Guardian Angel, Chapter Eight

 Chapter Eight

“So, what exactly are we doing?” I asked, as we faced each other in the park, the light of the day long gone. Cash placed both of our jackets on the park bench, but still didn’t elude to the real reason we were here. This park - the same one I’d been shot in - looked not much different than it had in the days when I’d peacefully played my guitar here.

Staring at the stones that once might have been stained with my blood, I didn’t realize that I’d moved away from Cash and towards the scene of the accident. How long had people maintained the forlorn scene, avoiding it out of respect for the dead girl I’d once been - or out of the fear of the incident itself.

It wasn’t until I sensed the motion behind me that I was brought back to reality, and dove out of the way of the foot flying through where my shoulders had just been. “What’s the big idea?” I demanded, coming out of my rolls and standing to face the shadow that was Cash. “You could have been sent flying if you were still human,” he said, his hair and the outline of his wings glittering in the dim light of a street lamp. His outline disappeared again as he moved faster than a human could have. Diving again, I knew I wasn’t going to make it. His kick impacted into my left side, and sent me flying. I felt no pain, but I skid on the paving stones on the path - feeling the fabric on my shirt pick up dirt and fresh wear marks.

Now, it was my turn. Standing up, I picked out his outline and went for it. Willing my limbs to dart for him, I felt a fist impact his head - but the knee to his gut missed as he spun away, laughing. “We can’t hurt each other - what’s the point?” I growled, turning to face him as he came within inches of my face, looking down at me with the half smile I’d always known.

“Because I didn’t know if you could fight or not. You’re good, I guess.” Cash brushed a piece of hair off of my forehead, the idea of his touch sending a thrill through my new body. “What was that, Angel?” He asked, his eyes suddenly level with mine as they glittered in the street light. The glitter wasn’t something I was entirely comfortable with, so on impulse, I stepped away. “Why are we fighting, Cash?” I asked. “I just told you-,” He started, and I shook my head. “I mean, what does this have to do with showing me the ropes?” I asked, looking towards my jacket. “It has everything to do with it. If you don’t know how to fight,” he paused, and made his stance casual. “You’ll need to be taught. There are some things that really aren’t avoidable when you’re a Guardian.”

I nodded. “Okay, I can agree with that.” I said, and fixed my hair into a tighter ponytail. Walking back over to the bench, I grabbed my jacket. It was a cold night - and anybody who would have looked out their windows would have definitely thought both of us were out of our minds. Slipping it on as Cash seemed to step away, his back to me. He ran his hand through his hair, and then walked over for his coat. “You up for some drinks?” He asked. I chuckled. “I still look seventeen, remember?” I asked. His eyebrows met briefly - and then he laughed.

“You haven’t looked in the mirror, have you?” He asked, and then took my hand. “You don’t look seventeen anymore. Not that you really ever did,” his voice came with little bursts of fog as he pulled me back onto a sidewalk, and towards a row of shops. The lights on the street lit the glass like mirrors, and as we passed a particularly wall reflective one, Cash stopped, and placed me in front of it.

I froze, looking at a much older looking me. My wide brown eyes were even more defined then they’d been before, and my skin was as flawless as Cash’s. My long, curly brown hair was glossy, but overall, I was still me. Not wearing makeup, I would easily pass as a twenty-one year old, or better. Fixing the collar on my turtleneck, and checking my figure once more, I looked back at Cash. “And you didn’t mention this sooner because?” I asked, and he shrugged. “I was told girls look at the mirror a lot - so I just assumed you had.”

“Classy, Cash,” I said, taking the would-be insult  in stride. I’d tried hard to never be that kind of girl, but the fact was hard to avoid that some girls really did do that. As we neared a local bar, I spotted the characteristic outliers of the crowd - the ones that were leaving, the ones that were coming, and the varying degrees of loiterers. The space, or what I now realized was a busy club, danced with lights and life. I’d never been in one - but with Cash, there was no backing out now.

Cash had taken my hand again, and when we walked through the door, the bouncer didn’t even look twice at us. My tight jeans and converses, while plainer than what most of the scantily dressed girls were wearing, still blended in with the casual crowd around the black marble bar.
“Whatcha want?” The female bartender asked, her face a calm smile, when she noticed us standing there. When Cash replied with a smile of his own, I noticed that they must have known each other. “The usual,” his voice seemed to disappear into the music of the space, and then the girl was off - making whatever his ‘usual’ was.

I leaned against the counter, my elbows on the cold stone, and watched the dancers moving in near synchrony on the floor. The music didn’t have lyrics - or at least this song didn’t - and the dancers all looked like they’d found partners of one or another sex. The smile that crept to my lips was more of amusement as Cash seemed to notice me looking. “So, what do you think?” He asked, and then seemed to look in the same general direction. “Something you’d get used to?”

I turned my head as if I was going to look at him, but kept my eyes on the dancers. “If you gave me long enough, maybe. I’m more curious as to how you got used to it.” I paused, and took my eyes away to watch the bartender place the two identical drinks on the counter. “Twelve bucks,” she said, and seemed to pause there as Cash swiped the money out of his pocket, and into her suddenly waiting hand. “Thank you for your patronage.”

She winked, then was off taking more orders, and not looking back.

“You two know each other?” I asked, and Cash handed a thin necked martini glass to me. “Should I?” He answered, and his cavalier attitude made me laugh. “Guess not.” I said, and eyed the green olive in my glass. “I guess you always knew you liked things dirty,” I joked, and Cash laughed as he eyed me. “I’m not that kind of guy,” he said, frowning. It was my turn to wink as I lifted my drink.

“Bottoms up.” 

The taste of the alcohol was sharp, but the burn of it didn’t come as it slid down my throat. Cash and I continued to watch the dancers until both of us finished our drinks, and walked to leave our coats at the check - something Cash had managed to forget about doing beforehand.

I bit back sarcasm as Cash got me onto the floor and into the throng, dancing to a slower song to start. His hands gripped my wrists gently as he taught me how to move like the others, though something told me I wasn’t going to be nearly as good. I’d chosen never to be a good dancer long ago, but it seemed my lack of trying really was going to cost me now.

When a faster song came on, though, nobody paid attention as everyone moved their focus to their partners, and I felt caged by all the pulsating bodies. Cash danced with me, his hands around my waist, keeping me there. Eventually, it became less uncomfortable, and I almost wondered if alcohol could still bother me, as an angel.

I could feel the lust of the people in the air, and I could smell every bead of salt that poured off the bodies. It was a situation I was slowly becoming tolerant of, until I looked into Cash’s eyes, and saw the unbridled desire there. Finally shown in it’s true form, I couldn’t hide as he moved his face down, and his lips brushed my nose - just before the song ended - and I rushed to break apart.

He didn’t notice my movement, or if he did, he appeared not to be bothered by it. Saying I wanted a break, he shrugged and said it looked like I wasn’t that into being here at the bar, and offered for us to call it quits for the night. I nodded gratefully, we grabbed our coats, and then left without so much as a backward glance.

The walk home was quiet, along the lit sidewalks. The only sound for a long time was of Cash and I’s breathing, and our joined footsteps. It didn’t change much until we were long past the park, and we passed an alleyway.

What happened next probably should have been predictable, but as the large man tackled Cash to the ground, and the other one grabbed me by my coat, I hadn’t been thinking of the possibilities. They’re yells were incoherent for several seconds as they both tried to establish dominance in the situation - and Cash and I exchanged looks as he face was pressed against the concrete of the sidewalk. The man holding me, however, was the one who finally seemed to give the demands. “Your wallets, and whatever valuables you’ve got,” his voice growled, and I felt the presence of a knife against my back. Cash didn’t move, and neither did I - but images of Cash’s attacks filled my head suddenly, and I looked over at him.

“Fight, Krista,” his voice came into my head, and I froze even harder. His lips hadn’t moved - but his instructions were crystal clear in my head. Nodding imperceptibly, I lifted my leg and drove it with such force that I heard the bones snap in his foot. His grunt filled the air as his knife moved away, and I darted just far enough away to get a successful elbow slash to his face.

The big man watched his companion fall in pain, unmoving, until he locked eyes with me and decided to attack. “You dumb bitch, you’re in for it now!” Seemed like a cliche thing to say, but as the words came grunting out I dodged the goons knife, and then sent a foot solidly between his legs, his words turning soprano before he even hit the ground. Cash appeared behind me a flash later, but we didn’t stick around to see if the two were up to continuing the brawl.

Guardian Angel, Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

“When were you going to mention that we can’t actually sleep?” I said, leaning up against the wall that Cash’s door was a part of. Cash seemed to smile a bit at the question. “Oh, you noticed that?” He asked, already dressed and ready for the day. I leaned there, still in the shorts and the tee shirt, probably looking for all the world like a disheveled high school student - unready to face the coming dawn. It was six in the morning, and I’d heard Cash moving around starting fifteen minutes ago. “Yes, I did.” I retorted, almost angry that he took the unmentioned accusation with stride. “We don’t sleep, because we aren’t mortal. We don’t need sleep. We can appear to sleep - and we have visions, but we don’t sleep in the same terms as a human does. I highly doubt you would notice that yet - you didn’t have any visions waiting.”

“Visions?” I asked. “What in the Hell are those?”

Cash looked over at me with purpose this time, his facial expression more serious. “Messages, essentially. Sometimes, they’re direct. Other times, they’re tests of your abilities. The higher-ups are funny that way.”

I looked at him. “Did you have one about me, before I died?” My question was asked quietly, and Cash seemed to freeze there, as if thinking about whether or not to tell me.

“Yes, but I was unable to interpret it at first. It wasn’t until that phone call that I actually understood what the message had meant.” Cash said, placing a hand on the back of his neck as he looked at me, his head lowered slightly. It was an interesting position, as if he was apologizing for something. I cocked my head to the side, but disregarded it for the most part. Walking over to the mattress, I made the bed quietly.

“You hungry?” He asked. “How could I be,” I stated. “If I’m immortal, why would I need food?” He chuckled. “Well, we can function without food, but I don’t happen to like the hollow sensation caused without eating something. Most angels will eat something to get the sensation to go away - it’s not because we need the nutrients.”

I sighed. I was hungry. “Yea, then. I am.” I admitted, and then looked back at him. He smiled, then got to work on a breakfast.

While Cash was focused on breakfast, I decided to change into another pair of jeans, and a camisole. Leaving a sweater on the counter, and placing the rest of the bags carefully by the air mattress, I walked over to a barstool and began sipping at a bottle of orange juice that Cash had pulled out of the fridge and placed there for me.

“So, what do you do all day if you’re a guardian angel?” I asked, watching as he began making scrambled eggs for the two of us. He looked over at me, then back at the eggs - seeming to plan an answer. “Depends on the day. Some days, I just step back and chill out. My charge doesn’t need much help, despite what the higher ups think. She’s got her work cut out for her, but overall she’s smart enough to avoid dangerous situations. I can tell when she’s in trouble though, and she calls me when she definitely is.” He began plating the first bit of eggs while I wondered just exactly who the ‘higher ups’ where.

 I couldn’t remember if he’d told me, and I almost felt afraid to ask. “Archangels,” he said, as he walked over to the bar and put a plate in front of me, a cool apple next to the eggs. “How did you know what I was thinking?” I asked, suddenly angry at him for knowing my thoughts. He laughed at my expression, then patted me on the head.

“Babe, your face made it plain.”

Scowling even harder, I took a fork and began eating, accepting his answer. “Let me explain some more. Archangels control the goings on with angels on earth. In heaven, they’re more like a police force. Here, they’re the law. They know practically everything that goes on - unless you’re careful.”

Careful? I asked internally. Wondering what he meant, I figured it couldn’t have been healthy. “Oh,” I said, and shrugged - trying to pretend like it didn’t mean anything to me. I’d always obeyed the rules, but Cash? Cash had always seemed the fringe kind of guy, even if it seemed like he was on the good side at the time.

Taking another drink, I then finished my eggs. The apple’s temperature normally would have made my teeth seize in pain from the cold, but now I bit in easily. Cash stood across from me, eating his own eggs, and watching me every so often. Something in his eyes made me want to shiver, but each time it rose I quashed it with sheer will - hoping that somehow this weird sensation was normal. I couldn’t really remember if I’d ever felt this way around him.

Somehow, Cash still managed to finish before me. Picking up my plate when I was done, he placed both of our dishes in the sink and ran water over them. Washing the dishes quickly, and then placing them on a rack, he came up behind me while I looked out one of the large windows. I freaked out when he reached a hand around my waist, but I smiled when I felt the familiar sensation of a metal object in my pocket.

“You remember that, right?” He asked, as I pulled it out of my pocket as soon as he’d backed away. “My knife? Yeah, of course I remember it!” I said, turning to look at him. “Thanks, Cash. You really have been a great friend.”

He nodded, and then turned on the TV. “It’s up to you today - unless I get a surprise phone call, we have nowhere to be. I’m supposed to be taking care of you, you know. Showing you the ropes.” I looked at him, smiled, then nodded. “Well, showing me the ropes wouldn’t hurt. But, what is there to know? All you have to do is protect somebody, right?” I asked, feeling like I was a little more cocksure than I should have been.

Cash arched an eyebrow, but said nothing more than a ‘you’ll be surprised,’ before beckoning me over to the couch like I hadn’t said anything, and leaving me with a weak sense of foreboding.
 

Guardian Angel, Chapter Six

Chapter Six

The suffocating sensation of a blanket over my face is what made me return from my little world; not the sounds of plastic bags that I should have heard when Cash had come back. I didn’t move from my spot, but instead looked out the windows to regain my bearings. It was futile, given that the raining clouds didn’t tell time. The purple-black masses didn’t give me the chills they once had, but now, as I watched them, I almost understood them. With a weak smile, I closed my eyes, and listened to more of what was going on around me. A navy blue comforter was what was covering me carefully, placed there right out of it’s new bag by Cash. From around the kitchen came the sounds of bags being emptied and boxes being opened. Then, it was the unclasping of a case that made me leap up.

The sound was too familiar, as I looked over to where Cash was huddled, to be anything other than what I knew it was. My old companion, my treasure, had to be just beyond there. “Cash?” I asked, as he looked back to where I was standing, hand on the counter. “Yes, Ang?” He said, his half smile placed perfectly on his lips. My smile couldn’t have been broader as I skidded knees first next to him to see what he’d opened, and there - in front of my new eyes- sat my guitar, cleaned and freshly stringed. “You really did keep it for me,” I whispered, almost in shock. Cash nodded as he picked the guitar up gently and held it up for me to see. “Of course, I had to do some vanity work on it. All those dings and dents didn’t really work for you - you deserved something nice. I guess, though, I knew you wouldn’t want to part with your old friend.”

I didn’t know what to say to him, as he stood and began unloading more bags. “I went to my storage locker to get it. You may need to tune it - because it’s been sitting there for a month or two. The strings are some of the latest, so it may not be too bad. You know new strings though, always finicky.” I took my time looking over the instrument, and found where the biggest of the gashes in the guitar’s finish had been. The fix on it was very clean, and it took me a few seconds to find it, but the nostalgia of the instrument made me feel like I could fly. The music that suddenly flooded my mind once more made me smile - each and every word weighed with many memories.

And now, the memories didn’t seem so bad.

Closing the guitar back in it’s case for now, I stood to look at what Cash was doing. Already on the counter top lay multiple pairs of jeans, socks, a few tee shirts and what looked like four sweaters that looked more than a little expensive. “Cash, why’s all of this here?” I asked, though I already had guessed his answer. “You can’t wear those every day, can you?” He asked, looking me over with a questioning smile. I shrugged, and pulled a quick retort. “You never complained before - I’ve almost always dressed like this,” I said, and leaned my elbows on the counter, peeking into another bag casually. There was a jacket in there. A peacoat, to be exact.  It’s black fabric looked soft, but before I reached in, Cash distracted me. “Why don’t you go change? I mean, I’d like to know that I got the right stuff.” He said, looking away conveniently as I tried to see his expression. “Fine,” I said, hiding the curiosity that had suddenly bitten the back of my mind.

I went into his room, a couple bags in hand, and closed the door. I locked it, quietly, then set the bags on the floor. Fresh underwear made me blush, as I opened the bags. Then, I saw the clothes. Jeans, a tee shirt, a sweater. Socks, and my sneakers. A collected casual, I thought. Making sure my long hair was still tied back, I walked out. “Okay, genius. How do I look?” I asked. He looked away from the TV, and after a brief moment, smiled broadly. “Well, it’s good to know that my guessing skills are dead on,” he said, and then ran a hand through his blonde hair. “That doesn’t answer the question,” I sighed, putting a flippant hand on my hip and eying him. He arched an eyebrow at the attitude, but then laughed quietly. “You look great, Krista. You always do.” He said, unfazed by his own words. I blushed again, realizing that he’d actually been looking.

Then, I realized I was blushing. Okay, so I could blush? But, I couldn’t cry? No, that wasn’t the case. I hadn’t cried before, because I didn’t need to. The thought made me frown, but then I thought better of it, and walked over to join him over at the sofa. Cash moved his feet off of the other side of the sofa to let me sit next to him, and I almost automatically recognized the old action movie he was watching. “Big Trouble in Little China?” I asked, almost surprised with his taste. “Yeah, so?” He replied, looking at me with a puzzled look. “Oh, nothing.” I said, and snuggled in with the comforter Cash once again put over me. “I bought an air mattress, too. So even if you don’t want to accept the perfect hospitality, you’ll have something better than a sofa.” He reached over and ruffed the top of my head playfully, even slightly condescendingly, but I knew it was still a friendly gesture.

The movie continued on, but before long my attention was drawn away by Cash - though not though anything he was doing. Looking at him as he watched the movie, I wondered how I had never guessed that he was immortal. I mean, sure, he’d never been injured in any of the fights I’d known about. He’d also never had a single blemish - no acne, no old scars - though I’d always supposed he’d just been a lucky teenager. He was a couple years older than me, in appearance. Maybe 20? 21? I’d never asked - and he’d never told. His blonde hair reflected the dim light from the outside, as we’d turned the lights down a few moments after my sitting down. His dark eyes focused on the movie, or at least seemed to. Part of me told me he knew I was looking at him - but was letting me be.

Shifting so that I wouldn’t be able to look at him anymore, I decided to close my eyes. I’d seen the movie many times before - my father had enjoyed the movie almost as much as my siblings had, what seemed like so long ago now. It seemed like so much had changed since the naive years I’d spent at home. Sighing, I swallowed the fact that I would never be able to go back to those days. Maybe it would be best to forget them, even. Clenching my jaw, and then laughing to myself, I realized a quiet thought: Mother Nature would plague me no more!

Of course, with somber twists - I would never be able to have kids. I had, however, already realized that my cruel reality really did have it’s ups and downs.

It wasn’t until now that I realized I’d actually returned to my numb place - and had apparently seemed to have fallen asleep. Cash was walking around, and when I opened my eyes, I saw the mattress was inflated. He was walking to his room, apparently leaving me for the evening. “Goodnight, Krista.” He said, looking back at me. Yes, he did know when I was looking at him.
“Goodnight, Cash.”

When he was in his room, the door closed, I went to lay on the bed. Realizing that I was still in my clothes, I walked over to the plastic bags. Finding a pair of pajama shorts, I took my new jeans off, and laid them and the sweater on the counter once I’d refolded them.

Guardian Angel, Chapter Five

Chapter Five

“Whoa, Krista. Chill out - you just left a dent in the wall!” Cash said, putting a hand on my shoulder, and easing my head away from the dent. It was then that I realized that even the way I perceived physical contact was different. “Cash, what’s wrong with me?” I asked.

Cash looked at me like I’d asked a ridiculous question. “Nothing, Angel. Why would you ask?” He said, placing fingers gently in my hair, his full attention on me again. “What’s wrong with me?” I asked again. “Don’t play coy - what’s going on with my body. I can’t feel pain?” My voice became even more scared as I looked desperately at him, wondering if an Angel was something I could really deal with being.

“No, you can’t. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing.” He said. “What about heat? Or the cold?” I asked. “It’s nearly winter, and I couldn’t tell the difference outside.”

Cash sighed, and laid against the arm of the sofa, his feet across my lap. “Welcome to my world, Krista. It’s the life of anybody who’s an angel. The fallen are the same way; We don’t feel experience the same things as humans, and we can never be like them again.”

“Can we die?” I asked.

Cash only shook his head in reply. “But what if I don’t want to do this?” I asked. “There is no choice. We don’t get to pick, Krista. Damn it, I thought that point was clear.”

I looked at him, knowing that if I could have had it that way, my eyes would be red from crying - but no tears came, not even the sting of them hiding behind my eyes. Gripping a pillow, and feeling the material beginning to tear under my hold, I tried to calm down. However, I guessed it was just another quirk to be unable to let this fury go.

Cash sat there for a while, as I simply sat and glared out the window, and across the lower buildings in this part of New York. It seemed that he got bored afterwards, and began to wander about his apartment, or more like his flat. It was much larger, and had multiple bedrooms - one of which he disappeared into. He didn’t return, and it wasn’t until I heard the water of the shower, faint from through the two doors that now separated us. 

The silence, as I realized that I was no longer in neutral territory seemed a little awkward as I sat, and looked more thoroughly around the area, noticing that there were no pictures, not even paintings. The walls were a barely-there blue that reminded me of icicles, and the floor’s carpets were nearly jet black, and pristine. It seemed that even my shoes, though as miraculously clean as they were, hadn’t left a speck of dust behind. Expensive was the first word that came into my mind, and once again I was forced to wonder how Cash really had come up with all the money.

There was a set of keys on the marble counter near what appeared to be a fully functioning glass stove top, and a rather large refrigerator. Opening the fridge, I noticed it was stockpiled. Taking a fruit soda from the door, I opened it quietly. The view from the place may have once been majestic for me, but now, it almost felt like a cage.

Gritting my teeth as the near painful carbonation touched the back of my throat, I realized that the water from the shower was now off. Cash had always taken lightening fast showers, but I took the silence as a sign that Cash would be back soon.

Sitting down in a different chair that faced the wall I’d dented, I closed my eyes and simply listened as Cash moved quietly about in his room. Then, I thought about my own wardrobe. The clothes that I had died in, which were on me now, were somehow clean and almost looked as new as they had been when I’d bought them - when I’d still been living at home. With the family that had left me to die. Just like I eventually had.

They would never know. They would never care. To them, I never even existed. I didn’t formally exist. The reality of the situation still burned whatever of a heart I had left. Gripping the can until I knew that, any tighter, the soda would be spilling all over the chair and the carpet. Hearing Cash not far away, I knew that damaging more of his property wasn’t going to win me any favors.

“Hey, Krista.” He said, his voice from above me. I opened my eyes and cocked my head back to look for him. He was looking over the top of the lounge chair, his dark eyes the only thing that gave a clue to the fact he knew he’d scared me. “Yea?” I asked, taking a deep breath and looking at him more with more focus than before. Casually, he brushed a piece of hair from my face. “So, where do you want to sleep - I mean, you can have my bedroom if you want. I’m fine with the sofa.” He said, and then walked over to it, flopping at his fully length across it, smiling lazily, looking much like a cat as he eyed me.

“I’m fine with the sofa,” I said. Surely, I wasn’t going to sleep much anyways, so why steal the host’s bed? I sighed, and stood, and walked towards the floor to ceiling windows that looked onto the balcony, and from there, to the great view before it. “You sure, Angel?” He asked, not moving from where he was. I nodded, and then there was a sighed ‘okay’.

He made sandwiches for lunch, and then left - leaving the impression that he had necessary errands to run. Leaving me with his now otherwise empty apartment, the TV remote, and the passing phrase ‘help yourself’, I lay stomach-down on the floor to channel surf. Of course, the place I inevitably landed on was one of many music channels. The Eminem Rewind, I figured, wouldn’t be that bad to listen to. Letting my mind focus more on the lyrics than my own problems, I settled into a numb mentality as I listened for other signs of life near myself, and the music.

The wings on my back still made themselves known with a mild weight that eventually made me decide to lay on my side, facing the great windows. The bright sky of the morning had faded with dull purple clouds, and I decided that -if I ever really had a chance- I was going to ask the Big Man himself why he’d chosen me of all people to be an angel. Sure, I hadn’t had much going for me, before, but what was I supposed to do now?


I was a dead 17 year old girl with a family that wouldn’t remember me. I had bright white wings that no normal person could see - but I could see every body else’s wings, the ghost wings of fallen angels, and various tell tales of demons. Nobody knew me, and it was apparent that it even with the number of people who had puzzled second glances at me before, I was going to be an unnoticed passer-by in a lot of peoples lives. Transient, unnoticed, and immortal. Unchanging.

I would never grow up, never grow old, never get married, never have kids. It was the classic child vampire tragedy, and yet, this was only all the more ironic. God had given this to me, and it couldn’t be revoked just by asking.

Still numb, without even a tear or a clenched fist, I closed my eyes and shut my heart to the thoughts and dull emotions that wanted to rise in my throat like bile. Nothing like tears was going to help me - so why waste them? Draping a wing over my exposed side, I covered myself and dragged my consciousness under and into a dark place that not even my memories would touch.

My safety zone.

Guardian Angel, Chapter Four pt. 2

Part Two
* * *

Dead.

Being ‘dead’ isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Especially since, now, I’m somebody who died in one of the biggest gang related incidents in New York. Unclaimed by anybody, my body had been burned. My spirit was lost now, in the city.

I was a spirit for only until my body was destroyed. Then, I was back. Sitting on the park bench, like I’d been there all along. I had been dead, though. I knew it – and the hollow sensation in my chest reminded me every time I looked around. People walked by like they’d never seen me before, but when I looked at my hands, I saw no difference. I even had the same ring on that I’d been wearing before the accident. The park, however, did look different. The trees were bigger, and the bench that Cash and I had been sitting on what seemed like only a matter of days ago was old now. “What happened?” I voiced aloud, only earning myself a couple stares from the people around me. When I looked at my shoes, and then saw everybody else’s, I froze. I was even more outdated then I’d been. Not that it mattered at the moment. The point was disturbing, and when I stood, I realized that I stood out more than I had thought. People watched me out of the corner of their eyes, and as I loped away, my fresh and unworn clothing clung to my skin like a sign of the days to come.

Around the corner, I ran. I ran back to the halfway house, but when I arrived at where it should have been, I skidded to a halt. The building was no more – and in it’s place was just another run-of-the-mill apartment complex common to the area. It was new, though, so as the fear of possible dimension changes flashed into my mind’s eye, I shook it out. This was still the New York I’d left. It had just moved on, like things did. But how long had I really been gone.

I walked to find a drug store, and then found a newspaper. The date was 2015. Four years had passed, and yet so much had changed. “Do you want to buy it, or are you just going to stand there gripping it like it’s your only hope?” The store clerk eyed me over half-moon spectacles, his smile friendly despite the half-threatening joke he’d just spouted. “No, I’m just looking at the date. Can’t believe I couldn’t remember it this morning. I lost my phone, that’s all.” I said, acting like any normal person would have. “I don’t have any money.”

The old man nodded, and then went to help a customer who had walked up with items. “Goodbye,” I said, with a backwards smile. It faded when I left the store, and began my aimless walk through the city. I kept my eyes on the ground, in case the people suddenly did remember my face, maybe from some paper or news report. No one stopped to talk to me, which meant that my hunched shoulders were working. I didn’t stop to realize, as the day drew on, that my stomach hadn’t began to feel empty. My energy levels, however, were a different matter. My head seemed foggy as I walked around another corner, the shadows growing deeper. A city church bell sang out that it was eight in the evening, I realized that it must have been late summer, maybe fall. I hadn’t, however, felt the heat of the day.

Some shops were closing, probably because of the gang activity that had rocked this part of town, only four years ago. Not much, physically, had changed of the city. Mentally, though, people had moved on. There were more new cars, sure. Houses had been built, yes. But the faces here were still tired, and worn, and the rush of the city still surged on. I walked past other various tech shops until I saw the giant arch in front of me. I was at the main entrance of China town, but what had pulled me back I couldn’t tell. My meanderings had been directionless, taking me wherever my body had leaned. The coincidence was uncanny, but I walked on despite the vague thrill that charged up my spine from my toes.

Hours ticked on as I walked through the neighborhoods. It eventually grew to be full dark, when the lights of the streets flickered on in full and the restaurants, too, began to close down. It was then that I walked past the restaurants and heard the voice speak my name.

“Hey there, Angel.”

I didn’t turn around as I felt something on my back stretch out and then fold inwards. What? I asked myself - to keep calm as my mind subconsciously recognized who had spoken, and the shock of it sank in. “I’m glad you found your way back, Krista,” he said. Then footsteps came closer, coming down the short set of steps.

I didn’t turn to face Cash as his hand ran up the things that I had just felt appear on my back. “Come on, demon got your tongue? I’m really happy to see you again.” He touched my shoulder, and helped me turn around. “Wings?” I asked, seeing the great white things on his back., mirroring mine. “Yep. Surprised?” He asked, touching my face. I slapped it away. “I want some explanations, if you don’t mind.” I stepped closer to him. “Why am I here, and why the hell do you suddenly have wings?”

His smile faded a little, and he put his hand on my shoulder, reassuringly. “Because I’m a Guardian Angel. I’ve been one for longer than you’ve known me. You just couldn’t see them before – only other angels and the fallen can.” His brown eyes glittered in the night light, and I saw something like adoration in them. “So that means-,” I started, but he finished. “That you’re one too?”

“Yea.”

I stretched my wings out. They were big, but not huge. I guessed, then, that celestial beings didn’t need physics. Cash watched me with the same look, and out of the corner of my eye I watched him cock his head to the side and smile as kept his eyes on me. “Why am I like this?” I asked. “They picked you for guardian duty a couple weeks before you died. I wasn’t your guardian – I couldn’t protect you because of their orders.”

“Why was I picked?” I said, thinking in my head at the wings to just go away. They didn’t. “I can explain that later, but let’s get back to my place. There are creatures here that would pick a fight, if we’re not careful enough.”

I looked around, but almost missed Cash as he started walking away. Somebody crept passed in an alley, and I shuddered at the memory of my death. I ran to catch up with the boy that had once been a security. Now, he was even more of a curiosity than he had been.

His apartment was in a deeper part of the city, surrounded by other apartments and hotels. Taxis swarmed the area, dropping people off. I could actually smell the greed rolling off some people now. I could also smell the sadness of others. There was something here that made my hair stand on end – but when Cash took my hand, the sensation faded.

His apartment was huge, but I didn’t pause to take in the decor. “So what’s going on?” I demanded, turning to face him with my hands on my hips. “Whoa girl,” Cash laughed at my reaction. “Take a deep breath, and tell me what you really want to know.”

Cash leaned against his kitchen counter, and stuck a hand in his pocket. He was far more relaxed here than he’d been – or was it because he was only far more relaxed around me? “Where was I for those four years? Why am I an angel?” I refined the question into the parts that bothered me the most.

Cash looked at me for a while. “You were dead. Simple as that. Time passes differently in Heaven than it does here. You were probably only in Heaven for a few seconds, just passing through, before they sent you back. As for why you’re an angel,” Cash sighed. “I wouldn’t really know a true fact about it. What I do know is that you were practically an angel already, when it came to what you did for that boy. You did a lot for him, even though you owed him nothing.”

I hadn’t even thought about Devyn, not since before that day.  I also hadn’t thought that I was doing that good by helping him. “You had a big heart, considering all the shit that happened to you, Kris.” I walked closer to him, looking at the wings that were still visible on his back. “Is there any way to hide them?” I asked. “No; and not that we would be allowed to, either. It’s a rule.”

“What other rules are there, if such a silly thing is one of them?” I asked. Cash sighed. “Well, for one thing, it’s a basic element of taking some respect for what you are, and who you’re working for, Krista. Secondly, there are too many rules to count. All I know is that under no circumstances are we to break the Big Ten, and to never fall in love with somebody on Earth. It’s the quickest way to become a Fallen.” I ran a hand through my hair. “A Fallen. Like, a fallen angel?” I asked, laughing. Cash shook his head, not looking at me. When he did though, I sensed his growing anger. “This isn’t a joke, Krista. These are rules, and if you’re turned into a Fallen, you can never come back.”

I watched him in silence, as all the humor fell from me. My mind wandered to the night just before I’d died, when he’d been yelling, and then had found me at the door. Even though the boy before me clearly had the mark of the divine on his back, there was a dark side that clearly hadn’t seen much of before. After a while, however, the dark look in his eyes faded into the usual mischievous glitter. He pulled me over to a sofa, and said that I could do whatever I wanted here, when he was around. We talked about little things, until another question finally popped into my head. 

“Why doesn’t anybody remember me? People I used to see at the park looked right at me, and didn’t seem to know my face at all,” I pointed out what I’d noticed when I’d been sitting at the bench. Cash leaned toward me, sitting crossed legged as I was on the sofa. Looking me dead in the eyes as he pulled a small smile. “The benefit of living in New York is that not many people are going to try and hold onto a face that they didn’t even know that well. All it takes is a mass brain fuzz by whatever powers that be, and then you’re not even part of history anymore. I doubt even your family still has a picture of you, as well. It all just disappears - so even though you live in an amnesiac town, nobody else knows you either.”

I took in the information slowly, wondering with a numb sensation, how I actually felt about it. I mean, my family had left me to die out here, so why would it bother me to hear something like that? They’d probably forgotten about me anyways.

It hurt, though, to think that even though I had still loved them, and maybe still did, that they wouldn’t even know that I’d died. They wouldn’t even know that I’d existed. With a harsh laugh, I threw my head back onto the sofa with a thud that only meant I’d hit the wall, instead of my target. It didn’t hurt at all - I didn’t feel anything at the impact. My entire reality was different, and there was not a thing I could do to fix anything that had happened.

Guardian Angel, Chapter Four

Chapter Four

    Exhausted, I climbed out of bed when dawn had finished itself. It was eight in the morning, but Cash was sitting on his bed, in the spot he hadn’t moved from since he’d sat down yesterday. I didn’t try to talk to him. “What’s going through your head, Krista?” He asked as I grabbed my clothes. “Numbness. Exhaustion.” I said, and killed the urge to yawn as it passed through my body, turning into a violent shudder. The knife that had been in my fingers hit the floor and flew open, missing my exposed tows by inches. “What’s going to happen?” I asked. Cash took a sharp breath, but I got no other reply. I dressed in silence after that, but left my guitar case. “If something happens, then, take my stuff. I take it that somebody’s going to want it. I don’t want anyone else to have it.” I looked up at him with a bitter glance, but he nodded. “Good luck, Krista.” He said, and then appeared in front of me. “I’ll see you soon. I promise.” He kissed me on my forehead, and I felt dizzy from the touch.

    Then he was away from me, and down the hallway. I tied my black hair into a ponytail, stared my green eyes down from the mirror, and left my knife on the dresser. I wouldn’t need it where I was going, and I wanted to get it back if there was ever a chance. I didn’t know if there was even going to be a chance of coming back, but from what Cash had been hinting at – I wasn’t leaving for good. Puzzling thoughts, I realized, when nobody had even mentioned death.

    The streets weren’t busy. A couple stragglers to work were rushing towards the nearest bus stops, but the paths were clear to the park. The same shady people were there, but they payed no attention to me as I stalked through in just a tee shirt and my jeans. My boots were silent against the cobblestones, but the sky was grey and the wind echoed in my ears.

    Then there were sirens, and the park seemed to be surrounded by cops. It was too late for me as somebody grabbed me from behind, and I felt the cold hard metal of a gun against my ribs. “Don’t come close, or the bitch gets it!” The person screamed, and I realized that I had chosen poorly. I locked eyes with the officers, but they seemed as stunned as I was. I struggled, but the man’s arm was like steel around my neck and upper body. The gun dug deeper into my ribs, and I whimpered. I looked around wildly, and then saw Cash running around the corner.

    A gunshot tore through the air. It hit next to my foot, and I realized that a sniper must have fired. How big an operation was this? I asked the question in my mind. The coherency in my mind was slowly returning, until the gunman holding me freaked, and fired.

Right through me.

    The pain didn’t last long, because I bled out too quickly. I died, there in the park. So did the gunman, but it didn’t matter. My last mental image was of Cash, wide-eyed at the corner, watching in despair. He’d known it was going to happen – but like this? I guess even this had to have been a shocker, in this city....

.....right?

Guardian Angel, Chapter Three

Chapter Three

    It was already past noon when Cash and I finished. My case was pretty full by then, and it was an amazing sensation to have the people look at me like they did now. A street rat with talent - I guess they never saw that one coming. At the thought, I laughed aloud, and made Cash look up at me in surprise from where he was sitting. “So, lunch?” He asked, the puzzled look fading from his face as quickly as it had come. “Totally,” I said, closing my guitar into it’s case and pocketing the money. “You’ll get the share,” I said, when I saw his eyes follow the money.

     “No, I don’t want it,” his voice cut through the air, as his eyes locked with mine. “It’s yours, really.” His brown eyes were stern, so I didn’t argue, even though I was completely confused by his reaction. “You sing beautifully – besides, I’ve got enough from other things.” Cash took my hand, and then pulled me down the park path. It wasn’t until I saw the huge China Town arch that I realized that he was taking me on yet another adventure. “Well, this is a surprise.” My voice was tired from all the walking, and I had to admit that after this many blocks, the guitar case and it’s contents had grown heavy. “I felt like furthering the change of pace, seeing as we’d already started one today.”

    Cash had let go of my hand a while ago, but we’d walked fairly quickly to get here. Inside the exotic neighborhoods, little shops and cramped alleyways made the place shrink and gave me a minor claustrophobic reaction. It faded as we kept walking, and then was gone as we stepped into a restaurant, and then were seated.

    “Have you come here before?” I asked, as we both looked at the menus. “Nope,” his voice was light but his eyes focused on me. “I’ve been on this side of town, but I’ve never really stopped in anywhere. I just thought it would be cool to try.” He pointed to something on the menu. “I did hear that the eel is good, though. Tastes like chicken!”

    I laughed, then. “Most things taste like chicken, if you cook it too long. As far as I know, though, the only Asian ‘delicacy’ that is best to avoid is Sea Urchin.” I shuddered. “I know from experience. It’s pretty gross,” I smiled at him, and then saw his expression change to something like sadness - but as soon as I acknowledged it, it was gone. “What’s up with you? You’re acting really weird,” I locked eyes with him then, looked away. I peeled my gloves off, and then took my jacket, and other items off. My jeans and tee shirt stood out in modern contrast to the antiquated interior of the area, then again, so did Cash’s clothes. The difference between him and I was that he seemed to stand out more all by himself. He was beautiful, and though for a girl I was pretty well off, I didn’t shine as well as he did. My voice did it for me. “Nothing is wrong,” He said, and ran a hand through his hair. “A thought just crossed my mind – it’s nothing, really.”

      I looked at him for a second, then decided that I had no reason to doubt him. “So, what do you want to eat, Angel?” He asked, after that moments pause. Angel? I paused, again, then looked at my menu. “Don’t really know. They’re Pork Fried Rice sounds like I won’t be hungry for days.” Cash nodded. “Chinese dumplings, depending on how they’re made, are pretty damned good too. They’ll keep you full, for sure.” Cash eyed me again from across the table. “Sounds like a plan to me,” I smiled, and then set down my menu. “And Mountain Dew. I can’t believe that they have it, but I’m so in.”

    Cash and I sat for a few minutes, then gave our requests to a young waitress. When the food arrived, we both ate in silence before the question finally popped out of my mouth. “So where did you get all the money, anyways?” I asked. He shrugged. “I won some in a game. Nothing to worry about, or to really think about at all, if you know what’s good.” Cash winked to make it a joke, but something like a ‘just don’t go there’ hung in his tone. “Whatever,” I sighed, and then ate. Cash’s posture slumped for a moment, like I’d overreacted to something simple. I didn’t care – there was a lot that I didn’t know about this guy, even though I’d lived with him now for almost a year, it seemed. I’d opted for him over the other ‘girls’ who looked like they would kill me for two cents. “I’m impressed with your voice, Krista,” he said, after he had shoveled a fair bit of food into his mouth.

    I ignored his question, and asked my own. “If you’re capable of making good money, why are you still at the halfway?” I asked, arching an eyebrow, irritation filling me. “Why the sudden interest?” He asked, not reacting as I blushed. “I just -,” I started, before he shook his head. “I haven’t left yet because I knew you didn’t have anybody else. I liked you.” The brown eyes in his face had grown dark, and deep. “I’m planning on leaving soon, though. I’m tired of dealing with the constant fighting.” I nodded. Finally, an answer. “Okay, Cash.” I said, and then payed attention to my food once more.

     “I’m leaving tomorrow.” My head snapped up. “What?” I asked, shocked. This conversation was so up and down it was giving me whiplash, but I had caused the majority of it. “I wanted to tell you today. That’s why I brought you.” Cash looked me square in the eyes, but then looked away as the sadness returned. “I can’t tell you exactly why – I know that you won’t except that I just left because of the fighting. I never get that hurt.” He sighed, and then took a sip of his soda. “I want you to visit me, okay?”

    I nodded, but the hollow sensation didn’t ebb as we continued eating. When he payed, I saw that it was all in fresh and clean bills. No bank robberies, clearly. Then where had he gotten all the cash? I couldn’t shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen now, but what, I couldn’t guess.

    The walk back was long, but relatively quiet, unless Cash and I started were laughing at some wanna-be gangster pumping his rap up so loud in his beaten up car, acting like everybody wanted to know how big he thought he was. There were other homeless on the streets, and people watching from corners. There was also the real gangsters, and the pimps waiting for their prostitutes. Cash took my hand during these parts, while I kept my other hand gripped on the end of my knife in my pocket.  It was an even darker city at night.
    Cash opted for me to clean up after we got back, seeing as our towels had been cleaned and my pajamas were freshly folded out on my bed. Normally, it would have been an insult, but to me, it meant that he had phone business to take care of. He was one of the few people in the house who had a cell phone, though most of the other peoples were either being payed by families, or where the five-dollar pay-as-you-go plans that you could buy at the local drug shop. I didn’t say anything when I left, as he was dialing, but the freshening sense of foreboding drove nausea straight into my stomach.

    The shower made me feel no better, even though I was happy to be clean. The hallway was silent, but it meant that I could hear the conversation on Cash’s phone. He’d never yelled in the past, but this time he was, and it was loud. I was silent as the grave as I crept back towards the door, and pressed myself against the wall. “I can’t believe you still want me to do this. You’re just going to make me stand by and do nothing? Do you understand what you’re asking me to do her?” He yelled into the tiny cell phone receiver, inside the room. I couldn’t hear the other end of the conversation, but then Cash was quieter, as if he’d been reprimanded, or even threatened. “I know my job. Yes.” He took a deep breath. “But this is against everything I’ve been taught to do – do you understand that?”

    Then there was the click of the phone being closed. And the door opened, before I could move from where I was, leaning on the wall only inches away from the crappy wooden trip of the door. “Krista?” He asked, unsurprised but probing. I couldn’t respond to his question. Fear gripped me, but before I could move, he pulled me against his chest in a bear hug. His shirt wasn’t there, and through my pajamas I felt the warmth of him. “I’m sorry.” He said, but didn’t say anything when I tore away, and walked to my bed. I felt shaky, and I knew something was horribly wrong, but I couldn’t say without a doubt that I was the ‘her’ he’d been talking about. My teddy bear was askew on my pillow, but on Cash’s bed, lay the cell phone where he’d thrown it. There was nothing beyond friendship between us, or so I reminded myself every so often.

    My warm covers didn’t make the chill go away as I lay there, facing the wall – away from where Cash sat on his bed, staring at the wall in front of the two beds, at the closet. My teddy didn’t make me feel safer, nothing did. Not the knife under my pillow. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. I couldn’t even conjure memories to drag me to sleep, as none came. I could swear I hear the hours tick by on the digital clock, though it was impossible to. They dragged on slowly, until my world eventually faded to a light sleep – and it was dawn.

Guardian Angel, Chapter Three

Chapter Two:

    The red LED clock read one o’clock in the morning when I awoke to the sounds of somebody creeping in my room. “Cash?” I asked, taking the knife from my pillow and opening it with a faint snapping sound. “Yea, Krist. It’s me,” his voice was calm, but tired. “You can put that away. It’s okay.”

    I set it down on my lap as I sat up, and picked out his silhouette from the faint light in the room. “Where were you?” I asked. “What was that fight about?” With a yawn, I heard Cash’s covers being pulled back. “Just another petty one. Nothing big – but the cops had to be called in when they started involving some other people. Minor cuts and bruises, no one’s dead.” Cash sounded more tired then I’d originally thought. “Okay, I guess,” I sighed, then closed the knife carefully before sticking it back under my pillow. “Good night, Krista,” he said, and then lay down, turning towards his wall. I took my turn to be quiet, and then returned to my dreams.

    Then the light hit my face. “Wha-?” I said, covering my eyes as I realized it was daytime already. “Wake up you two, it’s already eight,” the female voice belonged to the harsher of the four supervisors, and she was snapping at us already. I shoved the covers away from myself and hopped out of the bed as rapidly as I could. Cash had already done the same, and when Mrs. Hicks had left the room with a couple final warning glares at the two of us, we both sagged back onto our mattresses. “Where are you going today?” He asked.

    “Dunno. Maybe the park?” I sighed, rubbing my eyes. “How about you? Where are you working this week?” I asked, and looked at him. His blond hair was disheveled, and his dark eyes were bleary. He looked a little grungy, like he’d allowed himself to hit the ground when helping the staff deal with the fight. Even though Cash looked light and agile, he was fast, and as far as I could tell from the wiry muscles that occasionally showed under his barely olive skin. What kids like him were doing here, I didn’t know; he refused to tell me anything about how he got here. He refused to tell me anything about his past, not in a rude way – he just always avoided the questions. “I’m not,” he sighed. “So do you mind if I come with you?”

    I shrugged. “No problem, I guess.” I said, and then stood up and went to get a fresh set of clothes. Jeans, socks, a long sleeve tee, and my sweatshirt. My fingerless gloves and a scarf that someone much have returned during the night sat on my small dresser. “I’ll buy lunch, too.” He said, and then stepped out of the room for a moment while I changed. When I opened the door and allowed him back in, I was fully dressed. He already had his shirt off, but clearly had no intention on taking his pants off. His muscular shoulders flexed while he reached for a fresh shirt, and I had to watch him for a second to remember that it was actually a human in front of me.

    “Ready to go?” He asked, tossing me a granola bar from his stash when I’d slung my guitar over my shoulder. “Yep,” I said with a sigh, and then made my way with him out the door.
The building was most of the way vacated by now, but a few stragglers seemed to have been awakened in the same manner that Cash and I had. We didn’t linger for much longer than we had to, but as we left the door, something made me check my pocket for my knife. I’d remembered to put it there, and so with a sigh, I left the halfway home.
    “So, Krista,” Cash asked after a little while of walking towards the park. “What’s bugging you?” He asked. “You seem to be bothered by something.” His dark eyes were concerned, but playful as he poked me. “I don’t know, to be honest. Just something gnawing at my mind,” I sighed. “Maybe I’m just hungry?” I asked, and pulled out two dollars and trotted over to a street vendor. “Churro, I guess?” I asked, before Cash reappeared over my shoulder. When I got it, and payed, we started walking again.

    “I hate this city,” I said, after a while. Cash eyed me like I’d said something really strange. “Then why are you even here?” He asked. “You came here by yourself, no one made you.” His point stung briefly, but I knew my own reasoning.  “It’s easy to disappear here, though. It’s one of my biggest irritants, but I needed it for a while. I didn’t want my family to find me, once they regretted their decision.” I stopped walking, and played with a loose strap on my guitar case. “It’s just that, you could disappear against your own will here, and not many people would care. There are too many people, and it’s a claustrophobic environment,” I said. “The violence, too, is just ridiculous.” I looked up at the sky, but even here it seemed blocked out by tall buildings.

    “I understand how you feel, then.” Cash said, but then grabbed my hand. “Come on, it’s going to be a good day. Don’t think about negative stuff, okay?” He said. Something about his words seemed falsely optimistic, like he was hiding something. “Okay,” I said, swallowing my fears, and walking on with him. The park was occupied by the city mothers and their kids, but a few people stood outside that group: the jobless, and wanderers, but others seemed shady and on the outskirts, but with Cash’s encouragements only a few seconds before, I chose to put my better judgements aside.

    I began playing my normal routine of songs, before deciding to work on some of my own songs. While Cash had once been able to weave his melodies in and out of my songs, he seemed now to have paused, then he continued, weaving his own song in.
                       

















So just when I found myself again,
I lost the dirty ground.                   

Sing your beautiful requiem,
I’ll shelter you from all of them.

Searching for the ones that aren’t lost
But won’t soon be found

In my arms, please rest your head,
And if you want, I’ll sing with you,

 Your requiem.

Drifting in a frigid sea
That people say once was part of me

A world of vacant promises,
And biased unbalanced hypothesis.

Can’t say that I can disagree
But ‘perfect’ is something we’ll never be.

True freedom lost to the tyranny.
It’s here that we see the true bigotry.

Sweet requiem - here we go again
To sing when the faith descends.
Like a figure in the opera house,
Disfigured and hidden - though known about.
I’ll sing to you when I need you most,
For you are my words - and I your host.

 
    When the song ended, I realized that many people had stopped to listen to the two of us, and that my open guitar case had a fair amount of coins and more than a couple dollar bills in it. Cash lounged against me, and sighed. “You didn’t tell me you were that good, angel,” his voice was slick, and amused. People applauded for a little while as Cash stood and gave small bows to amuse them further. I simply smiled and shook my head at him, until he finally sat down again. “Do you know how to play this song?” He asked, and then whispered the name in my ear. Slowly, I picked out the riff.

“Falling slowly, eyes that know me, and I can’t go back.”

Guardian Angel, Chapter 1

Chapter One

    “What the hell, Krista?” The fifteen year old street urchin glared at me though his chipped sunglasses and the scarf that covered most of his dirty face. “What did I do now?” I asked, though I already knew. The measly amount of money that I’d been able to get for playing on the street today wasn’t much – but with the weather the way it was today, I didn’t see why it was a shocker. “Look, Dev,” I sighed. “I’ve managed to get a lot for what I do over the past couple of weeks. It’s just a bad day. Don’t spoil what’s left of my mood.”

    Devyn didn’t look very consoled, but he said nothing more as I handed him the rest of share and placed it in his pocket carefully, before walking off. I didn’t blame him for being miffed – I was too. I was also understanding of my own situation. At the age of sixteen, my parents had emancipated me. The only things I’d been allowed to take were my guitar, and a backpack full of things that I treasured. The clothes on my back came from the halfway home – the only place that I’d found that would take my shunned 17-year-old ass. Hefting the guitar case over my shoulder once more, and looking into my tattered “New York,” sweatshirt to see what little extra money I’d made today, I sighed.

    I imagined that things could be much worse than what they were for me right now. I could be like Dev, who’d been hiding from the foster care societies for almost two years. He was a pickpocket, but for three months now I’d been giving him money from what I made on the street fairly, to keep him from stealing. In the middle of a city like New York, getting caught by a cop wouldn’t be good for him. Or worse,  he could steal from the wrong person, and who knew what would happen. Fingering the thin chain of the golden cross around my neck, I made my way back to the halfway house.

    Most people there were recovering addicts of some kind or another, staying here until they knew they had a stable job, and could move somewhere else and be on their own again. A few of the people, however, didn’t have much hope at all. They got in trouble with the police and the house management, and fought a lot with other people in the building. From the street now, I could hear some of them fighting. Then I heard the sirens coming from one of the streets, and knew that what was inside wasn’t going to be friendly. Deciding that I really didn’t want to have to come back later and face the questioning when all I wanted to do was sleep. Nobody looked at me twice when I made my way to the room I shared with a boy named Cash.

    When I saw that he wasn’t there, I guessed he must have been helping break up the fight up on the next floor. A pair of pajamas, freshly cleaned, lay on my bed. I thanked God then, for charities, and climbed into them gratefully. I didn’t need a shower yet – I’d taken one this morning before everyone else woke up. Nothing had gotten on me since, so why bother?

    I closed the curtains on the bright outer-city lights and the cop car’s flashers, and then slumped onto my double bed that sat parallel to Cash’s. There was no sense in waiting for him to get back, so closing my eyes and grabbing my old teddy bear, I fell asleep with my knife and money under my pillow.

Another random entry

Hey, so sorry that I've been slow at posting things. School's been tough and my mom's been nagging me a lot to get stuff done.

My writing's been put on hold, because of school. I will, probably, write while I'm traveling to and from Georgia. I'm visiting my boyfriend who's been in Georgia for Basic training. Can't wait to see him -- to be quite honest it's been too long.  I've been doing a lot on Solia, but unfortunately, it's more or less easier for me to do that during the school day then for me to take an hour and write two chapters. I can write a lot in an hour, but it leaves me drained afterwards. All the ideas go 'poof' right out of me. >_<||

But I'm glad that I had the chance to write a few chapters in Guardian Angel before my time ran short. I'll post them today, and as time goes. I really would like comments, to whomever can do such things.

Fae, Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

“Reports from scouts have come in.” Damien said, over my shoulder. “Humans are closer than ever.”

I looked back at him, but my expression fell when I saw his concerned expression. “How close?”

“Four were spotted not far from the grounds, but they haven’t breached the barriers yet. The scout reported it before dawn broke.” Damien’s voice was impassive, but we shared the similar thoughts – it would only be a matter of time before they reached the barriers. Hopefully, the ancient seals would hold. I turned my body towards him patiently, but made no further moves. “Anything else?”

Damien nodded. “They’re preparing for the coronation.” Just as I’d expected, but no matter. I was calmer now, and more focused after the adventure of the morning. Damien had awoken to find me sitting there, staring at the sword in a meditative state. I’d already finished talking to it, but I’d continued to think there while the sword returned to a more dormant state. We’d gone to breakfast together, but had returned immediately following it. Damien had then went to answer a knock at my door while I stood on the balcony.

Now, we were faced with this situation.

I was wearing my fight clothing. I’d been focusing on each and every thought going through my head, and steadily I was realizing that I was getting less and less doubtful of my own abilities. Then this news sent my facade tumbling down. I took a hand and grasped at my throat where the stress suddenly had made it go tight.

Damien came and leaned against the stone barriers with me, our legs touching as we looked out over the grounds. I heard whinnies today, in the barns maintained by the Earth Fae on the grounds. I decided then, that I needed to walk around the castle. “I need to see how things are going,” my voice had supposed to have been firm. It cracked halfway through, but I’d already turned away from the beautiful scene.

The castle was being cleaned from ceiling to floor, corridor by corridor and room to room. So far, it was most of the way done. Karen, a Wind Fae, was scrubbing away at the bottom of a wall. “Don’t mind me,” I said as she started and bowed low. “Keep up the great work.”

She smiled gratefully and then got back to work. “Okay,” Damien said. “Let’s go.”

I walked briskly to the great hall, where I saw a few elders loitering regally by the almost empty breakfast tables. Aloriel was at a servant table, but she even from here I could see that she had been crying. I didn’t bother with an image as I ran over to her and put my hands on her shoulders.



“What’s wrong?” I asked her, looking at her face carefully while I waited for her answer. “They sent Galen out as a fresh scout,” she said quietly. “The humans are close – I know they are. What if he gets hurt?”

Her worry hit me hard, but I gripped her shoulders tight. “I promise you that no matter what he’ll come back alive for you, Aloriel. I promise that.” She looked up at me, her blue eyes pink with worry. She sniffed and nodded slowly. I couldn’t promise that he would come back unscathed, and she knew it. As friends, though, she accepted my promise, and for that, I was grateful.

I walked up to an Elder next. “How are the preparations going?” I asked. The grey haired Wind fae looked at me with a content smile. “They’re going well. We should be ready by tomorrow.”

I started. “Tomorrow?” I asked, but a knot had already formed in my stomach. She nodded. “Alright.” I said, then turned away. “Princess, you shouldn’t go around in such unfitting garb, it’s inappropriate for nobility.” I disregarded the comment. If I wanted to assure my own confidence, I couldn’t accept other’s opinions about my personal beliefs.

I walked out of the room and then ran to the front doors of the castle. The courtyard was a giant garden, decorated with fruit trees and giant flowering bushes. There was a returning scout dismounting a horse just inside the great archway, and I walked up to him with little notice of anyone else. “Scout, what have you to report?” I demanded, taking the reins of his horse. “More humans.” He looked out of breath. “An attack,” he groaned, and I realized that he was wounded in his shoulder. “And the farms on the outside of the border have been attacked. Another scout I was with stayed to help the people. I didn’t see what happened to him.”

My thoughts flashed immediately to Galen. Damien nodded to me as I looked at him, and called for a servant to help the scout. Then, I took off into the air towards the stables. It was always easier to ride the long distances than to fly.

I took my horse Stormstrider and saddled it quickly. In the back of my mind, I felt Firebird’s presence once more.

“You’re getting better already. I’m glad I’ve found a fast learner.”

I didn’t respond as I muttered into the horse’s ear. It ran at breakneck speed out of the barn and Damien’s horse Nighthawk followed quickly after. At the rate we were going at, we made it to the edge of the farm territories in a matter of an hour. There were humans everywhere. Dogs, too.

I didn’t stop as I drew Firebird, and then reared my horse to draw the human’s attention. “Over here, beasts!” I screamed, and it worked. The screams of the other injured Fae called to and drove me. I left three humans bleeding out on the ground before things got tricky. One human grabbed my leg as I whipped around to fight one on my horse’s flank. The horse was screaming as a dog snapped at it’s front legs. I got it to rear, but the human who’d grabbed my leg pulled me off in the next second.


The fall had caught me off-guard, but this time, I gave into Firebird’s power readily, and fire burned across the both of us as we cut our way out of two humans trying to pin me. My horse had fled some distance away, but now the dogs were focused on me. I stabbed one as it tried to bite my shoulder, and it went down with a sickening thud. The remaining humans looked confused, as if they suddenly realized their mistakes. One tried to flee, but Damien appeared in front of him, and the warrior began his own fountain of blood.

Damien’s moved were smoother than mine as he began flying across the ground, cutting and stabbing. I ran across to my horse and then began riding back. The flames on me had died, but my voice was Firebird’s as we screamed at them to flee if they didn’t wish to die like the true warriors they wished to be. Damien had left only four standing, and now, it was my job. I reared Stormstrider, and then charged them. When they ran, I halted, and then reversed course.

The farming community that had been attacked was ablaze. I quickly took the power from Firebird and summoned enough water to quench the flames that even the surviving Fae couldn’t with their buckets. The dead Fae were sickening to look upon, and as their princess, it was all the more devastating. “Galen!” I called, but no one appeared immediately. I dismounted and ran through the streets, thankful that no one seemed to notice that it was their princess, coated in blood, that was running past them.

Finally I came across someone in armor, holding a little girl in his arms. “Ga –” I choked off when Damien grasped my shoulder. Silenced, I knelt by him. The little girl was dead, and the soldier was shaking. “Tell me they’re dead.” The male voice was raging silently with anger, and when he looked up, I saw the bitterness in his eyes. “Most of them are. Three or four fled as cowards,” my voice was low. It was mine again, but I realized it was as comforting as what I’d once heard from my mother.

“I tried to help them,” he spoke more calmly this time. I put a hand on his shoulder, and then patted it.

“You tried your best.”

Galen’s azure eyes were cold as they looked up at mine.
“I failed.”

“There were many survivors. You did what you could.”

He shook his head and said no more. When I reached a hand to close the open eyes of the dead girl, I felt a tear flow down the side of my cheek. Damien stood behind Galen, silent as the grave. Nothing would fix this. 







The castle was silent with the exception of a few running soldiers and servants that night, when I returned that night.

The night was pitch black, not even the stars glowed tonight. The coronation was in the morning, and it was probably the only hope for this kingdom now.

“Rebirth.”

Why Firebird did this, I didn’t know. I ignored it as I left Stormstrider with stable hand, but ignored his look of shock at my blood soaked and torn clothing. Galen rode back with Damien, and I heard the two of them dismount behind me. Galen hadn’t spoken since we’d left the village. Aloriel sat, fast asleep, against the side of a doorway. Silently, Galen walked over to her.

I didn’t watch the reunion. Instead, I made my way quickly to my rooms. I knew a small room off of my quarters was already prepared with heated water and a tub to wash in.

I stripped the bloodied clothes of roughly, and washed myself thoroughly before returning to my bed chamber. Damien was there, clean already and changed when I finally turned around, dressed in a plain white nightgown. My long dark hair looked black now that it was damp, but the waves that it had always melted into gleamed in the light. “I must admit, you look the most beautiful when you’re not even trying,” his voice was low, and his perfect lips were curled on one side ever so slightly. Given the events of the day, I wondered why he was in such a mood. “Damien, I hardly think–,” I started to say, but he cut me off.

“Princess, don’t deny it.”

I blushed, and turned towards my clothes chest. I knew I would be wearing one of my mothers dresses again. They had always been finer than mine, and so I dug into the chest to hide my face from him.

I didn’t find what I was looking for in the chest. “Servants already took the dress you’re searching for. They’ve been ordered to prepare it more fully for tomorrow’s events,” his voice was still that low, warm purr it had been moments before, but now it began to lure me in. I stood and looked at him.

“Damien, not now.”

My wet hair fell over my shoulder when I slumped onto the bed in exhaustion. The covers didn’t call me to them. Haunting images filled my head, the events of today etched permanently into my psyche. “Where are Aloriel and Galen?” I asked, placing Firebird gently on my lap. An sudden urge for revenge filled me, and I gripped the sword tight as the muscles in my arms stood out.

“Stop it!” I thought at the sword in a rage. There was silence, as if the sword was waking up. “What did I do?” It asked, as if surprised.
The silence that fell in my own mind as I realized it had been my own anger that had flared filled and chilled me to the bone. I knew now that I had the strength to lead, and the passion, but I would now have to control my anger. Much like my father before me, I would still have much to learn if I wanted to save my people from what my own brother had caused. “Mira?” The gentle voice can from Damien as he knelt in front of me. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” I said. It was true – I wasn’t injured, I wasn’t ill. But inside my mind was numb, my fingers warm from holding Firebird. Damien brushed strands of hair from my face, and then kissed me before leaving. 

Apparently, I was going to be alone tonight.

Another New One

Started another story; Don't know how long it's going to be, or if I'll bother to continue it. I don't know, really, because it's just the story concept that seems to have been nagging at me for a couple weeks now. A guardian/fallen angel style main character -- though the story starts out as I see myself in a few years if my dad really does go through with his threats.
(He threatens to emancipate me sometimes because I'm apparently the root of all evil when it comes to the problems with the kids in the house -- even though I don't do half the crap that they do. Oh well, I guess nine months of hell at a military school didn't prove to him just how damned commited I was to staying. I was smarter than most of the kids there -- If I had decided to leave, I would have been SO gone. But no. I stayed. I eventually got a boyfriend and it got easier, but my dad still seems bent on making me the scapegoat. Whatever.

Now to the story -- I don't have a name for it. I'm thinking I'm just going to title it Guardian, or Guardian Tales.  Don't know for sure. Tell me which ones you think will work, maybe?

School's in session now, but it's hard with all the college classes I'm taking -- my 15 year old head has trouble absorbing the massive amounts of information sometimes, you know? I'll work on getting more of my other stories up as well. I felt that I was doing pretty well with Fae.

Fae, Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

It was dark in the room when I woke again. Aloriel was in the room, asleep in a chair. Damien was near the balcony doorway, looking out. I was still in my dress, the tiara was still gently in my hand, but the Firebird sword was pressing itself uncomfortably in my side. When I groaned, sat up, and walked over to Damien, I heard my joints cracking. It was good, though, as I realized that my energy had returned. How, I didn’t know. I attributed it to the sword.

Damien sighed as I wrapped my arms around his chest. “How long has the sun been down?” I asked. “Quite a while. But dawn’s still far away,” his voice was calm, but he smiled at me when he turned his head. I smiled back, and then released him. “So you were going to test my skills, weren’t you?” I asked, belligerently. Walking over to my chest I stripped off my dress, and got into my fight garb. It was an outfit I had stolen from a washroom ages ago. It belonged to soldiers of the Fire Fae. It was the same outfit that Damien wore right now.

I put the sword and it’s scabbard back around my waist. The sword wasn’t heavy – the belt was. Drawing the sword and stepping onto the balcony, I dared him forward with a gesture. He raised an eyebrow in his sarcastic fashion, and drew his. “Princess,” he laughed.
“You’re sure about this?”

I nodded. “Would I be holding a weapon in front of one of the most deadly men in the Kingdom if I wasn’t sure?” I asked, and made sure my footing was light. The sword was maybe just a little bigger than a long human dagger. It didn’t have to be much bigger – when the true warriors went to kill humans and each other we were either deadly, or dead. My father had taught me how to fight. My mother had been, in her own right, a great warrior and magician.

Damien didn’t wait. He dashed forward, and our swords clanged as I deflected the blow with ease. My next move was simple, though I planned on getting more elaborate. I whipped my sword around with the momentum of his blow as I dodged the remainder of his attack. He rolled out of the way as the flat of my blade paddled the air where his back had just been.
 No fatal blows here – I still needed him.

We squared off once more, watching each other. Waiting for each other’s next move. We both went at the same time, and the blows were solid. I was weaker, though, and whereas he’d stumbled, I fell. “Princess?” He asked, but my fall was brief. I pushed myself up once more, strands of hair beginning to stick to my pale olive skin. Firebird began to warm up to the touch, and a surge of energy washed through me.

“Fight.”

The voice caught me off guard once more, but I did as Firebirds voice suggested. I dashed towards him, but took off into the air just short of his sword, which paddled under my feet. He didn’t have a chance to react as I landed on his shoulders, caught my balance, and then drove him to the stone of the balcony. I rolled away, but fire was dancing on the sword. “I won’t,” he muddled through the sentence, weary from the blow, “submit.”

I laughed.

“Come now, warrior,” my voice held two voices in one. “You can take more than this!” My own mind reacted to the change in my voice, but the spirit of the sword held me fast. “Princess?” Damien looked up, and his eyes widened.

“Fight me, warrior!”

I couldn’t believe myself. Damien rushed to his feet, but this time didn’t hold back. His blows were rapid, almost as quick as my parries as we moved around the balcony, and then off of it into the grounds. The flames in me, and around me grew as power and passion grew inside me for the fight. I couldn’t fight the drive as the blade cut close to Damien’s ear. Damien’s own sword came past my shoulder, but I rolled away on instinct, and then dropped the sword. It’s control didn’t break, but the flames on and around me died instantaneously.

“Foolish girl.” 
The voice still came from my mouth.
“You’ll need a lot more work.”

Then Firebird was gone from me. The sword lay abandoned feet away, and I stumbled to get it. I slipped it back into it’s sheath, and then lay on the grass, silent.

Damien didn’t come near. “I’m sorry,” he spoke softly. “For doubting you.”

I laughed weakly, sweaty and shaking. Damien stood over me, weak as well. He offered a hand out to me, and I accepted it gratefully. He hauled me up, and then we both made our way back to the room. Aloriel stood on the balcony, bleary eyed, when we got there. “What were you two up to? I heard a commotion,” her eyes looked at us two quietly when we didn’t answer for a moment. “Oh fine.”

“Go to your quarters,” Damien said quietly. Aloriel only nodded sleepily.

When she left, I examined Damien for wounds. He was unscathed except for a small scratch near his ear. So I had gotten him, in the end.

“Ha. I won.”

Damien looked at me bitterly. “That sword helped you,” his voice was still light, however, when he looked me over. “I’m fine,” I told him.

He nodded. “Yes you are.”

He kissed me briefly, and then unbuckled the belt on my waist. “Firebird has a lot of secrets, doesn’t it?” He asked. I nodded. “Even my father didn’t know all of them, apparently. Though, I must admit I never saw him fight. And he never spoke of anything the sword did.”

Damien sighed. “I think I’m lucky that I’m a good fighter, otherwise you’d have killed me.”

I shook my head. “I wouldn’t have let that happen. Never.” I watched him put the sword against the bedside, but in my head I could feel Firebird’s hold. The soul of the sword was powerful, I couldn’t deny it. But I had been scared by my own power when I wielded it. “I need more training. It said so.”

Damien looked up, a more tired eyebrow raised. “How do you plan on doing that?” He asked. “If you sparred somebody, you’d run the risk of killing them.” I sighed, but he continued. “I don’t think that would earn you points with the council.”

I shook my head. “My swordsmanship isn’t in question. It’s my powers itself. There are powers within that sword more fit for what we Fae once were, not the shells we are now.” Damien looked at my dejectedly. “You doubt your own strength, Princess.” I nodded. “I doubt it because it is the sword that doubts me as well!” I held my head in my hands, but my arms were weak and shaking. “It gives me energy when it wants, but leaves me with nothing when I need it. I need to be able to draw from it when I want,” I sighed. “I need this sword to be a partner in battle, not a user or a tool. Right now, I’m it’s tool, and I don’t want it to be mine.”

“There in lies the issue.” I concluded. “I need to hone my own powers to make them fuze better with the sword.” I summoned flames into my palms. “But I need rest first.”

Damien nodded, then folded his hands into mine, regardless of the flame. It licked his skin harmlessly, as fire did no damage to one of their own. His eyes locked on mine before we both surrendered to our weariness, and made it over to the bed.

At dawn, I slipped out of the bed again. Damien was still asleep, or appeared to be. Grabbing the sword, and walking out onto the balcony, I looked out at birds waking in the forest. The sword glowed with warmth, but no voices came. I searched for the mental connection, but it was dormant. The sword didn’t wish to communicate. “Damn it,” I muttered, and forced my fingers into my hair. It had come undone in the night, but a remainder of the braid had tangled my hair terribly.

Setting the sword in front of me, I sat cross legged in the middle of the balcony. Closing my eyes, I summoned orbs of the four elements, and set them in front of my, just short of the sword. “What do you want from me?” I asked it in my mind, feeding energy into the orbs. I felt no drain from this simple magic, so I started with the intricacies of an ice lattice around where I sat with the orbs and sword. 

“I want what you want. But I need what you don’t have.”

The voice didn’t come from me this time. It came from a curled Phoenix resting atop the sword. It’s pitch black eye watched me unfailingly. “What do I not have?” I asked aloud.

“Confidence.”
“How?”  I asked, startled at the answer.

“You know what you have to do, yet even though you have the means to do so, you fear that you will fail.” 

I sat there numbly, wondering how he could be right. I then realized the facts. “Even in the challenge last night, you doubted yourself.” It’s head came closer to me. “You cannot doubt yourself!” The Phoenix had began to glow more brightly, and hotly. Suddenly, my ice lattice wasn’t ice anymore, but wires of flame burning brightly in the dawn light. I reached up and touched it, but felt no pain.

 “I am the symbol of rebirth.”  The Phoenix was speaking once more, but when I looked back at it, I wasn’t on the balcony anymore. I was somewhere else in the castle, and I realized that it was the great hall. It was different though. Long before I had even been born.

...
I recognized the tall figures that stood in the hall. “The last true king,” I whispered, but no one heard. The Phoenix was nowhere to be seen, and then I saw the sword in the hands of King Ethos. Many other Fae of the royal family lay dead around him, and he too was wounded. I could hear the battle outside the walls. The wars of the Folk were waging, and now to stop the rivalry and corruption, he was sealing away the powers of the Fae. There was a blinding shock wave, and then it was all white.

“I am that sword who brought the scourge.” The Phoenix said, and I opened my eyes once more. My fingers had fallen from the lattice. “So why have you chosen me?” I asked. “You want the things that need to be done. You wish peace – I want to give it. You are the rebirth from this destruction.”

I stared at it for a few moments, then nodded. “So what now?” I asked. “Gather your strength. You need it. Then, I will show you what must be done.”

Fae, Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

Damien woke in the morning, in the hopes of not waking me. He silently moved out of the bed, and quietly put his weaponry belt and shoes back on. When I wrapped my arms around his waist, he realized that I hadn’t been asleep. “Good morning, Princess.” His voice was livelier than it had been the night before, but it was also cautious. “Did you sleep at all, then?”

“For a little while, maybe. I can’t really tell.” I sighed, and felt my body ache. “Not really.” I corrected, and tried to prop myself up. The room was lit by the natural light streaming in the windows. It was not as early in the morning as it had been yesterday, but it was still early. Guards still stood sentinel outside, spears erect. “What will happen to Selene?” I asked him, suddenly. Afraid for the manipulated Fae, I wouldn’t be able to think about much else until I knew her fate. “She’ll be treated, and then moved to new duties outside the castle grounds,” he said, his voice low, unfazed. I nodded. At least, then, she wouldn’t be killed.

I looked at my arm. The pink mark was still vividly there. It would help my case with the elders, if they thought that this was a ploy. Damien aided my attempts at getting up, and then, weakly, I walked over to the chest once more. I picked one of my finest dresses, an ocean gray gown that sparkled and moved when I did. The sleeves were long, and the long draping ends went down to the bottom of the dress. My long dark hair was going to be in the way, so, sighing, I realized that I needed Aloriel.

Luckily, there was a knock at the door, and inside stepped Aloriel. “Just in time,” I laughed weakly. “I need your help.”

She calmly took a bone comb and boar brush and tamed my long hair. Then, braiding it, she wrapped it around my head until only a small amount remained, which she tucked neatly in. My look was almost complete, except the necessary mark of my rank. The metal band that she placed on my head was bright and gleaming silver, and it curled around itself in ivy patterns. Placing ear decorations on, I was complete in only a short while.

Damien took a second look when I walked over to him. It had been a while since I had dressed this finely. My wings glowed in the daylight, out here on the balcony, and even the guards were looking. The glances made my stomach turn, and placing my hands in Damien’s, I took small pleasure in the kiss he gave me. “I need to go to the garden,” I said to him. He nodded, and then excused the guards from his duties. “Do you need to walk, or can you fly?” He asked.

I sighed. “I can fly, I think.” I gave my wings a few quick flutters, and getting into the air was easy. We made it to the garden with little trouble, and once we were there, I knelt at the my parents’ monuments. In my soul, I begged for guidance. I missed them now, more than ever. The wound on my arm throbbed, and my mind went numb as I knelt there.




Minutes passed like this, before something magical happened. Before my hands, appeared my father’s sword. Unnamed, and made by my father himself, it had been buried with him. On top of it, my mothers tiara. Both looked the same as they had been before my parents had died. Now, they were here in front of me.

Tears fell before I could stop them. My father had once told me that his sword’s soul had chosen him in a dream, and he had created it’s body. ‘It will come to those it wants to,’ he had told me only shortly before his mysterious death. ‘And it will be loyal only to that person.’

My mothers tiara was simply just the tiara, though it held a lot of meaning to me. I had insisted that she be honored by keeping it, though now I supposed that she had wanted me to have it, regardless. A sob shook out. Damien gripped my shoulder gently. “Princess,” he whispered. “They are looking for you, out on the grounds.”

I looked up. My ear loops jingled in the breeze. “They know that’s happened. I’m sure of it.” I picked the items up, and held them close to my heart. My eyes dried, and when I finally left the garden, I knew I had my parents strength to aid me. I took the sword, and at my waist, I took the belt and fastened it. I kept my mother’s tiara in my hands, and held it close to my heart. I walked to the first caller, and found a Water Fairy looking at me, her ice blue eyes and silvery blonde hair glowing in the sunlight.

 “The elders are looking for you, Princess.”

I nodded. “Thank you, Dianne.” She nodded, and then flew off.

Damien landed seconds after the encounter. “You know you’ll need training to wield that, right?” He asked. I looked at him coyly. “As if I couldn’t take you,” I said, and he arched an eyebrow. “You know you couldn’t.”

I sighed.

Walking to the great halls once more, I saw that the tables had been centered by the servants and other workers. The Elders were seated at their appointed seats, and the final seat at the head of the table was empty. I stood there for a brief moment, and composed myself once more, making sure my dress was smoothed out and that my father’s sword was sitting appropriately. Aloriel stood in a corner, and Damien nodded to her. Her head was bowed in respect, but her eyes grew wide when she spotted the sword, and what I held tenderly in my fingers.

“Princess Mira, please,” The Fire elder called from the front of the room. Damien bowed out of respect for the elders, and then walked with me up to the seat. He stood behind where I sat, and I watched Aloriel leave. She was probably off to either watch Galen, or tend to my rooms. My mind flickered back to the human prisons, and the injuries I’d healed on her.



The elders called my attention once more.
 “That is your father’s sword.” The Fire elder was agape, and all the others were, with the exception of the Wind elder, who sat calmly in her seat, watching me from across the tables.

I nodded calmly, but did not reply verbally. What would I say about it?

“It appeared before her this morning,” Damien’s voice came from behind me, low, and careful. I didn’t look over my shoulder at him, instead, I unsheathes the unnamed sword and placed it delicately on the table. The red leather wrapped hilt looked every bit as new as the day my father had made it. Throughout the fights my father had been through, this sword hadn’t aged a day. Exhausted, the simple motion of placing the sword made my world fade into black and white momentarily, and I sat back down carefully, keeping my illusion as carefully as I could.

The elders shook their shock away, and then decided at once to get down to business. “Your brother disappeared last night, after an attack on you in your quarters. His accomplice and personal guard, Selene, is in the dungeons awaiting her punishment,” the Wind elder spoke calmly, her pure silver hair tied back in a decorative tail that draped over her shoulder. Her clear crystal decorations glittered in the sunlight steaming through the window, but her mood seemed as dark as the shadows through her calmness. These were dark times, and now the child king who had caused them was nowhere to be found.

“But we are now in need of a crowned leader, Princess.” The Water elder spoke through his thick beard. “We’ve already decided that we cannot wait for Nero to return. You must take your crown back,” his voice was like a musical brook, but he too was in a dark mood. Everyone here was. Damien’s breathing was audible to me from behind my chair. Closing my eyes, I let my breathing calm and match his. My hands touched the sword, which felt warm under my fingers. I opened my eyes when I had reached my decision to go forward with it.

“Yes, I’ll take back the throne.”

The elders nodded in agreement. “The coronation, however, must be done with this,” I held out my mothers tiara. The Wind elder gasped when she realized who’s it was. My mother had been from the Wind Fae, and this tiara had always had great meaning. “It appeared with my father’s sword. I believe it is my parents way of giving their blessing, Elders.” The Wind elder looked as if she was about to cry, but I was too tired to feel empathy. My reactions were slowing, and as I stood to excuse myself, I leaned against the table with my injured arm. The wound throbbed, but as I gripped the hilt of the unnamed sword, strength surged back into me, and I sheathed it carefully at my hip.

 I would have to train with it – Damien had been right.

Not today. I was too weak.



Turning to Damien, I didn’t look back at the elders as I left the hall. I walked the paths to my rooms calmly, with my chin held erect, though my mind was growing duller by the moment. I kept my hand on the hilt as I walked, and servants parted as Damien and I went past. They bowed quietly, then moved on as we did.

“Firebird.”

“Did you say something?” I whipped around on Damien, but he looked shocked when I did. “No, Princess.” He looked on edge, like I really had said something out of the blue. “Are you alright?” He asked hurriedly. I didn’t respond, instead, I looked down at the sword. It’s warmth had grown, and I now was fully aware of the amount of energy that was flowing through me. “I am Firebird.” The sword, I realized, was communicating with me. “So that is your name?” I asked aloud to it, but no response came.

It was silent once more.

Damien grabbed my arm gently. “Are you alright, Mira?”

I looked into his eyes calmly. “My father’s sword’s name is Firebird.” His eyes narrowed, but then he nodded. “It spoke,” his voice was low, but not questioning.

“Yes.”

My room was freshly cleaned, but I payed little notice as I threw myself onto the bed, sword, tiara, and all. I was too weak to think about even falling asleep. By the time I could have, I was already gone.