The creaking of the door was even louder than Chandra predicted. She figured the only explanation for the comically blaring noise was to serve as security before alarms existed. She knew that if Liliana was in this building, there was no way she wasn't alerted to her arrival.

The entryway was vast with several doors or halls to turn down. With so many points of entry, the light of the moon surrounded her as if she were outside. Opposite of her at the other end of the room were a spiral staircase in each corner that led up to the next floor and above her, a bridge that seemed to connect two hallways of the house

With so many options, it dawned on Chandra how little she had prepared. Even if I'm in the right building, this could take forever. As she began eeny meenying the various paths she could take, the echo of the structure became even more apparent when she heard a clacking coming from somewhere above her. When she timed the breaks in the noise, she concluded, she's walking, slowly.

After a few steps, the noise stopped. If I can hear that, I know for sure that she could hear me coming in. It then occurred to Chandra that Liliana wasn't expecting her, nor was she familiar enough with her pattern of reckless behaviour to assume she'd show up like this. She's probably lying in wait to attack this random intruder that snuck into her house.

"Liliana, it's me." It took a few seconds, but the steady rhythm of steps continued, quicker now and getting closer. Liliana appeared on the bridge above her and Chandra was surprised to see her sister hadn't dressed up for the occasion. She was expecting something like a floor length dress, and maybe a tiara, but seeing her bundled in a heavy assortment of street clothes brought the cold air of the house to her attention.

"What are you doing here?" There was no animosity or excitement in her voice. Liliana was clearly baffled by the situation.

"I'm here to bring you home."

"Why?"

"Because..." I probably should have planned this a bit better. "Because it's your home and it's where you should be." Chandra had no intention of waiting for an invitation and darted for one of the spiral staircases, feeling even more absurd climbing it than she imagined. Who the hell thought these things made sense? Liliana looked shocked by the advance, but she held her ground.

Chandra already knew she was imposing and the concerned look on her sister's face solidified that, but she needed to finish what she came here to do. She needs to know I'll find somewhere else to live so she can go home. "Liliana, I -"

"I suppose," Liliana cut her off so effortlessly that Chandra was convinced she hadn't been heard at all. "It would be rude not to give you the tour."

I don't really want one. Chandra knew a walkthrough of this 800 room house would get unbearably boring by the fifth room. I guess if it will make her feel better. "Uhhh, sure."

Liliana turned back the way she came, down a hallway that was almost devoid of light. Unlike the entryway, moonlight wasn't shining through it though that didn't slow Liliana's stride. Chandra never had a problem getting around in the dark once she was familiar with an area, but this house was at least twenty times larger than anywhere she had lived and she was impressed with her sister's confidence in the growing darkness.

As they walked down the long hallway, all Chandra could make out was the general outline of door frames, so she knew they had walked past at least eight rooms before Liliana finally stopped. As Chandra wondered if Liliana knew what a tour was, her sister opened the door to their right. Before entering it, Chandra could tell it was almost as bright as the entrance. She walked into the massive room that was empty – save for the biggest bed she had ever seen and purple drapes hanging on either side of a window that encompassed almost an entire wall.

"This," Liliana proclaimed as she stared out the window, "is the bedroom of the first daughter. For hundreds of years, the first girl of every generation would call this her own." On paper, Chandra would have seen this as a brag, but she could hear the melancholy in her sister's voice and knew what she was getting at. "And I will be the last."

Liliana turned back and her eyes revealed her boredom. Chandra figured this was probably her hundredth time telling this story even though it was probably the first time telling it to another person. "That was the worst part about leaving this room behind – knowing no more memories would be made in here."

"At least it went out on a high note."

Liliana began to parade around the room with uncharacteristically pronounced steps. "These walls have forged chemists, physicists, doctors and explorers. What am I compared to all that?"

Chandra knew this kind of insecurity well. Failing to live up to your last name had been a source of shame for her since the war started. She summoned the most indifferent tone she could to lessen the embarrassment of getting sentimental. "You're the first one that had the sense and compassion to realize all this could provide the multiverse with more than anything any one person could accomplish."

With that, Liliana stopped mid step and for the first time in as long as Chandra could remember, she smiled at her, but she remained silent and the awkwardness of that pushed Chandra to continue. "And with all due respect, if your ancestors aren't proud of what you've done, then fuck them."

The fear that she had gone too far subsided immediately, drowned out by Liliana's laughter. It was unrestrained and its sincerity had the same uplifting energy as Jace's smile. With a lingering grin, Liliana came and lightly grasped Chandra's shoulder and said, "you two would have gotten along well and he would have loved the flowers." Chandra could feel the unsettled warmth rushing to her face. "I would apologize for spying, but you are an uninvited guest." Liliana, looking away, tightened her grip. "Thank you, Chandra... Now, shall we continue?"

While still uninterested in the house, Chandra knew this was more of a therapy session for Liliana than a tour, so she gladly obliged and followed her sister as they went back past unremarked doors.


What Chandra got taken on was a sort of half assed tour that she concluded was just of the rooms Liliana had nostalgia for. She feigned interest in various mundane facts and was reminded of some particularly boring grade school field trips. She passed the time by fabricating possible memories of Liliana with her brother and father. She wanted to fit the mother in there, but couldn't find a way.

Eventually, they found themselves in what Liliana called a parlour that had the first view of the backyard. It, as expected, was as unkempt as the front but in the distance, she saw a small building with a light on. "Does this place still have power," she asked still drenched in the darkness of some of the more isolated rooms.

"Only that building. It was a relief. I had forgotten there would be somewhere with heat for me to sleep in."

"You were going to sleep in a tool shed?"

"That is not a shed."

There was a silent understanding that it must have been servant's quarters and Chandra knew anything she said further on that matter would have come out snarky. "How long were you planning on staying here?"

Liliana made a clear effort to look away from Chandra before saying, "to be honest, I had not thought that far ahead."

"Is it just empty in there or is there another giant bed?"

"Nothing in there but things."

She emphasized the word things with a guilty undertone which made Chandra figure meant frivolous rich people things. "Even if they are unnecessary, a thing can be more than just a thing, Liliana. You don't have to feel guilty about that."

"Would you like to see it?"


As Liliana unlocked the four locks on the door that had been behind a locked gate, she said, "Before you make any poetic assessments, the bars on the window were installed after the building was uninhabited."

"I wasn't thinking that," she lied. The small home was so distinctly normal that Chandra felt as if she had just walked back to the boring side of a magical portal in a closet, though usually in those stories, the home doesn't look like a hoarders. There was so much stuff chaotically stacked that she found herself unable to focus on any one thing long enough to identify it. "Why the hell is all this stuff here?"

"Dad figured it was more secure than a storage locker," she said as she disabled two separate alarms. "This is all the stuff that is waiting to get picked up, or to find a new home."

There was a lot of stuff, mostly in boxes and more than could fit in their home now without suffocating them. It struck Chandra as insane that all this was being left in an unmanned bunker. Liliana was lost in a painting that leaned against the wall, though she got flustered and turned when she knew Chandra had noticed her staring at it.

It was a beautiful piece of work and Chandra could see why her sister was enchanted by the vibrantly coloured hydra, emerging through clouds and surrounded by white spirits. It seemed to be descending on two women. "This is amazing. Who's this by?" She only asked because it seemed like what you're supposed to do. Liliana didn't respond which Chandra found odd as she was sure she spoke loud enough to be heard.

It's almost a shame this needs to be sold. It could easily fit in our place. There was a signature hidden in one of its corners. Chandra couldn't make out most of it, but the end undeniably said 'Vess.' One of them made it, so unless they have a famous artist somewhere in their family tree, this wouldn't even be worth anything.

Behind her, the sound of metal scraping rang throughout the room; Chandra turned to see Liliana holding an Épée with the confidence of someone that knew how to use it. "Seriously? You know how to use a sword too?"

"On a very basic level," Liliana said as she gracefully mimed a parry and riposte – concepts Chandra learned watching Jace and Gideon fence. "I fenced in high school, though, by the end of it, my mediocrity became clear and I decided I was better off focusing on archery."

"I guess that's why it's locked up in here."

"It is locked up in here because even if I did still fence, this sword would still be sold for enough to build three new schools in Towabara."

"What's so special about it?"

"It was forged about 500 years ago as a gift to a samurai that defended a sacred temple from pirates. The monks of the temple blessed it in the shrine of O-Kagachi and in the shrine of Michiko and Kyodi."

Realizing she had jut name dropped a bunch of things Chandra was clearly confused about, Liliana approached the painting, using her sword as a pointer, directed Chandra to the hydra. "O-Kagachi, the first spirit guardian of Kamigawa." Her Épée then pointed at the two women. "Michiko and Kyodi, they killed O-Kagachi when he became blinded by rage and now they protect the plane. I never gave any credence to the myth, but I still thought owning the weapon was exciting."

Chandra knew she'd forget all of this by the end of the night, but the sad expression on her sister's face as she turned around would stay with her for some time. With hesitation, Liliana said, "My mom painted this. I apologize for ignoring the question earlier."

This seemed like an opportune moment to ask something along the lines of, 'so what the fuck is up with your mother anyway?' But Liliana didn't give her a chance. She darted past Chandra while saying, "if you enjoy this kind of weaponry, I have something back here you might like."

Liliana shoved aside some boxes, revealing a door to the rest of the quarters. After she unlocked another quintet of locks, she invited Chandra in. Whatever Liliana had planned to show her in this room became irrelevant as soon as Chandra poked her head inside what she assumed was a bedroom. No sword, axe, armour or anything else could have drawn attention away from the prize in the middle of the room that made her call out, "HOLY SHIT!"