Chapter 36
Desire was satisfied with the little she had learnt from the healer, her new teacher at the end of the day. She was walking along the side of the road, touching the beautiful flowers lightly.
She had been shown different herbs and their functions; the ones to be used for different type of illness. Desire had complained to her new teacher about her inability to suture properly and he had promised to continue showing her the next day.
Even if the man was an old man close to the age of seventy, he still knew how to joke and make Desire laugh. Her time with him had lifted the burden off her chest a little making her feel a lot better.
Her mind wandered off to the time Sylvester had hugged her, told her how much he missed her. She had wanted to hug him back and tell him she couldn’t do without him but she stopped herself, reminding herself that she was just a slave before walking out of the room.
“Desire,” she turned back at the call of her name and she saw it was Chang.
“Chang, it’s good to see you again”
“Where are you coming from?”
“From the healer, he’s my new teacher now” Desire replied with a smile.
“How’s Cassandra?” She asked
“She’s fine. She had always loved gardening, when the court lady decided to put her there, she was really happy about it” Chang replied.
“She’s a brave girl”
“Just like our mom” Chang replied. Desire wanted to say more or ask more, but she shut up.
“I see you’re the master’s favorite. That’s what everyone is saying” Chang suddenly said.
“People do say that too but I don’t think it’s anything near that”
“Do you like him, I mean our master?” Chang needed Desire to give him a straight answer.
“Sometimes” She replied truthfully.
‘Sometimes when he’s not angry’ she finished the word mentally.
“Does he like you?”
“I don’t really know. It’s his feelings, not mine Chang, why do you ask?”
“I want to court you properly, Desire. But I don’t think that’s the right thing to do now. Master has already taken a liking to you, courting you will be like going against his will” Desire felt sad at his statement. She wanted to keep on being good friends with Chang and not separate like this.
“Can we still be friends?” She asked
“Sure Desire. We’ll always be friends” Desire smiled at him and she was glad she didn’t lose this good friend.
She missed Queen Naomi and Kim Chui and wished she could see them again, those were the good friends she had in her time of trouble and wished they also meet people who will help them regardless of whatever happens.
Desire and Chang parted ways before she made her way into the kitchen.
“I’m back” she announced, getting the attention of Lady Nor and Fei who were busy preparing dinner.
“How was it?” Fei asked
“It was good. The man is still as funny as usual”
Desire went on to tell them all she had learnt from the man and both ladies listened with concentration.
“You’re really learning fast, Desire. I’m proud of you and also, your belonging has been moved to the master’s suite” Lady Nor complimented her.
“I have to. That’s the only way I can teach Fei too” Fei held her friend’s hand in appreciation.
They had both shared the dream of learning the healing job but never got the opportunity to do that but now Desire was fulfilling their dreams for them.
She ignored the part where she had mentioned her belongings. Desire wasn’t supposed to be happy about it.
She only wanted to be free and safe.
“Desire,” She turned to see it was Ying “Ying, I haven’t seen you all day” Ying walked into the kitchen and greeted both ladies she met.
“I went on a short trip to the palace. I saw Queen Naomi today and she extend her greetings. She gave me some things to give to you and I dropped them in your new room. I also saw Kim Chui, she has some good news to tell you. She’s pregnant” Ying shared the news with her.
Desire had noticed how different Ying seemed when he first came in but the news now made his strange attitude clear to her. She was pregnant!
“Does she know the father of the child?” Desire asked
“She doesn’t, Desire”
Desire held Ying’s hand tightly. She knew how he was feeling even though he wasn’t talking.
“She was the first girl to get my attention so quickly, and now because of the life our region has chosen for her, I have to let her go,” Ying complained.
“You don’t have to let go, Ying! This is the moment when she’ll need you most. Stay strong for her, please and it was pretty obvious that you liked her from what I saw the last time” Ying chuckled.
“Everything will be fine” Desire assured him.
“I’m in the process of getting her freedom from the region. It’ll be a long process but it should end up being the best. I’ll see if I can talk to Sylvester about it” Ying suggested.
“I’ll try my best too”
“Before I forget the main reason why I’m here, your master as he’s not mine, requests for his dinner in his suite and must be brought up by a lady called Desire” Ying announced, smiled at Desire and left almost immediately.
Desire got his food in the trolley with the side dishes and walked towards his room. Not bothering to knock because her hands were occupied, she opened the door.
As she walked in, she saw Fang sitting on Sylvester, with her arms around his neck and his around her waist, half naked.
Fang turned and winked at Desire, making Desire to ignore the dinner and ran out of the room, almost in tears.