Project LOKI ③

Chapter 45: The Scarlet Thread III (Red Queen)

A/N: Third update for the week! We're on a roll!

LORELEI

"Since M is fond of chess terminology, think of me as one of his important pieces: the Queen."

THAT LEFT me speechless. No, not only me, but also my three companions on the rooftop. Rosetta took a pause and stared at us for a minute. You could insert a cricket sound to emphasize how awkward the next minute was.

Nagkapalitan kami ng tingin ng mga kasama ko. They didn't also see that coming, did they? It's fairly obvious that she's part of M's organization. What we didn't expect was her "value" in their group. She said the "queen," right? I'm not an expert in chess, but almost everyone who has heard of the game knows that the queen piece has more mobility, thus making it the most powerful piece.

Exactly how powerful was Rosetta? She's a happy-go-lucky girl. She's a member of a useless club. She holds no influential position in the student body. What makes her think that she has power here?

Was she telling us the truth or was she only inflating her worth in their organization? Even if that's true, why would she tell us outright? She's like one of the suspects who's screaming "I am the mastermind" and wanted to be caught by the police.

"Medyo awkward," she commented, showing us her gritted teeth. "Wala ba kayong comment diyan o kung ano? Nawalan ba kayo ng boses o napipi?"

Lumingon ako kay Jamie na nakadikit kay Loki. I gave her a look that begged the question, "Did you know about this?" She shrugged her shoulders and showed me the "I didn't know" face. It's convenient that we could communicate via facial expressions now.

"We're still processing what you've said," I replied. She dropped that bomb unexpectedly, so we needed to gather ourselves. Parang mga video kami na nagba-buffer.

"So if Stein is the King of your organization, you are his Queen," Alistair started, squinting his eyes while pointing his finger at Rosetta. "Tama ba ang pagkakaintindi namin?"

"I didn't know that Stein is interested in women. What I suspect is that he's not interested in anything but plotting crimes," Loki quipped. "Are you two a couple? Since when did your relationship start? Why aren't there any pictures of you together? Have you been hiding your relationship from the public? Who else knows about it? Who made the first move: you or him? Have you two been in a date? Did you already do stuff that most couples do—"

"Wait! Wait! Wait!" Sa sunod-sunod at bilis na magsalita ni Loki, napataas ang dalawang kamay ni Rosetta. Pumreno naman ang kasama namin nang makita ang hand signal niya. "Bago pa kayo magkaroon ng maling idea, I'm not his girlfriend, okay? We're not in a relationship. We don't share powers or anything. This isn't your usual definition of queen."

"But you said it yourself—"

"I said, you can think of me as the queen piece in this game," Rosetta explained. Napakamot tuloy siya ng ulo at napasuklay ng buhok.