A Paradise Lost

Against All Odds

They were about to get lost in a passionate kiss when Shiloh and the rest of his warriors suddenly appeared from the lake aboard on their boats.

The two warriors held Felipe’s arms while the other two warriors held Queen Raya’s arms.

Shiloh took the opportunity to punch Felipe’s face.

“Ever since you came to our island, you brought nothing but misfortune. Do you think that I don’t know what your intentions are. You seduce my vulnerable sister so that you can steal her throne and conquer us. You did not only bring misfortune to our island, you also wanted to rule our island.”

“Stop it, please. I will give you my throne! Just leave us alone!”

“No, Raya! This man doesn’t deserve you. If only you knew what he is up to, you will regret why you bought him from Rome!”

“What did he do to you to make you hate him this much?!”

“I can’t believe that a brilliant woman like you can be so naïve! The man you love is a traitor and a spy. He is a Spaniard!  He is not just an ordinary Spanish spy but he is a king in Spain!”

“Liar! You are just blinded with your jealousy! You cannot admit to your self that he is far better than anyone of you and far good-looking, that’s why you’re looking for ways on how you can throw him out from our island.”

“Why don’t you ask him yourself? If he really loves you, he will tell you the truth!”

“But that’s impossible! He was a slave in Rome treated like an animal in the Coliseum. I don’t think that he intended to risk his life to seduce me. I never planned to go to Rome. I arrived there randomly. Our chance of meeting was too good to be planned.”

“Let’s call it destiny, then. He took advantage of the opportunity to meet you so that he can spy in our country and conquer it. Once he will be able to steal the throne from you, he is going to use his power to take his throne back in Spain! Haven’t you learn a lesson yet when Miguel Lopez came to our island and tried to conquer it? Or do you need to learn your lesson the hard way?!”

“I know you made an investigation about Felipe. But whoever handed you the investigation must be lying to you! His life was hanging by a thread when I met him. He was tortured by ten men and was fed to the giant. If I didn’t become the queen’s special guest, he must have been dead by now. If Felipe is a Spaniard, he is different from Miguel Lopez. If he is really the king in Spain, why was he sold as a slave?”

“I don’t know how else to convince you! From now on, I don’t want Felipe to stay close to you! We will send him back to Spain! I will not allow you to travel to another country. You might elope with this bastard! I want you to stay in our island whether you like it or not. It will be up to you if you still wanted to remain as queen or not.”

“I don’t want to be a queen anymore! You may take the throne from now on! You can also disown me as your sister!”

“I want you to put Felipe inside the dungeon. I want Raya to stay inside her room until we are sure that Felipe is already sent in Spain. You are not allowed to get outside your room until I will tell you to do so.”

“You don’t have a right to put me into house arrest until you have proven I have done something that will endanger the lives of the people in Maharlika.”

“Bringing a dangerous spy to our island and planning to marry him so that he can take over our kingdom is already a preemptive action to destroy our country.”

“No! If you are going to throw him out of our island, you may also throw me as well.”

“No! You will stay inside your room until Felipe is gone!”

Felipe was sent into the dungeon while Queen Raya was put under house arrest. Two guards were assigned to stand outside her door 24 hours a day. The only maid allowed to attend to her needs was Anita. Every time Anita went inside her room to send her food and her other needs, she was always escorted by guards to make sure that she would not help her escape. She did nothing but sew the whole day.

Queen Raya felt like she didn’t deserve to be happy at all just because she’s a queen while everyone else could freely chose their lover.

When night came, Queen Raya fitted the black pants and long-sleeve blouse she sew. She tore her blanket and her bedsheet and tied them together to form a rope. She went down stealthily from her window  using the tied blanket and bedsheet as a rope. She strangled the guard who was assigned to guard below her window with her legs. When the other guard saw her strangling the other guards, he went towards her to pull her down but she was quick to kick his face that knocked him down. She ran barefooted hiding through the bushes to make sure that no one would notice her. When she was finally out of the palace gates, she wore her shoes and ran to the dungeon.

She pulled a pepper spray out from her pocket and sprayed it on the guard who was roving outside the gate. She strangled him until he fainted. She took off his uniform and wore it. She hid him under the bushes to avoid alerting the other guards. She went inside the front gate of the dungeon with ease under the unsuspecting eyes of the other guards. When she finally arrive outside Felipe’s dungeon, she sprayed pepper spray to the jail guard and stole his keys. She opened Felipe’s dungeon and dragged the jail guard inside.

“Shush. I’ll take you out from here. Take off his uniform and wear it. Also don your clothes on him.”

“My queen, how did you get in here?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Where are we going after this?”

“Anywhere in the world. Hurry up! Before the other guards will notice us.”

They put the guard on the bed and went outside the dungeon. They strangled the two guards at the back gate and hid them under the bushes. They went outside the gate. They ran as fast as they could going to the pier. They needed to secure a ship before the break of day so that they could escape. It was already dawn when they arrived in the pier.

“I have so many questions that I need to ask from you. For the meantime, let’s focus first on how we can escape.”

“I am more than happy to answer all your questions, my queen.”

“I want you to be very honest with me.”

“Of course, I will answer all your questions honestly.”

Queen Raya chose the smallest ship. She climbed on board. Felipe removed the anchor and swam towards the ship. She dropped the rope ladder so that he could climb. She handles the steering wheel while he row the ship. Their escape was as smooth as the wind. It seemed like destiny was in favor of their elopement.

“Praise God! Freedom at last!”

“Are you alright, my queen?”

“Yes, I am. Are you hungry?”

“Yes, I haven’t eaten since last night. The jail guards didn’t send me food.”

“Bastards! Don’t worry, we have enough stock of food. This ship is used for trading. We usually store food, gold, and other goods in this ship 2-3 days before it will sail. You may go down and cook food for us while I stay here and watch out for bad weather. We’ll take breakfast together.”

“Sure!”

Felipe went to the galley to cook food while Queen Raya stayed on the starboard. He prepared the traditional Maharlikan breakfast consisting of roasted milkfish stuffed with different spices, steamed glutinous rice, chocolate drink from cacao seeds, and mango.

“Breakfast is ready, my queen!”

“Thank you! Let’s pray and thank Yahweh first for the blessings.”

Queen Raya closed her eyes and put her hands together to pray. She thanked God for all the blessings she received. She prayed that their journey would be successful. She also prayed for the safety and progress of the islanders and the rest of the people of Maharlika.

After taking their breakfast, Queen Raya went back to the starboard while Felipe washed the dishes. She looked through the telescope to check the weather. She was horrified to see a group of 10 ships accompanied by 1 gigantic ship coming towards their island. It was the biggest ship she had ever seen making the 10 other ships like toy boats. She almost fainted when she saw 10 giants aboard the gigantic ship. If these giants would reach their island, the people living in it would not survive not unless they would offer themselves to be their slaves. She turned the ship around back to her island. She needed to warn her people about the imminent danger. Being attack by giants would be the worst disaster that her island would ever experience compared to all the super typhoons combined that hit her island. She couldn’t imagine her people being eaten alive by filthy giants.

“My queen, it seemed like you turn the ship around back to the island. Did you forget something?”

“There are group of giants coming towards our island. We need to go back to the island as soon as possible so that we can warn the islanders about the imminent danger. I need you to row as fast as you can!”

Felipe followed Queen Raya’s orders. They arrived immediately back in Camotes Island.

Shiloh’s eyebrows rose when he saw Felipe and his sister came out from the ship.

“Coming back so soon? Did you have a lover’s quarrel and finally realized that you are not compatible for each other?”

“Prepare our warriors! The giants are coming towards our island!”

“What giants are you talking about?”

“My majesty, a group of giants is coming towards our island!” Caylao said.

“What are you waiting for? Summon all the warriors, now! Prepare for battle!” Queen Raya shouted.

“Tell the warriors to bring all the mirrors!” Felipe added.

“For heavens sake, this is not a vanity showdown but a real battle with gigantic enemies!”

“Listen to Felipe! He is right! We needed the mirrors to burn our enemies before they will reach our island!” Queen Raya defended Felipe.

Queen Raya stood as the commander of the warriors. She asked all the women in the island to hold the mirror instead of men. All men must be armed and should fight like it’s already the end of the world. She was never been terrified all her life. She never thought that the day would come that they would be attack by giants. She thought that all the giants were already killed during the Great Flood.

Queen Raya uttered a prayer. She fervently prayed to Yahweh to save them from the cruelty of the giants. She strongly believed that her God is bigger than any giants in the world. In the Name of Yahweh, all the giants would stumble and fall and that there’s no god greater than Yahweh!

Amen.