She woke slowly, groggy and feeling like there was something wrong.  Something wasn’t right.  The bed was too soft, the blankets too cozy.  And it smelled like…her nose wrinkled.  It smelled like wet earth, like it had just rained and the plants were growing.  But that wasn’t possible, she was onboard a ship and there was no rain or dirt or plants.  Before she could figure out what was going on, something else happened, a soft voice whispering that she should sleep some more and a sweet smell.  It reminded her of….

The next thing she knew she was slowly waking up again.  This was new.  She slowly flexed her feet, wiggling her toes.  Yep, this was certainly not her blanket.  Moving her fingers, she could feel a strange mattress underneath her, far softer than what she was used to.  The pillow under her head felt even better.  It smelled differently as well, that strange wet dirt smell.  She blinked, squinting the dim lights in the room as she got used to them.  She looked around slowly.  It looked like a nice room, soft lights and two big chairs.  There was something that she needed to think of, or do.  She wasn’t sure, and then realized that it didn’t matter.  Whatever it was, she’d remember it eventually. 

She closed her eyes, and the next thing she knew, it was later.  She didn’t know how she knew, but she did.  Maybe because the ever-present feeling of exhaustion was slightly gone.  Or maybe because her stomach was rumbling.  Or her bladder felt full.  Or the lights were a bit brighter.  Her head still felt fuzzy, but decidedly less so than before, and she tried to rub it, and that’s when she felt them.  Her wrists were restrained with some sort of material.  She could move them closer to her body slightly, but that was it.  Same with her feet, she found to her dismay when she tried to move them.  And what was worse, she could feel something around her wrist, some sort of band.  She didn’t know what it was, but she had images of exploding collars like in that old movie she saw.  Or worse, this one had ports so they could drink her blood.  There were bandages wound around her palms, she could feel them.  Oh gods, maybe it had happened already, visions of long vines turning red as they drank her blood filling her mind.  Fussing, she whined, a sound deep in her throat, the kind an animal made when it found itself well and truly trapped.  And then a tone sounded from her arm, a small beep. 

Before she could move again, the door opened and two Affini walked in, talking to each other.  Arguing, maybe.  “I’m telling you, we need to find out if anyone else knows anything about those old games that she likes”, the first one was saying to the second one.

“Well, we could always ask some of the newer florets.  Perhaps they know.”

“That’s an idea.  We can see if Qiru or Autumn knows of any.  Maybe Mira’s pinnates know of some….”

“Are you kidding?  Darling, Autumn would have told us already if she knew of any.  I still think our best bet is to ask some of the newer florets and maybe some of the fishies.”

The voices stopped, but she kept breathing slowly, hoping that she could fool them into thinking that she was asleep.  She lay there for what felt like forever when she heard an odd sound.  It was a huffing sort of…if she didn’t know better, she would have thought that it was laughter.  She kept on breathing, and then it came again, but now from the other side.

“Little one, do you really think that fools us?”,  a musical voice said gently.  “We know that you’re awake and that you can hear us.  Can you open your eyes for me, please?”  She whimpered and tried to dig herself deeper under the blanket, but there was only so far that she could go restrained as she was.  She shook her head, panic beginning to make her chest hurt, and she pulled on the restraints, trying to get them off.  Of course they didn’t go anywhere.  Another small beep sounded from underneath the blanket, and she turned pale and whimpered, nearly soiling herself with fright.

“Shhh, it’s ok, little darling.  You’re safe, nobody is going to harm you.  What HAVE those silly fish been telling them?”, the other one said to the first one.

“All sorts of nonsense, I’d imagine.  Little flower here is all stressed out about nothing.  We’re going to take very good care of her, she just doesn’t know it yet.”  The first one gently drew the covers down a little so that they could look into the blotchy, tear-ridden face of the Terran who squeaked and tried to hide.  “Shhhh, it’s ok, little one.  This is Ilex”, it said, motioning to its comrade. 

“And this is Hesperia.  And it’s true, little darling.  You’re safe now from all those things that happened before.  There’s no need to cry”, she said quickly as the Terran screwed its face up and began to cry again.

“Shhhhhh”, Hesperia said, and a vine reached out with a tissue and gently wiped her face.  The Terran shied away, whimpering, prompting a soft sound that was meant to be comforting.  Clearly, the Terran didn't find it comforting at all, based on what she said next. 

“Please…please don’t kill me…please”, she begged, anxiety making her heart race.  Of course they would tell her not to cry.  Probably spoiled the taste of the meat, or something.  Now that she thought about, she got even more anxious.  As she whimpered, they spoke again, vines rustling.

“Kill you??”, Ilex said.  “Oh no, darling, never.  You’re safe now.  Promise.  Why would we bring you all the way here, take all the trouble to keep you alive and fix those nasty cuts you have if we were just going to kill you?”

She stared up at the Affini, panting as the words sunk in.  “The…cuts?”, to which Hesperia nodded. 

“Oh yes.  Quite a bit of them.  There’s no shame in them here, darling”, Ilex said.  “but we can’t let you harm yourself anymore.  That is very specifically not allowed, and whatever caused you to do them, well…we can fix that.”

“We’re here to help”, they both said at the same time.

She looked at them both, and began to sob again.  Now that she looked down a bit closer, she could see that she was wearing…well, it looked almost like sleep shorts, but they were softer than anything she’d ever worn.  And her upper thighs were bandaged, with something greenish underneath them.  And her wrists had a black band on it.  Right now a yellow light on the right one was blinking fast, and she realized with a bit of numb shock that it was some sort of cardiac monitor.  In fact, her ankles had one as well, and all of them were blinking.

“Oh, darling, no.  No more crying, you don’t need to be afraid or sad anymore.”  Right, because they were going to mind wipe her into one of those husks that she’d heard of.  Send her off for slave labor, or something. 

“But we DO have some questions.”  And there it was.  They wanted something from her.

“For starters, little Terran, can you tell us your name?”

She looked up at them, confused.  “My…name?”, she said with a sniffle.

“Yes, darling”, Ilex said.  “Somehow, every single little fishie that we caught on that ship has a name and paperwork about when and where they signed up.  Skills and all.  But not you.  Yours seems to be missing.  An oversight, I’m sure.  But we can’t very well just keep on calling you ‘little flower’ for as long as you’re here.  Well, unless you want us to”, Ilex said, grinning at her.  “We can do that as well, if you’d like.”

“My…name”, she said, starting to sniffle again.  Not wanting to say it, not wanting to be known as that.

“Yes, little flower”, Hesperia said, coming over to dry her tears again.  “That thing that people call you.  Because we also don’t know a thing about you.  Where you’re from, what you’re allergic to, what medicines you might need.  How best to make you happy, to invert that frown upside down, as you Terrans like to say.  Like right now, I can see that you’re really anxious and upset.”

“No idea why.”

“So sometimes, we would get you some of your Terran medications to help you feel better”, the Affini said, ignoring the comment.  “If you don’t want that, we could try some of ours.  Affini medications are almost always better.  But that’s putting the salmon before the cart.  We need your name first, little flower.”

She shook her head so fast she almost got dizzy, and heard another small beep from somewhere on her body.  So the bracelet could do things.  Hopefully not explode or cut off her brain functions or drug her.  She didn’t need them drugging her.  No no no.  That was the way to becoming some husk of herself. A far more insistent beep sounded, and Hesperia sighed, and gentle rubbed her foot, prompting a squeak and an ineffective attempt at a shuffle away from the tall vine-creature.

“Ok, then.  No medications, darling.  Not yet.  But I really need you to try and calm down for me.  Can you do that, little flower?  If you can, then you don’t need any medications.  Can you take some deep breaths for me?”, she said, and to the Terran, she sounded concerned.  Caring.  That was a lie, since if they were, then why kill all those people?  But she still wouldn’t get anywhere if they drugged her, so she tried to calm down.  Breathing in squares as she was taught, calming down.  It took a few minutes, but the Affini seemed to have all the time in the world, looking at her with those odd bark-like faces and cooing.  Taking a second to look at them, the girl could see that her first impressions were correct.  They looked like…like bundles of vines, covered in different types of flowers.  And their faces were these…these animated…it was like watching tree bark move.

Ilex shuffled and …and they stuck a hand inside themselves, making her squeak again, and rummaged around, pulled out a tablet.  Tapping on it, she nodded and smiled.  “Good job, little flower.  Good girl.” 

She hated…not the term.  That made her want to smile.  No....she hated that the second time that someone had said it and meant it was here.  An Affini.  Not one of her own people, not someone who was in her life and actually cared about her.  A plant alien.  And she was tied up, awaiting what could be her execution.  And the first time…unless her mind was going, it was while she was being trussed up like a sacrificial lamb.  And again, an Affini was the one who said it. 

“Can…ummm..can we skip the name for now and you just tell me whats going to happen to me?  Which mine am I being sent to?”

They looked at each other and sighed.  “Darling, you’re not going to any mines.  Why send anyone when we have robotics to do all that?  We DO, however, have a bit of an issue, dear one.  So normally, when we rescue you total cuties, we have to figure out who goes where.  Now, the really nasty fishies get enrolled into the Domestication Program as per the Treaty on the Methods, Limitations, and Procedures for Human Domestication.”

“Wait..without…it just happens?  What’s that?”

She whimpered as Hersperia nodded.  “That’s correct.  They don’t get a choice.  The worst ones get put on…well, let’s not discuss that.  I’m quite sure that our little flower here won’t end up there.  She’s just too cute.  But in short, the florets get matched up with an Affini who will care for them and shower them with unconditional love and adoration.  It REALLY is a turn for the better for most.”

Ilex nodded, smiling gently at her as a vine-like hand gently rubbed her knee over the blanket.  “Now, then, little one.  Here’s where you need to pay close attention.  Can you do that for us?”

Breathing hard, the bracelet giving a soft beep, she nodded.  Ilex smiled.  “Good!! Good.  So…here’s where you get tricky for us.  You were found on a rebel ship, which usually makes an enrollment in the Domestication Program an open and shut case.  Especially since this was a ship that was actively trying to fight we Affini.”

She trembled, the beep sounding again as her anxiety rose.  “BUT…you ….you don’t understand.  I…I”, and she gasped, trying to get the words out.  “I…I never joined.  I was..I was drafted.  Kidnapped from my home.  Forced onto the ship and they…It was work for them or get vented.”  She looked at them both, tears beginning to drip from her eyes again.  “you have to believe me!! I had no choice!!”

“So what you’re saying is that you never signed up to fight the Affini Compact, little flower?”, Hesperia asked.  The girl shook her head.  “Well…that could be why there’s no paperwork for her, Ilex.”

“You may be right, Hesperia.  But..and here’s the next twist, little cutie.  You fired a weapon at an Affini, in an attempt to harm her.  THAT alone would get you Domesticated.  And then when you ran out of ammunition, you attempted to use your weapon as a club.”  Ilex shook her heard, making a small sound of dismay.  “But”, and Ilex sighed again.  “This is where it gets interesting and it makes for a lot more paperwork.  Which is a good thing, since there’s nothing we love more besides you adorable florets than paperwork.  The Affini in question, Gladialis Dulcisa, Fourth Bloom, spoke to the board about you.  She told them that you were acting to protect three sick and defenseless  Terrans, in the mistaken belief that they were in danger.  That your main concern was for their health.  So the board, after they finished all cooing and aww’ing at your bravery and overall cuteness, has made a decision.”

“Oh gods”, she moaned, her anxiety spiking.  She was going to the mines.  Or worse, they were going to liquefy her and drink her.  This was it, she was going to die.  A sudden loud tone from the bracelet had her whimpering as a cool feeling rushed up her arm.  A slight dizziness preceded a wave of...it was like when she’d taken her meds at full strength, but this was stronger.  A tidal wave, rather than a slow stream.  And so incredibly fast that she barely knew what was happening.  Her anxiety suddenly vanished under a warm blanket of what must be drugs, and even the sudden fear that her brain was going to melt vanished before she could take another breath.  She toppled over, a truly amazing feat considering the fact that she was already laying down and just lay there, staring at the ceiling, trying to remember what was going on.

“Well…I guess we can come back later, since that looks like it hit her hard”, she heard someone say.  “But look…don’t they look so adorable?”, the voice said, and then something touched them.  It was…it moved on its own and it was warm, and it lit her skin up like…she didn’t have words.  But it felt amazing and good and nice and she made a sound as it withdrew.  Who made that sound?  She didn’t know.  The bliss the things had brought was gone, but suddenly her skin rubbed against something that felt even better and she made a mewl as she moved, letting it rub on her.

“No, Hesperia.  No fawning over this one like you did with Serena.  OR Autumn.  OR Tamara.  Leave her alone.”

“But she’s so cute”, the voice said, and the Terran blinked, wondering who they were talking about, a small goofy smile on her face.  She wished she could see the…what were they talking about?  Who was talking?  “And we might need to change the dosage.  We don’t know anything about her, she might just be a bit sensitive to this dosage of Class-A’s”, the voice said, moving farther away.  Not that the girl on the bed cared, since there was an interesting pattern of light on the…what had she been looking at again?  Then she fell asleep, and knew no more.