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nThe night continued to pass in the land of the dead, and Belle continued to lay on the cold floor of the snow. Her body turned rigid with every second that passed by in the deserted forest. In the eye of a mortal, it looked as if no one was there, but there were plenty of creatures in here; some who hid and some who were feasting on the others.

nThe mortal from the land of the living had been killed. Eyes wide open that looked at the ceiling of the forest. Unmoving lips that were parted without a single breath moving in or out. Belle's body continued to stay there; her soul manifesting itself as the body that she possessed had started to crumble like ash shedding from the skin to fall on the white floor of the forest.

nThe creatures around her were yet to notice the fresh soul that was present in here, the smell slowly wafting up and moved across the forest for one of the first early creatures to find her who had been wanting to eat her since the first time she had stepped into the forest. The creature came walking to her, its feet crooked as it made its way to stand next to her.

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"You come to me. Me is very happy,

" the creature spoke in a scratchy voice to the girl who looked lifeless. The creature huffed for air and then took hold of one of Belle's legs to drag her to its secret hideout,

"So very very happy. Me has been waiting.

"

nIn the land of the living, morning had arrived, and Lucas woke up to see Belle, who had snuggled herself into his chest. When he brought her body close to hug her, he noticed how her skin had turned colder than usual.

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"Good morning,

" greeted Belle, and he pulled away and saw her eyes were drowsy which was filled with sleep.

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"Morning,

" he greeted back,

"Your hands are cold,

" he said, bringing them up to his view so that he could run both of his hands and fingers across Belle's hands.

nBelle smiled, her eyes not moving away from him,

"It is the time of Winter. It's going to be cold,

" she stated the obvious fact.

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"We should probably ask the innkeeper to get us something warmer or maybe some extra covers for us. Wouldn't want you to fall sick,

" Lucas squeezed her hands,

"Did you sleep well?

" he asked her.

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"Better than anytime before,

" he heard her answer.

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"That's good to hear. We should probably take more breaks to visit other lands in the future,

" Lucas said and he sat straight on the bed,

"What will you eat? Something from the inn? Or maybe outside?

" he asked her. Lucas appeared to look like he had no clue about what happened in the middle of the night as he had started to dress by walking behind the wooden divider that separated the bed from the bath.

nThe girl continued to look at the butler whom she had been looking for years in her dreams. Tearing her gaze away from the man, Portia was more than happy to be here. She looked around to notice that this wasn't the Adams' residence but a small room. It was clean with a bed, table, two chairs and then the bath. It felt like a dream come true to the reflection who had been craving back for life which was stolen from her forcibly when she was a young girl.

nFrom today, she would not be Portia, the creature who lurked in the land of the dead, but she would be Belle Adams. The girl who was beautiful, who was loved, who had a family and was not alone.

nThings that rightfully belonged to her, she would have it again. She would have everything where she would not have to envy the other girl who had lived in peace while leaving her in the dark. Portia stood up from the bed, her hands tracing the objects and the room that had filled itself with light, she went to the window to see the sky that was not black or grey, but it was light blue and white because of the clouds.

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"Have you decided what you want to eat?

" Portia heard Lucas ask her from the other side of the wooden partition.

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"Anything will do. If you have a place on your mind, we can go there,

" she answered, adjusting her voice to sound like Belle.

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"Let's go and find another place to eat today. You said you wanted to visit the magistrate and the house,

" came Lucas' response.

nPortia didn't know what exactly was spoken between Belle and him, but she nodded her head,

"Yes. That would be great,

" she said before looking at the people walking down the streets. Her mouth watered at the number of souls that were fresh, and that was enough breakfast to eat. At this thought, Portia's nails dug into her palms, and her teeth tried to elongate in need, but she tried to keep it in. Turning her face away when Lucas appeared outside with a towel around his waist.

nBelle might have tried to get out of the land of the dead, but Belle was a child when it came to dealing with things in the land of the dead. Only recently did she come to know about the land of the dead and being more aware of it, but it was not Belle but Portia who had lived life in the land of the dead. She had been planning it forever, to trap Belle and wait for the right opportunity. To make sure no one would be able to help her and she would die so that she could take this vessel that rightfully belonged to her.

nPortia then turned around to meet Lucas' eyes that met hers.

nThis was the life she deserved, and it was hers. Everything around was hers, thought Portia to herself, and she smiled at Lucas to say,

"I will go change.

"

nOnce she was dressed, both she and Lucas left the inn.

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