*Flashback*
"Apparently they have also received positive word from Lord Hayden and Lady Julianna of the Western temple...I know I am of age, but I can't-" Wren's words were cut short by Michael, who put a hand softly over her mouth. The two of them sat so close that their legs were slightly touching, neither one daring to move. Wren noticed that Michael had a look of anger, sadness, and shock on his face; 'I can't loose you too.' Wren opened her eyes wide and was startled when she "heard" that they both thought the same thing at the exact same time. Without saying anything Wren closed her eyes and leaned her forehead against Michael's. He was surprised and reluctant, but he gave in and allowed her to look through his mind.
*Wren was nervous, but knew this would be the best way for them to fully communicate their feelings for one another. At first she could hear voices but she could only see darkness in front of her. Everyone's memories were slightly different, and she has to adjust her body and mind to the person before accurately accessing their memories and thoughts. Wren could hear her mothers voice and began to see faint shapes of light. There were two small shapes huddled near each other, and as she focused more, she saw that the 2 shapes were of children. "We are coming Ma! Ego and I were just saying goodbye to our new friend." Wren finally realized why the shapes were so fuzzy, it was only a vague memory to Michael, and it was from quite some time ago; years before the war. "Bye Bye Mickey," she then saw the two shapes run off. "Wow..." Wren heard a faint whisper of a voice and she quickly turned around but never saw any other shapes. 'I forgot how young I was when we met, I think I was 3 or 4?' Wren thought to herself as she began "walking" through another set of Michael's memories.
"Michael, why were you at their house again?!" Wren could heard the sound of a lady yelling angrily and after a few moments, she could see a dull-colored version of a young Michael sitting at a table looking in the direction of the yelling. Everything around him seemed as if the colors were faded and almost non existent. "She's just a dumb little orphan girl you know that right, my son?" 'What?! Someone outside the temple knew about that?' Wren focused harder on Michael's memory and finally the silhouette of a lady began to take shape. "Why are you doing this Michael? You are already 8 years old, she's still ignorant to the ways of the world, you have no obligation to her. She's not some stray animal, just leave her alone!" The lady moved from a standing position to a seated one, "In other news, Mommy has already set you up with a wonderful young lady from the Tradelands. The more we dilute this freakish blood of yours, the better off my grandchild-" "Mom STOP! Leave Wren-Wren out of this, she's my friend!" Young Michael stormed off from his mother, went to his room, and slammed the door.
"Yo, are you really crying over that girl you found a while ago? The one who was begging for food?" Michael nodded slowly, "Chill out Bro, you still have many years ahead of you. Girls come and go, it's just the way of things. Take Bevy for example, we've only known each other a few days and she is already obsessed with your older brother haha..." A chill went down Wren's spine when she heard the teenagers voice. "Finton, I don't want to be like you-" "Oh shut up you twerp, you should be lucky that I'm even willing to talk to you, with your freak "powers" or whatever, at least mine are minor. In a few years I'll marry rich and I won't give you a dime! You don't deserve it for chasing after a freak, poor girl." The teenager, Finton, is Michael's older brother. She had met him a few times before, but always got a bad vibe from him. Wren shook her head to clear her thoughts and walked away to a different memory.
Wren heard voices of a man she was sure was Michael's father, talking in a calming voice, as if trying to sooth the young Michael. Wren felt warm feelings when she heard this voice, 'He must have meant a lot to you,' she thought as she made her way past the voice and over to the next memory. "Wren, I missed you so much!" A slightly older but still young Michael was sitting next to a young Wren on a swing set; slightly swaying back and forth. "I missed you too Michael," she said in a soft almost sad tone. 'I remember this, I had just come back from a lab visit just after my 6th birthday, I think Michael was already 9 or 10,' Wren thought as she made her way to another memory. The next memory she saw was a simple memory, from a simple time. She was smiling brightly at Michael as they made their way around a small pond, throwing old bread and crackers to the ducks. This memory had no words, but she could feel the strong, positive, emotions radiating from this place. She smiled and continued forward, "Mom, I don't want to meet the girl from the Tradelands. I want to go play with Wren-Wren!" "Michael, you should know better than to talk back to your mother like this." Michael crossed his arms and pouted, while Finton looked bored and also annoyed by his brother. "Mom, I'm 11 now and she's 7, I just want to spend time with her. She hasn't been around as much lately and I li-" "That's because she has those freak powers. They all want a piece of that until-"
Wren once again dismissed this memory and tried to find ones that occurred later in his life. "Michael, Finton, sit down..." Wren felt immense sadness and reluctance as she passed another memory. "Boys, your little friend Wren...well, her parents were killed and no one was able to find her body. They think someone-" "Dad, where's mom? Did she finally leave like she said?" *BOOM! CRASH!* "Boys, as much as I want to keep talking we must leave. We are in the midst of a war and Wren and her parents along with many others are dead!" Michael's father was hastily gathering a bag with their belongings while talking. "We need to go into hiding, come now, follow me." The boys seemed reluctant but they followed after their father. Many more memories passed Wren by, but there was one memory that she seemed to be drawn too. The colors were so vibrant, and the emotions were intense relief, sadness, and happiness.
"...Michael, you are requested to meet with our new Priestess. With your age and rank, you will be the new Priestess' personal guard," said a man with a Lightening Unit Emblem tattooed on his forearm. Wren felt something fall on her hand and she looked down and noticed there was a small wet spot. She was puzzled then noticed it was her own tears, dripping down her face. Michael, now a higher ranking member in the Lightening Unit, nodded his head with an emotionless face, and walked towards the doors. "Madame Priestess, it pleases me to introduce your personal member of The Guard and member of the Lightning Unit." At that moment, a teenaged Wren was dressed in her full ceremonial attire, and had no idea who her protector was supposed to be. Time seemed to slow down as she turned around to face Michael, who had his head facing the floor until he heard a thud, became worried, and looked up. "M-Michael?" She managed to muster, while tears were falling down her face. Michael froze when he saw it was Wren who had fallen to her knees on the floor.
Wren hardly remembered what exactly happened after but she remembered feeling Michael hug her tightly in the moments after muttering his name. As she was watching the scene, she saw the rest of the people disperse and saw the both of them hugging each other. By that point Wren was 13 and Michael was 16; it had been approximately 6 years since the war started and since they last saw each other. 'I've missed you so so much...I, I think, I love you...' Wren looked to the direction of their younger selves and noticed it was Michael who was thinking this as they were still hugging. Wren smiled sadly and continued forward through his mind. She passed some memories that were vibrant images of her and Michael training, that made her feel warm, and there were some that were less vibrant memories that seemed distant and cold. The further she "walked" through his memories, the more warmth she felt, until a dim lit memory seemed to block her path. She was puzzled but decided to venture into the memory.
By the looks of everything around her, she figured it was some time within a year after the war ended, when she was about 15. "...Michael, you need to see if that Tradelands deal is still in effect?" Finton and Michael were in a grey colored room, sitting across from each other. Michael didn't respond, "Look Bro, she is ~way out of your league now, okay? You just need to think about marrying someone else, and soon. You're already 18 and you have denied how many women? She won't wait for you-" "Stop Finton. You know nothing of Lady Wren's character. Whether she does or doesn't wait for me, *sigh* I just want the chance to show or at least tell her how I feel..." Michael trailed off and Finton just shook his head. "Get over it Bro, you can never be with her, at least not anymore." Finton patted Michael's shoulder and left the room quietly, as Michael continued to focused on the floor.*