"Stupid girl. I only wanted to give you a heads up, this is far out of our hands now," she stayed close enough to listen if he said anything, but hid herself in the shadows. "There is a lot you don't know about Wren, but it will come to light soon. I'll make sure you never see that worthless brother and father of yours again!" He stormed off, still holding onto his wrist, 'My Father?' Wren was shocked, she never met her real father; she only knew he abandoned her once her mother died and assumed he died too. The only other Father she knew was the caring Gilbert that was killed by his wife, Sharron. "What is going on..." As Wren tried to process what Claude said, she heard footsteps approaching and quickly teleported elsewhere. "Hello? Anyone there?" Amber walked around the corner where Wren was previously, then shrugged, "Guess I was imagining things," Amber mumbled as she walked through the hall. As she passed one of the large doors, she could hear two men angrily talking. "Best not to bother Lord Valen at the moment," she whispered as she scurried past the door.
*Inside the room* "...How could you keep this from her?! From us?! She has every right-" "I have let you get away with a great many things Michael, but do NOT forget who you are talking to," with the commanding tone of Lord Valen's voice, Michael could only back down. "I know she has the right to know but I also have my reason to keep it quiet." Michael scoffed, "With all due respect My Lord, are you kidding me?! Not telling your "apprentice" and our Priestess, that her long lost and presumed deceased brother AND father are alive, is something I'm sure you have known about for many years." Lord Valen stayed silent, "It's more complicated than that Michael. I know you are emotional because of your feelings for her, but consider another point of view, if she knew, what good would it do? Did you know she lost the only family she knew and was forced to kill to defend herself before the age of 8, and all in the same day no less? Did she ever tell you about all the experiments they conducted on her and how much pain her young body was put through in efforts to understand her power, even up until her teenage years? This may sound selfish but I wanted her to heal properly. Being traumatized at such a young age by so many different factors, can turn anyone away from the light. It was for her protection and the protection of our people, that I hid this from her." Michael had a complicated expression on his face as he stood before Lord Valen.
"Just how much did I miss while we were hidden away by my father?" Michael leaned his head down and put his hand to his forehead. "I know she lost them and went through many painful things, I mean we all did, but I never...she never...told me anything." Lord Valen went and sat in a chair across from where Michael stood. "Normally I wouldn't tell you her business, but I fear it's already too late to turn back. I have already overheard a few rumors about them from members of the Western Temple, as well as Claude failing to keep his mouth shut around Wren." Michael looked up at Lord Valen with a questioning gaze, " If you speak any word of this, I will have you exiled to a place far enough away that Wren will never be able to reach you," Michael's body turned rigid at his words as he helplessly nodded. "When the war was just taking fruition, there was a massacre at Elder Takeda's residents. Wren's parents that you knew, and many others were killed; she was attacked as well. When I found Wren, she was barely clinging to life and had a great many wounds on her young body; I could hardly believe she was even alive. I've seen grown men and women that have fought countless battles, die from less severe wounds. I took her to Shoyo's medical ward and was present when they were examining her wounds. We were in a small room at the edge of his ward; it was more of a medical tent than anything. When they began cutting away her clothes to assess the wounds...if I had not been present and someone told me what happened to her in that small tent; I don't think I would believe them..." Lord Valen trailed off and Michael sat in the chair, wanting but also dreading hearing more of the story.
*Elsewhere in the temple, (during the time before/during Lord Valen and Michael's interaction)* ..."Please follow me Madame Priestess, we need to meet with the head seamstress for your fitting." Wren was confused, as an older, short, woman in a plain grey dress approached her as she was walking around outside. "I wasn't aware I had to be fitted for anything Mrs.-" "Its Mrs. Rosalyn Madame. I am sorry to bother you, but this was a rush order sent to us from The Elders themselves." Mrs. Rosalyn had an apologetic look on her face as she bowed slightly and began walking in the direction of the temple. "Well, if they sent it, I suppose I don't have much of a choice do I?" Wren began following behind Mrs. Rosalyn as she turned and smiled politely at Wren. After a few moments of walking, the two of them arrived at the head seamstress' work station. Mrs. Rosalyn opened the pale colored door and ushered Wren inside. Everywhere Wren looked she saw many different colors, textures, and quantities of fabrics hanging on the wall; some in wicker baskets and some simply on hooks. She saw a few simple body mannequins at the end of the room, all of which some article of clothing in the process of being completed. "It has been so long since I've been here. I see you have greatly increased your stock since then," Wren said as they approached a middle aged woman with blonde hair, tied in a messy bun, that was sitting on the floor working on the bottom hem of a dress.
The young girl wearing the dress was startled when she heard Wren's voice and jumped slightly. "My apologies, I didn't mean to startle you," Wren said with a small smile. The young woman bowed, "It's me who should apologize Milady, for I had no idea you would be present. I would have prepared something to-" "Nonsense, there is no need for that Miss..." The young girl blushed slightly as she realized she hadn't introduced herself, "Oh my, my name is Blair, Blair Merritt, pleasure to make your acquaintance Madame." By this time, the blonde woman on the ground had given up working on the hem of Blair's dress and stood up from her position on the floor. "That's enough of that Blair. With all yer wiggling I could barely pin it straight. Take yer leave fer tha day. Go get changed and tell yer mama this one is on me," Blair smiled, nodded, and quickly ran to the back area, that was covered with a dark curtain so people could change. "Heh, I was wondering when ya were gunna grace me with yer presence Madame." The seamstress said in a playful tone. "Oh don't act like you miss me Doreen. You know we both dread fittings where I'm the one stuck in the clothes," Doreen, the head seamstress, laughed and patted Wren on the shoulder. "Well ya gotta point. Mrs. Rosalyn, take Blair back to her mama please, and if ya see the others, let em know I'll be busy fer a while." Mrs. Rosalyn nodded and escorted Blair out the door once she had changed.
"So what am I "urgently" being fitted for exactly?" Wren asked reluctantly, once the others were gone. Doreen walked to a small side room and grabbed a simple garment bag. "It's your favorite Milady, a dress," Wren groaned at Doreen's sarcasm, "Tell me it at least has pockets?" Doreen rolled her eyes as she hung the dress near the area where Wren stood. "With tha fit of this dress, ain't no way ya can make pockets work," Doreen removed the bag, leaving a light Jade and silver, long-sleeved, floor length dress, exposed. "Wow, you've outdone yourself Doreen," Wren said as she removed the dress from the hanger and went to the changing area. "Don't ya speak to soon Hun. Just wait till ya feel the-" "Oof, why is is so...I mean...geez, my boobs Doreen!" Doreen burst out laughing as Wren came out of the changing area with the top of the dress sitting below her chest, "Stop laughing at me, that actually hurt to try and put on," Doreen began laughing even more as she saw Wren awkwardly waddle over to her because of how form fitting the dress was. "Well I know what I'm getting you as a present," Doreen was finally beginning to collect herself as Wren stood before her, "I'm getting you a "well endowed" mannequin so you don't cause anyone else the same pain." "Pff, haha, yer too much Milady. Get over here and let me adjust it fer ya," Doreen grabbed her tools and began letting out some of the material around the upper portion of the dress.
"It really is a great quality dress, but can you put some sort of material on the back, I feel too naked." After Wren was finally able to properly wear the dress, she noticed most of her back was exposed. "Of course Hun, I was just going with the initial parameters I was given, I didn't know it was fer ya, or else I woulda already done it," Doreen paused before speaking again, "Ya've got quite the collection of wounds and art on yer back. Is that why ya cover it?" Wren sighed, "Yes, I've taken quite a bit of damage since the last time I was here, I thought you saw my tattoos though?" Wren turned her back to the mirror to look at her tattoos, "I only have a few, no need to act like I have no smooth skin left." Wren looked at the tattoos on each shoulder blade that wrapped forward slightly to cover the top of her arms. "I think I at least had these 3 when I was here right?" She asked as she pointed to the Kalina Clan Symbol on her neck, the Shadow Unit Emblem on her left ribcage, and names written in a long forgotten language, down her spine. "Eh, I dun 'member. I'm gettin' old now. Just noticed they go farther down than before," Doreen grabbed a few different types of partially sheer fabric that matched the dress and went back to Wren.
After a few moments of choosing the color and style for the back as well as altering the front section to reveal less of Wren's chest, Doreen was now working on the bottom hemline. "So what exactly is this lavish dress for Doreen? I highly doubt we will have any sort of grand even anytime soon," Doreen paused and looked up to Wren with a confused look, "Yer joking right?" Wren looked down to her and shook her head, "Its fer yer engagement. Since it's sumthin that important I thought ya knew. Congrats Hun," she said with an apprehensive smile. Wren's heart dropped, "My eng-...my what?!" Doreen quickly backed up as she felt the anger radiating off of Wren's body. "Hun please-" *FWOOM* Before Doreen could utter another word, Wren had teleported away, "*sigh* I pity the person she talks with," Doreen said as she collected the mess from the floor. *-Back to Lord Valen and Michael-* ... *FWOOM* Wren appeared just outside the door of Lord Valen's study, she was angry but was trying to collect herself before entering; during this she could hear parts of their conversation from outside. "...When they began cutting away her clothes to assess the wounds...if I had not been present and someone told me...I don't think I would believe them..." Wren was taken aback as she listened to Lord Valen's slightly muffled voice, telling a story she never knew, "...her wounds were already healing...in all my years, I've never met anyone else...my recessive family trait...my grandmother's side..."
Wren's mouth fell agape, and rage and sadness came back full force. She reached her arms back and used all the force she could muster to slam her fists into the doors, causing the doors to splinter and crack, as they were ripped off their hinges. *BANG! CRASH!* Lord Valen and Michael immediately readied themselves into a defensive position before they saw who caused the damage, then immediately lowered their weapons when they saw it was Wren. "Engagement? Your family trait?! What the hell is going on Valen!" Wren looked over and saw Michael, she snarled slightly, "And you..."