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Life serving as the traitors ward was so impossibly hard. Claire found herself barely sleeping as the suppressed anger, betrayal and hatred, aimed both at herself and the Traitor of a Goddess she is currently serving, not allowing her to settle enough for more than a couple hours a night. But determination, she finds, is a strong motivator. She needs to get stronger and more independent before she can face the much stronger Goddess. She can use the training she gives to become powerful enough to finally end the reign of the one who killed her True God.
One such night, tossing and turning in her bed, Claire gives up on sleep with a deep sigh. She sits up, looking around the opulent room she has been granted. Despite the powerful look of the room, it feels cold and dark, like much of the End is. Everything being a dull yellow in colour. She misses the greens and pinks and reds of the Overworld, the blues of the deeps… She gets up from the bed, wrapping a silken nightgown around her form, pulling her wings in close to her body, not having the energy to locate and push them through the holes in the back.
She makes her way to the balcony, opening the door and leaning against the railing, arms folded as she glances up at the starry sky above. All the constellations she learned growing up with her sisters are gone. Everything is different and wrong here. Claire's shoulders slump as she notices another late night figure in the “gardens” below her walking about. As she squints to try and make out who it is, a deep sudden longing for the sun fills her, enough that she feels her eyes beginning to sting, her vision blurs until she blinks, feeling a trickle of liquid falling down her cheek. She shakes her head, pushing the thoughts away and turns back to her room.
Within it is a figure, tall and lithe, much like the Ender Goddess of this world, but not a person she has seen before. The figure's wings, stretched out behind her, adding to her imposing figure are a stark contrast to Claire's pure, almost shining white ones. Claire freezes in response to the figure, a shiver racking through her form as her senses pick up a power coming from this woman. A power different, but more powerful than that of the End Goddess. The woman tilts her head to the side slightly “Not going to question who I am?”
“I don’t think it really matters who you are, you’re going to do whatever you want to do anyway.” Claire speaks blandly, fatigue and lack of care removing any feeling from her speech. The figure hums, tilting her head back up again as she glances Claire up and down.
“Well it is only right for me to be polite when I have barged into your chambers like this, should I not?” She doesn’t wait for a reply, instead carrying right on. “My name is WolfQueen, and i am here because I believe we may be able to help each other.”
“Help? You are some God or Higher being. What could I possibly do to help you?” The figure smiles, clapping her hands once in response. Claire frowns at the odd behaviour.
“I am glad you asked. You seem to be in need of some help with a little revenge. And I am in need of some memories of yours. I feel we can mutually help each other.”
“How would you know of anything like that?”
“I have been around for a long time. Your own God, Order. That was a very unfitting end to their reign.” WolfQueen steps forward, closer to Claire, her expression softening as she lifts a hand to gently cup the cheek of Claire, “and I wish to help you have your final revenge. This End Goddess deserves what is coming to her, does she not?”
Claire narrows her eyes, moving her head away from the stranger's touch, “why should I trust you?” Unexpectedly, the woman laughs in response.
“Oh, my dear, you shouldn’t. But I am the only hope you have if you ever want your revenge and eventual peace. After all, I already helped a little with that.” She reaches back and when she brings her hand back around, she is holding a very familiar looking wing tip, “she is not dead, yet. I was going to give you that honour but…” she looks at the wing in her hand, red eyes glowing slightly as she smirks a little, “she is certainly incapacitated for now.”
“You-” Claire backs away fully, her back hitting the edge of the door behind her as she stares wide eyed at the wing tip, her stomach churning uncomfortably, “what did you do?” WolfQueen frowns, looking down at the wing.
“I ensured your revenge.” her head tilts up again as she looks back at Claire frow burrowed almost in confusion, “Do you wish to have the final blow or not?”
Claire stills as the need for revenge rushes back through her again. This Goddess took her God away. Her sisters and brothers in arms, her life and her world. Whatever this WolfQueen did to remove that wing… was undoubtedly not enough pain for what is deserved. With all traces of hesitance gone, Claire simply nods, stepping forwards again, shifting her shoulders as she bends and squishes her wings out the back of her nightgown, stretching them out behind her.
“Good, I assumed as much. But first, we have a little deal to complete. I believe I have already mentioned I require some memories from yourself?” Mind too focussed on the potential for revenge, Claire just nods in agreement. “I believe, after your revenge is complete, you would… appreciate not being forced to remember the loss of your God and everything that happened afterwards?”
Claire blinks as the words sink in, “You mean forget my God?”
“Oh no, no, nothing like that,” WolfQueens voice is reassuring, expression gentle, “I won’t take any of your memories of your family away. I have no need for them, and no need for you to be a broken husk. I will remove the memories of Orders death and everything after that only.”
“Oh… well that sounds okay to me.”
“Perfect. We have a deal. Now, would you like to face that Traitor of a God? Or would you wish to….” She once again looks Claire up and down, “change your attire first?”