Romancing My Royalty

Chapter 1

Enjoy reading! May contain grammatical and typographical errors!

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ALARIC

"YOUR HIGHNESS, your father wanted to talk to you," iyon ang bungad na bati ni Carlos, ang butler ko. Kadidilat ko lang ng aking mga mata at iyong tunog ng alarm clock ang siyang maingay na bumubungad na naman sa aking umaga.

Carlos opened the high curtains of the glass window of my room. Mataas na pala ang sinag ng araw at may trabaho pa ako ngayong alas diyes. Sumasakit pa ang ulo ko dahil alas tres ng madaling araw na akong nakatulog. Gumawa ng mga furniture designs. I was the one designing the products of my business.

Bumuntong-hininga ako saka naisip na naman ang naging panaginip kanina. She was always in my dream, making love with me. Isang linggo na ang nakakaraan nang mangyari iyon pero dinadalaw pa rin ako ng kanyang mga imahe. My body had this indecent ache for her touch, for her kisses, for her moans. She was so beautiful and young. I condemned myself for fucking her just because it was my birthday. Not an act of a gentleman, but how could I control himself when she had kissed me back?

Shit! Mas lalong sumakit ang ulo ko sa kakaisip sa babaeng iyon. She looked nineteen or twenty, or twenty-one. I didn't know, all I know was that here I was, wanting her. She looked so beautiful, a gift given to me for my birthday. I wanted to know her name. Pagkagising ko sa umagang iyon ay wala na ang dalaga sa tabi ko. I didn't even know her name.

If my friends had chosen a lady who had a lot of experience, but why I had claimed that lady's sweet  innocence for the first time. The blood stains in the sheets were enough to justify the things I had thought were just fantasy.

Fuck it!

"Bakit daw?" Sa wakas ay naisambit ko ang mga katagang iyon nang maibalik ako sa pagkakatulala.

"He did not say his reasons, Your Highness," Carlos—my twenty-eight years old butler gently answered. "He will wait for your call. Ano po ba ang gusto niyong umagahan?"

"The usual one," sagot ko sabay baba ng kama. I made my way to the telephone table that only my father could call.

My father—Sebastian Jeane Rasquin was in Cambrevia, sitting to the throne as a Grand Duke. Alam ko kung bakit siya tatawag ngayon. I just had turned thirty-two last week, and my responsibility as his heir apparent was now haunting me. Hindi ko na matatakasan ang batas ng bansa namin. I had many royal duties that I should fulfill as Cambrevia's Hereditary Grand Duke.

Napadpad lang naman ako sa Pilipinas nang makatanggap ako ng pagbabanta sa aking buhay. My mother who was a half-Filipina and half-British hid me in this country. I had been shot in an olympic event last year by an unknown person. Hindi naman kailangan na magtago ako sa malayong lugar, ngunit nang malaman kong nag-uusap si Papa at ang hari ng Espanya para sa ipagkasundo ako sa ng anak ng hari ng nasabing bansa ay pumayag na ako sa plano ni Mama na ipadala dito sa Pilipinas. King Philip's daughter–Maria was an epitome of beauty with the kindest heart, but I was not yet ready to cage myself in marriage. Kahit pagiging prinsipe ng Cambrevia ay hindi ko nakikitaan ng interes.

I just wanted to live normally without thinking too much about politics, royal duties and marriage. Kaya isang kalayaan para sa akin na makarating dito sa Pilipinas. Isang taon na rin akong naninirahan dito kasama si Carlos. We had this penthouse condominium in the large city of Makati.

That was why I had learned to speak Filipino since young. Tinuturuan ako ng Mama ko at ng ama ni Carlos na royal butler ng aking ina kaya hindi naging mahirap sa akin na makipag-usap sa mga tao dito. Carlos was a Filipino and I was a Filipino too. Dual citizenship.