The woman who had been furious with her skin that had started to darken with her tongue turning and her eyes changing, they finally went back to look human. She looked at her daughter who didn't look up at her. With a sigh, she reached her daughter when the girl scooted away to only raise the anger which was slowly evaporating. 

"Come here, dear," she raised her hand, her voice sweet and her eyes looking gently at looking at the little girl. 

Penny had wrapped her hands around herself when she looked at her mother. She shook her head scared to go to the person whom she believed was not her mother. Her mother would never have reacted to her like this and never would have touched the rabbit roughly. 

"You aren't my mother," said the little girl, the voice coming out in a whisper as she moved away. 

The woman hearing this looked at her before laughing, "Who is your mother? I am the only mother you have, Penny. I am the only one you have in this world and no one else," her mother said stepping close to her to which she stepped back again. Moving away every time her mother took one step closer to her. 

Young Penny shook her head, "No," she said walking farther and farther away until the door was close by. Her mother seeing this looked at her with a displeased look on her face. She grabbed the girl who struggled to stay away from her. 

"I am so sick and tired of your behavior!" the woman gritted her teeth, dragging her back and away from the door, "Sit here!" she shouted but Penny didn't want to. She tried to run away and the woman caught hold of her neck to make her sit, her fingers squeezing to hold her in place, "Stop moving or you will share the same fate as that f.u.c.king rabbit of yours," she glared down, the threat keeping Penny still. 

The woman didn't loosen her hold on her daughter. Her fingers squeezing the girl's neck who struggled to pull her hands away from her neck. Penny saw her mother take a chain that often hung on the wall. Her mother put the chain around her neck, muttering something under her breath for minutes as she started to drift off to sleep. 

By the time Penny had woken up, she found herself in the bed. Her mother sat at the side of her bed where the lantern-lit itself. 

"Mama," she called her mother who looked to meet her eyes, "What happened?" the girl asked. 

"I found you in the street, Penny. Where were you?" asked her mother.

The little girl tried to remember her time after she left the house. She remembered going to the woods and reaching the village but she couldn't recollect her time after that, "I had been to the woods," she answered her mother. When she tried to sit up, her body started to hurt. It had been alright in the morning, why was it hurting? 

"Careful, dear," her mother made her sit up on the bed, "Here, drink some water," she said offering the gla.s.s that had been readied so that Penelope could drink it which her mother ha prepared for her personally. Penelope who knew nothing of what had occurred previously that day, took the gla.s.s of water out of innocence and trust, drinking the water until the last drop in the gla.s.s. 

"Did you find me outside?" Penny asked to which the answer had already been given. 

Her mother looked at her, her eyes losing the kindness for a moment as if what she had done had not been successful, "You were lying on the street," she gave the same answer. The woman ran her hand over her head and as she patted her hand touched her cheek where Penny winced in pain, "Oh my, they must have beaten you again. Leaving you unconscious," her mother said. 

"Beaten?" Penny asked with her brows knitting as she looked confused. She didn't remember anyone hitting her yet her face and body right now were hurting. Throbbing in pain. 

"The villagers," her mother responded to her question, "They took it too far," her mother patted her head, "Go back to sleep. You will need the sleep to feel better," her mother smiled at her. Gently putting her back to sleep now that she was done drinking the water which was dissolved with impurities by the same person whom she called her mother. 

"Why don't they like us?" asked Penny. She didn't know why they hated her enough to beat her and leave her lying on the ground, "I didn't do anything to them," her voice came out pained. 

"Unfortunate, humans," her mother's words slipped out, "I mean, sometimes it is hard to understand people. It is better if you don't talk to people too. Stay away from them else they will beat you and me," hearing this the girl gave out a startled look. 

"No one will hurt you, mama! Mama is kind," Penny smiled looking up at her mother, holding her mother's hand and bringing close to her face. 

Her mother returned back the smile, hearing what Penny had to say to her. When her daughter closed her eyes whilst holding her hand as she slept, the smile on the woman's lips fell down. Once the girl was half asleep. She pulled her hand away from her and walking away back to the pot she had been working on that noon before she was interrupted.

Opening the lid, she looked down to see the bubbling black froth that was thick in texture. Using the ladle she turned the contents inside it. A bone coming to stop her from moving she pulled the ladle. It seemed like the bones were yet to dissolve in the pot.

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It is the weekly reset, let's try bringing the book up to #1 in the power ranking. It is the red stones that are used to vote for the books and not rating chapters when it comes to ranking.