I had to stifle a smile. "Will you be learning to dance?" I asked.

Bane wrinkled his nose at the idea, Damien snorted, and Evan stood up. I watched with amazement as he displayed some of my characteristic moves. It was the most unusual thing I'd seen in a long time. Evan rolled his stomach and shifted his hips in a perfect replica of what I did.

“It's not hard," he told me sitting back down, “but no one enjoys seeing me do it the way we enjoy seeing you do it.”

I was speechless for a moment and couldn't think of a thing to say to them.

"Then did you figure out how to do that?" I asked amazed.

‘The mountains were boring," Evan told me, “it gave me something to do."

I tried to imagine Evan standing in the sorting room full of men learning to roll his stomach. It seemed improbable.

“Eat," Bane said holding a piece of food to my mouth.

I took the chunk silently and pondered the circumstance. The men weren't kidding. I really was family.

The next morning I got brave with Evan. As he prepared to clean me, I made a request.

“I don't want to wear the plug today," I told him boldly.

Evan faltered and looked quizzically at me.

“You need it," he explained. "If my Brother uses you, it will harm you if you are not prepared."

While he argued Evan stopped moving. Unlike the last time we had this conversation, he was waiting for me to agree with him and not assuming I would.

“I will choose," I offered, “and wear it some days. Today I am not in the mood to have it in."

Evan looked confused for a moment and then he shrugged. "Fine by me," he said turning on the shower, “just Let me know the days you want it."

I felt like it was a choice the whole world could hear. My head was spinning with the power he gave me. Evan loved the plug, as much as I hated it. I wanted to offer him a compromise.

“Tomorrow I will wear it," I promised him stepping under the spray of the water.

He seemed unconcerned as he grinned and bathed me.

The Keeper's was an anxious place today. The men who owned humans always relied on others to carry out punishment. It made discipline complicated and time consuming. The men only punished large infractions of their rules after a while. Now that was going to change.

“Why didn't you warn us?" Rose wailed pacing.

“I didn't think about it," I told her honestly.