Come on, guys!  Not even one little post?  A favor?  A last request of a dying thread?

Mattie followed Sthris/qi-se back to the throne room.  The table was there, with her father at the head of it, and Jane and the boys along the sides, all eating.  Some Sters/ki-ko moved along the table, pouring milk and cereal, and orange juice, and dishing out waffles and butter and jam.  Mattie sat down at te table, saying "Good morning."

"Hello, my daughter," said the king, sounding pleased, though his voice broke off into a cough.

Mattie started to eat her waffles.

She finished her waffles.

She started her cereal.

She finished her cereal.

She started her apple, which was cut into slices.  No one had spoken.  The silence was awkward, horribly so.  But she didn't know what to say.  Occasionally her father coughed again.  He seemed to have only a mild cold.

Mattie finished her breakfast and sat there, not knowing what to do or say.  Pretty soon everyone was done. They sat there a moment, then the king sighed noisily and got up, clapping his hands three times.  The doors opened again.

Three new slime machines were led in.  They moved over to the king and bowed low.  He folded his arms.

"You will teach this girl my daughter," he said.  "I permit you three to speak to her until her training is complete.  She is to learn all necessary things for ruling Sters."

The three hissed softly, bowing again.  Mattie got up hesitantly.  Her father gestured impatiently at her, as if to say, "Go!  Go on, leave with them!" Mattie followed the three out of the throne room.

They led her down corridors into a metal elevator like the one she'd come in. Her stomach turned over at the memory, and the ride was indeed somewhat nauseating, but it was better.  Either she was getting used to it, or she was simply less frightened this time.  This time they seemed to go even deeper underground.  The elevator stopped once and another slime machine got on, eyeing Mattie curiously; she was rather disgusted at sharing such a small space with so much slime, but she couldn't do anything about it.  Finally the elevator stopped and the three first slime machines left, with Mattie following.

As they went down this hallway, she watched the way they moved.  They didn't have legs, rather a mass of tiny slimy tentacles.  The tentacles all moved at once, taking little steps, swarming over the ground.  The floor was slippery with a thin layer of slime, but Mattie's shoes didn't slip.  They must be a special substance, she thought. But then she had no more time for thinking, because the three turned a sharp left into a room, and as Mattie passed through the door, it snapped shut, the lights came on, and the three sat down on brown armchairs.  One gestured Mattie to a green-painted stool with a brown seat cushion.  Mattie sat on it gingerly, as if it migt explode.

"Do not be afraid," said the left slime machine.  "We will not hurt you."

"We are here to teach you," said the right slime machine.

Mattie nodded, though she was still rather apprehensive.

"What is your name?" said the middle slime machine.  "We may as well get the formalities over with."

"Mattie," she tried to say, but her voice didn't sound.  She cleared her throat.  "Mattie."

"I am Spon/yi-ser," said the middle one.

"And I am Svir/tes-ma," said the left one.

"And I am Scaith/us-i," said the right one.

"Okay," said Mattie.  "I hope I can keep you all straight.  You're Scathe/us-si, and you're Sveer/te-sma, and you're... Spoon/yis-sar?"

The slime machines seemed to chuckle.  "Not quite," said the right one.  "Never mind, Mattie.  You will learn as we go on."

Now will someone post???  Come ON!  It can't be that hard!  One sentence, even?  Even just one sentence?  Puhleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeze????