New Life : A Second Chance

One couldn't really blame Delilah for her fear. Incest, though not spoken of, is something that was real. Just because you're siblings did not mean it could never happen. It's precisely because the parents would never expect it, that it can happen right under their noses.

Delilah had been active in social work during her school days, and thus, had been exposed to the hidden, darker side of society. One case that hit her quite badly was of a young girl, made pregnant by her brother. The said girl had run away as the family blamed her for seducing her own brother when in reality, it was the other way round. In the end, the girl committed suicide.

Delilah shuddered at that memory. Due to that experience, it made her view the innocent interactions between the siblings as something more. As a first time mother, she didn't have any yardstick to follow. All of her friends had kids, but none had twins. The normal sibling rivalry or fights that her friends' would talk about, never happened with Kyle and Kay. That fueled her fear even more.

Luckily Patrick was there to stabilize her. He would not allow her to separate the twins, or let her make them do different things, and apart from each other. He viewed them as they were: innocent young children. As such, her fears did not cause undue hardship on her kids and she vowed to observe intensely. For now. If there was ANY possibility of the line being crossed, Patrick or no Patrick, the kids would be separated.

One thing Delilah had to admit was that her children were exceptionally bright. They hardly gave her any problems as they were growing up. The only problem they had given was the fact that they didn't talk until they were two years old. They were in their own world most of the time, either speaking in twin-speech with each other (a language only the two of them knew), or was silent yet would understand each other perfectly.

With other people, they'd just gesture to things they wanted or gave hand signals about what it was they were trying to say. Delilah was at her wits end and was about to send them to a specialist when the both of them suddenly started speaking. In complete sentences. Without a lisp or 'baby talk'. In fact, they spoke both English and French.

The parents were shocked to the core, then realised that they had picked up the language simply by listening to their nannies speaking it as they were growing up. Of course, unknown to them, Kyle also knew Korean, Japanese and Mandarin. He wouldn't reveal that to them at all, of course. Would probably give them a heart attack if he did.

Delilah was extremely proud of them, and she loved them immensely; but she was still worried for them. The more Delilah thought about it, the more she became worried. It wasn't just the possibility of incest occurring in the future, but it was also their exclusivity with each other that was a problem. They were each other's world, and tended to exclude others from it.

It was fine for now but what would happen when they entered school? And as adults? Delilah rubbed her forehead, feeling a headache coming on. Patrick noticed the gesture, and worriedly asked her as he rubbed her temples, "Migraine coming? Do you need your medication?"

Delilah gave him a soft smile, shaking her head, "No, it's okay. I was just thinking too much."

He looked at where she was gazing, and could guess what she was worried about. He frowned for a while, and patted the back of her hand before putting it around her waist, pulling her closer.

"Don't worry," he said with more confidence than he felt, "They are still young, and not yet exposed to the world. For now, their entire world is each other. I'm sure once they start school, things will be different."

"I hope so," Delilah whispered as she continued to watch them. They were so engrossed in the game, and each other, that going there seemed to be intruding. It was this exact sense of exclusivity that made her so worried. Did they even need her when they had each other? She couldn't help but also feel a bit ... jealous.

*** ------ *** -----

Kyle took a pawn and moved it one square above. His back was to his parents and he appeared to be paying full attention to Kay, who seemed to be pondering on her next move.

"Are they still watching?" Kyle asked telepathically.

Kay's facial expression didn't change at all as she took a quick peek secretly. Taking her knight, she made a move as nodded, replying, "We should start the next phase now."

Kyle nodded in agreement.

There were so many things that needed to be done, and they had to do it carefully. They needed to stand out in order to gain more yet not too much that it would cause unrest. It was because they showed high intelligence that their parents provided more resources to learn, and indulged in whatever they wanted. That made it easier for them as well.

They would be starting school next year, and needed a firmer foundation before they entered. Being smart was not enough. They also needed to be strong. Now that they were six, they could openly begin learning self-defence.

"I don't think Mother would agree to me learning though," sighed Kay.

Kyle grinned, "Of course not! You're a delicate flower that can't even handle a bruise. Go through martial arts training?"

Kay rolled her eyes, which was not seen by their parents as Kyle chose to move at that moment, blocking her from their sight. "Yeah, right. If Mother ever found out what you put me through the past year, she'd probably have a heart attack."

"Oh come on." Kyle responded, poking her cheek, "That was half the fun".

Kay slapped the offending finger, and pinched his nose in return and smiled.

"Though I must admit, I didn't think you'd be so suited for it," Kyle said, rubbing his chin as if contemplating the next move.

"Pffft. As if," retorted Kay, switching to twin speech, "You know me the best, and you looked through all those manuals. Finding the most suitable art for me was child's play for you. Oh wait. You ARE a child."

Kyle snarled a bit, "Can't wait to grow older though. Acting my age all the time can be so tiring,"

Kay laughed, then ruffled that silky hair of his. "There, there. Be a good boy and act your age, okay? Rubbing your chin like that makes you look like an old man, too. You wouldn't want to be committed for being abnormal now, would you? Then Mom and Dad would only have little old normal me to keep them company."

Kyle laughed so hard at that, holding his stomach as he looked at her, tears in his eyes, "You? Normal? What 6-year old knows how to pick locks, scale walls and throw knives with unerring accuracy?"

Kay put one hand on her waist and pointed a finger at him, retorting, "More normal than another 6-year-old who can shoot a gun AND know ninjutsu just from the Internet! IN A YEAR!"

"That's because I'm smart," Kyle replied with a smirk.

"No, that's because you're a freak," huffed Kay.

"We're twins, so we're both freaks" Kyle replied back, grinning while making his eyebrows go up and down comically.

Kay stomped her feet, grabbed the chess board. She ignored the chess pieces that flew as she picked it up. She then proceeded to whack Kyle's head with it. Kyle didn't dodge, even though he could have done so easily. He did, however, hold his hands up to pretend trying to stop her.

Kay threw the board away and ran to Patrick. Kyle quickly followed, and Kay quickly hid behind Patrick, her body being shielded partially by their Father.

When Kyle reached them, Patrick looked at him and asked sternly, "So what did you do now?"

Kyle looked at his father, his eyes wide as if hurt, putting a hand on his chest, "Me? What makes you think it was me?"

"It's always you," Patrick answered solemnly.

Kay's lips twitched in amusement at that, but she quickly hid it before their parents saw it. She turned her innocent face towards her father and said happily, "Father knows me best!" and hugged him. She then turned to face Kyle and stuck out her tongue at him.

"Yes, my little Princess," Patrick said indulgently as he picked her up and hugged her.

Kyle sighed, and looked helplessly at his mother. She merely smiled, patting Kay's head. "You're the elder brother, so it's your duty to give in to her."

Kyle raised an eyebrow at that. They were twins, and of the same age yet he's supposed to be the elder brother? Well, yeah, he was but still, that logic wasn't logical. He didn't say it though.

However, Kyle began frowning as he saw his father not letting Kay down. What was wrong with his clueless Father? Kay was already six years old; much too old to be carried like a baby and she certainly didn't act like one.

Patrick just happened to turn his head at that moment, catching that expression of displeasure on Kyle's face. Patrick did NOT like that look.

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