Chapter 102: Chapter 102

DAHLIA:

‘Wake up! We have to escape! Wake up…’

The voice kept on telling me to wake up… I couldn’t see where it came from. It just knew that it felt warm and affectionate, and now it was becoming more and more distant.

‘Wake up, Dahlly,’ it told me one last time.

When I opened my eyes, I was on the floor of a very dark and dingy place…

There was a woman crouched down near me. She was rubbing her eyes, making muffled noises as if something had hurt her, or was she in tears?

Either way, I don’t know what to make out of this scene… All I know was that I was dizzy. There was a painful area at the back of my neck as if something heavy had descended upon it.

I struggled to sit, and when I did, I found that I was naked. There was also a dagger that was suspiciously placed just inches away from me.

This woman, whoever she was, did not seem to have any friendly intention towards me…

I did what I thought I should do. I clasped the dagger in my hand and raised it to my oppressor while she was still unaware that I had already woken up from my slumber.

“Answer me… Who are you?... A-And who am I?... What the hell am I doing here?”

That’s right, I had one small problem.

It seemed that I couldn’t remember who I was and why I was here at all.

“Answer me - who are you,” I shouted once more.

I steadied my hand over the woman’s neck. It was almost touching her beautiful skin.

She looked at me, thunderstruck at first. I bet she didn’t think I’d wake up like this. She must have thought she could harm me without my knowledge, but she was wrong. The voice in my head had saved me.

Suddenly, her face lit up.

“Sister!”

She ignored the dagger in my hand and clasped my fingers that were wrapped on the hilt instead.

“Sister, thank the Goddess you’ve woken up! I-I thought something bad had happened to you!”

“Who are you,” I said again, not quite convinced about what she said and still not understanding what had happened.

“Do you not remember who I am? It’s me… your sister!”

I looked at the silver-haired girl before me. She had red and blue eyes and pointy ears like a fairy, and she was very pretty.

How can I be sisters to such a stunning woman?

“It’s me, Samalah… I’m your friend… No, I’m your sister! Please say you remember me.”

Tears began to flow generously from her eyes. It looked like she was really in pain.

“Poor Dahlly! What did that man do to you? Why can’t you even remember me?”

She trembled as she cried. I put the dagger down and patted her shoulders as she wept.

All of a sudden, she embraced me very tightly.

“Dahlia, do you really not remember? He almost sold you in that auction house, so I sneaked out and rescued you. We ran away, but they stuck your head so hard you lost your consciousness… Do you really not remember any of that?”

The back of my neck really did throb as if I was stuck with something heavy. Was Samalah telling me the truth?

“I thought you would never wake up! I was so worried,” she said, crying more and more.

I bit my lips. Was it Samalah’s voice that I heard just now? Somehow, their voices sounded different, but it must really be her. Who else could it be?

“How are you feeling? Do you still need rest? Are you hungry,” she inquired.

I shook my head. “No… Rather than feeding me, please tell me what happened… Why can’t I remember you?”

“Do you really not remember? You must have been traumatized by what had happened… Are you sure you want me to tell you everything,” she said, her eyes looking like she might cry again.

I was afraid to hear what she had to say, but I didn’t want to be stuck in the dark.

“Yes… Please tell me everything. Spare no details.”

“As you wish, sister,” Samalah said. She stood and fetched some clothes from a small wooden closet. “But first let’s put some clothes on you, alright? I don’t want you to get sick.”

I nodded towards her. Samalah was smiling warmly at me. My heart felt at peace at the sight of her kind face.

Once I had donned some clothes on myself, she lit the fireplace and made me sit closer towards the flames while taking in some hot milk.

“I don’t know where to start, sister. All that had happened to you was very traumatic. Maybe there’s a reason why you needed to forget all of it… Maybe I shouldn’t remind you of what took place,” Samalah muttered apprehensively.

I could see the traces of worry on her face, yet I want to hear it, all of it. I don’t want to go on forgetting what happened just because it sounded scary.

Actually, not remembering anything at all was already pretty scary…

“Go ahead,” I gulped. “Tell me what happened. What is my name? How did we become sisters?...”

“Your name is Dahlia, but I call you Dahlly… We’re not exactly sisters, but we grew up together, so we regard each other as sisters,” Samalah began. “How much do you remember? How far back do you want me to tell you?”

“Um… To be honest, I don’t remember anything… I’m so scared,” I said, breaking into tears. Just what had really happened to me? How bad were things like before for me to forget them?

“That’s alright, Dahlly… Don’t be scared. I’m here,” Samalah said, wounding her arm around me.

“It was a good thing I came. If not, I couldn’t imagine what your evil husband would have done to you…”

“E-Evil husband,” I said, choking a bit at my own words. “I have a husband?”

“Well, yes… The master who bought you and took advantage of you before, he made you his wife… But he was purely evil, so you decided to run away with me today.”

“Evil?... How evil was he?...”

“He was despicable enough to have you sold in the auction today, Dahlly… He was selling you off for such a low price, that’s why I had to help you…”

“He sold me at the auction? But why?”

“It’s because of your powers, Dahlly. You had hidden powers that others wanted.”

“H-Hidden powers?” Just what kind of person am I?

“Dahlly, you don’t remember it yet, but you are a Shadow wolf, and so was your husband… He wanted to make some money off of you, so he planned to sell you… He disguised himself as a good person, but in the end, he just wanted to take advantage of you.”

An indescribable pain became clear in my heart… Somehow, I remembered the feeling of being betrayed, and the name ‘Shadow wolf,’ felt familiar in my head.

“I… I am a Shadow wolf?”

“Yes, Dahlia… Now, everyone is after you, so we must hide. We couldn’t trust anyone. Remember, you must never trust anyone. You must only trust me…”

Samalah hugged me once more, and I felt relieved.

She was right. Hearing such a terrible truth was really scary…