LUNA: The Witching Hour

32: The Heiress

Written at the back part of Zarax's letter was the place and time of meeting if I ever wished to partake in the games. She'd also stated she'd appear to that specific area for only five weeks and would only wait for 30 minutes before leaving. Mahirap isipin na maghihintay ang Zarax na 'yon. Si Pandora o Nym o kahit sino pa sa coven ang pwede, pero si Zarax?

Habang inaayos ko ang mga dadalhin ko sa magiging expedition naming dalawa ni Midnight, inisip ko ang mga posibilidad kung anong pumasok sa utak ni Zarax at mismong siya ang nagpadala ng sulat saakin. Maiitindihan ko pa kung si Nym o Pandora. Pero bakit nga ba si Zarax? 

Isa 'rin 'to sa rason kung bakit ko piniling sumali sa palaro at makipaglaban para sa korona. Though, I haven't really thought through about taking the crown for myself or helping Zarax win it. But the peculiarity of Zarax's movement after her mother's death and Hekate's open throne led me to choose to go back to the kingdom to see the problem for myself. No matter how grave the circumstance was, Zarax would never asked for my help. Her pride was as high as mine, so if she'd swallowed such a precious thing just to ask me of my presence, it only signified that things in Hekate were much more complicated than what they made it seemed to be.

To justify my kingdom's idiocy, the royal court must have made an agreement to keep things as private as possible in order to protect its witches from any threats outside. Just the announcement of Hekate's open throne was vital to the safety of the kingdom. Without a queen to rule over them, other kingdoms might see this as a chance to go after them. Kung malalaman pa ng ibang mga kaharian na mas komplikado ang sitwasyon nila ngayon, baka tuluyan na silang atakihin o sakupin. The only thing keeping Hekate barricaded, in my conclusion, was the dinner invitation of the Emperor.

All kingdoms would be busy after receiving His Imperial Majesty's letter of summons.

Speaking of which, Midnight's big plan was already in commence. Isang linggo na ang nakalipas ng simulan namin ang isa sa mga pinakamahirap na trabaho sa buong buhay ko. Sa mga nakaraan na araw ay pinatawag uli kami ni Midnight ngunit hindi na ito sakanyang opisina pa. Pinatawag kami nito sa war room ng palasyo.

Sa loob ng war room, wala akong nasaksihan na kahit anong kalokohan sa pack. I didn't want to assume that the change of rooms had something to do with it but I was too persuaded it did. As far as I am concerned, Midnight had never conducted a meeting in the war room and the atmosphere was evidently different than the one we experienced in Midnight's office. The air was heavier there, harder to breathe in, we might as well felt like we were underwater, someone pulling us from the depths of the ocean. It was contagious enough that no one from the pack wanted to pull any kind of jokes that might break the serious ambiance of the room.

Hindi lang 'yon, kung natahimik na kami sa biglaang pagtawag saamin sa war room, mas nabigla kami ng makita namin ang buong Seven Deadly Sins sa loob--- or was it just me? Muntik ko ng makalimutan na importante 'rin pala sila sa kaharian. They were the chosen guardians of Severus and the Demon King for a reason. Hindi pwedeng kalimutan na lang sila ni Midnight porke hindi maganda ang kanilang mga relasyon sa isa't isa. If anything, they had all the rights to be part of the kingdom's operation since it was the Seven Deadly Sins' job to protect in the first place.

Pag pasok palang namin ng pack, panay na ang tingin saakin in Isrion to the point na pinaupo ako ni Midnight sakanyang tabi.

Nakuha ko ang atensyon ng panganay na kapatid pagkatapos non.

As soon as we occupied the seats inside, Midnight wasted no time and started the meeting with a different kind of glow in his eyes. They were more murderous and vile than his usual dead look, a reminder to everyone that he was the King of the Demons, and those who wished to oppose him would gradually end up tied inside his wonderful torture chamber. Wherein death was said to be nicer than being experimented on by the Sadist.