*Season's P.O.V.*
"Ahh ouch!" I imped when we finally reached wherever this is that we reached. Just so you know, I was suspended in mid-air when Kaloy used his teleportation because of that stylish aerial I did. Totally my fault but I didn't expect that we would land on a structure with a low ceiling and so, a hard, I guess ceiling hit my back and I fell... Unto Kaloy's arms, of course. I felt my cheeks heat up at the way that he caught me, bridal style. Our eyes met and our surroundings disappeared as we only focused on the intensity of each other's stare. Oh gosh! Here it goes again.
"Nandito na ba silang lahat kaibigan?" A deep and rather sexy voice asked and I'm automatically pulled out of the hypnotic stare that Kaloy trapped me in and I struggled to get out of his hold but, it seems like he doesn't have a plan to let me go as he just adjusted his hold on me, enough for me to turn around and look at...
Oh my gosh! It's him! His masculine facial features and knight in shining armor with not much of an armor body looks so... So the same. "Oo nandito na sila, naabutan kami ng mga kaaway pero naging tama naman yung naging plano ko kaya walang nakalas at hindi nila kami nasumdan." Kaloy answered.
"Mainam. Pasensya ka na kung hindi kayo masyado maging komportable dito pagkat hindi ito dinesenyo para sa mga taga-lupa." The mighty looking merman said. I still can't keep my eyes off of him, sitting on a rock. It's just then that I noticed that we're in a huge cave where the sea water can enter, hence mermaids and mermen can chill around the rocks on its banks and inner portions.
"Ang mahalaga ay may matutuluyan kami." Kaloy's tone was very humble and I admire his for that. I mean it's not easy for a prince to settle for less just to keep his subjects safe. Gosh... Anyways, the merman just nodded and this time his eyes met with mine. I saw recognition in them when he came to see me and I knew that he is who I think he is!
"I-I know you..." I stuttered. I noticed Kaloy shift me in his arms and I briefly turn to him as he raised an eyebrow at my statement.
"I recognize you too." This time, Kaloy gently put me down on the wet ground but still wrapped his arms around my waist. Eh? What the hell is going on?
"You know how to speak English?" I asked reluctantly since I know only a few here who does.
He chuckled. "All the royal blooded creatures know how to speak English. In fact, we know a lot of language. It's sort of like a gift." He explained and it makes sense to me now how the paranormal beings that I can comfortably talk to in straight English are royals. Kaloy and Lakan, for example.
"You know each other?" Kaloy and I asked at the same time and I just cleared my throat, deciding to answer him first.
"Yes, he was the merman who saved me when I was attacked by a siyokoy." I provided, my eyes traveling back to the mentioned creature who moved his azure tail a little bit. Azure. Its color reminded me so much of a certain dragon.
"Were you really attacked? I thought, I saved a certain somebody who had readily tried to save another." He corrected, as a matter of fact.
"Yes that..." I shyly murmured with a nod.
"I see." There's an edge on Kaloy's voice that I couldn't quite point out. "His name is Kataw, a close friend of mine. And her name is Season..."
"Your human love interest?" Kataw butted in on Kaloy's effort on introducing us to each other. And I grimanced at his choice of words.
"But she's not totally human."
"So you're not denying the fact that she's your love interest." I just have to bite my lower lip at their exchange. Perhaps they are forgetting the fact that I am right here? After Kataw's rather cocky statement, I noticed how Kaloy was silenced, as if he lost his wits. "Don't worry man, anyone with eyes can see that she really is." The merman even added. Really? Why do I not see it then? Or maybe I'm just in denial. Cause for me, it is I who is obviously into this prince.
"Ummm..." I started off which caught both of the male's attention. "W-where should I put these?" I asked, referring to my things.
It was Kataw who answered me. "Just follow the rocky banks until you reach a spot that is too high for the waters to invade, that's where everybody else went." He instructed and I just nodded and was kind of surprised when he took a dive into the gently swaying waters just below the rock that he was previously sitting on.
"Come on." Kaloy urged as he guided me into the slippery rock arrangements. If I wasn't such an adventurous woman, I'd find it hard to skip over these rocks.
"Wow..." I exclaimed when we reached deeper into the cave where the waters are slowly shallowing. Stalagmites and stalactites littered from its floor to its ceiling, making it look magical. I mean, what was I expecting? Just a dirty gloomy cave? It's as if I haven't been to their well built mine! Gosh, everything in this realm is so otherworldly, from the majestic palaces to the underground abodes, all of them never failed to amaze me.
Then I heard buzzing sounds coming from the busy movers and I looked at the engkantos who are making use of the spaces that the cave can offer and felt a little something in my chest. I don't know what it is actually but maybe it's sympathy for these beings. They clearly are not comfortable here but of course, they don't have much of a choice do they? Later on, I found myself sitting on a flat rock with my belongings beside me. Since it is somehow raised, I had a good view of everything that's going on in the cave. I watched fondly as some mermaids offered some seafoods to the engkantos. I love it when I see them approaching but of course I love it even more when they dive back into the water as btheir colorful tails would wave at us.
"Hey..." I turned away from my mermaid watching when Kaloy sat beside me.
"Hey. Everyone doing okay?" I inquired, referring to his people because I saw him rounding the cave earlier, probably surveying their circumstances.
"Pretty much, just a bit uncomfortable but this would do, for the meantime." He answered with a smile and I just nodded. "Come with me." He suddenly said and I looked at him in question but still took his hand anyway.
"Where are we headed?" I asked when he brought me deeper into the cave where the aged engkantos situated themselves in. He didn't answer instead he stopped in front of an old lady who is simply sitting on a rock, with her belongings on the ground below. She's wearing a blue robe and despite her obvious age, I can still see that regality in her. Kaloy even bent down on his knees to kiss the back of her hand. Oh... She must be someone respectable.
"Grandmother." He greeted. Double oh... This must be who was talking about yesterday. The one who probably knows about Quinglong.
"So you opted to speak in English now?" She said in a tone that suggests her strictness. Eh? She must be a royal if she can speak straight English. I mean, Kaloy did say that she is his grandfather's sister so...
"Yes." Kaloy simply answered as he tugged me closer to them which made the old engkantada look at me, from head to toe with her eyes slitting. Probably realizing that I'm human. "This is Season." Kaloy introduced. Before I could let out a polite greeting...
"Why are you with her?" She asked in anger. I didn't miss the double meaning of her question that is why I gently pulled my hand out of Kaloy's hold. Perhaps, these people doesn't want their prince to be associated with a human because... Traditional rules say so? I mean, that's the only reasonable reason right?
"Grandmother, she's not just any human. I mean, she isn't even human at all. She's something else. She possess power unlike anything I've ever seen before and she had used that power to save me-us. But even she doesn't know what she is, that's why we consult your knowledge right now. So that she'd be aware of what she is and what she can do." Kaloy explained.
"And what good can we get from it?" Oh... So she's that selfish kind of being who only does favors if she can benefit from it? I just cringed at the way that she's acting. I hate these kinds of people.
I can tell Kaloy found it hard to answer that question but he took a deep breath and spoke. "She's with us. She knows how to fight and that's good enough but if she'd be able to use her mystical abilities she'd be a greater help for us to be able to get back Lumayan." His words, although they make perfect sense struck a painful chord in my heart. Is that what I am to him now? An asset? Is he only keeping me because I can help them in a way? I mean, what was I expecting? The romantic connection that we had was so yesterday and now... Now I need to accept that and focus more on the matters at hand. Come to think of it, if they can be benefit from me, I sure as hell can benefit from them too. If they win this war and they'll be able to get back Lumayan, I'll be able to get back to my own realm. There I could finally get answers as to who and what I really am. But for now, this has to suffice.
The old lady nodded, pleased by his answer. "I see." Then she looked at me, much softer this time. "Where are you from dear?" Dear huh?
"Tenesse ma'am." I politely answered. Her brows raised in surprise.
"Oh, Western. What are you doing here in the Philippines?" She asked.
"I paid my older brother a visit." I simply answered.
"How did you manage to get into this realm and be friends with my grandson?" I looked at Kaloy at that question. Should I tell her that we met a few months ago when he helped me burry that aswang I killed and that he's also the one who brought me here for the first time? Or should I tell her that I was kidnapped by the enemy and he saved me, like what he has been telling everyone else. Oh, I forgot to ask Kalista why that is though. Are they not allowed to know that once upon a time we were unofficial lovers? Or... My thoughts were cut off when I heard Kaloy answer on my behalf.
"She was kidnapped by Lakan but she managed to escape and when she saw me in the forest, attacked by the Dalaketnons, she helped me." Wow, he really knows how to tell half the truth. But I reckon he mentioned this earlier but I guess she wasn't listening.
"Really? That's why you brought her with us?" Her tone was seizing, I guess she doesn't fully believe him.
"Yes. But that wasn't the only time that she saved me, when we were attached outside the mine, I didn't expect her to come out and shift into a dragon, which became the reason for our victory." Kaloy continued.
"But I never really expected that would happen too. All my life, I thought that I was human, sure I know martial arts which makes me capable of fighting but, I never thought I would have such abilities that could turn me into dragon." I added, just so she'll know.
She slowly nodded, processing the information. "What dragon exactly?" She asked. But before I could answer, she continued. "Show me."
Err... Would a dragon fit in this cave? I was going to ask that but she stood up and on wobbly legs, led us deeper into the cave. Kaloy assisted her and also let a ball of light appear in his palm to illuminate the rather challenging path that we are taking. It seems to me that this old engkantada really knows where she's going, as if she's been here before. I mean, what do I know right? I almost slipped on the uneven surface before she finally stopped in something like a clearing. We're still inside the cave but instead of rocks, I felt the sand beneath my shoes and when Kaloy lit up the space as per her instructions, I saw a weird shaped flat polygon of sand surrounded by the rocks commonly found in the cave.
"What is this place?" Kaloy asked. Hell, I have the same question.
"Just a natural feature which we discovered a long time ago when we also evacuated here when a war emerged." His grandmother answered. It's quite spacious if you ask me, and it's the only part in the cave that has a high ceiling. Probably because we descended those rocks to get in here. "Go on dear, show me this dragon." She urged and my heart suddenly raced. Why? Because I don't even know how to transform. I mean it just happened by chance, so I don't really know how to do it again, you know? "What's the matter?"
"Ummm, I uhhh..." How am I to explain this? I just bowed my head in shame. "I don't know how..." I honestly said and her brows rose in annoyance.
"You did it before right? So why can't you do it again? Or are you just fooling around with me?" Now her voice rose as well.
"Yes I did it but I wasn't actually the one who... I mean, it just happened."
"What do you think was the reason why it happened?" Now that's a rather interesting question and my cheeks reddened as I took a quick glance at Kaloy. I know it happened because I wanted to protect him, but... "Answer me." The sternness in her voice made me gulp, swallowing my pride along with my saliva.
"Kaloy was endangered. And I... I wanted to do something to... To protect him." I managed to let out, I saw surprise displayed in Kaloy's face before a soft smile stretched on his lips. So many emotions flashed in his eyes and for a moment, just a fraction of a moment it felt like it's just the both of us.
"So if I strangle him now, do you think that dragon would come out?" The old engkantada's voice cut through our little moment and I chuckled a little bit. Yep, I noticed her sarcasm there. "There must be a way for you to connect with your inner power cause I can't really tell what you are if I can't see what you can do. I'm not a fortune teller nor am I a witch."
Please, even that mambabarang couldn't tell what I am exactly. But nonetheless, I contemplated on her words and closed my eyes. Cause I noticed that those weird creatures would only connect to me when my eyes are closed, as in, when I'm sleeping or when I pass out. So... I have a feeling this would work, Quinglong did say that if I need him, I could just call him. Which is what I am doing right now.
"Quinglong?" I called out only in my head. A few seconds of nothingness passed before I found myself in, what I would like to call as the dragon's meadow. I've been here twice and I'm sure that he's behind me.
"Season." I turned around to prove my presumption and there he is. "You want to show me off?"
"Well, yes? How am I to transform into you?" I honestly asked.
"It's easy my dear. You cast a spell." A what now? "A spell." It turns out he can read my mind. "Yes I can, because I'm one with you, and come on now, by heart you'd know how to."
"But I don't, that's why I'm asking you." A light chuckle came out of him as he shrugged his dragon's shoulder.
"You recite a rhyme, calling my name on the last part." He smiled. After that, I opened my eyes to see Kaloy and the old engkantada awaiting my next move. A rhyme he stays? Let's do it then.
"I'd like to ask if this ain't so wrong... Grace me with your true form Quinglong!" I recited and right away, I felt a tremendous amount of power surrounding me, engulfing my whole being even and when I blinked, I'm now seeing things in a different way. Kaloy and the engkantada somehow shrunk, and the whole space as well. Then I realized that they didn't really become smaller, I became larger. I raised my hand but I saw an azure scaled dragon's leg and when I put it down and finally looked at their reaction...
"Mahabaging Bathala!" The old engkantada exclaimed as the blood seems to drain from her face and eventually fell into the arms of her grandson in fright.