49. Cherished

Happily neither of our moms insisted on Kelly and me getting dressed up too fancy. Mom wouldn't let me go out in my comfy outfit though, so I wound up in a pair of black jeans and a light-pink blouse, and some sneakers. Kelly dressed the same, but blue jeans and a green top. I hadn't had the chance to get myself a winter coat yet, so I wore a hoodie under my autumn jacket.

After nearly two months in Otherworld it actually took a bit to get used to modern clothes again. I forgot to put on lipstick, and completely blanked about bringing my purse and stuff. After a pointed reminder from my mom, I found my purse and had a look inside. Money, plastic cards, phone, keys, it was all still there. It was familiar but strange.

At about six o'clock the four of us set out together, with Kelsey leading the way. Kelly stayed close and kept an arm around me. I knew she'd discretely help if I needed it. And I knew I'd probably need another dose of healing magic by the end of the evening.

It was only about a twenty minute walk which wasn't too bad, though after the long march this morning my leg was still feeling a little tender.

When we arrived, the four of us were led to a small private dining-room. There was a place in the corner for our coats and things, then we all got seated and ordered drinks while we waited for my dad. My heart began to race, and a hundred different scenarios went through my mind as I wondered how this would play out.

It was only about ten more minutes before one of the restaurant staff led him into our little room.

He stopped there just inside the door and stared, as I stared back at him.

It was kind of ironic actually, he already knew everyone else at the table. I was the only 'stranger' to him, the only one here he hadn't met before. Mom stood up and motioned me to get up too, and the two of us moved to stand with him.

"Erik," mom said quietly to him, "This is our daughter, Tegan."

I looked up at him, of course he was a lot taller than I remembered. He was around the same height I used to be before, which put him a good eight inches above me now.

I gave him a nervous smile and said, "Hi dad."

Mom stayed close, she looked a little anxious as she watched dad and me. Behind us, Kelly and Kelsey watched quietly too. I'm sure Kelly was as nervous as I was.

He stared down at me as his eyes flicked up and down, taking in the new me. Finally he pulled me into a tentative hug and whispered, "I can barely believe it, but your mother and Ms. Connolly both swear to me it's true. Is it really you? Are you happy like this? Is this really what you want?"

I was still nervous, but I hugged him back. I nodded slightly and whispered "Yes dad. This is the real me. This is what I want, and I'm happier like this than I ever was before."

He kept his arms around me for a few more moments, then he finally let go. He looked down at me again then he smiled. He said in a soft voice, "All right Tegan. I'm glad you're happy. And I'm glad you're back home again."

Mom looked relieved and she stepped closer and pulled both dad and me into another hug, this time with all three of us.

I felt a surge of emotions as I realized everything was going to be ok, both my folks still loved and accepted me.

Finally we all let go, then the three of us moved to sit down.

As I took my seat next to Kelly, she put a hand on my knee under the table and gave me an encouraging smile.

Dad was sat next to mom of course, and Kelsey was between Kelly and my mom. Soon enough we'd all placed our orders, then the questions started coming.

We talked and we ate. The food here was ok but it was nowhere near as good as the stuff we'd been eating in Otherworld. I had a feeling it would take a while to get used to Earth food again. It'd probably take a while to get used to a lot of things, being back home again.

Kelly and I took turns telling them all about our adventures over there. I was still trying to keep my injury secret but that didn't last long. At one point Ms. Connolly mentioned she'd seen me limping in the morning, and she noticed on the walk to the restaurant that her daughter was ready to help me if I needed it.

I tried to down-play it and just casually mentioned I'd hurt my leg, but of course my mom wanted all the details and kept insisting I go to a doctor or something. So I changed tactics and just dove in.

"Last month I was attacked by a huge monster called a vargur, and it halfway ripped my leg off. It's ok now but we have to use healing magic on it every other day, and I'm not going to be running any marathons or whatever. There's nothing human doctors can do. We don't know how long it'll take, but as long as we keep up the magic it'll eventually get better."

Both my folks went pale, while Kelsey had a thoughtful frown on her face. "I'm not familiar with vargurs, but I've never heard of any sort of injury that required ongoing healing spells."

Dad recovered from the shock before mom did, and asked "What's a vargur? And how did you get attacked, what were you doing?"

I sighed, I didn't want to tell them all the details about Connor's curse. Or at least, I didn't want them to think my biological-father had attacked me. I wound up telling them a half-truth, that Connor was under a curse and to break it I needed to confront the vargur. I described what a vargur was, and explained that of course I wasn't alone, I had two soldiers and a huntsman with me. And I told them about Ruadhan and how he died saving my life.

All three of our parents were quiet for a while after that. Kelsey I think was just staying quiet out of respect, while my mom and dad were both visibly shocked and upset.

Finally Kelly said, "Despite her injuries, Tegan was successful and Lord Connor was saved."

Then she went on to tell them how I was merciful to our enemies and that I wanted to find a peaceful solution rather than looking for revenge, and how I basically ended up stopping a war. And how I wound up signing the treaty between Clann Brádaigh and the Ceallaigh family. For some reason she left out how I was apparently some kind of gifted mage, and didn't mention the stuff about Taralynn's legend, but I didn't mind. Instead she talked about my bravery and honour and that kind of thing, which was still a little embarassing.

Kelly concluded with a grin, "So after all her adventures, they had a big banquet and celebration in her honour and she was granted an official title." With a wide smile she gestured to me and announced, "I present, Lady Tegan Vale of Clann Brádaigh, heiress of the Brádaigh estate, and future Countess of Cathasaigh."

I was blushing brightly by the time she was finished. Mom, dad, and Kelsey were all staring at me again.

"She's making it sound a lot fancier than it really is," I mumbled. "I mean, the heiress and countess stuff, that's probably like six or seven centuries away. Maeve's not even four hundred yet, she'll be around a long time."

That just made my parents eyes even wider, and I realized maybe nobody told them how long fae live.

Eventually that shock faded and mom asked, "Now that you two are back home, will you be going back to college?"

Kelsey added "This semester is essentially a write-off, but you could pick it up at the next semester and only be half a year behind."

Kelly nodded "Yeah, it'll be weird getting back into the college routine but I'll be there. We'll have to come up with some kind of believable excuse for why the two of us vanished for a couple months."

My folks were still looking at me, awaiting an answer. I had a thoughtful look on my face though, and finally shrugged "I need some time to think things over. I'm not sure I want to go back into what I was doing before. I'll definitely go back to school, but I have to figure out if there's something else I should be studying instead. Something a little more meaningful."

Mom and dad seemed pleased with that answer. Not that they didn't like my original plans, but I think they understood that with everything else about my life changing, it made sense that I'd have different goals and plans now too.

We talked more and ate more, but eventually things kind of wound down. Everyone else had dessert, but I was stuffed. As usual I couldn't even finish my meal.

Kelsey paid, which was nice of her. The food here was crazy-expensive.

We all thanked her, but it reminded me of something else. "I guess I'm no longer your family's responsibility, Kelsey? Since I've been 'claimed' or whatever by my fae folks. I figure that means no more living rent-free at the condo."

Ms. Connolly nodded, "I wasn't going to bring it up right away, but yes Tegan, that's correct."

"I don't really want to move just yet so I was wondering. If you own the place, can I just buy it from you? Or if you're leasing, could I take over the lease?"

She raised an eyebrow, but said "I own it. It's worth about two million dollars."

Both my parents' eyes went wide again. I just nodded and asked, "What's that in gold coins?"

She hesitated, then said "We'll talk another time, Tegan. I'm in no rush, so for the time being consider it Kelly's place and you're staying with her."

Kelly grinned and put an arm around my shoulders. She leaned in and kissed me and said "Don't worry babe, I won't kick you out."

Once we all finished our coffee, the five of us made our way out and started walking back to the condo. I found out dad had taken a cab since mom brought the car when she came to see us this morning. He and mom would drive home together from the condo.

I wound up leaning on Kelly during the walk. I definitely needed another dose of healing magic soon, and the cold night air wasn't helping.

Both my folks noticed, and they were worried when they saw me limping. I brushed aside their concerns, "It's fine. I'm used to it. It's not forever, it's just going to take time."

When we got home, everyone came up to the condo. Dad had never seen it before and he was suitably impressed. Then he and mom finally had to go. There were hugs and kisses as we bid each other goodnight, and promised to get together again soon. Then the two of them made their way back out to the lift.

Kelsey retired to the guest room, and Kelly and I finally got some alone-time in our bedroom. We got undressed and into bed, and she worked the healing spell on my leg before we cuddled up together.

She wrapped her arms around me and I settled in against her with a contented sigh.

She whispered softly, "Hey Tegan?"

"Yeah Kelly?" I whispered back.

"Did you notice the package ontop of the dresser?" I didn't even have to look at her, I could hear the grin in her voice.

I nodded slightly, "Yeah I saw it. What is it?"

She gave me a gentle squeeze and replied, "It's your maid uniform! Did you forget, you still owe me a dozen weekends! You've already got a backlog to work off, babe."

I didn't know whether to smile, laugh, or groan. Instead I just sighed, "Not till your mom's gone back home."

Kelly grinned, "After she leaves, maybe we can have you work off the backlog all at once... How do you like the idea of spending six full days in a row as my sexy little maid?"

I tried to suppress my own smile, and instead just cuddled closer to her and mumbled, "Ask me again when I'm awake, and your mom's not around."

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