Staring intensely at Scarlett as she was in deep thought, Demetri spoke up, "What is it? You do not like it?"
Scarlett quickly shook her head to deny his words, "No. It is delicious. The best I have ever had, master." She responded while faking a smile.
"Good." Demetri responded with amusement as he continued, "Drink your soup." Demetri said assertively. He then grabbed the bowl of vegetable soup that he had scooped up earlier and placed it in front of her, before taking her plate of steak, and began cutting the large piece of steak to tiny bite size pieces.
Seeing his actions, Scarlett knew she was in no place to argue. These were not suggestions he was giving. They were demands. And if following these demands meant he would have mercy on her and give her a less painful death, she'll even drink the entire pot of soup if he requested it. Grabbing the bowl of soup, she gulped the liquid down quickly. Feeling the liquid from the soup smoothly slip down her throat, Scarlett thought the soup was absolutely delicious. It was a clear broth soup and tasted warm yet refreshing. As she placed the finished bowl of soup onto the table, she saw a tiny piece of steak just inches away from her mouth.
While she was busy drinking the soup, she did not realize that Demetri had already cut up the steak and had poked a bite-sized piece with a fork, bringing the meat up to her lips as if he were trying to feed it to her. "I--I can eat it myself." Scarlett said, grabbing the fork from his hand, and quickly shoving the meat into her mouth.
Dinner continued on for a while. And as she had now expected, Demetri had not touched any food aside from the ones he had piled up on her plate. She ate and ate until her stomach could no longer take it.
"Are you ready for your punishment now?" Demetri questioned with a cunning smile.
Scarlett hung her head low and let out a soft sigh in defeat. The man had been asking her this question every time she took a pause from eating. She had tried to delay her death by continuing to tell him she wanted more food, but if she didn't stop now, she really was going to die from eating too much food. She is sure her stomach is on the verge of explosion.
"Well, off we go!" Demetri said in pure delight as he grabbed Scarlett's hand and the two vanished from the dining room into Demetri's bedroom.
Looking at the man who is now intensely staring at her, Scarlett spoke, "W—what will my punishment be?" The girl hesitated as she asked.
"Take a guess, bunny." Demetri said in an eerily low voice, causing the hairs on the girl's arms to stand.
"Are you going to eat me?" Scarlett asked devastatingly, with a pleasing look on her face, as if she were begging for mercy through her question.
"Are you sure you want that kind of punishment?" Demetri asked with a smirk, as he thought of the many ways he could satisfy her request. Seeing that the girl had gone silent, he inched closer toward her and continued to say, "I think you would make quite the meal, but let us save that for another day."
Uncomfortable with the close distance between the two of them, Scarlett took a few steps back. However, every step she took back, the man took a step forward, continuing to close the gap between them. Hitting a cold but hard surface behind her, the girl let out a squeak. When did this wall get here? Scarlett thought with her breath hitched and her fingers clenched tight. The girl's reaction caused Demetri to feel even more amused, as he continued to lean forward. His lips lightly grazed the girl's ear, causing the girl to let out a small gasp as her heart began to beat faster and louder. Tightly shutting her eyes, the girl thought to herself, he is going to drink my blood. He is going to kill me for sure.
Just as Scarlett was lost in her thoughts, the man spoke, "Draw me a bath." Demetri said in a low whisper. The soft breath he blew into her ears as he spoke traveled to the pit of her stomach, causing her body to tense up as she felt her legs go weak. Her breathing grew heavy as she lifted her head to look up at the man who was staring intensely at her. "Do you need help drawing me a bath?" Demetri said with raised brows, his eyes never leaving hers.
The girl blinked in confusion at first, then her eyes widened with joy. He wanted her to draw him a bath? He was not going to kill her?
"I guess you do." Demetri said with a smirk.
Just as he grabbed her hand to lead her towards the washroom, the girl pushed him away. Shaking her head, she denied his help and ran toward the washroom. Leaving the man leaning against the wall with an amused smile, looking at her back as she ran away.
—
In the washroom there was a large square shaped wooden bathing tub. When Scarlett first walked in, she noticed that the master's tub was huge, large enough to fit almost five people. She was amazed at the size of the bathing tub. Why must a man need a bathing tub of this size? If she were to be told by another, Scarlett could never imagine it to be possible that something like this could exist. While she was living in Blue Moon Village, her only source for bathing was to take a swim in the lake.
As she filled the empty tub with warm water, she was reminded of her times in Blue Moon Village. It was a rough time for her, as she had no shelter, nor did she have anyone who was willing to give her a helping hand. Along the way, there were many things she had learned on her own. When she was famished, she would venture into the woods for fruits and roots to eat, or capture fish from the lake to satisfy her stomach. She learned how to gather wood and make fire with sticks and stones. The memories are fresh in her mind, but it truly felt like her time in Blue Moon Village was a lifetime ago. Although her stay at the Delmonte Manor had been short thus far, she realized that there were many things in the world that she would have never learned about if it weren't for Marion bringing her here.
"Something on your mind, sweet?" Demetri whispered into her ear, interrupting her thoughts of Blue Moon Village.
The girl let out a gasp as she saw how close his face was to her. The man surely has a habit of turning up out of nowhere. Does he not know that humans can be scared to death?
"Let the water run. I need your help with something else." Demetri said in a nonchalant tone as he began to walk away from the tub.
Hearing his request, Scarlett quickly stood up from her squatting position and followed him. "What can I help you with?" Scarlett asked to see the man looking at her with raised brows, as if she had said something wrong. Realizing what the man was waiting for, her eyes widened at the mistake she had made, and she quickly added, "Master."
Demetri flashed her a pearly smile after she corrected herself. He then pointed towards his shirt.
Scarlett tilted her head to the side, her brows furrowed as she gave him a confused look. What did he want her to do with his shirt?
Seeing that the girl made no move, he pointed toward his shirt again, "Help me remove my shirt, pretty." Demetri said with a devilish smile.
"I--I can't." Scarlett responded nervously. There were many things she would be willing to do, but to remove a man's shirt, she could not do that.
"You can't?" Demetri asked with amusement. "Or don't know how to? Come here." He gestured for her to come his way. "Let me teach you." Demetri continued to say. He clasped his hands around hers to pull her closer to him, causing a shiver to run down the girl's spine.
"No! It's not that." Scarlett responded, shaking her head and yanking her hands out of his. Does this man not understand that he is making an unreasonable request? Scarlett thought to herself.
"Then what is it?" Demetri asked demandingly, with raised brows.
"I--It is not appropriate, master." Scarlett replied, biting her lips in nervousness. She was afraid to offend the man, but she also thought it would be shameful to satisfy his request.
"I don't see anything inappropriate about it." Demetri said with a smirk. Looking at the girl's reaction, there was something that pleased him in seeing the girl bite her lips nervously, which encouraged him to tease her further. Looking intensely at the girl, Demetri made slow steps toward her. The man looked as if he were a hungry wolf, ready to devour the little bunny in front of him.
As the man inched closer and closer toward her, Scarlett dodged the man and made scurried steps toward the door. "I'll help you bring a towel!" She shouted as she ran out the door, leaving the man frozen in place as he let out a small laugh watching her scamper out the door.