I realized she was right. I’d never washed clothes on this.


    Gunth exined there were two ways to wash our clothes.


    There was a well located just downstairs, we could get drinking water from that and water to fill the tub. We could ask men to carry it up for us. We could wash our clothing here if we wanted.


    Almost everyone used theke hidden deeper in the mountain to bathe their clothing and bodies, but it was public. It was located over heated stones, so the water was very warm. That was the preferred ce.


    “Not many other camps have a bathing area like we have,” he said proudly. “My Brothers and I find the water very soothing. It is a point of pride for us.”


    Since humans liked privacy, the tub in our rooms was a special adjustment for us. Some families had one, for one reason or another, but most everyone bathed together. We could be an exception and that was fine, though.


    Gunth described the thing we would use to wash our own clothes near theke. He called it a wash board and said we could get one if we wanted it. Rose noted the description was exactly like a washboard she had used as a young girl to clean things on Earth. She promised to teach me to use one.


    As for waste, the camp had recently installedcquered pots. There were several public rooms we could use to relieve ourselves. One was on this floor and Gunth would show it to us. Not many other free camps had managed to install the drainage for thecquered pots yet. This ce was ahead of its time.


    “Tomorrow,” Gunth said, “you will go to work with Armant. He and his Brothers have been desperate for help. The men in the camp are forever ruining their clothing. We patch what we can, but often must rece things.”


    A short noise sounded in the distance and Gunth smiled brightly.


    “Feed time,” he said happily and stood up. “Come and share a midday meal with the camp.”


    We stood and walked out the leather drape following Gunth. My mind was whirring with so much new information.


    Gunth pointed to arge entrance on this floor several doors further down. That was the room with manycquered pots. When we needed we could go there. Kennedy had even asked that two be set off private for us. The camp was honored to have its first freed ves and had agreed readily with the request.


    “How did you get to be an Administrator?” I asked as we walked down the steps to the first floor.


    Men wereing down the walkway in groups talking andughing. Several stared at us and others pointed, they all seemed amazed. Gunth ignored them as he answered.


    “It is put to a vote,” he said seriously. “Every family has a vote. We take three groups of females and three groups of males each time. The vote is held every third cycle of the sun.”


    Gunth walked in the direction of the dining room and we followed.


    Rose gripped my hand as we moved down the wide passageway inside the mountain. The men were all around us and I felt fear being out here without Damien and his Brothers. Men in the mountains had always been more dangerous than men in thepound. I was terrified of what they would do. Out of habit I cast my eyes on Gunth’s boots and followed them.


    I noticed the little things, like the way Gunth’s left heel dragged a little. The limp was well concealed, but he must have had some injury to that leg. He’d obviously been around a long time and we’d heard free life was hard. It probably wasn’t unusual to have a limp as an older man.


    “Little humans,” a deep voice intoned from beside us, “look up. My cousins and I mean you no harm. You don’t need to watch the Administrator’s feet.”


    I cringed closer to Rose and she to me. Gunth stopped and turned around, causing a minor traffic jam. My eyes lifted to his and I saw the deep displeasure in our guide’s face.


    “You must stop acting like ves,” he said abruptly with a sour look. “I fail to understand your persistence in the matter. There are no ves here. You are free women and must start to behave that way.”


    The man that had spoken had stopped when we did. He spoke again and I looked over at him.


    “Come now, Gunth, rx a bit. You know how hard it is for the men to be retrained. These poor creatures are surrounded by men, men who look like those that have tormented them. It will take longer,” he finished in an almost pleading voice.


    I looked up at the man and he offered a lopsided grin. Light brown hair was cut short of his head. Seeing his purple eyes, I had to smile. He reminded me of Christof.This is from N?velDrama.Org.


    “Ratru rescued from the Youlypound,” he said politely.


    “Ciara,” I said in a shaking voice, “and I am from Earth”.


    After Rose introduced herself, Ratru proceeded to introduce his brothers. They were all young from what I could tell. Their strong builds told me they would have been Warriors in thepound.


    As we stood, men continued to flow around us heading for the eating hall. We were very much in the way.


    “Go find your Brothers, Administrator Gunth,” Ratru offered. “Eat your meal with them and let us take the new women into the dining hall. Hannah spoke to us about her female breedering here. We would be honored to help in this way. Hannah is a respected friend. We would dly do this for her.”


    Gunth looked at the young man for a moment and then agreed. His Brothers were still in the Administrative hall finishing something. He wanted to go get them.


    I watched Gunth leave with some trepidation and my eyes swung back to our new guide.


    “Come on, women,” Ratru cajoled, “don’t be upset. We will share a meal together. It was not long ago we were rescued. We remember this ce is strange if you are used to thepounds. No one will hurt you here. Let us eat together.”


    “Gunth?” Rose asked watching the big man’s back disappear into the crowds.


    “He is an old man,” Ratru’s Brother said quietly, “they don’t like to be separated. It upsets them.”


    The dining hall, we soon learned, was a buffet. On the opposite wall were many long tables with foodid out. We got in a line with Ratru and were handed heavy, earthenware tes.


    “Take whatever you need,” the men told us gesturing to the food.