Welland Bonus - Reconciliations pt.1 (Patreon)

*** This chapter takes place at the same time as chapters 9 & 10 of Welland Revisited aka Tale of a Fox in Welland, after Maria, Jenny, Beth, and Tally visited Sam and Nikki at the vineyard. ***

=::= Maria's PoV =::=

Jenny climbed out of the passenger seat as soon as the mini-van came to a stop in front of the school, while Bethany and Tally emerged a little more slowly from the middle row.

"Now you girls have a good day," I told the three of them, "I'll be back to pick you up this afternoon."

I stayed put for a few more seconds and watched as my youngest daughter took the nervous foxgirl's hand in her own. 

It was almost hard to believe Beth was the same girl as the shy timid child I adopted three years ago. Harder still to believe she used to be the bitter homomisic sister-in-law who once tried to murder Nicole and I. Her body hadn't grown much since then, but she'd grown a great deal in all the ways that mattered most.

After the girls disappeared inside the school I finally put the van in drive and pulled back out onto the road. Helping Tally adjust and deal with her unsupportive parents was just one of several minor emergencies I was trying to juggle. Not the least of which was yesterday's news that the federal government had taken an interest in our activities. 

Jessica and I both gave that man from the immigration department an earful when he dropped in at QSAW yesterday, but I knew we'd be hearing from them again soon. The government wasn't likely to back down just because a couple women stood up to their Mr. Reeves. The best I could hope for at the moment was they'd wait another few weeks before they sent someone else to bother us. 

Having to take all three girls over to the vineyard this morning after Jenny told Tally about the coven was just one more headache ontop of the dozen I already had. And now in addition to helping Tally adjust to her situation and hopefully helping her reconcile with her family, I'd have to do all that while also teaching her and my two youngest daughters about magic and all the coven rules that went with it.

At least I wouldn't have to do that alone, both Amanda and Sadie offered years ago to help teach their younger sisters. I decided to send the two of them an email this morning and ask. I could only hope they wouldn't be too busy finishing up their semester at university.

Normally I picked up coffee for everyone on my way to work, so despite being more than ninety minutes late I took time to visit the drive-thru near the office. I knew the order off by heart and I was sure at least half the coffee-shop staff in there knew it too. When I finally arrived at QSAW I had a half dozen beverages to distribute to my colleagues.

With the mini-van parked at the back of the building I let myself in the back door, then bid everyone a good morning as I made my way around the office handing out coffees and lattes and espressos. 

"Thanks Maria," Kara said as they accepted their morning drink. Then they warned me, "You have someone waiting for you in your office. She's been there the past twenty minutes. She claims you contacted her."

I frowned as I thought through my schedule, but I couldn't remember having any appointments booked for this morning. And the look on the enby's face and the tone in their voice told me whoever was waiting for me wasn't one of our normal clients.

"Thank you Kara," I sighed. My first guess was the government wasn't as patient as I'd hoped, that they'd already sent someone to arrest or subpoena me.

After handing out the last couple drinks I finally opened my office door and headed to my desk.

One glance at the young woman waiting patiently in my guest chair told me she definitely wasn't from the government. She stayed quiet and watched as I took my seat, and likewise I looked her over as I got settled.

She couldn't have been older than twenty, perhaps only nineteen. Her hair was raven black and hung down straight, several inches past her shoulders. Her skin was clear and fair and her eyes were a deep brilliant blue. She was dressed very casual, in an oversized black tunic top and tight dark-grey leggings. She had a pair of well-worn sneakers on her feet. 

The eyes and hair reminded me of Nicole, but her face was quite different. And I knew Nikki didn't have a sister regardless. Her posture was very casual, she wasn't quite slumped in the chair but she looked very relaxed and calm.

"I'll be with you in just a moment," I told her as I logged on to my computer.

I typed up a quick email to Amanda and Sadie explaining the situation with Bethany and Tally, and that they and Jenny were initiated so they'd be bound by our rules to keep our secrets. Finally I asked if the twins would mind coming home this evening to take care of the first lessons for the younger girls.

Once that was out of the way I turned my attention to my guest. 

"Good morning, sorry to keep you waiting. I'm Maria Watson, director of QSAW. What can I do for you?"

The strange young woman smirked slightly, "We know who you are Maria. You sent us an email a couple weeks ago, you said our sisters were interested in arranging a meeting?" 

I'd been so busy lately I couldn't remember anyone asking me to arrange a family meeting. It wasn't unheard of, people would occasionally want to reconcile with their disowned queer children or siblings. I could remember at least three occasions in the last couple years where we'd helped facilitate that sort of reunion.

My mystery guest must have seen the blank look in my expression, she elaborated "Our name is Kat. You know our sisters as Dôn, Ceridwen, and Arianrhod."

I'd never heard the name Kat before, and her use of plural pronouns for herself caught me off guard. But my eyes widened and my heart-rate spiked when she mentioned the names of the Goddess. 

Back in mid-May Sam and Nikki asked me to attend a meeting with the Goddess. She asked me to email Zoe in Australia. According to Her, Zoe would be able to forward a request to Her sister Aeronwy, the Goddess of War. And She was going through me rather than contacting Zoe directly because She said Zoe and Aeronwy might not appreciate hearing from Her like that.

My mouth was dry as I responded, "I er, I was expecting to hear back by email. And I was expecting someone named Aeronwy?"

"Aeronwy is among us," Kat responded. She seemed entirely calm and relaxed as she asked, "Do you know if our sisters are prepared to meet now? Your email was unclear on the timing."

"I don't know," I shook my head. "I wasn't given any specifics or particulars, She just asked me to forward Her request. I had the impression that She and Aeronwy had a falling-out?"

The young woman sighed slightly as a troubled expression settled on her face. "Relations between Aeronwy and her sisters were always strained. A few years ago things came to a head. Perhaps it's a good sign that they're finally reaching out to us."

After a brief pause she asked, "Would you mind contacting them now Maria? Let them know we're here and available, or find out when would be a better time for all of us to meet face to face?"

"Of course," I nodded as I pulled my phone out. 

I hated to bother Nikki again so soon, especially in her current condition. It was barely an hour ago I was there with the girls, visiting her in person.

On the other hand I was positive that this Kat girl was Aeronwy's vessel, the same way Nikki was vessel for the Goddess. And the last thing I wanted was to get in the way of a couple Goddesses who wanted a family reunion.

I scrolled through my contacts then tapped Nicole's name, and waited for the call to connect.

"Hi Maria," Nikki answered after a couple rings. "Everything ok?"

After a glance at my guest I explained, "Sorry to bother you Nicole. I have a er, guest in my office at QSAW who claims she's responding to the email the Goddess asked me to send Zoe? She says her name's Kat rather than Aeronwy, but I think she might be Aeronwy's vessel? She wants to know if the Goddess wants to meet now."

"Has She threatened you in any way?" there was a slight change in the tone and resonance of Her voice, enough to tell me I wasn't speaking with Nikki any more.

I suppressed a gulp and shook my head, "No ma'am. She's been very polite."

There was a very brief pause then the Goddess said, "Please ask Her to join Us in Llis Dôn, We will welcome Her there."

My mysterious guest was already shaking her head before I could even pass along the message.

"No," she said in that same calm voice. "We won't go to any of their courts. We'll meet them on neutral ground, or at Caer Aeronwy. Would you agree to mediate, Maria? We guarantee your safety, and we're sure our sisters will as well."

I didn't get a chance to respond to her before the Goddess said over the phone, "Of course We guarantee your safety Maria, She knows We'd never put you at risk let alone harm you. And We agree to a meeting at Her court."

The whole experience left me wondering why I was even involved, since they all seemed perfectly capable of communicating around me rather than through me. The way they were acting reminded me of a couple petulant children refusing to talk to each other despite being next to each other and able to hear what each other was saying.

I hesitated for a moment as I thought through the request. On the one hand I was pretty sure neither would be upset if I declined, but on the other hand I couldn't shake the feeling that when a Goddess or two asked you to do something, you should probably do it. And even if it felt like I wasn't needed, they might feel better having a neutral party present for their reunion.

"All right," I agreed. "What does mediation entail in this situation?"

Kat replied, "I imagine you've done this sort of thing before? Just keep the conversation on topic, don't let any of us get too heated, that kind of thing."

Before I could respond she added, "I'll take us there now."

There was a flicker of purple light in Kat's eyes, and suddenly my office and desk were gone. My leather chair had become a large comfortable easy-chair, and instead of one of my guest chairs Kat was sitting on a sofa to my left.

I looked around with wide eyes at our new surroundings. It looked like a large, modern, open-concept wood cabin. There was a front door to one side, a closet in the corner, and another doorway on the wall opposite the front door. To the right of that inner doorway was a kitchenette complete with a little table and four chairs, and in the opposite corner was a desk and a couple bookcases, all of which were messy and showed signs of frequent use. A few windows around the room revealed a mountainous landscape outside, that made me think of the pacific north-west. 

The room was dominated by a large circular fireplace in the centre. There was another sofa and chair, in addition to the two Kat and I were on, all four pieces were arranged around the big fire. 

I glanced at my phone but the call had disconnected. There was no service here, and no wifi.

Kat smiled to me, "Please don't worry Maria, you're perfectly safe here."

"Thank you," I responded. Despite her assurances I was still on edge. 

A moment later the Goddess appeared a little way off to my right, standing behind the other sofa. 

Then a second Goddess appeared next to her, followed by a third. The differences between them was subtle, and I'd never seen them like this before. Somehow I knew Dôn was the slightly older one in the middle. Ceridwen was the younger one on the left, and Arianrhod was the grumpy-looking one on the right.

None of them looked exactly like Nikki, though all three were similar to her. Or perhaps it was more accurate to say, Nikki's appearance was similar to them.

As I looked at them I realized this had to be their true forms, their real selves. This wasn't them channelling through Nicole's body, it was really them. On the other hand Aeronwy still looked like Kat, like the young woman I met in my office. 

It left me wondering why she appeared here as her vessel while the other Goddesses were here as themselves. Kat was still acting calm and relaxed too, which left me wondering if maybe she was still the vessel. Perhaps she wasn't Aeronwy after all.

"Hello sisters," Kat said in a calm but pleasant tone. She didn't bother to stand up as she gestured to the sofa across from her. "Have a seat, make yourselves comfortable."

None of the Goddesses moved. Dôn asked in a challenging tone, "Who are you?"

Ceridwen asked, "Where is Aeronwy?"

Arianrhod added with a frown, "And what have you done to Her court?"

I watched and listened warily. The tension in the room had just skyrocketed, and having three Goddesses to my right and possibly a fourth on my left had my heart-rate rising. 

I knew from experience family reconciliations could get ugly and emotional. It was difficult enough when dealing with regular people. Being surrounded by Goddesses made the stakes that much higher. And while Kat promised I'd be safe, it felt like the numbers were on the other side. Three of them, one of her. And she didn't even seem to be taking things that seriously.

Kat remained calm and relaxed, she was sitting back on the sofa with her right arm leaning on the armrest. She gestured around with her left hand, "The decor was Cindy's work. In fact it might be more accurate to refer to it as Caer Cindy nowadays, since she was the last one to make this place her court. And to be fair, the design is a big step up from the 'iron age apocalypse' look that Aeronwy had going on."

I glanced around at the room again as Kat's words sank in. If I understood her right, she was saying Cindy usurped the Goddess's sister, that the small blonde teen claimed a Goddess's court for herself and moved in. I knew Cindy was powerful, I knew she became something more than a sorceress, but the idea that she may have attained something like god-hood left me stunned. 

Except that led me to question what really happened to her. She supposedly died last November, which made even less sense if she was a Goddess.

My unspoken question was answered a moment later by Dôn. 

"Cindy is no more. We know Aeronwy destroyed her last year when She freed Herself from Cindy's machinations."

Kat laughed, "That's not how it happened. Not even close."

Arianrhod seemed to get tired of the young woman's attitude. She raised Her voice and stated, "Enough of this! Aeronwy show yourself! We know you're about, only you could invite us into your court!"

Kat rose to her feet, and as she did so her body changed. 

It happened so smoothly and subtly I didn't actually perceive the change. One moment she was a teen girl relaxing calmly on the sofa, the next there was a thirty-something year old warrior woman on her feet with a sword in her right hand. She wore a leather bustier, skirt, and knee-high leather boots. Her long black hair was pulled back into a single pony-tail. The style of her outfit looked ancient, like she just stepped off the set of some period drama.

And I could feel the power coming off Her in waves. I thought dealing with the Goddess was scary, but She had nothing on Aeronwy. Perhaps the most surprising thing was seeing Dôn, Ceridwen, and Arianrhod all take a step back at their sister's sudden appearance.

Aeronwy's bright blue eyes flashed with barely-restrained anger as She stated harshly, "You are a guest in Our domain Arianrhod, you will mind your manners here! Do not push Us, or We will make you regret this encounter!"