CHAPTER TEN
ANG ginaw grabe! Ang kapal ng yelo rito sa labas. Kahit gaano kakapal 'tong suot ko, tagos hanggang buto 'yong lamig.
"Saan po ba tayo pupunta?" Tanong ko sa lalaking sinusundan ko. Pagkatapos kong muntik nang mamatay sa hagdang dinaanan namin, ngayon naman malapit na akong manigas sa sobrang lamig.
"We are running away from our responsibilities," he replied in a nonchalant way. Okay? What does that even mean?
We continued walking through the snow. Halos hanggang tuhod ko 'yong niyebe kaya nahihirapan akong maglakad. Ito namang kasama ko, akala mo may ka-date. Sobrang bilis niyang maglakad!
Because I'm too cold, I turned my powers on. Now, there's a ball of fire beside me that keeps me warm. When the prince noticed me, he stopped and faced me with a frown. What now?
"Don't do that! Paano kapag nakita nila 'yan? Baka mapahamak tayo pareho," saway niya. I grimaced while still trying to get near him. He's about a metre away from me.
"But I'm cold, your highness. If I won't do this, I would freeze to death!" I exclaimed when I'm finally in front of him. I saw him rolled his beautiful eyeballs.
"You are such a weakling," he scoffed at me. Ayan na naman tayo sa panlalait niya. Kaninang umaga tinawag niya akong walang kwenta at coward, tapos ngayon naman weakling.
But what he did next almost melt my heart. He removed his jacket and put it around my shoulder. Aww! I only see men doing that on a romantic drama. Kinilig tuloy ako.
"Now turn that off," utos niya sabay duro sa bolang apoy na lumulutang sa tabi ko. I obeyed him, of course.
"Are you not cold?" I asked him when he started to walk again. I scurried to catch up with his huge steps.
"I'm the lord of coldness," he simply replied. Oh wow, I almost forgot that he's an arrogant prince.
Napatigil kami pareho sa tapat no'ng mataas na pader na nakapalibot sa palasyo. Paano naman kaya kami makalalagpas diyan?
"Do we need to climb the wall?" I nervously asked him. He gave me an oblique glance and grinned. Now I'm getting nervous.
"Watch," he confidently commanded, smoke emitting in his mouth as he spoke. Isinara niya ang palad niya at nang buksan na niya ito ay biglang may susing nag-emerge mula sa palad niya. The key is made of ice. How is that even possible?
Tinanggal niya ang mga niyebeng nasa pader gamit ang kamay niya. Nanlaki ang mga mata ko nang makita ang isang maliit na keyhole. Inilagay niya ang susi ro'n at iniikot. A small door popped open. The prince turned to me and gave me a see-what-I'm-talking-about look. He, then, bowed his head and went through the door. Should I go with him?
"Come on, slave! Faster!" Naiinip niyang sigaw mula sa kabilang bahagi ng pader. Napa-buntong hininga na lang ako at sumunod sa kaniya. When I reached the other side, the coldness is lesser here and the snow isn't that thick anymore.
Prince Blaze closed the door behind me, held my left hand and pulled me away. He always do that and I think I should get used to all this dragging and pulling now. Naglakad kami nang naglakad sa walang katao-taong kalsada. May mga pine trees sa magkabilang gilid ng daan. Malamig ang kamay ko pero mainit ang kamay niya. How come he still have a warm palm despite this freezing temperature?
