The Ilokana

Chapter Two

Kalasag B&B, Vigan - November 6, 20XX

The party continued late into the night and all she could hear as she stood on the renovated wooden balcony of her room was the sound of her father, Uncle Greg, and their compares singing a terrible rendition of "Unchained Melody". From the tired slurring, they would be finishing their little concert soon.

Most of the food was gone and her mother and some of the helpers packed the remainders to give to guests to take home. Victoria made sure to put away her favorite dishes for herself. After all, there was no dinardaraan like Ilocano dinardaraan and it had been made fresh for her party.

Lola Aming retired to her room on the first floor to watch some Korean drama and her cousins were spending the night at another relative's house. Most of the other rooms at Kalasag weren't renovated yet, let alone had furniture, so there was no place for them to stay. Construction would start again early the next morning, too. Victoria didn't look forward to waking up to the sound of men yelling and hammers nailing.

It was an eventful day and the food, music, and good company made her feel happy to be home more so than before. She leaned forward, placing her forearms against the wooden railing as she looked towards the street and took in the gentle glow of the yellow street lamps lining the old Spanish calle.

This was what she needed: a fresh start in her hometown. A calm, peaceful life using the skills she learned at school and working at a luxury hotel in Makati. She would feel useful here and do what she loved; be with those she loved.

Victoria closed her eyes, the wind blowing through her loose, thick hair, and mulled over Uncle Greg's announcement. No more killing, either. She was sure it came as a relief to her family, who saw many deaths over the last several centuries.

Revenge killings were common, but couldn't be identified as such. It was always "sudden altercations" that lead to violence, and when avenging her brother, her family was careful to make it look like an accident.

Victoria was eighteen when she received her first real order while studying business at a university in Manila. Someone was trying to extort her Manong Shuan, Michael's middle brother, and her father called her to relay the order. It was a simple hit - a random, small time gangster in Tondo, a place considered the most dangerous part of the city by many.

She silenced the gangster after setting up a distraction while he was out playing cards and smoking. When his men went to check, she walked up behind him and slit his throat. Doing so for a quick death was an art form and though she spent years practicing the motions and understanding the science behind what made it effective, Victoria was still nervous.

Once the blade was drawn, it was over in an instant. She released the gangster before his blood squirt all over her and disappeared into the night. The gangster's men returned to find him gurgling in a pool of his own blood and he died. It was almost too easy, but then she was raised as a blade of the Brillantes.

That didn't mean that she needed to be used, though.

Michael was furious at Shuan for having to put her through the trouble of hunting down a gangster. Uncle Greg was just as upset and punished Shuan for slipping up by taking away all but basic living expenses for a year.

It sobered Shuan quick and now he had a seat on the city council, was married to a young lady from Tarlac, and had his first child on the way.

Since then, she received other 'maungaw' jobs, but usually she did minor work. She had orders to shadow Manong Chris, the youngest of Uncle Greg's sons, and an ex-girlfriend his family didn't like. Once she escorted Shuan's wife, Manang Angie, through Manila when she was shopping for her wedding dress. Victoria was a personal favorite of hers now.