A Slave to the Servants Ch. 27

This would probably confuse Tyle and his family. I put the leaves and the pad back in the box and hid it all in a bag in the bedroom. When Damien returned I would tell him about it privately.

The door creaked open after I finished straightening up and had been knitting for a while. I was hesitant this time, considering my last surprise. Damien came through first and I smiled with relief at him.

Damien was not smiling, though. His eyes riveted on my face and a foul curse left his mouth. His sword was drawn and his stripes were dark. A mouthful of secondary teeth made me stand very still and watch him.

Evan followed Damien in and they checked the cabin. The men moved around me like I wasn't even present. Their stealthy motions surprised me into staying absolutely still and quiet. My men looked ready to attack.

The boys entered once the cabin had been searched. The young men held the weapons Damien had given them and they copied the elders' defensive stance. Bane was the last one in and shut the door behind him.

Christof put his sword away and approached me slowly. His stripes calmed and the secondary teeth receded. He touched my cheeks and my mouth. Brilliant eyes traveled over my form as long fingers stroked the sore place the other man had left on my arm.

Damien's voice startled me. "Stay with us out here, Tyle. My Brothers will attend Ciara in the other room."

Christof nudged me backward until I turned and walked into the bedroom. Once we were inside, he pulled at my dress and I resisted him.

"Nothing's wrong," I whispered to him trying to stop him from undressing me.

"Let us check," he commanded. "We will not hurt you. I will not harm you when I remove your cover. My Brothers and I will protect you now. Allow us to see what is damaged."

Evan assisted him and murmured comforting words to me as the dress was removed. Kein brought in healing cream and pulled the leather cover between the rooms closed. The men were being so gentle and caring. When I looked in their eyes I saw anger boiling beneath the surface, though.

It was confusing and then I glanced at my arm.

My upper arm was mottled black and blue. It was clear that a man's hand had made the deep mark. My fingers went to my sore mouth and I knew it must have the same look. I looked beaten. My men must think that they had totally failed to protect me.

"They were friends," I whispered to Christof hurriedly. "They did not mean to harm me. The man, Kev, became upset because I screamed and he held me too tightly. His Brother told him to let go. It wasn't intentional."

"Hush and let us check," Christof murmured with contrition on his face. "We will not hurt you anymore. Let us make it better."

"It was just one family. You saw the light tracks in the dirt, Kein," Evan whispered fiercely as he moved my hair and checked my back. "I know you could follow them. We could find them and destroy them."

Strong fingers examined my neck above my collar checking for bruises. They were being very thorough.

"NO!," I said in an emphatic whisper, pushing the hands away, "they were some of the men I freed in the mountains. They brought me something from Kennedy. None of them intended to harm me. The bruises are an accident because I panicked."

The men looked at me and looked at one another questioningly. I wasn't lying, but they still did not believe me. Kein started to coat my arm as Christof spoke.

"Let us check you over," he repeated. "If my offspring sent these men I will have to speak with her when we meet again. That was inappropriate."

Evan muttered curses as he pushed me to lay on the bed. Most of what he said was damning dishonorable men touching what was not theirs to touch. He was still pissed and he wanted to find them to beat them.

"I don't need to sleep," I sputtered trying to sit up, but that wasn't why I was laying down.

"Men here believe a human only has one purpose," Christof said gently. "We wish to be sure they did not use you for it. If you are damaged, we will care for you."

I was so frustrated I rolled my eyes as they bent my knees and pressed them apart.

"They didn't mean to hurt me," I repeated. "They did not use me. Don't you think I would tell you all if something like that happened? Don't you think I'd look upset or in pain?"

My questions were ignored and I felt Christof's long fingers gliding up my thighs. When he reached the juncture he softly touched the outer lips and then pulled them apart. He let out an audible breath finding everything untouched.

"And the other?" Evan asked quietly.

Christof's fingers sought lower down and found the knot of my ass. He gave it a gentle stroke before answering Evan.

"She was not harmed here," he stated with certainty.

"Told you so," I said briskly folding my hands over my stomach.

My tone irritated Evan and he got right in my face. "Did you enjoy being touched by them?" he asked hotly. "Is that how you like to be treated? Did you feel safe with them?!"

I was offended at the presumption, but I didn't want to start a fight. It seemed to me Evan was just upset and wanted to battle with someone. He needed to be calmed down not riled up.

"You know I didn't," I soothed cupping his chin. "I just wished you would believe me when I told you what happened. The men came to deliver a package. They were dressed strangely and I panicked. To keep me quiet they put a hand on my arm and over my mouth. The lead Brother scolded the other man for using too much force."

I saw Evan's mood shift and sway. Christof wasn't upset and neither was Kein, at least not outwardly. The surrounding calm seemed to slowly be working its magic on Evan. He dipped his fingers into the pot in Kein's hand and started to rub the bruise on my face. Kissing my forehead he murmured an apology.

"What exactly did the men bring?" Christof asked once the bruises had started to fade.

Evan would have continued to coat me in the cream, but Damien came in and made him stop.

"New marks heal quickly and so do shallow marks. These are deep, Brother, and were allowed to sit." Damien said. "They will need multiple treatments."

Evan didn't like it, but he deferred to Damien.

I was redressed in my warm blue outfit and I pulled the box out to show them. The men did grin madly over the gift of tami leaves. Damien took those to Bane, so he could use them to flavor the roast we'd be having for dinner. From the main room I heard the young boys' excitement over getting to try this treat for the first time.

Christof took the pad and examined it. He pressed his hand to the face and it recognized him. The pad advised he could leave a message for Kennedy if he so choose.

"Be gentle, Brother," Damien advised laying a hand on Christof's shoulder, "but the young one needs to understand that men cannot be sent to her Mama. Tell her we will speak with anyone that she needs to send. They need only offer her name and we will listen with patience."

Christof did as Damien asked. I know because I read over his shoulder as he wrote.

His letter was succinct and polite. He greeted Kennedy and wished her well, then he instructed her. The men that came were too rough with me, although I said it was not intentional. Men could not be sent to speak with me. Any contact with the family should be made through Damien or his Brothers.

All the Brothers agreed on the message and I fussed at them.

"She's so young," I begged, "and it was so sweet to think of us. Don't scold her."

Christof would have none of it. Kennedy was young, but she had to learn. It wasn't safe to have strange men approaching me.

Damien took the pad after Christof and left a message for Hannah. He wished she and Ra well. It was a short and pointed note telling them to contact us anytime. We would be in this cabin for six day cycles.

"Well, she can't really do that," I said touching his arm. "The boys won't understand any of this."

"Relax," Damien insisted patting my arm, "we'll send them out if we want to talk to our girls. They can be made to understand we need privacy."

"She said to teach them," I whispered to Christof. "Kennedy said that if they knew the world it might be easier to rescue them. I don't know how you explain to them who they are to you and what you know."

The men all chuckled and grinned.

"They know," Damien said pulling me past the leather drape into the main room. "That one," he pointed to Aryn who grinned proudly, "knew there had to be a reason he had Bane's mark on his arm. The kid's been trying to get our attention for many moons now."

Bane was standing at the fire roasting the meat the way they liked. Several of the boys stood close watching him. The boys were all half dressed and damp. Two were towel drying their hair as we came out. Bane must have made them clean up after the hunt.

"They figured we'd know why the boy had my mark on him after you reacted so strongly to seeing it. Aryn finally asked me," Bane said. "I told him while we hunted. I am his male-breeder. The women used me to make him and I never knew. We are family now, all of us."

The boys looked pleased at the phrase. They were being claimed as family by strong Warriors. They knew what that term meant to my men, so it was not taken lightly. It was a term for ultimate trust and protection.

"The world is not what it seems," one of the young men said softly. "You have been to the mountains. You talk to the Administrators and they do what you ask. Can you tell us what you know?"

The boy was perceptive and bright. The world wasn't what it seemed, but the men here rarely questioned things. I stared at the boy in wonder.

"Three generations back," Kein said grabbing the kid and pulling him closer to me. "It's right here."

The boy looked uncomfortable so close to me, but I could clearly see his mark. Three generations back was a human slave in his line. Tyle finally voiced the young family's question.

"Sir, we don't understand what you're looking at," he said politely. "My Brother, Varn, does not have a mark from you all."

My family exchanged a quick glance and I saw that they'd made a decision.

"The world is full of secrets," Damien said in a low voice. "If others knew that you understood, it may cause your family trouble."

"We keep our secrets in the family, Warrior," Tyle answered for the family. "We knew we had some connection to you, but we have never shared this thought outside the family. The way the women treat weak men, like shopkeepers, more gently seems strange, but we have never discussed it. We know there is something..."

The boys stared at Damien and his Brothers just waiting. They did not have enough information to figure it out on their own, but the suppositions they had made were accurate.

We ate dinner and my family spoke honestly with the boys. They said nothing to them that was overly inflammatory. The things they'd said could safely be repeated without endangering us. I realized this was a test.

If we returned to the compound and the boys repeated what they'd been told, we'd be no worse for it. Nothing being said was all that terrible. I was certain what we told the boys later would be based on their reaction to this test.

After a leisurely dinner the men sat and played cards with one another. I knitted silently as the conversation continued. The boys seemed to be absorbing everything Damien's family told them.

There were things in the mountains the men saw infrequently. Dangerous creatures that scaled the steep cliffs and could eat a man alive. Hannah had told us about them. She had called them Racks. If this story got back to us, we'd know the boys had talked.

As the evening progressed the lessons continued. Damien started to explain about other creatures Hannah had told us about. Most of these things existed beyond the mountains. The lessons were given slowly, because the boys had never heard of these things before.

If we were able to save the boys it was information they would need. Should the General come to us with complaints, we would know who talked. It wouldn't get us in that much trouble, though. I had to appreciate the stealthy way Damien was ferreting out the kids' loyalty and discretion.

Before bed I slipped into the bedroom with Christof and Damien. We checked the pad and noted written messages from both Kennedy and Hannah. The girls must have talked because both apologized for sending men that hurt me. That had not been the intention.

The big news was that Hannah would take Bane's son away. She advised we trust the boys slowly and gradually begin to educate them. Once they were old enough and had enough knowledge Hannah would send us a message. She would tell us at that point how she planned to get them out.

Kennedy wanted to know if we could do that with other Warrior families. Freeing men from the compounds wouldn't be difficult if the men went willingly. All we had to do was find one family at a time and educate them. My girls would arrange to have them taken away after that.

The letters unnerved me. If we did what the girls asked us to do and the men reported to the General, there was no telling how we would suffer. I begged Damien not to do it. Perhaps he could just save Tyle's family and then be done with this.

"We will protect you," Damien assured me, "and we will be careful. This is something we must do, though."

"You don't understand," I begged in a plaintive voice. "I saw a man like Evan. He was a free man. They had cut-his-hair. It was awful and I think he was almost broken. I couldn't bear it if that happened to you all."

Damien stopped and stared at me for a few moments. I'd never discussed with them the horrors I'd seen inflicted on the men I'd freed. He was obviously surprised the women would go to those lengths.

"We are careful men. They will not catch us," he said with conviction.

I begged and pleaded, even arguing I'd be sick to my stomach with worry. My men weren't listening to me. I was fed the root and told to be quiet. Warriors were fighters and these men were fighting back. They were done being obedient slaves.

"Come," Damien finally commanded, "I wish to clean myself before bed. I will wash you and you will wash me, we both find that relaxing."

I nodded and smiled up at him. He was right. Having him rub me down was immensely pleasurable. It might give me the chance to keep begging him as well. Although it seemed his mind was already made up.

In the bath I whispered pleas to Damien, he looked critically at me. Pulling me onto his lap he spoke into my ear.

"Did you like being a slave?" he asked. "Would you have run from us if there was somewhere to go?"

The first days on this planet had been so strange. There was never a way out. Walls were everywhere and I was surrounded by five powerful men. Much later, when I learned my second duty on this planet, even death looked like a viable escape.

No, I had never liked being a slave.

Admitting that to Damien seemed wrong. I loved him now. Looking up into his gray eyes, I realized he already knew the answer.

"Help us fight back," he requested quietly, "support us while we do this."

The family had to agree. It was important to him that I thought like they did. Swallowing my dread and fear, I nodded to him.

"Use caution, my love," I warned taking his face in my hands, "I could not bear to lose you."

Murmured promises came from all five of them and I felt soothing hands stroking my back. Whether I liked it or not the family was agreed to this now.

We spent six days at the cabin. My family talked to Tyle's family about the creatures Hannah had told us about. They discussed the dangers that existed beyond the mountains. The boys loved the stories and never asked why they were getting this information.

Everyday we trained outside the cabin. Tyle's young family learned to fight with their mentors' first swords. It was an honor and the boys treated it as such. Quite quickly it became obvious they had trained well with the wooden staffs.

I knew and my men knew. It would not take long for Hannah to feel safe taking this family. They were fast and strong, lacking only the opportunity to test their skills.

I was fed bits of the root three times a day. It kept my stomach settled, but I was still so anxious. Damien and his Brothers truly planned to mount a coup from inside the compound. Despite my grudging acceptance, it pushed my nerves to near breaking.

Christof tried to console me on the transport ride back to the compound.

"Evan has talked to every man in the compound," he said. "He's made friends with many men. We can invite men to dine with us and pick the family that would be best suited to escape."

"If the women catch you," I said miserably, "they will torture you. If they can't control you, they will kill you."

Christof wasn't concerned. He and his Brothers would be careful. They'd not tell anyone anything until they were sure. This wasn't going to be something they did recklessly.

I wasn't happy about it, but I knew that withholding my acceptance only hurt them. They would still be driven to do this.

"You had your chance to fight back and you took it, little Sister," Bane said, "give us our chance."

Looking into his earnest face, I understood. They'd been raised to believe they were protectors. No matter what the women told them, they still felt that way. Freedom was something worth fighting for. The lack of resistance they had been displaying had become unbearable.

"Be careful and wise about this," I warned looking up into his serious eyes.

They certainly needed that encouragement. Evan would have liked to stand on the compound walls and call for a revolt. It was only his Brothers' calm that soothed him.

********

Damien promptly took control of the situation. The men spent long nights discussing which family to send first to Hannah. While they stealthily interviewed the other men, we continued to train Bane's son and his family. Our own eventual escape was also prepared for in mind and body. It was a busy time, but Damien kept us organized.

The pad Kennedy had sent was truly like she had said, an encyclopedia. I sat and read to the men and we learned about the world beyond the mountains. When we left this compound for good we would know what dangers we faced.

It was important we all be strong. When we weren't reading, we were in the stadium practicing with Bane's son and his family. My skill with the wooden staffs grew as Bane's son and that family graduated to a metal blade on schedule three cycles of the large moon after we left the cabin.

The boys knew something was afoot, but seemed to accept Damien's insistence they could not know right now. They trusted their new family and just allowed us to push them to be powerful. The young men worked as hard as Damien wanted and the fruit of their labor was telling.

The boys were strong and fierce. We soon determined they were loyal to us as well. The stories Damien's family told them never left their mouths. They were as honorable as men should be.

In the midst of our training the men finally decided on a group of men to free. Damien invited them to dinner one night having decided it was time to really talk with them. The men filed in and greeted Damien politely. Everyone was becoming used to my looking around, so there were no comments about that.

We sat and had our meal as Evan asked the men what they thought about things. At first they were quiet and kept to themselves, but Evan's persistence got to them. The men weren't happy, the way they were forced with the women irritated them. These men had often thought of escape.

Evan knew that. He remembered these men saying things, wondering if the world beyond the mountains was dominated by the women. In the past the General had harshly rebuked them for their complaints and questions.