Chapter 15
The day Victoria woke up, she had a splitting headache.
She slowly opened her eyes, her gaze unfocused on the old ceiling, where the wooden beams were blackened and cobwebs clung to the corners, a dim light bulb swaying gently in the wind.
Where am I?
At the end of memory, “cold seawater poured into her nostrils, and iron chains dragged her down continuously.”
“You woke up.”
A deep male voice came from the side, and Victoria stiffened all over, almost instinctively rolling over and chopping towards the source of the sound. The other party obviously did not expect that she would suddenly make a move, but reacted very quickly, dodging to the side while grabbing her wrist. Victoria lifted her knee towards his abdomen, but he had anticipated it and firmly blocked with his other hand.
Her pupils constricted.
The man’s moves were too familiar, the angle of the capture, the way of exerting force, even the habit of blocking all exactly the same as what she had leamed in the organization.
“Tsk, quite fierce.”
The man chuckled lightly, suddenly changed his move, and pushed her back onto the bed. Victoria struggled to get up, but was held down by him with one hand gripping both of her wrists above her head.
“Stop hitting.”
He lowered his head to look at her, her bronze skin glowing with a healthy sheen in the light.
“I won’t harm n you again.”
Victoria stared at him fiercely.
The man let go of his hand and brought over a steaming bowl of fish soup from the side.
“Were you hungry? Have something to eat.”
eople who ha
have been
She didn’t move, just looked at him warlly, with a crew cut, a scar on his eyebrow, and exuding the sum and sea salt scent that only people at sea for years have.
“Where am I?”
“You were found by the fishermen in the
e village, more than ten kilometers away from where you fell into the water.”
Seeing that she did not respond, the man was not upset and placed the bowl at the head of the bed.
“Up to you.”
Victoria got out of bed, feeling dizzy, and staggered to the door. As she pushed open the wooden door, the sea breeze carried the sunlight towards her face.
It was a seaside village, with a few low brick houses scattered on the hillside, and in the distance, fishing boats were slowly returning to the harbor.
“Is Vicky awake?
A
An elderly man with white hair, Melina Byrd, sat in the yard scrubbing clothes. When she came out, he waved at her with a smile.
“Comp
e quickly, Grandina has cooked soup for you.”
Victoria stood still in shock.
She looked down at her clean cotton pajamas, her wrists and ankles carefully bandaged. The sea breeze brushed her cheeks, carrying a salty, damp warmth that felt real, not like an illusion
was still alive, she was saved by someune.
The man came out and leaned against the door frame.
Three days ago Hound you on the rocky brach, almost mistaking you for a dead body.”
He paused
1
“You were tied up with iron chains, with a dagger in your mouth… Pretty tough.”
Victoria didn’t answer, she just looked towards the undulating sea in the distance.
Melina wiped her hands and tremblingly brought a plate of grilled fish.
“Ext, just caught, still fresh.”
Victoria locked down at the plate and suddenly realized that her hand was trembling slightly.
She used to think that she would never see such sunshine again in her life.
“Thank you”
Her voice was very soft, almost drowned out by th
the sound of the waves.
Victore stayed at the man’s house for seven days.
His name was Ellioc Pineda. Elliot knew she was a girl and would give her his bed to sleep while he slept on the floor by the fire.
For the first three days, she hardly spoke, just silently drinking the fish soup Melina made, sitting quietly at the doorstep watching the sea. Elliot didn’t disturb be either, just placing a steaming cup of milk by her side every morning before heading out to sea.
On the fifth day, Victoria finally pushed open the door that had been tightly closed and walked out into the yard.
