WHEN the announcement that young Matilda Azura possessed the Golden Amulet came, Holder women and young girls were the only ones that rejoiced. The rest wept.
Centuries ago, the Golden Amulet was something that was only rumored to exist—a necklace that would surprisingly bring the world eternal serenity and happiness with its tremendous powers. But that was all it was during then. Just a rumor frantic people made up with not a single evidence to defend the idea, therefore, not that many people believed it. According to tales Ivy often heard when she was younger, the Amulet would, in time, be handed to the one person who could elevate not just the Kingdom of Arya but the entirety of Asia to grandeur. At such a young age, Matilda Azura was already next in line to be queen.
None of this, however, concerned the Powerless. Even if the rumors were accurate, they would not have any impact on their horrid lives. Holder men thought it was a man who would possess the Golden Amulet. They did not think a woman could manage such potent abilities. But what could they do, anyway? Absolutely nothing. There was no point in demanding for a change once the owner of the pendant had been chosen.
According to these Holders, the one who possessed the Golden Amulet was a god.
Matilda was repeatedly acknowledged for any notable occurrence that took place. Someone at last got the job of their dreams? It was all thanks to the great Matilda. A lovely baby successfully delivered? All the gratitude went to the oh-so wondrous woman. As time passed, people began to perceive her as a divine figure, someone to seek out in times of hardship. In academies, teachers would educate their students on all matters pertaining to Amulets and never fail to bring up their queen. “Although all pendants come in different shapes and colors, there are quite a lot that grant the same abilities. One thing that sets the Golden Amulet apart from the others is its distinctiveness—it’s the only one that grants powers no other Amulet is capable of,” they would say. “It’s what makes the queen special. She’s in possession of powers no other Holders can perform.”
Ivy wonders. . .
“Queen Matilda is here.”
. . .Just how Arya would respond once they learn their queen has been deluding them all this time.
Mr. Abalos frowns. “So soon?”
“It turns out she was already on her way to the academy before you requested for her.” The guard gives a half-shrug.
Ivy makes no effort to conceal the sneer her lips have formed.
Phase four.
“Where is this child?” the celebrated woman’s aggravated voice sounds outside of the room. “And what is this about the Golden Amulet?”
Headmaster Haung widens the opening of the door for the queen and Ivy’s posture straightens upon hearing the woman’s voice again. “Please, make this worth my time. I’ve heard of other bored, fat-headed Powerless children fake things just for the attention. It’s displeasing.” The prominent woman enters the classroom but without delay, no one fails to perceive the Golden Amulet hanging around her neck.
“W-what is going on?” a student cries out. “I thought there was only one.”
“My Amulet. . .” The queen’s puzzled voice trails off as her eyes stare at the pendant around Ivy’s neck. Of all the drama she’s had to face over the years, this one truly takes the cake, she thinks. “Ah,” she sighs, “another Powerless pretending to be a Holder? And is that Angelo’s daughter I see? How adorable. I think the fact that you’re somehow back surprises me more than that Amulet you’ve got.”
“Eun isn’t pretending to be a Holder, Your Majesty,” Headmaster Huang states behind her. “The Amulet around her neck is real.”
Queen Matilda chuckles. “You don't actually believe that, do you? I thought you were better.”
“We watched her perform a power,” another student Ivy does not know blurts out.
And right then and there, the color from the woman’s face fades, her expression dulled. “Are you. . . Are you diddling with me?” she demands but from the uneasy tone of her voice, Ivy can tell she already knows the answer to that. Why in the world would any Holder ever lie about something as serious as this?
Queen Matilda grips on her elegant red glinting a-line gown that’s got its end scattered on the floor. As she makes her way to the guard who has yet to leave, the gown whirls about her and her tall heels clang against the pristine marble floor. “I want three more of you in here right now!”
“Yes, of course, Your Majesty!” And with that, the guard is off.
When she turns to face Ivy once again, the woman’s monolid eyes flare with fury. “You and I are going to have a very long chat, Eun. Maybe, I’ll go easy on you if you come with me willingly.”
“I suppose the guards are to escort me to the palace?” Ivy rises from her seat. “They’re really not necessary but I understand your doubt.” Of course, she would accompany the woman voluntarily. In fact, for her plot to succeed, being in that palace is a must. It is the only way she can bring both the woman and her husband out in the open for a more appealing outcome.
But not before she turns to her classmates again. She must be certain that they are all fully aware of what is going on. “Think about it,” Ivy says. “I was able to access one of the Golden Amulet’s powers. What do you think that makes me? Think about it.”
“You best keep your mouth shut if you want any chance of getting out of this alive!” Queen Matilda hissess, reaching forward and grabbing the young schemer by the arm.
“But, Your Majesty, we must know what’s going on here,” Headmaster Huang urges. “How is a Powerless girl able to access the powers of your Amulet? It doesn’t make any sense.”
“That’s what I’m going to find out. You need not concern yourself over this matter. The Royals will handle it.” The woman’s teeth grind just as the door opens again and four guards walk in. “You’re quite daring, aren’t you, Eun? You could have just come back in peace, apologize to your parents for leaving and the pain you caused them and have a chance of returning to your old life. Instead, you decide to stir up trouble. Well, let me tell you this. A Powerless liar like you won’t go far. Just how many of your people have tried to overthrow me? A lot. And how many have actually succeeded? None. You’re no different from them.”
Ivy slaps the woman’s hand away and cocks her head to the side. Maintaining her composure seems to irritate the queen even more. “You pretending not to be so apprehensive has just become my favorite sight.”
Queen Matilda’s hands fist. At first, it looks like she’s about to blow—her eyebrows have curled into a glower, her lips are quivering, and her diamond-shaped face has turned scarlet. She exhales, though, and forces a smile. “I won’t allow you to get to me, Eun. I never will.”
Ivy pauses just in front of the door and turns to look at the woman once more—the same woman who nearly imprisoned her three years ago when Athena claimed she’d stolen her Amulet without evidence, the same woman who never bothered to look into her friends’ murders, the same woman she watched spit on a Powerless nine-year-old pleading to spare some food for his dying mother, Queen Matilda, a woman who has grown to become her greatest foe.
“Oh, I think I already have.”
Once outside the academy, Ivy is led to a white carriage. Seeing the four horses tied to their ride causes her to halt in an instant before whirling around to face the guards behind her.
“I need to get my horse.”
Taking note of the frowns that are quick to appear on their faces, Ivy sighs. “My horse, Snow, was my ride to the academy. I need to make sure she’s okay. She means a lot to me.”
It was after three long years of training and plotting that Adora gifted the animal to her. “This way, you won’t be lonely,” she told Ivy. “Snow will not disappoint you.”
One of the guards, a wrinkled round-faced middle-aged man, chortles. “Coward,” he utters. “You dare challenge the queen herself, and now, you won’t even see it through. Why are you making such pathetic excuses now?”
“This isn’t a trick!” Ivy retaliates, immediately reaching forward and grabbing hold of the guard who’d spoken by the arm with pique. “Just send one of your men to the stable next to the academy. I kept her there. I’ll willingly come with you, alright? But I won’t leave her.”
“Listen, you senseless little thin—”
“Just go get the horse!” Queen Matilda grits her teeth, cutting the guard off.
The man’s shoulders slump but he lets out a defeated sigh seconds later and nods to the two guards standing beside him. The two of them nod back and head toward the stable.
“She’s white!” Ivy calls after them. “With a black saddle. She should be at the very back!”
“Alright, come on now.” After grabbing her arm while opening the carriage door, the round-faced man shoves the girl inside before she can protest any further. Ivy rolls her eyes at the brutal force. It’s not surprising. Holders are far too aggressive, especially when they feel threatened.
All her worries are soon to fade once she espies the horse just as requested.
The ride from there to the palace is silent. Almost213Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlpjMlFynES
Only when they step foot inside the Throne Room does Queen Matilda feel she can breathe again. Ivy can see the look of relief all over her face as she’s ushered further inside.
“Eun Calinao!” the woman barks. She may have been furious back at the academy but at least, she made an effort to contain it. Now that they’re here, however, she knows she doesn’t have to do that anymore.
Seated on their thrones behind her standing tall and lush figure are her husband, King Titus, and their eleven-year-old son, Prince Tobias. A guard called them in earlier.
“See what you’ve gotten yourself into now?” The woman’s grin is more sinister than ever and Ivy can’t help but wonder what sort of torturous punishment she’s got planned for her.
“I haven’t been arrested,” she reminds the queen, although she’s sure that won’t do any good. “And you have no reason to do so either. I have not broken any rules.”
Queen Matilda takes a step forward and jeers, “I do not need a reason to throw you behind bars.”
“Wouldn’t you like to ask me a few questions first?” Ivy suggests with a teasing smile. “Perhaps about where I got the Amulet or who gave it to me or why I’ve come back. Ah—perhaps not. After all, you already know the answers to all those questions, don’t you?”
Queen Matilda looks at her family, her eyes a telltale sign of anxiety and the skin between her drawn eyebrows wrinkled. “You two should step out.” And then, her focus shifts to the guards standing by the door. “So should you. This is between me and Eun. I’ll have it figured out myself, no worries.”
“No, no, no. They should stay.”
The taunting look on Ivy’s face causes Queen Matilda’s heart to skip a beat, a dozen more questions appearing in the woman’s already troubled mind. The expression that crosses the queen’s face is immediately familiar to Ivy—those pleading, dilated eyes, the slightly quivering lips, her clenched fists. It’s fear—complete and utter terror, an expression Ivy has been so eager to see on her.
Queen Matilda’s heart is racing, her head wheeling, and her eyes see nothing but darkness, her ears ringing with the enraged cries of a million people. Her skin is crawling and her bones rattling, her muscles screaming of an unknown dread.
It’s a glorious sight that Ivy would pay good jewels to see every single day.
“Your family should have your back, no?” she presses. “Your Amulet did supposedly get seized.”
“By an idiot who doesn’t seem to realize the deep grave she’s dug herself.” The queen’s eyes squint, hands fiddling with the crystal bracelet around her right wrist. “Darling, don’t you see?” she says to her husband, a forced smile plastered on her lips. “It’s just another Powerless wasting all our time. I’m sure you don’t want to be here for this. Perhaps, you could take Tobias out for some fun. He’s been a bit bored lately. Haven’t you, love?”
“I effortlessly accessed one of the Golden Amulet’s powers.”
Ivy refuses to beat around the bush any longer. She knows what Queen Matilda is trying to do and she can’t allow her to be successful. “Performed it, as well,” she adds, “in front of my classmates. You can ask them. I’m sure they’re still back there, quarreling over what they saw.”
“And how would you have been able to do that?” King Titus raises an eyebrow. “Tell me, Eun, how did you manage to steal my wife’s Golden Amulet?”
“I didn’t.” Ivy shakes her head slowly. “I didn’t go anywhere near the pendant your wife has.”
“So why, then, was I informed that you did?”
Ivy’s chin raises, her words leaving her lips in a confident tone. “Your wife knows how to lie her way through anything. She’s been doing that for the past twenty-seven years.”
“Don’t believe anything this scoundrel says!” Queen Matilda growls, placing a hand on the man’s arm. “The truth is, Eun found a way inside the palace, inside my chamber, seized my Amulet and replaced it with a replica so I wouldn’t notice. This,” she reaches for the pendant around her neck and yanks it off, “is a fake, and she’s unfortunately still got the real one with her.”
“Why are we wasting time, then?” King Titus exclaims. “Why haven’t you had it taken from her yet?”
“Oh, she tried.” Ivy chuckles, her mind reeling back to the carriage they were in and the countless number of attempts the woman and her guards made to snatch the pendant from her.
Queen Matilda trembles again. She knows how to lie, yes—her mother taught her, ran her through several possibilities and showed her how to get through each one of them. But none of those possibilities included a Powerless escapee returning to the kingdom with the one thing that could throw her off the throne, throw her out of this world. “If you didn’t steal from me, where, then, did you get that Amulet, Eun? We all know you’re a Powerless so don’t bother lying about your status.”
King Titus does not wait for her response. He waves his hand, motioning to the two guards that have been silent yet gripped and barks an order. “Take the Amulet from her!”
“Try as you may, you won’t find the Amulet on me,” Ivy warns. “Knowing that there’d be desperate people trying to take it from me, I hid it.”
Queen Matilda pauses. Replacing half of her fright is single-mindedness. Yes, she tried to take the pendant but the Golden Amulet has one power she was never told of. The ability to keep itself hidden. Ivy made sure it stayed invisible throughout that entire ride. “Where did you get it?”
“You know where. You just don’t want to admit it, is all. You’re. . . too afraid.”
“You know what?” the woman suddenly snickers. “This is good. This is very good. If it was someone else in your position, perhaps, I would be afraid. But no, it’s just you, Eun, a Powerless good-for-nothing, so help yourself out there while you still can. I know you’re not cruel or foolish. You’re only angry. Is it still those two friends of yours? They’re why you’re doing this, aren’t they? You just want vengeance on the one that slew those girls. I assure you throwing your life away isn’t the way to do it.”
Ivy smiles. “It fills me with great joy to see you so desperate.”
“Eun, you still have a chance at getting out of here unpunished if you do the right thing,” Queen Matilda threatens but the dread continues to lie underneath. “You’re surrounded. I can have you killed in a matter of seconds and no one will even care. Hand the Amulet over. I won’t ask nicely a second time.”
“Why should I do as you ask?” An exasperated sigh leaves the younger’s mouth, eyes narrowed and nose crinkled. “So, you can replace it with the fake pendant you’ve got and continue to delude the kingdom?” She chortles, throwing her head back in amusement. “Oh, Matilda. We both know killing me is the last thing on your mind. You’d have to first find a way to force me to replace my name with yours.”
King Titus’ head tilts and his brows furrow. He rises and gives Queen Matilda a puzzled look. “What is going on? Why does another being have your Amulet?”
“Love, she’s just playing around. All these words coming out of her mouth, they’re false.” Her mouth has gone dry now, cheeks flushed, and jaw clenched. “Let’s not drag this any further, Eun. You seized something that clearly was not yours, so hand it over. Now! This is your last warning.”
“You know what? You’re right. As much as I am enjoying this little banter, we shouldn’t drag it.” Ivy simply nods, placing her hands on her waist. “But no, I won’t hand it over. Yes, I’m certainly not foolish. But cruel? Don’t test me. You’re not getting what you want. Not this time.”
Her response leaves the queen frozen in her spot, not just taken off guard by the audacity Ivy has to speak back in such an outrageous manner but feels the hairs at the back of her neck raise in alarm as well, as though her spine is being raked by invisible fingers. The subsequent nostalgia blinds her for a moment. Ivy can see in the woman’s dark eyes that Queen Matilda is finally recalling the past.
“Thinking about her?” The schemer’s eyebrows raise quizzically. When she takes notice of the king’s deepened puzzlement, she clarifies. “Your wife is well aware of who it is I’m speaking of. She treated her elder sister the same way she’s treating me now. She’s trying to take something that never belonged to her, to begin with. For the second time!”
King Titus opens his mouth to speak but the woman does not allow him to get in a single word. The memory of her past struggles with intransigence is more than enough to incite her and she does not wish to cope with it again. After all, the past ought to remain in the past. When she realizes she has no other choice, she breaks out of her trance and waves a hand for the guards to approach.
“You will hand that Amulet over, Eun Calinao!”
Ivy shakes her head. “I don't think so.”
“And how do you plan on getting out of here with this palace filled with my men?” Queen Matilda cackles, disregarding her husband’s bewildered state. “Please, Eun. Do yourself a favor and stop embarrassing yourself. I thought I could convince you to snap out of your witless state but I’m certain I speak for everyone when I say this conversation has gone on for far too long. You’ve refused to behave obediently, so now, you’ve left me no other option but to imprison and punish you severely.”
Ivy sighs, collectedly caressing the Golden Amulet that’s all of a sudden reappeared around her neck. The mere sight of it causes Queen Matilda to gasp lightly, her eyes lighting up with excitement. “Once again, you’re not getting it. Of course, I have to have an exit plan before stepping inside the lion’s den.”
But the queen is unwilling to hear any more of it. “Lock her up. And take the Amulet.”
“Time Pause.”
“What—?”
The world freezes, as though turned into a motionless photograph, Queen Matilda standing with a pointed finger, her face frozen in a bewildered look, her men near Ivy, arms outstretched, ready to grab onto her, and King Titus and his son sitting in their thrones behind the woman, the king leaning forward, brows furrowed, mouth open and the boy staring straight at his mother, concerned. Though he’s young, he understands. He knows what this accusation could do to his mother, to his family, to him. Ivy dashes out of the palace with great speed, met with hundreds of immobile people, animals, and things here and there once she’s outside, including her own horse. Colorful sculptures, that’s what they all look like, unable to move, think, feel. This is the kind of stillness that even a feather would fall straight down without drifting in any direction, the wind dead, grass straight and silent, the leaves ceased to rustle, dangling more as if painted there. Even the rumble of the vehicles is absent. Motionless all because of the power she instituted.
Not her own, of course.
Ivy was shopping in the market a few days ago when she overheard a certain round-faced middle-aged guard telling his friend all about how he’d used Time Pause to escape an awkward circumstance. That was when she decided he would assist her. Best of all, he wouldn’t even be aware of it. She spent two days roaming about Arya with half of her face covered, collecting information about the man. The only thing Ivy learned that actually piqued her interest was that he was an academy guard, and so, she began to ask around about the forthcoming academy he was training to work at.
In order for Power Replication to be effective, Ivy has to be in direct physical touch with her target for a good five seconds. Throwing a fit about how much her horse meant to her and grabbing the guard by his arms while pretending to be furious helped her with that. Plus, Snow is meant to be her getaway ride.
Ivy hops on the animal, and once she is certain she has a nice head start, she mumbles to herself. “Time Play.” And just like that, the kingdom is brought back to life, each individual going about their own way, doing about their own thing, unaware of what just occurred.
Ivy tugs on the reins to put light tension in her horse’s mouth. The moment she has Snow’s attention, the girl softly commands the animal to advance by gently squeezing it with her legs. “Ha!” Snow scrambles off.
At this time, Ivy can hear the queen’s shrill voice behind her. Following Queen Matilda, who has already mounted her own horse, is a large number of soldiers galloping after her. All at once, they scream for anyone to stop Ivy from riding any further.
“Good,” Ivy mumbles again.
They are acting just as she expects and wants them to. At present, a tremendous number of people have surrounded them, trapping her and Snow in a circle. Before glancing back to see how far off the Royals and their men are, Ivy gives the area a brief scan. Unfortunately, the person she’s searching for is nowhere to be seen.
The next thing she knows, her arms are grabbed and her body yanked off the animal’s back, a swarm of Holders already shouting in her face all at the same time. Ivy is once more left astounded and impressed by how well the Royals have control over these Holders. All of them are still in the dark about what is happening, yet they’ve chosen to side with the Royals. Perhaps, it does make sense why they would act in such a way since the Royals are well-respected, but Ivy is still of the opinion that they all possess a fair amount of foolishness.
“Everyone, step back!”
They obey, each person moving aside. Queen Matilda shoves her way through the crowd until she is eventually in the middle, standing before the reviled girl.
Ivy sneers. “Took you long enough.213Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVoF98GB72D
