In Favor of Her Highness I

Serapina and I went up to the women in court first. Approaching the men first, according to her, would be... overwhelming for me, and I would agree. The women I would chat with are largely elderly ones, at least the same age as mama or older. Women my age would deliver backhanded compliments, which I would laugh off since I was expecting them.

I'm currently speaking with Duchess Juana Kalibaro, an elderly unmarried human living in Sisera. I've been talking to her for the past hour, and she was a lot of fun to talk to, especially about her adventures in Biringan. Serapina had an urgent matter to attend to, so she left me with the duchess.

She was abducted by a noble engkanto couple who couldn't have children. She begged them to return her home, but they refused, so in retaliation, she refused to marry and bear any heir who would continue the noble dynasty. Even though her 'adoptive parents' are no longer alive, she continues to do so. She believes she intended to irritate them even in their grave.

"Back then, even the ruler of the Aswang wanted me to bear him a child," Duchess Juana said, her abaniko covering half of her face. "Obviously, I declined. Plus, he already had six children at the time."

"He has too many children," I remarked, eliciting a chuckle from the duchess. It's no surprise that Kidliyel was drawn to the duchess. She looked stunning and royal in her later years, and she must have been utterly gorgeous in her peak years.

"It's not known but..." the duchess motioned me closer, "It's rumored that Kidliyel had more than twelve sons and that those who didn't meet his expectations were turned into food for the aswangs." I believe this is the first chismis I've heard in Biringan, and the fact that it came from a mortal woman added to my amusement.

Speaking of aswangs, I'm not claiming I've been looking for him, but I haven't caught a glimpse of a specific golden-haired engkanto. It's not that I don't want to see him—well, sort of, but sure. He had me swear to have him as my first dance partner, which I refused because he isn't the only creature who wants to dance with the princess.

I've been flooded with dance requests from every male and female creature in the ballroom since I stepped down from the great ballroom staircase; engkantos, dwendes, higantes, siyokos, and even aswangs we asking me to dance. But, obviously, I turned them all down. A part of me wanted Demantro to be my first dance, but seeing him nowhere in the ballroom makes the other half of me say, 'fuck this, I'm just going to dance whoever comes up next.'

But I chose to be a saint and wait for him for another thirty minutes, continuing my chat with Duchess Juana and denying further offers to dance with me from other creatures.

But there are certain creatures I am unable to completely reject.

"Mahal na prinsesa, will you allow me to dance with you tonight?" Sirilo extended his hand to me. The duchess excused herself for a while and then left, leaving Sirilo and me alone.

The melody to Cariosa faded slowly, and there was a 20-minute interval while the Tinikling's bamboo poles were prepared. I can't just say no to Sirilo, no matter how much I wanted to dance with Demantro first I can't refuse a dance request from my stepbrother. I smiled and took his hand.

"Rejecting a dance with someone you don't fancy is acceptable, but rejecting everyone who asks you is not." He firmly whispers to me, "You wouldn't want your reputation tainted by a rumor spreading that you're unapproachable, wouldn't you? It will not only cost your name to be dragged through the dirt, but it will also cost the royal name. Don't make rash judgments, and don't think solely about yourself; you're not the only one here."

If Serapina is the patient, understanding teacher. Sirilo is the one who is incredibly strict. I learned the hard way during dance practice. My punishment for being late for a dance practice was to have a book placed over my head while dancing.

If one falls, another will be added. A new one will be placed if another one falls again. If I dropped 5 books, I was made to squat on top of a chair with books on my head for how many minutes I was late.

Sirilo takes political matters very seriously, and he sees this ball as such, which explains his strictness on our dance preparations and his reprimand of me for possibly spreading accusations that I was unapproachable.

And I can't exactly disagree with him because, one, he's terrifying as hell, and two, he's right, I can't constantly think about myself. I'm a crown princess, I should be revered and looked upon by the creatures of this land, and they can't exactly do that to me if I'm selfish and always looking after myself; I obviously need to look after them as well.

Sirilo took me to the dance floor, but not before assisting me in removing my bakya, as Tinikiling is performed barefoot. We were placed in the center of the stage since we were the royals so that every creature in the room would see us. Everyone in the room is staring at me.

I can feel my hands trembling, and it appears that Sirilo did as well, for he gently squeezed my hand, probably asking me to relax and take a deep breath. So I did what I was instructed to do: I took a big breath and attempted to relax.

Soon after the music to Tinikling began, we bowed to the audience and performed a few dance moves before dancing on the bamboo poles. I kept staring down at the bamboo poles, making sure my feet didn't get stuck between them.

I'm not embarrassed to get my feet trapped in front of Sirilo because he was my dancing partner in my rehearsals, but I am uncomfortable that hundreds of others will be able to see it.

Sensing my worry, Sirilo came closer to me, "Relax," he whispered, "Focus on me, Nita. Not the bamboos." I did. I looked him directly in the eye, I tried to count my steps, which resulted in my feet almost getting caught between the bamboo. Luckily, the dance step changed, Sirilo took my hand and swirled me until my back hit his chest, his other hand holding my free one as we continued dancing in and out of the bamboo poles.

"Relax, Nita. Look ahead and mentally count your steps," he murmurs into my ear. "Listen to the music, let its beats guide you." Taking a deep breath, I took my gaze away from the bamboo and ahead as Sirilo advised, and I began to coordinate my counting to the music and step. I was still praying to Bathala for my feet not to be trapped in the bamboo because not only would my ankle hurt, but so would the embarrassment I would suffer afterward.

My feet were fatigued towards the end of the dance. While Sirilo went off to get me some refreshments, I opened my abaniko and fanned myself while looking down to avoid any misunderstanding from other creatures who might believe that I admired them romantically or anything.

Other creatures complimented me on my dancing and even asked me to do the next dance, Sayaw sa Bangko. I had a good reason to deny their demands this time. I'd also make a point of not fanning my abaniko while talking to them.

A gracious higante offered me a seat, for which I gratefully accepted. "Ate," I turn to see Serapina approaching someone who is following her. I swiftly got out of my chair. "Ate, I would like you to meet Noel Panginiban, the most prominent mangkukulam in Biringan"

The most common misconception is that not all mangkukulams are malicious. There are mangkukulams who use their black magic for good (in Biringan though), such as inflicting agony on wrongdoers—and no, they don't kill; those are mangbabarangs. Mangkukulams only cause pain and sickness.

Most mangkukulams in Illaryo and Ijikan work for the Illaryo court, where they serve as one of the punishments for criminals (mangkukulams here literally have a license to harm someone) and have the authority to sell potions, both good and bad.

"Please call me Noe," the lady—Noe—bowed with her hands on her chest. Noe already appeared to be old, but not old-old—she appeared to be a little younger than Mama. She was dressed in a black veil with white floral trims, a dark cream camisa, a dark blue saya, and a transparent black pañeulo and tapis. "It's nice to see you again prinsesa," she says.

I cocked my brow at her. She must have seen my perplexity because she chuckled, "I was the one who crowned you when you were a baby. You used to be so small and light to carry, but now you're large and grown up." She sighs, "How time flies." I smile at her. Serapina excused herself with a disappointed groan before leaving me with a strange old lady once more.

"You look like your mother," Noe observed as she approached me.

"Thank you so much. "I get that a lot," Noe replied with a chuckle. She abruptly grabbed my face with both her hands as she got too near. My pupils dilate in surprise. "What are y—?!"

"You shouldn't be here, Nita," Noe replied, staring me down. I couldn't move; it was as if my entire body had become immobilized. When I looked around, it seemed like no one was paying attention to what was going on between me and Noe. What is going on? Why am I unable to move? Do the other creatures not notice us?

"What exactly do you mean?" I'm beginning to panic. I could feel my body trembling and sweating. As my heart rate increased, my hands were numb and frigid. The music and noises of beings talking, laughing, and clapping are suddenly switched off, and our surroundings darken.

"A violaceous crown of new, made a with golden hue. An embrace, a kiss from the finest lips of lies, there found the broken flower and its demise" She said, in a bone-chilling voice. I wanted to pull away from her, I wanted to scream for help but I couldn't. My voice was stuck to my throat and I couldn't say anything, I couldn't even make any noise.

Noe let me go, and I backed away from her, my breathing heavy. When I looked around, I noticed that everything had returned to normal, including the music and the noise the creatures were making. I cast a wary glance at Noe. She didn't murder me or hurt me in any way, but she scared the crap out of me. The fact that she is the most prominent mangkukulam in Biringan just added to the terror of the situation.

"Please convey my regards to your mother. I'm sure she will be ecstatic about our meeting tonight." Noe added before giving me a tiny bow and leaving, blending (or rather disappearing) into the crowd. I just stood there bewildered, watching her walk away and disappear.

  A violaceous crown of new, made with a golden hue. An embrace, a kiss from the finest lips of lies, there found the broken flower and its demise 

I'm sure she will be ecstatic about our meeting tonight 

Noe's voice kept echoing in my head. Does Mama know her? What the hell does that riddle mean? Demise Is she saying that I'm gonna die soon? Does Mama know about it?

"Are you okay?" someone asked, tapping my shoulder. "You appear tense," said Sirilo, holding two glasses of water.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine." What? That appeared out of nowhere. That was the exact opposite of what I meant to say. I'm not fine; I'm rattled as fuck. Some great mangkukulam just said that I was gonna die, who wouldn't be freaked out?

"Are you sure? You look like you just saw a ghost," Sirilo said as he brought me a glass of water. I thanked him and sipped the drink with a smile. While I was doing so, I could feel Sirilo's hand on my back, gently caressing it, which calmed my anxiety a little.

"I'm okay, really." I'm not. Screw you Noe, stop putting words in my mouth.

"You should sit down, your legs and feet must be tired," Sirilo stated as he took the glass of water from me. I reclined back in my chair and tried to relax my legs and feet; the left one seemed to be relaxed, but the other one continued bouncing. "I saw you talking to Noe earlier" That piqued my interest, and I turned my head.

Sirilo laughed as he handed me my glass of water back. "Noe's old, Nita," he replies, handing it to her and slipping it into his pocket. "Did she tell you you were going to die soon?"

I want to say something, anything, but I can't. I couldn't open my mouth and any noises coming from my throat were trapped, so I just sat there quietly staring at Sirilo. I wanted to nod, but something was stopping me.

"It's all right, Nita. That bruha once said the same thing to me. I was eleven years old when Noe grabbed me to the side and informed me that I was going to die very soon. That two years after King Fenuco brought us here to Biringan." He says, "Obviously, as a youngster, I was genuinely afraid for my life, and like you, I wasn't permitted to talk about it at all. But here I am, nine years later, perfectly alive and well."

My nerves relaxed slightly. If Noe said the same thing to Sirilo and nothing happened to him nine years later, does that indicate I'm safe? She said he was going to die shortly, yet he's still alive and well.

"Although.." His voice deepens, "There was one time when I was very close to death's door. I was sixteen at the time, I was rebellious and ventured off into Akiban without warning, then I was ambushed by a swarm of wakwaks." I listened closely to his story.

"My instinct was to fight them off; I was hard-headed back then. I wanted to show everyone that I was tough, that I could handle anything, and that I could fend them off. And I tried. But I was clearly mistaken; I couldn't take on all of them. So my logical mind took over, and it told me to run, so I did," he adds.

"I ran and ran as fast as I could. I had a lot of bruises, cuts, claws,  and bite marks, and I believed a skin of mine had been pulled off. But they were all numb; all I could feel was my heart racing and my hard breathing. I kept running, even after I got across the borders. My body just gave out when I arrived at Sisera. I was unconscious for two weeks."

"You almost died," I said, drawing Sirilo's attention to me as he smiled and nodded.

"After that, I was surprised that I could freely talk about what Noe told me." He said. Noe's prediction that he would die was accurate, and he prevented that fate. If I was going to die, all I had to do was flee as Sirilo did.

"What I'm saying, Nita, is that you choose your own fate." He said as he was speaking to me. "Don't be fooled by others, you are the master of your fate and only you are in charge of it, not Noe, not me, not anybody, only you"