As I sat nude on the chair, I knew what I wanted more than almost anything, clothing.

"A night dress," popped immediately out of my mouth.

The men didn't know what I meant. I wanted a linen dress I could wear in the house at night, the way they wore the shifts. Something like a long shirt was what I wanted. It was silly, but I was happy when they didn't seem to mind the idea.

“If we go to Fredrick," Evan said, “he would try to sell us ornamentation. What Ciara talks about is clothing; he would not understand."

“We don't go to him, then," Damien said shrugging.

The motion caught my eye and I pointed an accusing finger at Damien “What did you just do?" I asked.

The conversation was back and forth for a moment before I asked Damien where he learned to shrug.

"You do it sometimes. The young one did it frequently. My Brothers and I understand the meaning,“ he explained before getting back to the original conversation.

Before long I'd have them nodding every time they said yes. I grinned at the idea.

Bane and Kein were discussing where to get me my dress. It wouldn't be difficult to have the men that made their clothes make me something.

“I know how to use the tapes they measure with," Kein said. "They won't have to touch her."

It was decided. ALL I had to do was pick out the fabric I wanted. We would go to market the next day.

The conversation turned back to Christof and his human ancestry. His teeth had come in differently than the others had, perhaps that was why. They sat and contemplated what differences could be explained by this.

I sat quietly with my bag. It was no big deal that it was "mine", I tried to convince myself. However I couldn't resist touching the stones in the bag. Soon, I found myself counting them. It was the first thing I had owned in a Long time and it felt surprisingly good.

We got ready for bed Later that night after I tucked my bag of stones next to theirs in the closet.

“We will give you more every lunar cycle," Christof told me. I touched the ornamentation that hung in the closet and wondered if I would have to buy it now. It was probably expensive.

“That is for us," Christof said touching the skirt that my hand had been on, "we will still buy it for you. The stones will buy you things you would like.”

“Thank you," I whispered to Christof as we all filed into the bedroom.

I lay down and heard the men settle quickly. They started to snore lightly within a few moments. I Looked at Evan sleeping peacefully next to me and smiled. The stones were a nice gesture, but it wouldn't buy any of us what we wanted. Freedom had a price tag none of us could afford. Still, what I had was more than any other slave had. I had to be happy and grateful.

The men were excited to go to market the next day. It wasn't the shopping that had them all happy. It was the stealth.

I couldn't speak around the shopkeepers, it just wasn't done. They would have to read my signals and barter for me. It was going to be a great game for them.

We walked into the crowded street and moved slowly through the vendors. The men slowed when we passed clothing vendors, so I could examine the wares. Finally, I saw fabric I liked.