Voices of Humanity

Chapter Fifty-Four

With a new routine and girls under my command, my days were far cheerier than I might have hoped. I realized I'd greatly missed the camaraderie of other humans, in spite of Magnus's proffered friendship.

Getting to know the girls I found all tasks that suited them, from working in the barns mucking animal stalls and socializing the spring lambs and piglets, to cleaning our Master's home and the slave dorms, to working by my side in the kitchens, all fifteen girls soon settled into their roles and began to trust that the kindness I offered was given sincerely.

For his part, Magnus kept his distance from the humans in general. Of course I was the exception.

Though I thought the presence of other humans and the launch of his business in the trade might cause him to realize my true place, it seemed I had underestimated his commitment to the pledge he'd made to treat me as an equal.

As Lexia had long ago, Magnus allowed me access to budgeting and leadership among the flock, but he did far more than that. Magnus continued to invite me into his life as if I were family and not a slave at all.

In spite of Magnus's kindness however, my skepticism would not leave me. He had so far acquiesced to my every request, but I feared greatly finding the point at which he would deny me. I spent the majority of my mental energy in a strange internal struggle, both trying to imagine how I might improve the lives of the girls in my care and also continue to appease the sibla man who owned us all.

Though I was grateful for the immense trust Magnus had put upon me to act alone as overseer, the level of power also put incredible pressure upon me. If anything were to happen to the girls, if they were to step out of line, grow ill, attempt to run...I alone would be culpable. With that in mind, I did my best to keep every one of my requests focused on the goal of keeping all healthy and content.

I asked for little things at first, testing Magnus's willingness to abide by my kindness based leadership over the flock. I explained my desire to use no physical punishment on the humans and instead rely on building a community among them to maintain order. Magnus enthusiastically agreed.

When I surveyed my charges and found most were literate, I asked him for a supply of books to keep their minds engaged. Remarkably, he agreed to this as well, offering no resistance to encouraging his humans with thoughts beyond those of pure servitude.

With each acquiescence to my demands I become somehow both more confident and more wary. At some point, the other shoe would drop, my mind warned. The monstrous sibla that lurked beneath the facade of false friendship. Believing anything less would be foolish. Even Dreda had never allowed herself to actually trust a sibla. It was that caution to which she owed her long life. Now that my new role placed ten innocent souls in my hands, I couldn't afford to let my guard down either. And yet in spite of this caution, I managed to ask my most elaborate request yet just three weeks after the girls arrived.

Magnus and I had taken to meeting in his study every other day now that I was so occupied with my flock. He would ask me for account of each human. Their health, their growth, their work product. And though I expected he might be all business now that my duties were established, his concern for his humans' mental health, including my own, continued to impress me.

"It was my intent to keep animals that were truly contented," he said during one such discussion. "All of the humans seem to be far less nervous than when they arrived and I am heartened to see how well they are clearly eating, but it is important to me that their emotional wellbeing is tended too as well. You must tell me if there is more we might do to accomplish this task."

We

I felt a distinct discomfort as he linked our positions. Did he think of me as one of his own kind now? Imagine that I was fully complicit in his industry? And yet I knew he had every reason to believe so. This was in fact everything I could hope for. If he saw me as fully loyal to his aims he would be less likely to question requests I might make.