The nkets were pulled up and over me and I fell back to sleep.


    We were in a ssroom again and I sighed. This dream just wouldn’t go away. It was probably because Nu-reeh had said I should be able to read. Thatment had really stuck with me. On this world I was strikingly uneducated.


    There was a figure on the ckboard in front of me. I recognized it at the symbol for thepound I hade from. It was the only symbol in theirnguage I recognized.


    “No, it isn’t,” Master Kein said from my side.


    A new symbol appeared on the board and it looked familiar. It was on the outside of the shop they bought my ornamentation in. He was right, I knew this one, too.


    “This part,” Master Kein pointed out, “is the symbol for Fredrick’s family.”


    He divided the symbol into it’s different parts. The second part referred to what the shop sold and thest part referred to where the shop was located. Anyone that saw this symbol would know who the owners were, what they sold, and what part of the vige it was in.


    We spent all night with Master Kein teaching me to read. The dream eventually took us back to the ce in the Child Keepers where they had learnednguage. We sat at the benches as Master Kein slowly taught me to decipher the symbols.


    I woke feeling refreshed looking into Evan’s bright eyes.Belonging ? N?velDram/a.Org.


    “That was boring, Ciara,” he said simply pulling me up. “I already know how to read and I didn’t like sitting in a ssroom all night. Tomorrow you must dream of something better.”


    “Is it normal?” I asked as he cleaned me. “Why do I always control the dreams?”


    Master Evan looked ufortable and frowned. “No,” he finally answered, “we share everything. One of us never controls the others like that.”


    We went to breakfast and I sat on Master Evan’sp as Master Christof and Master Bane went to get food. Men approached our table and I felt Master Evan tense beneath me. He wanted to make these men bleed.


    “Our Mistress said we are to be punished today for failure,” I heard my fake Masters say. “They say the ve is heavy with a child.”


    “Sounds right to me,” Master Damien answered leaning back.


    “It was your deception,” one of the other men snarled out.


    Master Damien and his Brothers grunted at that statement.


    “It was your failure to follow instructions and your greed that got the ve with child,” Master Damien answered.


    My owners were pissed at these men. They wanted to beat them into the ground, but it would have to wait. If they got in more trouble with Nu-reeh, she may hurt them so badly they would be unable to care for me. The women were not known to be light in their punishments.


    “Leave us,” Master Damien said motioning to the other men. “I have no wish to beat you up today.”


    Rue and his Brothers grumbled, but smartly left to go to their own table.


    The food was delivered and everyone dug in. Anger was put aside so they could have a nice meal.


    I thought about how Nu-reeh would punish them if they really injured someone else. It struck me to wonder what the women did when men killed each other.


    “It’s the price of having a Warrior,” Master Damien said. “They expect it to happen.”


    When the Warriors killed another family their women paid off the women that had lost men. If the killing was not justified the Warriors would be sanctioned by the Administrators. A family that killed for fun or did so without cause would probably be destroyed by their owners.


    “It was preferred that we brought thieves and wayward men before the Administrators for punishment. We were allowed to dole out death ourselves only when our lives were in danger,” Master Kein said.


    Master Kein was munching on that tasty green stalk again. I really wanted to try it. It tasted so unbelievably good to him.


    Watching me curiously, Master Kein dug through the pile and pulled out the smallest, most tender stalk. He handed it to Master Evan, who gave it to me.


    I’d seen Master Kein eat it and he just chewed and ate the entire thing. I put it in my mouth and bit down. The stalk was ice cold. Kein knew it was fresh because it was so cold. It was like biting a tough ice pop.


    Juice leaked out where I bit the stalk and onto my tongue. It was wonderful. Concentrating on the taste, I chewed and sucked. The cold reminded me of cherry ice cream topped with sugar. It was the most intense candy taste I’d ever experienced. If I sucked hard enough I could pull the icy, sweet juice out without biting.


    My men continued to talk around me, but I was lost in my activity. I hadn’t had sweets in eons and that was what this was like. No wonder Master Kein liked it so much.


    I looked up and Master Damien was grinning at me wickedly. Much like men on Earth he was mesmerized by the imagery. It was like watching me suck his cock. He’d make sure I got a piece of the nt everyday to suck on. What a wonderful thing to see at the start of the morning.


    “Ha, ha,” I blushed.


    ttering talons made everyone look up. The women had entered the eating area. Nu-reeh approached our table and looked at Master Damien pointedly.


    “I expect you will work this morning and take your punishment this afternoon,” she said bluntly.


    “Yes, Mistress,” we replied.


    “The ve,” she said gesturing to me, “will have visitors at mid morning. They will use your quarters and teach the ve what I want her to know. Runen and his Brothers are well versed innguage. They will educate the ve… if it can be done.”


    Arguing with Nu-reeh was a stupid thing to do. It always resulted in punishment, but Master Damien was was willing to take it.


    “Kein is bright, Mistress. He is already teaching Ciara,” Master Damien said bluntly.


    Nu-reeh’s eyes shed and she leaned toward Master Damien.


    “I am d to see you paid attention to what I told the ve, but I will see to her education,” she said simply.


    Master Damien stood to argue and Nu-reeh let out a warning hiss.


    “You know you will never win an argument with me,” she said simply. “If you try, I will only make you suffer.”


    The room had gone silent watching the challenge. It was obvious Master Damien was arguing with Nu-reeh. She never tolerated such outbursts.


    It was more Christof’s persistent internal entreaties that fighting would be pointless that made Master Damien sit.


    “I am gracious, Damien,” Nu-reeh said menacingly, “do not forget that.”


    After breakfast I was delivered back to their rooms. Master Damien’s anger was palpable. In a disy of rage, he bloodied his knuckles punching the wall several times. My own hand ached sympathetically.


    “I do not like Runen and his family,” Master Damien growled pacing. “They are…” he couldn’t think of a word bad enough, but I got his intent.


    Runen and his family were slimy and untrustworthy. They had once been Warriors but now negotiated with the other races for the sale of the ore. It was known they spoke manynguages and were bright, but that wasn’t what we didn’t like.


    They had great freedom because of their jobs. Runen had often gloated he was a step above the other men. His family even believed themselves to be at the level of the women.