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Thankfully, nothing happened, but Iseult was sent to a psychologist to determine how far she'd fallen from the woman who'd once been so compassionate, even to her enemies. The sad verdict was reached; Iseult's mind had gone as a result of the fight to keep her son safe, and she was sent to a place in the countryside where she'd be spending the rest of her days, as she was deemed too much of a danger to ever be allowed in public again. The psychologist had hinted that, given the chance, Iseult could easily present herself as a woman capable of raising a child, thus ensuring Daniel would have been entrusted to her care, and his fate, so the psychologist said, would have been much worse. As it was, Iseult would never be in the presence of a child again, and in any case, Niamh proved herself more than capable of raising her son. She was, therefore, allowed to formally adopt him a few weeks after Iseult had been sent to the countryside, and Liam was never more proud than when he called himself Daniel's father for the first time as he dropped the boy off at preschool. 87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQeX4ZC4xql
Daniel, for his part, was a resilient boy, and under the care of his parents, he thrived and it wasn't long before he turned into as rambunctious a child as any other. Liam was often run ragged trying to corral his son and keep him relatively unscathed, but unlike his mother, Liam made sure never to stifle his son's creativity or his sunny nature. Niamh also brought her unique brand of parenting to the table, and between them, they created a free-spirited child who, at the age of thirteen, decided he didn't want to be a boy any more.
"I'm bored of being a boy," he told his parents that afternoon. "Boys are fun, but so one dimensional. I want to be a girl."
"If that's what you want, then we'll be there for you every step of the way," Niamh promised her son, tears of pride in her eyes as she gently stroked his hair. "Boys are one dimensional, but that's because they were raised that way, and taught that having emotions was a bad thing, and that liking more girly things was a sign of hidden homosexuality."87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4dpV1ZTHbf
"Really?" Daniel wrinkled his nose. "That's not right. You and Da haven't done that to me, so why would other parents do it to their sons?"
"Because their dads were raised that way," Liam confessed. "I was lucky; your granddad taught me that it's okay to be yourself, so long as you weren't harming anyone, or committing crimes. And My Little Pony was just as helpful and educational to me as Thomas the Tank Engine. Maybe more so, in a lot of ways." He ruffled his son's hair. "And your mam and I are very proud of you for being you. Your gender doesn't define who you are, but if you feel that being a girl is more beneficial, then we'll do everything in our power to make it so. Just have a very good think about it, because if you do decide to go down that path, certain changes that take place won't be reversible, and we don't want you making a decision you'll come to regret. But your mam and I will love you just the same, regardless of what you do."
Daniel nodded thoughtfully. "Okay," he said. "But are you sure?" That question contained a whole wealth of unspoken questions behind it, and Liam's heart ached, knowing deep down just how scared his son was.
"I'm as sure as I know my own name," he promised. "And you know that's the most sure way to know that I'm sure."
"Not all the time," Niamh teased, and Liam gave her a playful glare as Daniel cracked up.
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