LUNA: The Rebellion

32: Espero

"Sweetheart,"

It was his voice. It had always been his low-pitched, mellow voice that woke me up from my sleep early in the mornings.

And I had always thought by then: How could I live a day without him?

The world had answered it sooner than I had ever imagined and I didn't even desire an actual answer for it. I hadn't needed one. I didn't want to figure it out firsthand because the thought of it had scared me more than anything in this world. I wasn't scared of being alone. I was scared of him leaving me. I was scared of losing him. I feared for him. I feared for myself. I feared for our life together.

It took one night.

It only took one night for the world to break me apart.

I could never forget the feeling of holding onto someone so cold in my arms. Screaming. Over and over and over again because I didn't want to believe it.

I didn't want Sage to leave me in this dark place. I didn't want him gone.

I was so so scared.

The well was deep and I was inside. Stuck once again. This time, I didn't have the courage to climb up and save myself.

"I told you he's fine. Not a single scratch" The Emperor had announced as he gestured in Midnight's direction, but his voice was distant. I was listening but I wasn't hearing. My attention was solely focused on the bed, the white cloth, and the body outlined underneath it.

The hands I rested on either side of me didn't stop from trembling, subtle at first, but the longer I stare at the body the shakier my hands get. Cold. It was suddenly cold beyond words. Wind blew in our way and the mist swayed along with it, and right at that moment, I was certain I caught the satisfied vicious glow in the Emperor's blue eyes that I forced my trembling hands to stop, by secretly pinching my thighs. Pain instantly surged within me but it wasn't enough to numb the one I was feeling inside.

Through the thick mist, it was hard to get a look of the sun. Sunlight poured down like slashes of light, emphasizing some parts of the balcony. Nagsimulang maglakad papalapit saakin ang Emperor. Dahan dahan at ingat na ingat sa presensya ko.

He halted 5 meters away from me. That close.

When he spoke, he spoke in a whisper as though he wanted me to know just how confidential this would be between us. But we both knew it was only to mock me and nothing else. "I know what you're thinking. Behind me? Yes. That's him" Time seemed to halt. The Red Moon Event. I was on my knees. I was begging. "That's my beloved older brother right there. I have used my energy to keep his body from decaying. Ice helps too"

There was an immediate sting in my eyes and I wanted to scream at him for doing this. To me. To Sage.

I was surprised at how cold my voice was, "You buried him. Ang sinabi mo saakin ay nailibing mo siya ng maayos"

He casually looked over his shoulder and when he returned his gaze to me, the shrug he did was enough to convince me there would be no mercy for what I would do to him.

There would be none.

"Nagsinungaling ako. Obviously. His body shouldn't be here if that were the case, no?"

Unblinking, I stared dead into his eyes. "I am going to ask you to put the bed away from here"

He tilted his head to the side as if he couldn't understand.

I swallowed, hard. My heart was being squashed and I couldn't breathe. My mind was in shambles. "Take Sage's body away from here, Your Imperial Majesty. Right now" I said, and didn't realize the word slipped through me even before I could get it to stop, "Please"