* Another important character is coming! You have met her briefly before but now she becomes integral to the story. This character really helped shape the Alice of After Humanity. Dreda reappears!

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    As day passed to night I staid in the breeding shed where Mary had been born. The child was permitted to remain by my side in a bassinet and one of my birthing assistants was allowed to stay, ensuring my daughter and I were watched for any potential dangers that might befall a new mother and her child. In spite of the fact that I had carried three other babies to term, I did indeed feel the part of a woman giving birth for the first time. Never before had I been allowed to hold one of my young, to bring their warmth close to my body, to feel their mouth on my nipple, suckling and taking nourishment as they were meant to.

    The little life was so small and fragile in my arms I feared I might break her, yet some motherly instinct must have overtaken me. I managed to feed and comfort her cries without much aid. It was lucky that this was so. I knew any complication with this birth, any imperfection perceived in the child, might void my Master's promises all too quickly.

    That night, when my baby had succumbed to sleep and my aide assured me it was safe for me to rest as well, I drifted off with a smile on my face. In my mind I could picture my mother's spirt shining down on me, proud of the child I had brought into life. Promising to watch over us from above. The dream was so pleasing, I slept deeper than I had in years.

    The sun was already risen when I woke again, its pale light creeping through the dirty windows of the cabin and forcing my eyes open. It took me a moment for my mind to recognize my unfamiliar surroundings, but the moment I did, I felt a lurch of fear in my heart. There was another in the room with me. Not the aide I had been left with. An unidentified woman there, greying hair, a slender build, holding my child in her arms.

    "Mary!" I called out my daughter's name in confusion and fear. "My daughter. Where is my daughter?"

    But as the figure turned towards me recognition filled my conscious.

    "Hush," Dreda said, gently rocking my child in her arms. "She's nearly calmed again. Worry not, Alice, Mary is just fine."

    My fear did not abate. It had been long since I'd had reason to interact with the woman who cared for the young of Dulane's flock. In spite of the help I'd offered her in the past, I wasn't certain of how much I might trust the woman. I'd done her no favors in some time. Without Lexia it had been impossible to offer help to any, myself included. But would the woman understand that? Was she resentful? The distrust on my face must have been transparent.

    "Would you like to hold her?" Dreda asked, walking to the bed and offering up the child. "I suspect she might be willing to take more milk now. I wanted to let you sleep earlier and gave her a bottle of formula, but that was a few hours ago."

    As I took my daughter back, I was filled with confusion. Why would Dreda be here? She was in charge of all of the young, a human with true status. Why would she have taken the time to watch over me and my daughter? But as my infant took hold of the proffered nipple and began suckling, I saw only joy in the older women's expression as her smile rained down upon me.

    "Congratulations, Alice," she said. "The child is truly beautiful and so sweet. Much like you were as a baby. And I can practically feel your mother here with us again in Mary's features. You chose her name well. I was overjoyed when I learned your place in the kitchens had been restored, but now this?" she nodded at my daughter. "Truly a blessing from above."

    "I..." I said, trying to form an appropriate response in my mind, "thank you." I watched as Dreda grabbed a chair and pulled it up beside me.

    "I imagine you have some questions," she said. "I'm sorry I can not stay long. Another will come to check in on you soon and I am to take the baby back to the nursery. I managed to convince my overseer to give you a few more hours by your daughter's side, but she will be expecting me soon."

    Fear overtook me again and I pulled my child closer, though I knew my efforts to resist Dreda's authority would be futile.

    "Don't worry," she said, placing a hand on my arm reassuringly. "Master Dulane himself gave instruction that this little one was to be well cared for. He is committed to seeing her raised as your replacement one day. I promise, no other will touch a hair on her head without my approval. When she is old enough to be placed in the main dorms she will be returned to you permanently."

    I nodded, trying to take comfort in her reassurance though I had no desire to let the infant out of my sight.

    "Trust me that this is for the best," Dreda said, her expression becoming more somber. "Just as you trusted me in the past. Enough to answer my pleas for aid."

    I bit my lip, feeling guilt overtake me. I had abandoned the others on the estate when I lost my place. I had not been willing to risk my own safety since my station had been returned.

    "I'm sorry I have not been able to help as I used to," I answered self-consciously, but Dreda only shook her head in response.

    "I know how much you have done for all those on the estate," she answered, "You and your mother. Mariana was a good woman. I was sorry to lose her. Even sorrier to see the state you fell to after Lexia left us. Your efforts have not gone unnoticed, Alice, and you are not without friends. Please believe that."

    I nodded slowly, trying to accept her words of comfort. It had been so long since I had reason to trust that any allies remained to help me.

    "I am sorry I could not reach out before now," Dreda said, her regret seemingly genuine. "But with this young one as link, perhaps you and I can come to know each other better."

    I resisted the urge to pull away as she reached out to stroked Mary's arm. The baby continued to suckle peacefully but my experiences had made me wary of trusting anyone. I wondered what Dreda would wish for in return for caring for my child so well as she promised. The woman was perceptive. Seeing my expression she withdrew her hand from my child and instead took hold of my shoulder, forcing my eyes to lock with her's.

    "I swear to you I am your ally," she said. "I will ask nothing of you that might endanger your place again." She smiled as she released her grasp. "You may not remember this, Alice, but I cared for you as a child as well. Even Lexia was not willing to allow your mother to tote an infant with her to the kitchens. It was I who fed and looked after you until you could be assigned to work with Mariana. I was grateful for the task even then. Your mother and I were not so distant in age. I was a kitchen helper before I was transferred to work with the young."

    Dreda's words surprised me completely. My earliest memories did not extend back before the time where I was granted work in the kitchens. Was it possible what she said was true? I knew the woman was quite old now. It was much talked about as Dulane seldom kept any human so long.

    "Did you know it was your mother's insistence that gained me my current position?" Dreda continued, clearly intent on earning my trust. I stared at her in confusion.

    "I was only fifteen at the time. I had been transferred to work in the nursery after the birth of my first child a few weeks before. All said I had a knack for caring for young and the nursery overseer requested my aide. When your mother was granted the right to keep you for herself she demanded that I be the one to raise her baby and Dulane never could say no to his favorite human. Not in her youth when her beauty dazzled all.

    "I took my responsibility seriously, caring for you like my own. You even nursed at my breast, though my own daughter was sent to receive formula with the other market stock. Sadly, she was born larger than most. Slaughtered at five months of age for our Master's table she was never even granted a name. But you, you lived on. It meant everything to be given a child to care for. A baby destined to survive. I loved Marianna with all my heart for offering me such a gift."
   
My mouth hung open as she revealed these truths to me. Why would my mother have kept such secrets? Dreda must have anticipated my skepticism.

    "It was my successful care of you that ultimately earned me a permanent place in the nursery," she explained, "but I think your mother feared, if you knew of my part in your upbringing, you might seek me out. She never wished to take the risk of connecting us. Any true friendships or bonds are a threat to our overseers after all and always have been."
   
I knew it to be true. My mother had always warned me against showing too much affection for another human. It was all too easy for such bonds to be used against us. Overseers were known to exploit love as a punishment to keep us in line.

    "Give me the child," Dreda said, raising from her seat. "I have already stayed longer than I should and I don't want any to be suspicious that I care for you or this baby more than another. Give me the chance to prove to you that I will love her like my own. That I will return her to you as soon as I am able."

    What choice did have? I let Dreda take the girl from my arms.

    "Another will be by to check on you and offer food soon," she said. "You have been granted a full day to recover at least, but I would advise you return to your work as soon as possible. There is a chance that, if you do so, Madama Rin will be more willing to grant you leave to visit your child. I will see you then, Alice."

    I nodded, though I did not return the smile Dreda offered. I was resentful that she would be the one to hold the baby when she was mine, but I knew too that the older woman's advice was sound. I could only hope that in following it my good fortune would not be taken from my grasp as easily as my child.