237
After the last few days I expected an empty cave, that was not the case. We entered into the sitting room. Much like always the living area was dotted with several chairs around a fire pit. Kein lit the lamps and we went into the bed area.
The comfortable looking, round bed was there, draped in their colors and symbol. Off to the side was a closet. It had been well stocked with dresses for me and clothing for the men. Even boots were present in the closet. Nothing had been forgotten.
“Come look,” I heard Christof say and I felt the strangeness reverberate through all of us.This content provided by N(o)velDrama].[Org.
We stepped back into the main room and through a leather cover I had not noticed before. Inside Kein lit the lamps and I stood looking at my own warm stone. It was a birthing room.
The birthing room was large, obviously meant to comfortably fit Nu-reeh should she choose to come in. This room would prevent me from having to give birth in Nu-reeh’s quarters. I was grateful for the privacy, but terrified at the implications.
Nu-reeh truly meant to breed me so often I would need my own quarters for it. The thought depressed me terribly.
“Come on,” Bane said pulling me toward another room, “let’s bathe and settle in.”
There was a bath in our quarters, as well as, a shower. It was a funny luxury the men thought. They’d be just as fine using the large bath out front, but I did like to bathe in privacy. We’d make me happy for now, particularly since I seemed upset.
The men and I stripped and filled the pool in our quarters with steaming water. They felt the cold melt out of their bones as they sunk into the warmth. I had not realized how uncomfortable they really were. The water brought their aches over the last many days to the forefront. It had been masked before.
“If we allowed misery to master us, it would make us a weak family,” Damien said pulling me to straddle his lap. “We can depend on one another to double our strength-”
“-or doubly weaken it,” Christof finished. “I do not understand the bonds the females share, but I imagine it is similar. They must bond with Sisters who increase their strength. It seems very important.”
It did seem very important. I worried that the next girl know how to make good strong connections. From what Hannah had told me having a strong Sister that knew the world had been a wonderful thing. I wanted my daughters to know how to find that.
“I don’t know how to teach her that,” I said running the cloth slowly over Damien’s chest. “Hannah never explained to me how she knew…”
I felt deficient again and the men groaned openly.
“Ciara,” Damien said tilting my face until I looked into his eyes, “we are strong and capable. Our female children will be the same. Finding a Sister is probably like finding a Brother. She will know what we look for in one another and find the same thing in her family. You must cease this incessant worry. It is distracting and pointless.”
I looked into Damien’s eyes as the internal conversation took over. This stress I insisted on having may have been what fostered my irrational concern over Nu-reeh. They would not let me dwell this time.
“It’s the truth,” I insisted fisting my hands against Damien’s chest.
They refused to listen or let me dwell on it. The memories I had of those times I claimed Nu-reeh controlled them were manifestations of illness in my mind. There was no use in replaying those events.
I was outnumbered. Pushing the memories away I let their combined consciousness take over. The girls would be fine and we would be fine. The worry floated away and I let it go.
“Good girl,” Evan praised as he poured warm water over my hair to start cleaning it.
The bath was just what all of us needed. It was warm and relaxing. The water washed away the strain in their muscles as they cleaned away the dirt.
The men weren’t particularly bothered by being dirty, but the cleanliness was expected of them. As children they had been trained that lack of concern over one’s physical being indicated weakness. A man must keep himself in top condition at all times.
I remembered my uncles for a moment. They’d never bathed well enough to wash away the stale sweat or the odor of alcohol. Of course worrying over their physical health had been the last thing on their list. I remembered Uncle Eddy with his paunchy gut and toothless smile.
“Earth is a strange place,” Christof said laughing at my memories.
We finished the bath and I was in much better spirits. The men were glad for my settled state of mind.
“We have questions,” Bane told me quietly as we dressed.
They did have questions, for once we all did. Nu-reeh was acting so strange. Damien and his Brothers would make the rounds and find out what was going on. They planned to find their friends and ask the pertinent questions.
Rose was good for me, so the men felt safe leaving me with her. She would keep me from silly thoughts. They settled me at the table she was at and strode purposefully out of our new area.
Rose was thrilled to have me back. She’d been trying to work on the stories herself, but she didn’t know enough words. Her owners’ Mistress, Mistress Catna, wanted her productive. Rose had been making blankets for men in the compound, but enjoyed writing a great deal more. Since I was here, we could get back to that.
We knelt together on the comfortable kneeling chairs and talked for a moment before Rose insisted we do some work. The woman that owned Rose’s men was quite insistent she not be lazy. Rose was terrified of the woman. She pressed the pad she’d been given into my hands and entreated me to begin.
I usually came up with what to write about and Rose made it sound good. I thought for several moments.
“We could write about scars,” I offered drawing the symbol for that horrible creature absently on the pad.
The pad lit up and Rose put her hand over her mouth. It was a drawn replica of the Scar from many different angles. She pulled it closer and looked at it shuddering.
“What,” she asked, “is that?”