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"Miss?"
Althea sat at the kitchen chair, quietly observing Miss Wren as she worked on lunch. The other Ymbrynes would be there shortly, and it would be the first time they met Althea. To say her grandmother was nervous was an understatement.
"Miss." She repeated the word when she didn't get a response, too frightened to call her by her real name when they were expecting visitors. Miss Wren had been very clear that she loved her, but under no circumstances were they know about their blood bond.
Finally, needing her to hear it, she called her what she always would anyway. "Grandma!"
"Yes dear?" As if by magic, Miss Wren could now hear her, and she turned away from the sheparspie she was making. "What is it Althea."
"You should be better at responding to being called Miss. If I can't call you Grandma." Althea pointed out quietly. It's not what she wanted to say, but it's what comes out.
Miss Wren frowned. "They're not here. It's fine to call whatever you want now." She said quietly, almost appearing to be hurt, even though it was her suggestion.
"She's right though, Balenciaga." Addisson pointed out, smirking just a little. Althea didn't quite know why.
"Why can't I call you grandma later too?" Althea says then, posing the question she actually wanted to ask. "You're my grandma."
"You're my protege." Miss Wren said simply. "In their eyes, that is all that you are. Nothing more, nothing less. You here?" She asked sternly.
Althea shook her head. "But I'm not! That's lying!" She protested angrily, pushing her glasses up her nose. Her fingers leave condensation on the thick lenses.
"Althea it's not. You're my granddaughter and my protege. The other Ymbrynes only need to know one of those things." She bend down, putting the pie in the oven and ignoring Althea's angry eyes.
Her Granddaughter was a child. As smart and mature as she was, she was still a child, and some things children couldn't understand.
"She's right my dear." Again, Addisson sided with the child, smirking at her. Petty as he was, he enjoyed his revenge for the fact that she won their game of chess the other day.
"Careful. Or I won't buy you new tobacco." She hissed, tired by the dog's antics. He was not a child - he knew better.
"Why do you want to hide me?" Althea asked bluntly, jumping off her chair.
"I'm not hiding you." Miss Wren sighed. The conversation was growing old fast.
"Are you ashamed of me?"
Her voice is so small when she ask, trembling like a baby about to cry.
Miss Wren could not have ran to her any faster, pulling the pale and saddened little girl into her arms. "Of course not! I love you...how could you ever think that?"
"Why did you leave mum?"
Her voice is like a punch to the gut, making Miss Wren gasp. It should be easy, probably seems easy in her mind, but for Miss Wren it's not. It's so very, very complicated.
"Sweetie...Althea...honey...that's a ling story." She lifted her up. She's a small child but it still makes her back ache when she places her back on her chair.
"Then tell me." Althea pushed on, hard, insistent. Her cold hands rest on Miss Wren's warm hands, forcing her grandmother to look at her.
Miss Wren swallowed. "I'm not sure we have time right now. We have guests coming."
"Then I can call you grandma in front of all the guests." Althea said firmly, cruel despite her young age. She knew just where to push.
"Alright" Miss Wren sighed, fetching the other kitchen chair to sit opposite her. "I met your grandfather when I was very young. Our parents lived next to each other and he was always a very good friend. When he was sixteen, his dad died, and he inherited the farm. The years after, he bought me a golden ring and asked my dad to let me marry him. He said yes for me." She sighs, hoping Althea would understand. She hides her hands in her lap, the ring still heavy on her finger. Though she switched to the right hand, she never took it off - never wanted to forget what she'd been through to get to what she was now.
"You didn't get to decide?" Addisson look up from his bed, clearly disgusted.
She shakes her head, ignoring Althea's soft gasp. "Women didn't have a voice in those days. And I was only fifteen. But he was nice and he had a big farm which I could help him care for. It wasn't half-bad." She promised, quickly moving in. "When I was nineteen I transformed for the first time. A year after I had your mother, and the entire pregnancy I was too scared to try to transform again, not wanting to hurt her. But she was born perfect." She smiled, looking at her granddaughter. She looked so much like her mother, it sometimes drove her crazy.
It was like having her daughter back again.
"You're not answering my question." Althea frowned, chewing on her nails. Miss Wren tried to tell her a good lady didn't do that, but she never listened. "Why did you leave mum?"
Miss Wren took a deep breath. This was the worst part, the part she didn't really want to tell. And for that reason, she was so grateful when Addisson came climbing into her lap, warm and comforting. Quietly, she began to pat him.
"An Ymbryne is not supposed to have children of their own flesh and blood. We are supposed to help the peculiar children, and they are ours in any way that matters. I was young, and though I love your mother it was not my choice to be with a child - a child I did not know was peculiar then. So I decided to make a choice for myself, and be selfish." She hugged Addisson close, tears threatening in her eyes. "Only after I was already at the Academy did I realize it was a big mistake. After your mother I couldn't stand the idea of taking care of any other child."
Althea was quiet for a while, seemingly taking in all this. It was clear it shocked the girl, but she didn't ask any questions.
"So that's why you only have animals here?"
Miss Wren nodded to her question. "I've always been an animal lover. Peculiar animals even more. It seemed like a worthy purpose for the rest of my life." She looked at the girl, carefully placing Addisson into her lap instead. "But of course you're even better. I love you more than anything else. Never doubt that."
Althea's lower lip began to tremble, fat tears rolling down her cheeks. "I miss mommy." She said quietly.
Miss Wren's heart broke, and she rushed over to hold her. "Me too. Me too, my sweet girl. But she would be so proud of you."
"Do you promise?' Althea cried, leaning against her grandmother's chest. She could hear her heartbeat in an even rhythm, and it comforted her.
"I promise. I am proud of you, my sweet girl. You're amazing." Miss Wren told the girl, happy to feel the cold of her skin against her own warmth. Most would say it was inhuman, more like a corpse than a living being. But for Miss Wren, it was equal to her children. Her daughter and her Granddaughter alike.
Because now that she knew it as a feature of the peculiarity, she could easily recall the coolness of the newborn's skin against her own when she fed her. It had made her shiver, but she always thought it was a result of the overwhelming joy she felt to have her there after nine months of waiting for her to arrive.
There was so much she didn't know then, she thought bitterly.
There's a knock on the door, and suddenly her Ymbryne sisters are flooding the tint kitchen, surrounding Miss Wren and the little girl she was still holding tight. They gasp and oooh and aah, all so shocked to see her with another human being. And not just any human being, but an adorable little girl.
Miss Wren grin, letting go a little so they all can see Althea better.
"Let me introduce you to my Althea. She's my Granddaughter."