"You're not even supposed to be here!"
She turned her back to her own brother at every opportunity. The hypocrite. The liar. He was still pretending being brother and sister meant something to him, when he hadn't been part of their family for cycles. Lo'Laan still remembered the day he was taken. She'd limply shook his hand and then watched as the Peacekeepers took him away. They were kids back then. He came back a stranger.
He stood tall, blocking the doorway dressed in fine black leather. There ididn't seem to be a spot on him, and despite the shadow of a beard on his cheeks, he presented himself a well-groomed man.
"What kind of a man do you think you're marrying?" He tried not to yell at the top of his voice. "He's a deserter! He's not even a general!"
"What do you care about Luxan loyalties?"
She shot a dirty look at him in her stride, as she carried stacks of dirty pots and pans into the earthen kitchen.
"I don't. I care about you. Just look at you, at what's become of you! You're covered in grease, or oil... He has you slaving away in this house like a servant! You deserve better than this!"
"I don't need you to tell me how to live my life. I managed just fine for twenty cycles, and I could easily manage some more."
Macton put his hands to his sides, as if he were out of breath.
"He's a Luxan!"
"Yes, he is. And I love him."
To him, it was like she was speaking in a different language, which no translator microbe could help him with.
Maybe her life wasn't perfect, and there were plenty of times that she wished to have herself transported to another world, but it was hers, and she could not just walk away. She built this. She was building this as they spoke. And if Macton knew... she couldn't trust him, and couldn't imagine what he might do if he knew. That's what settled it, in the end.
"I trust D'Argo," she told her brother, eyeing the red Peacekeeper emblem on his breast. "But I don't trust you."
She could tell it hurt him. Maybe even a lot. But it was true, and he needed to know.
He hesitated for a bit, before slowly making his way towards the door. Finally, he promised he would be back for her. Because she was his sister, and he wasn't going to abandon her.
Except he already had.