Unchallenged Beauty

As the woman squinted her eyes to see, she found herself in a luxurious room. It was filled with decorations from head to toe. She turned around to a piercing pain in her eye as sunlight shone strongly after a gray and stormy night.

The open arch shaped windows were barely visible through white semi tangible curtains flowing freely in the wind. Her body ached as the sound of something shuffling caught her attention. Someone was sleeping on a wide bed nearby her.

She silently forced herself to stand but hunger soon overtook her senses. She clung tightly to her stomach and clench her hands. She looked for an exit and soon saw a door. She hurriedly scurried over to it, taking great caution at the amount of sound she produced.

She managed to remove a hand from herself and opened the door. A gust of wind blew her hair back and she was met by an old looking man, though he did not appear to actually be very old. His hair had a slight tinge of gray underneath the black strands he tried to hide behind.

"I see you've awoken. Your breakfast and a basket full of various foods are on the dining table downstairs, feel free to leave once you have eaten. And take the basket with you as well." His voice was somewhat raspy and his tone was deep, almost sounding intimidating on purpose.

The butler stood off to her side to make room for her to pass through. "The stairs are that way." He signaled her towards the staircase with a nudge of his head. "Thank you." She quickly responded and rushed downstairs, her hunger nearing its limit.

She swiftly stepped down the spiraling set of stairs and reached the lobby of the mansion, where the front door remain closed. She looked around frantically, searching for the dining table the butler had told her to go to.

A maid came out from behind a door which lead to what appeared to be a kitchen unlike any she had seen before, but now was no time to be taking in her environment. The maid stood off to her side as her stomach growled in anger at not being fed.

Upon arriving at a paradise called the 'dining table' she noticed a plate full of food she had never even seen before. The maid who had come out from the kitchen followed her back inside and stood behind her.

"The plate contains ham, 2 soft boiled eggs, French toast lathered in honey and topped by a small block of butter, an assortment of vegetables including steamed broccoli and roasted carrots glazed with honey as well as butter." The maid spoke proudly, "I am the one who prepared this dish for you, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did making it."

The maid pulled out a chair for her to sit, to which she immediately accepted the offer and sat. The maid brought out a set of cutlery and folded a handkerchief before tucking it neatly in between her loose collar. "Enjoy."

With the green signal to go ahead, the hungry woman began devouring the otherworldly plate laid bare before her. The maid silently made her way out of the room to allow the woman to eat without restraint as she was still eating with manners despite the roars coming from her.

The sound of metal scraping on a plate grew louder as the door shut behind the maid. She giggled and smiled before walking off to attend to her other duties.

Meanwhile, the butler had awoken his master. "Where is she?" The man rose from his bed and donned a brown robe tied in a tight knot. "She's in the dining room."

"Has she finished eating?"

Just then, the maid walked into his room. "She's still eating, it is best that nobody disturb her for a while until she is finished digesting her food." The man of the house smiled, "that's another good deed done for today then."

"Are you still going on about doing good deeds to atone for what happened in the past?" The butler asked worriedly, "I am and I don't intend to stop until it's been enough." He hastily replied.

"As you wish then." The butler bowed, sighing before leaving the room with the maid in tow. 'I should go check on her,' the man thought. "I should at least get her name before she leaves." He mumbled whilst rubbing his chin and walking downstairs.

Both the butler and maid followed him from a distance, whispering to each other in hushed voices.

The door to the kitchen was closed and the inside was quiet. Wondering what the woman he brought home could have been up to within the confines of a paradise to her, he warily entered, fearing a ghoul had befallen his kitchen.

As the door slowly swung open from a light push, the wary man had been proven wrong to a certain extent. No ghoul had befallen his kitchen, instead a woman with a mouthful of toast and with honey splattered around her mouth had befallen his dining room. Which was unexpected, though there was not much cause for celebration.

The grime on her face did not reflect light and made her nearly appear putrid even if she only barely did smell like it. He took a step backwards and gulped, 'I need to take a bath after coming into this room...' He privately thought to himself as he tightly pinched his nose to prevent his lifespan from shortening.

He mustered his courage and held his breath as she approached the woman. He took hold of the handkerchief between her collar and began to gently wipe off the honey from her mouth. Coincidentally, he had wiped off a bit of the grime on her face and a white spot came out from beneath all the mud.

Was that her skin? It appeared to be flawless, somehow preserved despite horrible conditions and beyond rough treatment. This piqued the man's interest. "How was your first proper breakfast in a while?"

"46 days." She quickly said. "It has been 46 days since I last had a proper breakfast." Her voice had recovered a little after resting and drinking water, but it would require a little while longer before it would fully recover.

"Good to hear, I guess." What was he saying? He wondered what he should say next, since he had just outright said that it was good to hear she had not eaten for over a month. "I was told a basket was prepared for me, where is it?" She spoke softly so as to not upset her throat.

"Oh, I put in at the back of the kitchen. I will go get it for you, wait here." The man hurried away from the room as he felt himself beginning to suffocate. After several deep breaths to purify his lungs, he grabbed the handles of the straw woven basket and placed a cover over it.

The woman had remained in her seat, patiently waiting for his return. "Here is the basket." He placed it onto the table, but did not give it to her yet. "Can I ask for your name first?" He held onto the handles of the basket, he put a hand above the other and rested his head on them.

"My name..." Her content expression suddenly turned uncomfortable. "It was given to me by my mother. But she kicked me out. Because she could not afford to take care of me anymore." She paused shortly in between sentences.

"Do you not want to retain the name your mother gave you because of that?"

The woman nodded in response. "Well I don't care! Just tell me your name. Otherwise I won't know what to call you." She turned and stared blankly at him for a moment. "Evelyn." The man tilted his head slightly. "But that name means 'desired child'?" He taunted her. Evelyn appeared to look offended. "It does, at least that is what my mother told me."

The man pondered for a moment and shrugged. "My name is Sheridan, nice to meet you, Evelyn."

'Should be safe to tell her my name, hopefully.'

Her name resounded with his voice and Evelyn found herself soothed by it. "Say that again." Sheridan looked confused, "say what again?"

"My name." She quickly replied. "Evelyn." He repeated for another 5 times afterwards at the behest of Evelyn.

Before she could ask for a 6th time, he stopped her. "Go take a shower and come back here afterwards. Then you can take the basket, there's a bathroom at the back of my room."

Evelyn excitedly ran back to Sheridan's room and locked herself in the bathroom.

Sheridan waited for half an hour and Evelyn had not yet returned, worried she might have stolen his belongings and escaped through the outdoors hot spring he also returned to his room only to find her at his desk, hair dryer in hand.

He approached her from behind, unable to recognize the unruly girl he had brought to his room the night before and who he had asked the name of in his dining room. He grabbed her shoulder and spun the chair around.

Her skin was truly sparkling and flawless. With all the grime removed she was beautiful, perhaps even the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on. 'Someone with unchallenged beauty' he had unwillingly given her a title which would have been unattainable had she remained the way she previously did.

Sheridan's maid came out from the bathroom. "Sheridan! Can you believe what a beauty she is!"

Sheridan looked back down at Evelyn in shock, "I really can't..."