Lady of the Veiled Vale

Vows

"You! What in Finn's name are you doing here?!"

   Lavinia looked down her nose at her daughter. "I would not speak your grandpapa's name with such venom, were I you; especially with that there." She jerked her head to indicate the faerie ring.

   Raiden and Gwinneth wore matching poleaxed expressions. He was the first to recover, by far.

   "That's how you keep them all in line! You're a descendant of Fey, so they listen to you."

   Lavinia scoffed. "'Tis more than fey I am, laddie. What else did ye say was in me bloodline, milady?"

   The Owl on her arm stepped down, down, all the way to the ground; stretching as she went. Long legs, slender hips, and a modest bosom formed, along with lightly feathered arms. The head remained the same, but somehow its voice was clear and sharp; a blend of human speech and bird song.

  "She is Fey, and Elf; she is Angel, and Demon; last, of course, she is Human. All of these had traits that I needed in you, little one."

   Gwinneth blinked at Ra'hukumen. Raiden gave her hand another squeeze, still trying to digest this new information, himself. She gripped his arm with both hands, clinging to his solid form in this maelstrom of emotions. He had to resist the urge to hold her safe in his arms. This was her trial to face.

   "So what you're telling me is, I am part angel, part demon (I've no idea how that happened!), part elf" Varla would just love that! "Part human--and also descended from the King of the Faerie?" She recalled her comment on Raiden's appearance with some discomfort now.

   The god in question winced. No one should speak to the Goddess in such a manner, not even a granddaughter of Finn. Again, he would have intervened, curbed her tongue, but 'twas still her trial.

   The Goddess merely sighed.

   "You wish to see your family lineage laid before you." It was not a question. "So may it be." She gestured, and Raiden let go of her. Gwinn shot him a panicked look, but he just smiled at her. The Goddess took both of her hands from his arm as effortlessly as She would remove a babe's hand from a finger.

   She drew Gwinn a step away from Raiden. "From your great great grandfather, you have the ability to speak to the Fey directly, without the use of that." She inclined her head gracefully toward the faerie ring. "From His Elven concubine, you gained some of your Healing abilities, and these." She touched the tips of Gwinn's ears, and they lengthened. Fragile dragonfly wings sprouted from her back, as well.

   "Moon Elf!" Raiden gasped.

   "Aye, and who else could attract the Faerie King? She danced among the moonbeams.

   "Their eldest son fell for an Angel, who bequeathed to thee more Healing powers, and these." She waved a hand, and long, feathery wings sprouted around the pixie-like wings; so the transparent ones seemed to grow through the feathers. It looked beautiful, yet impossible.

   "Your Angelic Faerie Elf grandmother mated with a Demon for its regenerative and transformative powers, under My... request." Gwinn heard what was not said. It had been an order from an Elder Goddess. She waited for demonic horns, or a barbed tail, but was vastly relieved when neither manifested.

   "Your mother was most willing to produce the Scion of The Dragon." Here, her mother preened. "His gifts to you are many-fold, and more plentiful than I can recount. The most visible of which are these." Tiny, irridescent scales, with a lavendar or teal hue (depending on how she turned) erupted with the sound of jewelry upon a marble dressing table. A lithe, whip-like tail sprang from her backside. Leathery wings snuck in around the other two pairs, but her torso had to elongate to make room. The rest of her body compensated of course, so Gwinneth gained around half a foot in height, not including the wings.