A Date With Faet

I grumped angrily, "I'm not marrying some guy. It's not going to happen."

"You heard what she said babe," Kelly said quietly as she cuddled up a little closer against my left side. "You won't be 'of age' for another century, so there's no point getting in a fuss about it right now."

Dinner had ended with a rather spectacular argument between me and Maeve. I tried to stay calm at first, but that lasted like two minutes before I lost my temper. I told her I was gay, told her I was a lesbian, and told her there was zero chance of me ever marrying a man. I told her I didn't care if it was politically advantageous or whatever.

She said it was my duty as a Brádaigh, that I had to get married and squeeze out an heir or two. That's when I really lost it. I told her that was the kind of sexist crap women didn't have to put up with back on Earth, at least not in the part of Earth where I lived. She pointed out that I wasn't human and I wasn't from Earth so their customs were irrelevant.

After that things devolved until Kelly and Keira basically hauled me away before I could say anything to get us all in deeper trouble.

I sighed as I cuddled closer and rested my head against Kelly's shoulder, "I don't care if it's a hundred years or a thousand. I'm not marrying a guy. And anyways, she got to follow her heart. I'm going to do the same."

"Actually I'm wondering if there's a loophole?" Keira said as she moved in a little closer against my right side and rested her arm across my belly. "I mean, is it really about marrying a guy? Or is the goal to produce an heir? Because if it's really all about getting an heir, then the guy is just sort of a means to an end. There's ways you could skip that step."

I sighed again, "Adoption isn't good enough." I didn't bother hiding the bitterness in my voice. As an adoptee myself it was a sore point that some people refused to see adopted kids as valid or whatever. "To be a 'true heir' to the name and all that crap it's got to be a biological kid."

After a moment I added, "And I don't think the fae would quite grasp the kind of reproductive science stuff they have back on Earth. Like sperm donors and in-vitro fertilization and all that."

Keira shrugged slightly, "Fair enough. On the other hand, you're the Great and Powerful Tegan Vale, hot-shit fae mage of legend. You've got a hundred years, I'm sure you can figure out a way to come up with an heir that doesn't involve sleeping with some fae noble's dopey son."

I opened my mouth to reply, then closed it again as I thought about what she was saying. Then I grinned, "You know what Keira, you're right."

"You should apologize to Maeve tomorrow babe," Kelly said quietly. "Things got a bit heated tonight, and she's already uptight about a hundred other things."

I frowned, but I knew she was right. "Ok Kelly. I'll ask if she'll see me after breakfast."

That seemed to have the matter settled, and both of them snuggled up closer on either side of me. I felt Kelly's hand lightly caress my chest as she got herself comfortable, while one of Keira's legs slipped in between mine. I sighed once more, but this time it was from contentment rather than stress.

The night after I made them both fully fae, Kelly and I tentatively let her sister join us for cuddling under a strict no-naughtiness agreement. By the following evening Keira had practically moved in.

Neither of them even really said anything, it all just sort of happened automatically without any fuss or fanfare. I was always in the middle when we went to bed, and the bed was big enough that me and Kelly could move off to the left side and be more intimate as a couple. Or Keira could pull me off to the right and have me to herself for a while. The only time there was any sort of contact between them was if they were both cuddling me and their arms touched or something.

It all felt kind of strange to me at first, but the two of them treated the whole thing like it was perfectly normal. There was also a slight nagging question in my mind about how this seemed to happen right after they became fully fae, about the same time the weird twin stuff started. I mean, we'd originally talked about Keira maybe joining us on occasion for cuddles, then suddenly she was just here with us all the time.

I put those thoughts aside though, and after a few nights like this I was used to it. My original awkwardness was forgotten, both of them were happy, and I couldn't really complain when I was being cuddled in between a pair of tall gorgeous redheads.

The only thing I was still confused about was how to describe the whole thing. Like if Kelly and I were girlfriends, what was my relationship with Keira? Or how would I describe the relationship between the three of us?

Not that it really mattered. I just let out another happy sigh, and gradually drifted to sleep in between the two of them.

In the morning we had breakfast brought to our room as usual. Then we all dressed, and I had a servant let Maeve know I wanted to speak with her. As we waited, the three of us got to reading again. And this time I was able to actually focus on the book rather than the twins.

I quickly found exactly what I needed to know. The same spell that allowed me to pass back and forth between Earth and Otherworld could be used to move within the same world. I could slip between the veil here near castle Brádaigh and emerge somewhere near castle Griofa. Assuming I could find out exactly where we were going there.

Around midmorning, seneschal Owen came to fetch me, and he let the twins know that sir Colm and Feichin would meet them in the study for noon. I followed Owen, and hoped Maeve wasn't too angry with me after last night.

Owen led me back into my mother's private chambers again, back to the living room this time. Maeve was already there waiting, and she dismissed Owen as soon as we reached the doorway.

While the seneschal was heading away my fae-mom said "Come in Tegan, have a seat."

She wasn't yelling and she didn't look angry, but I couldn't get a feel for her mood. She was keeping her emotions to herself at the moment.

The living room was like it had been the last time I was here, except there was no tray of food this time. Instead there were some sheets of parchment on the coffee table, but they'd been turned over so whatever was written on them was hidden.

As I sat next to Maeve on the sofa, I decided the best bet was to lead off with the apology. "I'm sorry for how I acted last night, mother. I was surprised and upset and I lost my temper."

She was quiet for a few moments, then replied "Thank you Tegan. I too am sorry, for springing that news upon you the way I did, and not taking into account how you were raised or your obvious preferences in terms of romantic partners."

I was glad she wasn't angry with me, and her own apology caught me a little off guard. We were both silent for a few moments after that.

After a minute or two I asked, "I know nobody here has ever said anything about me and Kelly being together, but I haven't really heard or noticed anything about whether that kind of relationship is accepted or whatever. I mean...what if instead of trying to marry me to some nobleman's son, I went courting some noble daughter instead?"

She was quiet for a few more moments as she seemed to be considering the question, or how best to answer it.

Finally she replied, "There's nothing wrong with unions between fae of the same sex. Nobody much cares who someone's in love with, who they choose to share a bed with. The only time it becomes important is when there is need for an heir. And because that is almost always a priority for every noble house, the arranged marriages are typically a man and wife. There'd be no point arranging a marriage between two young women, if the goal was to produce an heir."

That pretty much confirmed Keira's suspicion. It was all about having little Brádaighs running around to keep the lineage going.

I nodded slowly and said "Ok. Then here's what I'm going to ask. You told me that you got to marry for love. I'm asking for the same benefit. When it comes time, in a century or whenever, let me follow my heart. As long as whoever it is can give me children, that should be acceptable right?"

Maeve smiled slightly, "My dear I'd never agree to anything so vague. It is something we can discuss at length, but some other time. For now, I'll promise not to try arranging any marriages for you behind your back."

I raised an eyebrow, "What about arranging something in front of me? How about you promise not to arrange anything at all?"

"Very well Tegan," she replied. She still had a slight smile on her face though. "I will refrain from arranging any marriages for you. But I will continue looking, and we will return to this conversation in the future."

That seemed about the best I could hope for at the moment, so I left it at that.

She turned her attention to the parchment on the table before us, "Regarding your journey to Griofa, I have information which will help you. Locations where the veil is thin enough to allow passage."

She picked up the sheets and said, "Before I turn these over to you Tegan, I need you to swear you will not allow them to fall into anyone else's hands. This is sensitive information, and will be of value to our enemies. Destroy them if you must, but do not let anyone else have them."

I nodded, "I understand mother. I swear it."

She then handed me the two sheets. The first was a map of the area around castle Brádaigh. There were three places indicated. The one in the southern forest was the nearest, but the other two weren't that far off. One was in the forest to the west, where the vargur had stalked for twenty years. The other was just outside the town to the north. From the look of it, it was actually in a farmer's field.

Maeve explained, "I'm sharing these with you for your own knowledge. If you ever have reason to suspect it is unsafe here, there are two alternate locations you may use. No-one knows of them Tegan. The west woods is still posted as off-limits although you and I both know it is now safe. You can be assured nobody will see you come or go from there, but it is rough travel, rough terrain to get from there back to the castle. The one to the north, will be much more visible. But if you need assistance, know that the villagers will recognize you and come to your aid."

I nodded slowly as I stared at the map.

Eventually she revealed the other one. It was a detailed map of the area around castle Griofa. There were two locations indicated on this map. The nearest was north-west of the castle, in a small grove of trees. The other was due east, deeper in a large forest. By the scale of the map, it looked like the nearest was two leagues from the castle, the further was five or six leagues away.

Maeve warned, "Either of these will carry risks, Tegan. The nearer location may be under guard, if they are wary of visitors. The further location is very close to the border. Though to be fair the entire area should be considered dangerous territory."

I nodded and accepted both maps and promised, "I'll keep them safe, and won't allow them to fall into anyone else's hands mother."

"Thank you Tegan." Maeve added, "Let us join the others. They should be ready to meet now in the study."

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