Botched Past: Wreny The Wrenison

Wren's Pov

Wren Davidson is my name. Pretty boring right? And my life resides in this hell hole, my boarding school, Montes High. Am in senior year but I barely have friends. They call me a freak around here and a freak they say is best avoided. And if they avoid me, I just avoid them right back. I do not have time to be checking other's feelings. But a series of events led to this my very boring and plain life. Let me take us all back to before I was born.

For one, no one knows where I came from. I was only a day old when I was found abandoned outside my current home, the Davidson Orphanage. That is what they tell me. How they know how old I was I never bother to ask. After all, it is rude to question adults or so they say. The name Wren was given because I was found on a stormy night. It was raining like crazy and there were thunderstorms. And since it is weird to be called Rain, they thought Wren would do. Pretty lame if you ask me. Who even gets named after the rain?

Anyway, from day one, I have always been considered weird. For someone who was abandoned, I did not seem to care. It never bothered me. I was first found smiling and kicking happily in the rain. Point to note; I currently hate the rain. That shocked the Davidsons. According to them, I was supposed to be kicking and screaming my lungs out crying not laughing. And that was news in the whole damn orphanage.

Secondly, in the next few days after being found, I did not sleep neither did I cry. Everyone had scheduled into a sort of timetable to look after me since I never slept. I would just look at anyone babysitting me until they found themselves sleeping instead of me. And that was news to the whole orphanage once again. They all found it very strange and super weird. This went on for a whole week. And this stressed the Davidsons for that whole week since no one would agree to babysit. So, they had to take turns themselves babysitting despite their busy schedules. The whole orphanage was afraid that I would turn into a monster and eat them up once 'I put them to sleep'. That was the reason they gave for not helping to babysit me. Very immature thinking right there, right?

By the end of week one in the orphanage, no one wanted anything to do with me. I was avoided like the plague, well except the Davidsons. They brought me in, so they had no option but to look after me. And since the gods had nit blessed them with a child of their own, they made a rushed decision to adopt me officially by the end of week one. This was with the hope that I would be accepted by the others in the orphanage since I was their child now. That did not work out as expected. That instead had me branded as weird once again. The Davidsons, Melanie and Bryce Davidson, had dedicated their lives to helping under privileged children since they had the money but no child of their own. They had tried but failed to have a child. And they gave that up and instead decided to start an orphanage 10 years prior. They never anyone ever since. I was the first and they even gave me their surname.

Another thing was I never managed to stay with a babysitter for more than 3 days. By the third day, the babysitter would have literally run and when sought after, all they would say is that am a demon child, and they are not ready to die. Weird right? So, apparently, I never managed to keep milk down. Every time anyone tried to give me milk, I would just spit it out. And if by chance I managed to swallow it, it would only last a second in my stomach before I vomit it all out. I only drank water which was weird for a baby barely a month old. But that is not what made them run to be exact. I was quite a playful and jovial child, and the babysitter would find that cute at first. The main reason each one of them accepted the job in the first place. But once each of them held me, I would bite and not let go. And once I did let go, I would lick my lips and smile. And they would all be freaked out. I was only good for the first 2 days, by the third day, I had bitten them, and they would go running saying 'the devil that drinks blood.' And another came and the cycle kept on repeating. This went on for the first 3 months of my life until Melanie had had enough.

I was making running the orphanage difficult because the rumors were quickly spreading about the demon child in the whole village. And publicity was important to them. Good publicity though not the bad one I was giving. So, Melanie decided to keep the affairs internal. She gave up her role as the co-founder of the orphanage to actually be a mother to me. Something that no one thought she could do. And weird enough, 3-month-old me seemed to like her. I never did once bite her.

By the fourth month, I was already sitting up on my own which was unheard of especially with my diet of water only. They all thought I was going to die since I never kept anything down except water. The sitting made Melanie so happy because it meant I could easily sit with other children now and she could back to her management position in the orphanage. But me being me, it was not as simple as she thought.

Day one of daycare, I had literally made every child cry. If I had not taken away their playing toys, then I had bitten or hit them. the whole day in daycare was a disaster. I ended up being put in a room alone with my own toys. Even those in charge of daycare, usually older children, were afraid because I would bite them. Being put in a room alone as a child definitely was not easy. They say I struggled to reach for things and by the time Melanie came in the evening, I was already crawling. Melanie was angry of course when she opened that door but she almost fainted when she saw me crawling towards her. I was told she let out the most horrid scream ever heard and everyone came. They all saw me and all they could say is 'the demon child is crawling already. Someone who just learnt how to sit up just yesterday. What a weird child.' All this time, I was just giggling and smiling as they looked at me with horror.

Melanie just silently picked me up and left. That was the first and last day of daycare. Once home, she placed me in my playing area and proceeded to cook in the kitchen. That evening, she was preparing some meat and as she was slicing the meat, a piece fell on the floor. Having learn how to crawl, I was already by her feet when the piece fell. So, when she bent down to pick it, it was already in my mouth. For someone with no teeth, I chewed it, swallowed and licked my lips as she watched in horror. She told me that was the end of supper that evening. She could not find the energy nor the appetite for dinner after that.

The next few months were bizarre. I already had all my teeth by the time I was 6 months old, and I started walking by 7 months. Things that were unheard of. Melanie after that night, realized that anything about me except the physically obvious was to be kept a secret. She told me from then on, she knew I was a special child, and she decided to dedicate her whole life to me. They owned a mansion at the furthest corner of the orphanage and that is where I was hidden most of the time. She also realized my love for raw meat. I do not love it now but back then it was my thing. Melanie said after that night, the next morning I had grown a lot already and that was just a piece of raw meat. She said I was also looking healthier, almost glowing. So, she started secretly feeding me raw meat. Even her husband was not aware. It was just between me and her. I would only be given water in front of Bryce. Melanie knew he would never understand. And so, life continued.

I was homeschooled most of my life. Melanie would never allow me to be out of her sight. I would misbehave at any given time, and she did not want that. And since virtually everyone knew about me in our village, she would get my teachers from a neighboring village. And so, I grew. She shielded me from the world and together we created a world of our own behind the closed door of the mansion.

The much I remember was from when I was 5 years old. I would always look outside the window and long to play with other children. But Melanie sensing my sadness, always took me away from the window and made sure we played. We had developed a strong bond over the years to the point I started calling her 'mom.' I still remember the first time I called her that. She stood frozen in her step for a good minute. I was only 8 years then. She turned and asked what I had I just called her. In my bravery, I answered "Mom." I do not know how it happened, but she was on me so fast, hugging the life out of me and crying hard. She kept on repeating,

"Do you know how long I have been longing to be called a mom? Thank you so much Love." I have never forgotten that day. She was so happy that she forgot I eat my meat raw. That day she introduced me to cooked meat and surprisingly I loved it.

I do remember everything especially the homeschooling. The teachers were nice. I remember all the shopping sprees. People would always look at us funny because of me but some were good enough to attend to us. And if no one was willing, we would hop to the next village literally. We would hold hands and skip and hop to the next village like children. That was usually my favorite, but I never told Melanie that. We would shop crazy. Everything and Anything until Bryce would complain once we got home. We did this every month.

Another mother-daughter moment was when she read books to me. There is a vast forest behind the orphanage and every evening we would go into the forest, and she would read me a book. Usually, a werewolf related story and I never understood why, and I never bothered to ask. I just found myself flowing with the stories. I know so much about werewolves till date all thanks to her. And Bryce would complain about this every day. He always found something to complain about. Me and him never shared an actual bond. I always found him staring at me funny like someone who is disgusted. After all, I took all of his wife's attention. I bet he thought I was a nuisance. And boy, was that true? I found that out the harsh way some years down the line.

But Melanie always protected me form him. Every time he would try to complain or say bad things about me, she would always stand up against him. And that made us become even closer with her. She taught me everything I know, how to be a lady and everything. Though I was hardly a lady. She saw me through my adolescence and teen days. She was and is still my absolute best friend. But am sure you must be wondering why I have been referring to her as Melanie instead of mom. There is a very valid reason.

I was 15 years old back then. Am currently 17 years old almost 18 in a few months. Anyway, it was her birthday that day. I was super excited since we always went out of town for her celebrations. She was always the first one up especially on her special day. But this day was particularly different. I woke up before her which was strange. She was a hard worker. She woke up before us, cleaned and made breakfast. But that day, the house was as we left it last night and the table was not set. There was no smell or even signs of anyone cooking.

Naturally I was worried so, I went up to her room and found her still in bed. Bryce had already left. He had an important meeting to expand the orphanage. The forest behind us had its owners and he needed to convince them to sell him a small portion for development. And when he had such meetings, he would be too nervous to eat, and he left too early even before his wife could wake up and force him to eat. There was a wrapped gift on her side table with a note that read, 'Happy birthday, my lovely wife. I have left this for you to show you that I have not forgotten your day. I had an early meeting, but I will catch you later. Love you, Bryce.' So, he had not noticed anything was wrong under the circumstances.

Melanie was deep asleep. She did not even hear me coming in which was unusual. She was usually a light sleeper due to the fact that Bryce usually came in late. She was a good and devoted wife. She always wanted to hear him come in so she could serve him his dinner. That usually meant a lot for her. And Bryce appreciated her for it. He only had utmost respect and love for her. They only argued when it came to me. Anyway, I listened to her breathing. It was quite shallow, barely there. She was also very cold to the touch like the waters of the river in the morning. My touch woke her up though. She winced and slowly opened her eyes. The white in them had turned yellow. I could not understand anything. She was fine before we went to bed.

Over the past few months, I had gradually started to notice some changes. She was a short woman, usually 5'3 but of late she was starting to look taller. She always does not play with her food. She could give the pregnant women a run for their appetite but of late she barely ate. She always gave some excuse that she was cutting on weight since she felt heavy. She was a chubby woman, do not get me wrong, but she was curvy. She was now starting to look slender like me. I found it disturbing but she always reassured me it was nothing. But what surprised me was her skin color. People easily believed we were related since we are both fair in complexion. I am slightly fair than her but of late she was looking too pale for my liking. And this day especially, she was looking as white as a sheet. I had begged her time and again to go see the village healer, but she was as stubborn as they come. And she usually said Bryce was stubborn. She always said it was not that deep. I should not think much about it. But I was worried, and my worry came true that day. I still remember that moment as if it was yesterday.

She attempted a smile once her eyes set on me, but she failed miserably. I returned her smile with all the energy I could gather. She stretched her right hand, and I met it halfway. She was too cold, so I covered her more. And she started talking, barely whispering. I literally had to bend over to hear.

"Do you know why I named you Wren?" I replied looking at her, "No. I always thought it was because I was found during the storm." She genuinely laughed.

"That was the rumor they spread. Wren is my family name, Wrenison in full. Am from afar away village. I always thought I would take you there but now it is impossible. Our village is called Blossom and am the only living survivor of the Blossom massacre." She closed her eyes briefly and asked for water. I went to get some from the kitchen since her bedside jug was empty. She must have been thirsty overnight. I was shocked though. 'The bloody Blossom Massacre! How?'

I brought back the jug of water and a fresh glass and poured her some. I helped her sit up and drink. She downed the whole glass and asked for some more. She only managed to take half, and she continued speaking.

"I know you are shocked, but I promise I am going to tell you everything in details. I do not have much time, but I know you deserve to know. Here is my story. "

Wren's Pov

'Her story!' I thought. I had begged her like forever to give it to me, and she vehemently refused. Even the story of how she and Bryce met she once never told me despite always asking. And now she was giving it to me without even asking. This was so unlike her. She laughed which brought me out of my thoughts. The water surely helped. It had cleared her throat a bit and she looked much better.

"My worry twat. What are you busy thinking and worrying about? You have cute little wrinkles on your forehead. Careful, you might just grow old and die before me." She laughed again but it was not funny. I could see her sense of humor was still intact, but death was not something to joke about. Once she noticed I was not laughing with her, she stopped laughing.

"You should learn to take a joke or two."

"Not now Melanie. This is serious."

"Not mom today? Wow! You are salty today."

"My bad, Mom!" I said with so much sarcasm, she literally rolled her eyes in response.

"Since you do not want my jokes, let us go straight to sharing. I was born as Dios Wrenison to both Melanie and Strut Wrenison. I was their only child, and they were the leaders of the Blossom Village. Life was quite peaceful and good. We had good relations with our neighbors and barter trade went quite well for us because of that. We were famous for quite a few things, but the most prominent one was our extraordinary herbs. It grew only in our village hence the name blossom. The herb was known as Rarity because of its rare nature and people from all walks of life especially the healers came to trade for it.

Trade was, therefore, very good for us and we never lacked anything. Our village was the most developed and flourished under my parents' leadership. And I was the talk of everyone in my village. The only daughter of the great leaders. They said I was beautiful, fair and a lovely person. I associated with everyone. But I also liked to be alone. So, I would often sneak into the forest near our village without anyone's knowledge. There was this waterfall that I completely adored deep into the forest. It brought me peace and a lot of calmness. I had been sneaking since I was 9.

So, this one time, I was only 15, I sneaked out as usual. But at my waterfall I found a stranger. The most handsome stranger I had ever met. His back was to me, but I could tell he was good-looking. Tall height wise, broad shoulders, packed arms and a back to die for. His hair was short, pitch black and unkempt like someone had been running their hands in it. It just added to his attractive aura. He looked deep in thought, so I made a quick decision to let him be. He seemed to need the waterfall more than me. I could come back tomorrow. I turned to leave but he spoke out.

'You want to leave, and I have been waiting for you, Dios.' I was surprised. I did not know if it was his deep masculine voice or the fact that he knew my name. Before I could overcome my shock, he added, 'I have been observing you over the years and I must say I like what I see.' And he laughed. My first thought was to run. This was definitely getting creepy, but I was too shocked to move. All this time, he had not turned. I was yet to see his face. He stood up and slowly turned. I swear my heart almost stopped. He was definitely handsome. Round face, deep cut jaw line and the most striking blue eyes I had ever seen. His unruly hair matched his filled with color face." Melanie coughed cutting short her story and asked for another glass of water. I filled the remaining half and gave it to her. She downed the whole glass almost immediately. She cleared her throat, and she was sounding much better. even some color was returning to her face. But for this to continue, she had to eat something. And for the first time since I was born, I was going to cook. She always liked it when I watched her cook, and she loved cooking.

"Mom, let me make you breakfast. You need the energy to finish your story." As always, she threw a fuss.

"I cannot let you cook. You have never cooked in your life. Do not worry, I will make breakfast for us." She tried to get up but she only managed to move her head. Her hands could not even lift her.

"You see, you cannot even lift yourself. Just sit tight and let me make you something. I have watched you way too many times. Am sure I can manage." And I left for the kitchen before she could respond. But before I started cooking, I wrote a note and gave the messenger to take to Bryce. It read, 'Something is wrong with Melanie. Call for the healer.' I did not address her as mom since Bryce hated it whenever I did. It was what always started their conflicts.

However, I concentrated on making breakfast with the hope that the healer would come soon. Whoever that said cooking was easy definitely lied. I burnt myself too many times before I finished preparing breakfast. I made some fried eggs, sweet potatoes, some spinach and a glass of milk. Just how she liked it. I carried it up to her room. She was still sitting, looking better but deep in thought.

"Mom, your breakfast." She eyed the tray and squeezed her face in a very cute way.

"That is too much for me. I cannot possibly eat all." It was my turn to laugh and she frowned.

"Okay then. You eat what you can. What is left after you are done, I will finish." That got her eating. She nodded and attempted to eat herself, but she could not. So, I offered to feed her. What was left I finished as promised. She managed to eat a little bit of everything but the milk. She drank it all. Bryce was not here yet. That had me worried, but I masked everything with a smile so as not to worry her. She was now firmer and ready to continue with her story. She asked,

"Where were we?" She was slowly getting back to herself. She always talked too much that she forgot where her stories had been left off once she paused.

"The blue-eyed handsome man." I answered her with so much sarcasm.

"Oh right. When he turned, I was in a trance. I was glued to the ground just looking at his handsome face. I did not notice he was walking towards me until I felt his breath on my face. He was quite tall. I had to literally tilt my face up to look at him. He bent down a little and whispered, 'I am Bryce by the way.'" I had to laugh at this point. She gave me a disappointed look, but I could not help it.

"I cannot believe you have been describing Bryce this whole time. He is not handsome. He is the ugliest human being on earth." I continued laughing.

"To you. To me he has always been good!" She literally shouted. I had to stop laughing and shrugged my shoulders instead.

"To each their own, I guess. You should continue." She cleared her throat and continued.

"Please do not interrupt me again. Anyway, the way he whispered his name just sent a shiver down my spine. I kept wondering how it would feel if he touched me. I just swallowed hard and looked up at him.

'You are nervous. Your whole countenance is giving you away. You should come down. I do not bite.' That got me back to my senses. I retorted back harshly.

'Who do you think you are to make me, Dios Wrenison, nervous?' He actually laughed which pissed me off.

'Your secret admirer.' And with that, he smirked, turned and left leaving me with my mouth open like a fish. 'Who does he think he is? He is annoying. I hate him!' But deep down I knew I would rather love him than hate him.

Over the next few days, I did not find Bryce by 'our' waterfall. I made sure to go everyday so as to not miss him. My heart and all of me was longing to just have a glimpse of him. After 2 weeks of coming daily, I gave up. And I got angry that he made me make a fool of myself. And I did not want to see him again. But this one day, a month later, I went to the waterfall as usual and there he was with his back to me once again. He was facing the waterfall deep in thought. Upon seeing him, all the anger I had towards him magically vanished. I slowly approached him and thought it would be funny to cover his eyes with my hands from behind. He was surprised at first, but he relaxed, and it was my turn to whisper, 'Guess who?' It did not take him long.

'Oh my. I smell lavender. What's up Dios?' And he yanked my hands from his eyes with so much force that I lost my balance and ended somehow in his lap, in his arms like a baby. How he managed to twist me into that position, I do not understand to date. His eyes were staring deep into mine as if bearing into my soul. And he said the sweetest words I have ever heard, 'I love you, my Dios.' Before I could comprehend his words, he locked his lips with mine and gave me an earth-shattering kiss.

The way his lips were dancing against mine was like they had known each other forever. They had a rhythm of their own that was in sync. His lips were soft and funnily he tasted like lemons. The kiss was long, and we finally had to part for air. That was my first kiss ever. I had never kissed anyone before and that realization made me look down in embarrassment. That got to him, and he sat me up in his lap and lifted my face with his finger.

'Hey. What is wrong? Did I do something wrong?' The look of worry oh his face broke my heart. I shook my head very fast in denial.

'No. You did nothing wrong. It is just that I have never kissed anyone before. That was my first kiss and am super embarrassed.' And I quickly looked down again but he was quick to lift my face once again.

'I am glad to be your first and hopefully your last. And there is nothing to be embarrassed about. You are an amazing kisser.' I just found myself hugging him and we kissed again briefly. After that, we spent the rest of the afternoon and evening catching up and getting to know each other.

I learnt he was Bryce Roberts from the Montes Village, and he was a famous trader in their village. He would often travel round the villages trading different things and his last destination was usually our village. His trip would take approximately 3 weeks after which, he would rest for a week as he distributed his goods to his people in exchange for other things he would use in the next trade. He came to our village to acquire Rarity because most humans believed it kept the wolves away. He told me that is why our village was never attacked by werewolves while those around us suffered in the hands of werewolves.

According to him, Rarity has the compound Aconite, that is very toxic to werewolves, therefore, can be used to make wolfsbane. It could either be liquid or powder and mixing it with silver made it stronger. So, his village used the Rarity to make wolfsbane and they would pour it round their village and in their houses. That protected them. He said rarity was a rare commodity just like Rarity but, Rarity was cheaper and no one who had silver was willing to negotiate. I was happy our village was helping out others. We talked till evening, and he walked me to my village border. I was happy so I hugged him tight, and he promised to see me next month. And that is how our love story began." I had to cut her short. I was surprised.

"Wait a second, you mean to say, your Bryce is Bryce the famous trader? You guys are full of surprises." Melanie just gave me a disgusting look and said,

"I thought I told you not to interrupt me again!" I raised my hands in surrender.

"My bad, mom. You can continue."

"Better. Anyway, over the next few months, we kept on meeting and our love kept on growing. I even stopped going to the waterfall by myself. I would only go if I knew he was coming. He had a specific way of doing things, so I always knew when he was going to be around. And so, I looked forward to seeing him every time. This went on for a year. So, our one-year anniversary was coming up, and I needed to do something special. So, I started sneaking into our bookstore and stealing steamy sexy romance novels. I was the leader's daughter, so no one really paid much attention to what I did as long as I was comfortable.

So, instead of sneaking to the waterfall or sneaking to play with other kids, I was busy learning how to have sex. I thought I was ready. That whole month to our anniversary, I read anything and everything i could get my hands on regarding the subject. So, when our day came, I was ready. The plan was for him to come early complete his trade as the very first person then, send his comrades back with the goods with the promise of joining them soon as he had unfinished business. It was quite a solid plan.

I was 16 now and I felt like a grown woman. Most people were considered adults by 16. But whenever I was with him, I felt him holding back. We would only make out and whenever I wanted to go further, he would respectfully decline and be like, 'Not the right time yet.' I always thought he meant am too young for this. I wanted to do it on my birthday, but we weren't scheduled to meet then. So, we were going to end up doing it on a random day and it was not going to be special.

So, I passed by the trading square that early morning and sure enough, he was there. His goods were being inspected and counted. He winked at me, and I managed a smile without being noticed. I was a child though to be honest so I had done as much preparations as I could. I wore my best everything. Everyone I passed kept looking at me funny. Am sure they kept wondering where the celebration was at. I even had so much perfume on, am sure some people chocked on it. I just smiled at everyone and proceeded to the waterfall. I had to be secretive about it. So, I pretended to be going to the bookstore and took a detour as soon as I was out of sight. So, if anyone was asked, they would say they saw me go into the bookstore which my parents were okay with.

Once at the waterfall, I proceeded to make sure I was not followed and then I undressed and got into the water. This was our norm. Every time we meet, we would undress, not fully though, and get into the water. We would always make out in the water unless it was the cold season where we could not afford to lose any heat or clothing. I removed my clothes, that is, gown, socks and shoes. I was only left with this pair of inner clothing that he got me for my birthday. They were sexy for sure. A bra which was my first to own. It was jungle green in color and had a matching underwear. And when he gifted me, he said I would know the right time to wear them. I thought I had nailed it.

And that is how he found me, in the water and half-naked facing the waterfall waiting for him. I just heard him undress and came up behind me stealthily. I felt his hand touch my waist and he whispered, 'Are you insane? Why are you wearing that?' And instead of answering him, I turned and locked our lips. That kiss was fiery. I put everything in it, and I could feel he was doing the same. I felt his love, his passion, his care and need and I thought I hit the jackpot. But he broke us apart before we could go further.

'You know this was meant for when you are older. The bra can barely fit you because you barely have the breasts to hold it. The underwear I knew would fit because you have the hips.' I was angry beyond redemption.

'You said it was for the right time, and I thought...' I was cut short by a loud bang, like an explosion. And before we could react, we heard a..." She was physically interrupted by Bryce.

"Melanie! Melanie!" It was the panic in his voice that got us.

Melanie's Pov

I could already see the annoyance on my daughter's face. I almost laughed but the panic in Bryce's voice had me swallowing my laughter immediately. He was at our bedroom door in a second. The worry on his handsome face had me worried too. What was going on? He was by my side in a flash holding my hand, opposite of the side Wren was seated. He sat by my right and she to my left which was the side the door was. The 2 people I adored the most just never got along. She was already eyeing the door am sure planning her escape. Bryce on the other hand, had his whole focus on me. He barely noticed her. His eyes were pinpoint. The blue in them darker because of worry. I liked them as blue as the sky.

"My love, I came as soon as I could. And I managed to get ahold of the healer. He is downstairs." It was my turn to be worried.

"A healer? Who asked for one? In fact, who is sick?" But he was not even listening to me.

"That damn meeting! It went on and on and in the end nothing achieved. I kept telling them you were expecting me. It is your birthday but nothing. No one would listen. Then I got the note, and they still would not let me go. I had to send Harrison to get the healer which I should have been the one doing. I should have been here sooner. And for them to say no to my request after wasting my time. In fact, I should have never left. Am so sorry."

I was so confused. What was he talking about? A note? A healer? I was dumbfounded and I only managed to give him the very confused look he seemed to return. He had no idea that I knew nothing about what he was just saying. And the culprit decided to clear her throat, and we all turned our attention to her. She swallowed hard and gave us an innocent look. But I saw right through her.

"You would better speak up before I get it out of you." She gave me a sheepish look and touched the back of her neck.

"Okay then. I am the guilty party. I was worried when I saw that you sick like that. You have been sick before, but this was way beyond anything I have ever seen. So, when I went to make you breakfast, I wrote Bryce a note and have Harrison to deliver. In my defense, I was just worried and acted like the caring daughter that I am." She was already raising her hands up in surrender and looking as remorseful as she could. Bryce on the other hand, was giving her a dirty look for using the word daughter am sure. Good thing she did not seem to notice.

"It is okay. You might as well bring the healer in since he is already here. But after that, you promise to give me and my daughter space. There is a lot we need to talk about." He was about to say no but I gave him my sternest look, and he immediately closed his mouth and swallowed his protest. It was his turn to surrender. I smiled. These two were more alike than they would like to acknowledge. Wren went to get the healer as per the request of Bryce. He never asks anything nicely when it comes to her, so her response is always to roll her beautiful eyes.

My daughter is beautiful. She has striking green eyes and fair skin like me. Her hair is jet black like mine. The only difference being hers is longer almost reaching her waist while mine rests on my shoulders. Sometimes when she is in a good mood, she lets me add colorful highlights to her hair which makes her look so beautiful. They make her eyes and skin pop in a really nice way. Unlike me though, she is tall and quite slender. And she is the most boyish girl I have ever met. She wears nothing in her size. She is always hiding her beautiful body in baggy clothes. I try to discourage it, but she is as stubborn as Bryce. I still remember how I forced the adoption of Wren since he would not agree. But once you stand me and her side by side, you would say I gave birth to her. We look that alike.

Wren walked into the room followed by a middle-aged grouchy man. I had not set my eyes on this man for the longest. About 20 years ago, I was his frequent visitor. I was trying to conceive, and he used to make me herbs that he promised would do the trick. The herbs I took but I only ended up too sick to actually do anything. And the off chance the herbs did not make me sick I would not conceive. And if by chance I conceived, the pregnancy would only last a month before I lost it. And that is how I stopped visiting him and just hoped a higher being would remember me. I had about given up when Wren came to us. She is my little miracle. Her mother's daughter in every way. Our eyes locked. He had aged a little for sure.

"Wilen." I acknowledged his presence in the room.

"Dios. I hear you are not feeling well."

"Well as you can see, am still in bed." I really did not like this man I knew one day I was going to die but I hoped not by his hands.

"If you do not mind, can you ask them to leave? I need to examine you, and I cannot do that with them in the room. Kindly." I looked at my family and they each excused us.

"It is bad, isn't it? I can see it in your eyes." I saw him swallow hard. It is bad I can tell.

"I talked to the gods before coming here. This disease has no cure. Only a way out and you do not have much time. I have the way out here with me. My answered prayer from the gods. Take it when you are ready. It is the way chosen for you to meet them. And please let it be between us. The gods have prepared a place for you. They are already expecting you." And with that he handed me this whitish substance in a piece of cloth. I was confused. How was I supposed to take this now? As if reading my mind, he answered,

"Put it all in a warm glass of water and mix thoroughly until dissolved entirely. Then make sure to drink it all. Do not leave anything behind. And wash the glass after. I suggest you ask Wren to help out with this. She is favored by the gods. But do not tell her the substance is for. Just tell it will make you better. May the gods be with you." He kissed my forehead and was about to leave but I held his hand.

"Will you ask the gods to look after Wren? I know I am not their firmest believer, but she needs them on their side." I had my pleading face on. He removed my hand from his wrist and held both my palms in his.

"The gods already favor her. She has been chosen for a greater purpose. It is the reason the gods allowed her path to cross with yours. She needed nurturing and love, and you did exactly that. I am seer as well as a healer. She has a rough journey ahead, but you have prepared her well. The gods are happy and that is why they are showing you this kindness. You have fulfilled their purpose for you." I was satisfied now. I never believed him but now I did.

"I believe you. You told me that I would hold a baby within my arms and that it would be a girl. That I would watch her grow and she would call me mom. But I never believed you." I could feel the tears trickling down my cheeks. He stretched his hand and wiped them.

"My daughter, it is okay. The time for tears is long gone. I just wish you never stopped coming to see me. I had seen your future. I knew this day was coming. The herbs I used to give you was protection against this. I had seen a future where you and Wren were together until you died of old age. And it was beautiful. She looked after you. She was doing well for herself. Bryce had long left to join his ancestors, and she only had you. She never married, never had kids of her own. Never experienced the kind of love you and Bryce share. And it was lonely for her especially after you died. But the gods had other plans. Your stubbornness was part of their plan, so you stopped coming to see me. Wren has a bright future. She is going to find love greater than what you share with Bryce. She is going to make a family of her own away from here. She is special and you have taught her well. I suggest you finish your story soon but not here, in the forest for her new home shall be built in one." And just like that he left.

I was happy. Wren was going to be in good hands. As soon as the healer stepped out, my family came right in without even asking. No one even bothered to see the healer out. But I understood them. They were worried.

"Bryce, I want to go out for a walk with Wren. We will be back before dark." I looked at him with pleading eyes.

"Only after you eat something. I asked Harrison to get you something from the orphanage kitchen. You are not supposed to take medicine without food." Wren was just giving him weird eyes. She was standing at the foot of the bed looking at us. She looked bored.

"She hates orphanage food. We all know that." She said sarcastically.

"Says the person who was supposed to be eating that same food. Your presence in this house just disturbs everything. I bet she is sick because of you. And that food you are disgracing is better than anything you would dare to cook." I just saw the anger flash in her eyes. Bryce was about to lose his teeth if I did not end this.

"Will you stop that? You are being really mean right now!" I said as loud as I could.

"But she started it!" He shouted back.

"You are not the child in the situation. You should have handled it like the adult that you are. Plus, it is not her fault that you cannot handle the truth. She is right. I do not like the orphanage food but for you today, I will eat it. And I do not want to hear you being mean to each other." Bryce did not like what was said but he chose silence. Wren was still standing at the same position with her hands folded over her chest. She was too quiet for her own good.

As if sensing the need for a distraction, Harrison knocked and announced he had brought the food. I did not like the guy. He is a creep, and I definitely did not employ him. He is Bryce's messenger. Wren went to serve the food as Bryce helped me freshen up. We ate at the dining table, but the silence was deafening. I did not want to stir the pot, so I let them be. We all concentrated on our food. I was feeling much better now. I was even able to finish my food. Talking to Wilen helped. Wren cleared the table and we left. Bryce did not say anything.

The walk was short but quiet. I could feel the wheels turning in her brain. I just chose to give her time until we reached. We often sat under this huge baobab tree but today I had other plans. There was a dam deeper in the forest that used to our source of water when we first built the orphanage like over 20 years ago. We moved to this place 25 years ago. I was 16 then and Bryce was 24. We found the healer on our journey here. He was the one who guided our journey to this place. He gave the name Davidson which is our orphanage as well as our surname. The village we named Davids.

When we reached the dam, surprisingly the water was still clear. It had created its own inlet and outlet. It never gave up despite us giving up on it. I could learn a thing or two from it. But that is not what was surprising me. It was the wide smile on my daughter's face. She was even glowing and for the first time today, I saw a genuine smile, and it melted my heart. I had never let her play with water or go near a water body. I thought she would meet a Bryce of her own and start sneaking off to see him and one day go with him. I know it is stupid, but I could not risk it.

"You know you can dip your cute little toes in, right? I am giving the rest of the story with our feet inside the water." The smile she gave me was one to die for. She helped me sit down first, remove my shoes and dip my feet in. She then proceeded to remove hers and dipped them in. The water reached our knees almost. She dipped her hands in too and played with the water. After a while, she asked me to continue my story. I was glad she was in a better mood because the next part was gloomy.

"Where were we? Oh! The loud bang. I had never dressed that fast in my life before. Thick smoke could be seen in the air, in the direction of my village. I prayed to the higher being to save my people, but I was too late. Bryce was right next to me fully dressed as I started walking towards home. We did not both care if we were wet or how it looked. Another bang stopped us in our tracks. Bryce tried to convince me to run but I am my father's daughter, the next leader. It was my duty to find out if my people were okay.

In my worry and determination, I did not notice the sound of paws coming towards us. But Bryce was keen. He pushed me into the nearest bush and covered us in this weird smelling cloth. He only left space for us to see who was passing on the path. I was about to explode on him, but I heard it too. The paws hitting the ground hard. The ground was literally shaking like an earthquake was upon us. And that is when I saw them. The largest pack of wolves I had ever seen. They were huge no doubt. Taller than even us and they were on their fours. I literally held my breath as they passed. I did not want any of them to notice us.

Once Bryce was sure they were long gone, he uncovered us. A big sigh of relief left my mouth. And I turned to give Bryce a "what the hell' look. He read the memo and explained.

'Well, I have had experiences with wolves before. That is why I usually come for Rarity. Rarity combined with this specific cloth, forms an invisible barrier between us and the wolves. It is like all their senses are clouded and they cannot even sense us.' I was shocked. What kind of sorcery was this?

'So, you mean to say, even if I screamed, they would not have heard me?'

'Yes exactly. Clouds everything and that is our specialty and secret. The reason beside your own village, we have never been attacked by the werewolves.'

'And here I thought you were just good tailors.' I muttered under my breath and pulled him towards the smoke. He almost left his things behind.

Upon reaching the border, the heavy smoke and the smell of burnt flesh welcomed us. We walked around. Dead bodies everywhere. Burnt houses everywhere. There was no sign of life here. I almost did not recognize our house. It was half burnt. There were bodies and blood scattered everywhere outside. They were the servants that worked for us. I did not know where my parents were, so I entered our half-burnt house. Dad was tied to a chair with a knife sticking out of his chest. There was so much blood around him. he had faced a painfully horrible death. Mum was on the couch in front of him. They must have made him watch before killing him. They burnt her and by the signs of it alive. There was nothing left of her on the couch except her burnt shoes.

I felt the tears welling up and I turned too fast I almost fell. I did not know that Bryce was behind me. He caught me right on time. I could not look again. I just buried my face in his chest and cried my heart out. He did not say anything. He just held me and allowed me to grieve. But my crying was cut short by a cough followed by another. The silence that fell. We both froze, barely breathing and listened. Another cough in the same room we were. We both untangled from each other and looked for the source. That was when I saw my dad move. We untied him and helped him lie down on one of the remaining couches. he asked for some water and Bryce got him some.

'Thank you, son, and not for the water but for saving my daughter. If she had not left to see you, there would be nothing left of me. I bless you two. Take care of her for me and always make her happy.' He coughed again and there was blood this time, but he continued.

'It was Sam, the messenger who betrayed us. They had promised him a lot of wealth in gold, and he fell for it. They killed him too. He burnt the Rarity allowing the werewolves in. They burnt your mother alive as I watched. It was horrible. And we watched them tear everyone to pieces and burn their properties. There is a group of humans who hunt them. They are the reason all of this is happening. They hunt and kill werewolves for no reason. The werewolves are just retaliating. They call themselves the Army. Best to avoid them.' And with that, he breathed his last."