: The World Like To Screw With Her

Dimitri restrained the corners of his lips from curling up. When Kayda noticed him, she had immediately put up a wall and attacked him verbally, distancing herself from him physically and emotionally.

And he didn't care. She could distance herself all she wanted, he wasn't there to be affable.

But once he had started to explain how the appliances worked in the bathroom, he noticed her out of the corner of his vision and what he saw brought mirth to his eyes.

With big eyes, her skinny frame had leaned forward to watch every one of his movements as he demonstrated how some of the devices worked.

Pure curiosity had overwhelmed her to the point that she hadn't even noticed that she had gotten so close to him while seriously listening to what he said.

Her attitude had switched so dramatically, it was almost comical to watch. And he couldn't help but think that she looked like a cat as the tip of her tail flicked back and forth as her eyes gleamed looking at all the new information she was gaining.

His mirth didn't last though.

This was common knowledge. He learned how to operate these kinds of things when he was just a child.

How old was she now that this everyday knowledge was still so brand new to her?

"Now, to adjust the temperature, increase or decrease your mana impute."

Kayda listened carefully to his instructions. This was new knowledge to her, and she knew how valuable knowledge was in the world she lived in.

She didn't know how long this treatment would last and when she would have to run. So the last thing she wanted to happen was for her to be sticking out in an unfamiliar place, and not have a clue as to how to use the most common of appliances.

Listening to Dimitris cold and monotone voice, Kayda found it easy to absorb his words like a sponge.

It seemed like most things were now powered and functioned off of mana stones. Depending on the mana stone, it would have different reactions when you filled it with some of your mana.

It made Kayda realize how long she had been away from any sort of civilization.

After a few more minutes of explaining everything, Dimitri handed Kayda the clothes he had in his hands and walked out without even asking whether she understood any of it and left her alone in the room once again.

Kayda, for a second, just stared at the entrance of the bathroom in which Dimitri had just exited.

"He was right. He is an unsociable ice block."

Kayda just ignored it and started to slowly take off her clothes and the rags pooled around her feet.

She didn't even hesitate for a second to pour her mana into the blue mana stone attached to a faucet and steaming hot water poured into the tub.

While it filled, she layed out the clothes that Dimitri had just handed to her.

As she had unfolded them, some objects fell to her feet making her give a slight jump.

Not moving, she stared at the objects on the floor by her feet. Only after a few seconds of staring did she bend over to grab what was on the floor.

It was a roll of bandages and scissors along with a small bottle of disinfectant.

It took a second for Kayda to figure out what it was for until her gaze landed on her hand that held the gauze.

Her nail was missing, and a long and angry line of inflamed skin that had started to ooze a yellow liquid ran down her arm. Turning her head slightly, she was also able to see the ragged slab of skin that was still oozing a bit of blood after wiping it off. It had now started to emit a yellowish and unhealthy purple color. The image of that disgusting man that stabbed her over and over again in the same spot, causing the skin to loosely hang on her shoulder with obvious holes caused bile to rise up in her throat.

It took a great amount of control to swallow back the bile and to resist a sob that threatened its way out of her lips.

She had done her best to ignore the pain. She would have normally been able to numb herself to ignore the pain. To put it in the back of her mind to be forgotten.

But today, she was given something she hadn't had in a long time.

Hope.

And it was an addictive poison.

With a deep breath, she put down the clothes and gauze before heading back to the bath and turning it off like Dimitri had earlier instructed.

Without wasting a second, she slid into the searing hot water.

It wasn't hot enough to burn her, but she could still feel her skin sting and her body turn red at the heat. That was what she needed.

During the whole time she was in the bathroom, she didn't stop scrubbing away at her skin and pulling at her hair.

Her figure desperately scraped away at her skin where she had been touched. Her wounds opened and the water slowly turned red.

Even when she had scrapped her skin raw, she still felt as if her body was crawling with insects.

Even as she was covered in scrapes, she still felt that horrible man's touch on her hand and face.

When she suddenly remembered the taste of blood that coated her tongue and his thick greasy fingers in her mouth that held that young girl's eye, she flung herself over the side of the tub and threw up what little contents was left when she was force fed in that horrible place.

She panted.

When she looked at the mess she had made, she sighed.

By the time she had wringed out her hair, the water had turned cold.

When she stepped out of the tub while wringing her long hair out, she saw some movement out of the corner of her eye.

When she turned her head to look, she felt as if she wanted to cry.

The world really liked to screw with her.