SCARLET 2: ALICE (Emerald Series)

30

CLYDE

The days went by like a breeze.

Hindi pa rin ako makapaniwala sa lahat ng nagyayari. Ang daming nagbabago.

First, Rachelle, 'yong maarte at makulit naming kaibigan, just became the Queen of the South. She couldn't believe it herself either. Her coronation was held not long after the announcement. Who would've thought magkakatotoo ang biro ni Theo? We were all flabbergasted.

Second, kinasal si Zayden. And to our surprise, kay Patricia! We had no clue na may gusto pala sila sa isa't isa! All along akala ko si Grayson at Patricia ang magkakasundo but I never thought it would be Zayden. And he hid this from us? Na there's something between him and Patricia?

Lastly, Grayson was crowned King. Queen Amethyst decided to step down and retire. Besides, she believes Grayson is ready to be King. We believe he's beyond ready. He still doesn't have a Queen, though. Kaya maya't maya siya dinadalaw ng mga noble families to introduce their daughters.

Me and Alice, on the other hand, still lives in our home in the Light Forest. I like this peace and I will keep this peace. I'm just worried for Alice. Ilang araw nang masama pakiramdam niya. Ilang araw na siyang nagrereklamo na nahihilo siya at nasusuka.

Our footman knocked and entered my office. Nilapag niya sa harap ko ang patong-patong na mga envelope. Since we have nothing to do most of the time, naisip namin ni Alice na tumanggap ng mga sulat mula sa villagers. Those that are in need of help, we provide.

"What do we have today?" Alice entered the room and stood beside me, putting her hands on my shoulders.

"Okay ka na? Nahihilo ka pa rin?" Umiling siya. I gave her some of the envelopes and we opened them all together. As expected, puro small conflicts and concerns lang natatanggap namin. Most of the bigger and more trivial concerns ay niraraise sa Queen. Kaya siguro naisipan din naming gawin 'to, para mabawasan ang mga problema ni mama. We should pay her a visit tomorrow. Ilang araw na rin pala simula noong bumisita kami sa castle.

"Oh, tignan mo 'to," she handed me one of the envelopes. "Gusto ko 'to."

I read the envelope and raised an eyebrow at her. "This can be resolved by the royal knights. Kaya nila itong solusyonan."

She just smiled. Tinignan ko ulit ang sulat. The letter is from a guy named Jafar and his missing lamp. He insisted in the letter that it isn't an ordinary lamp and that the lamp can grant any wishes. He told us that a village thief took it and he's asking help to retrieve it.

"Like I said, pwede naman nating iutos sa knights na hanapin ang magnanakaw," I said.

Umiling siya at nagsimula nang maglakad. "No. Tayo na mismo ang kikilos at maghahanap."

What?! She didn't even wait for my answer. Lumabas na siya at nagpatawag ng karwahe. Ito nanaman siya! Why can't we just stay here and be at peace?! Bakit ba gustong-gusto niyang lumalabas at naghahanap ng ikakapagod niya?

Our carriage took us to the village, to an average-looking house, kung saan nakatira ang nagpadala sa amin ng sulat na 'to. We knocked only once and the door instantly opened, as if he was waiting for us. When we went inside, we noticed how empty the house is. There's only a sofa and a table. We asked him what the lamp looked like and how he lost it.

"It's made of pure gold," sagot nito. He showed us an illustration of it. Which is weird, why is he carrying around an illustration of his lamp?

He insisted that a thief took the lamp away and ran to the Dark Forest. Nakita niya naman pala, why didn't he just run after the thief?