Señorita and the Katipunero (Book 3)

2. Stranger

The year is 1869...

The pavement towards the woods had finally been finished by the pack members. It was now easier to travel from the pack house towards the school. Trish was holding a bag full of art materials that was bought in Europa. Apparently, it was cheaper to buy in bulk and have it shipped here than just buy in the local shops in town.

“Buenas dias, señor and señora.” (Good morning gentleman and lady) Trish greeted the pack members who were going back to the hacienda to till the land. They had just dropped them in school.

“Buenas dias (Good morning) Gamma Trish, are you going to your class?” They responded to her. They also nodded their head as a sign of respect for her position. She had just assumed the Gamma role from her hermana Edith. It had been a gruesome three years of shadowing her just to get everything in place.

“Si. (Yes.) It will be my last year as a student after all. How are your kids doing in school?” Trish tried to chat with them a little. “They are loving the newly built classrooms. My niña (daughter) is even excited to start her art class.” An older lady said. She was referring to her granddaughter that was starting her first grade today.

“That is really good to hear. I bet she is as talented as you. Thank you for providing the teachers with your Hablon (handwoven cloth) uniforms.” Trish was grateful for her contribution. They rarely buy clothes since this older lady came to their pack a year ago with her daughter. They were skilled seamstress and hablon makers.

“You are welcome Gamma Trish. It is my pleasure to be of service for the school. I have to get going now señora. (lady)” the older lady replied and started to walk away while Trish also started to increase her pace in walking, she was running late already as she got carried away talking to the pack members.

She was finally standing in front of the school. She was panting really hard and she was unable to help herself but drop the bag full of art materials. She did not care if it got broken as her lungs where gasping for air as the muscles in her legs were burning.

Trish looked around, gauging if someone could helped her with the bags. She caught the beauty of the compound as she was sightseeing. Over time, the school had expanded from a simple two-story mansion into a full fledge school compound. It had a garden surrounding it, while there are four separate mansions that houses different age groups of pupils and students.

“Buenas dias, (Good morning) Trish.” It was Edith who greeted her. She still looked dazzling in her royal attire, a satin dress embroidered with flowers, a wolf, and a large tree. She was already showing a slight baby bump.

“Buenas dias, Hermana. (Good morning, older sister.) How are you today?” Trish replied to her.

“I am feeling under the weather due to the pregnancy but nothing much to worry.” Edith said while she was holding her belly. Trish smiled at her and took her left hand to wrap it with her.

“That is great news, shall we proceed to the admin office? I am bringing this in for the pupils. I might be able to swing to Pat’s classroom afterwards for the tour of our new students.” Trish then picked up the bag and they went inside. The halls were very well lit and looked grandiose. It boasts of how rich their pack was as well as the treasures the kama-kama had mined and kept.

The posts were made of marbles specifically ordered for the mansions while the walls were made of wood. The staircase leading to the second floor was made of Narra wood. It was said that this wood can last for generations to come without any special care.

“So where is the admin office located now?” Edith asked her. Lately, she had been absent minded and could not remember small details. The pregnancy was not doing her good.

“It is in the first floor silly. Hermana, are you sure that you are fine?” Trish was a little worried for her hermana. She was looking intently at her and noticed that she was becoming paler than usual.

“I don’t actually feel good. I think I am …” She had not finished her sentence when she ran to the nearest bathroom.

Trish followed her and tried to assist her. They were in there for a few minutes. She tried to call King Pat her hermano but no one was around to run the errand.

“Are you going to be okay, I could call Hermano (older brother) from his class?” Trish asked Edith. “I am fine. Just wait for me for a few seconds and we can go together. Who knew, pregnancy is this complex and irritating?” Edith sighed as she was feeling this for the first time.

“Do not worry Hermana. We are here for you. Just tell me what you need me to do, okay?” Trish told her as she was rubbing gently Edith’s back. They dropped the bag full of art materials in the admin office and went to see King Pat.

They walked downstairs to the underground classrooms for the engkantos. King Pat was currently teaching the young diwatas how to use their abilities and how to teleport. They used a special portal near the stairs in the entrance. It was disguised as a closet door, but in reality, it was a gate to the realm of the engkantos.

As they stepped into the gate, they felt the pressure change in the atmosphere. Their bodies were being shrunk into a miniature version of them while they are spread towards space and time. This went on for a few seconds. As their lungs started to burn, they gently stepped into solid ground. They were in the engkanto’s side of the school.

It was much grand and majestic than the one above ground. It was made of stone and gems of different colors. The gems made a subtle sparkle when the light hits it.

The classrooms were spacious enough to accommodate the different sizes of the engkantos. Each floor was 10-feet tall while there are no desks or chairs, unlike in the werewolves’ classroom.

Trish led Edith to the corner door after walking half a kilometer of doors and walls. She knocked twice before peeking inside.

A loud crash was heard inside the room. ‘BOOOOOOOOOOOM!’ The diwatas’ screamed and laughed afterwards. ‘The room seemed to be enjoying with the discussion today.’ Trish thought to herself.

“Hermana kindly wait here outside. They might be doing some activities inside. I do not want you to be caught up in between.” Trish reminded her. Edith nodded in agreement.

As she cracked open the door, her favorite smell in world was flooding her nostrils. It was the smell of orchids. ‘How in the world does the room smell like orchids?’ Trish asked herself. She has not shifted yet so she still could not talk to her wolf.

“Good morning excuse me for a second. Can I speak with King Pat?” Trish looked at the pupils inside the room. They were intently looking in front of the class. They did not bother to reply to her. She was a bit annoyed at the sudden cold treatment she got.

She cleared her throat and increased her voice’s volume. “Good morning excuse me for a second. Can I speak with King Pat?” She motioned to open the door as wide as she can. What she saw next made her jaws drop.

“King Pat?” She asked softly baffled at the sight before her. A tayho was standing in front of the class looking lost and scared. This was supposed to be a Diwata (a mythical creature) class only. Trish wondered why a tayho (a half human half horse creature) was there in the first place.

King Pat heard her and peeked behind the tayho who was now seating awkwardly in the floor.

“Oh, Trish! My dear little sister, what do I owe this visit for?” King Pat asked her. There it was, his old man's language that Trish and Alex made fun. Trish finally smiled timidly as she saw him come closer to her.

“Actually, I am here to accompany Hermana Edith. She did not felt good earlier and was vomiting. If you could take her home, it would be great. I wanted to bring her back to the clinic but decided to just let you both decide.” Trish explained to her brother in law while pulling Edith from her side. Edith was leaning against the wall looking sick as before.

“Oh my, my love. Are you okay? Come in, try to sit here first. I will call for the doctor and the nurses.” King Pat helped Edith sit in the teacher’s chair. Which was the only chair inside the classroom.

“Thank you mi amor. (My love.) No need to call them. Trish here is just overreacting. I just need to rest a bit and I will be fine.” Edith explained softly what happened to her as Pat nodded. They agreed she needed rest and as soon as the class was done, which was after half an hour, they will go home.

King pat brought a sit for Edith near the door. They were a cute couple to look at.

A waft of air breezed thru the classroom again. This time Trish’s nostrils were overwhelmed by the fragrance. She also saw the culprit of the smell. It was coming from the tayho.

“Hey, are you alright? Why do you smell like my favorite orchid?” Trish asked the tayho. It was still looking baffled.

It started to cry as she finished asking him. “Where are my feet? … Why could I not see them? … Where am I?” He asked a lot of questions that Trish nor King Pat could answer at the moment.

“Pat what is he babbling?” Edith asked. King Pat scratched his head and replied. “Uhuh, well we kind of made a mistake during our teleportation demo. You see we wanted to teleport Sambag from his classroom to here.” He paused a bit to catch his breath. “A loud crash was heard, and the teleportation was a success or so we thought. You see when we asked him details, he kept telling us his name is Leo.” King Pat said again.

“Who are you people? The last thing I remembered was falling into the dirt road and when I opened my eyes, I saw you and this!” Leo or Sambag said while pointing into where his feet should have been.