Desiring Production

“Well, kid, answer me this. If you could have one thing in the world, what is the one thing you desire?”

What do I desire? I don’t really desire anything. I never had anything I wanted. I didn’t even know what there was to desire. I suppose the only thing I wanted was not to be beaten. And Mr. Ren seemed to have already gifted me that. Now, there wasn’t anything else I really wanted. But given how Lady Scarlet was looking at me, I knew I had to give a response.

“I don’t have anything I want. Mr. Ren has already gifted me everything I have ever wanted and more. So, if I could have anything, I want Mr. Ren to have everything he wants.” I said this, looking directly into her eyes with conviction.

I hoped this response would satisfy Lady Scarlet, as it was the only answer I could provide her.

A brief moment passed before she burst into laughter.

“I’m sorry, kid. I was just teasing you. Welcome to our camp; you’re more than welcome to stay here,” she said with a warm smile. Despite being quite intimidating, she seemed kind. I hadn’t encountered people like this before—first Mr. Ren and now Lady Scarlet.

“Alright, kid, let’s not impose on Lady Scarlet any further,” Ren commented.

“Ren,” Lady Scarlet said in a commanding voice, “where do you think you’re taking this little child?”

“Honestly, I didn’t really have a place in mind. I was going to find a tent for her,” Ren replied.

“You can’t just take her away after introducing her to me. She can stay with me for a bit,” Lady Scarlet insisted.

“As you wish, my lady,” Ren responded, bowing and placing his hand on his chest. “Well, kid, I’ll return sometime later.”

With that, Mr. Ren left. I couldn’t quite explain it, but his departure hurt for some reason. It made me feel lonely, and I didn’t like it. After he left, Lady Scarlet turned her attention to me.

“Shall we go wash up? You can tell me a bit about yourself.”

She took me to a neighbouring tent. A woman standing outside the tent nodded as we passed but didn’t say anything. Inside was a strange stone structure filled with water, and more water poured steadily from a spout.

Was this where we were supposed to bathe? That didn’t make sense. As I understood it, bathing involved someone throwing a bucket of cold, stale water over me every few days. Where was the bucket? How did you use this thing?

Lady Scarlet began to undress. “Kid, you should undress too.” She commented. It was commanding but somewhat warm.

I didn’t want to bathe—not because I enjoyed the dirt I was in; it was smelly. I felt embarrassed by the scars from the whipping I had received. Lady Scarlet had beautiful skin, while mine was not, and I didn’t want to make her feel sick by looking at me. If I had the choice, I would prefer to bathe alone.

However, that might not be possible since I didn’t think I could lift the large bathing bucket. It was made of stone, and I couldn’t manage it. Not wanting to upset Lady Scarlet, I reluctantly began to undress.

As I did, she gasped and covered her mouth when she saw my body.

“I’m sorry for disgusting you,” I said, quickly reaching for my torn clothes as I started to run out of the tent. Before I could make it, Miss Scarlet grabbed my arm.

“I’m not disgusted with you. I am disgusted by the actions of those who did that to you. I’m so sorry you went through so much pain.” She pulled me in and gave me a big hug. Even though all she was doing was hugging me, and it physically didn’t hurt, I couldn’t help but cry for some reason.

My tears just continued to fall, which confused me. “I’m sorry,” I kept repeating to Lady Scarlet; I wanted to ensure she didn’t think I was upset with her. Even though she appeared intimidating, she was very kind.

Once I had cried all I could, Lady Scarlet and I finished undressing. I expected her to lift the large water-carrying container and pour it over us. Instead, she stepped into it.

She gestured for me to follow. I hesitated. Was this allowed? Wasn’t the water supposed to be thrown over us?

“This is called a bath,” Lady Scarlet explained.

A bath. I had never heard that word before. Never seen one before. Slowly and cautiously, I stepped in after her.

Lady Scarlet revealed a scar along her back and mentioned that it matched mine, saying my scars weren’t ugly. However, while hers was small and cute, mine were all over my body and looked horrid. Everyone except Lady Scarlet said they were ugly, so I didn’t know what to believe.

After we had cleaned ourselves and smelled nice, Lady Scarlet called for the woman outside, who brought in sets of clothes that I assumed were for Lady Scarlet.

As she began to get dressed, I noticed that one of the outfits brought for Lady Scarlet was far too small for her. It seemed to be a size that would fit me better than her. I started to put my rags back on, but Lady Scarlet stopped me.

“These are for you,” she said as she carefully handed me her collection of small-sized clothes. For me? Was it really possible to receive all this? I couldn’t help but think about how expensive they must have been. My rags were worn and tattered, yet my Father and Stepmother never even considered replacing them. These clothes were far too nice for someone as wretched as me.

I didn’t want to disappoint her, so I wore them. It was a light white dress that was easy to move in, very comfortable, and without any holes.

“Thank you, Lady Scarlet, but these clothes are too nice for someone as horrid as me,” I commented.

“You’re not horrid. And I would give you a hundred sets of clothes if you wanted them.”

One hundred? I couldn’t even count that high. Lady Scarlet was far too kind to someone like me. Before I could protest, my stomach rumbled loudly. I was usually good at managing the sounds it made when I was hungry, but the warm water of the bath seemed to relax my stomach muscles.

“Alright, kid, I’m a bit hungry; let’s go have something to eat.” She took my hand and led me back to her tent, which had been transformed during our absence. Inside, there was now a large wooden table with several seats arranged around it.

She took a seat at the head of the table, and I went to sit on the floor because that had been where I had always eaten food. But Lady Scarlet told me to sit at a seat. Was that even allowed? This day had been so weird. I couldn’t fathom any of it. There was lots of food brought out. It all looked so good.

“Feel free to eat as much as you like,” instructed Lady Scarlet.

Is it truly acceptable for me to eat all of this? Wouldn’t the mice go hungry if I took so much? Mice held greater value than I did—that was what I had always been taught. They needed to eat, to grow plump and hearty, so cats like Anna’s beloved Choco remained well-fed and strong. This amount of food was wasted on someone as useless as me.

Lady Scarlet assured me I was allowed food, so I decided to dig in. It turned out to be the tastiest meal I had ever experienced. The bread was free of green patches, and the water was fresh instead of stale. The meat contained the occasional bone rather than occasional bits of meat. It felt as if I were in heaven.

Once I was done, I was extremely tired. Lady Scarlet escorted me to a nearby tent. It had a large bed—almost as big as my sister Anne’s.

“This is my bed,” Lady Scarlet commented. “You’re welcome to share it with me tonight.”

This is a day I will never forget. I wasn’t beaten even once; I got to bathe in a bath and eat more food than I had ever eaten in my entire life. Now, I have the chance to sleep in a bed.

──✩₊⁺⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧──

End Chapter 4