A Slave to the Servants Ch. 15

"Perhaps we should use the slave for its purpose," one of them offered wickedly. "Perhaps it would be a good lesson for Damien and his Brothers to learn to share."

They laughed at how fun that would be. Their Mistress had said not to touch me, but no one was here right now. Making Damien angry would be enjoyable.

I tried to rise and was pushed forward. One of the men grabbed my breast and squeezed. Reacting like my Warriors were trained to, I balled a fist and slammed it into his face. It didn't faze him at all.

The man before me laughed at my attempt and nearly knocked me out with a swift blow to the head. As I staggered dizzily another of them landed a sharp punch on my protruding belly. Screaming, I wrapped my arms around my unborn to protect her.

"Unless you want more of that, you will do what we say," the leader growled.

Before I had my balance back the men had me bent over the back of a chair in the room. My big belly was pressed hard into the cushion and I felt a wave of intense nausea.

"As payment then for all of our wasted mornings with this stupid creature," one of them said.

Still struggling hard, I felt the sweep of cold air on the back of my legs. My warm covering had been lifted to reveal my backside. I threw my elbow back slamming it into the gut of the man behind me. He grunted and laughed, but then he screamed.

I felt the man behind me suddenly ripped away from my body. White hot anger surged through me and I felt the desire to kill. Hands pushed me toward the wall and my family was throwing the tutors into the hall.

Damien was going to kill them and nothing was going to stop him. The fighting was fast and brutal. My family beat my tutors into the floor for every indiscretion. Once they were satisfied Damien and his Brothers went for the weapons they needed. Remove their heads from their bodies and throw the corpses off the mountain was the decision.

"No, stop!" I screamed running into the hall.

The commotion had attracted many men to the main hallway we were in. They were screaming bets and encouragement watching the fight. This was great entertainment.

The order from Damien was in my head to go back inside and be quiet. It took every ounce of mental determination I still had to fight the command.

"Stop, please!" I begged. "She doesn't want them dead!"

If Damien killed these men I feared what Nu-reeh would do. I felt the anger Damien had and it was making him irrational. It was making all of them irrational.

"She will learn to live with it," Damien said raising his arm to deal the killing blow.

"ENOUGH," was the roar from the entrance to the hallway we were in.

Damien's blade quivered in the air. I saw him falter as his eyes raised to the creature that had bellowed. Nu-reeh strode toward us and the compulsion to drop the weapons was undeniable.

Damien's blade fell to his side and he dropped the man he had been holding. The tutor's head made a sickening thud as it hit the stone floor. The other men did the same thing as Nu-reeh came closer. She looked livid.

The yelling throng dispersed with amazing speed. They literally ran down the hall to escape.

"They attacked Ciara, Mistress," Damien said by way of explanation. "They wished to use her. They hit her face and her stomach."

"My Sisters and I will deal with this," Nu-reeh said stoically and the rage just melted from us. "You do not need to concern yourselves with punishment. We will do a much better job than you would."

The women could, we all agreed. They could punish a man until he wished to be dead. This issue would be taken care of.

"Yes, Mistr-"

The polite response was cut off as the spasm radiated across my lower back. The cramp came out of nowhere. I was seeing double as I leaned over and grabbed the wall. It was like my insides were being twisted in a knot. I panted, unable to catch my breath.

Christof's hands helped me to kneel on the floor and I heard Nu-reeh cursing. She picked up my tutors and literally flung their limp bodies toward the main entrance.

"You are not ready, slave," she said harshly. "I am sure it is not time. You are stressed, now stop this."

I was breathless as the pain released me and looked up into her threatening face.

Christof knelt protectively beside me. He wasn't sure what I had to stop.

"Yes, Mistress," I whimpered holding my stomach.

A moment later the cramp returned. It radiated from my lower back and I writhed trying to find a comfortable way to move. Water splashed to the ground beneath me as the contraction ended.

"What is that?" Christof asked looking between my thighs.

Between my legs was warm and wet as I looked down. Through my translucent clothing it was easy to see the pool of bloody water beneath me.

Nu-reeh was really cursing now. There was so much more I needed to know. She hadn't gotten through half of my education. There was more she needed to do first. Nu-reh was furious at how far along I was before she knew.

In a fit of anger Nu-reeh slapped Damien.

"Why did you not pick better Keepers?" she demanded as he stumbled back. "They kept it a secret!"

The blow had surprised Damien, but he'd received worse. My family prepared for a beating, still not understanding what brought on this fit of rage. They'd take whatever they had to in order to keep Nu-reeh's wrath from me.

The pain knotted across my lower back and I groaned leaning onto the wall. I did the breathing Rose had taught me to try to maintain composure. Now was not the time for weakness.

The sound got Nu-reeh's attention. She ordered my men to bring certain things from inside and put them in bags. While my men worked she stood glaring at me.

Christof knelt at my side and stroked my back.

"What is happening?" he whispered into my ear when Nu-reeh's attention turned back to Damien as my men returned to her with the requested items.

"It's coming soon," I told him. "The cramping pushes the baby out," I explained as another wave of it swept across my lower back and into my belly.

Christof picked me up at Nu-reeh's command and we walked briskly through the hallways. My natural curiosity had me wondering where exactly we were going. I tried to pay attention to the twists and turns, but the cramping kept distracting me. We had never been where we were going now.

"It's too fast," I whispered into Christof's neck. "It takes hours and hours. This is too fast," I whined as the next series of spine wrenching clenching took me.

Nu-reeh answered me as we walked. "It is one of us, slave, not one of you. She will fight her way out now that you have released the fluid around her."

I laughed hysterically as my gut clenched again. Images of a hairy beast springing from my huge belly suddenly seemed funny. Perhaps she'd tear out of me and this would all be over.

"No!" Bane shouted. "You said it comes out the lower tunnel! Swear to me, Ciara, this doesn't tear from your body that way!"

My owners were frantic and had stopped moving to surround me. They didn't know how to fix me if the baby tore out of me. Nu-reeh turned and grabbed me from Christof and walked faster.

"It comes out the tunnel, Bane. Do not be a nuisance. I am bringing you with me into the women's area. They will not tolerate any trouble from you men," she said.

We'd never been to the women's area, not even me. No one was sure why we had to go there. It would be crawling with...ugg, better not to think of what it would be like.

We came to a wall of rock and I looked up the steep incline. Just as I wondered where we go now, Nu-reeh took flight. She soared up with dizzying speed to an opening at the top.

I watched behind her as my men scaled the cliff to follow her. They moved with the ease of mountain goats, but it was still slow going. It wasn't clear whether they would be able to scale the entire surface without help.

Nu-reeh called to her Sisters and asked them to go get my men. Dinah made an angry sound as was characteristic and Tosu just took off.

The women's area was massive. Fire pits were scattered around burning and shedding light. A huge, sunken pit seemed to be radiating heat throughout the space. Smaller caves dotted the perimeter of the room and went up the walls. Great, winged women flew into and out of the openings. Far above us the ceiling appeared to be missing allowing more light to spill in. Women were moving around in the space going about their daily lives. They barely noticed us.

The large cave Nu-reeh passed into was on the ground floor. Torches lit the area generously and I saw the walls were decorated with symbols.

"These are the quarters I share with Dinah and Tosu, slave," Nu-reeh informed me.

The walls around us were covered in intricate symbols. They ran in long lines down the walls. I recognized them as the family symbols the men wore.

Nu-reeh noticed my attention and looked proudly at the wall.

"Our men," she said inclining her head, "those symbols represent the families under our ownership. They are spread over several villages and compounds; and of course, some are here in the mountains."

Truly shocking, I thought. Nu-reeh and her Sisters could have their own compound it seemed.

"These," she said motioning her head, "are the family symbols for young females under my care."

It was another list of families, perhaps twenty in all. Nu-reeh and her sisters ran a truly massive operation.

I was laid on a large flat rock. I felt that it must be heated, because it was so warm under my back. Nu-reeh slipped my bloody, wet gown off my head and tossed it to the floor. My foot covers were also removed. I lay panting and staring at the ceiling as the next shuddering contraction ripped through me.

I'd seen my cousin give birth, but I had no idea what I should be doing to help the birthing process. She'd had her head up so she could wrap her arms around her stomach and grab her legs to push. Laid flat on a rock, even with my knees bent, I couldn't get in that position. My inability made me want to scream. I felt like I would fail before I started.

Christof was behind me suddenly. He raised me to lean against him between his legs, so I held the position I thought I should be in. Now I could wrap my arms around my stomach.

"Better, Ciara?" he asked through the bond.

"Yes, thank you," I answered the same way as Kein wiped the tears off my face.

We sat like that and my men just watched me curiously as the contractions continued. It was such a strange sensation, they couldn't get over it. Pain was part of life, but this was unique.

The stretching and pressure on my lower half was like nothing they'd every experienced. They equated it to really having to use the lacquered pot, but that had never been like this. Evan paced nervously feeling uncomfortable with the sensation. Eventually Damien knew we had to get control of ourselves.

The pain would not break us. Knowledge of how to deal with discomfort and the ability to refocus my mind became forefront. My breathing deepened, as much as it could, and I felt steadier.

Their experience with pain somehow made it more bearable. Damien planned our breathing and kept us balanced. I was grateful and let my mind feel through them.

Nu-reeh passed in and out watching us, but otherwise just left us alone. After a while, she began to place her hand on my belly and tell me to push with the contractions. Otherwise, she was very nonintrusive, which I appreciated.

The pain began to grow quickly. The contractions came closer and closer together until I felt I was breaking apart. Even with the mental buffer it was awful and unfathomable. I pushed and screamed and suddenly it faded. Wet wiggling between my thighs alerted me something had happened.

Nu-reeh reached between my legs and lifted a a flesh colored mass into the air by a leg. Using a claw she sliced through the umbilical cord and Dinah seared the ends closed with a burning poker. I stared transfixed at my daughter.

"Give her to me," I croaked out reaching.

Nu-reeh held the wiggling infant and just seemed to be examining her. She used a rag to wipe the bloody excess off the girl. Suddenly, the baby screeched and hissed. Nu-reeh growled back and I screamed at Nu-reeh to give me my baby.

Christof clamped a hand over my mouth and Damien stood between me and the giant woman. I would not be silenced and continued to scream past my gag. More than anything, I feared for the child's life.

As I screamed, so did the infant, fighting Nu-reeh for all she was worth. Finally, Nu-reeh laughed and brushed Damien away. She almost threw the bundle of flesh at me. I caught my damp shivering child and held her to my breast.

"Damien, take the rings out of the slave's nipples unless you want the girl to eat them," she said bluntly.

Kein reached for the rings and removed them while I tried to soothe the wailing little girl in my arms.

She was beautiful with a thick black tuft of hair over the crown of her head. Her flesh was otherwise milky white like mine. She had wings, small fleshy protrusions from her back that she couldn't seem to control. I stroked the area between them and they flopped around uselessly.

"Hello, Hannah," I crooned saying the name I had picked for her. "Relax, Mama is here. You're okay now."

The screaming baby quieted some at the sound of my voice and she nuzzled my chest. I guided her mouth to a nipple and she latched on hungrily.

The rest of the room didn't matter for a moment. I was lost, counting five fingers on each hand and five toes on each foot. She had my mother's nose and a dimple on her left cheek. She was a perfect girl, wings and all!

"What's it doing?" Kein asked.

"She is feeding," I told him simply.

Kein's fingers played over the nipple Hannah wasn't attached to and a drop of liquid appeared. He took it on his finger and licked it off.

"NO," Nu-reeh said sharply. "That is not for you. Let the female feed there until she is full."

I couldn't understand Nu-reeh. One minute it looks like she's going to kill the child and now she's protecting her feeding rights. It made no sense at all.

My lower back and belly contracted again. I grunted and strained, feeling something wet and warm slip from me. Damien reached down and pulled at the red mass.

"Is that a child?" Bane asked startled.

"No," I groaned catching my breath. "In my world it was called placenta. It attaches the baby inside of me."

Nu-reeh looked at it and then at me, "Well, aren't you going to eat it?" she asked.

"No, Ma'm," I answered as my stomach turned.

"Wasteful," she commented picking it up and sliding it between her jaws.

The wet slurping disgusted me almost as much as the grind of her teeth. I clutched at my daughter and closed my eyes willing the nausea to abate.

"Are you sleeping now?" Evan asked curiously.

I opened my eyes and he was right in my face.

"No, Master Evan, I felt nausea. I was just hoping it would pass."

"Really?" Christof asked.

"I didn't feel nausea," Bane muttered from the side.

Wide, dark eyes opened and my little Hannah looked up at me. Grey eyes, black hair...I looked at her face and saw her father's strong features.

"She's Damien's," I said quietly and Nu-reeh came closer.

"How do you know, slave?" she asked.

"The eyes, the hair," I said petting the baby. "This is Damien's daughter."

Nu-reeh didn't seem convinced and wandered away.

The child sucked and pulled on the breast, watching me intermittently. Suddenly, she seemed upset. Her little fists balled up and she let out a wail.

"Mama, more," she cried and I sat too shocked to move.

Nu-reeh spoke next, "You have another place to offer the child food, slave."

I looked at Nu-reeh and looked at the baby. Automatically, I moved her to the other breast and she latched on voraciously.

"You only have two," Nu-reeh said, "Hopefully, they produce enough."

I was amazed. The little girl had said the English word Mama I'd used and the Paterian word for more.

"She spoke, Mistress," I sputtered out. "She knows how to talk..."

"Of course she knows how to talk," Nu-reeh said with a wave of her hand.

"Babies don't know how to speak, Mistress," I dumbly responded.

"Human infants may not speak, much like our males, but our females do," Nu-reeh said.

Hannah shivered in my arms and I forgot about the conversation with Nu-reeh.

"She's cold. I need a blanket for her," I said.

Damien picked up the bag he had brought and pulled out one of my knitted blankets. Nu-reeh called him a nasty name and told him to give me one of the absorbent towels first. She ordered me to swaddle the infant's lower half with the absorbent piece.

Hannah screamed like a banshee when I took her off my breast. She was hungry she said, she begged for more to eat. I quickly diapered her and wrapped her in a blanket. Once she was back on the breast she was quiet again.

The only sound in the room was her noisy slurping and I started to be aware of my own discomfort. My lower half felt abused and broken. I shifted slightly and realized I was sitting in a puddle of fluid.

"May I have a towel to clean myself with?" I asked sheepishly.

My men bustled around and wiped me off.

The healing cream was rubbed all over 'down there' despite my strenuous objections. Nu-reeh even insisted it be put inside me, which made me stifle a cry. I was tender, but the cream made it better.

My sore and softened belly was also treated generously with a different strange cream Nu-reeh gave Damien. The skin visibly tightened after the application. Such a strange, amazing substance, I wished I'd had it back on Earth.

Nu-reeh had made Damien come prepared. A large absorbent towel was slipped between my legs and tied around my waist, like a large diaper. She told him I was to wear something like this until the drainage stopped. My men didn't argue, but I could see they didn't understand.

Hannah observed everything as she sucked on my breast. It had been a hard day for her and I watched as her eyes slowly drifted closed. She stopped suckling and seemed to be resting. I put her tiny body across my shoulder and patted between her wings until she let out a belch.

"Good. Slave," Nu-reeh said sounding satisfied. "You will feed her as often as she wants. Damien, put the cream on the slave's nipples, they will need care to keep the food supply flowing."

Damien started to put the salve across my nipples and Hannah opened her eyes to watch him. When his hand got close to her, she hissed and spit. Damien looked at me and then at the angry little bundle I was holding.

Nu-reeh laughed at the scene and came closer to look at Hannah.

"She will make a fine woman," Nu-reeh appraised. "No man may touch her, slave," she continued. "Only you may hold her or care for her. Do you understand me?"

I remembered all the times Damien had asked the same question. Punishment always awaited me if I didn't follow the direction.

"Yes, Mistress, no man will touch her," I answered and watched Nu-reeh carefully.

"The other men here will be made to understand also, Damien," Nu-reeh said stretching out her massive wingspan. "If any of you men touch the child, I will take your lives."

"Yes, Mistress," my men answered sounding a little shocked.

"I don't wish to have the slave in my quarters, so she and the babe will be moved back to your rooms. The slave will need plenty of food and water. Make sure there is an adequate supply in your rooms," Nu-reeh instructed.

My men answered in affirmation and watched as Nu-reeh approached Hannah and me. The big woman hoisted me in her arms and carried me out of her cave. We walked through the women's central area and there was great interest in my child.