A Catchcolt Who: Michael and Wren Corner Where: Corner Residence, Lake District When: Evening, November 20, 2024 Rating/Warnings: Talking about being illegitimate Summary: Wren doesn't care much for the term sometimes used to describe her.
A Thesaurus was such a useful invention, if quite distracting. Not quite as enjoyable as an etymology dictionary but it was up there. Her homework long done, except for Arithmacy which she essentially considered useless, mostly, she indulged in one of her favorite pursuits until a word caught her attention.
Bastard.
Suddenly, she was 7 years old again, in the village store, her father busy in another aisle. "That's the Corner child." She heard a witch say. Her companion, in what Wren later realized was a mock sotto-tone of voice, asked, "The Bastard." It was not, despite her upbringing, a word she'd been familiar with. But, immediately, she sensed it was bad, shameful.
Forgotton, willfully, along with the furtive trip to the dictionary later that night to look up it's definition, the emotion it had wrought in her came flooding back. So much so, that she was startled when her father touched her shoulder, and she prayed he didn't see the word her finger was on.