Hannah had talked to Abram’s family before we arrived. She’d made sure his family would put out something we could eat at every meal. The entire family was proud to point out the things they’d made special for us. We made a point to take some of each of those things. The men made sure we understood exactly what we would be eating as we picked it out.


    “Come to the kitchens with us one day and we will teach you to prepare these things,” Abram offered. “We are used to teaching freed men how to cook and prepare a meal. It would be a pleasure to do the same for you both.”


    I did my best to make eye contact with Abram as I thanked him. From what Hannah had said I absolutely had to learn this type of thing. This particr family didn’t seem dangerous, so I’d feel safe learning with them.


    Rose and I sat with Arik’s family for the meal. The food this morning tasted slightly different from the night before. The spices were not too strong, but the vors were invigorating. There was nothing nd, as far as, I could tell.


    I told Arik about cactus as payment for his help. He and his Brothers had never seen a nt with the spines I described. That surprised me. They had heard of nts that could store water, though.


    Much like on Earth there was a nt in the desert the men broke open to drink from. It was how they got water in ces with no fresh water above ground. Arik’s Brothers described in detail what it looked like and how to open it to get the water out. Should I ever be in an arid area this information would be invaluable. It was how men in thepounds got water when they were on patrol.


    Fuji arrived with her “Mistress” about halfway through our meal. Reed instructed Fuji to go select something she could eat from the trays.


    “You may choose only from the brown bowls,” Reed instructed.


    “Yes, Mistress,” Fuji said, happily walking off.


    I looked at Reed and then back at the tableden with food. Of the bowls up there, ny percent of them were brown. Her directions made no sense to me. It was essentially amand to pick out whatever Fuji wanted.


    What was the point of giving Fuji such strange instructions?


    Reed greeted us all as she pulled up arge stool to settle herself on.


    “Eat,” Reed said pleasantly, “I have had my meal and do not wish to interrupt yours.”


    Reed watched Fuji and grinned broadly as her charge struck up a conversation with the cooks. Abram’s family interacted easily with everyone and Fuji was no exception. The men talked to her as she picked out a meal for herself.


    Gunth and his Brothers appeared beside Reed and their faces were all held in a scowl. All the men eating seemed to be surreptitiously watching their Administrators. I took my lead from Arik and kept eating, but paid attention.


    “She is choosing her own food,” Reed said happily, “and she’s talking to the cooks.”


    Gunth made an unhappy sound and crossed his arms. His Brothers all did the same thing with unnerving effect.


    “You told her to do those things,” he groused. “She is not behaving like a free creature-”


    Hassar approached our table and interrupted Gunth mid-sentence.


    “She will find she likes to make decisions eventually,” she said pulling up a stool to sit beside her Sister. “Creatures like that have never been told they could do what she is doing. We will allow her more and more choices until she realizes she is taking care of herself.”


    Gunth and his Brothers weren’t convinced. This decision had not been made through the Administrators. Reed and Hassar had done it themselves without anyone’s input. Gunth and his family were offended.Exclusive content from N?velDrama.Org.


    “We sincerely apologize,” Hassar saidying her left arm across her chest and bowing her head to Gunth and his family. Reed was doing the same thing. “We had only theorized between the two of us it would be an issue. Our thoughts and studies should have been shared with our friends and cousins. In no way do we intend to keep this creature a ve. She will learn freedom with us.”


    I was openly staring at the interaction between the groups. We’d been told they worked together and respected one another, but I knew the importance of that simple gesture. In my mind a Paterian woman would never apologize to a man like that.


    The apology seemed to soften Gunth and his Brothers.


    “You are thinkers,” Gunth’s Brother said addressing the women and pulling a chair up so he sat next to me, his Brothers settled beside him. “We should have asked your opinion on these matters. My Brother had thought you had more information than we did.”


    The morning meal was pleasant. Evidently it wasn’t unusual for the Administrators toe down and sit with a family. This is how it was always done. They liked to make themselves very essible.


    During the meal I watched Gunth move his leg several times. He would rub it every time he did that. I even noted his Brother rubbed his leg. If the pain bothered the family, it must be horrible. These men rarely noticed physical pain.


    The talk at the table soon turned to Rose and me. Men retrained other men and taught them the world. Gunth and Hassar both trusted their camp to do the same for us. Men from thepounds were as uneducated as we were. Our lessons would be taught the same way.


    Our other issue was that as former ves we had to learn to be more independent. Hannah had told them that was really what we needed. My friends and I had had our autonomy totally stripped. We had to relearn to take care of ourselves and trust in our ability to do it.


    “Perhaps,” I said quietly, “we could start working as you discussed with us yesterday. We both enjoy being productive. We had small jobs at thepound and we enjoyed them…”


    Gunth and his Brothers liked that solution. Hard work that produced something for the camp would make us feel part of it. We could stitch cloths then switch jobs in the afternoon, so we could learn different things. They were all for it.


    “They could do that in the morning,” Arik said hopefully, “and in the afternoon we take the women to the fields. They could help us tend the crops. It may help them understand the food better. We could teach them about the nts outside, as we do the men.”


    Reed and Hassar thought that was a brilliant n. They had been offended that Rose and I weren’t even taught what to eat by our past “Masters”. One of the first steps to being more self sufficient would be to know about food. While we were out there the men could teach us other things as well.


    Gunth and his Brothers delivered us to Armant and his family after the morning meal. The little clothing shop was already bustling as Rose and me were given a seat. Men were dropping off things for repair or picking uppleted orders. Most were in a hurry, but they made a point to quickly introduce themselves before they left.


    I noted several families toted infants and small children with them. The men carried the little, furred girls and tiny boys the way I had carried mine. The young were bundled and wrapped before being strapped to the chest of one of the men in the family. I mourned that my own children had never known their male breeders this way.