I had no difficulty convincing Rebecca to act sooner than previously planned. The woman had been looking to stab every sibla on the estate from the moment she arrived. Though the wild one told me Dreda had taken a bit more convincing, she too acquiesced to my plans without much protest. All efforts to finalize our alliances and the details of the attack began to crystalize.

    Two days after my encounter with Dulane's respective "guests" I began my cycle and five days after that, I was sent to Gregory, as I knew I would be.

    "They are all eager to join us!" Gregory exclaimed once the door closed us into the small shed, so loud I gave him a cautionary frown. He smiled sheepishly, grabbing my hands in his own and bringing his voice to an excited whisper "Alice, you have done what I thought was impossible."

    But though the news and his enthusiasm filled me with hope, that elation curded almost instantly, my body stiffening as his arms wrapped around me in a tight embrace. He didn't seem to notice, and a moment later his lips were firmly pressed on mine.

    A shiver of disgust traveled along the length of my skin along with the cold feeling of dread I'd become so accustomed to in the breeding sheds. But I had invited this. I had called on him as an ally. Broken down the boundaries between us. He had done all that I asked and now I wasn't certain how I might now stop him from what I feared he had planned.

    "We have found where Everett stores the keys to the gun safe," Gregory said, thankfully releasing me of his own accord. Trying to hide the sigh of relief that slipped through my teeth, I allowed the man to lead me to the bed as he shared the details of his own successes but took care to sit just a bit farther from him than I might have otherwise, forcing my heartbeat to slow with deep breaths.

    I was grateful that Gregory's momentary lapse of control did not extend to our following trips to the breeding shed, though I found myself trying to keep as much distance as possible between us, preempting any further procreative attempts he might make.

     I did my best to push from my mind any discomfort in his presence. He and the other males were crucial to our success. And though I caught the looks of longing in his eyes when he thought I'd turned away, I took solace in the fact that our time together would ultimately be short.

    Meanwhile, Rebecca and Dreda worked in the nursery, using the time they spent alone in Dreda's quarters to work with the information I slipped to the wild one after my sessions in the shed, offering me further details to share with Gregory the next day. Of course, there was one detail I kept from all of my allies. The true reason I had chosen the date I had for Dulane's death.

    Magnus Kendrick

    I wasn't certain why I felt so much reticence in telling the others of his existence, or the kindness he'd shown me. Perhaps it was because I did not yet know myself what to make of it. And if I could still not process the idea of a sibla man possessed of compassion having seen it myself, I couldn't imagine someone like Rebecca or Dreda might be able to do so. It had been hard enough to convince Dreda that the breeding males were our true friends and they were human! Still, as the days flew recklessly by, bringing us closer and closer to our moment of reckoning, I could not push Kendrick from my thoughts.

    Was the momentary kindness all in my mind? I wondered. Even if it was sincere, what ramifications would my concern for Kendrick have for our revolt?

    Magnus was a sibla. A farmer of human flesh. We had already determined we would end the lives of every sibla on the estate, man woman and child. Though I would use Dulane's assassination attempt against the man as a moment to strike, I could not quite imagine how Magnus might avoid becoming a casualty of our murderous rage himself. And perhaps that was what he deserved. Surely any who bred and harvested humans was culpable in the same crimes as all sibla.

    I tried my best to focus on my work during the day, allowing myself to let my mind wander only to ensure I had mapped out every detail of the kitchen and house in my mind. The back stairs I would use to escape should I succeed in ending Dulane, the fireplace where explosives would be placed to ensure the main house would burn quickly. Others would be standing by, waiting to incinerate the structure once it was confirmed I was free along with the rest of the humans who worked in the main house.

    Conflicting emotions filled me as I allowed reality to sink more firmly into my conscious. I was committed to ending my Master and making him pay, but I could not help but feel a certain sadness at the realization that in a matter of days, everything I had ever known would be destroyed.

    The beautiful parlor Lina had so loved to clean but had ultimately led to her demise. The kitchen I had seen as refuge back in my childhood, cooking along side my Mother and Lexia but later brought be so much pain under Rin. The larder, stained with my child's blood... So many memories both good and bad haunted me. Soon all evidence of the places where they'd been formed would be reduced to dust.

    Ashes to ashes.

    It was a phrase my mother used to repeat when she spoke to me of the inevitable end all humans would face.

    "Nothing is permanent," she'd say. "Everything in this life will one day be no more. Not even the silba are immune to death."

    I was determined to prove her words, willing to destroy everything for my revenge. But in the night, doubts plagued me.

    After my quick conferences with Rebecca, exchanging what information we could, affirming that our preparations were going as planned, the wild one took to her bed and seemed to sleep almost instantly. She told me that the rebellion had finally returned peace to her soul. The woman gave her sincere thanks for my actions to finally bring down the monster that owned us both.

    But though I had come to trust Rebecca, I could not help but keep in mind the realities of our relationship. I had once destroyed her. She was ultimately giving thanks for the death of my child, the only thing that had moved me to action. Both of these truths could never be erased. And then there was her untroubled sleep.

    I envied the contentment she had found in dreams of blood. As I lay on my threadbare cot my mind would not rest. While Rebecca was so certain of our success, I could not help but think of all the horrors that might befall us should we fail. If our dissent was uncovered too early, every single human we had encouraged to pledge our cause would face a painful end. Dulane and Everett would make certain of that.

    Even if we did succeed, our fates were so uncertain. Rebecca had already told me of her intent to fight until the blood drained from her body.

    "They will never take me alive this time," she'd said, entierly resolved to make this reality so. "I will die with weapons in my hands, cutting through as many as I can. I will breathe my last bathed in sibla blood."

    But I did not hold the same level of blood lust. Moreover, Dreda had extracted a vow from my lips that would not offer me that same option as the wild one, selecting death in battle. She'd begged me to attempt freedom. I wasn't certain I even knew what that was. I had heard some of Rebecca's stories as Dreda had, but I couldn't quite imagine what it would be like to live such a life. To be my own Master.

    "You were never meant to be a slave"

    Dreda's words echoed in my mind. She had such faith. Just as Lexia had held when she declared me different than all other humans. I couldn't quite reconcile these lofty expectations with my vision of myself. I was nothing. That lesson had been beaten into me too many times to question.
   
With Mary's death, I'd been certain death was now in my near future as well. And most likely it was. The dream of escape was a fantasy, and one I wasn't so certain I wanted at all. It was far more likely I would die in my attempts to end the life of my Master. That he would overpower me, bring suffering upon me that was beyond imagining...

    And when I had finished my fears of the future, it was the eyes of Magnus Kendrick that visited my exhausted mind's preoccupation. Kindness, sympathy, concern. The memory of the momentary connection we'd shared and the messages silently conveyed in his cold gaze. This man would die if I did not intervene. I still wasn't certain if I could or even if I wanted to.

    Yes, his manner had been kind, but he was still a sibla man. One who had come to do business with the monster who owned my life. Perhaps he was a man of better character than Dulane, but that was hardly a high standard to meet. My decision as to his fate remained in flux within my mind, only adding to the myriad of worries to keep me from true rest.

——
    Five days before the rebellion, Rebecca and I left our beds at 3:00 am. Fearing that Dreda's summoning me again might draw suspicion and offer link between us, the nursery head decided instead to slip from her post to meet us at the dorms.

    All of the women in the secondary residence were already pledged to rebel when the time came, though details were kept from them. It would only take one betrayal to destroy everything. The less any individual knew, the better the chances of keeping our plans hidden. For that reason, we made certain all were asleep and remained so as we ventured out in the darkness to meet our most powerful ally.

    The cold night air nipped playfully at my exposed skin, but I did not regret my bare arms. Both terrified and feeling more alive than I'd ever felt before, I drank in the cold to refresh myself from the exhaustion that had been building over the previous two weeks.

    The sky was dark, clouds obliterating the stars and covering the moon, as if the earth herself was our ally, aiding our ability to meet undetected. Even Rebecca's hair was not bright enough to combat the blackness, the white puffs of moisture encapsulating our breath providing the only evidence of our presence in the silence of the hour. And then we heard the sound of footsteps approaching.

    I felt the tension in the wild one's body echoed in my own as we froze, shoulder to shoulder, breath held until the figure grew close enough for us to make out the wisened features.

    "You were not followed?" Dreda asked as she joined us, voice little more than a whispered hush.

    Rebecca and I shook our heads.

    Dreda did not answer, only turning and walking into the black, expecting us to follow.

    The silent percussion lead us along the outskirts of the estate, just behind the nursery. My heartbeat quickened as I watched Dreda slipped into the cover of trees there. The forest along the border. I'd never dared go there in my whole life. To be caught in the woods was tantamount to suicide. If one was expected of running, a long, painful, and public death was certain to follow. Few were as lucky as Rebbeca to survive the experience. But I did not question. We were seeking to murder our Master. No other offense could compare now.

    "We do not have much time," Dreda said when she finally stopped, "an hour at most."

    Behind the canopy above us it was even harder to see through the darkness. Clearly Dreda had no intention of being caught.

    "Clarissa is watching the young and everyone else believes I am with her. Alice, give your report."

    No wasted words. It would have been jarring if I didn't know Dreda so well. If I didn't understand what was at stake. We were no longer friends or family. We were generals, posied to lead an army.

    "Enough of the kitchen and house staff are with us now," I said. "I will lace Madam's tea before I go to serve Dulane. Once she is incapacitated, dispatching her quietly will be easier. I do not beleive there are any among the humans who will fight us, but even if there are, we should be able to overpower them without much effort."

    It struck me how calmly these words left my lips. I was a being of hate and revenge now. There was nothing left of the Alice who might have hesitated to cause harm to another living creature. Madam and all the rest deserved to die for their crimes. My daughter's blood demanded answer and I would have it. Any humans that stood in the way would be destroyed as well. I pushed down the thought of Hattie. Our conversation in the infirmary. How I'd claimed to be her ally. Another human bound in suffering. It was the truth. No human was my enemy. We were all victims. But if they acted against their own, death could be the only answer.

    "I will handle Garen and her team," Deda said with equal emotionless composure.

    I wondered if she had any qualms murdering a woman who had protected her for so long. Then again, that same woman had helped slaughter and devoured so many of our own. In the end, that was what all amounted to. Us or them. This was a fight for survival. The older woman's resolve helped cement my own in a way I had not quite achieved yet in my sleepless nights.

    "Gregory has organized the men. They will handle their own overseers."

    "And Everett?" Rebecca asked.

    From her tone, I did not wonder that she herself had had dealings with the man similar to my own. I so wished I could be the one to end Everett's life. The vile creature that had inflicted suffering on so many. But I had more important tasks to attend and there was no way of slipping away unnoticed to dispatch the man I so hated. Gregory would take that prize. Of course, I was the one who would be granted the greatest reward. For my position as our Master's favorite plaything and ability to get close without suspicion,  I would have the responsibility and honor of taking down Dulane himself.

    "Gregory," I answered. "Everett is set to watch the males in the evening for the rest of the week. Dulane's guest should have arrived by the time his shift begins. Dinner will be delivered as if nothing is amiss. He will have no way of knowing that the entire estate is already fallen to us. We will ensure there is none who might give warning."

Dreda and Rebecca nodded and I tried to tamp down my guilt in keeping Magnus Kendrick from them. I would have to make the decision as to his fate on my own.

    "There is another matter we must discuss," Dreda said, interrupting my thoughts. "The infants will have no chance of escape. If we truly wish to free them, death is the only option."
    I shivered at her words though some part of me knew she spoke the truth. It was unlikely any of us would truly escape, but with babies in tow, there was no chance at all. There would be no way to properly evacuate the nursery, no way to run with crying children. Still, I had not considered the inevitable ramifications. Maybe I hadn't wanted to even begin to think about them. All of the infants. The young I had left behind when Mary had been returned to me...

    "I know Mariana kept a garden of herbs. That not all of those plants were medicinal. I assume she told you its location?"

    Rebecca and Dreda's eyes focused on me, I could feel the intensity of their gaze pressing into my skin even in the pitch black. Unprepared for this line of questioning I was entirely blindsided.

    I did indeed know of Mariana's garden. A small patch of land near the boundaries of the estate behind the main house. Innocuous enough in appearance to be overlooked as a collection of weeds and wildflowers. I had harvested herbs from there myself as remedy for aches and pains when my Masters would grant no medical relief.

But the darker uses of those herbs was somthing I had always avoided thinking on. Herbs that could end pain permanently. I'd never wished to allow myself what I saw as a coward's solution. Survival was the goal. I would never have encouraged death for another intentionally. And yet I could see Rebecca's hunger for such an answer. Perhaps feelings of betrayal that I had not offered her such a solution to her problems long ago.

    "Find me the right formula to set them into eternal slumber and I will administer it," Dreda said. "I know you have the skill to send them to heaven with no pain."

    A sick feeling welled in my stomach. But these children had been destined for early death since their conception. Never before had I been so willing to hope Dreda was indeed right in her faith. We would need the help of a divine power if our plan was to truly work after all. Could I agree to this unholy task and accept the idea of divine absolution for the sin of murdering innocents?

    "I know of these herbs yes," I said, stalling, looking to find another answer, "but surely we can think of some way to —"

    "I intend to feed my own child whatever you provide," Rebecca said, interrupting my attempted protests."  Dreda and I have spoken on this at length. There is no other option. You will end their suffering before it can truly begin and all will be grateful. Their souls will be grateful."

    I could think of nothing to answer her. The resolution in the wild one's eyes was so clear. And if she was so willing to slay her own child, so convinced there was no alternative, what argument could I possibly offer?

    When I nodded again I knew what I was agreeing to. That I would do as they asked. I wondered what my mother would say if she could again be granted voice on this earth. If she could possibly support this use of her knowledge and skills. But perhaps I had never truly understood my mother in her time. I was too young. Too naive. Blind to the realities of the world to which I had been born. Now I would fight with my eyes wide open. Face that same world head-on, taking control of my fate wether to embrace death or freedom or some unknown I could not yet predict. I had no choice but to take on the ramifications of the plans I myself had set in motion. There could be no turning back now.

——-
No turning back! The rebellion is nigh. All the pieces are almost in place. One more chapter to go before all hell breaks loose on Friday 🔥🔥🔥