of sleeping, what do you expect us to do? Of course, we're hungry... Thirsty." Daelan snapped.

Sinuway ito ni Elric.

They let out a long and hard sigh.

"Nang magkaron ng solar eclipse, iyon ang pagkakataon namin para makaalis ng Sebastian tomb." Lyon informed.

"Kayo ang dahilan kung bakit nagkaron at nagkalat ang mga bampira ngayon?" Natawa ako ng pagak. "At ako naman ang dahilan kung bakit kayo nagising. Because of my f*****g blood... I-Ilan na ba ang population ng tao sa mundo?""

"On a scale of one to ten..." Felix shrugged. "Maybe two"

Napasentido ako.

"Basically, we're all dead.. All the vampires that lived on earth are dead." Elric stated.

Aiken exhaled. "Marami rin kaming gustong tanungin kay Sebastian, malaman... But we knew, he's dead."

"Kung ganon, alam nyo ba kung paano maibabalik ang araw? Ilang buwan ng madilim." Tanong ko, Nagbabakasalaki.

"We've been asking... But we need you." Daelan said and it sent other meaning to my head.

Humalukipkip ako. "Why me?"

"It's f*****g easy because you are the reason why solar eclipse happened." si Felix.

"Why me again? Duh, solar eclipse happened all the time." I mocked at him.

"It was already written... You in Sebastian tomb, us waking up... The solar eclipse... it was destined to happened." Lyon crossed his arms.

"Why in the Philippines? As you all said, Sebastian was not a Filipino so why did he brought all of you in Philippines? In Baguio?" Nagugulhang tanong ko.

"We don't know also and we don't know why he brought us there... Are you listening or did we skipped the part that we died and woke up in Sebastian tomb." Daelan sarcastically said.

Nanggigigil kong ikinuyom ang kamay ko, ang sarap nya lang sapakin.

"May nakita kaming journal sa Sebastian tomb, maybe that's Sebastian's." I tried to talked calmly.

"Then where is it?" Aiken asked.

"Philippines."

They groaned.

Tumayo si Lyon. "We will teach you how to defend yourself."

That excites me a bit.

"Ba-byahe tayo bukas papuntang Caernarfon then after that, in Lublin... Sa Lauthyrinth, doon ka namin tuturuan." Elric smiled at me.

"Caernarfon? Lublin? Lauthyrinth? Saan iyon?" Clueless kong tanong.

"Nag-aaral ka ba?" angil ni Felix. "Caernarfon is in United kingdom and Lublin is in Poland"

Inis ko syang binato ng nahawakan kong libro pero tumigil lang iyon sa kanyang harapan, lumutang at biglang bumagkas.

Ngingisi-ngising tumingin sya sa'kin.

Inirapan ko sya. "Eh, ang Lauthyrinth?"

"Pagmamay-ari iyon ng ama ko." Sagot ni Aiken. "I'm a knight back then, a good fighter... So, I will be the one teaching you how to fight."

Napatango ako, gusto ko na talagang matutong lumaban. Ayaw kong umiyak na lang o tumakbo o magtago o asahan ang mga ito.

"I know you're going to be a fighter." makahulugan nyang tuloy, mukhang ipinapaalala ang pag-baril ko sa kanya.

Napangiwi na lang ako. Next time, I will aim at Felix. Or maybe Siege? I smirked at that thought.

Si Felix, siguradong kokontrolin nya lang iyong bala at panigurado kay Siege, hindi ko pa nahihila ang gatilyo ay patay na ako.

"You're wrong when you said that we're going to hurt you..."

I raised my hand to stopped Daelan. "Really? How about Siege? Huh?"

"As we said, hindi nya ma-kontrol ang sarili nya... He's dangerous and deadly so we all suggest that you should stay away from him." ani Aiken.

"You all can't control yourself and that's a fact... Lalo na kapag dugo ang pinaguusapan. Kahit anong sabihin nyo, kahit anong pigil ang gawin nyo... Sasaktan nyo rin ako." I said matter-of-fact.

"We're not, you're Sebastian's grandchild... You are only his last blood---"

"Anong ibig mong sabihin?" Putol ko sa sasabihin ni Daelan. "L-Last? What do you m-mean?"

"Your parents are dead, Frances... And your relatives, some are dead. Some became vampires." Felix answered.

Nagsalita pa sila pero hindi ko na narinig. Para akong nabingi, parang gumuho ang mundo ko. Mas lalong dumilim. Para akong nawalan ng lakas, kakayahan.

Napakaganda ng buwan habang napapaligiran ng kadiliman. Nagliliwanag, tila kumukutitap.

Nakaupo ako sa hood ng isa sa mga sasakyan nila at nakatanaw sa kalangitan. Dito ako tumakbo matapos kong malaman ang nangyari sa pamilya ko. Dito ko ibinuhos ang sakit, lahat-lahat hanggang sa namalayan ko na lang na nakatulala na ako.

"It's cold out here."

Napapitlag ako ng marinig ang boses ni Lyon. May dala syang wine at dalawang baso. Umakyat sya't umupo sa tabi ko.

"You're staring at it?" Inginuso nya ang buwan.

I shrugged. Imbes na magsalin ng wine ay kinuha ko sa kanya ang bote at tinungga iyom..

"You know in our generation, minor's are not allowed to drink liquors." niyakap ko ang paa ko saka idinikit ang bote sa pisngi ko bago sya binalingan.

Sumandal sya at ngumuwi. "Ngayon lang naman iyan... There's no next time."

I groaned in disapproval but smiled anyway. Tumungga ulit ako.

"I actually missed the sun." I stared again at the moon. "It's warmth. It's intensity. It's brightness that if you keep staring at it, you feel dazed... But no matter what, it still beautiful, fascinating... Lively."

I looked at him, he's staring also at the moon. My heart pounded when I stared at his face.

"Is there a chance na maibabalik pa ang liwanag?" Natawa ako ng pagak. "Nothing will change even if we bring back the sun... Everything will be different."

He heaved a sigh. He grabbed the bottle I'm holding at saka uminom doon.

Namilog ang mata ko sa walang pakundangan nyang ginawa. Nag-init ang pisngi ng tumungga ulit sya sa bote. I covered my face with my hands, siguro sa panahon nila normal lang iyon.

It's obviously not a big deal to him, Franchesca, so stop thinking about it!

"You okay? Why are you so nervous?"

Nagtanong pa talaga.

I took in a deep breath before I faced him. "Promise me one thing, Lyon."

Sa liwanag ng buwan nakita kong kumunot ang kanyang noo.

"What is it?"

"Please don't you ever use your ability on me..." Siguro dahil sa wine ay nagkaron ako ng lakas ng loob na sumandal sa kanyang balikat. "Can you promise me that?"

Ginulo nya ang buhok ko, pakiramdam ko ang tagal na naming magkakilala.

"You can trust me, Frances... You can trust us."