DWch7

Chapter 7

They led her through many hallways. She couldn't tell where they were going, because all the hallways looked more or less alike. The droids must have had built in maps. They lead her to a door and opened it. Serena heard sounds of rustling cloth, sewing machines, and the low murmuring of voices.
Stepping inside, she saw she was in a large room with many women sewing and mending. Some sat in chairs, but most were sitting on the floor. Serena guessed that this was the tailors' room that Sara had told her about. She realized that 17 had also mentioned going to the tailors, and felt a sinking sensation in her stomach. The guards ushered her past the other women. Most didn't look up, but some of the younger girls looked up curiously at the new comer. As they reached the end of the room, Serena saw another doorway. Maybe they were just passing through thus area and wouldn't stop.
No such luck. They went through the door, but the new room was a sewing room as well. This one only had a few women. They were busy at sewing machines making what seemed to be new uniforms for the droids. At one end of the room 17 was leaning over a table filled with papers, while a woman explained them in more detail. The woman seemed nervous and spoke quickly, anxiously waiting to see 17's reaction. The guards led her over. She wouldn't have followed, but considering there were two behind her, she pretty much had to follow the first one or be pushed forward. She would much rather walk proudly with her head held high hen be shoved forward like trash.
"Sir, the slave is here," the leading droid addressed 17. He glanced over his shoulder at her before turning back to the woman he had been talking to.
"I'll take this with me and give you instructions tomorrow. And I suggest you finish that new outfit for 18, she has been quite bored lately and might wish to punish tardiness for entertainment." 17 said to the woman.
"Ye-yes sir," she stammered as he picked up the papers. She hurried off to finish her work and 17 turned to Serena.
"We'll be going back to my quarters," he told her. She snorted.
"Gee thanks, drag me all the way here and then make me go somewhere else," she said sarcastically.
Before she could react, one of the guards had brought his whip down on her back. Her eyes widened and she stumbled forward a bit, but did not let any other reaction through.
"Insolence is not tolerated!" he barked. "You are the slave, you will treat your superiors with respect!" Serena turned slightly to look at him.
"Very well. I'll make sure to do that as soon as I see someone who is superior to myself."
The whip came down again, and she winced. But she would not cry out or show any other sign of pain.
"My Lord, should we take her to discipline her?" the guard asked.
"No, I will deal with it," 17 replied. He had simply watched the whole interaction without stepping in. "Let's go, I will deal with her when we are back in my quarters."
"Yes sir."


Serena walked silently the whole way, satisfying herself with glaring and thinking bad thoughts about the droids and 17. Once they had reached 17's chambers 17 dismissed the guards once again. He led her into the same room they were in before and fell back onto the pillows. Serena noted with interest that the artificial sunlight was gone, and instead there were lanterns glowing around the room. A soft, white glow came from somewhere. It looked almost like moonlight— almost, but not quite. The androids could never capture the beauty of the moon.
"Come here," 17 called, beckoning her with his hand. "I want to show you something." Serena walked towards the dais and again settled herself on the pillows beside him. He shifted the pillows so that he was in a sitting position and leaning against them, and motioned for Serena to come beside him. She hesitantly crawled over and settled against the pillows.
"What do you think of these?" he asked her, handing her the papers he had brought with him. On the papers were sketches of outfits that seemed to be Egyptian or perhaps Roman. They were for women, and ranged from simple outfits to dresses fit for royalty. She raised an eyebrow as she flipped through them.
"What do I think of them in terms of what?" she asked as she studied a rather complex dress.
"Those are some dresses that 18 is having made," he said pointing to the dresses she was looking at. The ones that looked like they were fit for royalty. "She also found designs for things that female and male slaves usually wear. She was thinking about having them made for the slaves who work in the main rooms. She said that otherwise they were too dirty to be allowed in the main rooms, slaves or not."
"Well, there certainly better than rags," Serena replied.
"Yes, that was one problem she had with it. She didn't want the slaves to be too comfortable. They are rarely seen in the main rooms anyway."
"So you want my opinion on whether or not to have the slaves where them?" Serena asked incredulously.
"No, I was thinking of having you wear one. Nothing fancy, or 18 will disapprove; one that the lower slaves wore, maybe. If you are going to be my personal slave at times, then you should look it. The rags you wear don't complement the Egyptian theme of my rooms, and they don't look very good with the cushions." he said simply.
Serena snorted. "So sorry I clash with your decor. And what about you, Mister Green Socks?"
"There is no way I am wearing a toga."
"That's Greek, know-it-all." Unfortunately, 17 seemed to take no notice of her name calling.
"Well then I'm not wearing a skirt. Besides, I'm not wearing green socks now. Those wear what my creator gave me, I just used them so as not to be bothered with finding a new outfit. Though 18 seems to enjoy that sort of thing."
Serena looked at 17 and saw he wasn't wearing green socks. He was wearing jeans, black boots, and a white shirt that was unbuttoned at the top. Upon noticing the last, she quickly looked away. Though she had to admit, he didn't look as out of place as he had before. She also had to admit he looked ho— er, good.
Not that she cared in the least. As had been said before, she was never one to go gah-gah over looks. She could truthfully say that she still hated 17. Though it still annoyed her that the thought of him looking good crossed her mind, even if it was true.
Having taken a moment to recover from her disgust, she muttered "Rags are just fine with me." She was relieved that she was able to hide her emotions so well. She didn't want 17 to notice anything. It would inflate his already big ego.
"Even so, you should wear something like this," he said pointing to a simple outfit. "Though I'll have to make sure 18's outfits look much more regal compared to yours. She'll have a fit if it's any other way. Besides, white suits you."
"How do you know? You've never seen me in white."
"I can tell. Besides, you look stunning in anything, even rags. You should wear something that complements your beauty more."
"A slave's outfit. Gee, thanks." She ignored his last comment, keeping her eyes on the sketches to avoid meeting his eye.
"Well, we don't want to get 18 too jealous, now do we?"
"Frankly, I couldn't care less about what she thinks."
"You're going to have to learn to control your temper, or she might decide to punish you."
"Your point being...?"
17 sighed and leaned back against the cushions. "I won't be able to stop her from hurting you." he said.
"I never asked you to," she snapped.
"Hm. Very well Tenshi, I suppose I'll have to let you learn on your own. You'll learn better from experience anyway," he said. He brought one hand up to caress her cheek but she jerked away before he could touch her. To her extreme annoyance, 17 merely looked amused.
"Well then, how was your first day?" he asked lightly, picking up a grape from one of the nearby bowls.
Serena considered saying it was pure hell, but then thought that it was probably what 17 wanted to hear. "Well, I was a little surprised at the work. I thought I was a slave, and the work was going to be hard and tedious. Really, it was somewhat of a disappointment. I would have thought you would have given me more work considering I was the one who kept destroying all your droids. 18 said it wasn't going to be a vacation, but it was a nice break from my old life." She knew it probably wasn't going to annoy 17 too much; she should have said it to 18. But at least she tried.
"Well, if you are bored I'm sure we could find more work for you," 17 said. Serena hid her scowl. As she had expected, it hadn't annoyed him in the least.
"Fine with me," she replied. She would show them how strong she really was, and that nothing they could do to her would bring her down. And maybe one day she would be able to wipe that smirk off of 17's face.


The rest of the evening was, for the most part, uneventful. After 17 looked over the designs, he called several women to take Serena to be measured. When that was done it was about ten o'clock at night. Serena and her friends were permitted to go back to their rooms since it had been their first day and the androids didn't want them to be worn out.
After everyone had used the connecting bathroom, they swapped stories. Her four friends had been working hard all day, and Serena felt slightly guilty for getting off easy. Though when she told everyone how she had been forced to feed 17 fruit, they all agreed that working all day was much better. She left out a lot of details, not wanting to go into it. She was already embarrassed enough as it was. She was very thankful to find that the girls had all made friends and had not been whipped once. They were also usually with at least one other girl in their group.
Once again, they pleaded with Serena not to anger the androids. Serena sighed and told them that this was her way. She hated the androids; they had taken everything from her. She would always stand against them, and she didn't care what happened to her. They expected to break her spirit, but she wouldn't let them. She promised to never go to the point of critical injury or forcing the androids to kill her.
"You're so brave," Mina whispered. "I feel like I'm letting you down by submitting too easily."
"No!" Serena yelled, sitting straight up in bed. The girls jumped at her sudden outburst. "No, you guys shouldn't do what I'm doing. Please, you're not letting me down! I would do the same, if it weren't for you guys. You guys are my best friends. My sisters. You give me strength. For you, I will face anything, stand against any evil. If you were hurt, I would never forgive myself for not protecting you. Besides, if they focus on me, they won't bother you, right? I promise not to get myself killed, because that won't serve any purpose. This makes me stronger. And all the work we will be doing will make all of us stronger. Someday, we will be free again. And I'm not just saying that to make you feel better. I can feel it. I can't explain how; I just can."
The girls seemed comforted by this, and they lay on their beds in silence. Serena lay uncomfortably due to the new welts on her back, but didn't let on to her friends.
They all fell asleep soon. Though they were stronger than most, the day of work, the lack of food, and the remnants of the drug used in the gas bomb left them exhausted.


The halls around the girls' room was silent. It was early morning. The Androids had decided that they would have food taken to them so they would remain near to serve the androids. They were getting an extra two hours of rest because the drug still had affect on them.
A panel on the girls' door slide open. It was one that could be opened only from the inside, used to talk to the guards outside if necessary.
A yell suddenly disrupted the silence.
"YO ANDROIDS! CAN WE GET SOME TOOTH BRUSHES DOWN HERE?!?"

An hour later the girls had eaten and were standing in front of the Androids. They were in the same room they had been in the day before.
18 raised an eyebrow at Serena. "Was there something you needed earlier?" she asked.
"I need a tooth brush," Serena replied indifferently.
"A tooth brush?" 18 said incredulously.
"Did you lose your hearing? Yeah, a tooth brush. Five, actually, there weren't any there."
"Perhaps you do not fully understand what it means to be a slave," 18 said calmly. "Many things are leisures that you will do without. There are fluoride supplements in parts of the meal. They are tasteless. There are also other teeth cleaning minerals and what-not."
"Um, yeah,... but... it's not enough," Serena said slowly, as if trying to explain something to a child. 18 narrowed her eyes.
"It seems you have not yet learned the proper behavior of a slave," she said coldly.
"No, I just don't give damn," Serena responded simply.
"Perhaps you would care more if you were to be punished."
"Not likely."
"Well then, you won't mind if I test that," 18 said, her voice bordering on annoyance.
"Not at all," Serena replied cooly. 18 stood, reaching for one of the whips. Serena walked over to the wall by the manacles and, after repeating the procedure of tying her shirt around her neck, clasped them around her wrists.
"Well, we'll see if you still don't care once you've been punished enough," said 18 from behind her.
"Nothing you can do will make me care. And I doubt you can to much to me anyway." As she finished speaking, Serena felt the whip come down on her back. Luckily, she was ready for it, and did not cry out.
"Is that so?" 18 said coldly.
"Yup," Serena replied, keeping her voice even. The whip came down again. Serena clenched her teeth.
"We'll see how long that lasts," 18 said with a smirk.

A minute and thirty lashes later, 18 lowered the whip and took a step back. Red welts covered Serena's back, and blood leaked sluggishly from several cuts. Her back stung like hell, and she had resorted to singing camp songs in her head to keep from passing out with the pain. Her fists were clenched and shook slightly. Her legs were weak from the convulsions of her body when the whip had hit her. Beads of sweat dotted her face from the effort of remaining silent. She had not cried out. She had made some involuntary noises in her throat, but never had her mouth opened.
18 entered a code in a panel near the manacles and they opened, dropping Serena to the floor. She hadn't noticed how it had been done the day before and was not prepared for the fall. She landed heavily and squeezed her eyes shut at the sudden jolt of pain.
"Well then, if you're ready to cooperate, we can tell give you you're orders for the day," 18 said.
"Whatever," Serena muttered.
The whip lashed out, and Serena nearly cried out, but choked it back. This sent her into a fit of coughs.
"I suggest for your own sake that you get back into line and stay silent," 18 told her. Serena glared at her and stood up shakily.
"Fine with me, I don't really care one way or another."
Instead of whipping Serena again or getting angry, 18 gave her a cold smile that sent shivers down her spine.
"Oh believe me, you will."


Serena cooperated the rest of the time they were with the Androids that morning, except for glaring defiantly at them and muttering about still needing a toothbrush. The girls were told that they would work in the mines for most of the day. The Androids wanted to put their strength to good use. The girls would not be serving the Androids because there were things that the two needed to take care of. Serena was very glad; mining she could do just fine. Feeding 17 was just humiliating.
The Androids gave the guards specific instructions of where the girls would work that day, but the girls were already being ushered out the door by a group of droids and didn't hear most of what was said.
The mines were lit by torches and artificial lights. They looked basically what you would imagine mines to look like, except there was more light, the tunnels were more like halls, and the chambers were like caves. They were told what to look for, given dull tools, and were chained together in groups of four or five. They were also chained to the wall, but the chain was long so they could move around in a fairly large area.
Basically what they were looking for were minerals, gems, and such. Anything that looked different from the wall and everything that stood out. Some were easy, like garnets. You could see them easily and you took them out whole, or as close to whole as you could. However, some minerals could not be taken out in solid parts. They had to be scraped away and collected in a container, or else the section of rock they were in had to be removed. Most of it was not careful chipping and examining; that was done by others. The miners chipped large chunks of rock away. It was very hard work, especially with the dull tools they had. And you had to be careful where you are hitting; you didn't want to ruin any valuable minerals. Or the people working near you, for that matter.
There were several large cave-like chambers that the girls saw, but Serena guessed that there were more further into the mine. They were taken to a cave where not many people were working. Other slaves who were fairly strong but not strong enough to mine were carting chunks of rock away to be examined. They used wheel-barrow type things to transport the rocks. Droids watched the slaves work carefully. The girls set to work on one end of the wall.
After two hours of working, they were worn out, but were forced to keep working. Sweat trickled down their faces as they swung the heavy picks and other tools. The work took longer because of the dull edges of the tools, and when the rock did break, the had to chips it into smaller pieces. Some areas of the wall were jagged and it was easy to find a part to chip off. The ones that were fairly even were very hard. They had to chip away a part of the rock to make a small ledge. Then they had to bring the tools down on the ledge to break off the rock below.
Serena had more trouble than the others because of her sore back. It still stung harshly, and each swing of her pick was pure agony. After two hours her back had become some-what numb, but she still felt the pain. She didn't complain and tried to look like she was fine, but her friends were still worried about her. She insisted she was fine and that it just stung a little when she lifted the pick. She told them it was more of an annoyance than a pain, but they didn't seem to believe her. Serena began to think that they knew her too well.
After the third hour working, the droids yelled at them to speed up. They had been slowing down over the past hour. One of the droids' whips snapped at their heels and they hurriedly began working harder. It looked like other slaves were having the same problems, though some had been working in the mines long enough to have built up enough strength to keep going. The girls weren't sure how long they could keep up their pace, and worried about what would happen if they collapsed. They would probably be whipped badly and forced to keep working.
Luckily, half an hour later the droids called a break. The girls sank to their feet and tried to catch their breath. A cup of water was given to them to share. They all got less than a mouthful, but it was better than nothing. They saw that the other groups of slaves were also given a cup of water. None of the girls spoke; they took the time to relax and rest up for the next few hours of work. They didn't really think they would be able to handle it, but they knew that if they didn't there would be consequences.
A whistle blew a few minutes later and the girls struggled to their feet and resumed working.

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Okies, I planned to do an author's note, but I am just writing this quickly so I can get this out faster. I meant to get it out three days ago when I finished writing it, but I didn't have time. Sorry! But I LOVED the reviews!!! PLEASE WRITE MORE!!!!!!