The issue of my position in the family as a permanent member comes up again one morning as we are cleaning up the breakfast dishes. I try to explain t... Alysa and Samantha that I am only with them for as long as it takes to complete my study, but they laugh at me and say I will see.Alysa tells me I have a lot to learn and that she and Samantha will teach me. I ask her what she means and she says: You want to understand our world and our choices? Yes?I tell her I do.Then she says: We will see. “In truth, it is very far. It will not take four months on a ship but it would be half that amount easily. They are west of us: Grunveld, Alicand and Lotatia are probably what you consider the Northern Lands. We have little contact with them. They are relatively poor in resources and have met our overtures with hostility. We are not quite enemies but certainly we are not friends.”“May I inquire as to why you made the journey to Azkoval?” Elena asked as they settled into the room Octavia had. So we weren't really concentrating on what we were looking at, dad having gone off telling me this really interesting story of this woman who had multiple personalities. Shit, he never did finish that one.Anyway, we were kind of both startled when the trace ended at the memory of Tom identifying Sarah's raped and slightly mutilated body. It was the fear left on her face that had caused Tom's emotions to overwhelming him for years afterwards. I could understand why he had insisted on cremating. Let's getto the main act. Right now. Twenty good solid swats. I mean twenty-four."The sitting sissy raised one hand. He put the other on the small of thelying figure's back to steady him. Determined to win this perversecompetition, Mal brought his arm down hard, so that his palm made a loudsmack against Dirk's upturned rear end. Though he was trying to keepquiet, the chubby sissy yelped and jerked. In quick succession anotherfive blows fell, until he was gasping and couldn't stop.