. 06

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Author's note

Part Four takes the story to a new setting. It is not necessary for you to have read Parts One, Two, and Three to enjoy Part Four, though it would probably help.

This concludes Part Four. Part Five and Part Six will continue this arc of the story.

The Homelands will eventually consist of fifteen parts, broken up into three trilogies. The first three parts were set in Autumn. The next three will be set in Summer. Then there will be three each set in Spring and Winter. The final three will tie everything together.

As ever, if you have questions feel free to email me. Or leave a comment. Either way, I'll try to respond in a timely manner.

This is primarily an incest story, but it is also sci-fi/fantasy, and supernatural elements are not incidental to the plot. Additionally, many chapters will feature elements of other categories, particularly group sex and anal.

All sexual acts are consensual and involve parties who are at least eighteen years of age.

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Cast of Characters

Gabriela

: Wife of Jennifer. Mother of Eric and Patty. POV character.

Jennifer

: Wife of Gabriela. Mother of Nick, Veronica, and Annie.

Eric

: Gabriela's son. POV character.

Nick

: Jennifer's son. POV character.

Patty

: Gabriela's daughter. POV character.

Veronica

: Jennifer's daughter. POV character.

Annie

: Jennifer's daughter.

Wes

: Gabriela's brother. Father of Olivia and Kurt.

Zoey

: Wes' wife. Mother of Olivia and Kurt.

Olivia

: Wes' daughter. Cousin to Eric and Patty.

Kurt

: Wes' daughter. Cousin to Eric and Patty. POV character.

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Scene 1

Setting: The Homelands. The same day as the events in Chapter 4.

POV: Gabriela

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"Enjoy yourself?" Jennifer asked her, giving her a knowing look.

Gabriela smirked. "Maybe." She noticed the faint glow her wife had about her, the gentle thrumming in her Libido. "And you?"

Jennifer blushed.

"Good for you," she said.

The short brunette gave her an odd look. But it disappeared quickly.

Did she think Gabriela was mocking her? Or was she hurt that Gabriela wasn't the least bit jealous that Annie could make Jennifer's skin glow like that? Did she still, even now, think that there could be something more between the two of them than there had been?

"Come on," Gabriela said, taking her by the hand and leading her down to the pier.

They were the last ones off the boat. Most of the others were already standing on the white sand, waiting to be led up to the veranda, where the veterans would finish telling the first-timers what to expect.

The Moody family island looked exactly the way she remembered it. But of course it would. It had only been two years since she'd left, from the perspective of the island.

For her, it felt like it had been a lifetime. When last she'd felt that warm, soothing sand beneath her feet, sand that sapped away her pain and frustration and anxiety, she'd been a young woman. One who had first journeyed to Summer not so long ago herself.

Now, she was a mother to two beautiful children.

Sometimes, it still made her head spin.

"Feels a little empty?" Jennifer asked, in a soft voice.

Gabriela smiled at her.

She hadn't actually been thinking of all those she'd lost. It was harder to keep them from her thoughts now that she was here, the last place they'd all been together. But over the past twenty years, she'd gotten quite good at suppressing painful memories.

"A little, yeah," she said.

It was the type of thing her wife expected her to say.

Jennifer wouldn't have such an easy time blocking out memories of her parents. Of an older brother and older sister that had been taken from her entirely too soon.

Perhaps that should make Gabriela think that Jennifer was more sensitive. More emotionally mature. But she didn't. What good would come from wallowing in the pain and sorrow of the past? How would it make her a better person if she chose to do so?

"We won't let anything like that happen again," Jennifer said.

"We?"

"We're still a family, aren't we?"

Gabriela kissed the top of Jennifer's head. "We are."

House Moody needed House Hardt too badly for Gabriela to give any other response. If her son was to be king, he'd need the support of Nick and Veronica.

Jennifer let out a contented sigh and wrapped an arm around Gabriela's waist.

As they caught up to the others, she heard her nephew say, "That's not just me, right? This sand is, uh, more than just sand?"

"You'll find a lot of things here are just like they would be in the Playground," Wes replied to his son. "But not everything." Then he looked past their kids to Gabriela. "What do you think? Should we give them some time to explore first? Or should we go ahead and get the boring stuff out of the way now?"

Eric and the others stared at her. She knew what answer they expected from her. And she'd have loved to give the answer that would make her son's eyes light up. But she'd always been too quick to give in to her son. It was time she started thinking less about what he wanted, and more about what was good for him.

"Boring stuff," she said.

Wes gave her an approving nod.

Her son did not.

But that was okay. It needed to be done.

Jennifer gave her hand a squeeze. "They'll need some time to let it all sink in anyway."

And they'd enjoy what little time there was left before the induction ceremony that much more, knowing that it would be the last time for a while that they could be with whomever they wanted. It was only natural that they were all dying to go out and explore the island. But if she let them do that, and waited until later to finish delivering the bad news, she really wouldn't be doing them any favors.

"Thank you," she told Jennifer. "For everything."

Then she kissed her wife deeply.

The brunette's knees buckled, and she was still swooning when Gabriela walked over to her brother and led him, and the rest of the group, up to the veranda.

"My turn to play harbinger of bad news," she told Wes, who'd very nearly given the kids heart attacks with his casual talk of death. "But I'd appreciate you being at my back."

"Of course," he said.

So after everyone got settled and they'd all conjured up their preferred form of refreshment, Gabriela laid down the bad news. How the agents of House Bravo would start spying on them. How some of the things they'd gotten away with before would no longer be tolerated. Like allowing mortals to see them together, or leaving the house without their disguises.

The reactions to that and the other smaller things were, as she expected, modest. There was some grumbling, and Eric informed them all that these rules were "fucking lame." But overall, no one was too upset. In fact, she noticed that Veronica at least was getting more and more anxious as Gabriela went on. Her daughter knew that she was stalling. That there was a real bomb that she had to drop, and it didn't have anything to do with what they could tell mortals about their sex lives or their family vacations.

Gabriela tried not to look Eric in the eye as she broke the bad news.

"Nick, you'll be paired with Annie. Patty, with Eric. Veronica, you're with Jennifer. And Kurt, honey, you get me all to yourself."

"And I'm all yours, princess," Wes told Olivia.

Zoey rolled her eyes and knocked back the rest of her drink in one gulp.

Kurt looked at her, then back to Gabriela. "And what about my mother?"

Gabriela looked to her brother.

He gave her a nod, put a hand on her shoulder, and fielded his son's question. "She's not one of us. Doesn't need to swear any vows. So long as she doesn't do anything to draw mortal attention to our kind, she's free to do as she pleases."

Zoey barked a laugh at that while she watched her glass refill itself.

"But we can't...," Kurt began.

"That's right," Wes said. "Wouldn't be breaking any rules for a married man to lie with his wife, of course,' he added, blushing.

Zoey glowered at him. Gabriela could almost feel the sarcasm dripping from that stare.

After that, everyone fell quiet.

Annie seemed to actually consider it good news, for reasons that Gabriela didn't quite understand. But the others were predictably devastated.

The pall of silence that hung over them was occasionally broken by the soft sound of waves crashing on the shore behind them, or the distant cawing of the beautiful birds that were Summer's version of seagulls.

Gabriela had looked forward to seeing those birds and their diamond-coated feathers again. But at just the moment, she wasn't in any mood to delight in their calls.

"Are we done?" Eric asked.

In truth, his face was expressionless.

But in her mind, at least, her son's face was filled with disgust. His eyes bore into her, accusing her of betrayal most foul.

She nodded quietly.

Slowly, everyone pushed back their chairs.

"You handled that as well as you could have," Wes whispered to her.

"Thanks," she said, hollowly.

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Scene 2

Setting: The Homelands. The same day as the events in Chapter 4.

POV: Nick

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"Hey," Veronica said, voice heavy with resignation.

Nick slipped his arms around her and pulled her against his chest. He took a deep whiff of her hair. Through the melange of tropical smells given off by the island, it was hard to tease out her scent. But it was there. And it was beautiful.

"Think we should head up the trail, like the others?" his sister asked. "I think Mom-Jay said there's a beach house there. Inside, it's more like a mansion."

"Sounds nice," Nick said.

"Everything here is, isn't it?" she replied. "Strange, how a land can be so beautiful, and yet so dark and miserable."

He kissed the back of her neck by way of response.

"You think our family's island is this pretty?"

"This is our--"

"I mean House Hardt," she said. "We're on Moody Island."

Nick sighed. "I know."

Veronica hesitated a moment before saying, "You're right."

"It

is

beautiful, isn't it?" Nick asked, looking around.

Just over there, there was what looked like a pineapple tree. But the fruits dangling from it only bore a passing resemblance to pineapples. The birds flying overhead looked a bit like seagulls, but more than a little like swans as well. And their feathers sparkled like diamonds. In the short time they'd been there, he'd seen all manner of flora and fauna he'd never imagined before. And all of it was breathtaking.

Yet his sister was right. Summer

looked

like paradise, but it most certainly was not.

"Mm-hmm," she said, absentmindedly. Then, rolling her head back to rest against his shoulder, she asked, "Nick, what are we going to do?"

"Obey the customs of our court, I should imagine," he said.

The words came out so easily. Because they really didn't have a choice. But ever since Mom-Gee's little speech, he'd felt a little numb.

"Be serious."

"I am," he said. "Don't forget the last depressing talk they gave us. About feuds and wars and how House Moody nearly died off and whatnot. We don't want to give Phil-"

"I know, I know," Veronica said. "But... a year? With Mom-Jay?"

He could think of worse fates.

Like a year with Annie.

He felt bad thinking it. Annie had gone from being the queen of her social circle, the girl every guy wanted, to discovering that she belonged to a clan of immortal sex-addicts... none of whom were particularly interested in her.

Besides their mother, at any rate.

Nick wasn't sure he understood it. Eric, at least, should have been more interested in her. She was more his type than Nick's. And, not so long ago, Eric had been excited about initiating her. But, lately, he didn't seem interested in anyone other than Mom-Gee. Not even Olivia, who had once been the center of his universe.

Annie deserved better.

But that didn't change the fact that he'd be picturing Veronica whenever he crawled atop her. He'd do his best to treat her right, but the two of them made a poor match.

"I know. You're no more excited about the hand you were dealt," she said. Then she added, "Riiight?"

He laughed. "No, I'm not."

"Good."

Nick buried his face in Veronica's thick, luxuriant black hair, then kissed the back of her head. This was why their parents had kept telling them not to get too attached. That they shouldn't think of their relationships with each other as anything but physical and familial.

But there had always been a wink-wink, nudge-nudge flavor to such admonitions. Just something they had to say. Or so he'd thought.

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Scene 3

Setting: The Homelands. The same day as the events in Chapter 4.

POV: Patty

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The sun felt great against her skin. Warm, but not too warm. And the cool breeze coming up from the shore couldn't have been more delightful.

Patty tried not to think of anything else.

She lay on a lounge chair on the back deck of the impossibly large and luxuriant beach house, soaking up rays, and most decidedly

not

wondering what Kurt was saying to his mother, or how she was reacting. Nope. Couldn't have been further from her mind.

There were more effective ways of distracting herself, of course. The last time she'd gone inside to get another margarita, she found Nick, Veronica, Annie, and Mom-Jay engaged in a Hardt family orgy. Right there, in the living room. By the sounds of it, most of the Moodys were doing the same down in the rec room.

But Kurt had said he wouldn't be long. And he'd asked her to wait for him.

Besides, it really was

lovely

out here. She could lay there, basking in the warm Summer sun and sipping peach margaritas, for hours. She didn't need sex or romance or affection or attention or any of that. It was nice to just enjoy some solitude.

By the time half her margarita remained, though, Patty was starting to get anxious. She laid the trashy romance novel she'd conjured up on the glass table beside her. What was she doing reading a romance anyway? If she wanted to take her mind off of Kurt, she should have been reading one of her medical thrillers. Or something a little less steamy.

When she found herself pushing her straw through dregs, trying to coax a few more sips out of the chunks of pink ice, she sighed and gave up.

Time to go join the Hardts.

Kurt and Zoey could go fuck themselves. Or each other. She didn't even care.

Just then, the back door slid open. And Kurt stepped out onto the hardwood deck.

Patty's heart went aflutter.

"Oh, hey," she said, fumbling with her paperback, trying to give the impression that she'd been lost in her reading.

The book fell onto her flat stomach.

Kurt snickered. "What're we drinking?"

"Margaritas," she said. Then, in a quieter voice, "Peach margaritas."

He smiled as he came around and sat on the lounge across from her. Her cousin mimed holding a pitcher over her glass, and a fresh round of frothy, frozen, pinky goodness filled her glass. Then he poured one for himself, lime, and stretched out on the plastic chair.

"How'd it go?" Patty asked, before hiding her face behind her drink.

"Umm," Kurt said. "Okay. I guess."

Patty frowned. "Sorry."

"No, don't be. It's just... well, she doesn't have anyone else."

"Your father," Patty said.

"Right. So she can have vanilla, perfectly acceptable and Republican-approved sex with her husband. Who, incidentally, is obsessed with their daughter. But other than that, she has to sit on her hands, while the rest of us get to experience the thrill of bucking societal taboos by committing the most depraved acts."

"I guess, when you put it like that... `Republican-approved' huh?" She giggled.

Kurt shrugged. "You know what I mean."

"I do," she said. "So, if you want to... you know, since the last chance for you two to...."

Her cousin gave her a flat look. "Don't be ridiculous. I want to be with you."

Patty did her best to hide her grin. The butterflies in her stomach went crazy though.

"I'm just saying I understand where she's coming from, is all."

"Understood," Patty said.

"Anyway, she's enjoying one of the family orgies right now anyway. Maybe your brother can help her forget me." He smiled into his glass. "This is going to sound horrible, but damn it feels good to say that."

Patty laughed. "That's okay. I won't tell anyone you said that." She sipped at her margarita. "Besides, I think those of us who are used to getting overlooked deserve to take just a little pleasure in seeing the tables turned."

Annie, the most popular girl never to join the cheerleading squad, came to mind.

"To the overlooked," Kurt said, raising his glass.

With a giggle, Patty clinked hers against his.

The alcohol might have been helping, but as they chatted, Patty noticed all the tension leaving her body. The butterflies went to sleep, and her nerves quieted down. She'd been so anxious for Kurt to take her inside and have his way with her, so nervous about what to say to him if they decided to just hang out by the pool like this, and yet now that he was here, she forgot all about that. If they made their way inside, that would be great. But if they didn't, that would be okay too. She didn't feel at all at a loss for words. Nor worried that he'd make fun of her for being too girly or too giggly or too naive, or any of that, the way other guys always did. The way her brothers, whom she loved dearly, sometimes did.

For a time, they forgot about the Homelands. About the stupid induction ceremony, the politics of the great houses, the cautionary tale of the aunts and uncles they'd never had a chance to meet, and all the rest. They talked about baseball and running and people who didn't follow gym etiquette and television and all those little things that mattered so much more to them than the stuff they were supposed to care about.

Gradually, their conversation turned a little racier. Flirtatious, even. And her cousin started undressing her with his eyes. Which couldn't have taken much effort, sine she was only wearing a bikini top and a short skirt.

Patty hastily finished her drink, and thought to herself that it was a good thing that their kind could sober up with a mere thought. She'd needed a little help taking the edge off. And the damn things were really delicious. But the last thing she wanted was to have dulled senses for what was about to happen.

"Shall we?" she asked, putting her empty glass down on the table between them.

Kurt didn't reply. Just polished off his own drink then stood up and offered her his hand. Then he led her not back into the beach house, but down to the shore.

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Scene 4

Setting: The Homelands. The same day as the events in Chapter 4.

POV: Nick

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"My turn?" Mom-Jay asked, as Annie slid out of his lap.

Nick only hesitated a moment before giving her a thumbs-up.

The idea was for him and Veronica to enjoy what time they could together before the induction ceremony committed him to Annie and her to their mother. But when they walked into the beach house, they found Annie and Mom-Jay on the coffee table, sixty-nining. And Annie had been quick to invite Nick and Veronica join them.

Neither he nor his sister had been crazy about the idea. But when their mother added her voice to the proposal, rather insistently, they'd both caved.

Which might not have been so bad, if that had worked out to mean more or less that Nick and Veronica had sex with each other while Annie and their mother did the same, with the four of them all just happening to be in close vicinity to one another. But it seemed that everyone was intent on getting a chance to ride him before it was too late.