C3 Ada's Shadow

Grace slapped Chrollo hard for threatening her. The young man laughed, so she laughed too. His joke was a bit scary, but she ended up laughing.

She looked up at the sky when she saw the sun setting down. That's how fast she looked at Chrollo when he held her hand. Grace slapped Chrollo's hand.

"Ouch! That's too much, Princess! You're getting used to hurting me!" Chrollo said, irritating. Grace frowned.

"And you're getting used to holding my hand, are you?" Grace rolled her eyes. "Are you pervert?" she asked, annoyed.

"No! But if I am. I wouldn't touch you. Do you even see yourself in the mirror? You're not pretty!" Grace beat Chrollo again.

"You moron! I'm going to kill you! I'm telling you! I'm going to tell this my father and I'll dance at your graveyard--" Grace stopped talking when Chrollo covered her mouth.

She was about to complain when she heard someone crying. Grace looked around, but they were the only people in the town. She covered her ears when she heard a very loud shout. That loud shout was tinged with anger.

"Help me!" Grace heard someone's pitiful voice. "I'm begging, please help me, have mercy on me!" Grace looked at Chrollo and put down his hand away from her mouth.

"Let's help her," Grace said, seriously, but Chrollo shook his head.

"Pretend you're deaf, blind, dumb and heartless." Chrollo whispered that made her frowned. "Don't help anyone here."

"You need to stop taking drugs, Chrollo! Someone needs help and then you'll say that?" Grace said in annoyance and quickly ran away.

Chrollo tried to chase her but she couldn't catch up because Chrollo's steps were small, as if he was afraid to make a sound.

Grace looked where the voice was coming from and it sounded louder and louder.

"Help me, I'm begging AAAAHHH!" Grace covered her ears because of that voice.

She was slowly getting weaker because of the shout and almost kneel at the floor because of the strength that coming from that voice. Grace does not know what to do.

"Hide and seek, the moon is bright." Grace stopped when she heard a frightening voice that she thought was playing. She looked up at the sky and unexpectedly saw the moon. Grace couldn't believe the speed of time in this town. "Not in my back, not in my front. By the time that I count three, you need to hide."

Grace tried to step away and look for a place to hide. Her voice was frightening, and Grace was really crying in fear right at this moment.

"One." Grace quickly found herself where she can hide. "Two." Grace forced to tuck herself into the side of the cart and hid herself. "Thee." Grace took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

She was nervous and wished that if the time would come back again, she really would never go to her Father again.

Grace stilled when someone pat her head. She slowly opened her eyes and she cried while looking at a person in front while smiling at her.

"Found you." She hugged Chrollo and secretly thanked him. Chrollo nodded at her and motioned his hand to silent which she understood and nodded.

Chrollo pulled her somewhere, and they entered a big house and when the door closed, Grace fell on the floor because of fear.

"What's going on outside? She's just asking for help and then she's playing hide-and-seek? I'm sure she's asking for help, but why is she shouting like that?" Grace asked while crying. "I thought I was going to die earlier. Her voice was scary. Why she did that? What kind is she?" Chrollo helps Grace to sit down and gives her water.

"What you heard was Ada's shadow." Grace turned to the voice where it came from. He was an old man and he looked at her seriously.

"If it was a shadow, she wouldn't be able to speak! Do you even know what shadow means? Shadow means shadow! When else did the shadow have the ability to play hide and seek?" Grace couldn't stop herself from raising her voice.

"Calm down." Grace heard a serious woman's voice, so she turned to it. Her eyebrows rose up sharply, but she noticed that they're the same age like her and Chrollo.

"And who are you?" Grace's frightened voice was replaced to anger.

"You don't need to know."

"Excuse me? Who are you? As far as I remember, I'm a princess--"

"And who are you too? I don't care if you're a princess or a daughter of Lord Nostrad," the woman said again, with Grace's eyes widening. "It's fun that they deprived your memories, but you don't seem surprised by what you see." Grace laughed in annoyance and nodded.

"You know why? Because I'm more scared than being surprise. If you don't know the word fear, then you're stupid and no one erased my memories!" Grace looked at Chrollo. "I want to rest, Chrollo, I beg you." Chrollo nodded.

Chrollo took her and the old man to a room. They said they could not leave the house to go to her father at that time because they would die outside.

Grace didn't ask any more questions and just closed the door. When she closed, she quickly turned off the light and jumped on the soft bed.

In fact, Grace is consumed by nervousness and you can say that she is going crazy inside, because she doesn't know what's going on in the town of Malaya.

"You're just new here?"

"Fuck!" Grace quickly fell on the bed because of the sudden voice to her side. Grace look where the voice came from and shocked was written on her face.

She was right next to the bed and smiling at her in the middle of the darkness. The woman smiled again and stared at her. Grace was shaken and quickly turned on the light and closed her eyes and open it again, as if the woman will disappear by just doing that but she didn't go away.

"What do you think of me? A ghost?" The woman laughed as she turned to look at her.

Grace covered her mouth when she saw the true shape of the woman. Her hair was long but unlike hers, her hair was just a finger count, and in fact, she was about to go bald. Grace stood up as the woman combed her hair and began to sang.

"Hide and seek, the moon is bright." Grace stilled in the woman's voice and trembled in fear. "Not in my back, not in my front. By the time that I count three, you need to hide."

Grace forced the door to open, but she couldn't move. The woman faced her as she combed her hair and smiled.

"Hide, Grace! Hide!" the woman said in a frightened voice and approached her slowly. Grace cried even more when she heard her name. "One."

"No, please!" Grace said while crying and prayed for her life.

"Two."

"HELP ME! HELP! CHROLLOOOO!" Grace didn't know where she got the strength to shout, but when she faced the woman, she was right in front of her and smiling. "AAHHHHHH!!!!"

Grace struggled when someone grabbed her out of fear. "Sister, don't be afraid."

"No, you're not real!" Grace uttered while crying and struggled. She hug herself tightly because of fear.

"Ada's shadow is gone. I protected you from her, don't be afraid. I'm begging you, sister. I protected you. She is gone." Grace slowly opened her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw a boy in front of her. "Don't be afraid." Grace nodded and wiped away the tears.

"Thank you so much," Grace said, still scared. The child smiled at her as she smiled.

"I'll just put some protection in your room, sister. Go first outside and look for brother Chrollo." Grace frowned.

"Are you sure? She might come back."

"I have protection because this is where I grew up." The child showed Grace his red diamond ring. "This is the proof that I'm always safe." Grace nodded.

"All right, just follow me after." Grace walked quickly to the living room, and she saw Chrollo while having coffee with them. "Didn't you hear my screams? There's a ghost upstairs! A woman without much hair, her smile is scary!" Grace cried again in fear and Chrollo quickly approached her and hugged her. "She's too scary!"

"Do you want to sleep in my granddaughter's room?" The old man pointed the woman that Grace had fought earlier. "She is Yumi."

"No, I don't like her," Grace said softly and wiped away the tears.

Yumi rolled her eyes. "Same."

"Can your young grandson be the only one in the room with me?" Grace's forehead suddenly frowned as everyone stopped while looking at her. "Why?" she asked, scared.

Chrollo let a heavy sighed. "Grace, there's no boy living here."