All Novel Sweet
73
I sat up and watched them pace in the bathroom. Now I understood, they didn’t want to get rid of me, that’s why they were so upset. In happiness, I threw myself at Master Damien and hugged him. My breath probably reeked but I hugged all of them.
“Why do they want you, Masters?” I asked wishing to help.
“We are the best, Ciara,” Master Damien said sitting on the bench in the room, “I am the best fighter, Kein is the best tracker, Bane is strong as any two men, Christof makes the most girls, and Evan’s talent is unrivaled. Together we are a near unbeatable force.”
“The Administrators believe as General we would inspire the men to be more like us. We are always the best and always strive for excellence. They want to make our family the paradigm for the compound,” he finished leaning against the wall.
Master Christof sighed and stroked my hair, “You are precious to us. We do not wish to lose you, but we do not know how to keep you. The vote is to be held in a lunar cycle.”
“It’s a vote?” I whispered and they told me it was. “So there are other families you are running against.”
“Yes,” Master Christof said, “families we feel would be happy to be General. They are not as strong as us. We feel sure the vote will go our way, the General agreed.”
“Can’t you just tell them you don’t want it?” I asked.
“Ciara,” Master Kein said softly, “we discussed this with the General. He knows the same thing we know, namely how this world is run. The position of General is the position of head slave in the compound. We have no more choice in the matter than you did in coming here.”
My world was rocked and my head was reeling. Something they had said made me think. They had said they were the best.
“What if you weren’t the best?” I asked. “My uncles sucked at every job they did. No one ever wanted them in charge of anything. They showed up late, didn’t work when they were there, and left early to go hang out with women. Can you act like that to avoid the promotion?”
“We have never acted like that,” Master Damien snorted, “it would be dishonorable.”
The rest of the men agreed with Master Damien about how ridiculous that idea was. They would never act in such a way as I described. It would embarrass and demean them.
I hung my head and wasn’t surprised when I vomited a second time. Whether they like it or not, they were going to be promoted. They didn’t have the imagination necessary to buck the system. I would just have to watch as they were taken from me.
It wasn’t surprising that I cried myself to sleep that night. They tried to shush and comfort me, but it didn’t work. I finally fell asleep when they put a tiny amount of the calming cream on my forehead.
I woke up the next morning and the sun was high in the sky. My brain felt a little fuzzy from the calming cream, but I hadn’t lost my memory. Slowly I rose from the bed and wasn’t surprised when I stumbled a little.
Peering out into the main room I saw I had my own group of Keepers today. The men politely introduced themselves as such and proceeded to care for me. They fed and cleaned me, but they couldn’t make me feel better.
Like a caged lion I paced the apartment. In my mind I battled with myself about how best to deal with this. The stress was monumental and I started vomiting again.
The Keepers made me eat the root and it settled my stomach, but I knew that was temporary. I walked for a while more and the vomiting started up again. My whole stomach and chest ached from it, but I couldn’t relax.
The men watching me thought my pacing was making me sick, so they told me to be still. I yelled at them and told them to leave me alone. That was the wrong thing to do.
The Keepers grabbed me and forced me to eat a large portion of the root. Once they were done they opened the bed in the wall and placed me it. I was tied in four point restraints face down and couldn’t move. I struggled and screamed at them, but they wouldn’t listen.
When they were sure I would not vomit again, they pushed the bed into the wall. Darkness overtook me. I yelled, but the sound was just swallowed up. This was horrible. It was like a comfortable tomb.
Eventually, I calmed down and lay the side of my face against the sheet. Rationally I knew I couldn’t spend a moon like this, however long that was. I was going to have to just get over the fact they were going to sell me.
The problem, I knew, was that I trusted my owners. They did not like to hurt me and kept me well. Damien and his Brothers were the only safety net I had here.
Another problem was that I loved them. It started with Christof and even after he rejoined them, I still cared for him. He no longer had similar feelings for me, I was sure. I still remembered the times we had shared. In a way I loved the rest of them also. They were innocent and stubborn. I could not imagine life without them.
I probably I would have suffered just as much the month before I left earth, if I’d known in advance. It struck me suddenly that maybe they should not have told me. Perhaps it would have been better if I just woke up one morning and was given to different owners. It wasn’t possible to forget this now. I’d just have to deal with it.
I eventually fell asleep in the bed. I expected my owners when the tray was removed from the wall, but it was different men. They told me they were Keepers.
I was groggy and stiff as I walked out into the main room and saw Rose’s owners. I jerked my head down, since no one had given me permission to look at them.
“Slave, we keep you and you may look at us while we are here. Where are your owners? Why did they ask us to deal with you this night?” Rose’s owner, Basin, asked me.
“Should you be asking the slave?” the Keeper asked him aghast.
“Keeper, mind your own business. We hired you to watch this slave and that is what you will do. Earth slaves are intelligent; it may know where they have gone,” Basin said angrily.
“They didn’t wake me this morning, sir,” I answered, “I woke up and the Keepers were here. I thought my Masters went to work.”
Basin cursed in volumes for a few moments, his other Brothers also seemed really angry. He pushed over a chair in the eating area and stormed out, his family right behind him. I could still hear him cursing in the hallway.
My night time Keepers fed and cleaned me. I was worried about my owners, but determined not to throw up anymore. I did Rose’s deep breathing in front of the fire and tried to stay relaxed.
The night got later and later. Granted, I had slept most of the day, but I wasn’t used to being up at night. I pulled the blanket from in front of the fire and curled up with my head on my kneeling pad.© NôvelDrama.Org - All rights reserved.