Not A Small Town Girl (Danielle and David) novel Chapter 193

Danielle was astonished. No wonder she and Xavier heard the crows cawing as soon as they stepped into the village last night. They also saw the village chief communicating with the crows. Thankfully, she and Xavier didn't do anything suspicious.

Danielle wondered if everyone in the village had supernatural powers.

Danielle asked, "Mrs. Serrano, the young man who brought my parents here yesterday could control snakes. Is that a skill everyone in the village has?"

Raina found Danielle quite agreeable, or perhaps the villagers were, in general, honest people. So, Raina answered truthfully, "Everyone has a unique skill. I don't mind telling you more, but the less you know, the better it would be for you."

Danielle was grateful that Raina was kind enough to share so much with her. Therefore, she did not press further even though she was curious.

Danielle said, "Mrs. Serrano, we're actually looking for my brother, Matthew Darling. This is the last place he was seen before he disappeared."

Raina replied frankly, "I heard about it. Orion gathered the villagers to go look for your brother earlier this morning."

Danielle nodded. It seemed that Matthew was not in the village. Since she had promised Orion to help protect the village, she planned to contact the company involved after dinner.

Vivian and Howard came out of their room and offered to help too, but Raina wouldn't let them since they were her guests.

The Darling family went for a stroll outside the house. As Howard took in the fresh air, he exclaimed, "Honey, the air here is so fresh in the morning."

Vivian replied, "Yes. It's only five in the morning and everyone is up so early." The neighbors had already started making breakfast, and smoke was rising from all the chimneys in the village.

"Mom, Dad, Danielle, shall we go for a walk around the area?" Xavier suggested.

Raina walked out with a smile and told them, "You're welcome to go for a walk in the village. We'll have breakfast in half an hour."

Vivian smiled and said, "The air here is great. We'll go out for a walk and be back soon."

As they explored the village, Xavier snapped photos using his phone from time to time. He exclaimed, "Life here is pretty good. It's peaceful and everyone is so genuine."

"Xavier, why don't you stay here after this?" Danielle teased.

"But Danielle, I have to go back and earn money for you," Xavier said with puppy eyes.

Along the way, they encountered several villagers running towards the village entrance with sticks. Howard stopped one of them and asked, "What's going on?"

"The hooligans are causing trouble in the village again. They are terrible," the old man complained and continued heading towards the village entrance.

"Let's go and have a look," Danielle suggested.

The other three agreed.

Freddy Tate, the leader of the thugs declared, "I'm here today to inform you that you have three days to clear out of this village. Don't play coy, you paupers. If you refuse to leave after three days, we'll have to resort to violence."

There were more than a dozen troublemakers, each holding an iron bar in their hands. Freddy was wearing a floral shirt and a large gold chain, the typical attire of a local thug.

Orion, the village chief, trembled with anger as he reasoned, "We've lived here for generations. Why should we move? You're no different than bandits."

Freddy had a cigarette in his mouth as he pointed his iron bar at Orion. He threatened, "Don't push your luck, old man. You're lucky that my boss has taken a liking to your village. We don't mind teaching you a lesson if you don't appreciate his kindness."

Furious, the villagers cursed the troublemakers.

By the time Danielle and the Darling family arrived at the village entrance, some villagers had been beaten to the ground. When Danielle saw Freddy about to hit Orion's head with the iron bar, she quickly shot out a silver needle and saved Orion from the attack.

"I did it," said Danielle as she stepped forward to face Freddy.

Freddy was sweating from the pain. He cursed, "Damn you! You're—" He looked up and saw Danielle. The rest of his insults stuck in his throat. He wondered why he had never seen such a beautiful girl before even though he'd been to this remote village so many times.

Freddy said, "Beauty, I was just joking around with the chief. You're quite strong for such a pretty girl. I like that."

Danielle rolled her eyes in disgust.

"Chief, are you alright?" Danielle asked.

"We're fine. Thank you for saving me." Orion looked at Danielle gratefully.

"Pretty little thing, I'm injured. My wrist still hurts. Come and blow on it for me. If you please me, maybe I'll let these poor folks go." Freddy leered at Danielle, practically drooling.

Xavier chided, "Have you looked yourself in the mirror? You're disgusting! You've yellow teeth, bad breath, and a face like a rotten orange. One look at you and I'll have nightmares. And yet you want to be my brother-in-law? Dream on!"

Xavier was furious. He was appalled by how this good-for-nothing was so brazen to flirt with Danielle.

Freddy's face turned red with anger. He gritted his teeth and threatened, "You stay out of this, kid, or my iron bar might just land on you next."

Xavier retorted, "Look at you, acting all tough. Anyone can talk big. I could do it all day! Bullying these villagers isn't an impressive feat. They have made it clear that they don't want to move. Why are you being so tyrannical? Beating people up just because they won't move? Let me tell you. I recorded everything. Let's see if you can still keep up the tough act after this."