Epilogue: Part 2

I didn't get a chance to answer. There was a flash of light and Aurora was standing in the room. She looked like an avenging angel, not the friendly, loving deity we'd seen before. She looked like she had the time she cleaned the Empress' clock, except even more ominous.

"What are you doing, Child?" she thundered as she glared at Amy. "You know this relationship is not to last. Do not interfere in things you do not understand."

Amy glared back.

"Go away, Aurora," she stated flatly.

"What?" Aurora asked in surprise.

"You heard me. Go away ... get lost ... scram ... beat it. You're not wanted here."

"Amy! You can't talk to her that way! She ... she's..." Cindi was aghast.

"I know who she is. Go away, Aurora."

There was a shocked silence as everyone waited for the impudent teen to be vaporized. No one expected what happened next - Aurora started laughing. She laughed so hard she had to sit in a nearby chair. Cindi helped her, a concerned look on her face. It was several moments before the pretty woman regained control of herself. She looked at Amy with a smile of delight on her face.

"I love you, Child! You are so precious. There is no one in the universe that would dare say that to me but you." The smile and look of delight disappeared as quickly as it appeared, except for the faintest twinkle in her eye. "Now, tell me why you said that before I get angry and turn you into a newt."

Blue flame exploded everywhere as the F6 tornado named Cindi flashed between Amy and the imposing Goddess.

"Don't you dare touch my twin! You'll have to go through me to get to her!" The angry blond suddenly looked sad. "Punish me if you must, but leave her alone. It's my job to keep her out of trouble. If I've failed, punish me. Don't touch her."

Aurora's face softened; she looked at Cindi with what could only be described as affectionate amusement. Amy laid a hand on Cindi's shoulder.

"Relax, Cin. She's not going to hurt me." She looked reproachfully at Aurora. "You know she takes everything seriously. Tell her you're not serious."

"I am sorry, Cindi. I am not going to hurt your sister. She is very dear to me," Aurora said.

Cindi suddenly deflated, looking acutely embarrassed.

"I'm sorry..."

"Do not apologize. It is refreshing to see someone who takes her responsibilities seriously, who does what she is supposed to do." Aurora glared at Amy as she spoke. Amy shrugged, not looking apologetic at all. "You were defending your twin. That is what twins are supposed to do." She ruffled Cindi's hair affectionately, then looked at Amy again. "I still want to know why you said that, Child."

Amy gave a big sigh, then looked at the other woman. Green fire flashed out of her eyes as the room took on a pale green glow. Cindi grabbed her sister's hand and squeezed.

"Calm down," she whispered to her sister.

"You want to know why I said that?" Amy whispered, her voice like that of death warmed over. "How is it possible that you don't know why I said that?"

"Tell me," Aurora said softly.

"Relax. Tell her," said Cindi, slipping her arm around her twin. She kissed Amy on the cheek, whispering soothing words in her ear. Amy smiled. It was not a pretty or friendly smile.

"Fine, I'll tell you, bitch!" Amy spat.

"Amy!" Cindi gasped.

Aurora smiled sadly and held up her hand.

"It is ok. She is entitled. From her point of view, I am a bitch. Who knows, she may be right. Tell me, Child."

Suddenly, Amy was crying. She lay her head on Cindi's shoulder and burst into tears. I started towards her, as did Becky, Katie and Megan. We all stopped at a signal from Aurora. I'll never be sure if we had a choice or not.

"Tell me, Child," Aurora pleaded. Her face, her eyes were beyond sad. She was threatening to break down herself. "Tell me."

Cindi pushed Amy away, holding her at arms length. She murmured a few indistinct words, words not from this world. She touched Amy on the forehead, holding her hand there as blue sparkles bathed the distraught girl's face. Almost instantly, Amy was calm again. She held Cindi's head in her hands and kissed her.

"God, I love you. I've always loved you, and I always will."

"I know. Tell her," Cindi answered, kissing her sister on the forehead.

Amy sighed again, then turned to face Aurora. Green fire was in her eyes again, but it was under control this time.

"Relax," Cindi whispered in her ear.

"I've done everything I was supposed to do. I endured all the suffering to become the Special One, everything you forced me to do. I did it without complaining, even though I had no choice in the matter."

"Of course you had a choice, Child. Everyone always has a choice. I always give a choice," Aurora insisted. "I never forced you to do anything."

"Come on, Aurora, it's not possible you could be that stupid or blind. You call that a choice - I suffer unimaginable horror and become something I never wanted to be, or Christopher, his sister, and Katie die? That's not a choice, it's blackmail."

"Of course it is a choice, Amma-llia. Most choices in the universe are like that - a choice between two evils. Often it is not even clear which one is the lesser evil. You have grown up a lot in the last few weeks, Child. You have to realize at this point that the fairy tale life you have always imagined does not really exist - not the way you imagined as a child, at least."

"It does exist! Lori can have babies now. Eric and Sammi are married and are a king and queen. Christopher and Katie have each other and rule an empire. Megan is married to the love of her life. Why did I have to have my childhood ripped away from me, why did I have to give up something so important to me, something I can never get back?" Amy was crying again.

"Because you are the Special One, Child. You have always been the Special One. You care... you have always cared about others. You did not even think about what you had to do to save them, you just did it." Aurora smiled sadly at the young teenager. "I gave you the choice because I knew you had the strength to handle it. Most would not have survived. My strength was always sufficient for you, Child, and it always will be. It was the right thing to do."

"And this is the right thing to do now. I'm sorry, Aurora, but you just can't manipulate me into doing what you wanted me to do, giving me all this power, then waltz in here and tell me what to do. I deny you that right. You forced me into taking this power, now I'll use it any way I want. You shouldn't have made me the Special One if you didn't want me to act special. What would you do, Aurora? Would you just let these two go their separate ways, let a beautiful love like this die? Would you really? I have the right; I've paid the price. If it makes you feel any better, this is the last time I'll ever act as the Special One. I'm sick of this power."

Aurora looked down at the floor, her eyes big orbs of indescribable agony. When she looked up again, her eyes flashed silver and gold.

"No, I would not let it die either," she whispered. "But I can not stand to see you hurt again, Child, and the consequences of this will hurt you more than you can imagine. You will pay the price again if you do this, Amma-llia ... and you will use your power again after this," Aurora warned.

"Can I pay a price more than I already have? I've already lost my most treasured possession," Amy said bitterly. "Why would I use my power again?"

"Not quite, Child. There are two 'things' more precious to you than what you lost. Do this and you will lose both of them," Aurora said. "You will use your power again to try to save your Father. You are the only one that can. It is the whole reason you are the Special One."

Amy's face paled as she was shocked into speechlessness. She looked at me, then at Cindi, her eyes filled with tears.

"Cindi ... Patrick ... Daddy ... I'm sorry, I have to do this. Please understand," she whispered.

Cindi and I held her between us till she stopped crying. When we looked up, Aurora was gone.

Amy put her arms around my neck and kissed me passionately. I wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Goodbye, Daddy. Megan and I meant what we said. We won't be back until you and Julie straighten this out. Don't make me stay away too long," she said, then turned away.

Megan kissed me next. She held me close, then looked deep into my eyes.

"You and I were made to be together. Don't mess this up."

"No!" Julie cried as they headed to the door. "You can't leave him! Don't do this!"

Megan hurried to her daughter's side, wrapping her arms around the crying girl.

"It's up to you, Julie, you and Patrick. Get your act together and we'll be back before you know it."

"But I don't know what to do! I don't know what the problem is! I don't know why he hates me!" the dark-haired Scribe sobbed.

"Yes you do. You're a Scribe; figure it out. Work it out, or we'll all die of loneliness." She kissed her daughter and walked out the door with Amy.

Cindi hugged me, holding me close as she whispered her love in my ear. Then she spoke to Julie and me.

"I'll leave you two to work this out. I'll never leave you, Daddy. I'll always be here for you, no matter how stupid you two are." She walked out of the room.

I faced Julie, longing to take her hands, pull her to me, and hug the stuffings out of her. I couldn't. Amy and Megan had started the motions of forcing her to talk to me, and I had to let it run its course. It might not work, probably wouldn't, but I had to give it one last try.

"What's it to be, Julie? Are you going to tell me who you are, what you are? Are you going to tell me your big secret, tell me what you're hiding? Are you going to stop lying to me? Talk to me."

The panic on her face was heart-rending.

"I don't know what you want. I don't know what you want me to say," she whispered.

"Just tell me the truth. Tell me everything."

"I can't!" she cried out softly.

I sighed. What would be would be. I had one more card to play.

"I have to go talk to Elizabeth and my Dad."

"Don't leave me! Please!" Julie wailed. "I'd do what you want if I knew what... if I could!" She looked at me frantically. "Come back? Please?"

"I'll come back at least once more, after I talk to Elizabeth. After that, it's up to you if I come back again, or leave forever. If you won't talk to me, we'll both die lonely." Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. I reached out and touched her cheek gently. As I turned and walked away, she fell apart.

"Please come back to me! Please!" she sobbed as I left the room.

I was unable to decide if I was angry, hurt, or nervous as I walked into my Dad's house. All three, probably. Elizabeth and my Dad were sitting in the den, waiting for me. Mom was nowhere to be seen. That was probably just as well. Dad looked curious, Elizabeth looked nervous, worried. She looked like her world was about to collapse. I wondered if she knew how close she was to guessing the truth. As I looked into her eyes, I decided she knew.

"What's up, Son?" Dad asked. Elizabeth bit her lip and said nothing.

"You know I love you both, right?" I asked. Dad's eyes opened wide in surprise. I doubt he could remember the last time I'd told him that. Whatever happened today, it would be worth it if only for that look on his face.

"It sounds like there's a big 'but' hanging on the end of that," he observed.

"But not like you used to love me," Elizabeth said, giving me a weak, watery smile...

"I love you, but I'm deeply disappointed in you," I continued. "You're both lying to me and I don't like it."

"Please don't do this, Patrick," Elizabeth pleaded. There was panic in her eyes. "Please? You don't have to do this."

"Why are you disappointed in me?" Dad asked. "I told you why I did the things I did. There was no choice but to hide who I was from you."

"And your reason for lying to me still?" I looked from him to Elizabeth, then addressed her directly. "I can understand about you, Liz. I love you, but you've always been a liar. I expect nothing better from you." I winced inwardly at the pain in her eyes. "But you, Dad ... I know you had to hide what and who you were to me, but other than that, I've never known you to lie to me. It's sad to find out how wrong I was. You said you'd never lie to me again."

"Patrick..." Elizabeth was near tears.

"Son, you're going to have to speak plainly to me. What am I lying to you about?"

"You told me Elizabeth is your sister and Bandor is your brother. Would you like to correct that now?" I asked.

"No. That was the truth, Son. What are you getting at?"

"Patrick! Stop it! Please!" Elizabeth begged.

"Sorry, Liz, but it's time the truth came out." I turned to my Dad. "Of course they're your sister and brother. What you neglected to mention was that they were adopted."

Dad looked surprised.

"Hell, Son, that wasn't a lie; I just never thought about it. She's been my sister for so long that I never even think about that anymore. She was adopted when I was little, too little to even be aware of it. Mom told us, of course, but she's always just been my sister." He shook his head. "That wasn't a lie, Son."

"And I suppose it never occurred to you to wonder who she and her brother really were?" I asked sarcastically.

"No! Should it have?"

"You really don't know," I murmured. Amazing.

"They were a homeless, starving pair of twins, barely able to walk according to Mom and Dad when they found them. What difference did it make who they were? Mom and Dad never said, I doubt they ever looked into it or cared. They needed a home and love and we gave it to them. I've never regretted it ... at least with Elizabeth."

"Patrick! Stop it... please! Why are you doing this? It doesn't matter."

"It doesn't matter? Elizabeth, you have a long history of making stupid mistakes, but this one is the dumbest you've ever made. Do you want me to tell you why it matters?"

"No! I want you to forget all this. Leave it alone!" Elizabeth shouted.

"Sorry, I can't."

"Why not?" she screamed. "Why are you doing this? It's ... I'm not hurting anybody with this."

"You're not hurting anybody? You're not hurting... Do you know who Lori loves more than anyone?" I could see the confusion in their eyes as I seemingly changed subjects.

"You? Her Mom?" Elizabeth asked.

"Lisa?" Dad asked.

"Close, both of you. At least as much as she loves Lisa, her Mom, and me, Lori loves Cindi. She's her hero, her 'big sister', the person Lori looks up to more than anyone in the world. Lori and Cindi have been inseparable since the moment they met. She cares for Amy almost as much."

Dad looked confused. Elizabeth looked like she wanted to throw up as the truth began to dawn on her.

"I don't understand. What does that have to do with Elizabeth being adopted?"

"Oh my God," Elizabeth breathed. "I didn't think about that. Please don't do this."

"Yeah ... Oh my God," I repeated. "You didn't think about that. Well, you better think about it. Sorry, Elizabeth, but the time for lies is over. You say it doesn't matter who you are? What do you suppose little Lori is going to think, going to do, when she finds out that Cindi and Amy, the two people she admires most in the world, are half Qerda ... because you, their mother, are a full blooded Qerda? You do remember we call her the Qerda-killer, don't you? You do know how unstable she is, right?"

"She doesn't need to know," she said weakly.

"Elizabeth, there is a small statistical chance you may live through it if you tell Lori now who you are. You let her find out on her own, as she undoubtedly will someday, and I guarantee you won't live through it. Do you really want to die, now that you have your twin back?"

"What?" My Dad finally found his voice.

"You really didn't know," I commented. Elizabeth was weeping.

"Of course I didn't know!" He turned to his sister, his face a mask of fury. "God damn it, Eliandor, if you had any part to play in what's happened, if you've hurt any of my grandchildren..."

"Don't be an ass, Sandor. Of course I didn't. I love those girls; two of them are my daughters. I may have let events play out to protect my twin, but I made it clear to the Empress that if she went beyond certain limits, I would kill her myself, regardless of what she did to Bandor. I knew all about the Ancient Prophecy. I knew about the cycles. I knew you and Aurora were protecting the girls. I knew they could never be hurt permanently as long as things played out as they were supposed to." Her eyes begged for understanding. "Please believe me; I never would have done anything if it would've hurt them permanently. I love them."

"Who are you?" Dad asked.

"I don't know. When Bandor and I were old enough, we tried to find out. The only thing we could determine was that we were Qerda, whatever that meant. Later, after Bandor started acting strangely, the Empress contacted me. She let me know she had my real twin and that the Bandor I saw was an imposter. She told me if I told anyone, if I didn't do as she said, she'd kill my twin. I threatened her with death if she strayed outside the limits that were imposed upon her, the limits that were told to me earlier in a dream. She agreed, because she knew I meant it, and even the Empress was wary of the Queen of the Tarqa and all the power I have. She figured she could beat the Prophecy anyway.

"After doing a lot of study and research, finding out everything I could about myself, Bandor, and the Qerda, I recovered his real mind. I replaced the copy they'd put in Sandy's ... Sammi's mind with his. I made the changes in the imposter's body to prove my story when it came out." She shuddered. "Once the attack came and it became known to everyone who the Qerda were, I didn't dare tell anyone."

Dad glared at his sister.

"I'm sorry!" she cried. "I didn't know what to do! If I didn't go along with her, I'd lose my twin and I'd die. If I died, no one would know what was happening and the Qerda might really have won. I thought it was better to have someone watching over the family, even if I couldn't do anything. I'm sorry."

"I know Qerda occasionally have twins, but I've never heard of one dying because their twin died. Cornazans are close like that - Qerda are not," I objected.

"This pair of Qerda twins are," she whispered. "I'm sorry, but there was nothing else I could do."

"You could've told me," Dad and I said together.

"Told you what? That I was one of the mortal enemies that were trying to wipe you out, that you were trying to protect our race from? Oh ... Right!"

I knew the second the realization crossed my Dad's mind.

"Amy and Cindi," he whispered, turning pale.

"Yeah. How do I tell them they're half Qerda?" I asked. I'm ashamed to say I glared at Elizabeth for a moment.

"I'm sorry. It's not like I had a choice in who I was. Do we have to tell them? Why can't we just leave it alone?"

"Remember the part about Lori killing you?"

"Oh. Yeah."

"If you found all this out, did you find out who she really is?" Dad asked.

The look on my face gave me away.

"You did, didn't you?" Elizabeth gasped. "Who?"

"You don't want to know," I warned her.

"You're the one that's gotten all high and mighty about honesty," she snapped. "Tell me."

"For once in your life, trust me. You don't want to know," I repeated.

"I want to know," Dad said. "How did you find out? Tell her."

"When I was on Qerda, I had access to all their records. I learned some interesting things ... not good, but interesting. I discovered records that told of a young Qerda boy and girl - twins - that were abandoned by their parents. You see, twins were abhorred by the Qerda ... they were seldom kept. These twins were condemned for another reason; almost from birth, they displayed powers, colors. It's not something the Qerda will tolerate. They hate colors and powers even more than they hate twins; no one knows why. For whatever reason, this set of twins weren't killed, but they were banished instead, probably to die on their own." I looked at Elizabeth. "That set of twins were you and your brother."

"How did the Qerda know about twins and colors? How can they occasionally have them?" Dad asked.

"How they knew about those things is something dear, sweet Lisa is going to be asked tonight. I don't know what or how, but I do know the Qerda were not exactly unknown to the Historians and the Tarqa. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you, Liz ... being the former Queen of the Tarqa and all?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," she replied.

'Liar, ' I thought. Queen of the Tarqa and she didn't know all their secrets? Not likely. I let it pass, however; I didn't really expect her to tell me what she knew.

"You didn't answer my question," Dad chided me.

"Sure I did. I don't know how the Qerda knew about colors and twins."

Dad glared at me.

"Not that question, the other one."

"Remember when you advised me not to pursue who Elizabeth had her affair with? I give you the same advice now ... don't pursue this."

"I knew you wouldn't listen to me then, Son, just as I'm not going to listen to you now. Who are they?" my Dad asked.

"Are you sure you want to know?" I asked Elizabeth. She hesitated, then nodded.

"I have to know," she whispered. I nodded; I understood.

"You and Bandor are twins ... and the Empress' sister and brother," I explained.

"Oh shit," Elizabeth muttered.

"Are you sure?" Dad asked, stunned.

"The Qerda records are sure. It's buried, but it's there. I doubt that anyone on Qerda remembers the boy and girl left to die, nor who you are now. I bet the Empress knew, though." I looked at Elizabeth. "That's why you always hated your colors, isn't it? That's why you gave them away to save Megan, and didn't want them back when you had the chance; they were the cause of you being orphaned, so you hated them. You hated them because it's in your Qerda nature to hate them. That's how the Empress knew how to control you, how she knew how to take Bandor out. She knew you two like she knew her own brother and sister ... because that's what you were."

"I'm sorry," Elizabeth whispered miserably.

I put my arms around her and held her, kissed her softly. She laid her head on my shoulder and cried.

"Don't ever lie to me again, Liz. It stops now. You ever lie to me again and I'll kill you. I could easily justify killing a Qerda spy." I looked into her shocked eyes. "Don't ever lie to me again. Do you understand me?"

"Yes. But I'm not a Qerda spy. Are you sure you want to be holding a Qerda?" she asked, her voice trembling.

"I'm not a Qerda hater, Liz. I never would've cared who you were. You couldn't control your birth. I understand why you kept it secret, because Lori would have killed you, but I would've loved you just the same. Learn from this, Liz, because you won't get a second chance from me. Lie again and you die."

"Son..."

"With all due respect, Father, shut up. If you'd been doing your job, this would never have happened. How could you possibly miss this all those years? She's your sister; how could you miss who she really was?"

"How? Because she's my sister and I love her. I never looked for this. I could ask you the same thing. How could you have missed it? How many times have you been in her mind? How many times have you made love to Amy and Cindi, how many times have you been almost one with them, and yet still you missed it?"

"I don't know. I guess there's enough blame to go around for everyone." I hugged Dad; he appeared shocked for a moment, then hugged me back. Elizabeth joined in.

"There's something I don't understand," I said.

"Oh? Only one thing?" Dad asked.

"Maybe more. If Elizabeth and Bandor are full blooded Qerda, how do they have colors?"

"Good question," Dad replied. Elizabeth shrugged her shoulders. Presence or absence of colors was not high on her list of priorities for investigation.

I hugged Elizabeth. This was not going to be easy.

"I want you at the house at seven o'clock tonight ... both of you, and Mom too. We're having a family meeting. Among other things, I'm going to have some serious questions for Lisa. God help her if I hear 'I'm sorry, sir, but I can't answer that question' again. I hear that from her and it will be one of the last things I ever hear from her."

Dad and Elizabeth looked at me with horror.

"You don't mean that! You wouldn't hurt Lisa!"

"Wouldn't I? Has it occurred to you that Lisa knows more about what's gone on than anyone else? She knows, but she's not telling anyone. Has it occurred to you that someone betrayed Cornaza and directly caused the deaths of over 50,000,000 people? Has it occurred to you that Lisa is the primary suspect for that betrayal ... right along with you, Elizabeth? I'm getting some answers, whether she likes it or not, or she won't have to worry about keeping secrets anymore."

"Do we have to tell them about me?" Liz sobbed. "I didn't betray Cornaza!"

"Everyone has to know, Elizabeth. This can't be a secret anymore. It's time we became a family again, a close knit family that doesn't have secrets. Be there, Liz, or I'll come hunting for you and drag you in by the hair. You won't like it."

"Yes, sir," she replied.

"You too, Dad."

"Yes, sir," he said respectfully.

I pulled out my cell phone and called Megan. She answered on the first ring.

"Megan, call everyone together at the house for a family meeting at seven o'clock tonight. Everyone is to be there; I will accept no excuses."

"Have you talked to Julie yet?" she asked.

"I'm going back to talk to her now."

"Amy and I will not be there tonight if you two haven't gotten this straightened out by then," Megan warned.

"Listen to me, Megan, because you only have one chance to get this right. You have everyone at the house tonight, no exceptions. Julie is my concern. You and Amy have had your little power play, now I'm having mine. You be there; that's not a request."

I heard Amy ask what was going on in the background. Megan explained quickly, then the phone was put on speaker.

"Dad, Megan and I were not kidding. Either you..."

"Shut the fuck up, Amy, shut up now! You too, Megan. If you value our relationship, be there. I'm not asking you."

"Dad..." Amy's voice was trembling. Megan had enough sense to keep quiet.

"Amy, either I'm your Dad, husband, lover, Life-mate, and the leader of our race, or I'm not. Make your decision now; you're out of time. Be there tonight or you will not like the consequences; your life will never be the same again. Do I make myself clear?" I said harshly. I paused for effect. "I'm well aware of what happens to a Life-mate if her partner rejects her. Don't you two try me on this."

"You wouldn't!" Amy gasped. I could hear the terror in her voice. "Daddy..." she whimpered. I could feel Megan's despair.

"The goal is for neither of you to push me far enough to see if I would or not," I replied in a gentler voice. "If you do, we all lose more than we can bear. Be there, both of you. This is not the time to be a stubborn brat, Amy."

"Yes, sir," Megan said quietly.

"Yes, sir," Amy repeated after a second's pause.

"I love you both," I assured them. "Be there tonight." I hung up.

"Little tough on them, don't you think?" Dad asked mildly. Elizabeth was standing there with her mouth open in shock. So much for the belief that I never came down on Amy harshly.

Dad was right, I was tough on them. The problem was, I had yet to eliminate anyone as the betrayer of our race. I loved Amy and Megan more than I could say, but I hadn't eliminated them as suspects yet. They were low on the suspect list, but they were on the list. The fact that Amy was half Qerda guaranteed she was on the list.

"Sorry, but right now I'm a leader, not a Dad or friend. This gets cleared up tonight. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to talk to Julie."

"Patrick, she loves you," Elizabeth cautioned. "She's a very troubled young lady. It's not her fault."

"I know. Sometimes the cure for troubled children is a good spanking. Julie's about to get a spanking, so to speak, that she needed long time ago. See you at seven." I walked out of the house.

I fumed all the way back home. I'd had it with this whole god damned family. Almost everyone was lying to me and I was sick of it. Little Miss Julie was going to talk to me, tell me the truth, or she was going to be hurting for a long, long time. I was starting to calm down as I got near the house, but I was still ready to kick the little Scribe's ass.

All that changed when I walked into the house and saw Julie sitting on the couch, her head in her hands, sobbing hysterically. I guess I always knew it, but I realized at that instant that she did still really love me. I loved her, too. It was time to work this out. I sat next to her on the couch and put my arms around her. She buried her head in my chest and wept uncontrollably.