Chapter I.2

"You look absolutely perfect in that gown. Gosh, you're a goddess!" Puri ng couturier ko while helping me fit the evening dress she personally designed and selectively pick the materials which reportedly costs more than a million pesos.

It is a pure white, semi-lustrous and feather-like weight, pure silk empire waist, strapless gown, it perfectly fits in my body showing the curve in the upper place only while it flows freely on my waist, down to my feet.

Tiningnan ko sya.

"Please let this be the one. You rejected 20 gowns already." She prays with a smile while shaking her hands.

"So now you're giving me an egg white gown?" I commented and that stopped her from smiling.

"No Ellaine, do you believe in miracle dress? Something you never expected but quite impossible too?" She said timidly. "Tama ba?" She asks.

I rolled my eyes. "No. But I do believe in auditing the expenses and penny allocated for the materials."

"Argghh, basta. You'll believe it when you see it so I openly welcome your doubts." She raises her one finger to me as if making me remember her words.

"You know, first impression of a client must always be positive or else," I looked her in the mirror. "you'll lose their trust. Business is over." I say to her as I placed both of my hands on my hips and she pouts.

"I know but I already got your trust before you wore the dress." She smiles while taking my hands off the hips. "The last touch will be on Saturday morning. I don't want someone seeing the new design I created, they'll be surprised!" She says energetically while clapping her hands.

"Pathetic." I say as I circle my body sensing how it feels like when moving and it feels… "I'm almost nude wearing this."

"Yes, I have named this gown." She claims.

Tsk.

I continue to move myself, feeling the fabrics clinging against my skin, I walk down the platform with my flat shoes, turned my back and walk while measuring its quality.

"I call it Elizabeth." She says and I stopped before I could make another step.

I look at her direction, slowly walk toward the platform and face my own reflection. "Not interested with the name." I commented.

"Whatever, but as you can hear, it rhymes with Ellaine, right?" She laughs crazily. "Pakiramdam ko para na kong genius mag-isip ng mga pangalan." She continues and I look to her uninterestingly.

"Oo na sige na. Nagbibiro lang eh pero I mean it talaga. It simply means success. I named it after the history, Queen of all queens with absolute power and sparkly pride, I believe that when a name has been given to a certain thing with a grave reason, its value is priceless." She explains and then giggles.

I swallowed something in my throat that I cannot get rid of.

"Are you planning to sell the gown after I wore it?" I ask her.

"Tsk tsk. Quite the opposite. Hindi lahat ng bagay na binibigyan ng value ay binibenta, sometimes it is worth to keep something with a remarkable name, one you'll always remember its value and existence so no reason to sell it." She says while her hands are working at the back of my gown.

"Baka madapa yung makatapak ng gown ko sa haba ng likod, that will be a disaster, not success." Nagside view ako para tingnan ang length ng dress ko.

"Hindi, hindi naman kahabaan yan eh, the purpose of that length is to avoid people crowding you from behind, so they can give you space and everyone will see the whole beauty."

"But it is empty." I pointed out to cloth that flows from my chest down to my feet. "Too plain to be expensive."

"Don't you know that Silk is the most luxurious fabric in the planet?" I can feel her stroking my dress. "And this is Silk Dupioni, the purest silk of all. The last touch will be on Saturday morning para walang makakita, mahirap na baka gayahin diba? Tapos ikaw yung magmumukhang, 'you're nothing but a second-rate, trying hard copycat!'" She says in a very dramatic manner with her expressive facial expression and body movements, trying to copy Cherie Gil.

I laugh like I want the things engulfing my head flee and never come back. "Hahaha."

"Oha, edi napatawa rin kita, kanina ka pa nakasimangot eh. Di bagay sa magiging reyna ng palasyong ito."

I stopped laughing and moving at tiningnan ko sya sa salamin.

"O tapos ka ng tumawa? Bilis naman." Sabi nya habang tinutupi yung hawak-hawak nyang fabrics and gowns.

"Paano mo nalaman?"

"Yung alin?" She asks, confused.

"About the selection." I furrowed my eyebrows over her dumb innocence.

Nag-roll sya ng eyes at tinapik ako sa braso. "Girl, isa pang supla mo sakin at kukurutin na talaga kita. Natural friend mo ko at saka, bakit di mo yan itanong sa Reyna nang palasyong to na kung makahingi ng report, gusto minu-minuto." Bulong nya.

She's my closest friend here and someone I can give a bit of my pocket-size trust.

Inirapan ko na lang sya. "O sige na gusto kong paigsian ng konti yung haba ng gown dahil baka may makatapak nyan pag isiniyaw ako---"

"Ng Prince Charming mo?" She butts in at tinaas nya ang isang kilay.

Nagbuntong-hininga ako. "How about we grab a coffee outside Neri?"

"I like that, really like that." She agrees.

******************

This house structure is based mostly in European style with few touch of Mediterranean concept, it was built since 1960 when the older generations started the Chysller business and expansion of wealth and inheritance. They never demolish this mansion to retain its original design in respect to the original owners but give a thorough repair, maintenance and expansion depending on the next inheritor.

And everyone is eyeing for that throne and power.

I exhaled.

My world is too small to be occupied by raging ice storms, rainstorms, firestorms and all sorts of storm from different directions.

I just wander my eyes on the architecture and crafts work of the marble-made pillars along the hallway.

"Your highness?" Neri teases suddenly that her loud voice echoes on the spacious, empty hallway which I believe is secured with high-quality security camera in every corner.

"My slave." I give emphasis to the word, warning her whom I think she got my point, she covers her mouth immediately as if she just realized what she did.

"Ohh, anyway, ang ganda at ang lawak talaga ng mansion ninyo, gosh, look at these postes, sobrang bonggacious ng design." She tries to change the topic as if she hadn't seen the interior pillars before.

"Those are made of marbles." I say.

"Ha? Marbles?" Confused.

"Yes, they chose marbles because it was acknowledged by early civilizations due to its dense structure that makes the carvers easier to express life and art, even the Kings and emperors in early age believes that it is an immortal token gifted by God to humans. Also, there are only two of the best known and most highly considered marbles around the world, the plain white and almost translucent marbles of Italy and Greece. To make my whole point easier to catch, they just want this house constructed of highly expensive item recognized by this world." I continued explaining.

"Woah. Andami mo namang sinabi, pero wala naman akong tinatanong about sa marbles, di ba?" She commented after my long explanation.

What an idiot.

"Of course, how would you know about it eh wala ka namang hilig sa books and education, right?" I answered back.

"Oi ah! Meron noh!" She reacted immediately. "Remember yung, yung Elizabeth sa gown mo."

"That's one." I say trying hard to stifle a laugh again. She's like a child, struggling to answer, proving herself.

"Tapos I have a big respect nga towards the nation of Greece eh, hindi ba nga nandun ang mga Diyos at Dyosa?" She continues with her chin tipped up.

"Where did you learn that?"

"Oh well, during highschool times." She answers boastfully.

This time, I can't avoid her sense of humor, I chuckled. "Mythologically speaking but completely fictional." I contravene.

"Grrrr! Now you're a genius, at least hindi ako nerd." She's fuming while I do the opposite.

"A beautiful nerd." I posed in front of her displaying the perfect features of my face while she rolled her eyes and laughs.

"So, Greece or Italy?" She asks curiously taking me back to the topic.

We proceed walking slowly, savoring the soft touch of heat pressing on my skin reflecting on the wide glass windows. "Who cares, I'm not even sure if these were made from Greece or Italy." I say simply. "I just blest you with my overflowing knowledge."

"Argghh, magbe-bless ng knowledge tapos bitin pa? Better not." She pauses. "Everytime ba na may bagong owner, eh nag-eexpand yung house structure? Kulang na lang eh tawagin na tong the Palace of Chysller and you'll be called Your—" She instantly pauses, moves closer to my ears and calls. "'Your highness.'" She gives an emphasis on that word with a European accent while she bows down her head on me.

She giggles while I laugh silently.

"My beautiful cousin, how rare to meet you here." I stopped when I was about to step down on the wide, spacious, centered grand staircase covered with red carpet as my eldest cousin, Barton, is climbing up with his hand lightly grazing the smooth, golden stair handrails.

He stands across my position.

He's taller than me in few inches, hair dyed in blond, sharp eyes and exposed freckles on his face. They say that he inherits the looks from his American father than his mother and what keeps him a Filipino is his black hair which he also wipes off the mark, making him a complete stranger in appearance. He always wears Americana attire to boasts his dominant blood.

"Hi Barton, it's been a week since we last saw each other." I greeted him while Neri backs a few steps to give us some space to talk.

He walks up slowly towards my direction, his head tilted upward as if examining what's in the ceiling, "Those outmoded paintings should be revised by a modern art, it isn't nice to look at… they say our great grand, grandfather chose this art design to keep our family and blood united ignoring tensions, antagonisms, enviability and conflicts inflicted by power, resplendent inheritance and the inheritor which is a ridiculous notion." He gives a grave emphasis on those last words.

He stops in front of me, lowered his head good enough to see my face, his usual habit of approaching me. "I think, a reminder is useless if they chose the wrong person to inherit the power started by them." He smirks cunningly.

"You're sleeping pretty well. You've become prettier than the last time I saw you. Of all my cousins, you're the only one I think fits to be my ally and not an adversary." He remarks without blinking.

Barton is my aggressive and trenchant opponent; he excels most on the task, roles and challenges assigned to us who highly impresses my grandma, including the board of directors.

They said that we're on the same level but he lacks something which I had and crucial on attaining the place…

He had forgotten my existence and my sole purpose, that I am destined to win and take the hoped-for prize which really belongs to me from the very beginning.

I smiled while I breathe out the tension. "You're looking good as well Barton. Gracias por el cumplido, that goes to my personal couturier and beautician. I don't see you as an opponent but someone I can rely on someday." I say to him confidently, he still continues to watch my expression, mouth and words coming out of it.

I'm fully aware that Barton sees me less than a cousin by blood but more of a threat on his sheer goals and aims.

He has a very clear path on what he wants and how he does it.

"When did you arrive? How's your Dad doing?" I switched to a more pleasant conversation.

He suddenly looks away as if he feels troubled. "He's doing well and he'll feel better if I'll be the next person on that painting, cousin." He pointed something behind me which I knew, is our grandparents' portrait and I smiled in return.

"I spoke with her a while ago." He suddenly brings up.

My father is with her from the moment I left her private office and up until now, they're still there, talking over a very sensitive discussion.

If she lets him in with my father's presence then that will bring ruckus that may postpone the declaration as we have a very stern policy that on the day of her retirement as the inheritor, is the only time that she can declare the replacement… and that's the day after tomorrow, it simply means, she cannot make contact with any of the candidates and its family until the right time arrives.

I'll be glad if it will be postponed as the wedding will be deferred or even neutralize but if Barton finds out that I am the favored one before it was announced, then I'm pretty sure he can sell his soul to the demons to curse me.

"You looked stiff, cousin?" I hear him saying.

Did I?

I try to regain my composure, knock off my thoughts and stare at him impassively.

I hate Barton when he starts his curiosity, pretends to be evocative and eventually, concludes his own hypothesis.

"She's still a beauty on her old age especially when up close." I say to him with a careful smile, his facade abruptly falls apart and he lost his calmness for few seconds.

"As expected of you cousin, you never wanted to lose, what makes us even. It will be hard for Lola to choose between us. I wish the best for the both of us and whoever wins, should support each other." His smirk came back to life and its old placement.

"I'll retire early. Days are counted for me to be belligerent." He stepped aside and continued going up on the second set of the staircase while I watch him disappear in the hallway.

You always lie, Barton.

And you never call me by my name.

"Hindi ko alam kung gusto ka nya or gusto ka nyang sakalin. He scares me actually, I wonder why you can stomach his insanity." Bulong ni Neri sa tenga ko.

I sigh, I'm too tired to tell. "He can think whatever he wants as long it doesn't come out on his head."

"Why are you acting cool?" Pahabol ni Neri while we start going down the deferred walk on the staircase.

I shrugged it off and when we're about to reach the painted, wide, double glass doors supported by the antique crafted wooden on the sides with golden door handles, two men wearing black suits with pinned gold badge on their left chest, blocked our way.