Broken Antler Fen I hear the wicked get no rest.

*Pulls story out of butt*

Ibis had not meant it in a literal way, but now that she had spoken of it aloud, Lilitu was fixated. She would not drop the subject and Ibis had to go with the flow or deny her; and they were having such a good time together that the mother was loathe to do that. She could come up with an answer easily enough.

Well, she started, taking a breath as if this were some kind of great secret she was being forced to divulge...

Before you were born, I was living in the Empire with my friend Reiko. You probably don't remember her. She met you when you were very, very little. Her voice hitched in her throat there, because Ibis wasn't sure if that was the truth or not. Had Reiko ever had a chance to meet her girls? She did not want to get distracted, but it would be something she'd ruminate over later.

Reiko was my very best friend. Before I knew your father, before we'd even thought of the Empire, we were very close. The way you and Arielle are close. But once we built up the Empire and she was named the empress, things changed. She thought a moment after she said this, trying to piece together bits of reality with fantasy without losing the tempo of the story. One of the rules of being the empress, for Reiko, was an arrangement. She had to be married. It was a custom from her family that she felt she had to follow... And the man she had to marry was chosen when she was little, around your age.

He was very handsome, and kind, and he never had a bad thing to say about anyone. It was strange to think of that man as any of those things but Ibis had to build up a certain character — and for a while Takeshi had been a good influence within the pack, even if he had given Ibis the heebie-jeebies. They were married. An empress and her worthy knight in shining armor.

Ibis' expression turned a little sour, a tight little frown emphatically taking up residence on her face. Then things began to change. Little by little Reiko stopped coming to visit with me, and her other friends. Soon she was convinced that I was the enemy and only her knight could be trusted. I became very lonely. More importantly I was worried for Reiko, but no matter who I talked to I could not find a way to see her, because the knight had locked her away.

When I met your father I was very sad, but he listened when I told him of Reiko and the knight. With him at my side, and his brother Viinturuth, we bravely set out to confront this man and save our friend. They fought the knight and drove him away, while I tried to appeal to Reiko. This wasn't how any of these events transpired at all; but Ibis chose to leave out the sudden absence of her friend from the mountain, which was one of those things that prompted Ibis to flee with her children. In the fantasy version of the story things were much simpler.

Reiko cast out this man, and while he sulked away from the Empire he vowed that we would forever be in danger. Your father, bless his heart, chased the man out of the territory and all the way across the Wilds to make sure he would not come back to hurt anyone. And when Akavir came back, I knew there was no other man for me. I would never be lonely if I had him.

It was a long tale, one with many holes that bright-minded Lilitu might see through. That or, maybe it would put her to sleep. Ibis smiled, kissing her daughter on the top of the head. And now I have you, too.