A Tale of One Deviant (Book One)

Chapter 178: Portal For Me, Portal For You

Sure, I promised Kiki I'd get to the capital by the end of the day to check on the "situation" there, but I really didn't feel like getting angry just yet, so I went to deal with something else in the capital instead.

     I kind of...may or may not have...forgotten my siblings with our grandparents. And I forgot why I left them there at all...

     "Sissy, you didn't answer my question," Hera leaned in, eyes wide while Grandmother held her somewhat tighter to enjoy cuteness even a few moments more. She cupped her hands around her mouth and put them to my ear. It was an uncomfortable feeling, with her hot breath blowing with abandon on my face where I was snuggled up in my scarf and kimono again, but she would've been sad if I shrugged her away, so...

     "About?" I asked, lifting up a teacup Grandfather gave me for where I sat on his lap. There was no escaping, it seemed.

     Hera glanced left and right, seeing the other siblings inspecting thoroughly some new books...magic, of course...that they were given, while flipping each and every page standing at the coffee table at our feet.

     "You know." Hera became even more secretive, glancing back and forth. "About that. That thing."

     The extremely-obvious sign she gave me consisted of her pointer fingers pointing straight up into the air placed on either side of her head, and very wide eyes as if the wider they got, the more I was supposed to understand.

     "...antennae?"

     "I believe those are supposed to be representative of horns, prodigal granddaughter."

     My heart caught in my throat while sipping from that teacup I'd brought through my scarf which had become intangible for that reason alone. Light pink spilled down my green and white ensemble as I coughed and coughed, turning wild eyes of my own on the girl who thought that was somehow intuitive to pick up to me alone.

     "Hera-"

     "Mm, mm," Hera nodded, intent on my answer. Adri and Chord turned around skeptically, wondering what all of the fuss was about. "I can see it, right?"

     "You...I'm never giving you cookies again."

     I'd never heard a more horrified gasp from all three children at once. Chord looked particularly stricken, hand flying up to her chest in object terror, as if checking to see that her heart was still beating.

     "Not you two."

     "But Sissy, why?!"

     "I told you that that was something only to be discussed in the dead of night with the blankets over your head, yet you're talking about it in broad daylight with eavesdroppers all around. Hera, of course I'm not going to give you any cookies when you've committed such a blunder."

     It wasn't hard to ignore the crocodile tears that sprang to her eyes as she turned into Grandmother's chest for comfort. The blind noblewoman took full advantage of the opportunity to feed the child cookies produced from...well, I wasn't sure I wanted to know where...to get Hera hooked on her own.

     But mine were superior, in every aspect, obviously, so Hera turned them down and merely turned to wallowing in her own defeat. The others turned back to their books, surprisingly cold to their sister.

     "You reap what you sow," Chord answered in response to my questioning look, flipping another page. "More cookies for us."

     That earned a bitter glare from Hera, but the rest of us went about our business being doted upon or reading books until a servant came knocking upon the door.