The Scepter of Marahuyo

Chapter 027

I empty the glass of bitter beer in one gulp then wipe the side of my cheeks. In my previous timeline, I never even touched alcohol as it would dull my already average mind. It also makes my connection with Anitun Tabu weaker. I wipe my mouth and smile. Master Orson hates it as well. Maybe that’s why I never try to drink it, even when I go with Cara and the rest for a night in different drinking spots.

I look at the bartender and urges her to put more on my glass. It’s Tora, but her features are hazy, or maybe I’m just dizzy.

“Holly, you should not drink too much before your friends come in,” she warns.

“That’s okay,” I slur. It’s the afternoon, and I know I’m drunk already. “They don’t know I’m here.”

“Should I call for them? I can ask our errand boy to get them.”

“No, no, no,” I say. “I am on leave. I need silence.”

She takes a deep breath and says, “This is why they should not allow mages as young as you in drinking spots. Being physically strong does not mean you guys are emotionally strong as well.”

She’s referring to the rule that exempts mages as the legal drinking age. Ordinary citizens need to be eighteen before they can visit and drink at taverns.

“Not to worry, I’m already twenty-two! And I know what I am doing!” I say and urge her to pour another glass of drink on my glass.

“Twenty-two.” She snorts. “I know you’re sixteen, but in my eyes, you even look a lot younger.”

I smile and find her swaying from side to side. “Stop,” I say. “Don’t move.”

“I’m not moving,” she comments.

“You’re moving,” I say and reach out to her, but my hands move as well. I chuckle, but suddenly my feet slip on the chair footrest. I saw her surprised face before I came tumbling down the floor. I hit my backside, and it hurts, and yet, I laugh. “I think I’m the one’s wobbling.”

I hear steps, and Tora’s worried face appears. She calls for someone, probably the tavern’s errand boy, and calls for my name. I cover my eyes with my arm. When I was a child, Master Orson always called for my name as well, repeatedly, as if I’d disappear if he did not do that. I wonder what he’s thinking about when he’s dying. Did he even think of me? I thought we were getting close. I felt that he could really be my father. My tears fall on the side of my face. I hate this. I’ve been too complacent. I should have known when Ethan and Cara became lovers. I should have known that I was changing this current timeline, his timeline. I should have been more observant and alert, but I did nothing and just did what I wanted.

“Holly,” someone calls.

It’s not Tora’s voice. Someone very familiar. 

“Holly, let’s go.”

I smile. It’s Aaron. Partly, he’s one of the reasons why I became too complacent. Being with him makes my life peaceful. He makes me believe that I can do anything, even with minimal effort. Before, it was only Master Orson who trusted me entirely like this. I mean, why would he even push me to become the Scepter when I am mediocre at best?

“Holly, we need to leave.”

“I don’t want to.” I answer. 

Aaron’s referring to Master Orson’s funeral service at his inn. When I arrived at the inn the day I left the Academy, I found out that Master Orson wished to have the funeral services at Pablo’s. He also requested to be cremated with his remains buried beside the border gate to watch the sun’s rising and setting in the direction of the forest, which he maintained during his time as Scepter.

I feel when Aaron leans down and sniffs. “How many did she drink?” he asks.

“Too much,” Tora answers.

I hear Aaron sigh, in disappointment maybe, and that’s fine. I’ve listened to those sighs before. Mostly from Axel when I was a child, and he was trying to groom me to become the next Scepter of Caltra. It turns out that I did not reach up to his expectations. I smirk. That’s when Master Orson takes charge of me and helps me to become the Scepter of Benia instead, and I also fail him. Even in my current timeline, I didn’t manage to become the Scepter. 

“Got no other choice then,” Aaron says. 

That’s when I feel myself being lifted from the floor. My eyes opened in surprise, and my arms automatically wove around his neck. 

“I can walk,” I say.

He glances at me but doesn’t budge. Instead, he deposits me on the cart beside the driver’s seat and goes around it.

“The internment will happen in an hour,” he informs. “Water?”

“What day is it?” I ask as I drink the offered water.

“Wednesday.”

So I’ve been drinking nonstop for a few days. I remember leaving the Academy during the weekdays, then after seeing that the funeral service would be at Pablo’s inn, I left and found myself drinking in the tavern. And that continued. Every day, I go to the pub to drink until I can’t move or I pass out and wake up either in my room in Pablo’s or at the pub’s break room.

Aaron allows the horse to run, and I lean back. The same way when I escaped the tavern with him. But that was when I was still comfortable with my life, that I never even thought of doing something beneficial. That’s why I am stuck now.

“Why will he be buried too early?” I ask. 

Only a few days, and he’ll be totally gone. Funerals usually take one to two weeks. I haven’t even gotten a good look on his face either. I don’t want to remember his face in death. I want to remember him as the healthy old man I knew. Besides, I won’t be able to see his face anymore as only his ashes remain now.

“It’s on Master Orson’s will. He wants the services to be fast.”

I hate this feeling. It’s painful. More painful than when I’m the one who’s dying. If I knew this would happen, I should have let my original fate unfold. But, indirectly, this is my fault and the person who murdered him. Master Suvayan and Axel had been looking for him, but there were no leads even after everyone from the Academy was asked. So I have been waiting up until now. 

I frown and massage my head. This is precisely what I’ve done before. The reason why I am in this predicament. I just let most of the things happen to me, and I react according to that. That’s all I’ve done. No wonder Axel gave up on me. I never really got serious about his training before. I only do it to spend some time with him and to monopolize his attention. 

No, this time, I know what I should do. Even without being a Scepter, I will find his killer, and if I do, I will make sure to make him suffer, worse than how I am suffering now. 

“We’re here,” Aaron interrupts my thoughts. 

I look around. There’s a lot of people outside the inn. They’re all here to pay their final respects to the current Scepter. The Quads are here, mages from Marahuyo, townspeople, even people from Caltra like Axel.

Aaron and I proceed to the front where Master Orson’s ashes are. It’s in a brown jar that will be buried at the border gate. I look at the faces that are watching me. I ignore them and sit together with Aaron and Senyor Pablo.

“It’s fine if you cry,” someone whispers to me. It’s Ma’am Cherry. “He is a much-loved person.”

I glare at her. “You--” I stop when I feel Aaron intertwining his fingers on mine as if telling me to control it.

I sit back and try to relax. I respond to him and tighten my hold on him. It’s fine. I can get through this. 

“See, Sir Philip’s there,” Ma’am Cherry continues. “He’s been crying for almost an hour.”

I nod. 

“That’s why you should go up there to pay respects. The people should see how much he’s loved by the orphan he took in.”

“I think the funeral procession will happen soon,” Aaron interrupts.

“Oh, really?” the lady answers. She looks around and stands up. “Doesn’t seem like it,” she says.

“It will be soon, so you’ll need to line up already. Else, you’d be at the very back of the line.”

“Okay, I’ll leave.” She then looks at me and says, “Condolence to the family.”

When he leaves, Axel sits in the place she vacates. There are murmurs at his appearance. Even at funerals, he’s still popular--the youngest Sword in history and he’s even one of the most powerful ones in the history of Caltra. 

“I would like to extend my deepest condolences to you,” he says.

Axel looks at me as if he’s analyzing my reactions. He’s always been like this. But somehow, after the past five years that I haven’t seen him, he’s become a stranger. I guess, there’s really no reason for him to be familiar. He only trained me for a year before he left any responsibilities of me to Master Orson. But I can’t blame him. When he saved me, he was only fifteen years old. A teenager can’t raise a child even if he’s bound to become a Sword.

“I’m happy that you found a family but sad that one of them was taken too early from you.”

I swallow. With Axel, I always feel like I need to be formal. Yet, I still want his acknowledgment that I didn’t get as a child before. “I’m fine.”

He pats the top of my head and says, “We’ll get to the bottom of this. I’ll assure you. Give me and Master Suvayan time, and we will find the culprit.”

I nod and just like that, he left. I exhale and look in front where Master Orson’s ashes are. Flowers surround it, most of which are given by the people who came to pay their final visit. The flowers almost overwhelm the jar of ashes. At the top of the jar is a massive picture of Master Orson. Cara and my other friends arranged for it. They also volunteered to assist the people coming. That is why Senyor Pablo, Aaron, and I can just sit here in front, accepting the condolences, and taking it easy, even though inside, I just want to wail like a little child.

To be continued...