Dirt

I woke alone again the next day. I was up before the sun again, and was beginning to worry that I was getting old. Father had regularly been up before the sun, until recently I had never gotten up before the yellow monster and it wasn't that far after the longest day of summer.

My wives went out again after breakfast. They had not told me where they were planning on going but I wasn't worried. It was probably safer for them outside the house right now. More of the collars were activated but some of the slaves were still trying for the gold standard in hard headedness. While I trusted my brothers to keep the women safe, it would be easier once all the collars were activated. I spent most of the morning releasing slaves.

Around noon a priest and three men arrived at the house. The priests had a letter from the eldest of Estro, he pulled it out and started to read it to me but I stopped him before he started. The priest looked to the messenger with an expression that showed that he thought I was being silly.

I put the priest out of my mind as I read the letter. My sister had worked faster then I thought she could. The terms for the brothers had been great. Their debt was higher then what she had paid to acquire it. Their previous houses must have already written the men off and were just hoping they would die soon. One she had even gotten for a promise to pay 3 minus the number of matches the man fights in. Her letter also said that the other houses were now offering to unload their unwanted unbloodied if Estro was foolish enough to be buying.

Pretty good for only three days with only four more until I return to talk to their mother again. I looked up at the priest and he smiled like he expected me to admit defeat and give him the letter back. "Can you do me a favor, priest?"

"Of course that is what we are here for." I had moved the letter out slightly but pulled it back closer before the priest reached for it.

"I am surprised but I will be glad of the help, I need you to get a message to my women," I had almost said wives before remembering that the priest wouldn't know what I was talking about. "Please tell them that three of their brothers are here. I will let them visit tomorrow if they will take them. After that they will be too busy for a while." I felt the messenger's amusement. "Thank you, priest."

I tucked the letter into my pocket and turned to look at my three new brothers. "Come, we have things to talk about, brothers."

The messenger followed behind the three men as I walked through the house. Clearly they had heard of me from how tightly wound they were. They were in debt, they had no say in anything in their lives beyond the division of their winnings. Which is why they were still in debt, they could give their winnings away beyond the fees of fighting at all. They had not expected to be traded, no house would want them.

I found most of my brothers eating in what I thought of as the slave lab. I entered and all conversations stopped. My brothers looked with interest as the three men followed me into the room.

"Meet our new brothers. I am thinking of giving them the rest of the day to settle in. Tomorrow to find out what the hell is going on, and the day after to find out how good of a medic Travis is. Unless any of you have a problem with dirt sharing your floor that is. I just didn't think the slave room was right."

"Nah, alfa, there are more then enough rooms, dirt can share, though, if they grow into full brothers, then we can talk. Also no need for you to waste time sweeping the dirt around. I will show them where everything they need to know is and have them back down by dinner. If what you said is true, I cannot wait to see how they react."

"Should be fun. I do have other work to be doing." I sighed and headed back to the history book. It was still a struggle but I was powering through.

The sun was lower than I had meant to let it get when I headed back down to the dining room. All my brothers were gathered and they were talking while the three new men were watching. No one had a plate yet and no one was eating. As I entered, Isa entered the other door with a big tray, Bella was right behind her. It seemed like my brothers must have just decided not to wait for me.

The women set down the trays as slaves brought in more food and set the plates. The slaves left as soon as their jobs were done. They avoided the uncollared men as much as possible. None of the slaves could leave the house so there wasn't much place to hide from us. The aruas on the three men changed when they recognized their sisters. I moved around the table and took up my spot in the chair. Isa and Bella took a seat to either side of me, they seemed not to have noticed the three new men in the room.

"Bells, you did another great job with the meal. You should be careful or we will get used to being spoiled by you." Travis had quite a plateful of food. He always ate dinner like it was his last meal, then spent all the next day working it off.

"Right, then you will just have to keep my husband around for me, Travis." Bella rested her arm on mine and smiled. I felt the three men's emotions shift, very quickly. I raised a shield, it wasn't as strong as the one I had used in the arena, I wasn't dressed for fighting, at home. One of the men threw a plate and it shattered against the shield. I had expanded it to cover the two women who looked at the man who had thrown the plate in shock.

I am guessing they hadn't spoken with the priest that was supposed to give them a message about their brothers. The rest of my brothers were raised in the houses, they didn't understand the man's reaction at all and as a consequence they were slow to react, which was good for the boy. "Eyes here!" I raised my hand in the sign for wait. My brothers froze, Travis was the only one that had less then two months working with me but even he stopped.

The man who had thrown the plate was seeing red and not registering how much danger he was in. The other two seemed to notice something was wrong because they each put a restraining hand on their brother's shoulder. The hand Bella had placed on my arm was now covering her mouth. She had only just noticed her brothers and her emotions were flying in every direction. Her sister's were as well but I looked at her as she seemed to resolve hers faster. I had already gotten in the habit of thinking of Isa as the more submissive of the two women but her current action didn't show that at all.

Isa jumped up on the table and was over it in seconds while my brothers just looked at her in surprise, before looking back at me to see if my orders had changed. Isa hopped off the bench and grabbed her brother by the ear before he could properly react to her movements. She twisted and pulled his head down as he started to stand. "I know you are slow, Seb, but really! Do we look like we are in danger here? What the hell were you thinking? Oh, wait I know, you weren't, again."

The man did not pull Isa off of him. He could have, she was more on my size then his size. He also had his two brothers on each side but they didn't try to restrain Isa either. They actually seemed a little afraid of her. I folded my fingers down. Bella looked at me, I could see her worry and then relief as my brothers sat down. Travis was slower but he sat back down as well, as Isa released her brother's ear.

He was looking at her with shock. That was not what he had been expecting either. He put his hand over his ear as she released it, "Well!"

"He's-"

Isa stuck her finger under the man's nose and wagged it, "A better man then any rumors you might have heard in the houses could possibly tell you. You will not speak ill of him to me, or I will wash your mouth out with soap, again."

The man looked at the floor and his state of mind had almost completely changed, "Yes, sis."

My brothers were as completely confused by what had happened. They had spent enough time in the arena to know the danger had passed, but they weren't sure what started it or what had ended it. They were watching me, "Get back to eating before it isn't as good. When you are done go to bed. My wives, me and the dirt have a few things to discuss."

Bella was frowning at me but she didn't speak. Isa walked back around the table to take back up her seat to my right. Bella turned her frown at her. She pretended not to notice, the rest of the meal was much quieter and my brothers fled pretty quickly, some even taking their food up to their rooms rather than stay after some of their other brothers had left. I ate at my normal speed. I was never the center of conversation and that didn't change tonight. I had only gotten half way through my food when I noticed all my brothers had fled already.

Bella was only picking at her food. I looked over at her and swallowed what I was eating before speaking to her. "Is there something you wish to say to me?"

Bella looked up at me. She was wary but not frightened of me. "I am sorry for Seb's actions, he had to think I was in danger."

I grunted, "He didn't think at all, Bella. If he had he would've considered the consequences to you, Isa, him and his brothers, if I was like my brothers." I picked up another roll and toware it open. Picking out the insides.

Isa surprised me again by speaking up, "He is right, Seb didn't think at all. What if he had hit, Mir? The brothers would've torn them apart, and then if Mir had been killed by it? We are only shielded here by the terms of their last fight. That is only the surface of how that could have gone wrong." Isa was still angry.

"Breathe, Isa, it doesn't change anything. I am guessing the priest did not find you?" Isa looked from me to the messenger that was sitting next to the door. He had been around for so long I was almost not thinking about him.

"No, the only priest we saw today was the one that escorted us around town. I am guessing the first part of the message was that our brothers have been acquired as you promised." I didn't take my eyes off Isa as surprise came from the other three men.

"The second part was that I am only giving them tomorrow, after that they have to practice so that I can fight them. If you want them to visit you will have to take them tomorrow."

Isa bit her lower lip, "Do we have to wait until after breakfast to leave?"

"No, as long as you are back by sun down. I prefer you breakfast here but I won't make you wait."

Isa nodded, "I just know mother gets an early start and I would hate to have to spend hours trying to track her down."

"Just remember you are only allowed to take them if they keep at least one woman with them, and you are supposed to take a priest with you." I hated talking while I ate, it slowed me down even more.

Bella smiled at me as Isa nodded. They let me finish eating while they spent some time telling their brothers when they planned on leaving and what they would need. They both spent the night in my room, and they had some interesting plans on how to solve other problems.