A Dangerous Secret

Posted on Sun May 24th, 2026 @ 1:44pm by Lonian Royal Sovereignty & Civilian Kerilia Dosivi

Mission: Season 6: Episode 7: Crossroads of Destiny
Location: Dosivi Residence, Jekasp, Niea IV
Timeline: MD3 2300
2137 words - 4.3 OF Standard Post Measure

The first day of Sen Vakai was tiring. Kerilia heard way more stories than she really cared for from her relatives about their rites of maturity. They were all ultimately the same thing: it’s confusing at first because of the changes to her body, but with time and experience things would get better. At least the second day meant some peace and quiet.

Kerilia was in the bathroom, getting ready for bed. On the counter was a datapad with a list of things she had to do for the meditation ceremony tomorrow, a routine to cleanse her newly matured self in preparation for her future. How many of them actually did these steps? Kerilia thought. Shedding her clothes, she stepped into the bath that was waiting for her, scented with herbs and producing a smell similar to mint from the Elysium.

The Elysium. Kerilia slid deeper into the water up to her chin. She was going to miss the ship. The people were so nice, and she wished they would come live with her and Teevs on Niea IV, but they were insistent on returning to their homes, even though it was so far away that they’d probably never see it again in their lifetimes. It was noble, yet an impossible task, and she wished them well.

She was going to miss them.

The bath wasn’t just to relax. Methodically, Kerilia followed the steps written on the datapad, almost laughing off the part that looked like chanting but felt too weird about ignoring it, even if she was alone. Blah blah, the beginning of a new chapter… blah blah, dump water over the head to cleanse the soul and make space for adulthood… blah blah blah. Soon enough, she was done, and she closed her eyes to just enjoy the water for a few more minutes.

When she was ready, she stepped out, reaching for the towel to wrap around her body before she got cold. She grabbed a smaller towel and wrung out her dripping hair. Wiping her face, Kerilia looked in the mirror, only to squint slightly at her forehead. Did she miss some dirt? Ugh, did that mean she had to do that whole ritual again? Taking the edge of the towel, she wiped her forehead, then frowned at the foggy mirror again. She leaned in closer to inspect it, then gasped in surprise.

Faintly blemishing the skin above her ridge was an upside down crescent-shaped dermaglyph.

The mark of the Kavai.

Shocked, Kerilia jumped back from the mirror, her wet feet sliding on the floor. In a flail of arms and towel, she crashed to the ground, the towel catching some items on the counter and making noise. No! It couldn’t be right. Cautiously standing up again, she looked into the mirror to confirm she wasn’t seeing things, poking her skin and trying to rub it away. It was still faint, but the mark was clearly there. She… was Kavai? How was that possible??

“Kerilia, are you alright?”

An audible gasp came from Kerilia as she quickly turned her head from the knock on the door. Someone heard her! “Uh… fine!” she replied, quickly looking around for something to hide the mark with. She couldn’t be seen with a mark of the Kavai! Why was it even there??? Hearing door moments from sliding open, she slapped a hand over her forehead, fumbling to catch the towel before it fell to the floor. She pressed it hard into her body with an arm to try and cover herself.

The door slid open, and Ailova raised a brow at the sight. Kerilia looked panicked, a hand over her forehead, items scattered across the floor, and a towel haphazardly preserving her dignity. “Kerilia, what happened?” she asked, stepping inside and shutting the door behind her.

Kerilia looked nervously at the mess she made, but she kept her hand firmly on her forehead. She couldn't reveal the mark, what would happen?? "I-I just slipped. Wet-wet floor." The weak smile did little to hide the tremor in her voice and her anxiously wide eyes.

It was obvious that Kerilia was lying, or at least not telling the whole truth. Ailova’s eyes lingered on the hand firmly stuck to her forehead. “Did you hit your head, dear? Let me take a look,” she offered, stepping forward.

Seeing Ailova’s hand reaching for hers, Kerilia quickly stepped out of reach. "It-it's alright, j-just a little bump from, uh..." she stammered. Glancing behind her aunt, she added, "... from the counter. I tried-tried to catch myself… uh… wwwwwith my face. Not-nothing to worry about…”

“Kerilia,” Ailova sighed. Her niece was definitely hiding something by the way she stepped back. “I’m sure it’s not that bad. But I can’t help you if you don’t let me see it.”

Swallowing hard, Kerilia shook her head. “No, it-it’s fine! Really!”

With an annoyed sigh, Ailova reached for her hand again.

Gasping, Kerilia clamped her eyes shut as she felt her aunt pull her hand away from her forehead. She was afraid to see her reaction.

Sure enough, a faint crescent marked her skin, just above her forehead ridge. It was barely visible as it was still in early development, initially mistaken for a suspiciously neat dirt smudge.

For a long time, Ailova said nothing as she was lost in her own shock. Her eyes were fixed on the mark. The last time she saw that mark, it was a target for her weapon in a time of war. She blinked, hoping it was just a figment of her imagination. Her expression shifted subtly. Confusion. Anger. After what felt like an eternity, she finally found her voice again.

"....No."

When Kerilia opened her eyes slightly, she saw the disdain in her aunt's expression. "Pleasedonttellanyone!" She quickly blurted out. She awkwardly adjusted the towel over her body, trying to maintain some sense of privacy. "I-I don't know why it's there, it-it won't come off…”

Ailova didn’t want to believe it. Grabbing a sponge, she ran it under water and applied soap before storming up to Kerilia. “The Kavai are not something to joke about!” she hissed, grabbing her shoulder to keep her still. The sponge made a wet splat as it contacted Kerilia’s forehead, and Ailova began scrubbing.

Kerilia gasped, then tried to step away. Her back bumped the wall behind her, and she shut her eyes as Ailova scrubbed. “Aunt Ailova, stop, please! It won’t go away!”

Ailova ignored her, continuing to scrub for a few more seconds before taking the sponge away. She grabbed a towel and wiped away the suds, and through the reddened skin the mark was still visible. “No… no, I refuse to accept this,” she muttered, tossing the sponge into the sink. She then braced her hands on the counter and dipped her head to try and get her thoughts into order. “How long has it been there??” she snipped toward Kerilia.

When Ailova let go, Kerilia sank to the ground as she fought back tears from the irritated skin. “It just appeared,” she answered, her voice trembling. “I got out of the bath and-and it was there! I was so shocked that I slipped…”

Ailova whipped her head around toward her niece. “Do not lie to me, Kerilia!”

The harshness of her voice, and the look of disgust across her features, made Kerilia flinch. “I swear, it’s the truth! You were with me all day, it wasn’t there! Aunt Ailova, please believe me!” Kerilia was on the verge of panicking, crying, or both. She was shaking, anxious about this conversation, unable to believe that she truly had the mark on her forehead.

With a heavy sigh, Ailova tried to organise her racing thoughts. “You don’t understand what this means,” she muttered. “It had to be your mother. I knew there was something I didn’t like about her.”

While still terrified, the mention of Saphse made Kerilia angry. Carefully, she stood back up, gripping the towel tightly. “My mom was a good person!”

Gritting her teeth, Ailova looked at Kerilia again, not hiding her anger. “A good person? That mark had to come from somewhere, Kerilia! There is no doubt that Teevs is one of us. I was there when he was born. Either your mother was unfaithful and made my brother raise another’s child, or… fuck, she could have been one of them.”

“No, that’s impossible!” Kerilia argued. “My mom loved Dad! She would never do such a thing to him! And she couldn't have been one of the Kavai, she never had the mark!”

This was too much. Ailova ran her hands through her hair as she tried to figure out what to do. She never expected to be in this situation, to be faced with… with this. She didn’t really hear what Kerilia said, because there was no other way for her to have obtained the mark. Did Teevs know? Surely he would have found out through Kerilia’s medical records, unless Saphse forged those too. Eventually, she sucked in a deep, trembling breath.

“This needs to be reported.”

That made Kerilia forget how to breathe for a moment. She reached forward and grabbed Ailova's hand, hoping the touch might ground her. The idea of reporting something like this terrified her. What would happen?? "Please, no! There-there has t-to... there has to be... y-you can't!”

Ailova pulled her hand away, though Kerilia’s fear did make her hesitate. She had known this child since she was born, and it wasn’t easy to just… forget everything. “There’s… there’s no other way. This isn’t… right. It’s illegal.”

Kerilia felt like she was going to throw up. Quickly, she grabbed a blemish corrector, looking very similar to a dermal regenerator, and it clattered against the counter as her hand trembled. “What-what if I use this?” she suggested desperately, showing Ailova the device. “Nobody has to find out! Nobody has to know!”

“I’ll know!” Ailova said sharply. She grabbed the device from Kerilia and slammed it down onto the counter. “It is too dangerous, Kerilia. Someone else could find out… it’s better to deal with this now than the ramifications of it later.” The idea of reporting her own family to the authorities went against every protective instinct she had, but the consequences for her and the rest of the family if she didn’t report were far worse.

Kerilia reached for Ailova’s hands again, grasping them tightly. Tears began to track down her cheeks. "Please, Aunt Ailova! How can I convince you to not do this? I'm... terrified, and confused. I-I-I don’t know what’s going to happen!”

The contact, the physical reminder of Kerilia’s presence, further complicated the already complex emotions in Ailova’s core. Her harsh gaze began to soften as she forced herself to look at Kerilia’s terrified expression.

Kerilia searched Ailova’s eyes for something, anything she could anchor to to try and appeal to her. "Will you at least give it a little time? You'd be making a mistake if you reported this now! Please, think of my dad, think of me!”

It would devastate Teevs to discover this about his only daughter. They may have had their issues, but Ailova had the decency to spare him the grief of reporting his own child. For a long moment, Ailova processed this, her gaze going back and forth between the barely perceptible mark and those tearful eyes. Eventually, her gaze broke from Kerilia, searching for the smaller towel she saw lying around. Slowly, methodically, she wrapped up Kerilia’s hair, intentionally concealing the mark. When she was done, she took a step back, eyes carefully scrutinising her work. “Go to your room and get ready for bed,” she said quietly. “I’ll figure this out. I just… I just need time to think.”

Kerilia whimpered when Ailova reached for her, then a hesitant relief washed over her when she helped hide the mark. She could tell that Ailova had a lot to think about, and with the way she kept her distance, she chose to not offer a hug. “Thank you, Aunt Ailova,” she whispered, gently touching the towel around her head. “I love you.”

Ailova didn’t say anything as Kerilia left the bathroom, and when the door slid shut behind her, she closed her eyes for a moment. If it were anyone else, this would be an easy decision. Why did it have to be her family?

Why?