A Slave to the Servants Ch. 31

I realized she was right. I'd never washed clothes on this planet.

Gunth explained there were two ways to wash our clothes.

There was a well located just downstairs, we could get drinking water from that and water to fill the tub. We could ask men to carry it up for us. We could wash our clothing here if we wanted.

Almost everyone used the lake hidden deeper in the mountain to bathe their clothing and bodies, but it was public. It was located over heated stones, so the water was very warm. That was the preferred place.

"Not many other camps have a bathing area like we have," he said proudly. "My Brothers and I find the water very soothing. It is a point of pride for us."

Since humans liked privacy, the tub in our rooms was a special adjustment for us. Some families had one, for one reason or another, but most everyone bathed together. We could be an exception and that was fine, though.

Gunth described the thing we would use to wash our own clothes near the lake. He called it a wash board and said we could get one if we wanted it. Rose noted the description was exactly like a washboard she had used as a young girl to clean things on Earth. She promised to teach me to use one.

As for waste, the camp had recently installed lacquered pots. There were several public rooms we could use to relieve ourselves. One was on this floor and Gunth would show it to us. Not many other free camps had managed to install the drainage for the lacquered pots yet. This place was ahead of its time.

"Tomorrow," Gunth said, "you will go to work with Armant. He and his Brothers have been desperate for help. The men in the camp are forever ruining their clothing. We patch what we can, but often must replace things."

A short noise sounded in the distance and Gunth smiled brightly.

"Feed time," he said happily and stood up. "Come and share a midday meal with the camp."

We stood and walked out the leather drape following Gunth. My mind was whirring with so much new information.

Gunth pointed to a large entrance on this floor several doors further down. That was the room with many lacquered pots. When we needed we could go there. Kennedy had even asked that two be set off private for us. The camp was honored to have its first freed slaves and had agreed readily with the request.

"How did you get to be an Administrator?" I asked as we walked down the steps to the first floor.

Men were coming down the walkway in groups talking and laughing. Several stared at us and others pointed, they all seemed amazed. Gunth ignored them as he answered.

"It is put to a vote," he said seriously. "Every family has a vote. We take three groups of females and three groups of males each time. The vote is held every third cycle of the sun."

Gunth walked in the direction of the dining room and we followed.

Rose gripped my hand as we moved down the wide passageway inside the mountain. The men were all around us and I felt fear being out here without Damien and his Brothers. Men in the mountains had always been more dangerous than men in the compound. I was terrified of what they would do. Out of habit I cast my eyes on Gunth's boots and followed them.

I noticed the little things, like the way Gunth's left heel dragged a little. The limp was well concealed, but he must have had some injury to that leg. He'd obviously been around a long time and we'd heard free life was hard. It probably wasn't unusual to have a limp as an older man.

"Little humans," a deep voice intoned from beside us, "look up. My cousins and I mean you no harm. You don't need to watch the Administrator's feet."

I cringed closer to Rose and she to me. Gunth stopped and turned around, causing a minor traffic jam. My eyes lifted to his and I saw the deep displeasure in our guide's face.

"You must stop acting like slaves," he said abruptly with a sour look. "I fail to understand your persistence in the matter. There are no slaves here. You are free women and must start to behave that way."

The man that had spoken had stopped when we did. He spoke again and I looked over at him.

"Come now, Gunth, relax a bit. You know how hard it is for the men to be retrained. These poor creatures are surrounded by men, men who look like those that have tormented them. It will take longer," he finished in an almost pleading voice.

I looked up at the man and he offered a lopsided grin. Light brown hair was cut short of his head. Seeing his purple eyes, I had to smile. He reminded me of Christof.

"Ratru rescued from the Youly compound," he said politely.

"Ciara," I said in a shaking voice, "and I am from Earth".

After Rose introduced herself, Ratru proceeded to introduce his brothers. They were all young from what I could tell. Their strong builds told me they would have been Warriors in the compound.

As we stood, men continued to flow around us heading for the eating hall. We were very much in the way.

"Go find your Brothers, Administrator Gunth," Ratru offered. "Eat your meal with them and let us take the new women into the dining hall. Hannah spoke to us about her female breeder coming here. We would be honored to help in this way. Hannah is a respected friend. We would gladly do this for her."

Gunth looked at the young man for a moment and then agreed. His Brothers were still in the Administrative hall finishing something. He wanted to go get them.

I watched Gunth leave with some trepidation and my eyes swung back to our new guide.

"Come on, women," Ratru cajoled, "don't be upset. We will share a meal together. It was not long ago we were rescued. We remember this place is strange if you are used to the compounds. No one will hurt you here. Let us eat together."

"Gunth?" Rose asked watching the big man's back disappear into the crowds.

"He is an old man," Ratru's Brother said quietly, "they don't like to be separated. It upsets them."

The dining hall, we soon learned, was a buffet. On the opposite wall were many long tables with food laid out. We got in a line with Ratru and were handed heavy, earthenware plates.

"Take whatever you need," the men told us gesturing to the food.

I looked at Rose and she at me. We had no idea what most of this food was. My memories of food were all borrowed from Damien and his Brothers. When we had been bonded I'd just used what they already knew and we'd never really talked about it or focused on it. Honestly, they always picked it out anyway. Finally I found something I recognized and took what looked like a serving. Further down I found something else the men had fed me several times.

Rose seemed to be in the same position I was. Neither of us was exactly sure what was on the tables in front of us. The preparation was different. It wasn't like either of us was that hungry either.

We picked the same things and followed Ratru to a round table with enough chairs for two or three families.

The family we sat with was very friendly; almost everyone that passed seemed to know them. Rose and I were introduced to countless other families. Everyone was kind and seemed happy to be together.

I nibbled on the food I'd taken as the room flowed around us. Ratru and his Brothers made polite small talk with us and inquired curiously about Earth. We answered their questions as best we could. It wasn't hard for anyone to tell that both Rose and I felt strange talking to these men.

Talons hitting the floor told me a female was coming. I turned my head expecting Reed or Hassar, but was thrilled to see Hannah and Ra instead.

"Baby Girl," I cried jumping up and hugging my daughter tightly, "I'm so glad to see you!"

Both girls greeted me fondly, then greeted Rose, and the men we were eating with. Men from an adjoining table pulled several larger stools over so Hannah and Ra could sit with us. They settled down looking very satisfied.

I wasn't satisfied and neither was Rose. I ignored the pleasantries and jumped into the issue.

"Hannah," I said urgently in English, "please you have to help us. They won't let our families near us. The Administrators here think our men would hurt us or keep us like slaves. You have to make them see reason."

"Was that an Earth language?" Ratru asked curiously. "The sound is so different!"

My eyes flitted to him, but settled back on Hannah pleadingly.

I knew her eyes, they were Damien's. Just like his eyes I could see her emotions reflected quite plainly in them. I did not like what I saw at all.

My oldest daughter sighed and wiped her hand across her forehead in a very human gesture and shook her head. My heart fell as I watched her.

"No, Hannah, no, please you know your father would never harm me. I am not his slave. Don't make us stay away from each other. I need them," I begged shamelessly.

Ra looked at her Sister and I saw the unspoken communication between them. They had expected this difficult conversation.

"This camp is built upon several important fundamental values, Mama," Hannah explained slowly. "Respect, equality, and hard work are all very important to the men and women that live here."

Ratru and his Brothers agreed with her and continued to watch the conversation.

"I can do all of that," I pleaded. "Damien and his Brothers can do all of that. We can do it together."

Rose grabbed my hand and spoke quickly. "My family can do that, too, so can I."

Hannah looked hard at me before she spoke.

"Damien does not respect you as an equal," she said simply. "He believes you are weak. My father doubts your ability to care for yourself so he has never taught you how to do so on this world. He thinks you will perish without his care."

That made perfect sense. "Of course, I am weak here," I said exasperated. "I'm the weakest thing in this room. Anyone could do anything to me and I have no way to stop them. That's been proved countless times."

I saw the steel in Hannah as she gave me a critical eye.

"Were you stronger than Uncle Bob?" Hannah asked, unexpectedly referring to my family on Earth.

I snorted a laugh. Bob was a strapping minor league football player who had been permanently sidelined due to a series of knee injuries. He was doing automotive work last time I saw him. For his size and strength he had been a very gentle man. He didn't stay with us often. Of all my uncles, I got along with him the best.

"Of course not," I said, "Bob was huge and he worked out all the time."

Hannah continued her strange lesson, despite my obvious confusion.

"Were you afraid of Bob?" she asked simply.

"Never," I responded quickly, he just wasn't that kind of guy. Hannah should have known that.

My daughter nodded as she spoke. "Bob respected you. He made a conscious choice to do that. Much like Bob, the men and women here would not treat you badly on principle alone. You are equal to them because you are a living, sentient creature. Just by being yourself, you deserve respect."

"I'm not equal to them," I said gesturing around and I heard Ratru's family suck in a surprised breath.

My eyes met his and I saw the pity he had for me.

"I'm not," I argued, "they are stronger and faster. Their species is better than mine."

Hannah snorted a laugh. "When they do not feel safe they cannot breed and their race is being destroyed because of it. Men from the compounds take a long time to learn to trust our women. Once they are rescued it takes a long time for them mate successfully.

"Even with the bonds of slavery, you have produced more children than anyone in this room. Your bloodline is living on because of your genetic advantages and your ability to adapt. If the women had not limited human breeding, your species would have taken over this planet. Yes, humans are easily killed, but you reproduce so quickly your weakness is almost irrelevant."

All around us at the various tables men murmured in agreement with Hannah. I had not realized we were having such an interesting conversation.

"You are completely untaught and it makes you helpless here," Hannah told me. "Daddy would never allow you the freedom to learn how to take care of yourself. He believes you need him and he has managed to convince you of the same thing."

"It isn't like that," I argued trying to understand this argument.

Hannah shook her head and pointed to my plate. "It is that way. Explain to me what you are eating right now."

I looked down at the chunks of brown and strips of light purple. The change in topic had surprised me. I had no idea what it was, but I'd eaten it before and not been ill.

"It's...I don't know. It's food," I said simply looking back at her and feeling frustrated.

"Daddy and his Brothers," Hannah said, "never taught you what the food you ate was. They served you food that was good for you, but never told you what it was or how to acquire it. In their minds there is no reason to do this. You could never live without them. They have denied you the most basic of survival skills."

I tried to put on a stern face, "Hannah, I love your father. I want to be with him. We can learn together."

"Mama," Hannah replied patiently, "Daddy is stubborn. He won't believe you are equal, until you prove to him you are. I don't think you will believe it either. His view of this world must change and so must yours."

I made a fluttering gesture with my hands and pushed the plate away.

"So I don't know food, Hannah, that's no reason to separate me from my family!" I argued.

Hannah sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

"Do you know what the Earth equivalent of your food choices would be. Perhaps a small fruit salad and some lettuce. How long would you last eating that way? Are you trying to waste away? It is not easy for you get the right nutrients here. This is a vital lesson," Hannah said pointing at the discarded food.

"Well, I just didn't know and I wasn't hungry...." I said feeling her argument solidify.

I really had no idea how to take care of myself. She was right. I didn't know where to find water or food. I had no idea what foods contained the vital vitamins and such I remembered learning about on Earth. I had only just been taught to start a fire last night. If I needed shelter, I would not know where to look. I had a partial knowledge of what was dangerous here, from what I'd read, but it wasn't complete. My studies had been guided solely on my own curiosity. A lot of what I'd read about may not even be relevant.

"They taught me swords," I said hopefully. "I had my own at the compound."

"That is not enough," Hannah said simply, "and I think you are smart enough to know that."

Hannah and Ra stood picking up the plates Rose and I had. "Come with us and learn about the food offered," she commanded. "Ratru, it pleases me to see you have made acquaintance with my female breeder," she said politely. "It would make me very happy to see blades made for the female humans to carry."

Ratru's face split with a wide grin. "The lead smith has been teaching us. His family will make the best weapons for these humans," he said sounding happy.

"I believe," Hannah said with authority, "it would be good practice for your family to make the blades. You must begin to trust the skills you have been taught. You and your Brothers are very talented working with metal. It is well known you will be lead smiths one day yourselves."

My heart sunk as I watched the interaction. Hannah and Ra didn't just bring us here casually. They were respected in this place. The men listened to them. If Hannah didn't want me with Damien, I would not be.

I was angry and frustrated, but determined. In the past I'd always managed to find a "work around" for the rules on this world. Steeling myself, I decided now was no different. I would just have to figure this place out.

Rose and I were walked back to the buffet and tutored through it. Things we could eat were pointed out and explained to us. Things that were high in vitamins were specifically noted. Hannah made sure we understood what a serving of each would be. The measurements she used were simple enough. A handful, a slice, and so on, we were delivered back to Ratru with a meal more like what Damien would have given me.

My friend and I were left to eat our meal as Hannah and Ra walked the dining room talking to different groups. I remembered seeing politicians on Earth. The way my daughter and her Sister approached the families and the tone they used reminded me of that. The girls were well recognized and obviously well respected as they moved about.

"They are amazing," Ratru said watching where I was looking. "We were rescued, but obviously did not understand what was happening. My Brothers and I were bound on the transport. When we came through the opening on this side of the mountains racks attacked. Hannah and Ra swooped in and killed the creatures before our rescuers could do anything with their weapons."

I ate as I listened to him and had to be proud of the awe in his voice. Hannah was very well suited for this world. Whether she liked it or not, she had obviously absorbed her father's leadership ability, also. She was a powerful female.

"They flew with us here," Ratru continued, "and unbound us in the transport storage area. Hannah explained to us what was happening. We found her to be so unlike any female we had ever dealt with before. She touched us gently and spoke to us kindly. She also looks different than the other females and my Brother was curious. He noted her long hair on her head and the lack of it on her face. It surprised us when she answered. She explained her Earth heritage and we were amazed."

"No female had ever spoken to us as they did," Ratru's Brother said watching Hannah and Ra. "We asked more questions and they continued to answer politely. When we became upset they soothed us and tried to relax us. When they thought we were becoming alarmed, they moved away from us. My Brothers and I had never met females like that."

"My female offspring is quite wonderful," I agreed with him, "but I still disagree with her."

Rose seconded the comment and wiped a tear from her face.

"Hannah is wise," Ratru said. "She is not an Administrator, yet, but we all know it is her goal eventually. You would do well to listen to her."

My toddler I thought caustically. I would do well to listen to MY toddler. My eyes narrowed, but I kept my opinion to myself.

After the meal Hannah and Ra walked with us to a latrine on the first floor. It was just a large room with about thirty lacquered pots against the walls.

"Upstairs are ones just for you and Rose," Hannah informed us. "Use these for right now. Ra and I will not let any men in to give you privacy."

A line quickly started to form and I felt guilty. Rose and I quickly took care of our needs and darted back out.

"I'm sorry we took too long," I said seeing the line of men waiting for the room we had been using.

"Nonsense," Hannah said waving us to follow her, "you liked privacy on Earth. It was very important to you and having it taken away hurt. We will help you heal by giving you back what you lost."

Ratru and his Brothers agreed it was important. The camps made a large point to replace things the men had lost in slavery. It should be the same for Rose and me.

As a group we started toward where the weapons were made. Ratru made sure to tell me he worked on swords now, but one day he hoped to work on cannons and the hand-held pistol. His words stopped me in my tracks.

"That was English," I told him. "Those words you used are in English."

Hannah grinned and Ratru smiled. "The names our weapons designers had given them were complicated and descriptive. Hannah told us these things looked like weapons humans on Earth had. She told us the names they used. We like them, so that is what we call them."