Hey, how many people on here are on GaiaOnline? I was thinking about opening a thread in the fanfic forum(inside the writer's forum) to get some feedback. If I can get some opinions, I might be able to get the updates to come a little quicker. For those who aren't on Gaia, it's completely free and doesn't require personal information. You can sign up just to come see me, if you want. If you're against Gaia, E-mail me and we'll talk privately. Whatever happens, I want to get the updates coming more quickly, but I need to know my readers are willing to help me out. On Gaia, I am Psychosghost. I'll open a thread called Cages by Ryoko21 in the fanfiction forum. Thanks to anyone who can help.

I awoke to a scream.

At first, I was strangely disoriented. I remembered bringing Trowa back to the apartment after a long and excruciating dinner. I had asked him if he would like to bathe, and had offered to help him. Trowa was, obviously, not body shy, so he accepted and I bathed with him. While helping him, I had found several bruises on his back, legs, and thighs that I was sure I hadn't made and had not been there before. I called him on them.

"The Duke... he always drives his slaves hardest right before they are given away, to get the most use out of them. I was... busy after you left. I apologize."

There was really nothing I could do; I couldn't be mad at him because he had not been given a choice and I couldn't really be surprised with Duke after all I had seen. Instead I sighed and simply took a cream I had bought for Heero out of the drawer, telling him it would help take the soreness away. I was sure to check him thoroughly to be sure he had not been torn. Whoever had... dealt with him had not been gentle, but they had at least known what they were doing. He was bruised and terribly sore, but there was nothing torn or bleeding. It was certain to fade quickly with the applications of the cream, and I applied it generously for him, sure to place it on every hurt. There was nothing I could do now that it was done, but I would not be so helpless in the future. It seemed that only as my slave was he safe.

Once he was relaxed and I was dressed for bed we both climbed in. Trowa was somewhat shy, keeping a cushion of space between us on the bed, but he didn't flinch away as I kissed his forehead and allowed are heads to press together as I fell asleep. Better than Quatre had done but not as good as Heero. Speaking of which, I wondered how soon he would be home. I missed holding him in my arms as I drifted to sleep, and it was nice waking to his light form draped across my chest.

None of this, I decided as I sat there in shocked silence, accounted for the scream that I had just heard.

It came again, and I glanced beside me on the bed at Trowa, but he was awake and alert, looking just as surprised as I was. Quatre, who had been known for crying in his sleep, was currently at the hospital.

I realized who I was missing as the scream sounded a third time from the other room and I jumped out of bed, darting toward the door. Heero, I found, was curled up in a ball, tucked into the corner of the couch, trying to make himself as small as possible. His face was contorted in pain and fear, his body shaking. As I approached I saw him suddenly jerk, as if something had stung him, and twist, falling off the couch. I dove and managed to catch him before he hit the floor, pulling him into my lap as I cushioned his fall with my body. His eyes opened and honed in to my face, still filled with fear and pain.

"Master?" he questioned softly, his voice still holding the quiver of nightmare.

"What were you doing out here, Heero?" I asked him, wondering why he hadn't come to bed. I had never known him to have such screaming nightmares when I held him, and I certainly would have noticed one as violent as this.

"I- I wasn't sure where you wanted me," he said, diverting his eyes from mine to look at his hands. A second later, movement from behind me caught his eye and he glanced over my shoulder, only to look away a moment later with tears in his eyes.

Glancing over my shoulder I found Trowa watching us with a guarded look on his face, eyeing Heero suspiciously, and everything fell into place.

"Heero, I-.. That isn't what this is about. He's not competition, damnit, he's here to help. I can't keep putting everything on you, Angel."

"I'm not weak," he defended angrily, "I could handle it."

"I know you could, but I won't allow it. You'd hurt yourself trying to do everything, and I simply won't have that."

I rose to my feet, Heero in my arms, and began to walk toward the bedroom. Trowa, as much a slave as Heero, eyed me warily, wondering where he should go. I inclined my head toward the bedroom and allowed Trowa to proceed me. Once there I motioned for Trowa to enter the bed first, then situated myself between the two boys. Gently, but with the force of a master I hoped not to be, I pulled Heero and Trowa close to me, allowing Trowa only the cushion of space he had previously had. Then, with a slave's head on either shoulder, I settled in to sleep.

It might take a while, but one way or another my slaves would learn to get along.