Gardenia of Blooming Desire

Chapter 3: Eulogy of the Prince I

The maid who led me to the house behind the mansion looked uninviting. She wasn't young, maybe on her end thirties. But, her steps were steady, each step had proper timing and rhythm, and her maid dress was clean without any stench on it. I wanted to ask a few things, but her gaze was sharp and cold, it swallowed my guts.

We walked past many rooms in this hut. The lord of the mansion might say it as a hut, but it was the same size as the house of my second owner. There was a wide living room with chairs and a fireplace and a kitchen when I entered the hut. The maid led me to a corridor with many doors on its left and right. There were about twenty of them. While I was curious, I did not dare to stick my head around. The maid mumbled about something I didn't understand before we stopped at one room near the end of the corridor.

"This is your room," said the maid.

"Oi, it's Anne!"

While I stood behind Anne, I heard people inside the room scurrying around, since I heard creaked beds.

'Wait, Beds?'

If this place actually gave bedding to slaves, that'd be pleasant. I wanted to sleep in bed, with proper clothes and position, of course. My old master didn't even bother to give me a proper cloth before.

I followed Anne who entered the room first. It was more than I expected, maybe I should praise the lord for this blessing. There were two bunk beds, and a small wardrobe with a hanging candle to light the room. There were two men standing nervously in front of Anne. They wore regular tunic, but it was not brownish or yellow with horrible stench on it. It was a clean tunic. I expected people who were in the same condition like me, but I was the only one who looked dirty.

"Jean. Dirk. This is the new slave," Anne tapped the floor. It was the subtle order that I realized immediately. I stepped beside her. "This one is different, he is a gift for Young Lord. Don't do anything precarious to him."

"Yes, ma'am." Said one of the guys. They looked nervous, was Anne that scary? Did I need to fear her? She might look stern, but I still didn't understand why two healthy men would be nervous and scared around a woman who was not even beautiful.

Anne turned his attention towards me and pointed at the wardrobe, "Your clothes are there, take a bath and rest. You will meet Young Lord as a proper slave," she said. Although I already knew all the formalities, I never knew that I would get proper bed and tunic on my first day.

"Yes, ma'am." I said, imitating what the guys said before.

Anne left without saying any words. I can hear her footsteps slowly disappearing, and I heard a loud breath of relief from the guys in front of me. They sat on their bed with relieved expression, as if they just escaped death.

"Man, I thought we were done for."

"That woman is a death sentence."

While they were busy talking to each other, I stood there nervously. It was my first time to have a proper room with other people. They stopped talking after a while and stared at me. One of them shook their head and opened the wardrobe. He threw a clean tunic and a towel at me.

"Take a bath, we had soap and a toothbrush in the bathroom."

"The bath is empty now, use one of the tubs. God, you stink."

I nodded. Although they were not friendly enough, at least they didn't stomp me. It was more than enough. I went out and entered the bathroom.

I thought the bathroom would be a small area consisting of murky water in a tub and a hole as a toilet. But it bewildered me when it exceeded my expectations. It was beyond what I could portrait in mind. It was a huge bathhouse with a large pool in the middle. There were also around twenty tubs for bathing and the water was clean as morning dew.

As much as I wanted to jump in the pool, I turned the faucet to fill a tub. I flinched a bit since the water wasn't warm. But it was summer, so I wouldn't die freezing. I wash my hair and body with soap, then use the toothbrush and let myself be immersed in this bathtub. It had been a while since my last bath. The merchant wasn't a kind man. He didn't even feed me properly.

I stared at the high ceiling in this bathhouse. Even the bathhouse had proper roof. The owner must be a wealthy conglomerate to throw fifty gold coins just to buy me. But this was beyond his expectation. The master gave everyone bedding, personal clothing, a huge bathhouse, fireplace, all that just for slaves and workers.

'When will they sell me again? A year? A month? A week?'

I wasn't sure if I was enough to satisfy the lord. He had everything. He could buy a younger toy, or beautiful concubines if that was what he wanted. I might be assigned to the workers. That scared me the most. I was afraid that they'd sell me again using me over and over until after I'm tattered, permanently broken.

I shook my head. It was no use to ponder over such inevitable fate. What he needed to do was to follow the order and do what he was assigned to.

'Maybe, they actually mean it. Maybe I will be assigned to the young lord.'

It might be wishful thinking. However, I would be more than happy to assign the young lord. The young lord that picked me at the market was a fascinating man. Though, I couldn't see him clearly, since he was fully covered. His sharp blue eyes pierced me when our eyes met and I couldn't take my eyes off him. I thought beauty was a trait solely for few women. But he was beautiful. Beautiful might be an understatement.

'I wonder if the young lord would be interested in me.'

I shook my head again and left the tub. Staying inside the bathtub might give me weird imagination. I dried myself with a towel and wore a clean tunic. The sensation of clean tunic touched my skin. It was such a pleasant feeling. I went to my room to find those two guys before already sleeping soundly. I climbed one of the beds and again, and immersed myself with this feeling of soft bedding.

The last time I actually slept on a bed was six months ago. Before my previous owner sold me after he went bankrupt. I was glad when he went bankrupt. He was such a bad master. However, my time sleeping with other slaves on a haystack, little to no food, and getting whipped. I didn't want to experience that again.

I close my eyes, half smiling. This was the best. The most comfortable bed I could ever sleep on.

I woke up when the guy below me creaked the bunk bed. It might be a habit when I was on the market, I would wake up faster before the merchant whipped those who slept for too long. I climbed down from my bed, followed these two guys to the bathhouse to wash our face. So far, they had yet to speak to me. I didn't even know their name, which one was Jean or Dirk.

"You. What is your name?"

I looked to my left after washing my face. One of the guys, a man shorter than me, with brown hair and stubbles on his cheek, and a scar under his chin finally asked my name. I paused a bit. I didn't know which name he preferred, my slave name or real name.

"Your real name," before I could answer it, the other guy, a bald man with a crooked nose preferred my real name. It was a relief that they knew slaves used either their real name or slave name.

"I am Ramuja."

"Ramuja? That's a strange name. I'm Dirk," said the shorter man.

"I'm Jean," said the tall one with a crooked nose.

I nodded. I never knew how to continue a conversation though. I never talked to people more than my name and which master owned me.

"No need to be shy. Most of us are serfs here," Dirk laughed. He tapped my shoulder, "Follow us, breakfast will be ready soon."

I tailed them to the front door. The sun was rising, but everyone had lined up to a large table with stacks of bread that could feed an entire village for a day or two. There were five maids standing behind the table. Everyone looked happy, talking and laughing. This was such a strange atmosphere for me. Everyone looked well fed, and none of them were scrawny like me.

'Are they really serfs?'

That question lingered in my head. They looked healthy, happy, and none of them were pushing their way through to get some food. I wondered if there would be a whip or club to hit people, but there were none. It was very strange, almost unreal to me.

I stood behind Jean and Dirk. They talked about where they would be placed during autumn. I didn't really understand what they were talking about, but from what I heard, the lord had wheat and a vineyard farm around the hill. Everyone stood silent when Anne came out from the mansion.

"Oi, Ramuja, be careful around Anne," said Dirk.

"She is bad news," added Jean.

"Bad news?"

"Well, she is in charge of us in this area. She has control over our contract. She could throw you away from this place. She is a merciless beast."

Dirk lowered his voice. He glanced at Anne a few times, just to make sure that Anne didn't hear him.

"Just be careful, will you?" said Jean with an even lower voice.

I nodded.

The line started moving after Anne stood behind the table. The maids gave two pieces of palm-sized bread. The serfs then scooped the fresh drinking water with their tankards. They ate while sitting on the green grass, waiting for the dawn to end.

I couldn't count on how many people were here, but it took me a while until it was my turn. The maid gave me two pieces of bread, but Anne approached the maid and she suddenly became tense.

"Give this one a new tankard and two more breads. He is the new slave of Young Lord," Anne ordered the maid.

"Yes, ma'am."

I ended up carrying four breads and a tankard. I was surprised my palm touched the bread. It was warm bread, warm bread for serfs. Was this a normal thing, or a special feast? I rarely ate good food unless my old masters wanted me to serve him, or during special occasions.

I sat beside Dirk and Jean who called me. I was afraid that they'd be angry because I got more bread, but they seemed not to mind it. The warm bread filled my stomach with joy. I would love to eat this food everyday for the rest of my life. It was warm, with a bit of salt that made it delicious and filling. I could shed tears just from this.

"You, Young Lord's slave, come here," one of the maid called me after I finished eating. I immediately stood and followed her. She led me to Anne, who stood under a tree with a cloth in her hand. She peered at me, without any mercy, she smacked me with her words.

"Why did Young Lord pick such a scrawny looking slave? Did he get into an argument with Milord and then pick a random slave?" said Anne. Is this what Jean said about merciless? I felt even more nervous than before.

She handed me the cloth she held, a blue tunic. Strangely, the tunic has a very soft, almost slippery feeling in it. Just by feeling it, I could tell it was expensive.

"Wear this. For each day, you will be supplied with new or clean clothes. Young Lord is a very picky and clean person. He hated something dirty," said Anne.

"Yes, Ma'am."

Anne checked me a bit and clicked her tongue, "Go change your clothes and went to the garden at the east of the mansion. Introduce yourself to Young Lord."

I nodded and walked straight to the hut and changed my clothes. As I thought, this was such expensive clothes, more than anything I ever wore. But I had no time pondering about this, Young Lord was waiting in the garden. Introducing myself before formal introduction might ease my tension a bit.

I walked around the mansion until I found a trail of blooming flowers. Petals that I never knew existed, colors that were strange to me, scent that tickles my nose but kept getting stronger. I followed the trail of scattered petals to the garden of ravishing flowers graced by the dawn. In the middle, a golden flower stood silent radiating the garden with its presence.

I was left in awe.

I approached him slowly.

On this flower bed, I approached a beautiful man with golden wavy hair that was hidden under a hat when I met him. He had a pale skin, as pale as untouched white linen. He wore a loose white robe that exposed his shoulder.

As I drew near, I could picture his pink thin lips and small nose. He noticed me, as his piercing eyes met mine, a pair of deep blue eyes with mole under his left eyes. His gaze pierced me as my feet became weak, as I realized that I was hasty. I immediately kneeled. I casted my eyes down to the flowerbed under my feet as I became nervous, I never expected my new master to be like this.

I could feel his eyes looking down on me. I wanted to introduce this servant to a new master. But my mouth felt numb, it refused to utter anything.

"How improper, for a new servant to ignore its introduction and greeting."

I tensed up when he talked, he sounded sharp, "I--This one is foolish, master. Pardon this one"

Before I could finish my sentence, I heard a chuckle. I looked up, and found his thin lips perked up.

"I'm just joking, no need to be nervous," he said. I just looked up to him. That luscious smile eased me up. I smiled without thinking. Seeing him smiling made my lips bloomed spontaneously.

"Yes, master."

"My name is Aster, but you will call me Master or Young Lord anyway, right?" he said. I'm not sure if it was another joke, so I just nodded. I wanted to ask him about my slave name here, but he cut me, "Now, if you are here to accompany me. I'm afraid it's too late, since the sun is rising already. Let's meet again later."

He smiled and walked to the mansion. I followed his back slowly getting further away. He entered the corridor and used the stairs to the tower. Even after his back vanished out of my sight, my eyes still lingered to the tower he went to.

There was a realisation that finally sprouted inside my mind after minutes of awe and bewilderment.

'My new master is such a beautiful man.'

The graceful one awaken me from deep slumber

Led by the path of flower

and I fell like a timber

The prince smiled at me, in this breeze of summer

In this flowerbed I kneeled

So for me to see you smiled

So for you to see me graced

In this flowerbed, I turned fever red