4 The Shadow of Her Heart

Scowling in displeasure, she started to move to the other side, but a long arm stretched out, obstructing her way.

"Going somewhere, Versailles?" The village head's scrawny son, Lim, was staring down at her, with a sleazy smile on his mean face.

"This can't be happening." She muttered.

"Oh, did you say something?"

The crowd that was bustling a while ago, was now silent. Everyone fanned out, encircling the two as they watched the drama unfold from a clear distance away.

"Get out of the way, Lim."

His garlic breath was swift and direct to her sensitive senses. Once. Twice. Her empty stomach heaved over the rancid stench and tensed in anticipation for the vomit that never came.

"Little twig, you should be happy that I am willing to take you in after your own parents disowned you. If it were not for the marriage agreement set forth by my grandfather, would I even want someone like you? The only good thing working out for you is..." Leering down at her, Lim's adulterated eyes shamelessly roamed over her figure.

Once upon a time, when she had still been a serpentine, she had flamed any beast that dared to look upon her with such a gaze. Immortal beasts and creatures with looks and abilities a hundred times above Lim's pathetic bullying scurried away in fear and trepidation upon sighting her. Now, she ground her teeth, cursing her weak and powerless self. Now, Versailles Skyler was just an ordinary human, a very weak one at that.

"Stray cur." He said, preparing to run his greasy hand over her flame hair.

"That is enough, Lim. We should go." A lazy voice sounded out, and Versailles looked past Lim to see Burin, Lim's best friend walking towards them.

"Playing savior, Bro? You gonna stop me from having my fun?" Lim turned, sizing up his friend's muscular frame against his own skinny figure.

"We gotta leave now in order to deliver the shipment on time. Otherwise, I will be forced to clue in your father about your unusual hobbies over at the Win."

Lim's eyes snapped up to Burin's "You wouldn't..."

"Wouldn't I?"

A muscle twitched in Lim's jaw, and he spat at Versailles who was struggling to keep her bile down.

"Humph! You better watch your back, wench. This is not the end. Let's go!" Throwing his hands up in defeat, Lim snarled and disappeared into the throng of people that had crowded around them.

Burin's gaze shifted to her, his eyes looking her up and down.

"You okay?"

"There was no need for you to interfere. I could have handled it." Versailles breathed in deeply, feeling her queasy stomach settle down.

"Yea, it seemed like you were handling it just fine." He scoffed.

For all his gentlemanly façade, Versailles knew Burin was a pack with Lim. The two were two snakes with different strips, and whatever Lim did publicly, Burin did it in private.

As such, she did not want to get too entangled with the seemingly gentle, yet secretly dangerous man.

"Well thanks, but next time? Do not bother. I can deal with my own problems." Finished, Versailles turned and strode off.

She had much more important things to deal with than two obnoxious, repulsive men.

She had to find something to fill her and her grandpa's stomach.

Versailles cautiously entered the woods, her bow, and arrow in hand. During this time of day, wild beasts were either sleeping to digest their morning meal or scavenging for food. If she encountered a napping beast, then it would be a fruitful hunt for her.

She'd get a much-needed break from the wilds and could focus on looking after Grandpa Al.

Unfortunately, encountering wild beasts itself was a matter of luck, let alone a sleeping one. Due to the Sybil realm's rough environment, very few beasts thrived in its barren land, and those that did were not easy to deal with.

Therefore, even though there was the possibility of losing one's life, every resident in the village considered encountering a wild beast as a matter of great fortune. And in hope of fortune favoring them, they always left behind traps.

Moving stealthily among the dense trees, she ventured deeper into the desolate mountains, her quiet footsteps resounding in the silent background.

The atmosphere here was still, carrying an eerie danger within its silence. Growls and roars intermittently rang out, putting her edge.

"Is it awfully quiet today or is it just me?"

Versailles had never felt so strung up as she did today. There was an ominous, almost malicious sort of feel to the air, as the afternoon breeze lightly rustled the autumn leaves.

She stopped for a brief second, debating whether to return or not. After all, no matter how much they needed meat, it was not worth sacrificing her life. If anything were to happen to her, there would be no one to care for her grandpa.

Sighing in disappointment, she turned, intending to leave. Before she could take a step, however, a giant shadow lunged at her. Adrenaline rushed in and she instinctively dodged to the side, rolling over before getting to her feet.

"Roarrr....."

Her heart dropped. The beast before her was a yellow wild fox well known for its ferocity. Thin and emaciated, its cold eyes fixed on her with a vicious and ruthless aura. From its stance, it was obvious the beast had been starving for quite a while and planned on making her its dinner.

As a former serpentine, she knew showing fear only fueled beasts' natural predatory instincts, and if she wanted to escape alive today, then she would have to fight.

Throwing her bow and sling aside, she grabbed arrows in each of her hands and faced the fox.

"Come. Let me see for myself today what the so-called ferocious fox is like!"

Since escape wasn't an option, she had to fight to the death!

Without hesitation, she dashed towards the charging beast. The two clashed with claws and arrows, Versailles swinging and plugging the pointy ends of her weapons like spears as the fox swept and slashed with its claws.

Widening its jaw, its razor-sharp teeth flashed with light as it champed on her arm.

"Ungh!"

White agony, deep and intense, shot through her senses, clouding her vision. She clenched her teeth, forcing the scream down her throat. In the next instant, she plugged her arrows right into the fox's vital points, one in the neck, the other in the waist.

"Groarrrrr....!"

Roaring in pain, it blindly stumbled back, falling on its side. Versailles clutched her bleeding arm, vigilantly watching the bleeding fox. After what felt like forever, its pitiful whimpers abruptly stopped, its yellow pupils turning glossy as it lay still. It was dead.

Finally relieved, Versailles' tense muscles relaxed and she weakly fell to her knees.

"I can not stay here for long. The fox's blood will attract other beasts, by then, even if I want to run, I will have to see whether I can outrun a pack or not."

Crawling back to her feet, Versailles grabbed her bow and arrows, slinging them on her shoulder, she bent to draw the carcass back home.

At least now, they had meat.

A long while later, Versailles spotted the little cottage standing in the center of the clearing. Revitalized by the prospect of being able to rest soon, she hastened her speed and called out.

"Grandpa Al, I am back! Look what I got us for dinner tonight."

Dropping the body by the door, she went into the room and tripped over someone's feet.

"Grandpa Al, why are you laying in front of the door? And why is it so dark in here?"

Hissing in pain, Versailles used her good arm to support her weight as she scrambled back to her feet. Turning her head, a cold, sharp object pierced her skin, instantly drawing blood.

"Do not move."

The garlic breath hit her nose before she even heard his disgusting voice.

"Lim, why are you here and what did you do to Grandpa Al?"

The lamp on the living room table came on, its sudden light pricking her eyes.

"Hehehe, why am I here? Didn't I tell you that it wasn't the end? Or were you ignoring me again?" His dark eyes turned sinister, his gaze roaming on her body.

"Sigh, I must say, for an abandoned daughter, you are quite a looker. If it wasn't for the fact that you got nothing to your name, I would've really married you, you know? Too bad, you are nothing but a beautiful shell." Sighing he grabbed the wrist of her injured arm, drawing a hiss from her mouth.

Seeing her wincing in pain, a pleased expression appeared on Lim's face.

"It was worth it. To see this expression of yours, it was worth making all those plans. Hahaha!"

Versailles was not interested in the lunatics' runts. She was worried about her Grandpa. Looking around the room, she searched anxiously for his figure.

Seeing her wandering gaze, Lim smiled broadly before speaking.

"Are you perhaps looking for that old man?" He asked, pointing towards the door where she tripped.

Following his finger, her body froze.

Her Grandpa Al, the old man that picked her up from the streets and gave her shelter, was laying in a pool of blood.

The old man that accepted her as his granddaughter when her own parents disowned her, was on the verge of death, his lifeforce slowing ebbing away from his body with his lifeblood.

Her Grandpa Al, the only light banishing away the shadows of her heart, was embracing death.

Her body and heart trembled, tears streaming uncontrollably down her face. Wrenching herself out of Lims' hold, she dashed blindly across the room and kneeled by his side. Crying, she gently placed his head on her lap.

"Grandpa Al! Grandpa Al! Please wake up!"

"Grandpa, Grandpa, Grandpa wake up! Enough with the tears now. Your old Grandpa is not going to wake up! Now be good and come with me!" Lim snarled, roughly grabbing her injured arm, he dragged her out of the cottage.

"Grandpa! Grandpa! Let go of me, you beast!" Versailles shrieked in hatred, her tear-filled eyes fierce enough to spew fire.

"Hahahaha....beast? I quite like the sound of that. Now, if you want to ever see your Grandpa again, you will obediently come with me. Understand?" His grip tighten on her arm, his fingers digging into the open wound.

Drip!

Drip!

Tears flowed from her eyes as she clenched her teeth to endure the pain.

"What do you want from me? Like you said, I have nothing to offer you."

She hissed as he tightly clenched her arm again, more blood flowing out.

Versailles was pale white. Both from the pain of her searing flesh and the pain of seeing her Grandpa lying motionlessly on the floor. If looks could burn, the burning hatred in her eyes was enough to burn Lim to ashes.

"What do I want from you? Of course, I want you to pay me back the debt your parents owe me." The smile spreading across his face was triumphant, victorious.

"The debts my parents owe you? What has their debt got anything to do with me? I have broken ties with them a few years ago!"

"Well, that is what you think, honey. Since you were still underage, even if you asked to be kicked out of their register, they wouldn't have been able to do so. And since you are still registered as their daughter, they used you as payment for the debt they owed me. Now you officially and unquestionably belong to me. Understand?" His sleazy gaze fell over her figure again, his eyes darkening as he traced her frame with his eyes.

"No, no, no, no. This is not possible. I do not accept to being used as their bargaining chip! I broke off my relations with them three years ago and don't have anything to do with them or their family. You let me go!" She struggled in desperation as her head started spinning. Whether it was from the loss of blood or an unexpected blow, she did not know.

She broke off all relations with them three years ago. Turned and never looked back again.

So why did it hurt?

Why did it still hurt?

Why did it hurt so much to hear them selling her out, even when she had nothing to do with them anymore?

Could it be, somewhere in her heart, she was still expecting them to realize their mistake and come back to take her home?

Was that it?

"Shut up! I do not care whether you broke relations with your family or not. I only know that in order to get you under my clutches and on my beck and call, I have even schemed to poison the yellow wild fox. After working so hard and putting in so much effort, do you think that I will let you go so easily?" He roared in rage, his nostrils flaring as he breathed in her face.

Versailles felt her surroundings blur, her mind spinning with, loss of blood, sense of abandonment, and Lim's sudden revelations. Her heart turned cold, chilling to its core.

"You...."

Was the last word out of her before her vision turned black.