章 14: What kind of play?

"Young lady, can you play with me?" I turned my head to my side to find a drunken man hugging me, "My wife just left me, I'm very lonely."

"Sir, you can't go around hugging people as you please! It's impolite," I scolded him while breaking free from his hug.

"Don't—hic—be like that, young lady," he hiccuped, "I see you are–hic–standing alone. We can–hic–accompany each other," he walked closer to me haphazardly and hugged me for the second time.

"Sir! Let me go!" I tried to get out of his arms, but he wouldn't budge.

"Don't say that. I know you—hic—like it," he put his nose on my neck, and breathed into me disgustingly. "You smell good, lady."

My brows furrowed with disgust at the proximity I had to this drunken man. He reeks of booze and I think I could puke at any moment right now. Maybe this was the right time to put the lessons I've learned into practice. I hope I'm doing this right.

I bent my waist forward, then struck my elbow at his face. The drunken man weakened his grip, giving me a chance to free myself. While he was still grunting in pain, I tackled one of his legs off the ground, causing his unsteady body to trip and fall with his face flat on the ground. I put my knee on his back, utilizing my body weight to hold him in place.

"H-hey! Let go of me!" He shouted.

"Why? You asked me to play with you, right? I'm playing now," I smirked. It was a relief that he was drunk, or else I didn't think I would be able to pull this off.

"I don't mean this!" He ranted.

"Oh? Then what did you mean? I've always played like this, so I don't know if this is not what you are talking about," he struggled beneath me and I felt myself smile at his inconvenience.

"You! Don't think you can get away with this!" He yelled, seemingly more conscious than before.

"Violet? What is happening here?" I looked up and saw Luke with a perplexed face, "Who is he?"

"A molester," I scoffed, "We should hand him to the guards."

The drunken man widens his eyes, "N-no, miss! I was drunk before, so I'm not fully in control of myself," he reasoned.

"What did he do to you?" Luke asked with an irritated voice as he glared at the man. He looked even more furious than me.

"It's nothing," I released the man, and he quickly stood up. He was not completely wrong when he said he was not in control of his mind, so I decided to forgive him. But I was still mad.

"Maybe the reason your wife left you was because you are a jerk, sir," I said as politely as I could afford to. The man sent a cynical look at me, but quickly lowered his gaze as he was intimidated by Luke's presence.

Luke held my wrist and brought me close to him. "Violet, what did he do to you?" He asked again, demanding an answer.

I didn't want to tell him as I felt awkward, "No, it's—"

"Violet," he urged me with no intention of letting me away before informing him.

I sighed in defeat, "Well, he hugged me, asked me to play with him—" Before I could finish my sentence, Luke grabbed the drunken man by the collar, ready to punch him, "No!" I yelled.

I stopped his hand before he landed his punch on the man, "Sir, I'm fine! You don't have to hurt him," he halted, but he was still glaring at the man. I could feel his body relaxing a bit as he dropped his hand back to his side.

He let the man go roughly, pushing him to the ground. "You better go before I change my mind," he threatened.

The trembling man scurried away without glancing back at us. I breathed out in relief as nothing bad happened to the man. It was not that I was worried about him, but I was scared of what Luke might do to him. It was different when I hit that man and when Luke did. The differences in our strength could be said to be like the strength of a beast and a five-year-old kid. Yeah, that much.

I glanced at Luke. He was still glaring at the man, whose shadow was now beginning to disappear among the crowd of people. I tugged on his sleeve, "Come on, let's go home."

He finally took his eyes off the man, then held my hand as we walked back to our carriage. He was unusually quiet on our way back. Was he still mad? I stole glances at him several times before getting caught by him.

"Am I that handsome?" He asked while sending me his lopsided grin.

"N-not really," I stuttered, quickly looking away from him. Really? You are stuttering now?

"Then why are you stealing glances at me?"

"Well, I was just wondering... are you mad?" There was actually no reason for him to be mad, as the one who should be furious was me. And that, I am.

He shook his head, "I'm just annoyed that something bad always happens to you when I'm not around," he huffed, "Maybe that means we should always stick to each other."

"But I handled the situation well before. I can protect myself."

"Yes, I know," he ruffled my hair. "What if something that you can't handle happens? I certainly don't want that. But I have to admit, I was pretty surprised you could do that to the man," he said while chuckling, "Good job, Violet."

I smiled a little when I heard him acknowledge me, "Where did you go earlier?"

He rummaged through his pockets, then pulled out a bracelet. The bracelet features a small rabbit-shaped pendant with a hint of sheen to it. It was a cute bracelet.

"I stumbled upon this bracelet at the festival, so I bought it. I think it will suit you," he pulled my hand gently, then slipped the bracelet onto my wrist. He nodded his head in satisfaction after seeing the bracelet on me, "It's yours now."

"Thank you, but why a rabbit?"

"Because it's cute," he smiled, "Small and delicate. Just like you, my little rabbit."

I frowned, not liking the name he was calling me, "Don't call me that."

"Why? It's cute," he laughed, "You are my little rabbit."

"I'm not a rabbit," I complained.

"Well, I'm also not a do—" he stopped, biting back his lips. I stared at him questioningly, "What?" I asked.

"Nothing," he said while coughing unnecessarily loud. Our journey soon ended, and we arrived back at Luke's manor. He escorted me to my room, "How is today's date, rabbit?"

"It's not a date," I grumbled, "But it's fun. Thank you for taking me to the festival, and for the bracelet too," I raised my hand to show him the dangling bracelet.

"Then what is it if not a date?" He asked for me to ponder for a few seconds before answering, "A trip."

He laughed and patted my head, "A trip it is, rabbit."

"Don't call me that. I'm Violet, not your rabbit," I complained, but he didn't look like he would heed my words. He bid his farewell and walked into his room, which was beside mine. I showered myself and headed to my bed. The events that happened today flashed through my mind, causing me to smile. There were some unpleasant events, but overall, today was a very pleasant day.

I felt like ever since I came to this place, my life had become more... colorful. For the past years, my life has always been in the color grey. The same events were repeated every day, which always involved torments and derision. It happened so often that I even remember all of the painful feelings I felt with every whip or word that was given to me. I was practically immune to it.

But in this place, each day had a different routine, with various emotions involved. It has been such a long time since I felt all kinds of emotions inside of me. The feelings of pain and sadness that I was used to feeling, slowly moved away from me, replaced by feelings of happiness. Now, my life has turned into a rainbow. A life full of colors.

Was it okay for me to feel this way? To feel happy? What if it was just for a moment, and I would soon be stripped away from it? It will make me even more devastated, and I was not ready for it. I was scared.

If I got used to this feeling of bliss, I would feel lost when this feeling goes away. Wouldn't it be better to feel sadness that I wouldn't miss? What is it that I should do? Should I accept this new feeling, or should I hide from it so that I won't get hurt? I didn't know the answer. I couldn't find the answers to these questions.

I was still too young, too weak, too broken.

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