The handsome man led me across the long hallways, past all these fancy doors. We walked past a maid with fire-red hair and huge glasses.
She carried many plates and as soon as Sebastian and I passed her by her neck snapped into our direction and she tripped over the carpet and was about to drop all the plates when Sebastian suddenly let go of my hand and instead planted his long hands around the maids waist and the plates, having both of them.
Swiftly he gave the maid the plates back and continued to lead me, leaving the maid with a red face. It took a while until we again met a servant of this household once more. This time it was a tall guy with blonde hair and a cigarette in his mouth. He seemed to be scolding somebone else.
As I came closer to the door a rather short, young boy suddenly ran out of the room and tackled me to the ground.
„Finny!", I heard that guy say after I opened my eyes and a pair of blue eyes met mine. The little boy; apparently he's called Finny; stared at my ears for a long time and touched them gently. I twitched. „Finny...", said the butler in a very stern voice while rubbing his temples. Finny struggled to get up and reached out his hand to me.
„Here.", he said. „Let me help you." I accepted the offer and let his pull me to my feet. „Sebastian, who is this pretty girl?"
Sebastian sighed: „You do not need to know that. Yet." He took my hand and pulled me through the hallway. In the back I heard one of the boys whistling.
Sebastian had a straight face. I was so occupied with looking at his face that I tripped and almost slammed to the ground if the swift butler didn't catch me.
„Careful.", he said when staring in my eyes while helping me back up. Sebastian brough me into a room with a rather small bed, a wooden mirror, a closet and walls vested in extravagant paperhangings and elaborate stucco.
„This is where you'll be staying from now on.", the tall man with pale slender hands said to me. I nodded and stood there in silence.
After a while Sebastian spoke again: „Starting from tomorrow I will be teaching you." Silence. He sighed.
„I will pick you up tomorrow morning. Good night, sleep tight.", he spoke softly and closed the heavy wooden door.
My eyes were still glued to the empty space where the young handsome man was standing seconds ago. I then started looking at the room more closely.
The walls were tinted in a royal blue and the bed shees were bright white. I let my hand wander over them and was surprised how soft they were.
Sitting down onto the bed I looked at the ceiling. All my life I have been chained up, beat up – never even smelled freedom. David really tried to sell me.
The face of Mary suddenly crossed my mind and tears escaped my dazzling eyes. There was a loud noise and the door was opened.
„Uhm...", said the red-haired maid nervously and I saw that she carried folded clothes in her arms. „These are for you...".
She walked towards the mahogany closet and tripped over her own feet causing all the clothes to be scattered around the floor.
„I'm so sorry!", Mei Lin stuttered while attempting to collect the clothes and put them in the closet except for a long white loose dress with half long sleeves.
„You can wear this at night... I have to ask you to try it on so we can see whether it fits you.", she spoke as she handed the dress to me.
I merely stared at it and forced a helpless smile on my pale face. „Um... Could it be that you don't know how to dress yourself?", she asked nervously.
I shook my head as a response. „Then... I shall help you... If that's okay with you..." I nodded.
As Mei Lin took my dress off we heard a loud creaking and both turned our heads towards the door but nothing was to be seen.
Mei Lin then continued undressing me and put the used clothes into a woven basked. She stopped for a few seconds and scanned my frail body.
My skin was very pale due to the fact that I was kept in a chamber all my life and saw the outside world only rarely. The sun barely ever kissed my skin.
But everything changed. Mei Lin picked up the new clothes and approached me once again, helping me to put on the clothes.
Suddenly we heared another noise from the direction of the door. „What are you staring at, Bard? I wanna see, I wanna see!", I heard Finny shout behind the door.
„What are you doing, you goddamned idiot! Shut up!", apparently Bard replied in a very harsh way before I heard both of them shout and the door opened in an instant leading to Bard and Finny falling into the room. I just stared at them despite being half naked. I had long lost my sense of shame.
Mei Lin on the other hand had a nervous breakdown and collapsed right next to me, meanwhile Bard scolded Finny for making him fall into the room.
Not knowing what to do I just stood there, watching Bard and Finny's face turn pinkish while quarreling and looking at me.
It didn't take long until the black-haired butler entered the room saying: „What's going on here?" He then saw me and deep cherry-red eyes met citrine eyes.
It was a cold encounter. I could feel how his eyes explored the deepest corners of my soul. It lasted for a few seconds until Finni opened his mouth.
„Bard was peeking through the door, so I went to see what he's looking at! He got angry when I did that and he tried to hit me and thus we fell into the room!", he said filled with indignation. „Ah!", Bard exclaimed and hit Finny on his head.
„Get out and do your work.", Sebastian said, giving them a cold look which caused both of them to flinch.
„Now.", he added and Bard and Finny quickly left the room, Bard muttering something unaudible. The tall man sighed and walked towards Mei Lin.
„Get up and do your work, there's plenty of it!", he said in a medium loud voice. Mei Lin twitched and suddenly rose up to her feet, blushing, and ran out of the room.
Sebastian stared after her just like I did. Then he turned around to me. „I suppose you need help with that?", he pointed towards the dress handing around my tender neck.
I simply nodded and stared at his face while he placed his hands on the dress, pulling it over my breasts, slowly, not looking bothered, unlike a certain doctor who looked at me like prey. Not once did Sebastian look my way while he dressed me. „All done.", he said after a while. I nodded. „Rest now.", he said „I will get you tomorrow. Good night.", then he left the room and I fumbled with my white cotton dress until I dared to climb on the bed. I again let my hand wander across the soft bed sheets and placed myself upon the bed. It seemed as if all the tension left my body as I sank into the soft matress.
Slow but steady my eyelids seemed to close themselves and soon after I drifted off to sleep in a way I never had before.
