All thoughts of the dark line were gone for the day. Seeing the lord of the manor was an exciting occasion, and Sam thought of nothing else for the rest of the afternoon. The fabric of his wide collared suit looked so decadent, unlike anything Sam had ever seen. He wondered if it was as soft as it looked. And the skin of his face, so smooth and pale, unlined by the ravages of the sun. Only Master Douglas had skin that approached how exquisite the lord's was, and that was because he spent all of his time indoors and used a special cream that the town herbalist made just for him. He mentioned his thoughts about it to Chiro at dinner.

"It depends on the family they come from. If his family's money is based in banking, then he might never go outside and just sit at his screen all day." Chiro did not seem to be as excited by the appearance of their employer. Sam remembered belatedly that Chiro came from one of the big noble families. He probably wasn't impressed by much. Sam's face fell.

Chiro noticed his friend's falling expression and cleared his throat. "It must have been ready odd to see someone dressed up so much in such a desolate place. And he actually walked into the kitchen instead of sending butler with the message?" His voice was more energetic, and he could see Sam perk up again.

"He did! He asked cook to make him rare steaks for dinner. It was all so weird. I have never seen cook nervous before. I guess he doesn't see the lord too much, either." Sam knew that Chiro was just trying to cheer him up, but he reveled in the fact that he had seen something that the other boy hadn't, and that Chiro had even said it was interesting. Sometimes, Chiro forgot that Sam didn't know all the slang and common words that peppered common speech, and when Sam had to admit that when he didn't know something, he felt barely an inch tall. For once, he had information that Chiro didn't have, and it felt good. That lasted for a minute before he had more questions to show he knew nothing about the universe. "Is that normal for the rich people, though, eating raw meat? We ate meat too raw and we got sick..."

"Not really normal, no. But the meat can be sterilized beforehand, uhm, killing off the bad stuff?" He smiled as Sam rolled his eyes. Clearly, he knew what that word meant. "I don't get why anyone would want to eat beef rare, though. Different people like different things."

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Sam waited for Chiro to say more, but nothing came. Chiro talked so much usually that when he was trying not to say something, his face would screw up, and his lips pinched as if to keep the words in. He had that pinchy look after he fell silent. His fork turned over his vegetables one by one before stabbing them and lifting the green things to his mouth. The slow movement of chewing, and then the lips were pressed together again.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked when nothing was forthcoming.

"I don't know yet. Something is sitting in my brain, and I can't ready remember it to know if it is important."

This reminded Sam of his big news, the news he immediately forgot with the meeting of the lord in the afternoon. "I think I know how I got here! I slept a little last night, and I had a dream. I think Master Douglas sold me off to someone. I remember sneaking out and going to his house, but there were strange men there, and Master Douglas was with them, and -"

"Shoosh," Chiro reached out and placed his hand over Sam's mouth, then pulled it back quickly with an apologetic smile. "You can't say stuff like that so loudly. I believe you, I had my thoughts on it, but slavery is illegal, so they won't like it if you are announcing that you were bought and drug here.

"I don't know if I was," Sam said indignantly. "I think I would have fought them if I was sold off and would have remembered going into ready space." He rolled the slang around on his tongue. Chiro said it all the time, but it felt weird coming out.

"Not if they drugged you." Chiro chuckled at Sam's affronted expression. "That's how they got me here without my seeing anything. It's why I woke up with such a massive headache that first day."

Sam relaxed his expression and nodded thoughtfully. He could still remember that horrible throb when he woke up. If he had been drugged, it would explain a lot...

"Hey, Sam," Chiro turned to face him and gave him the most serious expression Sam had seen him wear. "Don't tell anybody else what you think happened. Promise me."

He nodded his shaggy blonde head quickly. "I promise. Why?"

"I...I don't know yet. I just need to think about things some more."

And then dinner was over, and everyone was moving off to do their last tasks of the night, and Sam couldn't ask anymore questions.