The basement was even gloomier than my room, but it didn’t feel as scary. Desi must be here.
Desi, who was sitting in the basement, jumped up and ran towards me as soon as he saw me, but got stuck after a few steps in the chains.
“Desi, have you been waiting long?”
“It was getting late, I was worried something happened.”
Desi had a worried look on his face, unlike usual.
“Sorry. Did you wait long?”
“Yeah.”
Desi knelt down and looked me straight in the eyes.
Desi had always been waiting for me alone in the basement. Just the thought of it made my heart ache. It was as if I had no one but Ellie before. Did Desi have no one but me? When I had such thoughts, I only wanted to be nicer to Desi.
I remembered the jingling key bundle in my pocket. Would Desi be happier if I gave it to him now? Rather than being bound in this dim and humid basement, wouldn’t Desi be happier if he went outside?
I thought he would adapt well to being outside in his current neat appearance. And maybe I wouldn’t see Desi again. But I felt like it would be okay.
When Desi was not around, I could imagine Desi running away outside, living freely and happily. I had never seen Desi laugh brightly, but the Desi in my imagination would be laughing brightly. Imagining a laughing Desi would comfort my lonely heart.
Desi pressed his ears against my head.
“I was so worried I regretted it. I should have told you not to bring the key.”
“Why are you so worried? Hawk isn’t a scary person.”
“But Hawk has hit me the most.”
“Hawk hit you the most?”
Not Father? I was surprised and speechless. Hawk was a braggart and often bullied by others. I had seen him in such situations many times, but I had never seen him hit anyone. Hawk hitting Desi was unbelievable.
“When I’m bored, I come down to this basement and he hits me. If I get loose, I’ll kill Hawk first.”
Desi’s pupils flashed. I was about to take out the key, but hesitated. My heart sank. Kill Hawk if I get loose?
“I hear the sound of keys. Give it to me.”
Desi reached out his hand to me. I stepped back before Desi could grab me. Desi’s hand sliced through the air. I looked at the distant Desi and shook my head.
“Why?”
“…Desi, you can’t kill Hawk. If you’re going to kill Hawk, I can’t give you the key.”
Desi looked at me trembling and shook his head again.
“Why?”
“Hawk is, Hawk is… He works at our mansion.”
“But he hit me.”
“Even so, you can’t.”
“…Since you said not to kill him, I won’t. But how about just cutting off one leg?”
“That’s not allowed either!”
I yelled in shock. My voice echoed in the basement. Desi, with a dissatisfied expression, narrowed his forehead, then rose from his seat, casting a dark shadow over me. It seemed Desi had grown taller again. I stared at Desi with a dumbfounded expression.
“Desi, you seem to have grown again.”
“I didn’t grow for a while, so it all grew at once.”
Desi shrugged as if to say, “What can you do?”
“How old are you, Desi?”
A few months ago, I thought he might be only a year or two older than me at most. But seeing Desi grown like this, I expected him to be much older.
Desi raised the corner of his mouth in response to my question, revealing his fangs.
“How old? Hmm, around 16, I guess?”
“What?”
Desi was three years older than me. Ignoring someone who’s one or two years older was possible, but somehow three years felt concerning.
I couldn’t help but feel disappointed because I wanted to be friends with Desi. I didn’t need more older brothers. I had enough of them already, and they were all boring, constantly ignoring me. They didn’t play with me or even acknowledge me when I talked. Sometimes they teased and harassed me.
“I don’t want Desi to be another older brother.”
“We’re friends.”
“Yeah. Even if Desi is older, he’s still a friend. Once friends, always friends.”
“Right. So, give me the key now.”
“Promise you won’t kill Hawk. Don’t cut off his leg. Or his hand.”
“What about pulling his teeth out?”
“Don’t hurt him anywhere.”
After several earnest warnings, I handed over the key bundle. I hesitated until the last moment, feeling anxious, but Desi quickly snatched the key.
Desi soon untied the chains around his ankles. With a clank, the chains that had bound his ankles fell away.
Desi stretched, then wiggled his ankles around before walking back and forth as if he was elated. Desi looked very pleased.
“Desi!”
But when he started heading towards the stairs leading outside, I stopped him. I felt worried. If he wanted to escape safely, he needed to be more cautious.
“Desi, it’s not night yet, so you can’t go out. You have to wait until there are no people around.”
Desi approached me with a stern face. Suddenly, his stature seemed much larger and intimidating. His freshly cut hair and tidied appearance also felt unfamiliar. And what felt most unfamiliar was seeing him wandering freely without being tied up.
“Desi? Oh!”
At that moment, Desi suddenly picked me up. He slid his hands behind my knees and whispered in my ear.
“It’s dark enough outside. We can go out.”
As Desi said, when we went outside, complete darkness had settled. The voices of people vanished, replaced only by the hooting of owls and the chirping of crickets.
A chilly night wind blew. In the mansion shrouded in darkness, only the yellow candles on the windowsills flickered faintly.
Desi carried me around, roaming here and there. He began to move around as if thrilled by his newfound freedom. I wrapped my arms around Desi’s neck, keeping him close, continually cautioning him. We couldn’t go there because it’s where the maids stay. That place is off-limits. There’s the stable. Let’s go back.
But even without my warnings, Desi miraculously sensed when people were passing by and hid himself. Whenever Desi’s ears perked up, it wasn’t long before the maids appeared. It seemed like Desi could hear sounds that I couldn’t.
Desi’s pace was unbelievably fast; it felt like he was moving faster than I could run. When he started to run, the wind picked up so much that it was hard to keep my eyes open.
How long were we going to wander around the mansion? Although Desi didn’t enter the mansion, he thoroughly explored its surroundings, like an animal expanding its territory.
“Desi, you can put me down now. I’ll let you play by yourself.”
I tried to go back to the room, leaving Desi behind. I wished Desi would run far away. I hoped he wouldn’t be tied up anymore and wouldn’t have to live in the damp basement. But Desi didn’t let go of me. He held me tightly in his arms and continued to roam around energetically. Then he sniffed.
“I want meat.”
Desi headed to the stable. He put me down there and went inside alone. I stood hesitantly outside the stable, feeling anxious and curious.
Why did he go to the stable? What was he doing in there? I couldn’t contain my worries and curiosity. The sounds of horses grew louder. The night grew deeper, and the wind colder. The crescent moon hung in the sky, casting its light. Every time the wind blew, rustling leaves made me jolt and look back. Pressing against my pounding heart, I hesitantly stepped inside the stable.
And then, I saw it.
A horse lying on its side, vacant eyes. Crimson blood staining the straw. And the still-twitching legs of the horse. Desi, with his head buried in the horse’s neck.
I almost screamed but covered my mouth with my hand and turned away, running away. I don’t know how I made it back to the room. I closed the door and rushed to the bed, pulling the blanket over my head.
My room was silent. It felt like the sight I just witnessed was a hallucination. There was no sound, just the steady rhythm of my breathing.
But in my mind, the image of the dead horse kept haunting me. Desi killed the horse. And Desi was eating the dead horse. What on earth had happened?
I drifted off to sleep as if I had passed out, utterly exhausted and overwhelmed.
* * *
It was a nightmare. I dreamt of Desi with yellow eyes devouring everything. Freed Desi sought revenge on those who persecuted him. Blood flowed, lives withered away. Desi laughed. Desi stood triumphant, treading on death.
“Gasp!”
Startled awake from the nightmare, I immediately saw a familiar face.
“Miss, you overslept. Didn’t you sleep early yesterday? Did you stay up reading again?”
It was Ellie who woke me up. Seeing Ellie’s face, smiling as usual, I let out a sigh of relief. I clung to Ellie’s waist, tears streaming down.
“Why, why are you crying, Miss?”
“Sniff, I had a, a scary dream.”
“Oh my. You’re still so young.”
Ellie patted my back. In her comforting embrace, with her rhythmic pats like a beating heart and the scent of sunshine, I finally calmed my heart.
After my heart settled, I realized the situation. I had given Desi the key, and Desi had escaped, and Desi had killed a horse. I brushed the goosebumps off my arms.
“Ellie, is there anything special today?”
Did Desi run away far? Will I never see Desi again?
Honestly, until I gave Desi the key, I hoped Desi would escape from this dreadful place. And at the same time, I worried about missing Desi.
But it was strange. Despite witnessing the cruel things Desi did, I didn’t feel any resentment towards Desi. Instead of pitying the dead horse, the worry of whether Desi escaped came first. Even I was surprised at myself.
“Don’t say that. A horse in the stable died.”
“A horse?”
I swallowed hard. I realized anew that last night’s events were not just a dream.
“What kind of wild beast came in that a horse died so horribly? Oh my, they must have told you everything. But there’s nothing good in knowing.”
“I’m curious. Tell me. So, what happened?”
“What happened? That lazy Hawk is now imprisoned in the basement. Couldn’t keep the horse safe, you see. He was probably gambling again last night. Tsk tsk.”
“…”
What about Desi? I wanted to ask. After hesitating for a while, I spoke up.
“That… There are other things in the basement, right?”
“Oh, that beast?”
“Yeah. What about it?”
“That beast is tied up. Is there a need to worry about it? And Hawk, he’s in another room.”
“Tied up?”
“Yes. It’s dangerous, so whenever there’s no guard, it’s always tied up.”
“No, I mean. Is it still tied up? Today too?”
“Yes, yes. There you go again, worrying about nothing. Hurry up and have your meal. Whether that beast is tied up or not, Miss doesn’t need to care. Still worrying about that beast.”
I mechanically ate the soup Ellie handed to me.
Did Desi not escape? Why? No matter how much I thought about it, no suitable answer came to mind. At noon, my father and mother returned, and I was furious when I heard that an expensive horse had died.
Hawk was expelled from the mansion that day. It was fortunate that he wasn’t beaten. And it wasn’t just Hawk who got in trouble. The guards and knights who didn’t pay attention also got into trouble.
The mansion’s security tightened with the appearance of the unidentified creature. But no matter how tight the security was, the incidents of horses dying didn’t stop.
It wasn’t just the mansion’s horses that died. Over ten livestock belonging to the villagers died in the past month, and not even a drunkard survived. When a person died, the mansion also became noisy. The manner of death for the livestock and people was the same.
There were deep scars all over their bodies as if they had been scratched by sharp blades passing through. Yet, apart from being thoroughly mutilated, they remained intact. It was as if they were slaughtered like livestock.
A resident living near the scene of the murder said they heard screams that night, “Mother!!”
Desi now has the key. With it, Desi can unlock the chains and leave whenever desired. With plenty of food, Desi has become stronger. All wounds have healed.
But Desi was still breathing quietly in the mansion basement. As if nothing happened. Quietly.
