by AA Lee
“Ten!” Priestess Mayumi said. She twirled her stick one more time, and Tala watched each of the contenders’ skirts change. Even the priestesses’ skirts changed. The women looked at each other, most of their eyes showing jealousy at seeing a dress prettier than theirs. Most of them wore dresses that displayed their pale skin.
Then they all looked at her. She was covered from neck to wrist and down to her ankles. Her clothes were pure gold and stood out from those around her. Even the palest girl looked at her with envy. She wished she could change her clothes, but Priestess Mayumi hadn’t given that option.
“You will wear those pretty clothes until you leave this meeting hall.” Priestess Mayumi bowed and went back to stand with the other priestesses. A few more priestesses displayed their magical abilities, but Tala was too self-conscious about her clothes to pay attention, and she mostly just stood in place.
“It won’t be long before you’ll be like them. Priestess Mayumi here just joined us last year,” the high priestess said after the display of talents, feeding the contenders’ excitement. “Now, please be quiet as I have an important announcement to make.” She paused until the whispers died out. “You heard from the datu that we will be accepting ten new priestesses this year. As the Priestess Trials last a month, here is what’s going to happen. The first trial will be today, followed by four more trials. Forty of you will proceed to the next level by the end of the day. The following trials will be held every week, exactly seven days from the first trial. Thirty will remain after the second trial, twenty by the end of the third trial, fifteen after the fourth trial, and then ten after the final trial. You will have your first lesson tomorrow. We will announce your next trial after you receive your first lesson so you will better understand what the trial will be about.”
The meeting hall remained dead quiet. Tala raised her head to look around and found all girls focused on the high priestess.
“Today’s trial is about speed and managing distractions. When you become a priestess, you need to be fast and focused. You also need to know how to use your surroundings to aid your abilities. Now, you’re all familiar with my staff, aren’t you?”
“Yes, High Priestess,” Malaya said, breaking the silence.
Other contenders confirmed by nodding.
“Good. Across the river, there is a big balete tree. My staff is at the top of it. Your goal is to be the first to get it. We will determine the ten who will not make it according to your distance from the staff. But before that, I need to open your eyes.”
The high priestess stepped down from the stage and walked to the first line of girls. She pressed a palm to the forehead of the first girl and murmured some words. The girl then turned and walked to the end of the line. The girl next in line stepped forward and did the same after the high priestess finished with her.
The wait was agonizing. The girls talked nonstop, as though they already knew one other, while Tala did her best to remain steady.
“So, I haven’t seen you before. Where’s your house?”
Tala looked up to see who was speaking. She spotted a small girl next to her in the second line. She looked like she was barely ten years old.
“Um…” Even to her own ears, she sounded terribly croaky, like she’d just woken up from a very long sleep. “Outside the village gate.”
“Outside the gate? That’s too far. Who’s your father?”
Tala shook her head. “I don’t have one.”
“Hey, move forward!” Malaya shouted.
Tala hadn’t noticed it was her turn. She nodded to the small girl and walked briskly to the front.
The high priestess dipped her hand in a bowl of white paste, pressed her thumb to Tala’s forehead, and murmured, “I command you to see. Open your eyes.” She then motioned for Tala to go.
Tala didn’t understand what the high priestess wanted them to see, but she didn’t want to prolong her turn and make Malaya shout at her again, so she walked to the end of the line like the others had.
After the high priestess finished with all of them, they exited the meeting hall. Tala’s beautiful dress disappeared, replaced by her white dress browned with stains. A long red starting line was drawn on the ground, and the priestesses directed them to stand next to it. From the starting line, she could see the big balete tree the high priestess had told them about. It was famous for being haunted by ghosts and unnatural creatures, but no one had proven they existed. The tree was ancient, and it would take more than forty men to circle its trunk.
“Good luck, everyone! It’s time for your first trial!” Start!” the high priestess shouted and waved the white flag she was holding.
Chapter 10
Kisig
“Datu, I would’ve appreciated earlier notice about choosing ten girls as winners. I had to recalculate the number of girls to remain in every trial on the spot.”
“I apologize, High Priestess. Time did not allow me to do so. I respect the independence of the priestesses except when it comes to aiding the warriors.”
“So are we going to—” The high priestess pressed her lips together. Her eyes darted between him and the priestesses. “I would really love to speak to you about this. In private.”
“For sure. We have a lot to discuss, but before that, it is my turn to ask a question. Is she worth the money?”
“Yes, Datu,” the high priestess answered without hesitation.
“How could a slave be worth a thousand kwartas? We would be rich by the number of slaves in this village.”
“She is no ordinary slave.”
“And a thousand kwartas is not a small amount. It could have fed the soldiers and priestesses for at least two months, yet you chose to spend it on a girl whom we are not sure will pass the first trial.”
“The soldiers’ food is not my concern. It may seem foolish to you, but I don’t need to prove anything to you because the girl will prove her worth on her own. And besides, if she fails, I will get the money back.”
The high priestess wasn’t an enemy, yet he resented her for not listening to him. “What would the other contenders think if they knew that you favored one of the competitors?” Kisig asked, eyes darting between the high priestess and the priestesses. He wanted to raise his voice to emphasize his point, but the priestesses glanced constantly at the two of them.
The high priestess must have sensed his unease. “Check the girls’ progress. I will be there in no time.” She motioned to the priestesses, then she spoke in a serious tone. “There is no favoritism here. I simply gave her a fighting chance. If you’ll excuse me, I need to get to the finish line to see who made it. I’m sure that girl is one of them.” The high priestess walked away before he could protest.
“Wait!” He stood. His shoulders sagged in defeat.
The high priestess stopped, looked at him, and walked back. The animosity gone from her face, she said, “You better be quick. Those girls must have crossed the river by now.”
“I have another reason I want her out of the trials.”
The high priestess cocked her head and simply waited for him to continue.
“It’s not her fault, and maybe she didn’t understand what I meant, but I kind of told her we should hurry and attack. Those were my only words, but I’m worried she might have pieced things together after finding out that I’m the datu. I don’t want the village to panic. If she were to stay in her master’s house, she would have no one to talk to about it.”
“Right now, the only thing that girl is worried about is avoiding marriage… and perhaps passing the trials. I will keep the girl in check regardless. I really want to talk about the plan right now, but I have to make sure everything goes well in the first trial. I will see you as soon as its finished.” She walked briskly to the door.
Kisig sat down in his chair. Frustration ate at his concentration. The meeting hall stood empty with all the priestesses gone to see the contenders at the finish line. The need to see how the slave girl had fared tugged at
his mind, but he convinced himself to stay seated. Without enough rest, he was afraid he would faint if he exerted himself further.
A figure appeared at the door. The sun was bright outside, and it took him a moment to recognize who it was.
“I just heard the news, Datu. I think it was a good idea to have ten new priestesses.” Hagibis walked like he had all the time in the world.
“It’ll help our goal,” Kisig replied in a confident tone. He assumed the guards were outside because the man spoke to him with respect.
“Indeed, and I’m happy to see that you’ve thought hard on how to make the village flourish despite the drought. Oh! I almost forgot. Our men are getting ready for the hunt tomorrow. We’re leaving tonight. I know you promised to lead the hunting team, but I think you’re in no condition to go. I could—”
“I promised to be present, so I shall be.”
Hagibis climbed the stage and closed the distance between them. His face inches away from Kisig’s, he spoke in a low voice. “It would be wise to listen to my advice, Datu.”
Chapter 11
Tala
Mistress Bituin had always told Tala to hurry, so running was nothing new to her. She and a tall pale girl with long black hair led the group. She slowed down a bit, giving the girl an advantage. Tala figured she didn’t need to be first, just included in the forty girls who would move forward. She didn’t want to be first because that would mean the attention would turn to her again. She deliberately dropped back, pretending to be tired.
As they approached the river, the sound of the raging current competed with Tala’s pounding heart. Even at its all-time low, the river was still strong enough to knock her over if she didn’t know how to fight the current. People normally held hands when crossing it to avoid getting swept away, but Tala knew they wouldn’t be holding hands in the competition. She counted fifteen girls in front of her, and she knew she was safely unnoticeable.
A loud neigh brought her to an abrupt stop. It was louder than the sound of the river, and she could hear thundering hooves beating the ground. The girls in front of her ran back screaming. Tala saw nothing on the other side of the river, but when she looked to her left, on the upper side of the river, her eyes went wide. Her body froze.
A half-human, half-horse creature ran toward them. The creature, called a tayho, was believed to enchant people who saw it, making them follow it unless they had strong minds to resist its power. Tala’s knees buckled. She understood what the high priestess had done to them. She’d made them see unnatural creatures. Tala put her hands on the sand and tore her eyes away from the creature. She heard its hooves approaching her, but she pretended not to. Footsteps followed the tayho, but she did her best not to look up until the sound had faded away.
Determined to be in the top forty, she stood and waded into the river to fight the current. When she looked back, she saw that some girls had followed her. They, too, had disregarded the tayho. Instead of rushing to the other side, Tala made sure to cross the river safely, paying no mind to the girls pulling each other back as they followed her.
When she at last reached the balete tree, fear overtook her. She’d never been that close to the giant tree before. Its roots grew up to its branches, making it look like a giant hairy animal with leaves. It didn’t take long for other contenders to join her. She shoved her fear aside and concentrated on the competition. The scary-looking roots made climbing easier because she could hold onto them.
She almost lost her grip when a black hairy creature moved out of the roots from one of the lower branches. It had bright-red eyes and a body as big as a tree trunk. Tala mistook it for a giant monkey at first, but the lit cigar it held told her otherwise.
Tala had heard about the kapre before from her mistress. Her mistress had used it to scare her daughters away from sneaking out and crossing the river. Tala hadn’t expected kapres to indeed be real.
The other girls had learned their lesson and ignored the kapre. They climbed on the side of the trunk opposite the creature. Tala had no reason to avoid the creature aside from its terrifying appearance. Legends didn’t call it dangerous. In fact, stories she’d heard from other slaves painted the kapre as a friendly creature addicted to cigars.
Tala stopped climbing when the kapre blew a cloud of smoke. For an instant, she thought the creature looked at her. She shook her head to focus and started climbing like the other girls. She looked up and saw that the pale girl still led the group and was almost on top of the tree. About ten girls still stood on the ground. Most of them were those who had run away from the tayho earlier. Tala maintained her position and waited for the pale girl to grab the staff.
Someone grabbed her foot. A cry escaped her lips as she lost her grip. She fell to the ground with a thud, knocking the wind from her lungs. By the time she managed to stand, she was the only one left on the ground. The pale girl with long straight hair was inches from the staff.
“No!” She extended her hand and begged the kapre with her eyes. The kapre’s hand stretched an impossible length to grab her. Before the kapre could pull her up, she saw the small girl who’d tried to talk to her in the ceremony earlier. She won’t make it. Tala grabbed her hand, and the kapre lifted both of them up in a blink.
Time stopped. Her body froze.
“Now we’ll determine who made it to the top forty.” It was the high priestess’s voice.
Tala tried to move, but her limbs wouldn’t obey. Her vision only covered the contenders on top. She couldn’t see the other side of the tree to count the girls ahead of her.
“Congratulations for earning the first spot!”
Diyosa shouted in victory after her name was called. She held the staff above her head for everyone to see. Tala heard more voices below, probably the priestesses talking.
“Second, congratulations to Luntian!”
The second-place girl also shouted in victory.
Tala waited for her name to be called. She hoped she’d made it. The kapre was still holding her hand. It moved its eyes but didn’t pull her up further nor put her down. It seemed as though it was also frozen.
“Fifteenth, Tala!”
Tala took a deep breath, relieved that she was again in control of her limbs. The kapre placed them on the branch just below where it sat after the high priestess called Nimfa’s name.
“Thank you.” Nimfa tried to catch her breath. Wide-eyed, she touched her chest. “I can’t believe I made it.”
Tala nodded in acknowledgement. “It wasn’t just me…” she replied in a meek voice. It was because of the kapre.
Nimfa refused to look at the kapre, clearly still terrified of the hairy creature.
Tala climbed up to the branch where the kapre sat. “Thank you. I owe you my life.”
It only stared back at her. She took a seat next to the kapre, inhaling the smoke from its cigar. When she looked down, people weren’t staring at Diyosa but at her.
“But you fell down!” Malaya, who had also made it to the top forty, protested, her fists clenched.
“I did,” Tala said sharply. Her mind searched for the perfect way to get her revenge. She’d had a hunch that Malaya had been the one who’d pulled her down, and that had confirmed it. She thought of telling the high priestess about it but decided otherwise. There was no way the old woman hadn’t seen what had happened. She didn’t want the high priestess to mistake it for whining.
“It’s a competition. Don’t take it personally,” Malaya said, climbing down. “But I’ll make sure you fail the next trial.”
Tala clenched her teeth and avoided the girl’s gaze. She didn’t want Malaya to see the anger in her eyes. When her feet touched the ground, the priestesses surrounded her in an instant.
“How did you get the kapre to pull you up?” Priestess Hiwaga asked.
“I just asked him to,” she replied meekly.
“There must be something else.” Priestess Mayumi raised her brows. “Come on. Don’t keep it to yourself.”
Tala’s cheeks felt hot, and she was sure they looked flushed despite her dark skin. She didn’t want attention, but the priestesses’ admiration made her feel good for some reason. She held her head high until she spotted Diyosa standing a few feet from her. She could see the anger in Diyosa’s eyes for stealing the priestesses’ attention. Diyosa held the high priestess’s staff absently, like it didn’t matter that she’d won.
Chapter 12
Kisig
Kisig crouched low and moved with quiet steps. He avoided the dry leaves that would crackle against his feet. He chose the dirt devoid of twigs and leaves. A few steps away grazed a wild boar. Kisig raised his spear. The wild boar stopped eating and looked ready to bolt.
He heard the whoosh of air before he could throw his spear. He sidestepped and followed the spear with his eyes as it missed him by mere inches. Wide-eyed, he searched the forest for the assailant.
“I got it, Datu! Sorry.” Hagibis smiled from ear to ear as he walked to the bloody wild boar. He pulled the spear out in one swift motion. A long whistle escaped his mouth to call for the servants to carry the wild boar back to their hunting camp. “Easy, boy. You don’t need to catch any. Your presence here is enough.”
Kisig gripped the spear until his knuckles were white. He hated it when Hagibis called him a boy. His imagination ran wild as he envisioned killing the man right there so he wouldn’t have to suffer under Hagibis’s control, but the man was powerful and wealthy enough that his family would not just sit by if he died. Besides, the man wasn’t helpless. Kisig had seen him sparring with the soldiers several times, and he’d won every time. He willed himself to walk away from Hagibis and hunt on his own.
He hadn’t caught a single animal yet. Aside from the pain in his shoulder, he was too distracted to remain safe outside the village, especially near Hagibis. Their travel the night before had left him exhausted. He’d thought exhaustion would lead to a dreamless sleep, but the cold hadn’t given him that luxury. Despite a few hours’ allotted rest in the hunting camp, he’d remained wide-eyed until sunrise. He consoled himself with the fact that it was still early morning and the hunting team would go back to the village tomorrow. He had plenty of time to catch game. That was if he didn’t collapse first.