The Ascension

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When Aila returned, she smelled something that made her mouth water. Once she was in the kitchen, the scent became even stronger.

"Mm, that smells nice, Kaala." Aila said, and looked at the stove. A large pot, and a frying pan were on the stove, with exactly as she asked for being cooked. Aila tilted her head. "Kaala, you know how to cook, right?" Kaala nodded.

"Yes, Master." She said.

"Okay. Maybe I've not been that clear. This is exactly as I ordered, but my cooking isn't that good. I want you to feel free to make good healthy meals, and ones that taste good as well." Kaala nodded.

"I know, Master. This does meet those requirements." She said. She watched Aila roll her eyes. "Master?" Aila came over, and to her surprise, she hugged her. "M-Master?"

"Kaala, thank you for helping me." Aila said. "I lost my parents not long ago, and don't know much about how to survive. I don't know how to cook, clean, or sew. I will be relying on you to cook from now on." Kaala sniffed as Aila sounded quite sad.

"Okay, Master. Um, is it alright if I change the way I cook the meals? I would like to try making bread. I can also make oatmeal in the mornings." Kaala felt herself get hugged a little bit more tightly.

"Thank you." When Aila released her and turned away, Kaala noticed how she had to wipe her eyes. She was correct when she thought Aila sounded sad. That made her realize she would have to decide what to cook, and not just rely on instructions.

"Ellie. Elena." Both girls were watching her, but their eyes popped wide open as she held out two dolls. "I have presents for each of you." She put the dolls in their hands, and watched Ellie start to cry. She hugged it to her chest, and held it protectively. Elena slowly put her doll against her chest, and held it gently. Elena looked up at her.

"Thank you, Master." She said. Even though she looked as old as Aila, due to the trauma they've both suffered, they needed to develop their personalities a lot more in order to mature.

"Yes, Master!" Ellie said happily. "I have a doll! My first present ever!" Aila sucked in her breath, and smiled sadly at the two girls.

The dolls were the first gift they've received in their lives. They were not even treated properly before they were sold, so this was the first time they could remember where they were able to freely express themselves.

"I need to go outside and cut up some lumber, girls. Nuri. Nadya, keep looking after them. At the back of the storage room, there is a chamber pot we'll use for our pee until I can fix the bathroom." Aila walked out, while Elena looked up at Nadya.

"She's sad." Elena said quietly. Nadya smiled, and hugged her against her massive chest.

"Yes, she is. Not only does she miss her parents, but she realizes how you and your sister were treated. You didn't make her sad. How you were treated did." Nadya said and felt the girl rub her cheek on her chest.

"Our Master is nice."

* * *

After the fifth large ironwood tree had been cut down, and cut up into logs, Aila moved them into the courtyard in order to shape them to her needs.

"Let me see. Six different women, two pairs of sisters, and two hefty ladies. Ellie will either sleep with her sister, or Nuri, and the same for Elena. Kaala and Shaala will sleep in the same bed for now." She pursed her lips.

"That means I need four beds. I can't sleep on a fur blanket on the floor, or they will get concerned that they are sleeping in a better bed." She had already understood that they would take a long while to overcome their training that was accomplished with a whip, pain and punishment, over the course of years.

"Nuri and Nadya seem to adapt more easily, while Ellie and Elena appear to be the weakest. However, Kaala and Shaala have that air about them. They expect things to change back to what they are used to soon." She sighed.

"The people on this world treat each other horribly. Why is morality here so twisted?" As with any world, whether Earth or Imera, humans have a natural corruptibility, and can make a rational and definitive choice.

The answer to Aila's question is simple. Why morality is so twisted is because every human has free will. When a family has an evil person as the head, they can corrupt the entire family, and that happens whether they are male, or female.

"Ugh, I better focus or these beds will never get done!" Aila cut one tree into quarters along the length, and squared each beam. These beams were long enough to make four posts. She cut another two large logs into planks, fused two posts to two planks, and used mortise and tenon joints so they could be strong. She grew these together so they were permanently fused, and would not separate. She made eight sets that she could use as foot boards and headboards.

She carried two sets in each hand into the house, and moved them into the main room. Once all sets were there, she cut two more logs into planks and took these inside.

"Master, what are you doing?" Nuri, Ellie, Nadya, and Elena were watching from the kitchen through the open door.

"You'll see soon enough." Aila smiled. She took one two inch thick plank, made the tenons on the planks and fused it into the mortise on the foot board on one side. She did the same for the other side.

"Nuri, you're the tallest. Can you stand near the door? I want to see how tall you are. Set Ellie on the bench before you try to stand, Nuri. Your legs are still weakened." Nuri nodded, and set Ellie beside her on the bench. Aila smiled, as Nuri didn't realize that she just moved a hundred pound girl quite easily. She was strong, but her body had not exercised, so she couldn't hold her weight up for long.

"It looks like I'm about a hand length taller than the door, Master." Nuri said.

"Thanks. Sit back down before you fall." Nuri obeyed, and watched as Aila took a plank and measured it out. She cut it longer than she measured, and cut eight different planks to that length. Soon, four different bed frames, minus the decks, were laid out beside each other.

Aila added cross framing, used life elements to grow the bracing together the same way she did with the main part of the frame. She laid dozens of planks along the length, over the frame's side to side deck framing. Aila smiled and used her water element, along with earth, to sand the surfaces smooth.

Thanks to the elemental essence, she only had to run it along the surface once to harden, and smooth it. Even the sharp edges were rounded easily.

"There. Now they just need some furs." She smiled at the ladies in the kitchen. "Know what they are yet?" Nuri blinked.

"They look like beds." Elena said, while the others were unsure.

"They are. I don't know what arrangements you'll use tonight. I believe that Kaala and Shaala will sleep in the same bed for the first while, so they have a bed together. In time, when I get enough rooms fixed up, you'll each have your own personal bed." She gestured to Nuri. "Come on. Try and sit down on your bed, Nuri." Ellie looked up at her.

"May I sleep in your bed tonight, Nuri?" She asked, as she was unsure their master meant what she said. Aila smiled.

"I actually hoped you and Elena would sleep with Nuri and Nadya for warmth. However, if you don't want to, you and your sister can share a bed." Ellie sniffed at her words, while Elena looked at her carefully.

"Master, you're not going to sleep with us tonight?" She asked. Aila shook her head.

"I may be your master, but intimacy is not your duty as my people. I have only a few rules. One. Sex is not demanded, expected, nor can you demand it of anyone. Two. Your actions can not bring harm to yourself, or anyone who is one of my people. Those are my only rules, or laws." Aila sighed a bit.

"In the future, you may feel comfortable enough with your sister, or one of the others, and want to have sex with them. That is allowed. It is not allowed to be demanded, and you will never be required to have it." Aila said and watched Nuri's eyes. They hadn't left the bench since she said one of those beds was for her.

"Master, I'm really heavy. They had stones propped up under the bed to keep it from breaking under my weight." Nuri said, but without sadness. Aila smiled.

"Nuri, this is ironwood." She heard a gasp. "This will last for decades, if not centuries. It will not break under your weight, or I will have made it poorly."

"Master!  Ironwood is an expensive wood!"  Nuri said in protest.  "We're slaves!"

"No, you were slaves.  Since I can kill stone bears, and iron tusked boars, why can't I afford to give my girls the best?"