Another Ovrem hand caressed her smooth cheek, her face turning instinctively into the touch.  There was a time when the girl would literally bite the hand that fed her, the touches painful and mean.  Mother had learned the hard way not to touch the child.  Father was too scared to touch after what happened to Mother.  But not these touches.  The doctor and his son had good touches, wonderful touches, touches that showed how much they loved her.  And they did love her; she knew it to be a good sort of love.  Not the way Mother had loved her, in the way that she’d been punished for.<br/><br/>Up to her feet she went, guided and molded into place by her doctor, his partner to whisk and whirl out of the study.  Some food would be nice so she told him so but what food she did not know.  Years of her life had been spent eating gray glop slopped onto a partitioned tray with no choice in the matter.  Jarek could choose for her; he was wonderful at that.  Kell, too.  But he had been sent away.<br/><br/>That thought darkened her pretty features but only briefly.  The sight of the flaxen-haired man brought a smile to her face.  John’s love was simple and pure.  The doll passed from hand to hand, a precious plaything to be shared amongst the three men.  Each one with their own kind of love for her, each one wanting to claim her for their very own.  And yet she was none the wiser.  They loved her and she loved them.<br/><br/>Small feet were forced to scurry along the polished floors as John pulled her away from Jarek.  “I’m so glad to be here too.  I’ve been waiting for this day for so many years and now it’s finally here.”<br/><br/>Their journey through the halls and up the stairs and down another hall soon led them to a closed door.  She hesitated briefly, glancing up at her companion for reassurance as she reached for the golden knob.  Her fingers wrapped around it and turned.  The wooden door painted white opened silently on well-oiled hinges.  The room hidden behind the door was wondrous, so vastly different from the small cell she had called home for who knows how many years.<br/><br/>Her hand slipped from John’s, her fingers trailing like angel kisses across his palm as they escaped from his grasp.  Into the new cell she went, her steps silent on the plush carpet.  Before her lay a room designed for a pretty little doll.  Giant four-poster bed made of dark wood with a canopy of white lace.  Yards and yards of white lace to be clouds in her dreams.  Snow white bedding to accentuate her beauty as she slept.  A small table and two chairs in the far corner, an armchair set beneath the large window, and books.  Shelves and shelves of books just for her.  Words just for her.<br/><br/>The words were the most important thing; words had power.  Her minder was promptly ignored as Lotte headed for the books.  This time the simple lover’s caresses became much more.  Her fingers were greedy as they pulled one from the shelf, flipping through the pages of the Lord’s book.<br/><br/>“<i> ‘Behold, I have come to you now.  Am I able to speak anything at all?  The word that God puts into my mouth, that I shall speak.’ </i>”  She read to him from Numbers, her fingers tracing along the lines of text on the paper thin pages.  “I shall speak it, John.  And they will love me.  We offer them the truth.”  The book was closed gently and placed reverently back on the shelf.  This book god knew she spoke the words and the good doctor loved her words.<br/><br/>A soft rap of knuckles on the wooden door drew her attention to the middle-aged woman bearing a tray of food.  The mouth-watering smells drew her to the tray like a moth to a flame as the plump woman carried the delectables to the small table and set them down.  “You let me know if you need anything.  John’ll know how to reach the kitchen.”  With that and a small bow, she swept from the room, her long skirt swirling around her ankles.<br/><br/>The doll settled on one of the chairs, perched on the edge as she lifted the metal cover from one of the plates.  Delicious scents tickled her nose and brought a delighted smile to her face.  Food to feed her body, words to feed her mind, love to feed her soul; there was nothing else she could ask for.<br/><br/>“Do you know when the ritual will take place?  They haven’t told me that part yet.” Asking as she lifted a bite of chocolate cake to her lips.  There was no one to tell the pretty girl she couldn’t have her cake and eat it too.  A bit of chocolate frosting stained her fingertip so she brought it to her mouth to remove the offending sweetness, her eyes searching his face as she cleaned her finger.  “You will be there, won’t you?  Close to me?  To help me stay strong?”