DANCING WITH THE VILLAIN

XI | What It Takes To Be A Marfori

Rhysand Marfori 

Montague Street

The night was calm and at times like this, he should be in his house. But tonight, he chose to be on Montague Street. Montague street is probably the most peaceful street in Sinclaire. At is a sa mga bahay na naroon ay ang bahay ni Sid, ang nakababata niyang kapatid. 

"You don't have to worry about her, brother," saad ni Sid nang bigyan siya nito ng isang baso ng alak. Agad niya itong kinuha at umupo naman si Sid kaharap niya. 

He gave Sid a dubious look and his brother looked at him incredulously. "What? Wala ka bang tiwala sa akin?" 

Rhysand scoffed. "I do have trust in you. I just don't trust her." He eyed Aurora on the other side of the room, glaring at the both of them. Nang marinig nito ang sinabi niya ay tumayo ang babae at humarap sa kanya. 

"Excuse me?" tanong nito. 

Inilagay niya ang baso sa mesa bago hinarap ang kapatid. "Wiith your determination to stay away from us, I am afraid you would run away for good." 

Aurora rolled her eyes. "Do you think--after what happened in my school--I have somewhere else to go? My classmates, my friends, even my teacher--they're probably scared of me now that they know I am siblings with the most feared men in Sinclaire." 

Natahimik naman silang dalawa ni Sid. 

"I don't have anywhere to go. Tapos sasabihin mong baka lumayas ako?" Aurora scoffed. "I might as well have killed myself if I go out there knowing that half of your enemies are after me now." 

He felt sorry for his sister. At hanggang ngayon ay niya pa rin matukoy kung paanong nalaman ng iba ang tungkol kay Rory. It was just him, his brothers, and Eliza who knows about Rory's existence. 

Napatingin siya kay Sid. "Did you happen to mention to somebody that you have a sister?" 

Sid looked at him as if he couldn't believe he was asking the kind of question and then he laughed. "The last thing that I would ever do is do that, Rhys. And besides, even if I was drunk, I wouldn't be telling people about it. That's Marcus---" 

Pareho silang natigilan sa sinabi ni Sid. And they both realized the same thing. And Aurora might have noticed it too when she too looked like she couldn't believe how it happened. 

"We're not certain yet, Rory," he assured. "I have to ask Marcus myself." 

"Well, it's not impossible, isn't it? You know Marcus. He talks a lot. Sometimes too much that it's compromising everything." 

"Rory--" 

"All those years I spent in hiding--only to be found out because of my own brother's drunk mistake? This is crazy." Napatayo si Aurora at napahawak sa kanyang ulo. She looked at him and then to Sid who was just silently drinking his whiskey. 

"What will I do now? I can't be--I can't be here, Rhys. I have to go. Hindi ko kaya ang mamuhay nang kagaya ninyo." 

"And how exactly are we living, Rory?" Sid snapped and looked at their sister.

Nakita niya naman na naging malumanay ang mga mata ng kapatid niyang babae. He knew Sid is offended but Aurora was saying the truth. The life they're living is not exactly something ideal. And her sister wanted peace. Her sister doesn't want violence. 

"It's in your blood, Rory. You know what happens when you get mad--" 

"And I don't want it to happen again, Sid. I don't want it. And it sucks that I was born with violence in my blood. It sucks to have something I don't even want in the first place." Aurora started to sob. "I don't want to live while always looking behind my back, Sid." 

"We don't look at our backs, Rory. We look forward. Because we make sure there's no one left behind for us to look back." 

"And yet one of them got me, Sid. And if it weren't for Rhys I would have killed that man and everyone who was with him. I don't want that to happen again." 

Natahimik naman si Sid. And he understood Rory. His sister just wants to have a normal life. Away from the violence that he and his brothers were accustomed to. So he stood and looked at Rory bago niya ito hinagkan. 

"Do what you have to do, Rory. I will take care of everything," saad niya sa kapatid. Rory hugged him back and sobbed on his chest. 

Ngunit bigla namang bumukas ang pinto at pumasok si Eliza. 

"Your sister is here and yet nobody bothered to tell me?" Nakataas ang kilay nito habang nakatingin sa kanya. Hindi na niya naalalang ipaalam kay Eliza ang tungkol kay Aurora. Eliza did not bother to wait for his response at agad na hinagkan ang kanyang kapatid. 

"I heard what happened," saad ni Eliza at saka napatingin sa kanya, silently giving her warning glares. 

"How are you feeling?" tanong nito. 

"I'm fine," tipid na sagot ni Aurora. 

"Are you staying for good? You can stay with me back in the house, Rory. It's getting lonely there now that your brothers have moved out." 

Napatingin naman si Aurora sa kanya at alam na niya agad na humihingi ito ng tulong para ipaliwanag kay Eliza. Sa kanilang magkakapatid, Eliza is closer to Rory. Rory's her favorite and she was heartbroken when Rory left. And to tell her again that Rory isn't going to stay, it's hard for Rory to tell Eliza herself. 

"She's not going to stay, Eliza," saad niya dahilan para mapatingin si Eliza sa kanya. He could see disbelief in her eyes and disappointment too. 

"At papayag ka? You will let your sister go out there on her own? With a target on her back? Nag-iisip ka ba, Rhysand?" 

"In fact, yes. I am thinking about what she wants and not what we want. If she wants to leave, let her. The best we could do is try and not to get her tangled with our business from now on." 

Napasapo naman si Eliza sa kanyang noo. "And what about the others? Mahahanap at mahahanap nila si Aurora--" 

"And we will make sure they won't," he said and eyed Eliza. "We will take care of everyone who would dare come after her, Eliza. They'd have to go through us first." 

Eliza just sighed and sat on the couch, knowing full too well that she couldn't do anything now that he has made up his mind. Then she looked at them. 

"How did Neinhart know about Rory?" tanong nito sa kanila. 

"It was Marcus. He's the one who gave me away." 

Napahilot sa sentido si Eliza saka ito tumingin sa kanya. "And? Have you gotten something from him? Sino pang nakakaalam? You didn't let him go without knowing everything first, right?" 

Rhysand sipped on his whiskey before he said, "'Course not." He looked at everyone and went on, "Neinhart was greedy. He wanted to have Rory for himself to get back at us for taking Neinhart Haven from him. He did not tell many but one person." 

"And that is...?" 

"Gulliver Wood."

Silence filled the room until it was Eliza that broke it. "Gulliver Wood as in Wood Enterprises?" 

Rhysand nodded and Eliza laughed before she poured herself a glass half full of whiskey. "Are you f*****g kidding me?" Nilagok ito ang isang at tiningnan siya. 

"That Gulliver Wood might be the only one but he has many men, Rhysand. And considering the enemies we have made, there is no doubt that he will work together with them to get back at you." Eliza looked at him as if he had done the stupidest thing he could ever do. "And how can you be so calm about that when all of your enemies might be going after your sister?" 

"And they won't," he said. "Not when they know what Rory is capable of doing. By now they must have already known about what happened to Neinhart when he tried going after Rory." 

"And?" 

"They won't just come after her. And besides, we will be getting more men on our side." 

"But that doesn't mean they won't go after her. They would but not sooner." 

"And I am sure Rory won't have a choice but to fight for herself because what she wants isn't something she could get easily. She has to fight for it," he said and eyed his sister. She was looking at her and then to the floor. 

"Alam mo na na may mga taong hahabol sa iyo, Rory. Wherever you go. And if you choose to go far from us, then you will have to fight for yourself because we won't be there." 

Natahimik naman ang kapatid niya habang nakatingin pa rin sa sahig.

"You can from this, Rory. But not without a price," Sid finally said. "You may deny it but it is something that will save you from the enemies." 

Tahimik ang buong kwarto. Dahila alam nilang lahat ang bigat ng sitwasyon. He, for one knows exactly it wouldn't be too easy for Aurora. 

"I have a boyfriend," Aurora said dahilan para mapatingin silang lahat sa babae. 

"Excuse me, what?" Sid stood and looked at Rory. Kahit siya ay nabigla sa narinig. Rory is secretive and hearing her tell them something about a bit of her life is surprising. But Rhysand remained calm and chose to stay silent. 

"I love him, and...and I don't want him to get involved with this mess." 

"Oh, dear. The moment you let that man inside your life, he's already involved," Eliza said. "You are also placing a target on that man's back, Rory. Whoever he is." 

Aurora looked at him as if asking for support and then she said, "I don't want him to see me like that, Rhys. I don't want him to be scared of me." 

It was the cost of being the most feared man in the city. Sure being feared has had its perks. But he might have been too scary that he couldn't seem to find anyone who would look at him as if he was normal. Like he wasn't like how the others perceived him to be a kind of monster. He could understand how Rory is feeling. And he has spent so much time feeling the same way that he already knew what to answer. 

"If he runs away after seeing who you really are, then he doesn't deserve you, Rory," he said and stood. 

"You can go wherever you want to go and we will do our best to keep our enemies' eyes on us. But please," he said. "Fight when you have to. You have someone to protect now." 

Aurora did not say anything but he knows she heard him. She is smart and she is a Marfori. He would try not too worry about his sister.  

Nang silang tatlo nalang ang natira, silence wrapped the whole room. They were all occupied with their own thoughts until Sid decided to speak. 

"You said we're going to get more men, Rhys. How are we going to do that?" 

He whirled the contents of the glass inside it before he said, "I am afraid we will have to meet men and come up with a truce." 

"With our enemies? Ibig mo bang sabihin si Davos Fillian?" 

He shook his head. "It would be too risky to have him in the inner circle. He would serve better to be our puppet." 

"Then what in the hell's name are you trying to say, Rhysand?" Eliza asked, clearly annoyed. 

"The Corocans." 

"The who now?" Sid almost choked on his whiskey.

Narinig niya ang paghinga ng malalim ni Eliza na para bang hindi na nito kakayaning kung ano pang sasabihin niya. 

"Nakalimutan mo bang muntikan na nilang mapatay si Marcus noon?" 

"That was his fault, Eliza." 

"Good heavens! He's your brother! He was almost killed! And now gusto mong makipagkaibigan sa grupong muntikan nang pumatay sa kanya? Are you out of mind?" 

"The Corocan's wouldn't have done that if Marcus wasn't stupid enough to attack them, Eliza. Have you forgotten that?" 

"He's your brother! Why are you doing this?" 

"I am doing this to protect Aurora and everyone else for that matter. It's a truce, Eliza. What could go wrong?" 

Nakita niya kung paano umigting ang panga ng babae. "They are wild people, Rhys. They are very different--" 

"And they occupy almost all territories in the West. What could be more perfect than that, Eliza? Sinabi mo na kanina that the Woods have several ties to other groups. And should the Woods go after us, we might as well come prepared." 

Eliza was silent for a moment before she said, "And how do we suppose to do that?" 

Rhysand let out a small smile as he looked at Eliza. He knew she's considering it. After all, she's the brain and the heart of the Skulls. If Eliza agrees, then they are in good hands.

"I have already set a meeting with them the next day," he said. "We are expected to arrive there in the morning." 

Nakangangang nakatingin sa kanya si Eliza. "So you have already planned this ahead?" 

He shrugged and he heard Sid chuckling on the side. "Rhysand tend to do that, Eliza. I am not even surprised." 

Napailing nalang si Eliza. "Don't make that a habit, please," saad nito bago ito tumayo at naglakad papunta sa isa sa mga bakanteng kwarto sa bahay ni Sid. 

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