His family was his brothers and they got along perfectly. I told him how my family kicked me out of my bed and sometimes ate all the food. I explained the unkind remarks and the many beatings they had given me. The idea of having a family that hurt you or couldn't be trusted baffled Christof.
I talked a lot about my mother and her struggles with alcohol. He didn't really understand that either, but he listened. Even with all her failings she was still my mother. The more I talked about mom, the more I missed her.
Christof didn't understand missing a mother, the mothers here dropped the sons off after they were very small. The men that raised them were called Child Keepers. He did say he knew what it was like to miss someone. He often spent so long consoling me we were late back to the compound.
We agreed about other things and that was kind of cool. When it was just us he was sympathetic to my argument that I wasn't an it. If my sex didn't matter they would have bought a male earthling.
"I have female parts," I said stubbornly making him laugh. "Your inability to put a child in me doesn't mean I'm not female."
He said he didn't care if I said that around him, but it would make his brothers upset. I grumbled a little, but agreed with him. It would have to be our little secret.
I adored Christof and I did everything I could to show him that. As much as I could I talked to him about romance. He allowed me to hug and kiss him. Soon, he started to hug and kiss me without any prompting. It made me feel nice and normal for a change.
However, the more I got to know Christof the more he worried me. I could tell something was eating at him. Finally I decided to ask him about it, I just had to take the chance. Gathering my courage, I took a good guess about what might be bothering him.
"You might get mad at me, but I just wanted to know. Did the women take you?"
He sighed and took a piece of food from the bowl for himself. "Yes, I was sent by the Administrators to patrol a section along the mountains. My brothers and I were ordered to split up to cover a larger territory. The big one picked me up and flew off with me. She took me and kept me for a long time," he answered. "She and her sisters needed female children and I seem to make those most of the time."
I shuddered, "It must have been horrible. Were you able to talk to your brothers about it?"
He laughed and started to hit a bamboo like tree that was sitting next to us, "My brothers know nothing of my capture and, for the record, I was only treated poorly the first several days. During that time I was kept in a cell by myself, but she moved me to a place with other men after a very short while. She had decided to keep me in the mountains long term."
"How did you get away?" I gasped.
"I thought I could escape from them. Finally, the woman in charge told me they owned me; I would never escape. The only men my brothers and I found were men they released because they no longer needed them. I still tried to get away, that's when she beat me. I was miserable." His face fell as he talked.
"She wanted me to live and be happy. My owner, Nu-reeh, said they had decided to take my brothers to be with me, the Administrators would send them on a job like I had been sent. I stopped being able to get erections; the thought of my brothers living that way upset me and I told them that," he sighed.
"I told them if they sent me back, I would do what they wanted. I would keep to an increased coupling schedule, give them as many girls as they needed. They just couldn't do that to my brothers."
"The women told me if I did as they asked they would leave us alone. They told me to explain the new rules to my brothers. If I started trouble, the women said they would destroy me."
I sat in stunned silence
"Your brothers will protect you, Christof," I said pulling him to face me.
"They can't protect me. No one here can protect anyone. We are owned by the women. We live at their discretion. I am as much a slave as you are. When they find I will no longer perform for them I will be deemed useless. They will destroy me," he said starting to walk back the way we'd come.
"Well, you're not useless, you can have sex with them. You have sex with me all the time," I said trailing after him trying to process.
"You don't understand, Ciara. I was raised to believe I was free, but they let me see the inner workings of our world at least a little of it. I listened to the other males they keep in the mountains. They control everything."
"The women mine and sell the ore that make us a rich planet. They mark us when we are born, put us with others they sense we will get on well with. As we grow, they watch us to make sure we do the job they set out for us. The Administrators and the General talk to them and hand their edicts down to us," he continued at a brisk pace back talking angrily. "I cannot preform for them, I cannot live like this. Let them destroy me."
"Wait a God damned minute," I said stopping.
Christof turned to look at me quizzically. "You are speaking the wrong language, Ciara," he said.
"I'm cursing you," I shouted angrily in his language, "I'm sorry it's not good enough for you, but sometimes that's how it is. You can't just lay down and die because you don't like it. How would you feel if I said that to you? I am a slave, I was raised free, and I'm doing just fine. You can't leave me. I care for you. Your brothers care for you," tears were streaming down my face by now. I knew a coupling was coming up for them. "You have to talk to your brothers," I cried to him. "You have to do what you are supposed to. Please, don't leave me."
We were almost back to the compound and I could hear the other Warriors. The voices were coming toward us. I dropped my head as they came through the brush.
"Christof," I heard one say, "we heard shouting. Is everything as it should be?" the man asked.
"Yes, all is well. Come Ciara, your mid day meal is over. You must go back," he said addressing me.
He went to take my arm and I moved away from him and stalked toward the compound. A masculine chest I didn't recognize was in my face a moment later.
"All does not look well, Christof," the voice in front of me said.
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