Chapter 3: Sith

After her encounter with Jack, Lucy’s trip led her to a small house under three large oak trees. Though, calling it a house would be quite the stretch, as its current run-down state, complete with cracked walls and a broken roof had made it more akin to an abandoned storage.

Even if she had known this place for years, Lucy couldn’t help but shook her head in disappointment before the miserable state the house was in. If Nana wasn’t senile, she would never have had to live here.

Nonetheless, Lucy knocked on the door.

“… Who… is it?” A weak voice uttered from inside the house.

“Nana, it’s me, Lucy!” She called out.

“… Who?”

Ah, her condition got worse again, thought Lucy. When she was little, her grandma would never forget her name, but as time went on, the more frequently she would call Lucy by certain weird names from the many books in her house.

Let’s see now, what was it that she called me last time again… Oh, right.

“It’s me, Sith!”

“Ah, Sith dear,” this time, the grandma let out a cheerful, but still weak, sound. “Come on in.”

Following the invitation, Lucy lifted the latch on the wooden door and took a step inside. The stench of mold and the irritating presence of dust made the poor girl let out an uncontrollable coughing spree.

“Be careful, dear,” said the grandma in the darkness. “I haven’t had the time to clean up.”

“… It’s okay, Nana,” answered Lucy as she felt around, desperately trying to observe her surroundings through the few light rays coming down from the holes in the roof. “You’re still sick, aren’t you?”

“… This old body is not long for the world, I’m afraid.”

Hearing the depressing words from the old lady had struck fear into Lucy’s heart. “Now, don’t say that! I’ll treat you back to health with the yummy food I make! And I’ll tell Father to let you live with us again, too! You’ll be better before you know it!” She desperately cried out.

“… Father?” Contrary to Lucy’s worry, the grandma only showed a confused expression as she tilted her head. “I have no son…”

“Nana, of course you have to have a son, or, er, son-in-law to have a granddaughter,” Lucy explained.

“Do I…? Oh, yeah, I guess I do… what’s his name again?”

“… Let’s not talk about that anymore,” Lucy quickly changed the subject, not wanting her grandma to recall more unpleasant memories. “Here, Nana. I brought the finest wine I could get… but I’m sorry for not having anything to eat this time…”

“Don’t you worry one bit, Sith dear,” the grandma gently patted Lucy on the head. “I know your appetite is big. After all, you need all the energy you can get.”

For some reason, her grandma always thought of her as a big eater, but at the moment, it was all the excuse Lucy needed. I’d best not let Nana know I gave it to a wolf, no matter how nice he was, thought the girl.

“…Um, yes! I unfortunately ate it all on my way here, haha…” Lucy tried her best to fake an embarrassed laugh as she awkwardly scratched her head.

“It’s alright. Now, how about you share a drink with Nana?” The grandma then accurately grabbed an empty glass next to her, raising it towards Lucy to offer a treat.

“Silly Nana,” a light chuckle came from the young girl. “I can’t drink wine yet.”

“Aw, but you loved wine,” the grandma exclaimed with a sigh. “When you were small, I’d only need to give you a bit, and then you would gobble up the entire bottle.”

“I-I was small back then, Nana!” Lucy, flustered by the seeming childhood memories, embarrassedly shouted.

“No matter how big you become, Sith dear, you’ll always be my little cub,” the grandma petted Lucy on the head once more. “How about you stay here with me for the day? It’s been a while, after all.”

“But I can’t return home at night,” answered Lucy.

“How come? Didn’t you love the night before?”

“I can’t see the road at night, Nana. Not in this dense forest.”

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“You must have been unwell, Sith dear,” the grandma nodded, seemingly figuring out the reason. “If anything, daylight would be much worse for you.”

Ah, I guess she’s mistaking daytime and nighttime again, thought Lucy, but let’s not interrupt her.

“… Um, I guess I really have been unwell. But anyway, it’s been a long enough stay for me, Nana. I have to get back to my house now. I’ll see you tomorrow!”

“Goodbye, dear!” The grandma waved in return as Lucy exited the door.

When she was at the doorstep, the sight of an open book by the bed caught Lucy’s attention for a second, which also caught the attention of her grandma as well.

“Sith dear, what’s wrong?” The grandma asked.

“Um… Nothing, Nana,” Lucy quickly waved her hand, pointing towards the book. “That book over there is a bit interesting, that’s all.”

“Book? … Oh, that’s right! The book! It’s about you, dear! Do you want to take it home?”

“Um, no thanks, Nana,” Lucy answered with an awkward smile. “I’ll be going now.”

As she closed the door to her grandma’s house once more, the book’s content finally had the time to wander in her mind. What was on the page again… something… Sith? I guess that’s why Nana said it was about me.

“Hah…” Lucy let out a sigh, turning her gaze upward only to see the sun still rather high on her head. “At least Father isn’t home right now…”

 

When Lucy returned to her home, the sun was still a ways away from completely disappearing beneath the horizon. I got time, the girl thought as she opened the door, trying to find out a way to relax herself in this rare peace and quiet. And it was at that moment that her eyes caught wind of a certain scene normally strange to her.

The door to her father’s room was wide open, when he would always make sure to lock it tightly before he left the house.

Did Father forget to lock the door? Thought Lucy, but she soon dismissed the theory right away. It can’t be. He’s too careful to make that kind of mistake. But I know he’s not home right now, so it could only mean that he returned some time when I was away and left again in a hurry, or…

Lucy tiptoed towards the open door, stretching out to take a peek inside the room. As she saw the empty scene, Lucy breathed out a sigh of relief. Thank goodness it’s not a thief.

Lucy was going to leave it just like that. However, as she turned around and prepared herself to leave, her head naturally turned around, as if there was a force of nature controlling her moves.

I really shouldn’t. Father would be furious if he knew I went into his room without his permission.

Don’t do it, Lucy. You’ve already taken enough of a beating today. You don’t want to poke the bear in the nose again.

… But isn’t that the more reason to do it? You’ve already taken a beating today, what more could another do?

In the end, Lucy couldn’t win against her natural curiosity. The young girl took a step forward and finally explored her father’s room.

For a hunter’s bedchamber, the place didn’t look any different from a normal room – only a single bed, a small desk and chair, and an empty ledge to hang his prized rifle, which he had already taken away for the hunt. However, there was still a detail that caught Lucy’s eyes – the book on his desk.

With nothing else to do, Lucy grabbed the book and took a glance at its content.

The cover was an illustration of a crimson lion with three heads, beautifully embedded within the page itself.

On the first page was a picture of a fierce canine creature, baring its fangs at an unsuspecting person. Its fur was an unnatural green hue – something that took the author an awful lot of time to color on this kind of old, stained paper that the book was made of. On the top was naught but a simple phrase, seemingly the name of the beast.

“Cu… Sith?” Lucy mumbled. Immediately, the image of her grandma’s book rushed back. She couldn’t make out what was actually in the book, but the word “Sith” was enough for her to take notice already.

Cu Sith? What exactly is Cu Sith? Is it this wolf? And this green fur… it’s like…

Before Lucy could ask any further, however, the thumping footsteps of her father returning home had already sent her into a panic. Putting the book back in its original place, Lucy fled the room as fast as she could, but not without closing the door again to pretend that nothing had happened.

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