บท 6: Chapter 5 ∞ Argen
Perhaps my most striking feature would be my eyes. I had inherited my birth mother's peculiar amaranthine pair, coupled with the honeyed red locks that my father possessed. I had sun-kissed skin, a natural shade of coffee that had a dollop too many cream.
My physical differences with the people of Venerya, who were all overly pale-skinned people, did not bother me too much—even with the growing concern of my mistresses over my self-consciousness. I have always thought of them as people of the clouds. Their eyes and hair would reflect the many colors of the rainbow, no matter how unseemly.
I was already aware of the fact that I was not a native to their lands, that I did not truly belong. Clearly, they didn't think I knew what happened as to how I ended up in their care. But I remembered it all clearly.
Unfortunately, I did not know much about my birth parents nor did I know much about the country or place I was born in. My Mistress Lili's books on foreign lands were a little limited, but I came to know of two, great continents that ruled equal halves of this world. It hailed from the traditional distinction between the two great territories, with one end sitting on the extreme western desert lands, a continent called Vertvalden, and the other, the extreme icy hills of Erindal.
I suspected my birth parents were in Vertvalden somewhere, I just wasn't sure exactly where. I've seen haphazard descriptions, but the places I could pinpoint that matched the place of my memories were far too wide and extensive. It should be around the territories on the Three Oceans of Kaliya—just where exactly, I wasn't sure.
A dark cape wound around my shoulder and my mother's hands firmly grasped my arms. She bent low, sitting on the ankles of her feet as she leveled her eyes with mine.
"Evyionne, you must listen to me very carefully, alright?" she whispered to me softly. I nodded and shot a glance at the small gates over her shoulder before returning my gaze into her green eyes. "Veneryans are not unaware, but they can sometimes be…unpredictable. Your eyes are reminiscent of Veneryan heritage, but your skin is not."
And, like every other child is supposed to ask, I said, "What's wrong with my skin?"
"Nothing," she said. "It's different, Evyionne, because of your father. And people out there will consider you…exotic. I don't want anything to happen to you when we are out today, so you must stay close to me and always listen to what I say."
I looked at her and nodded. Deep inside, however, the independent adult in me was whining and thrashing in displeasure. Of course, I was very much aware that I was supposed to be barely a six-year-old kid—how could I possibly be making a trip outside, doing whatever, without supervision from an adult? Technically, I was of legal age. Counting the fact the I died at nineteen years old, I should be around twenty-five now. But no one in this world cared about that.
Besides, if human values as petty as racism transmuted over to this side somehow, my life had gotten ten times harder. Before, I thought they were just concerned about me feeling insecure about myself, but it seemed that that wasn't truly the case.
Did that mean they were racists? "Dayum," I muttered unwittingly.
"Evyionne?"
"Nothing. I said 'can we go?'"
"That's not what you—"
"I get what you meant to tell me, mother," I said, tugging on her sleeves impatiently. "And I promise I'll listen to you. Can we go now, please?"
She sighed. "Alright. Well, then. Hold onto my hand tight." She pulled on my baggy hood and lifted it over my head. After making sure it settled nicely over my face, she did the same to herself as well, showing nothing—not even a shadow of skin. It left me wondering if ever anyone was curious about it or suspicious at all.
"Now, while we go, let me tell you a few things," she began as the gates broke open before me, revealing a stone-paved alley. As I looked up and followed the height of the tall, marbled wall, Hellenia pulled me out, making me break into a stutter of steps in a hurry to meet the pace of her longer legs. She slowed down, taking step-by-step as though to enjoy the cool and fair day.
"You are a very smart girl, Evyionne. I don't see why you won't understand what I am about to tell you. There are times when I think you have such a mature soul."
I nearly deadpanned at that but I was able to keep a straight, innocent face. Oh, she doesn't know one bit of it.
"I have been advised by the other mistresses not to continue treating you as a mere child," she told me. "If you are to continue living so cluelessly in the House, then it won't do you any good in the future. You should know by now that your mistresses and I are tied with the most complicated web in the country. It's one of the main reasons why Lamia does not favor a child in our care unless we intend on making you something like us—which she does not want."
I looked up and thought things through to myself.
Hellenia halted short and gazed down at me. "You do not have to live the way we do," she said. "Many people would consider our profession as courtesans a glorified form of…prostitution, but, Evyionne, the story is not as simple as it seems."
I didn't think she would be this upfront to me about their job. Her straightforwardness was a little disconcerting, considering how delicately she used to tread this line. Nevertheless, in spite of my confusion, I continued to listen. Hopefully, I don't daze out of it this time—as I had a tendency of doing.
"Honor, however, is something people will say we do not have, but purity is only a concept of power that caters to the ego of men. The moment you think along these lines, you have long since lost the battle," she continued.
"Which lines?" I asked.
"The way they do," she clarified. "Subservience is something this society will ingrain upon you for being a woman, but know that you always have a choice to whom you bow your head and raise it to. And it is in this choice that you have the power."
I felt my jaw dropping a little. Hellenia then gave me a smile and resumed walking in a leisurely pace. I now understood why she offered to leave the House of Oblivion—it wasn't just a simple day out like I first thought. It was more of an 'orientation' to the ways of this world. In spite of the age of my consciousness, I was still pretty much a child with regards to experience around these parts. I might have been born with memories of my past life, but I wasn't equipped with everything I needed to brave through this one.
Besides, I do have moments when my instincts as a child take over and I forget for a few moments the fact that I was, in fact, a reincarnated soul. These episodes weren't very obvious, but a part of me realized that no matter how conscious my mind was, my physical nature was a monster to tame and train. It included bladder control and motor skills in general plus sensitivity and emotional control as well as self-control. My impulsiveness would often take over and do things that I, as an adult, would never normally do.
I pulled my head to look forward as my adoptive mother did. The sound of the rolling wheels of passing carriages crept into my ears. The moment we broke into the streets, my eyes took in large beasts of varying sizes pulling through pearly roads. It was a little stunning, as I had long since gotten used to black asphalt lanes back in my previous life. This was a little strange and I do not think I have noticed this before.
It felt like walking on flattened snow of some sort. It looked like a glacier but not slippery, like polished marble but not quite.
"Why are the roads white?" I asked, as we stepped out into the sun, away from the shadows of the tal,l marbled walls that led back into our haven. This path, I realized, did not look too remarkable and I suspected it disguised the entrance into the House to better protect the mistresses in the case of similar occasions.
"Now that's something I do not know," Hellenia replied. "Perhaps you should ask your Mistress Kora and tell me too."
"I'll do that," I said.
"Now, see here, Evyionne. Sometimes, there is freedom in restriction and freedom itself can be binding chains," she told me. "For everything gained, there is a loss and for every loss, something is gained. The Oblivion recognizes strength in vulnerability. People may tell you what to do, but they don't tell you how to do it. People may tell you who, what you are or what you should be, but they can't tell you what you can or can't be, will or won't be. Life is all about possibilities, paths, and choices. And the one thing you must never forget about is your free will."
Did this woman really think a mere six-year-old-to-be could really understand everything she just said? I mean, with an adult mind, I could make sense of everything she was saying—but at the depth of her words, at least twenty percent of the supposed wisdom was just breezing by my ears.
"You might not understand anything I said just now yet, but you'll realize I make a lot of sense," she said.
Oh, well I guess I spoke too soon.
"What about fate?" I said as we strolled down the sidewalk amidst the many others.
"What about it?" she inquired.
"Fate . . ." I muttered. "Everything predestined?"
She did not reply immediately and only smiled.
I eyed the skyscraping glass tower which bore a spiraling trail of greeneries around its twisting body. This shape-bending creation was a bold challenge against balance and gravity. Unlike most structures, this one took liberal stances and had steeping angles that seemed to wobble as it climbed the sky. Like a vine. It stood at the very center of the city where, along its body, flying sentry bridges looped to adjacent buildings. I stared at it for a time, taking in the ornate design and squinting at the flag that waved at the tip.
"That, my darling, is the Glass Palace," she told me.
I stopped to stare, examining the sheer opulence of it all. The last time I saw this glass tower was nearly five years ago, as a baby, when Amber warped through space and brought me here. I could still remember it as though it was yesterday.
Nonetheless, it was only now that I realized it had faint patterns on the surface of the glass that was visible only under the strikes of the sun.
"I've never seen it," I lied.
"Yes, well, the House of Oblivion does not offer such a nice view of it from inside, right?"
"I couldn't see it at all."
"That's the point, Evyionne. Most of our clientele dislike the sight of it. It reminds them of duty and responsibility among other things," she told me. "The king of Venerya has forty-nine wives."
"Forty-nine?!" I nearly yelled.
"And a hundred children."
My speechlessness made her chuckle.
"He is known to be…quite passionate and he is dying for it," she said. "The court is currently in turmoil. There is a great competition between his children with regards to who will take the throne—as he has not designated an heir. However, my dear, the Veneryan king is one of the seven Dragon Emperors of Erindal. And among the seven, he is the First Among Equals."
"The First Among Equals?" I echoed.
"Technically, the Dragon Emperors are all of equal standing, but the First Among Equals, is in fact, the most powerful of them all. King Magdalo stands at the top in terms of physical strength and wisdom, do not be mistaken. He may have a voracious appetite in some regards but…he is undeniably more powerful than the six others combined."
"You've never told me about that."
"Well, I am now, because you must know."
I pursed my lips. "So where are we going?"
"Well…it is customary, Evyionne, that upon the age of six, a child gets tested."
For what? For HIV? I silently wondered. Isn't that a little too early for me? Oh well, diseases chose no age. But I don't reckon she meant that. Did she?
My questioning stare bade my adoptive mother to explain. "Darling, each child is born with three dragons weaved into their mind, body and soul. What they see can determine half your fate as it reflects the future of half your entire existence."
"Dragons?"
"Or the serpent," she said. "Each of them stands for a different affinity. There is fire, water, wood, air, earth, metal, ether, and nether. A total of eight. But we usually just consider seven."
"You said half. It determines half of the future. What about the other half?"
"That is determined by you. Remember choice. Remember that power. Fate can dictate what you have and what you are, but it—"
"Cannot determine what you can be or will be?" I finished for her.
"Exactly, darling. Such a smart girl." She caressed my hair, put a hand on my shoulder, and pulled me close to her leg as we began walking down the street. "It is good that you understand. It will make this way easier for me."
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