Chapter 155: Extras #1 (pt.2)

Elise was quiet as she contemplated my question, and I remained anxious about what her answer might be.

Finally she replied, "I'd like to take your offer Tegan, but I don't think I can drag my children into it. I think I need to go somewhere else and reinvent myself, start over completely. Their mother will have to vanish, just like your father did all those years ago."

We were both quiet again for a few moments, before I asked "I assume you've thought about what sort of reboot you want?"

She nodded, "I've thought about it but I suppose it will depend what you're able to do for me. If things had worked out with Lindsey I'd have said fourteen or fifteen. But if I have to be independent then nineteen or twenty would be about the youngest I could go. I wouldn't have any resources this time. I can't take what little I have with me, it's going to my children after I'm gone."

"You know I'll help you out with that. I have money and contacts, I can set you up wherever you like. And I'd take you in myself if I could, but..."

"I know Tegan," she replied with a smile. "I'm a human, and it wouldn't really work. Your home's the fae embassy. I can't even imagine the paperwork, let alone the practical hurdles of having a young human around while you're all doing your official fae business."

I hesitated, "Are you ready to do something now? Like we could leave here right now, you'll never come back here again. At least not as Elise Vale. We can go back to my place and work out the details."

Her eyes widened slightly, then she nodded "Ok Tegan. Let me just take care of a couple things."

First she got her 'phone' out of her purse. She opened up a communications app and recorded a brief video message to her children. She told them she was going away on a trip, and might not be back for a long time. She told them she loved them all, and asked Rachel to let the boys know she'd miss them. She told Justin she hoped he'd find someone and maybe settle down eventually. And she told Lindsey she was sorry she'd miss the birth of her child.

Then she sent the message off, and left her phone on the table by her bed. She left her ID card and money card there too. The only things she took with her were three photo-frames, each was set to slide-show through various pictures of her wife, children, and grandchildren.

She tucked the pictures into her purse then looked at me and nodded "I'm ready."

I moved to stand next to her, and gently wrapped my arm around her. A moment later the two of us were outside next to the car. I helped her into the passenger seat, then got into the drivers seat and soon enough we were on our way back to the estate.

We didn't talk much. Elise stared quietly out the windows while I pretended to focus on the drive. In truth I was lost in thought. I hadn't broken magic in any spectacular ways lately, but I was always thinking of new opportunities to do just that. And I had an idea that Elise might be interested in.

There were staff waiting as the car pulled to a halt in front of the mansion. Padraig and two honour guards were there to welcome me back, and two of the servants were present. I shooed them all away then helped Elise out of the car and into the building myself.

Laoise approached but one look at my expression and she about-faced without a word and left me and my guest alone.

I brought Elise to the nice sitting-room that had a view overlooking the garden. Then I called for a servant to bring us some tea and refreshments.

After we were alone and Elise had some tea and a little fancy sandwich or two, I asked "So last time, I made you look like my cousin. How would you feel about looking like we were even more closely related? How would you like to have purple hair this time around?"

Her eyes narrowed as she stared at me, "You're up to something, aren't you Tegan? Are you planning on causing some kind of trouble?"

"Yes," admitted in a calm, solemn voice. "I'm thinking about breaking some magical laws."

She tried to joke, "Will we have to pay some magical fines if you get caught?"

"I might," I replied. "But I'm sleeping with the queen, and my great-great-grandfather is a God, so I can probably talk them down to letting me off with a warning."

Elise gave me a quizzical look, "What is it you have in mind, Tegan?"

"How would you like to visit Otherworld?" I asked with a smile. "What I'm thinking about will require more magic than I have access to here."

She shook her head, "I don't understand?"

I grinned, "Don't worry about it right now. So if you could have everything the way you want, you really want to be fourteen or fifteen?"

"Yes," she nodded. "Around there anyways. Definitely in the teens, not a little child. I think that would be too uncomfortable."

"You won't be able to do much partying at fourteen," I teased. "Do you seriously want to go back to high-school? You know it's nothing like it was when you were that age. Heck it's nothing like it was when I was that age."

Elise sighed, "I know. It's moot regardless, you can't take me in here and if you did, I certainly wouldn't be going to a normal high-school. And I wouldn't want to experience high-school as a solitary student with tutors."

"Yeah," I agreed. "That would be lonely and sucky, it wouldn't be a fun experience. But realistically you don't have to, you've already done all that. There's other things you could learn instead. Like swordplay, horseback riding, archery... Magic."

"What?" she stared at me. "Tegan please make more sense. I'm still an old woman and it's hard to keep up with you."

"Sorry Elise." I was still smiling though, "I'll stop trying to surprise you. Here's what I'm thinking..."

• • • • •

It would have been a lot easier if I'd thought to make her younger first. Even if I'd just cut her age in half and brought her to her thirties she could have moved around a lot easier. But I didn't think of that, so we muddled through.

I had Laoise take Elise to one of the guest rooms, and made it clear she was to be treated with as much honour and respect as would be given to Lady Maeve. I didn't exactly tell any of my staff her relationship to me, but I figured at least a few of them suspected. After all, it was no secret I'd been a changeling, and here I was ordering them to treat this frail elderly human the way they would my mother.

We had an early dinner, Kelly and Keira joined Elise and I and the four of us ate together. I let the twins know what I was planning, but they wouldn't be accompanying us. They both had business to deal with on Earth. I wouldn't be gone long anyways, this trip would probably only take me a day.

We had an early night, and the following morning I was up before dawn. So was Elise.

I met her at the door to her room. She had nothing with her but the clothes she was wearing, I instructed her to leave the pictures behind for now. I had a pack slung over my shoulders, and I wore a belt with my sword and dagger.

With an arm around Elise, I teleported us both out to the little glade in the ravine. There were now two guards stationed there, since Padraig viewed it as a potential hole in our security. The guards were both startled by our arrival, but I told them to stand down.

Once I found the spot, I took Elise into a tight hug, and as the sun crested the horizon I cast the spell.

By now it was almost automatic for me, I'd done it so many times. I pulled the two of us out through the veil into the place between worlds, and from there I directed us to our destination. I opened an ancient portal we both slipped back out into reality.

Elise breathed a deep sigh and leaned against me for a full minute before she was steady enough to stand on her own. Then she looked around and frowned in confusion.

"It's so desolate. What is this place?"

I replied, "This is the Royal Duma Dé. I brought us here because I'm going to need more power than I could get anywhere else."

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Elise nodded slowly, "What should I do?"

"For now, just relax." I helped her down to the ground so she was seated. It probably wasn't comfortable on the cold hard ground, but I didn't want to risk her falling over if I left her alone on her feet too long.

Then I slipped my pack off my back and dug into it. I pulled out a six-pack of hard lemonade and two bottles of maple syrup, as I called out in Fae, "King Nettlesting? It's Lady Tegan of Clann Brádaigh, I bring you gifts."

Elise knew not to panic, by now most humans knew about pixies and she'd met several on Earth. She waited quietly as they surrounded us.

I didn't waste too much time with pleasantries, I greeted the king and gave him the offerings I'd brought. I let him know I was only here for a brief visit, and warned him I'd be messing with magic but I promised to put things right afterwards.

Nettlesting just smiled, he thanked me for the gifts and asked me to pass on his regards to his sister Petunia.

A few pixies were curious about Elise, they'd never seen a human before, but none of them bothered her. And they all left when their king gave the signal.

Alone once again with Elise, I sat down on the ground next to her and suggested "You should probably lie down for this?"

She slowly lay back, and that looked even more uncomfortable. I grabbed my pack and moved it under her head so at least she had a makeshift pillow. Then I got to my feet.

"Ok," I said. "I'm going to start. Just relax, if you can?"

She nodded, "I'm ready Tegan. Whatever happens, thank you."

My first spell wasn't anything more fancy than a sleep spell. It would ensure Elise remained unconscious through the later steps, as some could be unpleasant.

Then I concentrated on the Duma and cast my second spell.

A shudder passed through the air, and I knew every magic-sensitive fae in Otherworld felt it. I didn't take away all the magic, but I'd just diverted about half of it. My heart was pounding and I could feel the energy burning as it flooded into my body. Taralynn warned me about this. I figured by only taking half, I wasn't technically breaking any rules or promises. And it probably wouldn't harm me as much as if I'd taken it all.

With shaking hands I pulled the dagger from my belt and drew the blade across my left forearm. Blood ran freely, and the blade was soon coated. I whispered an apology to Elise, then I cut a similar line in her arm. I let my blood mix with hers, then I dropped the dagger and stood up.

I whispered a brief prayer and another apology, this time to The Dagda and The Morrigan. Then I cast the third spell.

It was similar to what I'd done for Kelly and Keira all those years ago. Similar, but different. It was also similar to what I'd done to Kaitlyn back in Griofa. Similar, but opposite.

Using my own fae blood, and using the strong emotional connection I had with Elise, the person who was once my dad and then my cousin, and using half the magic in all of Otherworld which was currently flooding into my body like a torrent, I broke the laws of magic once more. Roughly eight thousand years ago the Gods did this to a few thousand humans. Today I did it to Elise.

When it was over, my fourth spell healed the cuts I'd given us both. I'd long since figured out how to break that limitation of healing magic. I fully healed my right leg over three decades ago.

My fifth spell shared with Elise my knowledge of Fae, both the spoken language and the written word. She'd still know English of course, Fae would be a second language to her as it was for me. But when she woke, she'd be as fluent as I was.

And finally, my sixth spell restored the Duma to their normal operation.

Then I lay down on the cold rocky ground next to her, and I rested.

• • • • •

It was well known that I'd been a changeling, and equally well known that was done to me against my parents' will. It was also known, at least in some circles, that my birth and subsequent kidnapping were kept hidden by my mother out of fear that the knowledge she'd lost her only child would be used against her. It wasn't until I was recovered that knowledge of my existence became widely known.

And I undoubtedly had many enemies among powerful fae in Otherworld and Earth who would know those stories by now. They would also know that it would be worse than suicide to attempt to attack me directly.

So it wasn't beyond the realm of possibility that, should I happen to have a child, perhaps one of those enemies would somehow manage to steal her away and hide her on Earth, repeating what had been done to me years earlier.

And the point of all this was to say, when I turned up at my estate with a small young purple-haired fae girl and I introduced her as my daughter Elise - named after my human cousin of course - I didn't even have to start the rumours myself. It was simply assumed that she'd been kidnapped some fifteen years earlier and hidden among the humans as a changeling.

All I had to do was refuse to discuss the situation whenever anyone asked. Everyone automatically believed the details were too painful for me to recount.

And so the person who was once my father and then my cousin had now become my daughter.

Beyond myself and Elise, only a few would know the truth. Kelly and Keira were aware, and Maeve of course. I couldn't keep that secret from my mom any more than I could my wives. Queen Áine would have her suspicions as well, because she knew about The Dagda's curse. And some of my closest staff would know, or at least suspect.

To everyone else though, Elise Brádaigh was the daughter of Lady Tegan Brádaigh.

I was a five-foot-two petite busty young woman with fair skin, aqua-blue eyes, and short purple hair. To humans I appeared to be in my early twenties, while fae would see me as partway through my second century. I almost always dressed casual, especially when I had to attend boring meetings with human or fae officials.

Elise looked about fifteen to humans, or fifty to the fae. At four-foot-five she was even smaller and more petite than myself. She wasn't busty like me, but she still had another few decades of growth ahead of her so that might change in time. Her skin was fair and her eyes were aqua-blue. Her hair was the same shade of purple as mine, and it hung in waves partway down her back.

She shared my fashion sense, with a preference for comfy casual clothes. She also took after me in how much she could upset and exasperate the older people around her. Including myself.

She was as much of an unruly little gremlin as I was, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

As a young fae of noble blood, her life wouldn't be anything like that of a normal human teen. But being daughter of an ambassador meant she'd be well-travelled. Her education would be handled by various tutors, but it wouldn't be a lonely solitary experience.

Thanks to my schedule taking me back and forth from Earth to Otherworld, and thanks to my wives being able to cross worlds as well, Elise could divide her time between our estate on Earth and castle Brádaigh in Otherworld. She also accompanied me to the royal palace on occasion, where Queen Áine treated the girl like a beloved niece to be spoiled and indulged.

Elise was an affable and outgoing teen, and she made friends with many of the fae on my staff. She also became very close friends with Saoirse who was only a couple years older than herself.

And although I had to pretend otherwise, I was secretly very happy to learn Elise and Saoirse got into tremendous amounts of trouble together whenever my daughter stayed at the castle. She even managed to bribe a courier to sneak herself and Saoirse away to Earth for a clandestine visit.

That was perhaps my proudest moment as a mother, knowing my girl had done the one thing I hadn't yet dared.

Finally, although Elise inherited my looks and my bad behaviour, she did not inherit my gift for magic. Her talent was no better or worse than that of Saoirse or Maeve. Elise would learn to use magic, but she would never quite be strong enough to call herself a mage. On the other hand, despite all her mischief she did take her studies seriously, and she was destined to be a much better archer and swordswoman than I ever would.

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