With the spirited lady out of site, Edwin reached into his breast pocket, pulling out a thin black lace veil. He ran it from one temple to the other, and it held itself in place like a shadow just covering his eyes. A uniform of sorts. When making moves as a group out in the world, they wore them to protect themselves if a poor soul caught sight of them. However, in cases such as meetings between the members of the circle, it acted to separate personal feelings from coven matters. They all lived and worked together. They knew each other, but by covering their eyes they were saying ‘Here I am not an individual, I am a member and mind of the coven’.

He pushed open the door to the parlor, greeted with the unwelcoming and heavy silence that covered the room like thick smoke. This was going to be a long meeting they were already upset.

“I apologize for my tardiness, I was reviewing some reports from the families to the south,” He said, closing the door behind him. Twenty or so Witches, mostly women, sat in a circle around the room.

“You call us here and then you are late to your own meeting?”

Ah yes. His eyes fell on the young woman sitting prominently to the front of the circle. Appearing a mere fourteen or fifteen years old, her looks were not to be taken lightly. She was an incredibly powerful witch. Sometimes newer members of the coven would forget such things.

“There it is! The gentle chiding of the wise Left hand, I feel like it has been too long,” he said, using honey to cover the bitterness of his words. Naturally, her job was to oppose him. The Right and the Left Hand were the proverbial angel and devil on the shoulder of the coven’s leader. However, Ms. Rowena seemed to take particular joy in tossing his words to the side whenever she could.

“She’s right,” Another woman spoke up in irritation. “You called the Circle without the Mistress or explanation.” The circle was essentially the government of the coven. It consisted of a few dozen of those witches dedicated to the Coven who wished to do more than just live with their eyes open. These witches were the soldiers and scholars that helped them stay protected and to grow.

“The Mistress is not required to be at every meeting. This is not the first time she hasn’t attended.” He said.

“Has her lack of attendance got something to do with her being injured on your watch?” Ms. Rowena’s voice was serious now, bringing in the consensus of many of the other members. She was more on edge than normal. His plans must have really made her feel like she was trying to recover a kicked hornets' nest.

If she was going to be serious, then he would as well. Edwin sat back in his seat, crossing one leg over the other, folding his hands in his lap. “It does,” he admitted.

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One of the girls to his left stood in her chair. “Is that why we haven’t heard from her in several days, Elder Brother!?” Angrily accusing him of letting something heinous happen to her.

“Calm Yourself, Sister.” The charm was gone now, and it was simply commanding. He would not have things growing chaotic this early in the meeting. “She sustained no serious injury. You know that the Mistress grows weary from time to time, she is simply resting. I attended to her this morning myself, so be assured she is fine,” He said.

“Then what’s your excuse?” Ms. Rowena targeted him again. She must’ve been quite worried. Normally she only got this harsh when Anya was involved. Had it just been the two of them he would've made a jab about such sour words coming from the lips of such a sweet girl, but he would not assault her reputation in front of the circle for something so petty.

He closed his eyes behind the veil, letting out a slow sigh through his nose. “I have none,” He said. “While by my side, a Priest laid a hand on her. Because of my carelessness, she bled. I have no excuse for my lack of responsibility.” His admittance brought an uproar amongst the circle. The word Priest echoed around him as if being shouted by a choir of mockingbirds. Tea hadn’t even had a chance to cool and the tension of the room had become so thick he wasn’t sure how well his words would cut it.

Edwin slowly raised his hand. As he did the chattering amongst the witches melted away until there was nothing left in the room but still air. There might have been consequences if a regular member had silenced other’s voices, but he had a little more leeway. Aware of what he had done, the members' eyes drew to him, demanding answers even without the power of their voices.

“I understand your worry and confusion, Brothers and Sisters, but we must not think so lowly of our Mistress. While it is our duty to protect her as the mother of the coven, we are all well aware that if she had truly wished to show her power, she would’ve.” He slowly returned the voices to their owners before he caused an outbreak and the poor maids were forced to come in and clean up while they were still talking.

“The reason I called this meeting is so we can put together a plan to deal with this priest, to seek retribution of the blood spilled,” he said.

“If a Priest found the Mistress we need to make an attack on the whole Temple!” Came the call of a man behind him.

“Attack?” A woman stood next to Ms. Roween. “We need to pull back and wait for everything to quiet down. We can not risk the Temple finding our coven. Let’s not forget what happened to our Sisters in the north less than half a century ago! An entire coven, slaughtered because of recklessness!”

“We can not just let this affront go! We need to deal out punishment!”

“I agree,” Edwin interjected. “I believe you’re right, Sister, it would be unwise to recklessly go after the Temple. The priests do not believe he struck a witch, they believe he struck Lady Ross, and thanks to that Incident they’re attention is currently locked against one of the governors of the Empire. However, we also can not simply let a priest who has dared lay a hand on the coven go free,” he said.

“So what is it you are suggesting, Brother?” The Left hand asked.

“They are not close to the Coven however, they are very close to a new Little Brother of ours. I have been trying to lure the Temple away, but they’re quite hell-bent on their path. I believe we can kill two birds with one stone. Seek atonement as well as finding out what the Temple’s plans,” He settled into her chair again, his lips spreading to a predator’s smirk. “I suggest a hunt.”