The fact that Charlotte spoke to everyone however she chose, regardless of who they were, astounded me the most.
Like, she knew he was the lord's son, yet she was disrespectful and even dared to fight him?
She was quite brave and self-assured.
Jin approached me, stooping, so, so, so we were on the same eye level, but it didn't help because he was still taller than me.
"What a lovely little creature." He stated this as his eyes shone at me.
Charlotte was upset, as I could tell from the corner of my eye. Maybe because I had taken all of this man's attention away from her?
My laughter faded as I contemplated on the punishment that I would face once got to her house.
I wanted to object, to tell the guy that I wasn't a small thing, but Charlotte's gaze on me kept me quiet.
"What age are you?" He inquired as he extended his hand to touch my cheek.
I intended to take a step back and avoid physical contact with him, but I hadn't noticed a little stone behind me, which I walked on, losing my balance and falling.
I let go of the two little gourds I was carrying while Jin held my hand up to keep me from falling to the ground.
"That was really close." He stated this as he lifted and hoisted me off the ground.
That was really close. I didn't need any more discomfort in my physique.
I stared down at the earth from where dad was carrying me, my small hands on his chest. The image immediately in front of my eyes stunned me so profoundly that the pounding of my heart could be heard a thousand miles away, if that were possible.
The gourds had cracked and all the water had spilled to the ground, making the dirt surrounding the broken gourd pieces damp and muddy.
I didn't want to look at Charlotte because I could tell she was upset, and the eyes that were on me were undoubtedly hers.
"Don't worry, it's only two pieces of old gourds that were certain to shatter sometime." Jin said.
I gazed at him, tears welling up in my eyes. I didn't want to weed the flowers once again.
But the flowers had all been weeded, so who knows what punishment I'd receive this time?
"It's simple for you to say." As I peered into his gray eyes, I murmured.
"Don't cry, it's not your fault." He continued.
"She's going to smash my head like the cracked gourds, you don't know that." I cried out loud, not caring if I was creating a scene.
Charlotte had promised to hit me in the face early this morning, and with the shattered gourds, nothing could stop her from doing so.
I sobbed even louder, tears flowing down my face as he attempted in vain to quiet me.
"Don't worry, I'll bring you some new gourds." But that wasn't enough to calm me down.
If Charlotte declined his assistance in carrying the gourds she held, would she not use the new ones to smash his head if he brought them?
"Is this your niece, Charlotte?" Jin inquired as he approached her.
"Yes so?" She responded with a question.
"Why is she so terrified of you?"
"It's none of your concern." She made a comment. "Put her down, we've got to get home." She gave him instructions.
"It's my fault she smashed the gourds; don't penalize her; I'll replace them or pay you in silver." He said.
"I told you to put her down." She shot back.
He instantly set me down, and Charlotte began to walk away.
"You best bind those small feet of yours or I'll break you even more than I already intend to." She made a threat.
I was sobbing now, not because of the shattered gourds, but because of what she was about to do to me.
My small heart was terrified, and thinking of methods to get out of this situation was not in my lexicon.
When she arrived home, she placed the gourds in front of the house and walked inside. I followed her while still sobbing.
I anticipated her to take out a heavy stick and flog me or something even worse, but she didn't.
She began cooking, and I was at a loss for what to do.
Perhaps she was planning to poison the meal and murder me? Maybe she was planning to boil me in the midst of the food?
These erratic ideas were unavoidable, and I had no clue where they had come from.
She then walked away and returned later, her hair soaking wet and her body covered in linen.
Her absence made me wonder what she was up to; perhaps she was planning some form of retribution for me. However, seeing that she had returned from freshening up helped to calm my inner self.
"Take off your clothes, you stink." She said as she dried her hair with a cloth.
"Are you not going to punish me?" I asked.
"I won't if you stop sobbing. Continue to weep and see what I'm capable of." She made a comment.
I began carefully unbuttoning the little cardigan sweater I was wearing over two additional pull necks beneath.
This was a frigid environment, and one needed to stay as warm as possible. The fact that we had been frequently touching water while fetching it indicated that we may develop a cold, but Charlotte's demeanor demonstrated that she was already accustomed to this.
Even the continual bathing and freshening up was a little frightening due to the cold, but thank goodness Charlotte had warmed some water for me.
"We need to purchase some milder soap for your skin and baby oil from the merchant down town." She stated this while rubbing a little towel across my skin and pouring warm water on me.
"Soak for a few minutes in this water to relax your muscles. We'll go down to the merchant's store after you rest." She continued.
This was without a doubt the sweetest thing she had ever done for me since we met, and I was stunned.