“There are some things I would be happy about not knowing...”

-Silith

***Outer Rim***

***Silith***

I enter the living room and find Lisandra lying on the large couch in the middle of the room. My sister is snoring like an old engine which runs on fossil fuels, an invention which I came across during one of my visits to the V.C.

Shaking my head, I approach and pull on my sister's tail. If Antioch's and my plan worked out, then this should be the perfect moment to introduce Lisandra to the truth. Antioch made sure to have some quality time with her in the morning and we also allowed her to sleep in. I personally saw to it that Fiona is occupied with other things.

“Good morning, Sis. Time to wake up.”

“Nnnoh... Antioch... that tickles...” She pulls her tail out my hand and rolls around. Then she continues sleeping as if nothing happened.

What did Antioch do to exhaust my sister to the point that she doesn't want to get up!? She is a morning person. I mean, I told him to make sure that she has a really good time, but this is overdoing it. Bending down, I grab Lisandra's cheeks and pull, trying to wipe the stupid grin off her sleeping face. “Lisandra, wake up! Something important happened!”

She opens one eye, her slit pupil focusing on me. “Owh, iht's yhou, shis,” she lolls sleepily.

I let go of her cheeks. “Antioch did a real number on you. You didn't even change yesterday's clothes.” It's probably a good thing that she is dressed. Although, the shirt is the wrong way around, the neckline is on her back instead of the front.

Lisandra sits up, rubbing her eyes. “Is it something important, Sis? Yesterday, I really had a hell of a ride with Antioch. It's not like I don't love spending time with Fiona, but nothing beats having a man bend you over and-”

“Yes!” I really don't want to hear about that! “You should probably correct your shirt. There is something important we have to tell you.”

Lisandra looks down at herself, inspecting her casual clothes, a shirt and trunks. “Oh, damn! Antioch's new technique really brained me! How is it possible to put on nano-clothes the wrong way!?” She touches her shirt and the nano-tech reassembles itself directly on top of her body, flowing into the correct shape.

Once she has confirmed that she is in a presentable state, she turns her attention to me. “There is something you wanted to talk about? Will you finally tell me what the deal with Jill was? You know that I don't approve of a violent education.”

“Yeah, well. It has something to do with it.” I give Antioch a mental call. “Why don't you stay seated while Antioch gets Veronica.”

My sister raises both eyebrows. “Veronica was involved? Oh, discord! The girl is such a treasure of good behaviour, even if she is a little slow with growing up. I can't believe that she would be involved in anything that would cause you to go all out on Jill.”

I wince but say nothing.

My reason for freaking out wasn't just because Jill did something bad. It was because she did something that could potentially hurt one of the people I value the most in this world, my sister. Nobody who hurts my loved ones gets away without punishment! Even if I value the person in question. Oh, damn! This situation is so fucked up.

What was Jill thinking when she put an alien into one of my sister's eggs! It's one thing if you ask the person in question if it's okay to do so, but Jill just behaves as if she can do no wrong! For all her knowledge, she just acts without considering the feelings of the people around her.

The opening of the door saves me from the awkward moment and Veronica enters the room, followed by Antioch. The girl looks even moodier than she has been in the past week, but that's to be expected.

After I put Jill in her place, Antioch and I decided to give the situation at least some time to cool off, but if we delay any longer, we run the risk of ending up just like Veronica. Better to get it over with.

Antioch pushes Veronica forward. “Your daughter has a confession to make, but rest assured that whatever deception was involved can be credited entirely to Jill. Veronica was just too afraid of hurting your feelings by revealing the truth.”

Lisandra chuckles. “Okay? What are you saying? Veronica, what could be so problematic that you have to hide something from me?”

Veronica looks at the floor, unable to look into her mother's eyes. “The truth is... I am Vizir. Do you remember me? I was...” The rest of the confession spills out of her, thanks to hours of indoctrination by Antioch and me.

Lisandra listens to everything. She keeps smiling, which I find strange enough, but because my sister nods from time to time I don't interfere. When Veronica is done, Lisandra just sits there while we wait for a reaction which never comes.

When the silence goes on for too long, I wave a hand in front of my sister's eyes without getting a reaction.

“Do you think she is busted?” Antioch asks with a concerned expression on his face, a hand resting on Veronica's shoulder.

“Mom?” Veronica tries to gain her mother's attention, but there is no reaction. She looks at Antioch and then at me. “You know... I thought she would rip me a new one, but this outcome doesn't satisfy me either.”

Life suddenly returns to my sister and she stands up abruptly, which causes me to step back and Veronica to jump. Still smiling, Lisandra walks forward and takes Veronica's hand in her palm, stroking it gently with the other.

“We have a lot to talk about, Veronica.”

Veronica's eyes widen and she shoots me a quick glance, searching for help. Then she returns her attention to my sister. “I... just told you that I am not Veronica... but you can keep calling me Veronica. It's not like I don't like the name. In fact, I've gotten used to it.”

“What are you talking about?” Lisandra chortles with an unnaturally happy tune. “You are my daughter, Veronica, and that won't change. It's not like the past decade suddenly didn't happen. I still love you like any parent would love a child. That's just human nature.”

Veronica lets out a sigh and I take a deep breath, realizing that I held my breath.

Then Lisandra twists Veronica's hand, forcing her to bend forward. “But me loving you doesn't change the fact that you withheld vital information from me, little lady! For over a decade!”

“Ow! Ow! Mom!” Veronica tries to wriggle out of her mother's grasp, but it's impossible, especially after Lisandra places a hand on her daughter's shoulder, locking down her with a martial arts trick.

“You will break it!” “You will break it!”

“Ouchaaaa!” “You will break it!”

“No, my love. It's impossible to break an arm like that.” Lisandra looks up at the ceiling and considers the situation. “But it might get dislocated if you wriggle too much.”

I raise a finger to gain my sister's attention. “Lisandra, please, let go of Veronica. She is really just a pawn in Jill's schemes. That's why I freaked out with my daughter. It isn't like you to punish the kids. That's my job. Remember our bad cop, good cop deal? You are the nice mom.”

“Yes!” Antioch tries to help, raising his hands in a calming gesture. “Veronica is just a little spineless, so she kept her mouth shut because she didn't want to hurt you.”

My sister returns her attention to us. Her eyes flash red, and both Antioch and I take a step back.

“That's why she is still alive!” Lisandra turns Veronica around, guiding her towards the door. “Don't worry, Sis. I won't kill her, but right now my feelings for this one are up in the air.”

“Mom! Your fingernails! They are digging in!”

Lisandra stops. “Oh, yes. Sis, could you make sure that nobody disturbs me in the foreseeable future. I need to have a very long talk with this one, since we just found out that we shared a past life! Catching up will take some time.”

“Don't worry!” Antioch interjects. “Take all the time you need! I told Fiona to make sure that your responsibilities are taken care of.”

My sister nods, still smiling ominously, and leads her daughter out of the door, kicking it shut behind her.

Antioch and I wait for a few moments, but when there are no screams or help messages from Veronica we relax a little.

“That went better than I anticipated,” Antioch admits.

I clear my throat. “Better than what would have happened if you had found out that Siegfried was Ouluk.”

He pulls down the corners of his mouth, showing his disgust. “Please, don't make jokes about such a thing! I only helped V because I know Jill.”

Nodding, I return my attention to my mate. “That reminds me... Lisandra mentioned that you thought of something special for her?”

“Ah, yeah. Maybe?” Suddenly he doesn't look so sure of himself. “You know, it took me a while, but Lisandra is a little special when comes to the things she expects from a partner.” He shrugs. “Every woman is a little different.”

I feel my face turn expressionless and a little pang of jealousy stabs into my heart. “You are telling me that you are doing stuff with Lisandra behind my back that I don't know about?”

He blinks, studiously looking at the door. “Do we have to talk about this now? Like I said, every woman is different. The things your sister likes don't necessarily-”

“Bullshit! You can do with me everything you do with the others! Next, you will be telling me that you and Fiona-”

Antioch stops me before I can work myself into a rage. “I will show you! Every little detail! But if I do, you can't tell your sister, because she would probably be quite embarrassed about it.”

I can't help but narrow my eyes. “You would?”

“But no backing out!” He crosses his arms in front of his chest, sounding quite serious. “It doesn't work if you are allowed to back out of the game.”

What the hell? A game? “What did the two of you do?”

He points at the sofa, a glint in his eyes. “Sit down and I will show you.”

Still suspicious of the situation, I sit down while Antioch dashes to the door and locks it. That raises even more questions, since what would my sister be into that requires secrecy? It's not like any of the four of us would be surprised to walk in on the others having a little happy time. I know that Antioch is in a kind of... special position... as the only male, but it really shouldn't be necessary to hide things.

Haven't we just seen how bad it can be to hide one's true nature from their own family?

Then he opens a hidden compartment next to the door and presses a button.

My eyes widen in shock when the couch beneath me shifts, rolling me over. I want to jump up, but my legs are suddenly trapped!

“Nya!”

An embarrassing squeal escapes my lips when the contraption beneath me transforms. I try to free myself, but my arms just dig into the soft cushions and are forced forward until I find myself in a shameful position on all fours, shackled to a strange cylindrical cushion which was a couch just moments ago.

It's not hurting me or anything, but I can't get free either. “What the fuck is this thing!? Get me free right this moment! Oh, by the Great Beyond! I'll throw this infernal machine out of our quarters!”

Antioch claps his hands together and walks around me, making sure to stay out of the reach of my tail. “Now, now. I think Lisandra would be very upset about that. Wasn't it you who wanted to know?” He steps in from behind and places both hands on my butt, giving me a good squeeze and causing a shudder to run up my spine.

It's as if he is comparing the size and firmness of my butt to a previous experience! And as he leans forward, I can't help but notice that I am at just the right height for...

“Hmm,” he grumbles. “I could get used to having you tied down. You always have to be on top, so this is something new.”

“Heey, actually, I am not so sure about this.” I try to free at least my hands but to no avail. “What do you think about trading places?”

Chuckling, Antioch leans forward and uses both hands to steal a good feel from my chest. Normally, I wouldn't be averse to allowing it, but under the circumstances, it just feels... wrong.

Lying onto my back, he lets go and reaches for something. Moments later, he dangles two items in front of me. One of them is a piece of cloth and the other a rubber ball with two leather strips. “Do you want to start just with the blindfolds, or should we take the gag too?”

Lisandra... I will kill you!!!