47

47

It had been them watching me. I had been right.

"Oh," I said instead and added a little embarrassed, "I thought it was because you liked my designs,

Masters."

"We adored your designs, Ciara. That gave us plenty of excuse to remove you from that place,”

Master Damien said.

They treated all my sore spots, including my aching foot and my bruised jaw. My eyelids started to

droop during the care and I started yawning. Afterwards, they laid me in their bed. It felt like heaven

it was so soft.

"We do not sleep in the daylight,” commented Master Kein

"Do humans sleep in the day?" Master Christof asked curiously. "You seem to be fading toward

sleep.”

"Yes, Master, sometimes, if they are tired," I answered already falling asleep.

"We will let you rest today,” I heard Master Bane say just before I dropped off.

They let me sleep, but woke me up when the food came. Master Evan carried my groggy body to

the table and sat me on his lap to eat. I didn't make any complaints as they fed me. It was enjoyable

just to be able to have a meal without worrying over those stupid flies.

We stayed in for the rest of the day and evening. Master Christof had taken me from Master Evan

and put me on the chaise next to the fire where I dozed. They played card games and talked about

their next coupling

I kept getting woken up by tapping at the door. A steady stream of Warriors came to visit. They

seemed to have a million reasons to want to see my owners. When it came down to it they were all

there to see my tattooed leg

Master Damien and his brothers were really angry other Warriors were looking at me. Their

agitation was thick in the air.

"It is ill. It cannot walk. I can't tolerate having this disgrace over us,” Master Damien fumed.

My foot had been rewrapped after my shower and I looked down at it. I wiggled my toes and noted

the pain was much better. Experimentally, I lay it on the ground and put a little weight on it.

"Ciara," Master Damien growled at me, "what are you doing?"

I froze and looked up at him. "It didn’t hurt and I was just testing..." the look on his face made me

stop talking.

"We will tell you when it is well enough to walk on," Master Bane explained coming over and putting

my leg back where it had been.

I looked quizzically at them, but didn't say anything.

"Ciara," Master Christof explained watching my face, "it is very evident to us you cannot tell when

you are injured.”

I started to speak and then stopped. Arguing with them was a bad idea. "Yes, Masters," I said

instead.

"One half day in the village," Master Kein said irritably, "and the Warriors on patrol tell us there are

bloody tracks all over the area. The slave is bleeding.”

My mouth was running before I thought about it, "I stepped on a rock and cut myself Master Kein. It

wasn't my fault.”

"How did you survive on Earth, Ciara?" Master Bane asked incredulously. "There was still rock in the

wound when the Healers cleaned and stitched it. You are completely unable to care for yourself."

"Be forewarned,” Master Damien said looking straight at me, "we will not leave you in the village

again. You are too weak for the village and we cannot control the circumstance. We will use the lash

next time we need to discipline you. We will allow you to suffer until you have learned, do you

understand me?"

"Yes, Master Damien," I answered huddling on the chaise.

"But you will learn quickly and not need that sort of discipline,” Master Christof said laying and

wrapping around my back.

Master Bane crouched in front of me and looked at me very seriously. "Promise us you will learn

quickly, Ciara," he said.

"I promise to learn quickly, Masters."

They kissed my lips and made me promise over and over again to learn quickly and to not need the

whip.

Later that night Master Damien unwrapped my foot and prodded it experimentally. He called the

Healers and they told him I could walk on it. It was still a little sore, but I didn't limp. Master Kein

told me I would go to the Keepers the next day. He also told me I would be wearing something to

keep me out of trouble in the water.

As promised the next day I was taken to the Keepers again. I noticed right away it was different men

than before greeting us. I turned to ask Master Damien but he was already striding out the wall.

Turning back around it was a little shocking. Every girl in the compound had walked outside to see

me.

Rose approached me, cautiously eyeing my leg. "Did they do that to you?" she asked.

"No, the fleint marks it's prey. My owners said it was like this from the tentacle that grabbed me.”

"You have to tell us what happened,” Fuji demanded pulling me inside.

I sat inside the circle of women and told them exactly what had transpired. There were questions

from them I would not have expected. The most remarkable were asked when the Keepers weren't

around.

Some of the other slaves wanted to know if escape through the ocean was possible. I told them

honestly I didn't think so. Several girls told me they could drink the ocean water, it didn't make

them sick. I described the fleint and how many of them there were. Nobody should have to go

through what I did. I begged them not to try.

Fuji shook her head at the questions; disobeying her owners would be unthinkable to her.

"Where would you go?" she asked the other girls. "My owners are from across the sea and the life

there was like it is here. If you get away from here, you'll just get taken there.”

Some of the other girls wouldn't stop talking about escape and it made Fuji really mad. She finally

started speaking angrily in her native language and showed her sharp little teeth to them. I'd never

noticed her teeth before, they looked like a cat's. Rose pulled her back, but agreed with her. We

were treated well and escaping did not work.

The weird uncomfortable conversation continued until lunch, although my friends and I stayed out

of it. When the bell rang, I was surprised to see my little pad not in the lunch room. Looking out

hurriedly I saw it in the courtyard. Warriors were already coming in, so I made my way to it with my

head down.

A man was suddenly in front of me. I stopped and waited for him to go around me.

"I'm proud of you for not speaking or looking," Master Damien whispered in my ear. He motioned

for me to follow and picked up my little pad on the way toward the exit. I followed him to the area

Master Christof and I used to talk in.

He sat on a stump as I knelt down. "Did you fight at home?" he asked offering a me a piece of what

was in the bowl.

"A little, Master Damien," I answered and I took the food into my mouth.

He made me explain that fighting at home was really just me getting beaten up by my drunk uncles.

It was nothing very exciting or Warrior like.

"Do you fight here?" he asked offering another bite.

"No, Master Damien," I answered confused.

"Why did Christof teach you to hold a sword then?" he asked.

I blushed and wasn't sure why Christof would have shared this with Master Damien. "I was just

curious about what you all do. I told him I didn't know how to use a sword and he showed me a

little. I had to use a branch, because his sword was too heavy to pick up.”

"Here, use this stick. Show me what you learned," Master Damien commanded.