A Slave to the Servants Ch. 29

Early on it had become apparent that Jonathan was too adventuresome to be left alone. My friends and I developed a system when we cleaned our rooms. One of us would watch the boy as the other two worked. As we moved from room to room he'd grab the side of my dress or Rose's dress and babble away to us. Our time to clean was his time to talk. It seemed good practice for him since he was usually too active to stop and converse.

Most of the time activity was Jonathan's motto. He ran circles around all of us. When I used a table he'd climb onto it only to jump off. The furniture in our apartment was his own personaljungle gym. He'd bound from chair to chair, never touching the floor. It wasn't possible to stop him. The word 'no' was like anignition switch. Damien laughed and said it was just like Evan.

Jonathan was like Evan in other ways also. His hair grew so it ran down his back. When it reached a certain point it seemed to stop growing. We kept it tied back to keep it from tangling in everything. Getting a knot out of Jonathan's hair always resulted in screams that sounded likebloody murder. Damien remembered that having been a frequent issue when they were young also.

There were things about Jonathan that were certainly human attributes. Curiosity could have been his middle name. He wanted to do everything we did. Meal time was always a challenge. Without teeth he couldn't really eat the food on our plates. He'd nurse and then he wanted to taste what we were having.

Lucky for us, as it turned out, I found he'd eat mashed up food. I would crush soft things, like my sweet potato chunks and feed that to him. It didn't make him sick and he was growing well, so we always shared with him.

He nursed frequently, but ate something off mine or Evan's plate at most meals. It seemed to make the little one happy. I was always glad when he was happy.

Jonathan was an all consuming task, but we all loved him. He loved us, too, in his own wild, childish way. Jonathan needed more though.

By his fifth moon something strange started to happen. The first time it did my family panicked.

We were sitting around the fire in the late evening before bed. We'd finished a note from Hannah and were just talking. All of the sudden the men jumped back out of their chairs. The entire focus was on Jonathan who was babbling happily at my feet.

My quizzical expression met their wide, shocked ones.

"He tried to..." Evan said and stopped.

Jonathan got up and walked toward Evan talking and reaching. He wanted hisDaddyto pick him up. Evan backed toward the far wall slowly.

"What is wrong with you?" I fussed standing to pick up ourson. "He just wants to be close to you."

In a very human gesture Evan shook his head 'no' and stared mutely at me.

"He tried to..." again Evan couldn't finish and just stood there.

"It was like he tried to bond with us," Damien said slowly. "I felt it, we all did. It was so strange."

"For a moment," Kein said in awe, "he was part of us. That has never happened before. We didn't know anyone could do that..."

"He didn't like it, though," Bane said stepping toward me. "We weren't right, we didn't fit, but he wanted to try."

The mens' postures relaxed and Evan finally came toward us. A hand stroked the boy's head. Jonathan caught Evan's hand and commenced sucking on his fingers.

"He is lonely," Evan said quietly.

"I cannot remember not knowing you, Brothers," Bane said resting a hand on Kein's shoulder.

Christof came to stand by Evan as Jonathan gummed his fingers. "He is sad. It is like when I was separated from you all after the women had me in the mountains. He knows he has Brothers, but he cannot find them."

"Remember what Ronal told us many moons ago?" Damien asked. "When we thought Hannah was a boy he told us they put the boys together."

"It needs to be soon," Evan said sadly. "He needs his Brothers."

A tear slid down my face and I saw the same emotions in Evan's eyes.

"He will not be lost to us forever, Sister," he said softly. "Hannah and Kennedy will save him...they must."

My family murmured assurances to us. They had saved Bane's boy already. My girls would help save thisson. Again, I had to put my faith in their promises to control my emotions, otherwise sadness threatened to overwhelm me.

I knew time was short, so I enjoyed Jonathan as much as I could. Every waking moment was spent playing with him and talking to him. He still spoke in that strange language he'd invented. I understood him, though.

Children have no basis for sad and I knew that. Jonathan started to do things that told me he was not happy. He didn't talk as much and played with his toys less. He slept poorly and had to be reminded to nurse. I knew Nu-reeh would notice and she did.

"He needs his Brothers," she told me as she stalked in one day without warning.

"Yes, Mistress," I agreed watching the unusually quiet little boy sitting listlessly by the pool.

"Usually we wait until they have teeth and are eating on their own, but this cannot continue," she informed me.

Nu-reeh left after her proclamation, but Tosu returned later to explain what would happen.

The women knew the boys had to meet and match with their families. Gatherings were held regularly in predetermined sites. Any woman with a son was welcome to attend. Women flew from all over the world to meet, but I was a special case.

Jonathan needed me to feed and it was deemed foolish for Nu-reeh to be dragging a human across the planet. The women had agreed to forgo the usual site and hold the next meeting in our mountain.

"Be strong, Rachel," Tosu whispered to me with her back to the cameras, "he will be fine to grow for a while with the Child Keepers. He will be brought back to you."

I fought for inner peace as I thanked her.

It was less than four day cycles later when I received my summons to attend. Jonathan and I had been sitting with Rose and Fuji. Dinah came to our rooms and demanded I bring my knitting needles, yarn, and Jonathan. I followed her out the main door toward the area where the women stayed.

We walked to the huge wall and Dinah scooped me up. When we took flight Jonathan screamed, but not like I wanted to. That was fun and he wanted to do it again. He cried and fought when Dinah put us down at the top. He begged in his jumbled language to do it again.

Dinah was never friendly with me; I was barely tolerated. Jonathan was a different story. She took him from me and flew him up and down five times before she walked us inside. Jonathan was ecstatic and grinned broadly at the huge woman. He was enraptured with Dinah. I fought the urge to roll my eyes at his taste in women.

In the past I'd been in the women's area and it had been sparsely populated and quiet. The large central area was a common pass through, but the women didn't congregate the way men did. Today was entirely different.

The stone pit my girls dipped their talons in was literally walled off. The rest of the area was alive with activity.

The main floor was lit with torches and scattered with brightly colored toys. Cushions were all over the place and I soon noticed why. As two large women stood and talked a boy was nestled between them. He was wrapped in a blanket on the soft, little make shift bed, sound asleep.

There were perhaps fifty women here all with their boys roving about or resting.

Jonathan rode in my arms and took it all in for a moment. He'd never been in the presence of this many before and he'd never seen other little boys.

He was content to sit in wonder for all of about twenty heartbeats.

"Mama, down. I wan!" he demanded struggling out of my arms.

He hit the floor and couldn't decided where to go first. A moment later he bolted toward a group of boys playing.

I wasn't sure what to do and thought perhaps I should stop him, but Dinah corrected me.

"Let him be," she demanded grabbing my arm. "He will come to you when he is hungry."

"Yes, Mistress," I said watching Jonathan boldly approach the other children.

My little one had no fear, only curiosity. He went from child to child, babbling and touching. Some of the other children interacted with him and some shied away. He was smaller than most, but he had a mighty personality.

Dinah led me to where Nu-reeh and Tosu were. I was directed to rest on a larger cushion. Tosu pointed out that they had brought me refreshments should I need them.

Jonathan inspected every child at the gathering. He played longer with some, but he never stayed with anyone. It was like he was looking for someone.

Eventually, he was spent. He sat in the middle of the floor and let out an ear splitting cry. It didn't matter that I shouldn't, I went to him immediately.

Weaving between the boys and their toys I picked up my wailingson. He was so upset; he didn't want to be held and rocked. Food was not a concern and he refused the breast petulantly. Jonathan just continued to scream.

"Nurse, Baby," I begged him, but he wouldn't.

I carried his wailing, squirming body back to the pile of cushions Nu-reeh had directed me to. Singing softly, I tried to comfort my boy, but he was uncharacteristically irritable. Pacing in front of the cushions I rocked him until he calmed.

Tosu reassured me, her only male offspring had done the same thing. His brothers had not been at the gathering the first day and it frustrated him. That little boy had done the same thing Jonathan was currently doing.

It took time, but my boy relaxed slowly. I put him on the cushion beside me and he just stayed there. He sat and played absently with things Nu-reeh brought to him. The other little boys would wander by, but he ignored them. Jonathan knew what he needed and these children were not it.

"More women arrive for the next many days," Tosu told me. "This gathering will last here for five day cycles."

Nu-reeh and her sisters talked. They hoped at least some of Jonathan's Brothers would be brought to this gathering. At lease one of them should be having the same sensations manifesting. Their female breeders should be delivering them soon.

The hall we were in was loud. The women met and talked as the boys screamed and played. It was constant noise and stimulation. I feared it would be too much for Jonathan, since he was unused to this much activity. He didn't seem bothered by it all.

"I do not believe it," Nu-reeh said suddenly as the women in the hall all turned.

I looked where they were looking and saw a woman limping into the room.

The woman was large and looked powerful, but she was gravely injured. Even from where I sat I could see the streaks of blood down her legs. Her stomach had been slashed open and viscera could clearly be seen.

My hand went to my mouth as I saw what she carried. A small boy with brown hair was nestled in her arms. He was still, from my perspective, and his color was...off.

The woman moved further into the light and I saw the flash of colored beads that had been used to decorate her fur. She stood silently watching the other women.

I wondered what they would do. She was seriously injured, would they complete the job? Would they torture her? She could not fight back effectively the way she looked now.

I had no more time to consider the issue. Trapped in my musings I had not seen Jonathan get up. He had crossed the room and I didn't see him until he was at the woman's legs.

"Gimme," he demanded loudly inEnglishreaching toward her boy, "mine no yours!"

The woman's brow quirked and Jonathan repeated the phrase over and over again, still reaching for her boy.

It must have made sense to her, despite the strange word. She sat the little brown haired boy on his bottom in front of Jonathan. More beads caught the light as she stood back up.

I'd gotten to my feet and moved toward my baby without thinking. If there was to be a fight between the women, I didn't want Jonathan in the middle of it. This woman, even injured, could kill mysonif she fought with Nu-reeh. I could not let it happen.

Jonathan plopped down in front of the new little boy and grabbed his hand. In a gesture I was very familiar with he started to suck the other boy's fingers. A slight smile appeared on the beaded woman's face watching the children.

I reached the trio and tried to pick up Jonathan to move him. The beaded woman stopped me with a gentle command.

"Leave them," she said, "Aiden is his Brother and they will not tolerate it if you take them apart."

I was frantic and looked back at Nu-reeh as she came toward us. I knelt behind Jonathan and prayed my body would take the impact of whatever battle was about to happen.

Talons stopped behind me and to both sides. My breathing revved up and I hunched protectively over my boy, but what happened was unexpected.

"You are injured, cousin," I heard Nu-reeh say calmly.

"I am," the beaded woman replied. "I will not live to see the next sunrise."

The conversation continued and it was pleasant. The beaded woman was named Halil. She had been protecting her men from Racks and been outnumbered. She'd destroyed the dreaded creatures, but had suffered mortal injuries.

Her Sisters had flown here with her, but she'd made the last moments of the journey alone. The beaded ones did not wish to be captured by Nu-reeh and her followers. They had men to protect at home.

Nu-reeh bristled at the comment. She and her followers had sworn not to harm women from these gatherings. This was a neutral event. Despite how she feared for the men the beaded ones took, she would not seize their protectors and risk their health.

Halil laughed at the idea that Nu-reeh feared for the taken men, blood seeped from her wounds faster at the noise. "They are free men, Nu-reeh, that come and go as they please. Our men are strong and have taken up the positions they should in our society."

"Men should be protected," Nu-reeh insisted. "You have taken ones under our protection. We fear for them."

Halil dropped to her knees suddenly and we were all silent watching her. A large hand came down and stroked the head of her boy. He looked at her and whimpered pitifully.

He was watching his mother die and it broke my heart. Tears started to fill my eyes and I wasn't paying attention to Jonathan. When he shoved me backwards, I toppled and ended up sitting on Nu-reeh's feet. I slid off her talons and sat on the floor feeling surprised.

"Come,nursefromMama. Lots o'milk,we share. Nobe hungry," Jonathan promised Aiden.

As I sat stunned, Jonathan lifted the other boy under his arms and dragged him onto my lap.

"Baby, what are you doing?!" I asked as Jonathan moved my clothing aside and pulled out a heavy breast.

"Hungry,Mama," he stated simply pushing the new little boy's head to my teat.

The little, brown haired boy let Jonathan guide him and took a nipple between dry, cracked lips. As I sat and watched he took a tentative pull. Three voracious children had taught my breasts how to produce enough food for anarmy. Two half hearted sucks later the new little boy's mouth filled withmilk.

"Mistress, I..." I had no idea what to say.

I didn't want to refuse the boys, because I feared that would be rude for a slave to do. It wasn't clear to me that I should nurse another woman's child. None of the women looking down at me appeared upset with this, though.

The first taste ofmilkmust have been different for Aiden. He seemed surprised, but swallowed it after a mere moment. Evidently it was deemed fit because he started to suck ravenously burying his hands in the soft tissue and gripping fiercely.

Halil fell gracelessly to her side and watched us with half lidded eyes.

"Aiden will not die, then," she whispered watching her son drink like a starved man. "I have not been able to feed him for two day cycles."

Nu-reeh made a horrified sound, "You should have brought him sooner. My slave can feed them both."

"Your slave," Halil repeated sadly, "my male offspring is your slave now also. How I wished to save him from this life. He should have been like his cousins and bonded with free boys in other camps. I prayed he would be like the many we have bred and kept from your ways."

"Cousins?" Nu-reeh asked suspiciously.

"We have our own gatherings before we bring our boys to these vile events," Halil whispered. "Our numbers are not small and we will grow quickly. Slavery stifles men, they cannot reach their potential with your ways."

Aiden continued to drink as Jonathan crawled up beside him. My little one wiggled around until I held both of them. Jonathan wasn't hungry and just watched his Brother. He wanted, he needed, to be close to him.

Nu-reeh's voice was thick with emotion, "What do you do to our men?" she asked. "How do you force them to breed with you?"

Halil's voice became ragged and her breathing was coming in gasps, but she answered.

"We treat them as equals," she said. "They choose us as we choose them. We are all part of a happy, functional home. My men are my beloved as are my Sisters. I care deeply for all of them. My emotions for my male offspring I cannot describe..."

Halil's eyes closed and she took a few more gasping breaths. A small tremor passed through her hands and feet and then she moved no more. Halil had died less than five handspans from me.

The little boys didn't notice the drama that unfolded just behind them. Women came and took Halil's body and the boys did not see them. Aiden finished drinking from both breasts and then his eyes drifted shut. Jonathan did the same thing and they were soon snoring softly.

Sitting on the floor and holding both boys was difficult, getting up with them would have been impossible. Tosu took Aiden and Dinah picked up Jonathan. I got to my feet and followed as we walked back to the area we'd been in prior. Nu-reeh asked me to sit on my cushions while I ate and drank. With two children to feed I would require more water and food.

"Aiden is weak," Tosu told me as she tucked him under a soft blanket on the cushion beside me. "Jonathan is completing the bonding with this child and it will affect him. Feed them both so they will be strong."

Dinah put Jonathan down next to Aiden so they were touching and seconded Tosu's statement. If Aiden got too weak it would kill Jonathan. They were both my responsibility to feed back to health.

The women stood around me talking. Nu-reeh had heard the things Halil had said in the past. The beaded women always claimed the same thing. She had not heard what prolific breeders they were before this.

I sat silently with the children while the women discussed. In my own heart and head I mourned for Halil's loss. She had been a brave, noble woman. Her son would be the same and I felt honored that he was bonding to my baby.

Nu-reeh walked off with her Sisters to talk to other women. I was left with the two sleeping children. I just watched the room with amazement about what had just happened.

After a long while, Aiden woke and started to fuss. Jonathan woke instantly and assisted as I pulled his Brother back into my lap. I nursed Aiden again and checked the absorbent wrap on his bottom. It was bone dry.

I took the time to really examine Halil's son and I knew he was in trouble. Even after drinking twice his mouth looked dry and his eyes appeared sunken. This little boy was very dehydrated.

Despite the recent dehydration I saw his strength. Aiden's stripes were prominent and his features were strong. It was obvious he was pure- blooded Paterian male. He would be powerful when he grew up.

More awake after two feedings Aiden looked around. His wide brown eyes met mine and he held my gaze.