Chapter 90: 89. Deliberated

The following morning after breakfast, the three of us wound up standing outside on the castle wall. We were watching Maeve and Siobhan down in the courtyard, as they addressed the three dozen soldiers who'd be delivering the ransom money.

From our vantage point we couldn't really hear what was being said, but I knew my mother and the captain were probably briefing them on what to do, what to look out for, that sort of thing. With luck they'd all be back here safe and sound with Connor in three or four weeks.

After she was done addressing them, Maeve joined the three of us on the wall. We all watched together as the column of soldiers set out, with lieutenant Gaelen in the lead. Once past the gate they turned and headed north-east, in the direction of Oisín Ceallaigh's stronghold in county Donnghaile.

I noticed there weren't any servants or bearers with the troops. It was just soldiers, plus a few horses laden with supplies. Like Maeve said the day before, it wasn't going to be a comfortable relaxing journey.

I was still disappointed I wasn't going with them, even if it was going to be a hard ride. I wanted to be there when they handed the gold over, just incase this turned out to be more treachery. And I wanted to make sure Connor got home safely.

After a few minutes it occurred to me, if I could take care of the mission Maeve assigned me quickly enough I could possibly travel to the Ceallaigh stronghold with magic and get there in time to meet up with our column of soldiers. I figured if I could get Aengus back here in under a dozen days, that would leave me time to get ahead of the column so I could be with them when they delivered the ransom.

I got lost in that idea for a few moments, until Maeve dragged me back to the matter at hand with a question.

"How goes your planning, Tegan? Anything to report yet?"

"Not yet," I replied. "The prisoner gave us some good information yesterday. I'm going to speak with her again today to get some maps drawn up."

She asked, "You still expect to have news for me by dinner tonight?"

"Yes," I nodded. Then I sighed, "I suppose I'd better get on with it."

My mother didn't respond to that, but I could tell by her expression she agreed with my sentiment.

The twins accompanied me as I headed back into the castle.

Kelly glanced at me and asked, "I hope you'll teleport up there today rather than deal with the stairs again."

"Yeah. I'm going to grab some parchment and the pen from our room first then I'll pop up and talk with her."

After a moment I looked back and forth between them and added, "I think I'd like some time alone with her, if that's ok?"

Kelly and Keira exchanged a glance then Keira shrugged, "Sure."

Once in our room I grabbed a half dozen sheets of parchment, the pen and the jar of ink. With all that in hand I focused, and a moment later I was on the landing outside Keenan's room.

The two soldiers there jumped slightly when I appeared, but quickly recovered. Then one unlocked and opened the door for me, and I made my way inside.

Our prisoner was sitting at the table, it looked like she'd just finished her breakfast. There was an empty plate before her, and a half-empty glass of water. I saw her shoulders tense as I entered and her body became very still. She kept her eyes down, and just stared at some point on the table. She was dressed in another skirt and a tight blouse this morning, and it looked like she'd brushed her hair again after getting out of bed.

I set the writing supplies on the table then sat down across from her. "Good morning Keenan. I'm here to continue our conversation from yesterday afternoon. Are you finished with your breakfast?"

She cringed slightly but replied quietly, "Good morning Lady Tegan. Yes, I've finished eating."

"Good," I moved the plate out of the way then slid the writing supplies closer. "First thing I need from you are a few maps. I need a map of castle Faoláin and the surrounding area, including any places you know of where the veil is thin enough to allow travel. Second, I would like a map of the castle itself, the layout, floor-plan, to the best of your knowledge and ability."

I noticed she didn't cringe this time, she just nodded slightly and replied "Yes Lady Tegan."

She opened the ink jar and picked up the pen, then got started.

I watched quietly as she worked. Her body language suggested she soon forgot about her fear as she focused instead on the task I'd given her. She was concentrating on the map, and as it progressed I could tell she had some talent for this. She was actually a pretty decent artist.

The first map took her a little over a half hour to complete. Once finished she set it aside so the ink could dry, then got to work on the next one.

While she was working on the layout of the castle I carefully picked up the first map. It was fairly detailed, she'd indicated the various important features around the castle, and she marked the approximate distances.

The castle sat just over a kilometre inland from the coast. There was a fishing village to the south. East of the castle was another village, surrounded by farmland. Those were the two main sources of food for the castle's occupants. There was a large forest to the north, which also supplied some food for Aengus and his family, in the form of wild game. There were two waypoints marked on the map. The nearest was north-west, very close to the coast. It was perhaps a little too close, and a little too exposed. The other one was further north, concealed in the woods.

The second map was even more detailed, and took a little longer for her to complete. When finally finished, she handed it to me for inspection.

I was again impressed, she'd put a lot of detail into it. At least, the areas she was familiar with were well marked out. She left some areas blank, but indicated what she knew of them. Like she hadn't been inside the garrison so she couldn't draw its floor-plan but she marked its location on the map, and where the doors were. Same for the interior of the castle, some areas she hadn't been in but had a good enough idea what they were.

As I looked it over I commented, "This is excellent Keenan. Both of these will help a great deal."

She cringed slightly, but at the same time she seemed pleased with the compliment.

Before I looked back at the maps again I asked, "I imagine in your work as a courier, you've got to know your way around a number of places in Otherworld. Are you familiar with the area around Oisín Ceallaigh's stronghold?"

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"Yes Lady Tegan," she replied. No cringe this time, I noted.

I asked, "Would you be able to draw me a map of that area, including the travel points? Something like this would be ideal." I indicated the first map she'd drawn.

She nodded again, "Yes Lady Tegan, I can do that."

As she got back to work, I asked "Does it bother you when I use your name? I've noticed you seem to flinch slightly whenever I say it."

I saw the blush come across her cheeks. She sounded embarrassed or ashamed as she replied softly, "I know that name has brought you all nothing but trouble. I imagine it's distasteful for you to even speak it. It would not upset me in the slightest if you never uttered it again."

That surprised me. I recalled Keira mentioned she thought Keenan might want to change her name. I hadn't really expected it though, and certainly wouldn't have expected it to happen this quickly. Although to be fair she wasn't asking me to call her something else. And the way she phrased it, made it sound more like she thought I was the one who didn't like saying her name. Like it was a dirty word or something.

I stayed quiet for a few moments, and continued to watch her work as I thought that through. I also remembered what the twins said yesterday, about how Keenan was sort of interpreting Keira's spell in a negative way. I figured this might be another manifestation of that. She wasn't necessarily wanting a new name, she just decided the old one was bad.

After another minute or so I asked, "If I'm no longer addressing you as Keenan, I'll have to call you something else. Do you have any suggestions?"

There was another slight cringe, then she blushed brighter than before. She actually stopped drawing for a few moments. I wasn't sure if she was thinking, or trying to work up the courage to reply.

After a few seconds and a deep breath, she replied quietly "I thought... Perhaps I could be known as Kaitlyn? Kaitlyn Connolly."

Once again I had very mixed feelings. If she were trans, if this was anything like my dad's situation, this would be a big deal. I'd be honoured to be told her real name. But it wasn't like that at all. I knew this was her conscious mind struggling to adapt to the changes Keira imposed on her personality.

I also reminded myself that she was my enemy. That I shouldn't let myself feel too sorry for her just because she was a young helpless teen girl. And that she was a small timid teen because it was punishment for decades of crimes against my family and my friends. It was either this, or death.

As I continued trying to work through all my complicated feelings on the subject, she quietly returned to her work on the third map.

In the end I came to a realization, and a decision. Her punishment made her the person sitting before me now, but that was the extent of it. I didn't want her to suffer above and beyond that. So trans or not, I decided to treat her desired name with the respect I would anyone else's.

"Very well. I will let it be known that from now on, you are Kaitlyn Connolly."

Kaitlyn faltered slightly with the pen, and she glanced up at me. She almost looked overwhelmed, like she hadn't expected me to agree or something. She quickly averted her eyes again, staring down at the parchment in front of her as she said "Thank you Lady Tegan... Thank you very much."

Rather than continuing her work on the map she hesitated a moment. In a nervous voice she asked, "May I speak?"

It took me a moment to realize what she meant was, could she speak openly. At first I thought she was afraid to talk at all, like without permission or something.

I nodded, "Sure. What's on your mind?"

She remained hesitant, and her voice was still quiet and meek. And she still wouldn't look at me, she kept her eyes down.

She took a deep breath then said, "I'm sorry for everything I've done to you and your family, Lady Tegan. I apologize for the role I've played in Lord Aengus's schemes. And I'm sorry for what I tried to do to Kelly. I'm sorry for what I did to that girl Keira was with. I'm sorry for all the things I've done over the years that's hurt you, and my granddaughters."

Kaitlyn paused for breath then continued, "I'm not just saying that because I'm your prisoner, because of what's happened to me. I mean it. I realize now, you're a good person. You care about people. You even care about your enemies."

I was caught off-guard again by all that. I hadn't expected an apology, but it actually sounded sincere. And once again I needed a few moments to sort through my thoughts and feelings on the matter.

Finally I replied, "Thank you Kaitlyn. I accept your apology, but I'm not ready to forgive you yet. And there are things you've done that I can't forgive at all. I think you also need to apologize to your granddaughters. I'm glad to know you're sorry for the things you did to hurt them, but it will be more meaningful for you to apologize to them directly."

She bowed her head slightly, "I understand Lady Tegan. Thank you."

As she got back to work on the map, intuition told me to have another look at her aura. It hadn't even been a full day yet, but something told me the name thing then the apology were significant moments for her. And sure enough I could see a change.

It was very subtle, but from yesterday to today I could tell the dark stains had receded ever so slightly, and the pink was just a tiny bit more prominent. It was a small step, but I figured it was a step in the right direction.

Finally she handed me the third map. Like the other two, it was very thorough. The Ceallaigh stronghold was in the middle, with forest, villages, and farmland indicated. There were three waypoints on this map, and distances between all the key spots were marked out.

I smiled, "Thank you Kaitlyn, this is perfect."

She preened again. The combination of her new name and the compliment seemed to really make her happy.

"The last thing I need to discuss with you is about what sort of defences we can expect to run into at castle Faoláin. What numbers of soldiers, if there's any mages working for Aengus, that sort of thing."

"Of course Lady Tegan," she replied. "I'll tell you what I know."

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