DWch6

AN: Thanks so much for the reviews! The really encouraged me!! Though I got fewer than I usually do... I think people read the last part of the chapter and thought that 17 and Serena alone, and Serena being 17's personal' slave meant that this chapter was going to be NC17 or something... WELL IT'S NOT!! Sorry, but there is only one thing like that, and it is really not that bad, so.... IF YOU ARE STILL READING, PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!



Chapter 6

17's chambers, or at least the ones Serena saw, were also done in an Ancient Egyptian theme. The door to the chambers was double, and there were two guards who opened them. The doors were intricately designed with carvings of mythical beasts and gods. Specifically Egyptian gods, Serena noted. The rooms themselves were made of white marble, like a palace. They were filled with more artificial sunlight. Serena noticed that if she hadn't been told that the sunlight was artificial, he wouldn't have been able to tell. The light had made beautiful, serene look to the rooms, but she knew she couldn't let her guard down.
The first room was bare except for a fountain in the center. It was very beautiful, and Serena stared at it in wonder as she passed. It was also made a white marble. It had a pillar shaped almost like a vase, and the water shot out of the top and fell into a pool below. Above the pillar, high enough not to block the water, was a statue of Aphrodite. The sunlight made the water glisten and sparkle beautifully.
'Artificial sunlight,' Serena reminded herself forcefully.
Being led through a door on the side of the room, she found herself in another room similar to the first. Again, it was made of white marble. There was a dais at the opposite end of the room that was covered with plush cushions. Spread on the steps and around some cushions were bowls and platters of fruits. The rest of the room was fairly empty besides a few colorful tapestries hanging on the walls and pools on both sides of the room. The pools reached from the wall with the door to the wall with the dais, and were rectangular shaped. Their interiors were made of blue tile, and they had little fountains sticking up every few feet.
Looking around, Serena also noticed an intercom on the wall behind the dais and one by the door. They looked out of place in the room, but they weren't very noticeable.
17 walked up the steps of the dais and settled himself on the cushions. "Come here, Tenshi," he called to Serena, who had been standing just inside the door. She reluctantly walked over and stopped before the dais, crossing her arms to show her unwillingness to cooperate. The look of amusement in 17's eyes unnerved and annoyed her.
"Come on up, don't be shy," he invited smoothly. It also annoyed her the way he acted like nothing would ever anger him because he would always have his way. He seemed so patronizing at times. She scowled, but obeyed. She walked up the steps and sat on the cushion he gestured to. She made herself comfortable, also acting like she didn't care in the least what was happening, because he couldn't do anything to her. Instead of annoying him, it only seemed to amuse him. That did not make Serena happy.
17 turned to the guards. "Leave us," he commanded in a regal tone. Once they had left, closing the door behind them, he turned back to Serena. He was stretched out on the cushions, propping himself upright on his elbow. Serena sat behind him, leaning her weight on her right arm with her legs beside her so that she wasn't sitting on them.
"So, what should I call you then," Serena asked sarcastically. "Your majesty?"
"The others seem to have taken up 'My Lord'; that will be fine." he replied. Serena just humphed. "And I'll call you Tenshi," he continued with a smirk.
"That's not my name," she informed him.
"I know... it's Serena..." she didn't like the way he said her name; almost seductively. "But Tenshi fits you so much better."
"So what are my duties then?" she asked, stressing the 'duties'. She looked around and raised an eyebrow at the platters. "Feed you grapes?"
"That would be a good start. You catch on quick." Serena only glared at him with enough force to wilt a tree. Slowly, she reached for one of the bowls and took out a grape.
"I humbly bestow this grape unto you, My Lord," she muttered sarcastically as she put it to his lips. He opened his mouth and she slipped the grape in, adding "I hope you choke."
17 ate the grape and sighed. "Well I suppose it's a start, ne Tenshi?" Serena only grunted uncaringly and reached for a strawberry, dipping it into a bowl of sauce used on strawberries. 17 lay back, putting his hands under his head. She turned her attention away from her work to study a tapestry. It was very beautiful, with thousands of different colors woven in. It portrayed greek gods and goddesses, heroes, and mythical beasts. She absently put fruit in 17's mouth every minute or so, trying to ignore the fact that she was COMPLETELY humiliated about this job, and she HATED doing it, and he was ENJOYING it! And of course, the fact that he was watching her very closely with that same look in his eye, the one she could never quite place. Whatever it was, she didn't like it. She had a very strong urge to toss a grape in his mouth with enough force so he would start coughing and gagging, but decided against it because she knew that it would only get her punished and he wouldn't even die. He probably expected her to do it anyway.
She started to wish they had just killed her. Serving the ones she hated most and fought against was far worse than anything else they could do to her. Except maybe making her be 17's personal slave the whole time. She was unnerved by the way he looked at her and talked; totally calm and indifferent, and almost seductive. He had the kind of smile— actually, it was a smirk— that would make a girl weak in the knees. Good thing Serena wasn't that type of girl. She was tough and not distracted by a guy's looks. Especially when she knew that the guy was a monster.
She was startled out of her thoughts as she felt something warm and damp on her finger tips. Looking down, she saw 17 had not only taken the grape from her fingers, but had claimed her finger tips in his mouth as well. His eyes were closed as he sucked lightly on them. She quickly jerked her hand away. He opened his eyes and she nearly shivered. That look AGAIN. She wish she could just figure out what it was. And of course, there was the ever-present smirk on his face, even though it was a small one. An amused yet enticing smirk.
Not wanting him to keep looking at her, she quickly reached for a berry. She also didn't want him to say anything about what had just happened. As far as she was concerned, it never happened. Except there was still this uneasy feeling she had because of it, so it was hard to tell herself it had never happened.
'Ok, NOW I'm just confusing myself.' she thought. 'I just won't think about it. He's just trying to get to me.'
To Serena's great relief, they were interrupted about ten minutes later. In that time 17 hadn't done anything else, and Serena had starred at the wall, refusing to look at him. A guard came in informing him that he was needed for a 319, whatever that was. 17 sighed and asked him why it was to be done today instead of the next day as planned, and the guard told him that 'they' had finished early. (It had been programed not to give any other information when a human slave was in the room, but 17 obviously knew what it meant.)
"Very well, take the girl to the slaves in charge of cleaning. Inform the overseers that she will be working there until dinner, and she will have a new job afterwards." 17 ordered.
"Yes my lord."
"I will be visiting the tailors after I take care of this, see that the head is ready for me. I will have specific instructions for her."
"Yes my lord."
"You may go." 17 dismissed them with a wave of his hand.
"You, girl! Come along." The droid said to Serena. She stood and followed him out, muttering curses under her breath, most of them bad things about the droid. Two other droids followed her out. This pleased her a bit; the droid guards were stronger than her and she wouldn't be able to get away from one, even if it's back was turned. Having three escorting just her meant that the androids thought she was stronger than most. Thought it would have probably been better for her if they had underestimated her. On the bright side, if there was any, she would be away from 17 for awhile.
As she walked, she began to feel the first pangs of hunger. She had been to distracted before to notice, first with meeting the Androids, then with trying to keep her pride intact while hand feeding 17. Now that she thought about, she was very hungry! She had never eaten breakfast that morning when they were captured, because Lita was still making it. She wasn't sure how long she was unconscious, but probably at least 30 hours. Then there were three hours from the time she woke up to the time the guard took them to the Androids. That had been two hours before. She was used to going without food occasionally, but usually not for more than one day. Sometimes it was very little, but at it was something. She hadn't had food in over 47 hours. And the more she thought about it, the hungrier she was.
When they finally reached their destination, Serena took a moment to look around. It was a room with many cleaning supplies and several people running around preparing soaps or rinsing mops or some other kind of work. The first guard spoke to a guard in the room, one of the 'overseers' Serena guessed. The overseer nodded, and the three guards that had escorted Serena left. The overseer called over a woman. She looked to be in her forties. Her brown hair was tied up in a bun and her sleeves were rolled up to above her elbows. Her face was slightly red from the heat of the steam made by the hot water being filled into buckets. She looked like she would have been a plump woman if she was eating well, but now her face was thin and bony. It didn't make her look ugly; just like she hadn't been eating as much as she should have.
"This slave will be working her until dinner. Put her to work." the overseer said to the woman. She nodded and took Serena's arm, pulling her away.
"I know about you," the woman told her quietly as she got a bucket with hot water, some soap mixture, and other supplies. She didn't look at Serena, and at first Serena wasn't sure if the woman was speaking to her or not. "I'm Clio. I'm the head cleaning slave. I make sure everyone has enough supplies and I assign them to a sector. I've heard about you, the droids spoke of you and your four friends. I heard one of them telling a group of others that you were the freedom fighters that had been bothering them and that you had been captured. I also heard that you and your friends are personally serving the Androids. Must be there way to punish you; serving those you've fought against. So this is your first day, right?" Serena nodded. "Don't worry, we'll help you out. I will talk with you at dinner. For now I'm sending you with Sara. She can answer your questions while you clean. She's heard about you too. The droids were informed of it right outside one of the female barracks, so a lot of the women in that barracks heard. By tomorrow, I'll bet everyone will know of you."
Clio called to Sara, a girl about 25 who had brownish-blond hair also pulled into a bun. She quickly explained that this was one of the new slaves that had been one of the Moonlight Senshi. The girl's eyes widened in awe. Apparently the girls were better known than Serena had thought. They asked her name, and she told them it was Serena. They looked like they had more questions to ask, but the overseer cracked a whip and told them to get back to work, and they would be whipped if they were seen idle again. Sara grabbed Serena's hand and dragged her off, only stopping so they could grab their supplies.
Once they had left the room, Sara whispered that they would see Clio at dinner. She said that she would answer Serena's questions once they had gotten set up in their sector. Sara led Serena down a few narrow hallways and to a large, metal door. Guards watched them from places along the halls. The metal door was opened by another guard. They stepped into the dark chamber and Serena looked around.
It was light enough to see well, but not as bright as the other rooms. It was a very large room, and the walls were lined with narrow bunk beds. There were torn sheets or rags that could not be worn on nearly every bed. They were used as pillows or padding to sleep on. The didn't need blankets because the temperature was controlled by some sort of computer. Right now, there were woman scrubbing the floors and shaking out the cloths on the bed while about four droids watched them from different parts of the room. An unpleasant smell was hanging in the air, a mixture of sweat, urine, and even some blood and vomit, though it wasn't as strong. Serena felt a sharp pang in her heart to know that the slaves lived in this condition.
Sara headed farther back into the room and Serena followed. The set their buckets down in an area no one was cleaning and began scrubbing the floor. Serena had to put her hair, which was currently in a ponytail, into a tight bun to keep it out of the way. Sara whispered to Serena to be as quiet as possible. If they were caught talking, they would be punished, because talking meant they weren't using all their energy to work. She explained that the overseers watched over the workers to make sure they didn't dawdle or stop working for a break. She told Serena about the different jobs slaves did. There were some who cleaned, some who made food for everyone, some who mined certain minerals for the androids, though no one knew what they were for. There were some who did manufacturing, but only they knew what they made, for they were not allowed to speak of it and did not socialize with the other slaves. The had their own place to eat and their own barracks.
They were some slaves who mended clothes for the others, or made new ones. There were some who grew food and useful in indoor greenhouses and man-made (or droid-made) environments. There were slaves who worked as medical helpers. Then there were also slaves outside of— wherever they were. They made cloth for clothes, medicines, tools, soaps, buckets, lights, and just about everything else you would use. The droids themselves took care of the electricity lines and water pipes and such.
She told Serena about things you had to know to survive as a slave. Never be late for a meal, or you wouldn't be let in the Mess Hall. There were only two meals a day. Serena was very unhappy when she found she would have to wait at least five more hours to get food. There were areas to bath, but you could only do it once a week. There were shampoos and conditioners for washing hair, but many woman chose to keep their hair short in order to keep it out of the way and so it could easily be cleaned.
Another thing you had to know was that you can't let tiredness get to you. If you work too slowly, you will be punished. And you are not allowed to talk back. Whatever you were told to do, you did it. You were never to complain. You were never to be idle. Basically what 18 had said, with a few more tips added.
The rest of the time was spent in silence, except for Sara telling Serena what to do from time to time. The scrubbed the floors and some beds. They cleaned the bathrooms. Serena knew that the slaves had to live here and she was lucky, so she worked very hard and tried to get everything as clean as possible. The bathroom looked much better when she was done cleaning it.
Sara advised her not to over-work herself, because then she might be too tired later. If she was too tired to work, she had to stay up until it was done and she wouldn't get any sleep until it was finished. If she passed out she would be awoken after only an hour and forced to finish the job. How this solved anything, no one knew; the person then got even less sleep that night, if any at all, and it would usually just happen again.


When they were done, they left the barracks and went to wash clothes for the droids. They hurried through it, since few of them were really dirty; droids didn't sweat, so usually only the droids that oversaw the miners had dirty uniforms. As long as all the uniforms were clean, they could start washing the slave's clothes, though you could hardly call them that. Most were rags.
Serena kept her mind busy so she wouldn't be bored out of her wits. It was also to keep her mind off of hunger. She thought about the slave conditions and wondered if there was anything she could do to improve them. Probably not, but it was a nice thought. She wondered what her friends were doing, and hoped that they were alright. She brushed her bangs away from her face, and promptly decided to grow them out. They were sticking to her forehead because of all the steam. Perhaps she could get a headband to use until they were long enough to tie back.
Sara informed her that her friends were probably being helped by somebody. They probably knew all the rules by now, and Serena shouldn't worry. But Serena always worried about her friends, and she wasn't going to stop now. She felt sorry for them, knowing they were probably as hungry as she was. Her stomach was giving sharp pangs, and she felt a little lightheaded, but ignored it and kept working. She asked Sara how big the rations were. Sara told her that they weren't that big, but it was better know than it had been a few years ago. The androids figured it was better to keep the slaves they had, because if they died, they'd have to go and get knew ones. The ones who had been their longer would have become used to the life and would also have become stronger. Replacing miners was no easy task; the new ones didn't do very well. They had to build up their strength.
After they were done washing clothes, the went to hang them up to dry in a special room. Air would filter through the room to dry them faster. This job took them a long time, because they had several hundred uniforms and twice as many rags to hang up, and there were only ten people hanging. Finally, when Serena felt she was about to pass out from hunger, the call for dinner came. The room was spinning in Serena's eyes, so Sara helped her into the Mess Hall and got food for her.
Serena's friends came in shortly after she did, also being helped by other women. The five thankfully ate, not saying a word until they were done eating. They then, after reassuring each other numerous times that they were fine, shared their experiences and what they had learned. Sara was right; each girl had had somebody helping them, showing them the ropes and giving them tips. They were about to launch in a big discussion of their day, when the overseers ushered them out of the room, yelling loudly and ordering them to go back to work. Serena's friends were greatly disappointed; they had wanted to know what had happened to their leader while she was with 17. To Serena it was just as well; she hadn't really wanted to talk about it.
Serena was about to follow Sara when she realized she didn't know where she was suppose to go. Sara reassured her it would be alright, and apologized for leaving her, but the droids were ordering her back to her station. So she bid Serena farewell and hurried after the other cleaning slaves before one of the droids whipped her.
"You, girl, come with me," said a voice from behind Serena. She turned around and saw a droid addressing her. She couldn't tell if it was the same as before; they all looked more or less alike.
She followed him down the halls, wondering what would come next.

***************************************************************************************

AN: Well?!? WHAT DID YOU THINK?!?!? PLEASE REVIEW!!! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!!!! IT ONLY TAKES A SECOND!!! I'M NOT ASKING FOR A LONG REVIEW, JUST ONE WORD IF YOU WANT!!!! YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE TO LOG IN!!!!!! PLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!