The children each had an Escorii in attendance who certainly doted on their charges. Each child was so open and outgoing. Kept beautifully clean and healthy, but as they played games with their mother Jo could see that nobody was worried about them getting either themselves or their lovely clothes dirty. It seemed that the Sceriae were doing a wonderful job bringing up the girls that they hoped would save Scerior.
After playing a game very much like ring a ring a roses, and a game of tag, one of the Escorii in charge of the girls said to Kylie “Lady Kylie, it is now time for their afternoon tea and a short nap”.
“Yes of course Tchupa, you may take them away” Kylie said “and I will show Jo round the nursery. Come here my darlings and give Mama a kiss”.
All the girls swamped her again but none were jealous, each got the same kiss and cuddle, and they all left happily, chatting and giggling together. Jo said to Kylie, “You know if I can be half as good a mother as you are, I will be very proud of myself” for some reason Jo choked up and turned away to hide her tear filled eyes.
Kylie slung her arm around Jo’s neck and said “Of course you’ll be a good mum. I’m a good judge of people and I have liked you since I met you. I think we are going to be good friends. Come on, let’s go and see my little babies, Kijae, Keku, and Klenia” and with that she took Jo back inside.
At the end of another corridor there was a large central room, with dozens of little rooms leading off, Kylie went into one such room and in a cot with an Escorii sitting beside her, was the tiniest baby Jo had ever seen, like all of Kylie’s daughters she was beautiful. This was Klenia, Kylie’s youngest daughter. Kylie went up to the cot and traced a gentle finger over the baby’s thatch of blonde hair. Jo standing on the other side of the cot could see the love in Kylie’s eyes. The Escorii followed them out of the room and told Kylie how well the baby was doing and Kylie hugged her and told her she would be back soon, hopefully when her daughter was awake.
They moved on to the next little room and there sitting upright on a soft blanket was Keku. At nine months old she was the size of a human two year old. She had full dexterity with her hands and was building a tall tower of blocks with ease. Whenshe saw Kylie she waved her arms to be picked up. As Kylie swung her into the air she quite distinctly said Mama. Jo couldn’tget over how advanced she was until Kylie explained that Sceriae babies grew and learned at three times the rate of human babies and the half breeds were proving to do nearly the same.
Kylie talked with her babys nurse about her daughters health and development while Jo took in the decor in the nursery. It was painted in pale pastels, with posters of plants and animals, their names printed in big bold colours. There was a toddlers bed in the corner, at the moment with sides on. But Jo could see that they would be easy to move, everything was done to aid happiness and health. As Kylie finished her discussion with Kekus’ nurse she put her daughter down on the floor, but standing. the tot walked steadily over to her pile of bricks and witha devilish chuckle knocked them over. Then she turned back to her mother and waved her hand at which Kylie bent down and and kissed her on her head, As Jo and Kylie left themJo commented that Keku seemed very happy, and Kylie said that yes she was, as all the children were loved very much by their Escori.
Jo asked Kylie if she felt a bit left out, and Kylie replied that she had at the beginning, but that as the girls grew bigger it was obvious that they loved her as much as they did their Escori.
They moved into Kijae’s room and Jo could see that at only fifteen months old she was no longer a baby. She jumped into Kylie’s arms and said “Love you Mama”.
Jo had to swallow hard as her throat choked up once again. they sat looking at a picture book with Kijae for a while and Jo was surprised that the little girl knew the words under the pictures. As Kylie was leaving she told the Kijae that soon she would be going into the big dormitory with her sisters, and the little girl clapped her hands.
After they left Kijae, Kylie took Jo to the oldest girls dormitory. As they entered the room the babble of noise stopped and all the girls turned to look at them. They were in a very large chamber, with different areas given over to long dining tables and chairs, comfortable couches set in different groups, and in one area large cushions covered the floor. The girls were all sitting at the dining tables having afternoon tea. As soon as they saw Kylie they all excitedly called welcomes to her. One girl who behaved as if she was head girl in a girls boarding school rose from the table and came over to greet Kylie and Jo.
“Lady Kylie” she said “welcome to our house. Will you have some food with us?”
“Thank you, Leiki” replied Kylie “that would be very nice” and taking Jo’s hand said “This is Lady Joanna, Lord Acorus’ new lady”.
All the girls oohed and aahed and it was obvious that the majority had a schoolgirl crush on Acorus. As Jo sat down at the table she realised that most of the girls were as tall as she was and they towered over Kylie. As she sat listening to them questioning Kylie about events on Scerior, Jo worked out that they must all only be eleven or twelve years old, yet they looked and behaved as if they were eighteen to twenty. She realised that they were probably as mature as she was and the subjects they were talking about, like all girls of that age, were fashion, hairstyles and boys or in their case Sceriae males. As they ate the girls around her became brave enough to question her. They were ultra polite and very articulate, but what they were asking was what did she think of Lord Acorus and life on Scerior. One even asked if she was already pregnant and laughed with delight when she blushed, and declared that, that meant she was. They talked about Acorus as if he were a pop star, and Jo stored up their comments to tease him with. The girl on her right told her without any embarrassment, that she had already started her monthly flow and in two or three years would be choosing a mate. It shocked her a little, but then she realised that it was extremely sensible to prepare the girls, as after all, their main purpose in life would be to repopulate Scerior.
After they had all eaten their fill, Jo and Kylie took their leave. They were rejoined by Tsu and Tsera and going out to their vehicle found their guards waiting for them. On the journey home they chatted about how lovely the nursery was, how happy the children seemed and how quickly they were growing. Arriving back at the villa they separated to go to their own rooms to have a shower, massage and rest. Jo questioned Tchu to learn if anything had been heard from Lord Acorus but the answer was no. As she lay on the massage table Jo worried about what Julie had said, about him ignoring her now that she was pregnant. One part of her brain told her that they had more going for them than just making girl babies, but another part niggled that she was just another female to Acorus. Only good for one thing. Luckily she fell asleep before she could work herself up into a temper.
When Jo woke up she discovered that she was still worrying about Acorus. She knew she wouldn’t rest until she had absolutely clarified her position. As she lay there pondering about what to do, she remembered her resolve to make a life for herself, on Scerior, whatever Acorus thought of her. Even if she felt used and abandoned she must make a position for herself in Scerior society. Try as she might she couldn’t say exactly how many days she had been here, but she did know, that she knew nothing about how things worked on Scerior. First she decided she must get Tchu, Tjai and Tsu to teach her how to use her mind telepathically and then how to mask her own thoughts. Then she would ask Lady Ileya to help her find a job that would occupy her every day. If Acorus only wanted her, to have girl babies for Scerior then she had to accept that even if it broke her heart.
With that resolve she jumped off the massage table, found a clean Kaftan to put on and went through into the bedroom. The bed was turned down neatly, but there was no sign of her Escorii so she went through to the main chamber. As she did so she heard Julie shouting at someone in her room. She was shouting, “I’ve done my bit to provide females for Scerior. Two at a
bloody time, at that, but I will not be treated as if I don’t exist once I’m pregnant. I’d go crazy if I couldn’t have sex except for twice a year, so I will not stop seeing him, Tchaka”.
Jo strained to ‘hear’ Tchaka’s reply, but couldn’t, then Julie said, in a quieter voice that Jo could only just make out because she was leaning on the door “If you keep going on, I will have you dismissed”.
Then Jo heard someone approaching the other side of the door, and scurried back into the middle of the room. She’d just flung herself down onto a couch when Julie’s bedroom door opened and Tchaka came through. At the open door, Tchaka turned to look at Julie and this time Jo heard her say “I thought we were friends, that you thought of me as more than a servant. I can see that I was wrong. What has happened over the last few months to make you change so?”
In a quiet voice Julie whispered “I can’t help it. I love him!”
At that Tchaka turned away and finally seeing Jo in the room said “Hello Jo, did you enjoy visiting Kylie’s children?”
She was warning Julie that they were not alone even though Julie must have hurt her with what she had said.
Jo replied brightly “Yes they are lovely and Kylie is obviously a wonderful mother”.
Tchaka nodded her head “Yes some females are born mothers and others are not” then turning back to Julie she said “I will send Teya and Tsuma to feed the babies”.
Julie came out into the room and said “Whatever”.
Shaking her head sadly Tchaka turned away and left the room. Having heard their argument Jo was feeling very embarrassed and cast around for something to say.
“Erm are the babies doing well? They are very good; I haven’t heard them cry at all”.
“Yeah, they’re doing fine. They don’t get a chance to cry as Ttya and Tsuma fuss over them constantly” Julie said almost sounding as if she resented the fuss they got.
“With two of them it must be very tiring feeding them every few hours. You must have enormous patience”.
“Oh god, I don’t feed the brats. I would be demented. I tried breast feeding with the first two, and it was so awful, I refuse to do it. Bad enough to be pregnant all the time, without that as well. No I express my milk, well a machine does, and Teya and Tsuma do everything else”.
All Jo could come up with was “Oh!” and then there was, to Jo anyhow, an uncomfortable silence. Luckily Kylie came out of her room, and taking in the silence, she quickly dived in to try and lighten the atmosphere, chatting away to Jo about the attributes of each of her children. Jo began to feel more comfortable but Julie sat there in a moody silence.
Finally the main door opened and the Escorii came in carrying food. Jo was surprised at how hungry she felt as she had eaten well at the nursery and she said as much to Kylie, who told her that as she was now pregnant she would be hungry most of the time. Then she explained that the half-breed babies grew very quickly to start with, only slowing down in the last month. She explained that their bodies would be perfectly formed after four months and in the last month their brains matured and learned. They could hear their mother talking and that’s why she sang a lot because she wanted them to like music.
Julie groaned “Oh god, do you have to talk about babies all the time. It’s so bloody boring!”
To Jo’s surprise Kylie rounded on Julie telling her not to be such a cow and asking her what was wrong with her lately.
Julie shrugged and commented that it was post baby blues and hormones, then laughing nastily she told them that as soon as Acorus had been with her, she’d feel better, she probably needed a good shag! Jo couldn’t believe her ears, especially when Kylie shouted at her and told her not to be so common, and that she should be ashamed of herself to speak of Acorus like that.
Jo tried to act as arbitrator and changed the subject, by saying that the food was getting cold. With relief she sat at a table next to Kylie with Julie opposite them. They all helped themselves to the food and drink and Jo started to ask Kylie where the pictures she painted were sold.
Kylie told her that she took them to a gallery near the Courtyard and that she’d been so surprised when they sold so well. Then they started to discuss what Jo might do for work. Kylie suggested that Jo should ask Lady Ileya and Jo said she’d already decided on that, but Julie cut in saying curtly, that she did all the office work for Ileya and she didn’t need anyone else. Kylie sighed in exasperation, looking at Jo and shaking her head. Jo just shrugged her shoulders, and said no more.
After they had finished eating, the atmosphere hadn’t improved, so Kylie took herself off to her room. Julie told Jo that she intended to take a walk in the garden, leaving Jo by herself on the couch. She sat there feeling bored, wishing she had a good book to read or some music to listen to. She wasn’t used to doing nothing. Just as she was thinking that she might as well go to bed Tchu came into the room. She looked at Jo and asked “What is the matter Jo?”
Jo tried to hold back the tears, but didn’t succeed “Nothing” she sniffed.
Tchu moved over so she could put her hand on Jo’s shoulder “Come into the bedroom, my dear. We will be private in there” and she led Jo into her bedroom. Going over to the table and chairs she sat down on one and motioned Jo to the other.
“Now speak to me Jo. I’m sure that I will be able to help”.
Jo shook her head as the tears ran down her cheeks and she stammered “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I haven’t cried like this for years, not since Gramps died”.
Tchu looked at her sadly “You have had a lot to put up with and to understand, in a very short time. Also you are pregnant so you will feel emotional. You know you can tell me anything and it will go no further. Not even to Tjai or Tsu if you don’t want me to tell them”.
Jo just didn’t know what to do. Could she trust Tchu? Would she tell Acorus or Ileya how Jo felt? Looking into Tchu’s face she suddenly came to a decision. Very slowly at first, she started to tell Tchu of her fears and longings. She admitted that even though she’d only known Acorus for such a short time, she loved him, and she had thought that he might just feel something, other than lust, for her. Then she explained to Tchu what she had wanted to do with her life and that she now felt that all her work at school, to get into university, had been a waste of time. She might as well have got a job at sixteen and spent her last two years on earth enjoying herself.
Then she told Tchu about how she had felt when she went to the nursery. To see all the lovely little girls and how they were so loved, and carefully taught, made her realise what the human girls were giving to Scerior, and she had felt ashamed that she was feeling so badly done to. As she spoke her tears dried up and she began to realise why she was so emotional. She had kept everything bottled up inside. Her hysterical fear when she had first woken up, on the ship, the first time she had seen the ‘aliens’. The fear of whether it was safe to eat, drink, have a shower or massage, and then the terrible fear when she first saw the Sceriae. And finally, when she realised that they were there to be used by the Sceriae males.
The horror when Acorus turned from insistent but gentle lover to cruel rapist. Not knowing if every time he was with her he could change into that beast again, and now the fear that he had just used her, like he had Kylie and Julie to get girl children with his genes. As she stopped opening her heart to Tchu, Jo lifted her swollen eyes to look into Tchu’s eyes. On seeing that Tchu was gazing at her with kind and understanding eyes Jo swallowed and said “So how pathetic am I. I never knew I could be so weak and spineless”.
Tchu shook her head and said “You are far from being weak and spineless. I am surprised that you have been so strong for so long. I know that if all that had happened to me I would have died or at least been a nervous wreck”.
“I feel so foolish” said Jo “what made me think that I would be special? Acorus must have had dozens of g
irls otherwise he wouldn’t be such an expert lover”.
Tchu raised her hands “I would not care to wonder what Lord Acorus is, but I must tell you that from my observations, he has spent more time with you than with any of his females. He even lay with you when he knew you were pregnant. He has not done that with either Kylie or Julie”.
“What about the Ghorans?” Jo asked.
Tchu gasped and said “What do you know about the Ghorans?”
Jo shrugged, “Acorus told me about them”.
Shaking her head in disgust Tchu said “That is not a subject for a male to discuss with a female. What is the matter with him?”
“It wasn’t his fault; I couldn’t believe that all the males on this planet were celibate apart from once or twice a year, so he told me about the Ghorans”.
“Well” exclaimed Tchu “it is obvious that he has talked with you more than he has with anyone before! Jo let me tell you what I know about Lord Acorus. Although he is the highest ranking male on this planet, he never treats anyone as less important whatever their occupation. He is highly intelligent, brave, kind, loyal to his friends and family, as well as to Scerior. He never lies by word or action, and if he has led you to believe that you are important to him, then that is the truth” and Tchu got up and went round the table to take Jo’s face in her hands.
Jo closed her eyes, feeling some hope rise in her, then Tchu said “As for feeling that your life, as you had planned it is over, there is a lot you can do here to use your brains and make yourself feel useful”.
“Yes, but what?” asked Jo “where would I begin to find something I will like and would be good at?”
Tchu smiled “We will ask Lady Ileya”.
“Will she help me?” Jo wondered.
“She is a high ranking Sceriae female, likes fairness, and has helped a lot of other girls” replied Tchu “I will ask her to see you as soon as possible”.
Scerior Page 13
