When Aoife and Lauren emerged from the transvortex they emerged in front of an old, ruined home time had long forgotten. Aoife took a long look around.
"Where are we?" Lauren asked.
"Where it all began." Aoife replied.
The place was Trick's castle at Edenderry in Ireland, where he made his last stand during the Great Fae War. A war Aoife fought so desperately on the behalf of her father, but when her mother, Isabeau attempted to make peace with Horvis, leader of Dark Fae Army, and was killed in the process Aoife went into a rage and murdered a Dark Fae Elder, and after receiving no support for her actions her own father handed her over to the Dark Fae for execution. But rather than execute her the Dark Fae sent her to the Dark dungeons where she was tortured by the Dark King. She later became pregnant with his child, Ysabeau, whom she named after her beloved mother. Aoife did not want her daughter to become a tool wielded by the Dark King, so Aoife murdered the Nanny whose cared for the child, and then Lou Ann, the midwife, whom Aoife had befriended while imprisoned in the Dark dungeons escaped with the child and safely settled her in the County of Grimley to be raised by the humans, Sam and Mary Dennis. Aoife herself had eventually escaped the Dark Fae dungeons and the rest is history. Nevertheless, the torture she endured in the Dark Fae dungeons played on a loop in her mind. Whenever she tried to mentally step forward of her past her mind couldn't step past the shame, the anger, the loss, the hurt, the abuse, the betrayal, and because of which, drove her to unpredictable periods of madness. Who knew she would eventually find calm on The Deep?
After the fight with Ehlnor the Monolith inside Deapers Mountain she and Agent Chennai jumped into a transvortex and emerged on the other side into lush, dark green foliage steeped into the ground with leaves taller than small buildings and trees that soared so high in the sky Aoife could not see where they ended, yet there was the bustling activity of interwoven cities as far as the eye could see.
"Where are we?" Aoife asked.
"The Aennoran Deep, or simply known as The Deep." Nadu replied.
Aoife slowly turned as she took in everything around her. The Deep reminded her of the rainforests on the Human Plane, yet it wasn't stifling hot or chokingly humid, just a soft, light breeze that flowed throughout. Aoife thought the Plane's name was a bit of a misnomer. It sounded ominous when in fact it was anything but. Her eyes caught a large tree that suddenly moved. It rustled then rose from its resting place, branches and leaves detaching and falling as it stood up, and then a set of eyes opened on the trunk and focused on Aoife and Nadu then a mouth emerged, smiled and then the tree proceeded to walk down the path they were on. Nadu and Aoife quickly moved aside to let the tree pass.
"Treefolk?" Aoife asked astonished.
"Yes. The Deep is the home of what you call Treefolk." Nadu replied.
Then Aoife felt something move along her legs, looked down, and saw a plant detach itself from a bush, and move away like an octopus on land.
"What was that?" Aoife asked. Nadu was about to answer but was suddenly interrupted by a voice behind them.
"Blessings and felicitations, Agent Chennai!" greeted the voice. Aoife and Nadu turned around to face the voice, and Nadu let out a small smile.
"Thank you, Kamaria. Lovely to see you again. This is…" Nadu started.
"Her Serene Highness, the Princess Mother, Aoife McCorrigan." Kamaria finished.
"And you are?" Aoife asked.
"I am Kamaria, an Adherent of the Monadori Sanctuary. Welcome to The Deep!"
Kamaria, a Gnome, was not from The Deep, but from the Dallaria Plane where the magnificent Allastrallian Gardens resided. She looked very young, but age was a deceptive target in the Fae world, and Aoife later found out Kamaria was older than Aoife herself.
As soon as the introductions were finished Agent Chennai offered assurances Aoife would be alright in the hands of Kamaria, and disappeared back into the transvortex. Aoife didn't know what to think next, but Kamaria assured her she was safe, and was on The Deep to rest and reflect, a trait the Deep was known for throughout the Realm.
Kamaria then guided Aoife to her new home, and along the way familiarized Aoife with general life on the Deep about how the birds, the insects, albeit large ones, the fish, the mammals even, all were living Fae and lived together in perfect ecological harmony with one another. As Kamaria and Aoife moved along to Aoife's new home, the ecosystem moved all around them which both fascinated and terrified Aoife. Fascinated by all the diversity of life, but terrified she might inadvertently step on a living Fae, but Kamaria assured her she would never need worry about that.
When Kamaria presented Aoife with her sprawling new home, Aoife gasped. It sat five miles up into the sky and spanned between three large trees whose trunks were the width of skyscraper buildings. There were no walls, not even with the bathrooms; nature itself just flew by or crawled throughout the home unbothered. Save for humans, Aoife never had a pet of any kind and thus, was not use to animal life traversing about in her home, but it was part and parcel on The Deep. Aoife insisted on some sort of raised wall for the bathroom. Not for the showers, or the bath as she was fine prancing around there, but for the toilet, yes. This is not my daughter's crack shack, she pointed out. Not being familiar with the reference Kamaria, nevertheless, politely declined her request. Aoife had to learn to live with no walls of any kind, to relax, be calm and accept the openness of life. Once she learned to do that would her mind follow suit. Aoife, however, trusted no one and immediately put up her guard, yet on The Deep all the Fae seemed to sing kumbaya. Aoife could not recall a time when the Fae were at peace, so the tranquility that existed on The Deep made her nervous - and exposed.
Aoife asked Kamaria if she was a prisoner, and Kamaria responded she was a prisoner only of her own mind, but not in being. Aoife asked if that meant she could leave whenever she wanted to wit Kamaria replied if The Deep permitted. Aoife looked around for any signs of guards to wit Kamaria answered with an outstretch of her arms. Aoife realized her guards were all around her, the roots, plants, the trees, the Fae life, all of it, nevertheless she was essentially left to her own devices as if she were completely free. Aoife had never heard of an open prison before, yet that was what The Deep seemed to be for her.
Aoife took advantage of her new situation and spent the first few weeks acclimatizing herself to all the different facets of life on The Deep, and all the while questioned the populace about escape because while Kamaria seemed harmless, she still didn't trust her. No matter whom she questioned though, they all dutifully evaded or declined to answer to her questions beyond anything more specific than demographics, even the market vendors. It soon became clear to Aoife everyone knew who she was: not that she was The Princess Mother, the other Princess Mother, but she was also the one who conspired to attack the Sovereign.
It was during Aoife's time on The Deep when The Queen had announced the Human Plane had been accepted as the Renaştere Delegation. It was a proud moment for Aoife. Her daughter was not only the next Queen, but also the Plane from whence she came was also accepted. While the Marriage Question between Fae and Humans had been put aside, that too was made known, Aoife was glad her daughter had a Companion whom she loved and could share in her world. She wanted to send Bo a word of congratulations and to let her know she was alive and well, but Kamaria informed her request was denied – by Rajah Vandra herself. Aoife asked for an audience with the Rajah to plead her case directly, but Kamaria informed her none of the official leaders would receive her. The Deep was nearly devasted beyond recovery during the War of the Five Ranas, and in the intervening years had rebuilt itself to its present state. Rajah Imnai Vandra was a Taranta Fae, a Knight of the Guard, and an old friend of The Queen, and was not at all happy Aoife was even on The Deep in the first place. Aoife understood.
One day, when Kamaria arrived at Aoife's Treehouse, she was accompanied by seven fellow Adherents. It was time for Aoife to visit the Apex Monadori Sanctuary on The Deep, so they could begin the process as to why she was there: to face her past, and the madness that gripped her, Kamaria reminded. This would have had the Aoife of several weeks prior bolt for the nearest exit, but the present Aoife greeted the directive with curiosity. The Fae on The Deep were nothing but congenial to her, and she even made friends with what she initially thought was a wild animal, a ferret-looking creature, but in actuality was a Fae who lived in the bushes close to her treehome, and would pass right through as it came and went about its day. Duda was his name and he and his mate, Sakha and their family and neighboring friends would visit Aoife as they also came and went throughout her treehome. No pomp and circumstance as to whom she was or what she was considered, just simple, friendly visiting Fae. Aoife decided to try her luck. She was a party girl and hosted several gatherings so to ingratiate herself and learn more about the Deep, but the populace politely limited their conversational interactions to domestic matters.
The entrance to The Deep's Apex Monadori Sanctuary was a squared archway cut within a massive tree hill with transparent doors where one could see through to the garden area on the other side. Kamaria led Aoife through the doors of the massive archway followed by her fellow Adherents and emerged in the garden clearing, and there before them were eight chairs evenly spaced in a horseshoe with a chair in the middle on a cement platform with the Seal of the Monadori Sanctuary that covered its entirety. It was a bright, sunny day, almost too bright Aoife thought, yet there was no cover from The Deep's five Suns in the open clearing. There were tall, thick, colorful flowers that surrounded them and to Aoife's surprise, reasonably sized 25-foot trees. Aoife saw three more seats in front of her evening spaced. The flanking highbacked chairs were eight feet tall with the Monadori Seal etched in the backrest, but the one in the middle was a simple chair with no backrest, only armrests. Behind the three chairs was a large tree with a squared off archway carved through it.
Then another Adherent appeared out of nowhere and Kamaria and the rest of the Adherents bowed. This was an Adherent Aoife had never seen before, but clearly looked like the one in charge for he wore a tall, decorative headdress. Aoife didn't know what else to do and so quickly followed suit with the Adherents and bowed.
"Please." The mysterious Adherent greeted, and they all recovered.
"This is Htubai, the Ajahni." Kamaria introduced. "Ajahni, this is…"
"The Princess Mother. The other Princess Mother." Htubai answered.
"Glad to make your acquaintance." Aoife greeted with a smile. The smile was not returned, and instead Htubai went over and took the empty highbacked seat on Aoife's right.
"Well, that was pleasant." Aoife said in a low voice. "Ajahni?"
"He is the leader of our Sanctuary here." Kamaria replied then gestured Aoife to the chair in the middle of the horseshoe while she and her fellow Adherents took the surrounding seats.
"Okay. What's next?" Aoife asked Kamaria but Kamaria said nothing and instead pointed towards the Ajahni, the two remaining empty chairs, and the archway. Aoife returned her attention to the chairs and to the archway behind it. After 15 minutes had passed, she looked over at Kamaria again.
"Is whatever happening, happening anytime soon?" Aoife asked, but again, Kamaria said nothing and instead pointed forward. Aoife exhaled, and turned back towards the chairs and the archway, and then suddenly a transvortex opened through the archway, and two Fae emerged. Everyone stood up around Aoife and she followed suit.
The first to emerge was Illia, the Acharyani.
"Welcome, Acharyani!" Htubai greeted. The Acharyani nodded and then turned to her side to await someone and that someone came slowly into view with a walking rod. It was the Seer herself. Everyone bowed before the Seer, and Aoife quickly followed.
The Seer was focused on Aoife from the moment she emerged from the transvortex and when she was finally about two feet away from Aoife she stopped, raised her staff once and struck the ground with it. That was the cue for everyone to right themselves. Aoife couldn't make out why the Seer was staring at her so hard and decided to say something.
"I am at a loss."
"It is not appropriate to speak to the Seer without her permission!" The Acharyani shot.
"I did not realize." Aoife replied as she continued to meet the stare of the Seer, who then raised her staff and directed Aoife to take her seat again. Aoife complied as did the rest of the Adherents. Then the Seer stepped closer which made Aoife rear back a bit.
"You are the doorway." The Seer said.
"The doorway? The doorway to what?" Aoife asked.
The Seer answered:
The One who reigns
The One who shall reign
The One who rules
The One who shall rule
Your futures are One
You are One
"I don't know what any of that means?" Aoife replied.
"You soon will." The Seer stated.
"Who are you?" Aoife asked with a bit of irritation.
"The is the Seer. She is the Realm's spiritual guide. We, as her Adherents, serve as an extension of her, and the faith that is the Monadori Sanctuary." Htubai answered.
"I am here to heal the brokenness of your mind." The Seer added.
"Just like that?" Aoife challenged.
"Just. Like. That." The Seer replied. Aoife scoffed.
"Hmp! What can you do whom others could not?" Aoife challenged.
"You have no idea of the role you play." The Seer replied.
"Look, all I'm trying to do is stay alive." Aoife admitted.
"And yet you are so much more." The Seer replied.
"Look lady…" Aoife started but quickly received reproving looks from the Adherents around her, and promptly corrected herself. "I mean, Seer. I don't understand all the riddle talk."
"But you will." The Seer replied then her eyes rolled back white and then stomped her staff once more to the ground, a beam of light emitted from it and struck Aoife square in the forehead. Aoife's head was thrown back, her eyes also rolled white as her mind was consumed by the beam.
Once again, the memories rushed past. The Great Fae War. Her mother's plea before the Dark Army for peace. Her mother's gruesome death at the hands of the Dark. Her anger. Her vengeance when she killed a Dark Fae Elder in vegeance. The hurt when her father turned his back on her for the deed. The Great Rebellion she waged with Rainer as one of her partners, and Eulises Santiago among others who had presented them with the power of Athenaeum. But their plan to unleash its power by kidnaping the Queen thwarted by Regent Saladin himself who turned the tides on them all. Trick forcing a peace between the Light and the Dark through his blood. Rainer banished, Eulises killed by Evony herself, and Aoife turned over to the Dark for execution. Her mind shook with fear reliving those memories. The darkness. The torture, over and over, with seemingly no hope of escape. Aoife thought she could cope, that she could handle the uncertainty of death through the pain, and every time she wished for death to come it never did. When she gave birth to her daughter, she thought it would right her mind, provide her with newfound strength, and it did, for a time, but then paranoia set in. What if what she suffered her daughter would too suffer? What if her daughter turned out to be just as evil as her father, the Dark King? What if she was used by the Dark King for ill? What if she too were eventually tortured and marked for death? Aoife's mind struggled between sanity and paranoia. Until Luanne, who gave her stability, friendship, allegiance, and hope. But after she conspired with Luanne to abscond with her daughter Aoife was left with the Dark King and a whole new set of fresh torture resumed. Aoife knew she would die if she didn't escape. There was only one way. Rainer. She needed to escape to his Death Train and from there to freedom. After she killed a few of her guards she made her way onto Rainer's Death Train but found Rainer not of sound mind. The Death screams all around him nearly drove him to madness. He and Aoife made a pact. He would help her escape, but she had to promise to come back for him. Figure out a way to free him from the train. She promised she would, but once she left, she betrayed him. As far as Aoife was concerned, Rainer had met his fate. In pursuit, the Dark King leveraged anyone he could, including Rainer, to retrieve his daughter at any cost. And so, Rainer became known as the "Wanderer", cursed with the charge of retrieving the Dark King's daughter in exchange for his freedom from the Death Train.
Aoife had hoped to protect her daughter, to take under her wing, but her mind shifted from sanity to madness. She blamed the Fae. All of them for what was done to her and tried to destroy them all, but she was thwarted by her own daughter. She was held prisoner in a lab, like a rat, tortured and experimented upon by Dr. Issac Taft, a human, only to be rescued – briefly - by her daughter and her friends. Out of the chaos, Aoife fled again, but then returned to find her daughter whom she knew was in trouble, only to have the madness overcome her and she had to flee once again. She spent the next ten years, watching, waiting, forging alliances, deals, yet still gripped in fits of madness, but she desired nothing more than to return to her daughter. In the end, she wanted what any parent wanted for their child: she wanted her daughter to be free. Free of the legacy of her family. Free of the Dark King. Free of the Fae, and Aoife was bound and determined to do so. But her fears gripped her, the madness gripped her. What if her daughter, for all that she has done, turns out to be just like her father – evil. It was a constant war that waged in her mind, see-sawing her from sanity into the depths of despair, yet through it all she had to protect her daughter.
Then Aoife screamed.
It was like her brain was being pierced, rummaged and ripped throughout. Aoife didn't know what else to do as she tried to fight for her mind, take hold of it, but it was futile. Her mind was blasted, and she wanted to scream some more but her scream seemed to be caught in a void, heard by no one. Then her mind felt like it was split in half, splayed out, awash in light and in pain, and then suddenly her mind cleared, and found herself standing in an oasis of yellowish light that seemed to go forever around her. She looked all around and saw no bottom, no top nor any sides just a room full of light. Then she saw something in the distance that looked blurry as it approached her. She called out, but the blur kept moving towards her. Aoife didn't know if she should stand her ground or flee, but where to? She was in the confines of her own mind. The blurred image came closer and Aoife tried to call out but somehow she was mute. When the blurred came even closer the image shifted and the image was clear. It was her mother, Isabeau. Aoife fell to her knees in a flood of tears, as her mother quickly walked up to her, went her knees and hugged her tightly.
"How? How is this happening?" Aoife said through a wail of tears. "You're dead! How can this be?"
"My dear child!" was all Isabeau said as she gripped her. They stayed that way for a long while until Aoife cried out all the tears she had stored away.
"How?" Aoife pressed again.
"I do not have much time."
"Why?"
"It is what it is."
"I want to be with you."
"Death will come eventually, but you have things to do yet."
"My life is over."
"It is not, my child."
"I miss you terribly."
"As I do you, and your father."
"Do not speak of him! He betrayed us both!"
"Now child, listen! I made the choice to deceive your father, and I paid for my foolishness with my life."
"He handed me over to the Dark to be executed for avenging you!"
"Listen! No matter what happened, you cannot allow to consume you. You must see yourself past it all."
"Are you asking me to forgive him? For all that he's done?"
"My child, I am asking you to forgive yourself! What's done is done. We cannot change the past, but we can define our future. You need to stop allowing the past to consume you and live for the future!"
"How can I? I rather die and be here with you."
"No, my child! You have a pathway out of this despair. A future where you can still do so much! That is why I am here. I need you to take that path. That is the only way you'll live."
"But how?"
"Live with courage, my child. See yourself forward. Live for what make you happy. Live for what can be, but mostly, live to be free!"
"That's what I want for my daughter, Bo. I named her after you. She even has children." Aoife smiled, and was met with one.
"Then live for her. Live for your grandchildren. There will be time for us." Isabeau implored. Aoife cried again. "And my darling child, please do one last thing for me."
"What is that?"
"Tell you father I am sorry, and I love him, and miss him terribly." Aoife's face darkened at the request, but Isabeau added "I'm his wife. He needs to know I acted to protect all of us." Aoife averted her eyes. "Live my child. Live!" and then Isabeau disappeared as she came, into a blur until she was no longer visible. But then Aoife saw a darkened space form a bit of a distance from where she had just seen her mother disappear. Then the darkened space started to swirl like a tempest and lightning cracked all around her. Aoife was about to step forward to see more clearly what it was when a blinding flash of light made her cover her eyes, and when she thought it was safe she removed her arm but saw nothing but empty space. Aoife took a deep breath and the next thing she knew she was on the ground next to her chair, collapsed in her own flop sweat, the Adherents still all around her with the Ajahni, Acharyani and the Seer sitting in their respective chairs. Kamaria came up followed by a couple more Adherents, helped Aoife to her feet, and sat her back into her chair. Aoife had looked around and saw the five Suns had set into the early evening.
"How long was I out?" Aoife asked.
"For hours." Kamaria replied.
"I'm drenched in sweat." Aoife noticed then looked at The Seer who sat in the middle chair quietly looking at her.
"You all have been here the whole time I was knocked out?" Aoife asked.
"Yes." Kamaria replied.
"The pain. In my mind. It was unbearable." Aoife said.
"Due to the barriers you put up over the years to keep yourself protected, but all they were doing was building a deeper, mental prison. You have been made free." The Seer replied.
"How do you feel?" Kamaria asked. For the first time since before the death of her mother, Aoife's mind felt like a gust of cleansing, fresh air had surged throughout every part of her brain, and the deadweight of anger and vengeance she carried was lifted off her.
For the next several weeks she traveled throughout The Deep with the clearest faculty she had ever felt in her life. She was so used to the barriers she had put up to shield her mind she didn't know how to feel when they were finally let down. She even tested herself to see if she could fall back into the false comfort anxiety, fear, and madness had brought. When she realized she couldn't resurrect those old mind barriers she thought she would succumb to panic, but even that refused to rear its ugly head. Aoife decided to have faith and walk every day in the fullness of happiness, breathe, taking one day at a time, and her mind followed suit. Her mother was right, she had a future to live for, she a had a future to protect, but not out of vengeance, but one born of hope and love.
One afternoon, Aoife and Kamaria were out walking and talking amongst the gardens of the Apex Monadori Sanctuary when someone suddenly stepped into view.
It was Regent Saladin Azanin.
Kamaria bowed so low she nearly went to her knees. Aoife followed suit.
"Princess Mother." Regent Saladin greeted.
"Your Excellency." Aoife returned as she and Kamaria righted themselves.
"Kamaria, would you excuse us?" Saladin said. Kamaria quickly bowed again and nearly bolted from the garden.
"Wow! You know how to instill fear in others." Aoife commented.
"Or respect." Came another voice from behind Saladin.
"This is Primus Mira Levasseur of the Intelligence Pillar." Saladin introduced as she walked into view. "Mira, this is…"
"The traitor." Primus Levasseur finished.
"I like it when someone cuts right to the chase." Aoife replied.
"I do." Primus Levasseur said.
"Then shall we?" Aoife prompted.
"Let's." Primus Levasseur replied.
"Then to what do I owe this esteemed visit?" Aoife asked.
"A task." Regent Saladin replied.
"A task?" Aoife curiously asked.
"We need you to ferret out the amulet." Levasseur added.
"You mean the relic that everyone on the Human Plane is calling it?" Aoife queried.
"Yes." Regent Saladin replied.
"I was trying to do just that when I ended up here, but not before Rumlar tried to kill me using a Monolith!" Aoife said.
"And we need you to go back. You are closer to recovering it more than anyone." Levasseur replied.
"And in course, ferreting out more of his supporters, of course." Aoife said.
"Of course." Levasseur replied.
"What am I? Chopped liver?" Aoife asked incredulous.
"You conspired to attack The Queen. You're lucky we don't execute you on the spot." Levasseur replied.
"Eulises and Rainer tried to attack the Queen! But yes, I supported their efforts. It was the only way secure the power we needed to win the Great Rebellion." Aoife said.
"That is still sufficient." Levasseur replied.
"Hey! I am not the one asking for help here. You are!" Aoife shot back. "And what's more, you're asking it of the Princess Mother, you know, the mother of the next Queen?"
"Your biological association with The Princess Royal does not outweigh your status as a traitor to the Realm." Levasseur replied.
"Then why should I even bother helping you?" Aoife challenged.
"Because you won't leave The Deep alive." Levasseur replied.
"You would actually murder the mother of The Princess Royal?" Aoife challenged again.
Regent Saladin stepped closer to Aoife to where he was about eight inches from her face.
"I will execute you without a moments' hesitation." Regent Saladin answered. The weight and seriousness of his voice made Aoife blink, fearful he would execute her right then and there.
"Well then…what do I get in return?" Aoife stuttered.
"Your life." Regent Saladin replied.
"I will need more than that." Aoife said.
"Ah, but that is all The Princess Royal needs, and if you succeed you can live out your days here on The Deep within the Sanctuary." Regent Saladin replied.
"In a Nunnery?!" Aoife blurted.
"The alternative is death." Regent Saladin replied.
"So, what, all this time on The Deep was what? A ruse? To effectively capture and kill me?" Aoife asked in a cracked voice.
"Not exactly." Regent Saladin replied.
"Then what then? What was the point of me of going through that whole exercise in freeing myself from all my anger, fears, doubts?" Aoife challenged through a well of tears.
"You mean more to your daughter than you realize. Her concern for your well-being lingers like a tempest. You could not face what is yet to come with your mind still clouded and broken." Regent Saladin replied.
"Well, how kind of you." Aoife hissed.
"You have two choices: fight to live or resign to die." Regent Saladin replied. Aoife looked long at Regent Saladin who kept his gaze fixed on her.
"I chose to live." Aoife finally said. Regent Saladin took in a long breath and exhaled. "So, where do I start?"
"Where else? Where it all began." Regent Saladin replied then turned around and walked back and stood next to Primus Levasseur. "Agent Chennai will join you. She will either be your lifeguard or your executioner, depending on whether you remain faithful to the task." Then he turned and called out "Open transvortex!" A transvortex opened and then he and Primus Levasseur promptly stepped through it.
"What I did was wrong, but the punishment in handing me over to the Dark King was even worse. I often wished my father would have exacted his own justice rather than turned me over to the Dark King." Aoife said to Lauren.
"I cannot begin to comprehend or even understand what you went through. I cannot ask you to forgive Trick for what he did to you, it would be both arrogant and out of place, but what I do beg of you today is to think of the future. Your future. You have so much to live for. You have a daughter who has accomplished so much, and you have four grandchildren who need you to be part of their lives. Whatever this is, whatever is going on, this constant rumination over the past will drive you to your grave. What we want is for you to be happy. You can move forward." Lauren replied.
"I will never be able to forgive him." Aoife said. "But you're right, I can also move forward. Be part of my daughter's life, my grandchildren's lives, and I will fight my very best to have that."
"And Aoife?" Lauren prompted. "Bo needs to hear this too. You mean too much to her."
"I know. But right now, I am in a real hole, Lauren. How do I ever pull myself out of it?" Aoife asked.
"One step at a time." Came a voice behind them. They both turned and it was Agent Chennai. Aoife smiled.
"I thought I had shaken you for a while." Aoife said.
"That would be a bit hard to do. Each transvortex has a transmission use signature." Agent Chennai replied.
"I thought I had masked that?" Aoife queried.
"Not well enough." Agent Chennai replied.
"I need to have a word then with Duda." Aoife said. Agent Chennai smiled then turned to Lauren.
"Blessings and felicitations, Dr. Lewis."
"Hello Agent Chennai!" Lauren greeted then looked at them both. "So, what's the plan?"
"This." Agent Chennai replied, and then as if on cue another transvortex opened, and from it emerged Bas Cibor.
"Milady." Bas Cibor greeted with a bow.
"Bas Cibor is here to take you back to Her Royal Highness." Agent Chennai informed.
"You broke me out of jail for no real reason?" Lauren asked Aoife incredulous.
"Oh! There was a real reason alright. There were forces at play who intended to do you harm, but you'll be safer with Bo than where I'm off to next." Aoife replied.
"Aoife! Bo wants to see you again. She needs to." Lauren reminded.
"Just tell her I love her. I love who she is, what she has become, and the family she's made. And don't let my grandchildren ever forget about me." Aoife replied.
"Let me come with you wherever you're going." Lauren offered.
"Bo would never forgive me if something happened to you. No. Go back to Bo and deliver her that message for me." Aoife replied.
Lauren went up and hugged Aoife long and tight, and then did something that shocked Aoife: he gave her a long kiss on the cheek.
"That hug and kiss is from all of us, including the children." Lauren replied. "Do whatever you have to do, but come back to us."
"Thank you." Aoife said then turned to Agent Chennai. "Ready?"
"Ready." Agent Chennai replied then opened a transvortex and they both disappeared through it.
