88. Devised

"So here's castle Faoláin," Kelly said. "On the west coast, in the southern half of county Conchobhair."

I sighed as I looked where she was pointing. We had the old atlas out yet again, and we were once more looking at the map of the Southern Marches. I already knew where we were of course, now I had an idea of where Lord Aengus called home.

"That's what, sixty leagues? Sixty-five?" Keira asked as she tried to measure it out in finger-widths.

Kelly replied "More like seventy, I think."

After a moment she added, "But, it's only about thirty leagues from castle Griofa, and we already know how to get there relatively quickly."

I considered that. "You figure we could jump to Griofa, get horses, and head on to castle Faoláin?"

"It's possible," Kelly nodded. "And it'd cut our travel time in half."

I frowned, "Getting there's only half the challenge. Actually not even half, it's like, the first third. Or maybe even just a quarter. Once we get there it's going to get a whole lot harder."

I sighed as I thought about it again. "We have to get in, find Lord Aengus, then get back out again without us or him dying, then get him all the way back here. Again without anyone dying. Even if he is an old guy, he's not going to make that easy. And we'll probably have his people chasing us. Soldiers, maybe even mages."

The twins were quiet for a few moments, then Keira shrugged "I guess it's time to see grandad again?"

I sighed again, "I guess."

Half an hour later the three of us reached the level of the tower where Keenan was being held. After six flights of steep stairs my leg was sore and weak. That was probably the most stairs I'd tackled at once since me and Kelly came up here to visit Liam three years ago.

I wound up leaning against Keira for a minute or so, as the three of us stood on the landing outside Keenan's door.

Once the pain in my leg had dropped to a manageable level, I nodded "Ok lets go."

One of the guards unlocked and opened the door for us, and the three of us entered together.

Keenan was sitting crosslegged in the middle of the bed, wearing a knee-length skirt and a tight blouse. There was a tray on the bed next to her, with a hairbrush, tooth brush, and some other toiletry items. She was holding a hand-mirror, though it was currently resting in her lap. She had her head tilted downwards and her eyes were staring at some random spot on the bed. Her cheeks were colouring slightly.

I noticed her hair looked good, there was a bit of a shine to it, and I realized she'd probably just finished brushing it. She'd obviously been looking at herself in the mirror when we entered.

Thinking back to when Liam was in this position, it was like night and day. Liam did his best to dress and act like a boy, and tried to ignore the feminine body I'd given him. Keenan was embracing it, and even appeared to be trying to accentuate it. She was focusing on her appearance, she wanted to be pretty.

"Hello again granddad," Keira said in a friendly tone. "I see they already brought you the brush and things that you wanted."

After a moment she added, "Your hair looks great by the way, good job."

I recalled what the twins said earlier, about being positive rather than negative. I could see it now. Keenan was clearly nervous, if not outright scared. She refused to look at any of us, she seemed tense, her shoulders were set in a sort of permanent cringe. On the other hand she reacted positively to Keira's compliments. There was a flicker of a smile on her lips and her eyes widened slightly. She was frightened, but she was also pleased.

Overall it still left me feeling uncomfortable. I knew this was basically her conscious mind struggling to adapt to the changes Keira made to her personality. I wondered if Keenan was even aware of any of it.

I finally made my way over to the table and sat down in one of the chairs. My leg was still aching and I needed to get the weight off it for a while to let the muscle rest.

"Keenan?" I asked her, "Would you mind joining me at the table here? We need to have a chat."

She cringed slightly, but nodded. She carefully set the mirror down on the tray then moved off the bed. On a whim I switched on my ability to see auras as she was settling into the chair across from me.

I hadn't really checked before, but I did get a brief look at her aura yesterday before I transformed her. It was dark. I couldn't even tell what colour it should have been, it was like the whole thing was just stained from all the evil she'd done over the centuries.

It was much the same now, with one notable difference. All around the outer edge, there was a very thin pink fringe.

I stared for a few moments and thought about that. I decided it might be telling me the obvious, that she's still an evil heartless person but with a thin veneer of 'vulnerable girl' overtop. I also realized it might mean something else. If it continued to change, if the dark stains receded over time and the pink fringe grew larger, that could suggest that she was actually changing as a person.

I decided to monitor it over the next few weeks. If the darkness really was receding, I figured that would be a good sign.

Before I dismissed that aspect of my vision I glanced at the twins. They were standing side by side a few paces away from Keenan and I. As I expected, there was constant activity going through their link. Outwardly they were watching quietly. Internally they were deep in conversation.

Finally I looked back to Keenan. I kept in mind what her granddaughters told me, and I tried to act polite and positive as I said "Please relax, you're not in any kind of trouble. We actually need to speak with you, we need some information and I think you might be able to help us."

Her eyes widened slightly, and she nodded once. She didn't relax though, not yet. And she still hadn't said anything. In fact I realized I'd yet to hear her actually talk since Keira enspelled her.

Before I could explain what we needed, Kelly spoke up.

"Grandfather, before we go any further would you tell us if you were under any kind of hold or oath? Are you bound to Lord Aengus, or anyone else? Where are your loyalties?"

Keenan shook her head, and finally spoke. Her voice came out as a timid whisper as she replied "I'm bound to no-one, under oath to no-one." She gulped slightly and added, "I've always been careful to stay a free man... I've never been loyal to anyone but myself."

"Thanks granddad," Keira said. "We appreciate your honesty."

Kelly added, "Lady Tegan will appreciate it if you're honest with her too. As I'm sure you know, any of us could extract what we wanted from you, but we'd all be much happier if you cooperated."

I stayed quiet through this exchange. It sounded like the two of them were picking their words carefully, like they were mixing praise and expectations to guide their grandfather along a particular path.

Keenan nodded again and said softly, "I'll do my best."

I smiled, "Thank you Keenan. So, here's what we want to do, and what we need from you..."

There was a slight cringe from her at first, then she just listened quietly as I explained our goals. I told her we needed to get into castle Faoláin, abduct Lord Aengus, and get him back here to hand him over alive to Maeve. And of course I wanted to achieve all that with as little conflict and bloodshed as possible.

By the time I was finished she had a thoughtful look on her face. She still wouldn't look at me or the twins, her eyes were now fixed at a point on the table. But she'd relaxed slightly, and didn't seem as scared as she'd been when we first arrived.

She continued to think it over before she finally spoke. "I can tell you how I'd do it."

Her voice was still soft, she still acted timid, but she seemed sure of herself in terms of what she had to say.

"I would slip between the veil to a place I know that's within a couple leagues of castle Faoláin. From there I'd make my way on foot to a location to the north-east of the castle. The woods are close to the castle there, it's a good place to lay low and wait for evening. I know some of the castle interior but you do not, so you won't be able to teleport directly inside. Instead, you can teleport to the top of the castle wall, then proceed on foot. I could perhaps draw you a map, of the parts of the castle I'm familiar with."

She added, "Aengus is paranoid of mages, he's had some of the castle around his personal chambers warded against magic so no-one can teleport in, and scrying won't work either. He won't let any outsiders in that area either, so I've never set foot there. I can't help you locate his bed, only point you to what part of the castle he'll be in."

After another pause she continued, "Once inside the walls I would... Well you'd probably use sleep spells to incapacitate everyone you come across. When you reach the warded part of the castle, I would use mind-reading spells on all the guards outside that area. At least some of them will surely know their way around the inner sanctum. Then proceed to Aengus's room."

She concluded, "Teleport Aengus and yourselves out to the spot where you all arrived, a few leagues from the castle. Wait till dawn, and slip through the veil back to castle Brádaigh."

I was silent for another minute or so after she finished talking. I'd honestly just expected to get some tips, maybe a map would be handy. I didn't expect her to actually come up with a complete plan on the spot. On the other hand, it reminded me that she was almost six hundred years old, and she had a lot of experience being devious. And she was clever.

It also reminded me just how dangerous powerful mages could be, even compared to normal fae.

Finally I looked at the teen and said, "Thank you Keenan. I appreciate your insight. That actually sounds like a well thought-out strategy. And we'll certainly take you up on your offer to draw us a map or two."

There was another slight cringe before she smiled. She looked happy that I was pleased. And she almost seemed to preen slightly at my words.

I thought again about what the twins said. It still made me feel uncomfortable, it felt borderline manipulative to me. Still, I'd rather have her happy and cooperative than compliant due to a constant fear of reprisal. I wasn't sure what the little cringe was for though. I hoped she wasn't so scared of me now that it bothered her every time I spoke.

The teen's voice was still soft and quiet as she replied "I'm glad you're pleased Lady Tegan. And I would be happy to draw out maps for you if you wished."

I glanced around and realized there was no desk in here. "We'll have to get some parchment and writing supplies brought up here first."

"Hey babe," Kelly spoke up. "Let's save that till tomorrow. It's nearly dinner time, and it's been a long day."

Keira agreed, "A very long day, and yesterday was a very stressful one."

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