Looking at her master with widened eyes, Emelia pressed her lips into a thin line and shook her head in denial. She hated spiders and roaches, everyone in the manor knew that. On her first few days in the manor, she had seen a huge spider in the cooking room. She screamed and caused a huge ruckus. She even crashed into Lillian when she ran around in circles like a mad woman and broke a whole stack of glass plates. She got into so much trouble from that incident. Now, she does not even dare to make a noise when she sees the critters. She could only cry to herself with silent tears.
"Oh right, you were in the middle of a conversation when I rudely interrupted you. Would you like to continue, Emelia?" Demetri said in a sarcastic tone before walking towards Scarlett who was stirring the blood brew after dropping in two red capsules.
"No! No, master! It's nothing!" Emelia blurted before keeping her mouth shut and focused on scrubbing the pot in her hand, not daring to utter another word.
Looking at the abnormal interactions between the two, Scarlett's brows furrowed. What was up with these two? Emelia was just about to tell her something, but now she says it's nothing? Shaking the thought off her mind, Scarlett turned toward Demetri, "I thought you were going to your study? I was just about to bring your blood brew."
"I was on my way up, but I heard too many noises coming from the cooking room and wanted to join in on the fun." Demetri responded before grabbing the tea cup that was in her hand. "Let's go. I will enjoy this in my study." Demetri grasped Scarlett's small hands with his free hand, and led her towards the west wing.
—
"How was your day today? Were you busy?" Demetri asked before setting the teacup on the table in his study and taking a seat.
"It was wonderful. Marion taught me the alphabet. I even got to practice writing some words." Scarlett responded enthusiastically as she trailed behind him.
"I am glad you enjoyed your lesson. I will have Marion give you more lessons." Demetri responded before taking a sip of his tea.
"Would you like to see what I have learned, master?" Scarlett asked, her eyes sparkling with excitement. Although she knew she had much to learn in the fields of reading and writing, she was extremely proud of what she had learned today. And she truly had no one to turn to for praises besides her master.
"Sure. Come here and show me." Demetri agreed with her proposition as he moved his tea cup to the side and pulled out a few sheets of parchment paper and pen.
Seeing the man pull out supplies for her to write, Scarlett went to him. As she reached his side, Demetri naturally snaked his arm around her waist and guided her to sit on his lap. With a shy blush, she obediently sat on his lap. For some reason, she had a feeling he was going to do that, but she no longer resisted his demanding gestures. In fact, as they made their way to the west wing earlier, she found herself hoping that he would pull her into his embrace when they reached his study. The blush that crept on her face deepened, embarrassed that she had allowed her thoughts to run wild.
"Show me what you have learned, pretty." Demetri whispered seductively into her ear, his lips lightly grazing her ear, causing her to become even more flushed.
Demetri's stare on her was dark and intense. She truly felt that he looked like a hungry lion, ready to pounce on her, his prey, any minute now. His arms that wrapped around her waist were warm, and his chest that was pressed against her back was strong and hard. Returning his stare with hazy eyes, she felt as if she could melt into his arms at this moment. And before she could further lose herself in his soul, she quickly snapped out of the spell he had put her under. Grabbing the pen he laid out a minute ago, Scarlett began writing a few words Marion had her copy from one of the books in her study earlier. After writing down the few words she had learned, Scarlett began reading the words off joyfully.
"I also learned how to write my name, master!" With all thoughts of the previous events wiped out of her mind, Scarlett wrote out her name and continued to cheerfully show off all the words she learned today.
Seeing the happy girl's grin, a small satisfied smile appeared on Demetri's face. Her smiles were like rays of sunshine that offered him an enormous amount of energy every time he had the pleasure to see it. Her beaming smile breathes life to his very core in a way that even he himself is afraid of, because he truly has no way of controlling how much effect she has over him. A simple touch and a simple glance from her has his heart palpitating in ways he could never imagine. It was in that moment that she had said something that snapped him out of his untamed thoughts.
"Scarlett and Demetri." Scarlett said merrily, pointing to the words she had written. She did not know it, but she had been talking to herself, not realizing that the man had been in a trance, admiringly staring at her this entire time. It was only then when she spoke his name that he was awoken from his stupor.
"Say that again." Demetri demanded.
"What was that?" Scarlett questioned as she turned to look at the man. He had been quiet this entire time, so she did not expect him to speak.
"My name. Say it again."
Staring at the man before her, Scarlett grew anxious. She did not realize that she had so casually spoken his name until he mentioned it. She remembered he had asked her to call him by his name before. However, given the nature of their relationship, she felt that she truly could not be impartial to her status. She was his slave, and he, her master. He feeds her, clothes her, and provides a roof over her head. Therefore, she could never see herself as equal to him.
Hearing Scarlett swallow the lump in her throat, Demetri let out a small sigh. Shifting Scarlett's position so her back no longer faced him, Demetri cupped her cheek with his free hand, "There's no need to be nervous." Demetri whispered, his thumb rubbing circles on her cheek in a soothing manner. However, seeing the gloominess in her eyes, he sensed that it was not only nervousness that she felt. "What's wrong, pretty?"
"I am confused, master." Scarlett spoke, honestly. She had been frustratingly reasoning with herself over the past couple days why this man was treating her so nicely? In the past, she had always been treated poorly. She was ignored by an entire community. She was outcasted and shunned. After a period of time being treated this way, naturally, she has been conditioned to believe that there was nothing left of her that could be desirable. Before coming to the manor, she felt that she had lost all sense of purpose. She survived and lived through each day simply because she was not dead. Why would a man be interested in a woman who had no appeal or captivating features? Is it because he believes that she is an easy catch?
"What are you confused about? Allow me to enlighten you."
"Can you please be honest with me?" Scarlett asked, tilting her head to look at the man holding her.
"Ask me anything, pretty. I will be honest with you."
"Why do you treat me so well?" Scarlett questioned, blowing out a soft sigh with a dejected spirit. "Is it because you think I am naive? Because you think I have never received affection from others, so I am desperate and an easy prey?" She continued on with a frustrated tone.
Hearing the harsh accusations, the girl just threw at him, Demetri's hold around her waist tightened, his eyes grew dark with anger. "Do you think that lowly of me?" Demetri replied with a chilling tone.
Scarlett tried to squirm away from him as she felt his suffocating grip around her waist. His hold was so tight that she was afraid her skin would start bruising. "Please, release me. You are hurting me." Scarlett murmured with fear.