Chapter 30
30
All too soon the screaming from the bed turned to moans. I chanced a glance up and saw Fuji writhing in the hands that held her. She looked like she was in the throes of ecstasy as a man with long dark hair grunted and thrust into her. She squealed beneath him and protested, but it didn't sound real. Her hips moved in time with his and I could hear the wet slapping they made as they joined.
The men passed her around, but whenever they let her go, she started to fight again. She wanted to dance and they were a series of words I couldn't understand. I'd never seen this side of Fuji, not that I really wanted to.
She was restrained and ravished by every one of her men. I wouldn't have thought to ask if her kind could orgasm, but by the sounds of it she did, over and over again. The scent of pungent sex filled the air and I tried to ignore it.
Eventually, everything quieted down. They wiped Fuji with a cloth and gave her a long drink. Once they were done, I watched them tuck her exhausted body into the covers.
One of the men came over and brought me to the bed. He forced me to lay down, which I wasn't comfortable doing at all. I tried to sit up and he got behind me and pulled me down. He brought my back flush to his front and wrapped strong arms around me.
"No more running," he said pulling me tight to his body as the covers were draped over us.
Inside me was a panic. I imagined all the horrible things these strange men could do to my naked body. Much to my dismay I'd seen what they'd done to Fuji and I did not want to be next.
After a while the sensation of fear faded because nothing was happening. The man holding me sounded and felt like he was just going to sleep. I lay still and listened to the man's breathing, slow and even. I felt his staff behind me, it was completely flaccid. There was absolutely no danger of this man being interested in me. The worry melted away and I sunk into the strange embrace.
We rested like that for a while before he spoke again. "I don't know what you did this morning, slave,” he whispered quietly, "but it is why we let you go and I'm glad you did it."
A murmur of consensus went around the bed. It did make me feel a little better that the Warriors weren't all mad at me. I yawned loudly and started to slide toward sleep.
Sleeping with strange men should have been impossible, but I felt oddly safe with them. Master Damien would not have left me anywhere I would get hurt. That was abundantly obvious now. I slipped into a sound sleep almost immediately.
I woke in the middle of the night like I was accustomed to doing. As I was restlessly trying to back to sleep with a full bladder, the man next to me woke up.
"Slave, what is wrong?" he asked sounding concerned.
I told him and he walked me to the bathroom. Once I was done he walked me back toward the bed.
"They will have to punish you, you know," he said softly before we entered the bedroom. "Such defiance cannot be left alone.”
"Yes, Keeper," I answered dutifully.
"I do not understand what you have with Christof, but it must be important. He needs to share his bond with his brothers, though. It is essential,” the man said as we laid down.
I was so tired the comment didn't make any sense. Before I fell asleep, I wondered if I should ask the man what he meant. Unfortunately, the thought was lost as I drifted off again.
Fuji's bright eyes were in my face when I woke up. She was bouncing happily around the bed teasing me about being so deeply asleep. I let her lead me to their bathroom, where I received my morning cleaning, my entire morning cleaning.
It was bad enough that I had to accept the enemas and the plug from my Warriors, this was so much worse. I was blushing from head to toe and wishing it wasn't happening. Fuji touched my face as I lay over her Warriors lap and asked why it was that color. I shook my head and looked away while her Warrior laughed.
"Earth slaves think this is embarrassing, don't you slave?" he asked me finishing up.
"It's where I make waste, sir. On earth only dirty men would touch it," I said shifting around.
It always took me a while in the morning to get used to the plug. They had removed it before we went to the bathhouse the night before. "Hmm," he said lifting my chin, "are we dirty men, slave?" he asked. "No, sir," I stammered out terrified.
The rest of the morning meal consisted of the Warriors discussing whether they were what I called “dirty men’. I was terrified they would tell my Warriors, who were mad enough as it was.
"Please Keepers, I didn't mean it that way. Please, don't tell Master Damien and his brothers,” I begged.
"If you were to behave the rest of the time they are gone, we may forget to tell,” one of them offered.
I nodded and pleaded with my eyes. Fuji interpreted and told them that meant 'yes'. I kept forgetting.
When we got to the Keepers I couldn't wait anymore to ask her. I pulled a confused Fuji aside and asked her, "Why do your Warriors hurt you at night? Are you all right?"
Fuji bounced around and laughed, "They weren't hurting me, they just like it when I fight them a little. Native coupling for them is very violent, they have to battle the woman they are mating with. It makes it more real if I fight them. You worry too much, Ciara.”
She told all the girls about my concern. I made a mental note that Fuji can't keep a secret. Rose and Tamia agreed with her. Even Shi who was usually quiet agreed, the Warriors liked a struggle. Fuji did make a point to say they only liked it when they were not fresh back from a coupling. That conversation was quickly replaced by Rose's fretting over the lashing. Rose's family on earth had hit her with a belt and she talked about breathing through the pain.
“I'm not sure if it's better to scream or if there is a set number of lashings," she mused pacing back and forth.
"Why would screaming make a difference?" I asked her.
"Do you remember the posts?” she asked incredulously. "Your Warriors watched you the entire time, they stood out of sight. They choose who went up after you, if you panicked too much they tell their friends to stop. Your Warriors will never cause you pain directly, they will only ever be the one to stop it."
"That is so weird,” I mused remembering that awful night.
The torment had only stopped when one of my Masters called a halt to whoever was harassing me. The torture had ended with Master Damien and his brothers taking me home and caring for me.
"Right, so I don't know if it would better for you to panic and have your men call the General off or if there will be a set number of lashes," she said back in planning mode. "If they want to see you scream, you need to wail. If there are a set number of lashes, you need to control your breathing and get through it. Your Warriors will feel better about you if you act strong, I think."
We spent the rest of the morning practicing what I would call Lamaze breathing with Rose. She seemed so mature, but she didn't look any older than me. I asked her finally.
"Rose, how long have you been here?"
"Well, what year was it when you left Earth?" she asked me.
"March 28, 2011 was the day they took me," I answered.
Rose's eyes misted over a little and she took a deep breath. "Well, it has been quite a while then. They took me in March of 1956; I was twenty then."
I sat and stared at her in shock. I did the math quickly in my head. Rose didn't look or act like a seventy year old woman. She was calmer than I was, but otherwise was like a teenager.
"Things work different here," she said stroking my hair, “just breath." "But on Earth..." I stammered.
"You mustn't talk about it,” she warned cutting me off. "They do not like us to speak of our home planets. We must only think of our Warriors now."
The lunch bell was a much needed distraction when it finally rang. I went in the lunchroom to look for my little pad, but it wasn't there. I rushed to ask the Keepers and they pointed to the courtyard. I nearly didn't make it to my place before the Warriors started to come in. I guessed the Keepers did not know my Masters were gone.
One of Fuji's owners stood in front of me a moment later. He motioned me up and picked up my kneeling pad. Confused, I followed him out the gate into the forest.
Eventually, he found a spot Christof and I frequently stopped in. The man lay my kneeling place on the ground and proceeded to feed me. He sat on a stump in front of me. It was a place I liked most of the time, now I felt a little edgy.
The man cleared his throat and pointed out a yellow plant clinging to the soil. It grew sparsely around the trunks of the larger plants.
"That," he told me, "is called a pana plant. The leaves can be used to make a calming tea. The shopkeepers collect and prepare it. The preparation is complex. It is very expensive to buy.”
He offered me a bite and I took it looking up at him strangely. "Christof told me he talks to you and tells you about this world. He said you are curious and ask many questions. My brothers and I wish to be a happy slave when your owners return. If this practice makes you happy we will continue it," the man said matter - of - factly.
I swallowed and took another bite, still not quite understanding this strange happenstance.