That conversation was quickly reced by Rose’s fretting over theshing. 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 ofshings,” 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.


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    “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 ofshes,” she said back in nning 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


    nets. 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 ce before the Warriors started toe 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 ce on the


    ground and proceeded to feed me. He sat on a stump in front of me. It was a ce I liked most of the


    time, now I felt a little edgy.


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    The man cleared his throat and pointed out a yellow nt clinging to the soil. It grew sparsely around


    the trunks of therger nts.


    “That,” he told me, “is called a pana nt. The Leaves can be used to make a calming tea. The


    shopkeepers collect and prepare it. The preparation isplex. It is very expensive to buy.”