Fear battled with my shame in my mind and shame was winning. I screamed and fought as Master
Damien started to pull me out the door. He stopped when I resisted, perhaps I had won this round.
Master Evan spoke as they stood and watched me, “I do not wish to carry an out of control ve
through the courtyard. We are a respected regiment, our discipline is legendary, such behavior from
our ve would bring dishonor,” he said harshly crossing his arms.
The rest of the men agreed with him. They didn’t want to carry me kicking and screaming through the
yard. For a moment I had hope and then Master Bane raised his arm.
My uncles had hit me before, so had my mother. Suddenly I remembered how strong these men were,
my whole being cowered waiting for the blow.
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I was a ve and I was being an idiot. Now the beating would start.
The hit never came and I opened my eyes to Look at Master Bane.
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He spoke to me. “We will never hurt what we own. If you continue to act this way we will have to punish
you, though.”
He had only run his hand through his short hair in frustration.
Punishment scared me and I figured that they could do anything they wanted. If they weren’t beating
me yet, I should do what they asked. I stepped out the door and wiped the tears from my face. My will
to fight wasn’t nearly as strong as my will to survive.
My arms sought automatically to shield my most private ces. This displeased Master Damien and he
demanded I stand straight and carry my hands at my sides. He and his brothers never cowered. I
would never stand with such dishonor.
Thanking him politely for the rebuke I dropped my arms and straightened my back. Shame was not as
important as survival, I tried to tell myself. I’d learn to deal with the nudity.
Their lodging was on the fifth floor. There was a single metal rail that ran along the edge of the walkway
in front of the door. Beyond that I saw a girl about my age in the middle of a group of five men down in
the courtyard.
I stared at the girl. She was dressed, sort of, with a panel attached to a chain at her waist. It covered
the apex of her thighs to about half way down her legs, another panel covered her buttocks. Her hips
were bare and so was her top.
Master Damien walked to me and I Looked up at him. “I will walk in front, you will follow me. The rest of
my brothers know their ce. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Master Damien,” I answered quietly.
“You will look at no man save us and speak to no man except us. This is an important rule. Do you
understand?” he asked sternly.
“Yes, Master Damien,” I softly replied.
I followed Master Damien down the steps and through the courtyard looking down. I used what my
Uncle Bob had called my ‘peripherals’ to check out everything around me. The courtyard was full of
men. They didn’t seem to pay me much mind. Apparently a naked woman walking around wasn’t such
a big deal here.
There didn’t seem to be much vegetation in the courtyard just a couple small patches here and there.
Otherwise ,it looked like it was very dry here. The walls to the courtyard were all lined with something
though.
It grew low to the ground and Looked pink.
Despite the bright sun light the smooth cobblestone under my feet wasn’t hot, which surprised me. I
had expected searing heat on my feet, but it was just mildly warm. Since I was obviously not going to
be getting shoes, I was grateful for that.
Master Damien was stopped by a Large man addressing him in the center of the courtyard. They
started to talk, but I didn’t Look up. The men shifted suddenly and two tiny feet appeared in my frame of
vision, “Hello, cousin,” she said.
A small cushion for my knees was dropped at my feet. A simr cushion wasid down for her. The
men stood talking in a tight circle around us.