Chapter 20: 20. Contemplated

Wednesday and Thursday went by in a blur. I spent some time Wednesday setting up a new email and social media accounts, then we had to go out and do laundry. In the afternoon we started packing up my clothes and things, and Kelly packed up the stuff she had here. By the time we went to bed Wednesday night we were ready to go.

Thursday morning Kelsey showed up driving a newish car. It was one of those 'cross-overs', not quite an SUV but chunkier than a sedan and bigger than a compact. It actually looked kind of like a box on wheels, but I thought it was cute. And the blue-green colour matched my eyes. The mileage was really low and it was only two years old, but compared to what I'd been driving before it was basically brand-new as far as I was concerned.

A few minutes later two guys arrived with a van. All my clothes, my computer, pretty much everything that wasn't nailed down was packed up and loaded into the van. The only things they left behind were the furniture and the appliances.

Kelsey gave my old car keys to one of the movers, I left the keys to the apartment on the little kitchen table, and the three of us climbed into my new car and drove away from my old life. I had no idea what happened to my old car, and Kelsey said she'd take care of things with my old landlord.

By noon Kelly and I were sitting in the living-room of a fancy seventh-floor two-bedroom condo, with a balcony and a south-facing view overlooking the lake. The place was fully furnished, and most of Kelly's stuff was already here.

While my new car was listed in my name, I had no idea who's name the condo was in. Kelsey said we didn't have to worry about rent though, which was good. I had a feeling the monthly on this place would have been more than I was paying per year at the old place.

Kelly and I each had our own large bedroom, and there was a big luxurious washroom. The main area was open-concept, with a large living-room, dining room, and a beautiful kitchen. The whole place was three or four times bigger than my basement apartment. We even had our own little laundry-room with a stacked washer-dryer. I hadn't had that kind of luxury since I moved out of my parents house three years ago.

My new bed was large and comfortable, the sheets were soft, and Kelly and I did our best to break it in when we finally went to bed Thursday night.

Friday morning I actually managed to sleep in till eight. I guess my body-clock was finally starting to adjust to the fact that I wasn't going to work. By eight-thirty, both me and Kelly were sitting together on the balcony, sipping our first coffee of the day. She was in a night-shirt, I was in my cute kitty pyjamas, and we were relaxing on an outdoor sofa while we watched the boats out on the lake.

"This is insane," I said softly. "This time last week I was an ordinary plain-looking guy, in a boring life, living in a basement apartment and driving a beat-up third-hand car. Now I'm a small cute girl, living downtown in a million-dollar condo overlooking the lake. I've got a new car, and my life is anything but boring."

I had a sip of coffee then added, "The absolute best part though, is I've still got you."

Kelly slipped an arm around my waist and I leaned my head against her shoulder.

She replied quietly, "I never thought you were ordinary, or plain-looking. Though I'll admit you're right about being cuter now. As for exciting... We'll see how much fun you think it is, spending all your free time learning fae stuff."

I grinned, "If I get to learn it with you, then I'm sure I'll manage."

She smiled too, and held me a little tighter.

We eventually got ourselves some more coffee, but it felt like this was going to be a quiet, lazy, stay-at-home kind of day. I did have to talk with my mom at some point, and see about meeting with her and dad. I'd originally planned on seeing them tonight, but after how busy the past few days had been I started to think maybe tomorrow afternoon would be a better bet.

It was mid-morning before I tried doing anything productive at all. I logged on to my new bank's website and accessed my account, so I could put in my new address. I nearly fell out of my chair when I saw my account balance. There was another two thousand dollars sitting there, courtesy of Ms. Connolly.

Around noon I decided to try and talk with my mom. I kept my old phone at Kelly's suggestion, and I'd use that to talk with my family for now. Until we knew how dad would react, I wouldn't give them my new number or our new address. I felt bad about it, but it was better than using magic to mess with them.

I took a deep breath then tapped their number and waited.

Mom answered on the third ring, "Hello?"

Even after seeing her on Tuesday, I was still nervous. "Uh, hi mom. It's Tegan."

"Hello Tegan... How are you doing?" From the sound of her voice, she was probably as nervous as I was.

I sighed, "Busy. Lots going on, lots of stuff to adjust to."

She hesitated, then said "I've been doing some reading, trying to learn more about what you and Kelsey told me. You're a changeling, aren't you? That's the word for you?"

I was surprised she'd been looking into this stuff, but I nodded as I replied "Yeah, that's what they tell me. I uh, I haven't actually done any research yet. Haven't had time. You probably know more about me than me now. Anyways, I was thinking maybe I could come visit you and dad tomorrow?"

She was quiet for a few moments, then finally said "I don't think that would be a good idea. I spoke with your father yesterday. I didn't tell him anything, but I did sort of bring up the subject of you possibly being trans and... He didn't take it well."

I sighed as my stomach started to feel cold. "I see. You think... You figure he'll be mad, or won't accept me like this?"

"I'm afraid not. I'm sorry Tegan." She sounded apologetic, and upset.

I tried to keep the sadness out of my voice as I replied, "It's ok. Thanks for trying, mom. Thanks for looking out for me."

She asked, "Will you be ok? Would you like me to come by and see you?"

I hesitated, then admitted, "I've moved. I'll stay in touch, I promise. I... I think I'd better go."

Now it sounded like she was trying not to cry. "Ok Tegan... I'm sorry."

"Me too mom," I sighed. "Talk to you soon."

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I disconnected, then I hit the power button and turned off the phone.

Then Kelly was there with an arm around me. She didn't say anything, she didn't need to. We just sat and held each other for a while as my emotions churned.

We were still cuddling together on the sofa an hour later when Ms. Connolly showed up at the door.

Kelly opened the door for her, then returned to the sofa to sit with me while her mother sat across from us on the recliner.

I don't know if Kelsey missed the fact that I was feeling emotional again, or if she noticed but didn't care. Either way she just dove right in and started talking about her announcement.

"Needless to say, this isn't a social call. I received word from my father this morning. He's back from Otherworld, and he brought news."

I felt a chill go through me. I couldn't hide my surprise as I asked, "Already?! It's only been three days!"

"Yes," Kelsey nodded. "A bit of wild luck but apparently one of his contacts was familiar with your family."

She watched me for a moment, then asked "Are you ready for this?"

I felt Kelly's arm around my waist, she gave me a reassuring squeeze. I took a deep breath, then nodded "Ok. I'm ready."

"Very well," Ms. Connolly said. She pulled out her phone and opened an app or document. Her eyes flicked back and forth over it as she spoke.

"My father is certain that your parents are Maeve and Connor Brádaigh. Maeve is a woman short of stature and with bright violet hair. According to my father, there is more than enough of a resemblance between you and she to leave no doubt in his mind. In addition, there were rumours some twenty-three years ago that Maeve may have been with child. Around that same time, Connor Brádaigh vanished, and has not been seen since. And despite the suspicions that she had been pregnant, Maeve was never seen with a child."

Kelsey hesitated, then went on "Fae do love their rumours, and on this topic there are several. One has it that Connor and Maeve had a falling out, resulting in him killing the child and exiling himself to Earth. Another variation has him killing the child and Maeve killing her husband, then hiding the remains. Yet another suggests the child was still-born and that drove the couple apart. And one more claims that an enemy of either Connor or Maeve arranged both husband and child to be killed."

She paused for breath, then concluded "Maeve remains alive and well, living at the Brádaigh estate. She and Connor had no other children, Tegan would be their first and only. If there was any kind of tragedy or falling-out, Maeve has said nothing of it, not even to her servants. Rumours among the servants suggest Maeve has been sad or melancholy at times over the past two decades, but if she is mourning a lost child she is doing that in private."

I just sat there when Kelsey finished talking. I didn't know what to say, my mind was kind of numb, and it would take a few more minutes to even process everything she said.

After a few seconds, Kelly suggested "Since we know Tegan isn't dead, I'm guessing either Connor brought her to Earth and hid her as a changeling, or perhaps an enemy did that and Conner's been here looking for her ever since?"

Ms. Connolly shrugged slightly, "At this point, speculation isn't helpful. What's important is we now know who Tegan is."

She fixed her eyes on me and said, "You are almost certainly Tegan Brádaigh, daughter of Maeve Brádaigh. According to my father, your family are among fae nobility, and are wealthy even by fae standards. That means they are rich and powerful, and it means they will have rich and powerful enemies."

I gulped nervously, "So... What do we do?"

Kelsey took a deep breath, then replied "You could do nothing. Stay here, continue living your life here. Learn all you can from Kelly about the fae and their ways, and hope they never find you. Or we could try and contact your mother. My father could put us in touch with someone to act as an intermediary, to handle correspondence between worlds for you."

Kelly asked, "Why send messages through someone else? Isn't that what grandfather does?"

Her mother replied, "My father said as long as Tegan is under our protection it would be best if a third-party handled any negotiations. To avoid conflicts of interest."

Kelsey turned her attention back to me and warned, "Maeve might be thrilled and happy to have you back, or she might want to have you eliminated. We simply have no way of knowing what her motivations are. Even if she did seem thrilled, we'd still need to exercise caution in arranging any kind of meeting. If a meeting were to happen I'd suggest having her come to Earth. Meeting her here wouldn't guarantee your safety, but sending you to Otherworld would almost certainly put you in danger."

"Crap," I sighed. "Ok... I've barely got used to everything else that's happened and it's only been a week as it is. For now, I think I like plan A the best. Let's just stay quiet and let things settle down. I really need to get myself sorted out and everything."

She nodded, "Of course, Tegan. I'm only in town until Monday, but you can always reach me through Kelly." She added, "I'll see that this information is forwarded to you, so you have a copy of it.

"Thank you," I nodded slowly, still feeling numb.

Kelsey didn't stay much longer after delivering her news. She and Kelly had coffee and sat out on the balcony and talked, then she bid us both good-day and she was off to see Keira again.

After her mom left, Kelly sat down with me. She slipped an arm around my waist and gave me a squeeze as she asked, "How're you holding up, babe?"

I sighed, "I honestly don't know anymore, Kelly. Like I said this morning? Just a week ago I was a boring human guy. Now I'm fae nobility? I don't even know what that means, except that I'm probably in danger."

She leaned in and gave me a kiss, then whispered "Right now it doesn't mean anything. What's more important is, you're Tegan. You're my girlfriend. I love you, and I'm going to stick with you whatever happens. And whatever does happen, we'll face it together. Ok?"

I let my head slump against her shoulder again and sighed, "Thanks Kelly. I love you too, and having you here with me through all of this is the only thing keeping me sane."

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