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Toe "I’ll wash your back"

"No!" He didn’t need this boy to act as his slave, and knowing too well how it felt to be at thelike that because of him

"I’ll be careful," Tomas said quietly

Thrown off stride by the boy’s syotten about the lash wounds Feeling no pain as Toently explored his belly where the whips had cut him It felt tender, but that was all

"Don’t knohat the Lady did, but you’ve healed up just fine," Tomas said "Didn’t even scar"

To for sorown man that he hadn’t scarred when his own small body looked like a battlefield

Tomas deserved better than to be condeain, they all deserved better

Needing a distraction, Jared said, "Tell me about Thera and Blaed"

"Well, you see, none of the beds were h there were clean sheets and blankets folded up on the ht in ‘cause Cathryn--"

"Cathryn? I thought the other one’s naht three females," Tomas explained patiently "Thera, Polli, and Cathryn Thera’s a broken Black Widow Breaking her ht have taken her Jewels, but it sure didn’t dull her temper Polli’s a broken witch I think it made her soft-headed and skittish Cathryn’s just a Blood feround his teeth Just the thought of a Blood fe used as an aristo broodh to bear healthy offspring made hi witches were, but that was because they didn’t have the inner power for in with, and only unbroken fe "How old is Cathryn?"

"She’s little Nine maybe You want to hear about Blaed or not?"

His breath hissed between his teeth "I want to hear"

"So Thera startedup a bed, too, but she washer Then Blaed walked over to Polli and said so you know, she had her back to the wall and she was screas, it was herher rabbed an apple froht and threw it at hie it, but he ed to take it on the hip instead of in the balls

"So there’s Polli having hysterics, and Cathryn’s crying ‘cause she’s scared, and Thera’s screa toward Thera while she’s reaching back for another apple, and Randolf and Brock are trying to juets really nasty And then the outside door burst open and the Gray Lady was standing there

"The males all stopped cold, and I hushed Cathryn, but Polli was still wailing about her moonti her, it wasn’t that-- and Thera was still screa about heartless pricks who couldn’t keep their pants buttoned and holding that apple so hard she was squishing it to pulp"

Toet a bucket of clean water to rinse with"

Jared soaped his hair, s that could happen to boys who got too bossy The only response he got was a bucket of water poured over his head before he was ready

Sputtering, he clirabbed a towel from Tomas "If you don’t finish the story, I’ll throttle you"

Now certain that he could ignore rerabbed another towel, and gently patted Jared’s back dry "Turns out Blaed was just trying to be helpful He noticed how Polli wasthe mattress to tuck in the sheet

After he explained that to the Lady, looking so scared I thought he was going to faint, she fixed a brew to settle down Polli Then she looked straight at Thera, and said, ‘Courtesy should be rewarded, not punished’ And then she looked at Blaed, and said, ‘Remember that not all scars are visible’

"After she left, we all ate and took baths None of the et near Polli, in case she had another fit Didn’t want to get too close to Thera, either So all the females and you and me stayed on one side of the room and the rest of the males stayed on the other side" Toh the whole thing Matter of fact, you slept through all of yesterday, too Come on, they left some food for you"