The Island's Own Space

The strange village

Bella was looking at her dirty shoes that made her notice the path that led to wherever it leads to. And because Bella was looking down she didn't see the sight that revealed itself once they reached the peak.

A village was built at the peak of the high mountain. It was not just any village, it was a fairly developed village, no, it actually didn't look like a village but more like a small but developed city.

There were lamp-like lights tied to bamboo and small shops could be seen from where Bella was standing. Of course, Bella still didn't see any of this for she was still staring at the path.

However, she soon saw the small-like city in front of her after she traced where the path was headed to.

"Ah."

Bella gasped at the village that looked almost like a small city. She didn't know how to react at the sight in front of her. And because Bella lived in a big city for her whole life she couldn't help but compare her memories of the big city that she had always seen and the sight of the small but oddly developed city she had seen only a few seconds ago.

"Grrr."

Bella took her eyes off the village and turned toward the tiger after it growled. The tiger tilted its head before nodding at the village.

"Are you telling me to go there?"

Bella asked even though she knew that the tiger won't be able to understand her. However, contrary to her expectations, the tiger nodded its head and walked to the direction of the village as if it understood Bella's word's completely.

Bella followed the tiger closely from behind. When they reached the gate of the village the guards guarding it looked at the tiger before turning to her.

Bella was scared after observing the two guards at the gate. The guards are both tall and muscular, they also have tribal tattoos covering their entire bodies, even their faces. Bella slightly flinched when her gaze met with one of the guards. It seemed like the guard was also observing her.

Bella, unlike the people in the village, was dressed weirdly, of course that was the viewpoint of the village people and vice versa. The guards were ready to stop her from entering the gate, however, the tiger stopped them. The tiger walked in front of the guards and bared its teeth. The guards looked at each other before moving out of Bella’s way. Bella successfully entered the village.

She felt so small in front of the two huge guards earlier that she couldn’t utter a word. If the tiger didn’t stepforward she would have been screwed. The tiger looked back at her when she fell behind, it matched her pace as they walked together. Bella became so immersed in her surroundings that the tiger had to push her back so she would continue walking forward.

Minutes later, they arrived in front of a big house, no, it was an estate. The main building was way bigger than any of the buildings they walked by on their way here. The big gates of the estate opened and dozens of men that looked like warriors. Bella took a step back but something hard hit her back. She looked behind and the tiger walked past her.

The warriors formed two lines and the tiger walked between them. There was a man at the end of the line. He was smiling as he stared down at the tiger walking towards him. The man squat down and patted the tiger's head as it arrived in front of him.

"You came. And it looks like you brought someone with you. An outsider?" The man asked the tiger and the tiger nodded.

Bella watched the man speak to the tiger. Although she knew that the man was speaking to the tiger, she couldn't make out the words the man was saying. She just stared at them with admiration.

'They look close. Is he the master of the tiger?' Bella thought. She smiled to herself, but her smile vanished when a massive body blocked her view. One of the warriors walked in front of her. He was so tall that he towered over her.

Bella flinched when the warrior looked down on her. He was wearing a very serious face that made him look scarier. Bella stared at him with troubling eyes.

'What will he do? Why is he looking down at me like that?'

Bella panicked. She thought he was going to eat her alive, no, maybe skin her alive before feeding her to the pigs. However, what the man did was the complete opposite of what Bella was thinking.

The man gestured his hands toward the path the warriors made and bowed his head so low.

"We welcome you, the friend of the Tiger!" He shouted.

"We welcome you, the friend of the Tiger!" The warriors shouted after the man, which made Bella flinch.

"Hahaha! Please, don't be afraid. You are the Tiger's friend, so you are our friend. We don't hurt our dear friends." The man who was talking with the tiger earlier was already in front of Bella.

'When did he get here?' Bella thought.

"I am this tribe's chief. They call me Matias, the chief of the Emmett tribe. And you are?" The man who called himself Matias smiled widely at Bella. His silver tooth showed as he smiled brightly.

"Oh, I'm Bella-" Bella stopped in the middle of her introduction when she remembered what Lucaon told her before.

'He said that there are some people chasing him. No way. Are they the people who were chasing Lucaon?' Bella thought. She stared at Matias and observed him.

Matias smiled at Bella but there was a little bit of confusion on his face. He tilted his head and was about to say something, however, the tiger went in between them and bit Bella's slacks before pulling her inside the estate.

Bella looked at the tiger with a troubled look, but when he heard Matias laugh she had nothing to do but just follow the tiger.

"Hahaha! Yes, of course. I'm sorry for holding you outside for too long and not inviting you in. Then, let us go inside and talk." Matias said and followed Bella and the tiger.

The warriors dispersed as soon as they walked inside the estate. Bella thought that these people are strange, in a good way.

***

Bella told Matias everything that happened to her later that day. Matias attentively listened to her without saying a word but his expression told her that the tribe that captured her was not on good terms with the Emmett tribe.

Furthermore, Bella didn't mention Lucaon to Matias. She was afraid that they may be the people who were chasing Lucaon, so she left out that detail.

That night, Bella was given a room and the tiger was with her. The tiger seemed to not want to get away from Bella.

"Hahaha! It seems like the tiger doesn't want to step even an inch away from you, Bella! Then, if that is what the Tiger wants. The two of you will share a room!" Matias shouted happily.

'This guy... he's really optimistic.' Bella thought and couldn't help but smile to herself. 'There is no way that this man will chase after Lucaon. Maybe I'm just thinking about bad things.'

The next morning, Bella could feel something heavy in her belly. The tiger's head was resting in her stomach. It was staring at her while she was sleeping. She was shocked to see the tiger staring at her.

The tiger jumped out of the bed and walked to the door before looking back at Bella.

"Do you want to go outside?" Bella asked?

The tiger nodded. Bella's heart started beating faster. She thought that the tiger looked cute now that she was paying more attention to it.

"Can you wait for a few minutes? I want to go out with you but I want to wash up first."

The tiger nodded once more and walked back to the bed and lied down, while Bella got up and washed up. It didn't take her a long time to take a bath. There were also clothes that the servants in the estate gave her. She wore them and was surprised to see how it revealed so much of her skin.

It was a tank top and a short skirt with a see through cloth that looked like a cardigan. She went out of the bathroom and walked to the door, the tiger immediately followed her. Before she could open the door she noticed that there was a lot of noise outside.

When she opened the door, she saw Matias walking to her.

"What's happening?" Bella asked.

"I'm sorry, one of my closest friends arrived earlier. He was severely injured and also lost a lot of blood. So, the servants were kind of busy doing the doctor's favors and orders." Matias explained.

"Is that so? Then I better not be on your way."

"If you are hungry you can go to the dining room and eat. There is already breakfast prepared for you. And don't worry about us, we've already eaten earlier."

"Thank you."

Bella went to the dining room with the tiger and ate. There were a lot of noises in the kitchen, but Bella ignored it.

"It seems like Matias's friend is a very important one. I wonder who it is?" Bella talked to herself.

The tiger was already finished eating and suddenly jumped on Bella's lap. Bella's lap was small and the tiger seemed to be having a hard time. Bella laughed and sat up making the tiger get out of her lap.

"Come. You must know this place. Take me somewhere I can get some fresh air. Let's both rest there." The tiger nodded and walked out of the big house. It led Bella towards a garden inside the estate.

Bella sat down on the grass and admired the beautiful flowers that were in full bloom. The tiger placed its paws on her lap and rested its head there. Bella's hand unconsciously touched the tiger's head and stroke it. The tiger purred and closed its eyes.

"This village is surely peaceful. I'd like to treat this as a vacation but I need to go back soon. My parents must have already heard that I'm missing. I hope they're not to worried." Bella spoke to the tiger. "Oh, now that I think about it, the people here always call you the Tiger. Don't you have a name? Didn't your owner gave you a name?" Bella looked down on the tiger and it opened its eyes and stared at her for a few seconds before shaking its head.

"I guess not. Then, can I give you a name? Will that anger your owner?" Bella asked. The tiger shook its head once more.

"Hmm. Then, how about Lyca?" Bella thought. Something happened that made Bella flinch. She heard a voice in her head.

'I'm Lyca from now on.'

Bella looked around to find where the voice came from, then her eyes fell to her lap.

"Was that you?" Bella asked Lyca.

'Yes.' Bella flinched once more but soon smiled and scratched Lyca's cheeks.

'Ever since I came to this island strange things kept happening. I don't even know if I will be more surprised at this point.' Bella thought. She continued stroking Lyca's head when noises suddenly came from the garden's entrance.

"... told you, you still can't go outside! Why are you being such a headache?!"

"I have someone I need to find."

"Master, please your wounds will open again! Take a few days rest and you can find whoever that person you're looking for!"

Bella's head turned towards the voices when she heard Matias' voice. There is also another voice that sounded familiar to Bella.

Right after Bella turned, her eyes met with a familiar blue one. Her eyes widened as she whispered the person's name.

"Luca."