“You lied to him, didn’t you?”
“Nooo.He simply realized what you didn’t.”Ziva smiled prettily.“We’re fated.”
Kira stared at the girl.“Unbelievable.”
Anybody else and she wouldn’t have hesitated to crush that optimism of hers.
“I was right though.”Ziva pointed at Kira.“Seon’yer.”Ziva turned her finger on herself.“Yer’se.”
Kira was at a loss for words.
Truly, just what went on in this child’s head?
Already regretting the impulse that had led her down this path, Kira followed Ziva through the barrier.“Come on.”
Ziva complied happily.“Does this mean I can stay?”
“For now.”
Just until Kira could contact Luatha to find out how her cousin wanted this situation handled.
“Don’t think you’ll always get your way so easily,” Kira warned.
She was nice this time, but that wouldn’t always be the case.
Ziva gave her a snappy salute as they entered the fortress via the massive set of arched doors.“Roger that, seon’yer.”
“I see you’ve been talking to someone,” Kira observed dryly.
That was a decidedly human phrase.Mostly used by those in the military.
“I didn’t need to.When I realized you would be my seon’yer someday, I decided to brush up on my understanding of human culture,” Ziva informed Kira happily as they bypassed the stairs that would take them to the upper level of the fortress where the wing designated for the Overlord’s family resided.
Instead, they traversed long hallways until they reached the inner fortress before descending several levels until there was a slight chill in the air.
“And just how did you manage that?”Kira asked uneasily.
“I reviewed hundreds of hours of common human media.”
“Wait—you mean you binge watched holovids.”
“Not just holovids.There’s this thing called holotoons.They’re amazing stories told with pictures and words.The most intricate create entire worlds you can step into.A full 360 degree experience.It’s like actually being there.”
Oh, dear lord.
It sounded like the child had gone down a rabbit hole.Not just becoming obsessed with holovids and series but the alter realities as well.
This was the same thing that had happened with Jin.
What was it about human entertainment that made it so engrossing?It was like they were dealers giving an addict a fix.
“I’m surprised you were able to access so many,” Kira said.
The Tuann had made no secret of the fact that they thought humans were inferior to them in pretty much every way.She would have thought that extended to their entertainment media as well.
“It’s true that Luatha’s library was rather lacking,” Ziva admitted.“The few they had were really bad and not an actual depiction of human imagination.House Maxiim’s library was better.My parents used to watch the shows with me.It was our ritual.Since we were so close to the border, they hacked the feeds from the nearest space station so we could get the latest broadcast.I still have most of them stored in my memory stone.”
Kira’s expression gentled as she studied Ziva’s profile.
