❄ 4 ❄️ The Incident ❄️
City Of London Academy
Thursday, January 06, 2007
Bell woke Wren early the next morning by bouncing on her bed.
"Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!" she yelled as she bounced up and down beside her.
Wren groaned and rolled over onto her back, tossing an arm over her eyes.
"Bellamy Catherine, stop bouncing this instant!" she snarled loud enough so the little fairy could hear her over her excited giggles.
"Snow White! Snow White! Snow White!" she yelled again as she continued bouncing.
The older girl's leg shot out and the younger girl toppled over, crashing down on top of her. They both heard Briar laughing her head off over their loud groans and moans of pain. Wren glared at the girl as she pushed her twin sister off of her and slid out of bed. She glanced at the alarm clock on the bedside table and almost swore.
"Why did you wake me up at six o'clock in the morning?!" she nearly shouted at Bell.
The fairy pouted sadly and Wren sighed heavily in frustration. She turned on her heels and stalked into the bathroom without another word to either of the twins. After a twenty-minute shower, a new record for her, she wrapped a couple of towels around her head and body and walked back into the bedroom. Bell was laying out her uniform while Briar was preoccupied with the laptop. Wren sat down at the vanity table and Bell came to stand behind her, ready to style her hair for the day. The other girl towel-dried her ice blonde hair first and then blow-dried it until the strands were silky and smooth. After she was dressed and made up, she and the twins headed down to the great hall for breakfast.
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THE girls all climbed down from the bus and Wren ran around to the back of the school and hurried through the back entrance, trying to avoid the prying eyes and the stupid rumors of her fellow classmates. She raced through the hallways, flitting into bathrooms whenever she caught sight of gossip mongers. She sighed in relief once she reached the solitude of the library, as nerds and non-gossipers were the only ones inside. Wren quickly found a deserted study nook, sat down, and took out her library book. She opened the book to the page she'd marked and begun reading.
Aang raced out of the air temple, toward the place where the monks kept the flying bison and other animals. He ran to his pet bison, Appa, and buried his face in the great beast's snowy white fur...
The bell rang loudly suddenly, startling her from her reading. She sighed and tucked the book back into her schoolbag. Time to face the music, she thought to herself bitterly as she stood up and walked out of the library. She made it English just as the first warning bell rang. She walked into the classroom and took her seat, ignoring the probing gazes and the quiet conversations of the students around her.
Wren pulled out the assigned book, notebook, and a pen and placed them on her desk. She opened Wuthering Heights and began scanning the chapter they had been assigned for homework the day before, glancing at the homework packet and checking and rechecking her answers. She heard a bag drop to the floor beside her suddenly but didn't look up to see if it was Rhys Vulcan. Out of her peripheral vision, she saw Rhys take his seat in the desk beside hers, pulled out his book and homework packet, placed them on his desk before turning toward her. She continued to ignore him and flipped to the next chapter in the book.
"Hello." Rhys greeted her softly, his voice like music to her ears and satin against her skin.
Gooseflesh flared across on Wren's skin as she looked up at the musical sound of his voice, her ice-blue eyes meeting his mesmerizing golden topaz ones. Her heartbeat sped up as an unknown feeling warmed her core, then spread throughout her entire being, causing a tingling sensation to replace the gooseflesh on the skin. He grinned at her as if he could hear her heart pounding inside her chest, feel exactly what she was feeling, and/or smell the reaction her body had at the sound of his voice. Wren could feel her cheeks starting to burn with embarrassment and she tore her gaze away from him quickly.
"Good morning," she replied to him in a soft voice.
The second warning bell rang and Mr. Jekyll turned on the overhead projector so that they could review and talk over what they'd read for homework.
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AFTER her Creative Writing lesson, Wren made her way down the hall to the cafeteria with Rhys' satiny musical voice still ringing inside her head. She yelped in surprise as a strong arm circled her waist suddenly and pulled her into an empty classroom. The arm pushed her away suddenly once she was inside. She stumbled, caught her balance before she could fall from the force of the push, and turned to face her abductor. There were three of them altogether and they were all on the rugby team.
One of them stepped forward and Wren saw that it was Lennon Adams, captain of the lacrosse team. She backed away from him, suddenly cautious as he leered at her. He reached out to grasp her shoulder tightly in his giant hand. She whimpered as pain shot down her right arm. He pulled her closer to him and she could smell the alcohol on his breath as he leaned in as if to kiss her.
"What are you doing?" she gasped out as she tried to twist away from him.
He chuckled darkly and caressed her cheek with his other hand ."Relax, beautiful. You'll be just fine."
And with that being said, he leaned down and pressed his lips against hers. Wren gagged as the scent of alcohol overwhelmed her and she struggled to get away from him. His free hand closed around one of her breasts unexpectedly. She screamed against his lips and flailed about, her knee connecting with something hard. Lennon groaned in pain and pushed her away from him. Wren suddenly flew backward and came into contact with a corner of a desk, pain flaring at the small of her back. His goons stepped forward as he doubled over in pain. She took this as her chance to run for the door.
"Get her!" Lennon shouted to the other rugby players.
His right-hand man, Declan Banister, reached suddenly out and grabbed the end of her French Twist as she ran passed him and jerked her backward off her feet. Wren screamed again as her back come into contact with the floor. Declan and Simeon Dyer both advanced towards her and she closed her eyes, waiting for the pain of a beating, or worse, rape. She felt one of the boys brush their fingers along her calf and up under her uniform skirt, along her inner thigh. Dang school skirt, I should have worn my trousers instead, she thought to herself, tears burning at her eyes.
A bright light flashed against her eyelids and she heard a dark, feral snarl rumbled through the air. The wandering fingers stopped and she held her breath, not daring to open her eyes to see why they had. There was a round of grunts, curses, and desks crashing around her but she still did not open her eyes. Wren suddenly felt an ice-cold hand against her cheek suddenly and she whimpered, shrinking away from it.
"Shhhh." A familiar voice caressed her ears.
Her ice-blue eyes snapped open and saw Valentine kneeling over her, his face contorted with rage, his golden eyes soft with worry. Wren threw herself into his cold arms and began sobbing against his chest.
"Shhhh," he whispered again as he caressed her silver-grey hair. "Are you hurt?"
She nodded her head against his chest. "My back aches and my scalp stings a little."
A low growl rumbled through Rhys' chest and she backed away from him, suddenly frightened, her wide, terror-filled ice blue eyes settling onto him, anticipating his next move. He held out his hands, palms up, watching her with cautious coal-black eyes.
"I won't hurt you," he said in a soft, soothing voice. "I'm not like them."
Wren stared at him for a few seconds, searching and finding the truth in his eyes. She nodded her head again numbly, then looked around the room to find Lennon, Declan and Simeon sprawled out across the floor, all three boys were unconscious.
"What did you do?" she asked in a whisper, not looking at him, afraid that he would attack her next.
Wren slid further away from him, feeling his probing eyes on her.
"I told you before that I would not hurt you," he replied instead of answering her question.
She suddenly became light-headed and she started breathing heavily, her heartbeat escalating dangerously inside her chest. Rhys was at her side in a flash and gathered her into his arms.
"I'm taking you to the nurse's office." Wren vaguely heard him say through the ringing noise in her ears.
He stood up with her in his arms and started toward the classroom door. She leaned her head against his rock hard shoulder as black spots clouded her vision. I was almost raped, she thought to herself as the blackness took over her vision completely.
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Wren awoke to someone pressing a cold pack to the back of her head. She blinked repeatedly until her ice blue eyes adjusted to the bright overhead lighting and she found the nurse, Mrs. Eason standing over her, brown eyes full of concern. Wren groaned and tried to sit up but the nurse pushed her back down onto the examination table.
"You should rest," she said, her expression stern.
Wren nodded her head in understanding and relax back onto the cot.
"Do you remember what happened?" asked Nurse Eason as she pulled a rolling chair up beside the cot.
Wren looked away from the older woman and stared up at the ceiling as she tried to remember whatever happened that led her to be in the nurse's office. A strong arm circling her waist, Lennon leering at her, grabbing at her, sexually harassing her, Declan pulling her back by her hair, the wandering fingers, the feral snarl renting the air... She gasped loudly and bolted upright on the cot.
"I was almost raped," she whispered, her voice trembling with fear.
Both anger and alarm flashed in Mrs. Eason's brown eyes for a brief second before disappearing. She nodded her head in acknowledgment and wrote something down on her clipboard.
"It's a good thing that Mr. Vulcan found you and pulled them off of you." she finally spoke in a tight voice. "I will be speaking with the parents of Mr. Adams, Mr. Bannister, and Mr. Dyer when we are done with things here."
Wren nodded her head numbly in understanding. The door to the office opened, making her jerk around and stare, wide-eyed, at the person standing on the threshold. She sighed in relief when she saw that it was only Rhys. He crossed the office floor quickly and took her hand into his cold one.
"Are you okay?" he asked her, his musical voice riddled with concern.
She nodded her head again and he turned to speak with the nurse.
"Is she going to be okay?" he asked her in a tight voice.
"Yes," replied Mrs. Eaton. "I suggest that she goes home immediately and rest. I will contact Lady Appleton with the information for a psychiatrist."
Rhys nodded his head in agreement and then scooped Wren up into his arms. He crossed the room and walked out of the door swiftly, carrying her down the hallway easily, as if she didn't weight 110 lbs. The bell rang and students began pouring out of the classrooms and cafeteria. They all looked at both of them with wide eyes and began whispering earnestly with their friends. A rush of heat flooded to Wren's cheeks at the sudden attention of her schoolmates, making Ivory bury her burning face into Rhys' cool neck.
He rubbed soothing circles into the small of her back, easing the stinging pain there with the coolness of his fingers, and whispered soothing words into her hair. Once outside of the school building, Rhys walked swiftly toward his Spyder. He opened the door, placed Wren down gently in the passenger's seat, and closed the door behind her. She buckled up her seatbelt as he climbed into the driver's seat. She pulled out her mobile phone to text the twins as he started the engine and sped out of the car park.
To: Bell and Bri
From Snow White
Not feeling well, going home early. Be good on the bus and don't disturb Scarlett. I will see you when you get home.
xoxoxoxoxo
Wren sent the text and sat back in her seat, closing her ice blue eyes against the scenery speeding passed them in a blur. A few seconds later, she felt the car stop and opened her eyes. They had already arrived at the manor. Rhys opened the door and helped her out of the car. He wrapped a cold arm around her waist and led her to the door. She unlocked the front door and opened it, calling out to Lady Appleton.
"Snow White!" Wren heard one of the girls shout from upstairs. "Snow White's home!"
She glanced at Rhys sheepishly, who looked back at her questioningly.
"Someone foolishly gave me that nickname when I was a baby and it stuck with me ever since," she explained to him, flushing slightly.
He nodded his head in understanding and then grinned at her suddenly, his golden eyes glittering. "I like it. It's cute."
Wren's cheeks burned hotter this time and hearing the light pitter-patter of footsteps on the marble staircase, turned away from him. The first girl that came down was six years old Maisie Fairburn. She paused at the foot of the steps and looked up at Rhys with the wide-eyed curiosity of a child.
"Hey, Mai." Wren greeted her with a warm smile. "This is Rhys Vulcan, a friend from school."
"The boy that Bri and Bell were questioning you about?" The little girl asked in a sweet voice.
Wren flushed again as Rhys blinked down at the little girl in surprise. "Maisie Elizabeth Fairburn! It's not polite to eavesdrop."
The dark-haired girl lowered her head in shame. "Sorry, Snow White."
More girls of various ages poured down the staircase after her and paused at the foot with Maisie. They all stared at Rhys with wide eyes.
"It is very rude to stare at people, children." Wren chided them.
The girls all lowered their heads in shame. "Sorry, Snow White."
"It's fine," she said softly with a warm smile which some of them returned. "Where is Lady Aaliyah?"
Maisie looked up at them both before answering. "Upstairs in the third-floor library."
Wren smiled at her and nodded her head to her in thanks. The girls all ran off to various places in the manor, searching for things to do. She turned around to face Rhys, who was smiling at her softly, making her flush bright scarlet and turned away from him again.
"Follow me this way," she said, motioning for him to follow after her.
Wren led him up two flights of stairs to the third-floor hallway. Out of her peripheral vision, she saw him gazing around the hallway with mild interest. She smiled softly as she stopped in front of the door at the center of the hall and knocked on the thick wood.
"Come in." Lady Appleton called out, her voice muffled by the thick antique door.
Wren reached out to open the door but Valentine's hand beat hers to the doorknob. He opens the door and steps aside, waiting for her to enter first. She flushed slightly and murmured thanks before stepping into the room. The library vaguely resembled the one at the City of London Academy except for all the furnishing and bookshelves that were antique. Lady Appleton sat her book down once they entered the room and stood up from one of the many armchairs stationed next to the floor-to-ceiling windows. She smiled at Ivory warmly as the girl stepped forward to embrace her.
"Wren, darling. What are you doing home so early?" she asked her in concern.
"I was not feeling well so-" Wren began but was interrupted by Valentine.
"She was almost raped by a group of athletes." he snarled angrily, his face turning into stone.
Lady Appleton glanced over Wren's shoulder to where he was still standing by the door. She looks back at the younger girl with grey eyes sparkling, her lips pulling up into a small half-smile. Wren groaned inaudibly and took a seat in the empty armchair. Lady Appleton crossed the library and held her hand out for Rhys to shake. He did so curiously.
"Good afternoon, Mr..." she began to greet him.
"Vulcan, Rhys Vulcan." he supplied dutifully.
"Mr. Vulcan. What is this I hear about my Wren almost being raped?"
The girl in question cleared her throat nervously and shifted around in her chair uncomfortably, causing both Rhys and Lady Appleton to glance in her direction. Wren looked away from them both and began humming loud enough to drown out their conversation.
"Lennon Adams, Declan Bannister, and Simeon Dyer pulled her into an empty classroom and started hitting her and tried to sexually assault her." Rhys began explaining his side of the story. "I was walking by the classroom on my way to detention that I did not deserve when I heard her cries of pain. I opened the door to the room just as one of the boys, Bannister I think, was touching her inappropriately. I pulled him off of her and that's when we started fighting. I am not trying to brag but I won the fight. I asked her if she was hurt, which she answered yes to, and then brought her to the nurse's office."
Lady Appleton took both Wren and Rhys by surprise by wrapping him in a warm, affectionate embrace. "Thank you for saving my Wren."
Rhys patted the older woman on the back awkwardly. "You are welcome, milady."
She laughed at his awkwardness and stepped back, away from him. "Please call me Aaliyah and any friend of my Wren is a friend of mine."
Rhys nodded his head in acknowledgment before she crossed the room to Wren. Lady Appleton pulled the girl into her arms and crushed her against her chest.
"My sweet, sweet Wren." she breathed into her hair.
Wren held on to Lady Appleton as last-minute tears pricked the back of her eyes. She closed her eyelids and breathed in the flowery scent of her mother-figure. After a few minutes of silent comfort, Lady Appleton released her hold on Wren and smoothed back her ice blonde hair, looking into her ice-blue eyes.
"Are you alright, Wren?" she asked softly.
Wren nodded her head numbly in response, her eyes burning with fresh tears. "I'm fine now."
Lady Appleton embraced her once more and then shooed them both from the library. Rhys and Wren walked back down the staircase to the first floor in silence. She walked into the family room to find three of the younger girls watching an American cartoon The Powerpuff Girls. Bluebell Greene, the youngest at two, raced toward her and wrapped her tiny arms around her legs.
"Snow White!" she squealed happily, grinning up at her.
Wren smiled down at her in return and lifted the little girl into her arms. She crossed the room and sat on the couch with Valentine beside her, watching the three little girls defeat monstrous villains and save the residents of Townsville. Rhys and Wren spent the rest of the afternoon watching cartoons and playing with the girls.
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Rhys Vulcan
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