Ashen wings

Chapter 30 - Wraith

Laughter, joy, love. Freedom.

Those were things she treasured. In her young life, she had not had these things. It had been reserved, given in small amounts, from ones who expected quietness. She had been expected to be what they wanted. Love was not in the equation.

But... she did not want to live a life of misery just because she was born to it. She was not cold or greedy. She did not want to feel satisfaction when seeing the bad luck of others. She did not want to follow fate's dictations.

She wanted to bend fate, and take what she wanted from it. She wanted to give, but at the same time receive. A selfish irony.

She was happy with it. She could not regret a single choice in life when looking at those eyes. There was only pure happiness in her heart, when looking at their smiles, at their caring beautiful expressions. They would look at her, full of trust, a simple bond. No conditions, no requirements. She did not need to be perfect, she could speak as she wanted, act on the most deep of thoughts. She could make mistakes, and correct them. They would always be there for her.

Only the most beautiful of things had come of it. Holding her two children closer for a moment, she let them run off out the gates. Sitting there, she enjoyed the vision of her loving home. It was safe, it was all she wanted. It had been unexpected, but she wouldn't change a thing. Looking at the warm outlines of their figures, she felt the blur of her thoughts. Looking at Uriel, she sent him a warm smile from the steps of the entrance. He neared with his own warm smile, he proceeded to crouch slowly at her side, like in a dream. He raised a hand to her cheek, brushing it lovingly while he looked into her eyes. His smile, it was so sure of itself, and at the same time shy; he would look right at her, at her very soul.

It was so familiar, that she felt fear when something glinted, right before her eyes. In an instant, a flicker crossed her vision. Like a blur, or static, her surroundings changed, just for a second. His beautiful handsome face, ripped at one side, stabbed. His eyes had twisted, contorted into the most guilty of expressions; tears had glinted on his tan skin, mixing with the red. His claw had trembled, and she swore his loving laugh had turned into a mournful cry.

In an instant it came, and as fast it was gone. She stared, and could not see a trace of it. He was still smiling at her, brushing her cheek kindly. She kept sitting there, while he stood and walked away through their patio. The blood that had been on him was all gone, a faint blur on his healed scars, nowadays forgotten.

She looked forward again, heart beating faster. She focused on the joy around her. She kept trying to brush away the whispers in her mind. The vision was still pretty. Ariel and Aurora where still running about, laughing and chasing each other. Nothing was there to make her fear, yet something was not right. The golden color that had painted the scene had lessened, exchanged by a less vivid orange.

She breathed out, when someone emerged from the woods that surrounded them. Alexis was walking onto their road, carrying small lumber in between his crossed arms. He was smiling too, he shot a caring smile when he passed by the children. Slowly, he was coming back, after a day in the forest.

His steps were slow, but determined. He was nearing without doubt, this place was safe. That was why her smile faltered, when another blur overwrote her dream. She could still see him, but in this instant, she wished she couldn't. Gone was his snarky smile, unseen was his laid-back stance; he was still moving, but in a way that haunted her very core. Her vision breaking, all color drained around, only leaving a blue and grey mist. Flickering, his figure was hard to discern there, but she could see it clearly still. Limping, his expression was one of shocked pain, a lost stare forward. There was red over him, on his arm, on his body, behind him, dripping down onto the moist ground. He had been carrying simple lumber... but now he was holding something that glinted, in between gore and red. Almost dragging it in his arms, it was something long, torn and disfigured, so bloody that its color was not obvious. But she could see that golden color, and the haunting stare of those amber eyes. His eyes were begging, full of pain, sending a question she could not answer.