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We walked into the pool and I started to soap Damien. I carefully washed away the dirt accumulated from the long day. Once he was clean I massaged his back and shoulders, because he had said he wanted to relax.
The muscles under my hands were tense balls. Using the heel of my hand I pushed them out. Along Damien’s spine I used my thumbs in small circular movements to loosen the tension there.
“Why do you do that?” he asked.
“I thought you liked it, Da… Master Damien.”
My hands continued to seek out tight muscles and rub them for a few moments. Damien didn’t say anything else. He just unwound under my hands.
Once Damien seemed relaxed, I moved behind Evan. I washed his long hair gently. Eventually, I ended up sitting on a bench with his head in my lap. My fingers rubbed at his scalp and I braided his hair into all sorts of designs before returning it to it’s usual state. He looked like he had gone to sleep as I played.
Once the men were relaxed to their satisfaction we moved upstairs. They had their old rooms back, I noticed right away. The men seemed to like consistency, so I was sure that made them happy.
Walking into the familiar set up I touched the knitted blue blanket they had laying over one chair. I had made this blanket for Hannah, but it had been too big for her to take. In my rush to pack them, I didn’t even remember taking it.
“You told my Brother she is doing well,” Damien stated from right behind me.
“Yes,” I said smiling picking up the blanket.
I pressed the fabric to my nose and the slight scent of her still clung to it. Part of me wanted to lock this blanket far away, so the smell would stay. That wouldn’t work, though. There was no place to put it that Hannah’s scent would remain.
That night I slept holding the blanket tight to my chest. I dreamed of my daughter all night. Her sweet face, her voice, and her laughter haunted my memories. I wanted to keep them alive and well, so I would never forget.
A hand sliding over my body woke me the next morning. Evan was touching me idly and grinning as he lay propped on the bed.
“It was easier to wake you when we were bonded,” he said as I sluggishly roused myself.
“You could just let me sleep,” I yawned following him to the bathing room.
“It’s healthy to get up when the moon sets,” Evan informed me. “You miss the sun rise if you stay in bed. You must get up when we get up.”NôvelDrama.Org copyrighted © content.
“I thought you said I wasn’t your slave,” I said trying to reason with him. “I like to sleep after the sun has risen. Couldn’t you just tell the Cleaners not to come and leave me at home to sleep late and be by myself?”
Evan looked at me with a raised eyebrow. “Then you would become ill,” he informed me. “Getting up and going to the Keepers is good for you. You require the companionship and exercise. The family must stay healthy and strong. Don’t worry, Ciara, we know what you need and will provide it for you.”
His argument was rock solid as far as he was concerned. The same argument applied to my morning enema and the plug. I needed those things. He’d only not done it in the mountains because Nu-reeh discouraged them from touching me after the birth. Every slave in the compound had those thing, I should too.
I tried like hell to convince Evan I did not need what he thought I did but he disagreed. If I wasn’t regularly prepared it would hurt me when he and his Brothers used me. He had to do the cleaning to use the preparation plug. It was a chain of necessary events.
The idea I might not want to do those things didn’t even occur to Evan. When I mentioned it, he scoffed. He had seen me take pleasure many times while Bane used my ass. I didn’t know what I liked, they did. My family would see to it and keep me happy.
It was so frustrating. They had said I was free, but they still made all my decisions for me. I realized that was because they had been taught by trusted sources how to care for a human. Since they believed what they were doing was best for me, they would keep doing it. The only difference was now they did it out of love and not just a desire to have the healthiest slave.
Right on schedule, I was taken to the Keepers. My girl friends and all the other slaves were eager to talk. Everyone wanted to know what had happened to my baby. We had to be very careful that someone distracted the Keepers while I told them the story.
I could have lied to the other slaves, but I didn’t. There were large parts I left out, but I wasn’t dishonest. Since we had so little else, I thought my companions should at least get some of the truth.
The women had taken me, I told them. I was held until I gave birth. My daughter was born strong and considered to be of this world. She grew quickly, much faster than a human child. Once she no longer needed me the women left me in the mountains for the men to find.
“How did you get pregnant, though?” Rose asked.
I had to explain the health drink was contraceptives, which my fake owners had stopped giving me. We weren’t supposed to breed. That relieved a great deal of tension. They were all afraid that if it could happen to me, it might happen to them. No one wanted to have children they would have to give up.
I left out large chunks of information. I never told them the women were in charge. The way the world ran wasn’t discussed. I shared only the basics of what had happened to me specifically.