Angelica

I was born as an Angel, the single daughter of my mother.

My father… I never saw him. I can safely assume that he’s dead, as the cries that my mother whisper outside my door blame me for it.

My situation, at the moment, is one of a locked princess.

I sit here, on the top floor of a tower that extends above the clouds, from a floating island that rests upon the lowest layer of them.

Against one wall, there lay a bookshelf, books neatly placed onto it, gathering dust.

I’d already read through them at least ten times each. I could recite them by memory.

I’ve been here since my birth.

My mother’s first words to me were; “Demon child, I’ll lock you away. I’ll let these feelings die off before I let you…”

She whispered them to me, tears in her eyes and a crack in her heart.

My father had died just a few minutes after my death. My mother couldn’t come to terms with that and lashed out.

The death of the person she loved the most left her broken. Broken enough to try and take back the feelings she had for the world around her. Instead of being emotionless, she had too many emotions streaming through her like a raging river.

She wanted to get rid of those emotions. She wanted the waters to calm.

She just wanted to feel like she did before.

My existence was her reminder of him. For that reason, she cared for me in some way or another.

But I was the one who killed him, in her mind. She blamed me completely and hated me for it.

Without knowing exactly what’s going on in her mind, this is the conclusion I’ve reached. Then again, I’ve had a lot of time to think.

With all that time, I’ve tried to imagine what it would be like. I’ve thought so much that I became immune to it. A few tears and I was out. Thinking about it more simply didn’t have the same effect.

Time passed by like the clouds below me. Slowly, with no major changes. It was nothing interesting to talk about, so I’ll skip the details.

At some point in time, I’d stopped counting the days, that changed, though.

My boring life, filled with nothing but my own thoughts and feelings, was shattered like a glass pane. The window I’d always been looking out of before broke, and I was able to go through it.

And it broke with a murder.

There was a flash of light and scattered feathers, spinning through the air. They blocked my sight even as it came back from the momentary blindness.

But the red liquid that splattered through the room was unmistakable, the scent of iron filling the air and making me light headed.

A silence permeated the room, nothing making a sound. The feathers dropped to the ground, the drop of blood that hit me rolling down my cheek.

“Who… are you?” I asked, drawing three pairs of eyes to me. I looked at each of them in turn before looking to the oldest of them.

She stood from her crouched position, drawing a cloth from her pocket to clean her blade.

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“Sorry for the intrusion. My name’s Ren, half dwarf, half angel. I was in a hurry, so I was unable to properly select where I teleported too…” She looked around as she spoke, and her eyes settled on the two scared children behind her.

“Aurora, Axel, how did you come with me?! No, no, nonono… This wasn’t supposed to happen!” She kneeled down and hugged the two children, making sure they weren’t facing the corpse in the middle of the room.

At least, it was assumed that he was a corpse. As I watched, something came out of him, and it wasn’t blood.

It was red, green mixed in with it, making something that gave me a sense of a small cave, stalactites, and mites everywhere.

It curved about, forming a ball. It struck me as difficult to look at, even though it seemed simple enough. My eyes twinged slightly. I reached over and grabbed a hold of the ball, tossing it out the window. Whatever it was, I want nothing to do with it.

“So, how are you doing?” I turned back to the group of three, now used to the smell.

Ren knew the corpse had a plan that would stop her from killing him, so she’d brought him to here, the largest floating island, called Anarta, in the world. Since she’s only half angel, she didn’t have precise control over where she would teleport to and ended up here.

She took the life of the man that threatened her and ruined her’s. However, two of the orphans she’d taken care of came with her and witnessed the death of somebody. I was also subject to it, but I didn’t really find it all that special. I found the living much more important than the dead.

Aurora was, obviously, terrified herself, but instead of falling into the depths of her emotions, she tried to comfort Axel. Anything that Ren did would probably further their developing trauma.

I thought for a second, wondering how I should word what I was going to say.

“Ren’s amazing.” I started with a steeled voice, one that cut through the silence. I’m not sure if she realized what I was trying to do or simply wanted to ignore me, but Ren showed no response to my words.

“I mean, she protected you without a moment’s hesitation! She’s like a knight in shining armor, defeating the bad guys for the common folk!” I spoke in monotone, but I’m sure that the meaning of my words was enough for that moment.

Aurora looked up at me. Her eyes were full of doubt.

I guess she’s old enough to understand. Axel, though, seems to be believing my words.

“She’s pretty good with that knife, too. Perhaps I should ask for lessons. Don’t you think how she handled it was pretty cool?”

Axel’s eyes no longer held fear. Instead, admiration for Ren lazed about in them.

At least it worked.

I sighed, watching as Axel went over to ask for lessons first. He’d end up a great rogue, I’m sure. Admiration is a good motivator.

An hour later, I was strolling about with the other three, dead center in the middle of the city that was atop the island.

I don’t know how Ren managed to convince my mother, but she did so in less than a minute, leaving me with only her to follow.

“Locking their child away isn’t an act that a parent would do. So, for all intents and purposes, you’ve been an orphan since birth, held captive by the woman who birthed you.” Ren told me. I didn’t have anything to say in response, so I just nodded and followed her as she descended the tower, and walked outside.

I felt the breeze blow over the island, pushing my body a little bit.

The clouds rushed over the ground, breaking at the edge and falling into a sheet that coated the dirt. It was like a constantly moving sheet of snow, tickling my ankles like the bubbles of the sea.

The air was chilly, almost to the point where my breath would be visible. The sun beat down upon the island, giving the appearance of a place with a much different temperature.

I could only smile, giving off a small chuckle.

“What an interesting place.”

I turned and caught Axel and Aurora both staring, while Ren was facing forwards, her attention taken up by something.

Most of the times, I’d go to lengths to describe what happened after that, but I can’t find it in me. I traveled through Anarta as if it was only natural to accompany Ren.

I let myself rush through anything I desired. If I wanted to try a food, I’d just ask Ren and she’d let me buy as much as I wanted. If I wanted to go somewhere, Ren would patiently come with me.

It seemed as if she had something important to do, but it wasn’t urgent. She constantly dragged us further from the middle of the city, and towards a strangely built middle-class area of the city. It was… like a maze. A labyrinth. I looked for maps but found nothing of the sort.

It was called Daedalus’s Sector, and it was the only way to get to the transporter to send children to school.

Ren, apparently, wanted to become a teacher for the incoming wave of kids. By the time she’d said that I was part of that incoming wave, at four years old. A whole year had flown by in the company of these strangers.

“So, shall I bring you to school with me? I have more than enough money to pay for the three of you, but…” Ren trailed off, leaving her sentence unfinished as she motioned for an answer from the three of us.

“Sure, going to school sounds like fun.” I was the first to answer.

“Do you think they’d teach me more about being a rogue? If that’s true, then I’ll gladly go!” Axel was enthusiastic.

“I think you should spend the money on somebody else… I’m already past the age that children would be when they’re coming out of school, not going in.” Aurora laughed about it, but I could hear the stress in her voice.

I thought for a second, but I couldn’t help her, so I left it alone.

And just like that, four years of my life went from flowing like tar to like water, more than average events occurring as if they were bugs, problematic but solved with very little effort.

I’d gone from a flower, locked in a room, to a butterfly, out to visit other flowers and help them.

I have nothing but compassion for those with problems I, myself, have experienced. I shall offer them advice, or help them in whatever way I can.

For that’s how this solitary butterfly wishes to waste their life.