A Date With Faet - 126. Effaced

I pushed through the veil and emerged into the woods overlooking the large pond. The sun was higher up in the sky here than it was where I just left.

I wasn’t sure exactly what day it was, but I knew it was mid June. The high-school was only a few hundred meters away through the trees, but it was pretty early. Probably around half past six in the morning, so I wasn’t worried about anyone seeing my arrival or departure.

I focused on Susan’s kitchen then cast the teleport spell, and a moment later I was there.

Things were quiet when I arrived, the coffee machine wasn’t started and nobody was up and about preparing breakfast. Though it was a bit early yet, according to the wall clock it was twenty minutes to seven. So my estimate wasn’t far off.

Rather than make some noise and wake people up I just pulled out a chair at the kitchen table and sat down to wait. Fortunately I didn’t have to wait long.

Less than ten minutes after my arrival, Sue came into the kitchen. She looked surprised to see me, but she was fully dressed. As usual she was in jeans and a blouse, and had comfortable shoes on her feet.

“Tegan!” she exclaimed as she entered the kitchen. “You didn’t call, you didn’t email, we had no idea you were coming. Is everything ok?”

“Good morning Sue,” I greeted her. “Sorry I didn’t call or email first. I came straight here from Otherworld, so uh, no access to phones or email until I was already here.”

I added, “Things are progressing. I actually came to check on you and the kid, to see if things were ok with you two.”

As she moved to get the coffee machine started she replied, “I assume you mean, have we been approached by the local authorities regarding our relationship with you?”

“Yeah,” I nodded. “I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to speak with you in person about that, but the whole thing happened kind of quickly and we all wound up heading over there. I wasn’t even sure if it was safe to contact you or visit you.”

With the coffee machine running she sat down at the table across from me.

She shrugged slightly, “We had a visit from a pair of unpleasant men with poor fashion sense. They asked a great deal of questions about you and our relationship with you. As far as I’m aware, nothing came out of it. They took note of our answers, then they left.”

She added, “I assume they haven’t found any improprieties in our finances or our records either. Though it’s possible they’re still watching us.”

I sighed, “Sorry. I hope the one interview is all they’ll bother with.”

When the coffee was ready Sue got up and fixed me a mug, but didn’t bother making one for herself. She set my coffee down in front of me, then got herself some orange juice instead.

I thanked her, and asked “How are things with the kid? Is she still spending all her spare time with her girlfriend?”

Susan gave me a hard look and stated “Kaitlyn and Claire are just good friends. You already know all about that.”

“Yeah, sorry.” I had a sip of coffee then asked “So is she still spending her free time with her friend?”

Sue replied “I suppose so, yes. They’re very close.”

She added, “They’re writing their exams next week but that should go smoothly. And in September they’re both going to attend Dalhousie University together.”

I felt my eyebrows going up, “Really? You managed to talk the kid into going to university? Last time I was here she seemed pretty reluctant.”

Susan smiled slightly, “It’s possible her decision was affected in some small way by the knowledge that Claire would be leaving town to attend university.”

I rolled my eyes, “Well whatever, I’m sure you’re glad she’s going to continue her education.”

After another sip of coffee I asked, “Where is she anyways? Usually she’s the one who’s up first, making coffee and breakfast and everything.”

Sue seemed to hesitate. She frowned slightly, and looked a little awkward as she replied “I’m sorry Tegan, I’d rather not answer that.”

Naturally that set off my alarm bells.

I frowned “Why not? Where is she, what’s she doing?”

She frowned back at me, “I just told you, I’d rather not say.”

I took a deep breath then sighed, “Sue I’m not going to interfere. I thought we already sorted all that out last time I was here. You made it clear I wasn’t allowed to meddle in how you raised her, and I agreed with you. I still need to know what’s going on though. I know she’s a teenage human girl now, but she used to be a six hundred year old fae mage who did some pretty horrific things.”

Susan was still frowning as she said “You know she’s not like that anymore, and I don’t think it’s fair you keep throwing that back at her.”

“Sorry,” I sighed, then I pushed on. “I know you don’t like to think about it, but she made a lot of enemies over the years. This isn’t about me trying to control her or interfere with how you’re raising her. It’s about keeping the two of you safe. So please, will you tell me where she is, what she’s up to?”

Sue looked unsure. After a few moments she finally replied, “Only if you promise you won’t get upset. Ok?”

I rolled my eyes slightly, “Fine.”

“Say you promise, Tegan.” she insisted.

It was like dealing with a kid. Or a lawyer. I rolled my eyes again and sighed “Ok I promise I won’t get upset. Now where is she?”

Susan looked uneasy. She grimaced slightly and almost looked embarrassed. Then her eyes flashed with magic and her appearance flickered and changed as the glamour was dispelled.

“I’m right here Lady Tegan,” Kaitlyn said. “I apologize for the deception.”

I just stared at her. Several emotions ran through me at once. Shock, confusion, anger, anxiety. I’m sure the feelings played out over my face too as Kaitlyn watched me.

“You promised you wouldn’t get upset,” she reminded me.

She was in a pink nightgown, her long red hair was messy. It looked like she was probably still in bed when I arrived, she didn’t have a chance to brush her hair or get dressed.

As I stared at her I noticed something else. Her eyes had always been blue-green. Even after I changed her, they were still blue-green. Now they were a bright emerald green, exactly like Kelly’s and Keira’s eyes.

She looked like Kelly and Keira’s little sister before, but now she looked like a miniature duplicate of them. Like a third twin, but a couple years younger and a lot smaller.

I continued to stare at her as I did my best not to get too angry or upset. I had an awful lot of questions, and I was struggling to prioritize them.

Finally I asked in a level but uptight voice, “Where is Susan?”

“She’s in Halifax,” the teen replied. “She went yesterday and had to stay overnight, but she should be back early this afternoon. Perhaps by one o’clock.”

I asked, “She left you here alone?”

Kaitlyn replied “I’m not alone. Claire stayed here with me, we’re celebrating her eighteenth birthday.”

She added, “There’s no guests here right now, if that’s what you mean.”

I took another deep breath then let it out in a long sigh, before asking “Does Sue know Claire spent the night with you? What about Claire’s parents?”

“Yes Lady Tegan. Maddie said it was fine,” Kaitlyn replied. “And Claire told her parents we were helping each other study for our exams next week. May I invite Claire downstairs to join us?”

“Not yet,” I stated. I realized I couldn’t see her crystal necklace on her, and asked “Where’d you get the power to cast that glamour?”

The kid sighed slightly and looked down at the table. “As I explained when you visited last month, Claire and I have been collaborating on ways to raise more power.”

I nodded slightly, “I remember. So how did you get the power to cast the glamour?”

She seemed reluctant to answer me, but I was pretty sure she wasn’t going to try and lie. It took another few seconds before she finally gave in and replied.

“I reversed part of the spell you cast on me back in Griofa,” Kaitlyn replied quietly as she stared down at the table. “I am once again fae.”

My first reaction was disbelief. I was about to say that was impossible, but I caught myself. I’d done enough so-called impossible things myself over the past few years. Instead I cast the identification spell.

To my shock her eyes flared brightly as the harmless magic hit her. It was true, she was fae. My heart started racing as the implications of that sank in.

“How?!” I half demanded. “And what else did you dispell?”

I had defensive magic on the tip of my tongue now, along with the mind-control counter-spell just incase she tried any of her old tricks.

I was also cursing myself, I should have known she’d be working to reverse what Keira and I did to her. And I was worried about Sue. I couldn’t believe I let myself think it was safe for my adoptive human mother to go off alone with a fae mage criminal.

Kaitlyn sighed, “I haven’t dispelled anything else Lady Tegan. As you can see I haven’t reversed the rest of what your magic did to me, I am still a small girl. I haven’t dispelled anything Lady Keira did to me at all. Nor do I intend to. I just wanted to be fae again, so I could keep Maddie and Claire and myself safe.”

Once again my initial thought was disbelief. Though I could see with my own eyes she was still a small girl. I also realized, if she was evil again she probably wouldn’t be sitting there squirming while she answered my questions. I wasn’t ready to trust her yet, but I got another idea and switched on my sight.

Her aura had changed significantly since the last time I was here, but it hadn’t gotten worse. That dark stained core was still there, but it hadn’t grown at all. The pink had shrunk though. Instead of making up about three quarters of her aura, the pink had retracted back to a thin outer veneer like it was in the start.

Between the pink outer layer and the black inner core, the rest of her aura was now shades of deep red and purple. It actually looked like a blend of Kelly’s aura and Keira’s.

I finally sighed, “How did you do it?”

Kaitlyn replied, “I figured out what you did in the first place. I figured out the spell you used to make me a teenage human girl, and from there I figured out how to undo the human part. And at the last full moon, with Claire’s help, I did just that.”

“Why just that part?” I asked. “Why not make yourself completely back to normal?”

She replied in a firm tone, “Because I am Kaitlyn Connolly. This is who I’ve been for over two and a half years. I don’t want to be a man again, and I will never ever go back to being the monster that I used to be. I’ve put all of that behind me.”

She added, “You told me once that all I had to do was be the best Kaitlyn I could be. That is what I am doing, Lady Tegan. I just want to make sure Maddie and Claire and I are all safe. I couldn’t do that as a human girl. But as a fae girl, I can.”

I leaned back in my chair as I looked at her. I still didn’t trust her, but she sounded sincere. I finally asked, “Are you planning to stay here on Earth?”

Kaitlyn nodded, “I want to stay here, yes. As I said earlier, Claire and I are going to university together in September. I don’t know yet what I’ll do after university, but that’s a few years away.”

I stared at her for a few more minutes, then asked “Does Sue know what you’ve done?”

“Yes Lady Tegan,” she replied. “I told Maddie what I did. I couldn’t hide the fact that my eyes changed, and I would never lie to her. Claire knows too, she was with me at the time, she helped me perform the ritual.”

“And why the glamour?” I asked. “Why try and trick me?”

She blushed and looked down at the table, “I wasn’t sure what to do when I realized you were here. Claire suggested it, and it seemed like a good idea at the time.”

“Ok,” I sighed. I was still uneasy and I knew my girlfriends wouldn’t be happy, but for now it seemed like the kid was sincere. I changed the subject and asked, “What’s Sue doing in Halifax?”

“She went to pick up Elise,” Kaitlyn answered. “Your cousin had a late flight from Toronto. Maddie met her at the airport and rather than drive back overnight they booked a hotel room in the city. They’ll have breakfast at the hotel before they get on the road. They should be here by one this afternoon.”

That surprised me, though it was a pleasant surprise. I would have been going to visit Elise next, but having her come here was even better. I could be back in Otherworld at dusk tonight.

“Did Elise say why she was coming here?” I asked. “Is she ok?”

The kid shook her head, “I don’t believe anything’s wrong. I think it’s just a friendly visit. Since she couldn’t come see us at spring break, now she’s got time off for summer so she’s coming to see Maddie.”

After a moment she added, “If you’ll excuse me Lady Tegan, I need to start getting ready. I have to be at school by nine o’clock.”

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