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“Shortsighted,” Horas commented. “Humans would have more power and credence were they to unite under one superior government, one superior culture.”
“I don’t think we’re ready for that,” she said in a dry tone.
He held up another mouthful of food, but she shook her head. “I’m full, thank you.”
Horas gave her a close-lipped smile of approval and wiped her mouth.
“I can do that myself, you know. I’m not a baby. I’m an adult, a fully capable, rational, competent adult,” Evangeline said. “Furthermore I don’tlikebeing treated like a baby.”
Both males went still.
“You dislike our care for you?” Sarus growled, offended.
She backpedaled. “It’s not that I dislike you caringforme, it’s that I dislike beingtaken care ofas though I were incapable of it. I’m thirty years old and I’ve been taking care of myself for a long time. You don’t have to.”
“But you are so fragile,” Horas protested, running a fingertip down her slender arm. “Even though you have transitioned, you are delicate. I could rend your skin or break your bones with little effort.”
Evangeline squirmed on Sarus’ lap and refused to admit how much she liked the feel of his hardened cock as she rubbed against its covered length. “Let me down, please.”
He acquiesced reluctantly. She slid off and stood, although her knees wobbled. She distanced herself from their overbearing presence by a few steps, watching closely as they leaned toward her, ready to catch her should she in all her post-human fragility collapse and shatter like spun glass.
Taking a deep breath, Evangeline marshaled her thoughts and said, “Yes, you could hurt me–and badly–if you wanted, if you were careless. But that doesn’t mean I am not capable of doing things. My fragility relative to you does not render me incapable of skill or reason. I can feed myself. I can bathe myself. I can dress myself. If I fall, I can get back up.”
“Perhaps the literature I read was misleading,” Horas murmured. He shook his head as though trying to jostle his thoughts into some sort of order.
“How so?” she asked, still trying to be reasonable no matter how difficult it was getting.
“Even on Earth, males rule—”
Evangeline held up a hand. “In my country and in others, both men and women may govern. They have equal rights to vote, hold employment, and manage finances. Many women even fight for their countries.”
Both males looked horrified.
“Theyfight?” Horas gasped.
“Females do not fight,” Sarus declared. “No honorable male—”
“That’s the issue,” Horas interrupted with sudden insight. He leveled a sharp look at their mate. “Human males are not necessarily honorable, are they, little flame?”
Evangeline realized she’d lost control of the conversation. Again. She took a deep breath and admitted the truth: “No, not all human males are honorable.” At Horas’ expression of triumph, she added, “And I’m sure not all male Ahn’hudi are honorable either.”
Sarus nodded slowly. “You are correct.” He tilted his head to one side. “So, if the males of Earth have no honor, how do the females assert themselves?”
She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Many—probably most—human males are honorable, decent men. Really. Just like most Ahn’hudi males are good people. They treat women—er—females as their partners, not their … their … servants or pets.”
She decided she did not want to get into explaining the cultural variations that often put women in subservient roles in many human cultures. That wasn’t something she felt capable of distinguishing as aberrant to her culture when she was now captive to one that would align with that philosophy. For a second, she wished she had Louella’s pragmatic attitude, then wondered if Louella had been recovered from the Sivuul. She hoped so.
“On Earth, women may hold rank,” she continued with dogged determination to get her point across. “Human women operate fighter jets. They learn to use weaponry. Yes, they go to war and fight.”
“Barbaric,” Horas said.
Arms akimbo, Evangeline muttered, “I give up.”
“Good,” Horas said, scooping her into his arms. “You will not fight us. We do not wish to hurt you.”
“Disagreement is not fighting,” she said.
“No, but you will accept our direction and our decision in all things,” Sarus said. “Now you must rest. Your body is still weary.”
