34. Crushed

In the morning, Kelly and I had breakfast in our room again. Then we got dressed and waited for captain Siobhan.

We both did some more reading while we waited. I was reading a book about curses, how to cast them and how to break them. Kelly started reading the book on combat magic. She didn't want to hurt people any more than I did, but we both figured it was a good idea for her to pick up some of those spells just in case.

It was about mid-morning when the captain finally came knocking at our door.

"We have the prisoner ready for you," she said, as she led us both down to a lower level of the castle. "He's been placed in an interrogation cell. He is partially restrained, it will be safe for you both as long as you don't stray too close to him."

She led us down into an area of the castle neither of us had been allowed into before. It looked more like a cellar than a dungeon, and I suspected there were more levels below this one that were increasingly uncomfortable.

Siobhan brought us to a sturdy wood door. She paused there and advised, "Lady Maeve has ordered that I remain with you both, for your safety."

"Thanks," I said. "Before we go in, what can you tell us about Liam? He used to be your lieutenant right? He worked with you?"

She scowled slightly. She wasn't unhappy with me, but it was the memory of the betrayal that upset her. "He was originally Lord Connor's bodyguard. When Lady Maeve married Connor, Liam was installed as my second. I wasn't given the option of declining, he was granted that rank as a nodd to his years of service with Lord Connor."

She continued, "He was an adequate soldier, but was unhappy taking orders from me. I also found he was disrespectful to Lady Maeve, but he was careful not to let either her or Connor witness him speaking out against her. Nonetheless, none of us had any sense he'd betray either of them. I believed he was an honourable man, and still loyal to Lord Connor."

"Thank you captain." I looked at the door then sighed, "Ok. Let's get this over with."

Siobhan nodded and led us into the cell.

It was about four meters long, three meters wide. Liam was standing at the far end, in about the same condition he was when Kelly and I first saw him. He was clothed in old, well-worn trousers and a tunic, shackles and chains on his ankles and wrists, and a metal ring around his neck.

Now there was a chain from his neck back to another ring bolted to the wall behind him, like a short leash. It was long enough that he could move around, but it kept him to that half of the room. As long as me and Kelly stayed on this side, he couldn't touch us.

Once the three of us were in the room, Siobhan closed the door then stood there quietly. She kept her eyes on the prisoner, but otherwise I figured she'd keep quiet and out of the way.

When we first saw Liam, he acted cocky. Now he seemed angry. He sneered at us and said, "Well well. If it isn't little Tegan, come to talk with her uncle Liam."

Except he didn't say 'Tegan', or 'her'. He used my deadname, and said 'his'.

My blood ran cold and I just stood there staring at him, stunned. Kelly's eyes went wide and she glanced at me, a concerned look on her face.

My mind was reeling, and not just because he'd called me by a name I'd hoped to never hear again. I was shocked that he even knew it at all. It wasn't the name I'd been given at birth. It was the name my parents gave me when they adopted me, and that didn't happen till about six months after I was born.

It meant Liam had been following me and keeping track of me for months after he made the swap. It meant he knew who my adoptive parents were. He probably even knew where my parents lived, they were still in the same house now that I grew up in. If Maeve's people hadn't captured him when he returned to Otherworld, Liam probably would have given all that information to Eileen once he was back.

Liam was watching me with a little smirk on his face, and no doubt he saw the mix of emotions go over my face as I stood there reeling.

The silence was broken by captain Siobhan, as she strode forward and drove her knee deep into his gut. She shoved him backwards and left him on the floor, gasping for air as she growled, "Show some respect. You address her as Lady Tegan."

The soldier then returned to her place standing behind and to the side of Kelly and I.

We were both shaken by the display of physical violence, but it also jolted me out of my shock. Once Liam had caught his breath, I said "Liam, we know you're holding on to some secrets. Now's your chance to talk."

Kelly added, "Tell us what hold Eileen has over you. Why did you betray Maeve and Connor?"

Liam struggled to his feet and scoffed, "I've nothing to say to a human-fae halfbreed and a changeling child. Fuck off the both of you, and send me back to my cell."

I sighed, "The only reason your head's still attached to your neck is I asked Maeve to stay your execution."

"So what?" he scowled at me. "You think that means I owe you something? You think I should be grateful, because you bought me another week, or month, or year in your momma's dungeon?"

He spat on the floor at my feet, "You think you're something special now that you've emerged from your human shell, but you're nothing. You'll always be tainted by what I did to you. Call yourself Tegan, call yourself a girl, but you'll never forget who and what you really are, boy!"

He used my deadname again, but it didn't shock me as much this time. It annoyed me though, and I'm sure he knew it. I'm sure that's why he kept using it, why he kept misgendering me.

Once again Siobhan strode forward. This time she planted her knee deep into his groin, then shoved him back against the wall. His head struck the stone with a thud that made me wince, then he slumped down to lay curled up on the floor for the next five or six minutes.

While we waited for him to recover I turned to Siobhan and said softly, "I appreciate your help, but please leave him to me from now on."

The captain didn't look happy, but she nodded slightly "Yes m'lady."

Eventually Liam climbed to his feet again.

Before he could talk I asked, "Why are you so determined to act like an irredeemable ass? Why do you hate me so much? I've never done anything to you, I don't even know you."

He scowled, "I hate you because of who and what you are, boy. You're hers. That's reason enough." He used my deadname again, and I'm sure Siobhan would have put him down once more if I hadn't already asked her not to.

I had my teeth clenched as I glared back at him. The way he insisted on using my deadname and kept misgendering me reminded me of everything that I'd missed out on. The childhood I should have had, the experiences of growing up as a girl. Only it wasn't random chance that cost me those things. It was him.

He did that to me, he trapped me in a guy's body, and now he was rubbing it in my face. It reminded me of schoolyard bullies, who'd knock down smaller kids then make fun of them for falling. I hated bullies back then, and I still hated them now. The difference was now I had ways of dealing with them.

Kelly was watching me quietly. I knew she was worried about what I was feeling, how I was dealing with Liam's taunts and goading. She was probably worried about what I was going to do. We'd already agreed not to mess with mind-magic, it was too dark, too-slippery a slope.

I'd originally planned something else, but Liam's transmisia had me angry enough I decided to go in a different direction. I knew it was something he definitely wouldn't see coming.

I glared at him, "You seem to delight in reminding me of the twenty-two years I spent as a human man, thanks to you. Since two decades in the dungeon has done nothing to reform you, perhaps we should give you a taste of your own medicine. Two decades growing up as a human girl might teach you something."

Liam flashed us a cocky smile, "You're bluffing, boy. Even if you found someone capable of working that spell, I know you'd never sacrifice an innocent human child just for the satisfaction of stranding me on Earth as a changeling."

"I never said anything about making you a changeling," I stated. "There's magic that can just straight-up transform you."

Liam laughed, though there was no joy in it. Just a bitter, mocking sound.

"You've been dazzled by the legends boy, if you think your momma can work that sort of spell. Maeve might have the Brádaigh name, but she's no Taralynn. I've known her over a century, I know her magic's nothing special. Assuming she's even capable of casting a transformation spell, the best she could manage would bring me a few days of temporary inconvenience. Try again, boy."

Kelly grew more tense as she stood next to me. I'm sure she realized what going to happen, but I also figured she knew how angry he'd made me.

I fixed my glare on him and stated, "I know Maeve's magic skills are no match for those of Taralynn. But you're forgetting something, Liam. Maeve isn't the only Brádaigh here."

"You?!" he scoffed, holding back another laugh. "You're barely out of diapers, little boy."

I just scowled at him as I raised hand toward him and cast the spell.

Liam laughed outright, "You can't work magic. You -"

His voice cut out as I'm sure he saw the flash in my eyes. I saw it reflected in his own eyes as the spell struck him, right before he vanished in a swirl of shimmering light.

When it faded a few seconds later, Liam had indeed been transformed.

Before us now stood a small skinny waif of a girl. She looked about fifteen years old. Her long messy black hair hung down past her shoulders and her dark eyes were wide with shock. The shackles had fallen away, her small hands easily slipped through the cuffs. The iron collar remained around her neck though, keeping her tethered to that side of the room. The trousers had also slipped off of her, they were pooled on the floor around her feet. Her tunic now hung like a short dress on her little body.

Liam trembled as he looked down at himself, his mouth hung open in shock as he took in his small girlish features. After a few seconds, I saw his lips moving as he tried to recite a spell. I knew he was trying to dispell the magic I'd just used on him, but it didn't work. He was human now, he had no way to access fae magic.

I glanced to either side, and saw both Kelly and Siobhan staring wide-eyed at the prisoner. Kelly looked uncomfortable and tense, the captain appeared stunned.

I looked back at Liam as he looked up at me. That actually felt a little weird for me, to be honest. It was probably the first time in almost three months someone had to look up at me, usually it was the other way around.

Liam gulped and asked, "How -"

He gasped at the sound of his voice. It was small, timid, and high-pitched.

He gulped again, "How did you do this? How long before it wears off?"

I replied calmly, "I'm Tegan Brádaigh, great-granddaughter of Taralynn. That's how I did it, Liam."

After a second I added, "And this won't wear off. I could reverse it... But otherwise? This is you, for the rest of your short human life."

Liam's eyes widened further and his face went even more pale. He trembled again as he looked down at himself once more.

I watched him for another half minute, then stated "I've only dialled your age back about halfway, so we can still talk. If you don't want to talk though, I can turn you all the way back to an infant. Then we'll ship you off to Earth and let the humans deal with you. Maybe in a decade or two I'll check up on you, and see if you're ready to answer some questions."

He trembled once more, then finally looked up at me again. He sounded scared as he half-whispered, "What do you want to know?"

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