A Fallen Angel

Chapter Two

Everett sat in the far corner of his cell, his empty gaze pinned to the cold stone wall, hugging his knees to his chest. His eyes held no lightー but they'd been that way for a very long time.
All around him, scattered along the hard floor, were feathersー small, battered, dull white feathers. The feathers of an angel.
An angel who was him.
From his back, protruding outward and folding in a twisted, uncomfortable manner, his wings; once pure and white, now tainted with a black infection. Few white feathers remained, buried among the sickness of the new black feathers that had forced their way through.
His breathing was slow and uneven, and he couldn't manage to collect his thoughts.
Breaking the cold silence, a voice called out to him.
"Everett," the way his name was spat was icy and hostile, but Everett didn't even flinch, his eyes never leaving the stones.
"It's time for your trial. Get up."
While he took his time doing so, Everett weakly climbed to his feet, wobbling a little as he stood, but didn't turn to face the guard until his arm was grabbed to pull him from his jail cell.
His trial..
His face was emotionless, but his chest felt tight. He didn't care about the shame he'd receive from the onlookers, the other angels who knew exactly what he'd done. He didn't care about the hateful looks from the judge or the guards. But the girl...
The one he hadn't saved...
What fate would she deliver to him?

•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•

Robin had no choice but to follow quietly behind the angels who had fixed her up a little and gently lead her down the large marble hallways through a seemingly endless building with hundreds of rooms, content unknown. She chewed on her bottom lip, anxiety coiling in her stomach. She was so confused...
She knew that she had died, but why was she here?
If she was really dead and in heaven, where were her wings...? And just where was she being taken? She couldn't wrap her brain around it...
Sucking in a deep breath, her thoughts struggled to take form. "U...uhm..." She called timidly.
The angels stopped and turned to face her curiously. "Hm?"
"I... Uh... W... What's... Happening, exactly...? Where are you taking me...?"
The angel farthest to her left smiled warmly to reassure her, her eyes kind. "I'm sorry, I know you must be lost. I don't know how to explain..."
She turned her gaze to the other three, looking for assistance. The one in the middle, pulling her waist length, flowing silver hair over her shoulder, looked at Robin seriously. "You weren't supposed to have died yet, Robin. You had a long life ahead of you, your fate had decided your path already. Fate has been broken."
Robin's face contorted in confusion. She wasn't supposed to have died? Then why did she...? What did all this mean?
"What do you mean...?"
"Your guardian angel," a third voice chimed in. "He didn't do his job."
Her eyes widened. Her guardian angel...? She had a guardian angel? And he... Hadn't...
"You mean he let me die...?"
A grim expression on their faces, the women nodded solemnly. Robin could feel her heart sink. She was supposed to live... Why had this happened..?
Breaking her from her whirling thoughts, an angel took her softly by the hand. "By law, Robin," she began in a quiet, serious voice.
"You must decide the fate of your angel who has sinned."
Robin felt her stomach drop. "Me..?" She was supposed to choose what happens to him? A living being? She could never do something like that, regardless of what he did... She didn't have it in her...
The angel at her side gingerly tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. "I'm sorry to press all this on you at once... But the angel must be dealt with as soon as possible. He cannot stay in heaven for much longer."
Robin raised her head to eye the angel, a question etched in her expression.
"An angel who has sinned," the woman farthest from her murmured in a grim tone, gaze locked on the marble flooring. "Is no longer an angel of God. He cannot stay here, for he has fallen."
Fallen...
The look on each of the angel's faces told Robin all she needed to know.
She didn't ask anything else.