Chapter 192: I’m Not Changing
Exiting her family’s cottage first, Samantha thoroughly surveyed the path to make sure the coast was clear before beckoning the petrified, dark-haired girl to join her. Receiving the message, the girl quietly stepped out through the gate and joined Samantha, who in turn, held her wrist so they could both leave before those men returned. From their conversation, they sounded quite desperate to find her, and it made Samantha feel a little worried about the motive behind the councilmen abducting innocent girls in Fernwood.... Were they also the ones behind the last abduction concerning her and her brother? The thought of this made Samantha feel evidently disgusted, and she was determined to help the girl return home and away from those scummy men.
After staying at alert for twenty minutes, the dark-haired girl eventually made it to her home, successfully escaping the wrath of those men that were after her. At that moment, Samantha was made to believe the girl when she was brought to Madame Ginevra’s humble home, and there was nothing about the structure of her home that seemed out of place. Opening the door, the girl politely ushered Samantha in, but Samantha simply shook her head, declining the girl’s kind offer.
"I do not wish to intrude, you can stay safely at home till your families return. Lock the doors, but I must get going now." Samantha uttered to the girl who immediately bowed her head in deep appreciation. There were tears in her eyes, but it expressed her relief and gratitude.
"If you ever need help in Fernwood, please let me know." She said to Samantha, "but I still insist you stay, those... those men would take anyone they lay eyes on. It’s not safe to move about now, you can leave after ten minutes, there’s a chance they will be gone by then." The meek tone of her voice held genuine concern, she seemed more familiar with the men that were after her, and since Samantha couldn’t risk taking any chances, she decided to stay– not to mention but she needed to ask the girl a few questions concerning the village council.
"Okay."
Stepping into the house, the girl immediately closed the door.
Samantha’s scrutinizing gaze lingered on the cozy living room before being ushered to take her seat on the couch. The girl looked through the window, secretly peering outside, and as if she predicted right, those men in armors were still patrolling the street. It made her wonder about the consequences that would befall them if they had lingered longer outside, they would both be caught by these evil minions belonging to Callum.
"Why are they after you?" Samantha couldn’t help but ask the girl who returned to take her seat on the armchair beside where she sat. Her gaze remained fixed on her hands as she nervously jabbed her fingers together, the fear evident in her light-brown eyes, and then she said in a low tone.
"It hasn’t been that long since the elder village council died in Fernwood, but.... the situation became worse when his son, Callum, took over." She hesitantly paused, whilst controlling the sobs that were about to escape and took a deep breath. "I ran into him a week ago on my way to the market, and he hasn’t stopped bothering me since then. When my families are not around, or whenever I step out, he sends his men to abduct me, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. My parents aren’t even aware of it because he threatened to harm them if I ever told anyone about it, and no one else is willing to help because my family trusted a man whose reputation was stained. Plus, they’re afraid of Callum. I haven’t seen you here before, but I had no choice but to inconvenience you with my problems. I just... needed to tell someone."