Dionay slowly came awake and stretched; only to find himself, once again, in the midst of a warm pile of limbs. He heard a chuckle from across the room and opened one eye. Vil leaned against the door frame, grinning.
“You guys are too cute, but it’s time to get up. Breakfast is here.”
Dionay squirmed until he was free of Alixy and Miki’s cuddling, grumbling to himself.
“I don’t know why you guys think I need to be cuddled like that. It’s like trying to sleep in a heater.”
“’Cause you’re safe, Dionay,” Miki mumbled, sleepily.
“What? How did you come to that conclusion?”
“You are,” Alixy said, sitting up. “Back at the monastery none of the bigger boys would bother you or anyone around you. And when the Cretonians attacked, you tried to defend us. You even had a sword.”
“So, I was stupid.” Dionay huffed. “You saw Gror take the sword away. That thing was so heavy I could barely lift it with both hands and he just took it away and threw it like it was nothing.”
“But you tried.” Miki asserted. “You got us all under the altar so we wouldn’t be hurt. Even Jora and Shai, who were just going to lay up there and get blasted.”
“Yeah, and at the slave market, you stood up for Miki and wouldn’t let anyone yell at him or push him around just because he was afraid.”
“What was I supposed to do? Miki is smaller and some of those other slaves and the dealers were mean.”
“That’s what we’re saying, Dionay.” Alixy huffed a laugh. “You always stick up for us. You protect us. You’re safe.”
“Oh, stop it.” Dionay grumbled when Alixy and Miki put their arms around him and just held him.
“Hey, I called breakfast, what are you guys do…” Vil stepped into the bedroom, stopped and grinned. “Oh, well, I guess breakfast can wait if everyone wants to play.”
“They’re just being all touchy today.” Dionay shrugged them off, stood up and looked around for his pants.
“Dionay’s embarrassed because we think he’s safe.” Miki giggled, heading for their room.
“Safe, huh?” Vil was still grinning as if he thought the whole thing was funny.
“Yes, he watches out for us, Vil.” Alixy defiantly crossed his arms over his chest. “He protects us. He always has.”
“Okay, okay.” Vil held his hands up as if in surrender. “I wasn’t saying you were wrong. Go get dressed so we can eat.”
“Where are my pants?” Dionay asked in frustration.
“I picked them up and put them in the clothing refresher so the house slaves didn’t need to come in here while you slept,” Vil responded. “You have clean clothing in your room. Hurry up and get dressed because I need to talk to you while we eat.”
Dionay rushed after the other two so he wasn’t just standing there naked. Not wanting to upset Vil, since he seemed to be in a good mood this morning, all three quickly found clean pants and donned them. Dionay didn’t think Vil had the temperament to be angry or mean, but they’d only known him one day, so he wasn’t going to take a chance at finding out.
Vil was sitting in one of the upholstered chairs, leaning back with his eyes closed. Dionay motioned for the others to be quiet and let him sleep. As silently as they could, they sat on the sofa.
“You should eat,” Vil said without opening his eyes.
“We thought you were asleep.”
“There’s fruit, bread, juice, and embryos.”
Dionay, Miki and Alixy looked at each other. Miki rubbed at his translator and winced.
“Don’t do that.” Vil opened his eyes. “The translators are sensitive so if you rub at them too hard the sound produced will hurt. What word confused you?”
“Embryos,” Dionay responded. “Isn’t that… Babies inside a womb?”
“Oh, no, that’s not… ew! Really? That’s what it translated? Well, technically, I guess that’s what they are, but that’s not… Just… Okay, don’t eat them. I don’t think I want to eat them, now, either.”
Vil walked over to the table and poked at a congealed, yellow mass, then sighed.
“That used to be my favorite.” He grumbled. “At least I like fruit. You guys are going to make it hard to enjoy eating anything.”
Once everyone had their plates filled and sat down, Vil began tapping a finger against his leg. Dionay paused his eating and watched that nervous finger for several moments before finally looking up to meet Vil’s eyes.
“Chi is having problems with Shai and Jora.”
“That’s not a surprise,” Dionay responded and shrugged.
“I got Jai’s permission to talk to you about helping her out.”
“What do you think I can do?”
“They look up to you.”
“No, they don’t.”
“Miki and Alixy do.”
“That’s Miki and Alixy, and I still think they’re silly for doing so. Jora and Shai are different.”
“So you won’t help?”
“I didn’t say that. I just don’t know what you think I can do.”
“Talk to them?”
Dionay sighed and put the piece of green fruit back on his plate. “Jora and Shai won’t listen to me. They know I don’t believe in all the goddess doctrine we were force fed at the monastery. They did. They believed it all. They really thought there was a grand purpose in laying on that altar and letting the High Priestess stab them in the heart.”
“Even after they were told who Ojadiola really was?”
“Yes. What would you want me to say, anyway?”
“Chi requires obedience, Dionay. She may not be the head of the family, but she’s still second in line until Jai has a daughter of her own, and a powerful female in her own right. She won’t put up with the way they’re acting.”
“You want me to talk them into accepting their slavery?”
“Yes. They need to be happy with Chi.”
“I don’t know what to say.” Dionay shuddered. “Slavery wasn’t allowed on our world. Why would I want them to be okay with it? I’m not okay with it.”
“Are you three truly unhappy here?”
“No! I mean, not really. This beats being dead and you take care of us and treat us well. I would rather not be a slave, but looking at the alternative, I can handle this.”
Vil ran a hand over his face and stood up to pace the room.
“Chi and Jai are talking about returning them to the slave markets and reselling them because Shai sits around in a daze looking like he’s taken some kind of drug and Jora won’t stop being angry. Another owner may not be so gentle with them. When it comes to sex, I refuse to force you. I feel a gentler approach is better, but it’s perfectly acceptable for an owner to do whatever she wants. They’re slaves, after all, and have fewer rights than I do. Chi could actually kill Shai and Jora, and no one would think she was wrong because slaves are property.”
“You could try, Dionay,” Alixy said. “Just try talking to them one more time.”
“Alixy, you know how they are. Jora is going to start screaming I’m a blasphemer again and Shai is going to act like I’m a child who just doesn’t understand the miraculous ways of the Goddess.”
“Who says this isn’t what the Goddess had planned for us?” Miki asked, timidly. “I know, now, Ojadiola wasn’t a real goddess, but what if there is a real god or goddess out there and this was their way of saving us. You said you prayed at the altar and asked not to be sacrificed and I did, too. Maybe this was the answer.”
Dionay blinked and stared at Miki. He’d not thought of it in quite that perspective. He wasn’t sure he really believed in gods and goddesses. Could he convince Jora, though? Shai would probably go for it, but Jora? Did Dionay even want to? There was just so much wrong with persuading either of them that being a slave was the best thing for them. Even if, right now, it was.
“You truly think so, Miki?”
“I don’t know for sure, but we did pray and we got an answer. Maybe not the answer we were expecting, but we’re not dead, are we?”
Dionay considered Miki’s words, an idea forming in his head. Possibly. It was worth a shot to keep Jora and Shai from ending up with someone who would hurt or even kill them. His own feelings about them aside, he didn’t want them to be harmed.
“Okay, I’ll talk to them, but I make no promises.”
“Good!” Vil looked relieved. “You wait here and I’ll tell Chi.”
Vil set his half empty plate aside and left the room.
“He’s nothing like what I would expect a slave owner to be,” Alixy observed.
“What were you expecting, Alixy? I don’t think this situation is within any of our experiences.”
“I’m not sure, Dionay, but nothing we’ve undergone since we were taken was what I thought would happen to us. I mean, after watching the Cretonians kill the priestess and ransack the monastery, the last thing I expected was for them to treat us nice. They sold us as slaves, sure, but they found us an owner that talks to us as if we’re his friends. We live in a huge house in the trees, Vil makes sure the food we get is something we like, and we have clothes and stuff that are nicer than anything we ever had at the monastery.”
“Lots better than dying, huh, Alixy?” Dionay teased.
“It’s lots better than the life we had at the monastery,” Miki responded with a touch of uncharacteristic asperity. “Sometimes, I wonder if we’re dreaming and we’ll wake up and still be back there waiting our turn to be put on the altar.”
Dionay reached over and pinched Miki on the leg.
“Ouch! What was that for?”
“Just thought I’d make sure you were awake.”
“Idiot.” Miki giggled.
“Let’s go, Dionay,” Vil said, reentering the room.
“I’d like to go, too, Vil,” Alixy, said.
“I didn’t ask if all of you could come, Alixy. Jai might get upset.”
“Jora and Shai might react better if we’re all there.” Miki chimed in. “Jora gets upset with Dionay easily.”
Vil chewed on his bottom lip, looking undecided.
“They won’t do anything wrong.” Dionay promised. “And Miki has a point. Jora and I have argued many times. He might be more inclined to listen if they’re with me.”
“Okay, but if Jai doesn’t like it, Miki and Alixy have to come back here.”
Vil turned away, but paused and faced them once more.
“Out there, you need to call me Master. Don’t use my given name and you need to refer to Chi or Jai as Mistress, okay? I’m not going to use your leashes since we’re not leaving the house, but you have to stay with me. Walk a step or two behind me and no wandering off. Do exactly what I tell you if I give you an order, okay?”
Dionay nodded, glancing over to see Miki and Alixy doing the same.
“This is part of that perception thing I was telling you about. Slaves would never use a Master’s given name because it would be too familiar.”
“What if I want to talk to Jai and not Chi? How do they know who I’m talking to?”
Vil chuckled. “You just had to throw that out there? You won’t be talking to either of them unless they speak to you first. You only need to answer their questions. Remember to be silent unless spoken to or given permission to speak.”
Vil motioned for them to follow him out the door. Dionay felt Miki grab his hand and squeezed it in reassurance. Vil led them down several corridors, through a couple of large rooms and finally stopped in front of a door.
Dionay held back for a moment, addressing Miki and Alixy. “Follow my lead in there, okay? Don’t think I really believe everything I say. Just agree with me.”
Miki giggled and nodded. “Are you going to spin a story, Dionay?”
“Kind of. Just don’t disagree with me, okay?”
Vil looked back at them and raised a brow. When Dionay didn’t say anything else, he pushed the door open.
Dionay, Chapter One
Dionay – Chapter Two
Dionay, Chapter 3, Part 1
Dionay, Chapter 3, Part 2
Dionay, Chapter 4, Part 1
Dionay, Chapter 4, Part 2
Dionay, Chapter 5, Part 1
Dionay, Chapter 5, Part 2
Two soldiers, former lovers, each think they are saving the other from a South American drug cartel, all the while rehashing their broken relationship.
Author Bio:
Volume I:
Volume II:
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Daddy Needs a Date by Sean Michael
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Mary Newman 