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    A murmur of discussion went through them. If questions made me happy, they would tolerate them,


    the men finally decided. I had been a good ve today, I had earned a question was the


    consensus. Master Damien raised an eyebrow at me and waited.


    "There are ves on earth and they treat them terribly. I know you could hurt me if you wanted.


    Why don''t you hit your ves?" I asked rambling, part of me was scared what the answer might be.


    Master Damien let the little group file into the bath house and walked with me into a shallow part of


    the pool. He handed me soap and a silky rag, so I started to wash him.


    "We did beat ves, in the beginning. They never asked questions and they always did what we


    said. They just didn''t live very long."


    "We are verypetitive, as you''ve noticed. We started to try to keep our ves alive. It became


    an honor, to see who had the oldest ve," he said and then continued with a warning. "Don''t


    confuse not wanting to hurt you with ack of discipline. If you continue to need reminders about


    how to behave, they will only get harsher."


    Promising to be good, I decided to keep going with my luck, so I asked him, "Another question,


    Master Damien?"


    He sighed but seemed to be enjoying the soapy massage, "One more, Ciara, you were a very good


    ve today."


    "Why do you feed me and bathe me. I can do those things myself. I CAN take care of myself," I said


    a little indignantly.


    "You told another ve you were free and the vers took you, isn''t that correct?" he asked.


    I moved the rag between his toes as I answered, "Yes, Master Damien, I walked into a strange light


    and woke up at the auction."


    "Were you able to fend for yourself, you would not have been kidnapped and sold. We care for you,


    because you are ours and it is our responsibility. Your illness would be seen as weakness on our


    part, that cannot happen," he said.


    I continued to wash him, but didn''t argue. It was good he had answered some questions.


    Other Warriors came and talked to him as I worked. Severalmented I seemed more obedient


    today. Master Damien thanked them for their help in that matter. I was cringing while they talked, I


    recognized their voices from the tform. As I worked, I did not look up and kept at least one hand


    on Master Damien at all times.


    Once I was done bathing him, Master Damien sent me across the pool to go sit with Master Evan. It


    was strange to be told to go somewhere and not told to follow. I would have preferred if he went


    with me, there were Warriors everywhere.


    I walked across the cool stone with my head down to the spot Master Evan had been lounging in.


    Abruptly, my way was cut off by several masculine sets of legs. I tried to back up and there were


    men behind me.


    "Where are you going, ve?" a deep voice questioned me.


    Praying for my owners, I stayed silent and looked at the floor. There was nothing I could do, except


    wait for the torture. It woulde no matter what I did. Tears started to form in my eyes, I was


    terrified.


    Master Bane''s voice broke the silence and I breathed again. "Did it speak?" he asked.


    "No, Bane," the first voiceughed, "nor did it look at us. For an Earth ve, it learns quickly. We


    lost this bet, my friend."


    They had tried to trick me into speaking or looking as part of a stupid wager. I was angry and


    couldn''t keep the fire out of my eyes when I looked up at Master Bane. Heughed at me and got


    right up in my face.


    "Are you angry, Ciara? Don''t lie to me," hemanded looking very pleased with himself.


    Smug bastard, I just stared at him. There wasn''t a word bad enough in my newnguage to call


    him.


    "Fine, ve, it''s time to get wet then," he said in a growling voice as he picked me up and threw me


    into deep water.


    I twisted so I didn''t take the water t on my back and slid my feet in first. Underwater was quiet, so


    I looked around and saw where Master Evan should be. Turning underwater I swam in that


    direction.


    I was trying to reign in my indignation deep beneath the surface when a hand reached out and


    grabbed my leg. I kicked out and was pulled roughly to the surface. I was confused and afraid of


    looking at the wrong man. My head was pulled up and I was relieved to see Master Damien in front


    of me.


    My owners were surrounding me looking concerned, including Master Bane, who hadpletely


    lost that self satisfied look. Christof released my leg and Master Damien grabbed me looking


    hurriedly at my face.


    "Humans are like us and cannot breath water, Ciara. What were you doing down there?" Master


    Damien asked harshly.


    "I was swimming to Master Evan. You told me to go to him, Master Damien," I said blinking water


    out of my eyes.


    The five of them let out a collective sigh of relief and pulled me into shallow water.


    "I like to swim Masters, I used to dive all the time at home. I can hold my breath a really long time," I


    said as they dragged me back to the shallows.


    Master Damien looked amused and Master Baneughed. I got indignant. "I bet I can hold my


    breath under water longer than you can, Masters!" I said proudly.


    Master Bane''s eyes lit up, "To a contest then!"


    The rules were simple, whoever broke the surface first lost. Master Bane went first and I easily


    bested him. Not wanting to show off all my skills I rose before I needed to. Except for Master Kein I


    could stay under water longer than any of them. It was fun, although losing to Master Kein hurt.


    Master Bane promised a swimming contest when the pool wasn''t so full of other people.


    "We will tell the Keepers you may go in the water, Ciara, we have no fear you will drown," said


    Master Damien.


    Noticing the question on my face, he spoke again.


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    "When we go to patrol we will leave you with the Keepers. They often take you to the sea. They are


    not Warriors, they watch our ves when we are otherwise engaged. You may speak to them and


    look at them. They will clean and feed you when it is needed," he finished.


    "Why can''t you just leave me at home when you go on patrol?" I mumbled to no one in particr.


    Master Damien started to reach for me with an irritated look on his face.


    "I''m sorry, I didn''t mean it. I understand, no more questions," I stuttered backing away from him.


    The threat was in his eyes, I had pissed him off. "Come here, ve," he said bluntly.


    Gulping down my fear I moved to stand in front of him. All the men were lounging on steps in the


    water. They watched me with interest, I must be better than having a TV. Master Damien looked


    calmly up at me while I trembled.


    "Do not ever move away from me when I reach for you, do you understand?" he told me.


    I was learning that whenever he asked me if I understood that was something that would get me in


    trouble if I did it again.


    "Yes, Master Damien, it won''t happen again," I answered watching him warily.


    "Good, have a seat next to me," hemanded.


    I sat and the men talked. They moved around, but I stayed in my spot. I hadn''t noticed them move


    away slightly, it was a heated conversation about the campaign that had drawn them in.


    Water sshed up as new male bodies joined me on either side. I wanted to scream, but I didn''t


    want to be talking to other men. I just sat quietly as the new men ran their hands over my body.


    They twisted my nipples hard and I didn''t make a sound. One man bent my fingers back until they


    feared they would break, but I didn''t even whimper. They pinched between my legs and drove their


    fingers deep inside of me. I fought hard not to cry out.


    The treatment was ten times worse than the posts, but I stayed silent. Another male body was


    standing in front of me, blocking my line of sight to my owners. Tears streaked down my face as I


    watched the hands torture me in the water.


    I heard the angry shouts when my Warriors noticed me. Damien was talking in a cold voice to the


    men, but I was too scared to understand him. The whole area had gone quiet watching us. The man


    was speaking harshly back to Master Damien. The aggressive conversation was the only speaking


    going on at the pool, everyone else was silent.


    Suddenly, one of the offending men had me by the throat pulling me out of the water. I felt his


    fingers digging into my neck above the metal cor. My air was cut off and I tried not to panic. Both


    my feet dangled over the pool.


    "If you cannot protect it, you shouldn''t have it," he taunted Master Damien squeezing my throat


    tighter.


    My vision started to blur around the edges. I wed at his hand, but he wouldn''t release me. The


    way I was being held I saw most of the pool. All the Warriors looked pissed. Many of those


    surrounding us were shouting at the man holding me angrily. I started to fade out listening to them.


    The General''s booming voice cut through the haze that was starting to invade my mind. My new


    captor heard it and dropped me. I never hit water or the side of the pool. Master Bane had moved


    from the beside us and caught me. I took a much needed breath and felt my pounding head start to


    clear. I pressed my face into Master Bane''s hairy chest and gulped down mouthfuls of air.


    No one at the pool was talking and I looked up to see why. The General was having a staring


    contest with the Warrior that had been holding me.


    "You touched another Warrior''s ve without permission. Am I to understand you did this because


    you do not believe Damien and his brothers can protect what is theirs?" he asked the other man.


    "I do not believe they can protect anyone. They should no longer be called Warriors. The


    shopkeepers go to meet the women and a Warrior refuses to go? It is an embarrassment to all of


    us. No Warrior lives in fear, they are not Warriors," he stated authoritatively.


    "You are presumptuous Andre, remember your ce," the General said.


    He turned to look at us and I dropped my eyes down. I winced when I moved my head, my neck


    was really sore.


    "Give me the ve," I heard him say and my heart dropped.


    Master Bane stepped us out of the water and set me on my feet. ''Might as well get it over with'', I


    thought to myself and took four confident strides up to the colossal man in front of me.


    The General examined my neck and passed his hands over my breasts. My light skin had already


    started to cken where they had abused me. I saw a thin line of blood dribbling down the inside of


    my thigh. The General saw it, too and made an irritated sound.


    In what I considered a shocking move he put an arm around me as he addressed Master Damien.


    "Andre is yours to deal with as you see fit. No Warrior will ever touch another''s ve without their


    permission."


    The Warriors let out a deafening yell. I took a chance to nce quickly at Andre and I thought he


    might have paled just a little. Not wanting to get caught I looked back at the ground and had to stifle


    a smile. Asshole deserved it.


    The General had his finger under my chin and caught the smile. "Follow me, ve," hemanded


    turning on his heel.


    I nced back hesitantly at Master Damien, but followed the General obediently.