Wings of innocence by Kharnatt (Joey Kuipers, ).
A foot you hover above the ground. The sky above you splits open. A thousand bouncing stars ignite above your head like fireflies in the night. The wind blows strongly over the night sky, and bristles the leaves of the tall and strong trees surrounding your decent upon earth.
A moonbeam guides your path as your feet slowly touch the moss filled ground. Your body trembles by the feeling of the soft, green blanket that covers the ground of the forest. Tiny dew drops are covering the green field and are sparkling in a million galaxies of colors that is a reflection of the bright white light that is accompanying you.
Your long golden hair is flowing on the rhythm of the strong wind.
Unicorns, so white and majestic are watching your approach. There not afraid.
There strong and twirled horns are shining with bright light. It's called the white fire of Uni. Unicorns posses the power to judge those around them. When white fire comes from their horns, they deem whatever approaches them worthy. When black fire shines however, the white and majestic Unicorns turn themselves into feared Dread steeds. Fiery and dangerous, they protect themselves for whatever comes at them. One would be a fool to engage them.
But you hold no ill will. You are only curious. You are actually not allowed to come down to earth, since it would corrupt your innocence and beauty. Your judgments would be flawed, and your actions deemed in logical. You would no longer be pure, but tainted. Tainted with the visions of men.
But yet, when the gate opened, and no one was around, you didn't hesitate to clap out your angel feather wings, and follow the moon beam towards the sleeping earth. The night had blocked out the sun a few hours ago, and it would take hours before the sun was strong enough again, to pierce through the thick, black cape of sleep.
It was an always going on battle that existed at the dawn of time. And it was still going. The sun, with her fire colored beams was ruler of the day, while the night was master of the darkness.
But you don't know all this. You look around you and are stunned by the beauty that the forest has to offer you.
Ferns, some even up to a few meters high, are surrounding the open spot in the forest. Moon flowers and other night blossoms are shining there beautiful colors around you. Moss is covering the ground and a small pond holds a small universe of life. Dragonflies search the pond for a potential meal, while others are hunting for the dragonflies. Its circle that is never broken. Nature always finds a way to restore itself.
Your hands glide through some small bushes that are growing close to you. The instant you touch them, sanguine roses sprout of them.
Faeries greet you with little magic fireworks and you are fascinated. It is the time of peace. The earth sleeps. Nothing lurks these forests now. Neither men, nor evil willed creature would dare to take a step in the forests, where Unicorns have made it their home. Only one creature would be able to resist the fear of the Dread steeds, but it was not seen for a thousand years. Men thought it was gone.
You clap out your wings, and there shining brighter than a hundred candle lights. Yet the light doesn't hurt the eyes that are looking to them. It heals and cures those that are ill and wounded. It lets plants grow faster, even without the sun.
Without looking, you stroke your wings with the back of your hands, and remember what you have been thought so many centuries ago.
Every feather on your wing has a meaning, losing a certain feather would mean you would lose a part of yourself, and a designated power to that feather. That is your power, and your weakness.
You close your eyes and feel the surroundings. There are literally hundreds of thousand beings around you. You can sense them. You can even feel them closing the gabs in your mind, as you look around you. You open your eyes again and look up at the sky. It will take a few more hours before the sun will start to battle again with the night. You place your hands with the palms to each other, and bow your head. It looks like you are praying. Suddenly, you begin to radiate a strong pulse of light. Stronger and stronger, and when it's almost impossible to look into, it stops.
Your angelic wings are gone, and so is your halo. Your golden clothing has been removed and your body is naked. Yet you don't know what it is. Were you come from, you almost never wear clothing, and all is well. In the world of men however, it certainly is advised you cover yourself.
The Unicorns, who know a lot more then you do, know this as well. They move out of the tree line and slowly walk up towards you.
With a friendly look in your eyes, you watch the strong, incredibly beautiful creatures approach. When they are near you, they point their horns at you and make horse like sounds. From the earth, small, green ranks of plants begin to grow and start to move around your legs upwards. You are surprised how the ranks can be so soft and the leaves hardly tickle. Within minutes, nature has given you a new set of clothing. It covers your breasts and belly, while leaves are covering your lady garden and bum.
You turn yourself around and examine yourself. It sure looks great on you.
You could be a nature wisp, or even a huge fairy. Yet, you turned yourself into a human. You have exchanged your angelic aspects for those that regular humans posses.
Steadily, you begin to walk towards the tree line, and the Unicorns begin to follow you.
You walk and walk. You keep being amazed by the beauty of the forest. You have lost your ability to create light, and the moonbeam only guides an angel down to earth. It doesn't show the way were to go.
Yet, you don't need the light you bring. You have it in your heart and that's enough. The White flames of Uni that is coming from the hundreds of Unicorns that are accompanying you helps as well. There bright light shines hundreds of meters ahead and turns this little piece of forest into daytime. You cross trees some that are reaching to hundreds of meters up in the sky and waters that stretch out for miles. It sparkles with the light that the Unicorns shine off. Far in the back, on the water, it begins to stir. The Unicorns are beginning to run. The ground begins to shake and rumble when the hundred magnificent beasts begin to gallop. They are not confined to the ground, but run easy on the water. They run pass you and there strong, heavy breathing makes you want to run to. And so you do.
The instant you thought of riding one, one of the greatest and strongest Unicorns appears before you. It's White Flame. A Unicorn of legend, so strong and majestic it's been said, that he would only come in time of need to protect the forest, or when someone pure of heart would call upon it. And now it showed itself before you. Your eyes are wide but they do not hold fear. You are amazed by the beauty of the Unicorn. It staggers before you, and when its hooves come down, the ground shakes before the power the great beast holds within it. It looks at you, and by lowering its head, and bending his knees, he acknowledges that you are worthy of riding him. Without hesitation you walk towards it, and place your hand upon its white strong neck. Even though you never did anything like this, you felt how it should be done. You didn't lose all your angelic powers. When the others ran past you, you felt the movement of the muscles, the legs and back. You know how to sit, and where to hold it tight. White Flame waits patiently for you, when you climb upon his back. Your hands feel the manes and hold on steady. Like a lighting flash on a dark sky, you take off.
Time seems to stop for you, and all you can see are the white fires of Uni flashing besides you. White Flame has the power of the wind. It moves as fast as it wants to. Trees, rocks, waters and Unicorns flash by. Trees come up in the path your taking, but just as when it seems you're going to collide with one, White Flame uses his strong muscles to change course and miss the tree at a fraction. Wind is blowing in your face but it is not annoying. It's refreshing. It feels like flying, but you're not doing anything. Your long golden hair is hanging behind you, flowing on the streaming waves of the wind. White Flame jumps over cliffs like it was a dream. But you are not scared. You thrust the Unicorn to lead you where ever it goes. It runs like the wind past everything under the sleeping blanket of the night.
For miles and miles he runs. You feel alive.
After a while, White Flame begins to run slower and begins to gallop like a normal Unicorn would do. You have your arms tight around the big neck of the beast but you are not scared. When White Flame comes to an open place, at another great part of the forest he stops. You look around and notice that a lot of rocks are covering the area. Long grass is sticking out, and water seems to be dripping down a mountain cliff on the left side. White Flame kneels down, and you get off. You're wondering why he let you here. Not that you know anything about the forest, but something seems to be different. You look around but don't notice anything strange. When you look back to where White Flame was supposed to be, he's gone. You look around again, but there is no sign of the majestic white Unicorn.
You're alone.
You close your eyes and try to feel around you. But when the Unicorns where moving past you, you already used up what little power you had left inside your human sigh a little and start to walk around. You're not scared. But you do feel something is near. Someone or something, is watching you. From out the shadow of the trees. You look around again closely. Not missing every tree, or dark spot that is around it.
That's when you see it.
He's standing there. Motionless. For all you know, he could be dead by the state of how deadly still he's standing there.
Under a tree, cloaked by the darkness is a man. A man with dark, curled hair, but you cannot see his face. His arms are hanging besides him, but it seems his fingertips are touching each other. Even though for many women of human nature, they would be scared, you seem to be intrigued by the man that is standing in the shadows. You always had that. It was your natural born gift, to place thrust into someone who deserved it. It never let you down in the small eight hundred years of your just starting life. So instinctively, you thrust it. But still, he's strange. He does not move, but he most certainly is alive. You feel his eyes looking at you. But even though you heard a lot of human males, he doesn't seem to be interested in what the Elders told. He isn't looking at your body, but at your eyes. He's looking straight into them. In your soul and into your mind. You close your eyes and try to feel your way around him. You try to fall back on your angelic powers, but you're a mere human at this point. You do get the feeling he knows a lot more then you do. On a lot of things. Time seems to stand still around you two. You are not noticing that behind the mountains, that the humans have called Karinda, the sun is slowly winning in strength. The night tries to keep his mantle of darkness over the earth, but the pure light of dawn is pushing it away. The man looks towards the east, where the sun always starts her early battle, and vanishes. You look surprised and you need a moment to catch yourself. But then you walk out towards the dark spot where he had been standing. You look around but there is no sign of him. He just disappeared. You feel a little sad. You wanted to know more about this strange man. He was actually the first real human male you encountered in your life, and somehow you instantly felt a thrust in him. With a sigh, you turn around and walk towards the middle of the open spot. You know you have to go back, and that you cannot speak of this. To anyone you know. If the Elders would find out… even the slightest hint that went down to earth and even more the idea, that you instinctively placed your thrust in him. You would be an outcast, just by the idea of thinking it.
A few minutes later and your back to you angelic form. The clothing of nature falls on the ground and you fly up towards the sky. Where the thousand bouncing fiery stars are almost invisible, due to the bright, blue sky the sun is creating to fend off the darkness.
Days pass. You are beginning to become more and more curious about the strange, human man you saw in the deep part of the woods. Yet you know, deep inside you cannot go down. First of all, it is still illegal, to trespass on earth without an order, and secondly, you are afraid of what you might find out.
Angels don't believe in love, but when you switch into a human, they obtain all the aspects of one. Even that of love and control over them self. And you're afraid of losing that control you can maintain as an angel. You care more about that, then to lose your angelic symbol.
Weeks pass, and still the image of the men is appearing in your dreams. There not nightmares. He doesn't stalk or seeks you. He's just there. In fact, you are searching for him. And in every dream, you find him. In every dream, he stands there, under the dark trees and he is waiting. Every time you find him, he sees you. He always knows your there. But he doesn't do anything. It's like he's waiting for you to make a move, or he's waiting for something else.
The Fifth day of St. Oldeher.
The ceremony where the angels cleanse the earth of evil spirits and demons. They do not kill them, but they banish them to an eternal plain, where they cannot harm the likes of humans anymore. Angels don't believe in fate. They create that. Yet angels can be annoying and mean to. But they always act out of the best for their survival and peaceful society. After you came back from earth, you were not your real self anymore. You kept thinking of the strange man. Even though you never spoke of it, only the angels with a clear mind are invited to participate in the ceremony. The elders decided you were not part of that. At least not at this moment. If your mind was not clouded with the idea of the man that haunts in it, you would be angry. But not now. You welcome it.
With your angelic wings as bright as a hundred candles, you fly up towards the golden gate and stop before it. There is no one around it now. No one is controlling anything, and no orders are being checked. The ceremony includes everything and everyone. And almost anyone is clear of mind. Your mouth opens and you begin to sing a song in a language that could only be explained by hearing the sound of pure beauty manifesting itself in sound. Soundless, the gate opens and you slip through. When you are through, the gate closes itself silently again, and you are left outside the city walls that are made of white and soft pink clouds. You call upon the powers of the moon, and a beam appears. The moonbeam pierces through the night sky and thick heavy clouds. It's the only thing that is stronger than the sun or the night. At day, it can be seen for over miles away. At night, it pierces through the darkness like a knife through butter. You use it as your guide down towards earth. You rather used your wings to fly down, but the heavy with rain filled clouds could actually harm your wings. No so much as damage, but more that your feathers would stick together and you would be unable to use any form of power that was associated with those feathers until they were dried. And, the moonbeam can be seen from up to a hundred miles at night. Yet you keep going.
The sun is about to give up the everlasting fight. It had given everything she had this day, but in the end, it is never strong enough to with stain the dark power of the night. You glide down and when you touch the ground it feels as if it was almost the same spot. Moss is covering the earth and ferns grow around the open place. Yet something is different than before. The Unicorns are not present. Somehow you were hoping for the fierce and strong beast that came before you that night. But White Flame doesn't show itself. You look around and lift your shoulders for a second. You actually have no idea what you're doing here… Only the thought of meeting that man spooks in your mind. You redo the same ritual as before and you turn yourself into a human being. You were hoping that nature would assist you again, but clearly, it had something to do with the majestic white beasts that surrounded you back then. You sigh and start to walk in a way you think is the right one. Naked and unprotected you venture into the dark forest.
Even though you turned yourself into a human, your angelic powers are too great to let any harm fall upon you. Your feet feel the earth before they actually land on it, and any sharp object or thorn from a vein is calculated into your body. Before the pain actually sets in, it's already healed. You hardly notice any of it. It's done automatically.
This is actually one of the reasons you don't really feel fear or excitement. Even though you transformed yourself into a human, and there for losing almost all your power, and gaining all the unique abilities of that of humans, you know you're angelic powers are stronger. Even that, along with your wings, is your strongest and weakest ability. You will never feel true happiness like humans can. But you will never feel real pain as well. It will always keep slumbering near the surface. In time of need, you can throw away your human form in seconds and shine with all your glory and might.
You keep on running and running. Looking for open spots in the forests for just a glimpse of the man you seek. But all is in vain. He is just no were to be seen. On an open spot you fall upon your knees and just sit there. Desperately asking yourself what's wrong with you. You want to be an angel. You want to be pure and innocent. You want to be what the Elders foretold you to be. But yet… the man that you only saw once is always there in your dreams. Every night you search for him, and you find him. Yet nothing ever happens. He is just there. In your fantasies the wildest things happen, but you never speak of them, since you fear the outcome. You fear the loss of control you have over yourself. You fear that you will turn out to be a real human. You close your eyes and time seems to stop for you. You feel the cold wind flowing by you. Your long golden hair that is covering almost your entire body as a curtain, tries to dance in the wind, but it's too heavy. At the moment you give up and decide to go back, you feel something licking your hand. You look down and see a mysterious orange dog like creature. It's a fox. A fox that licks your hand and then jumps a few steps back. At first you are stunned by the beautiful creature, but every time it comes near you and licks your hand, it runs off to a small path, hidden away behind some bushes.
It wants you to follow him. Since you don't have anything better to do, then to feel sorry for yourself you decide to follow it. Seeing you get up and prepare to walk behind it, the fox jumps a few times of happiness and then walks off to the path. You ask it to wait, but the fox is pretty fast. Again you start to run and with trouble you can keep track of it. You run and run and you have no idea where you're going. Suddenly the path leads to an open spot in the forest, where the ground is covered with big stones. You know this place… A waterfall is covering the left side of a mountain cliff. The falling water is making a lot of noise. It's a lot stronger then before as well. You figure it must've rained quite a lot since the last time you were here. You look around but you don't see anyone or anything. Yet… you feel something is there. The same mysterious feeling as before. You look where the fox is supposed to be, but he, just like the majestic white creature, have disappeared on you. You sigh a little and walk towards the middle of the open spot. As at instinct, you look at the place where the man should be standing.
Part 2.
He's there. He watches you.
You forgot you were completely naked. You cover your body with your hands, arms and blush. But at the moment you look up to him, it brings a sudden comforting feeling. The man is not looking at your body. Not even once. As before, and as in your dreams, he looks into your eyes. His eyes pierce through your mind and spirit.
Time floats frozen. The leaves, from the gigantic surrounding trees, are the only things that move in the gentle wind. There moved by the wind but even that, falls away. The sound of the gushing water from the waterfall diminishes.
It seems the entire forest is holding its breath.
You're scared. And on the same time curious and full of excitement. It's a feeling you hardly ever felt before. You sure felt excitement before, but not on this level. Not on the deep base of your soul that can bring you to impossible heights. You have no idea what will happen. You're even surprised that you actually found the man you were thinking off for so long.
It also raises the question, why is he still here…
He does not move. He's the same as before. Standing like a statue completely motionless, but very much alive. You can feel his eyes, almost opening the deepest secrets of your angelic existence. Time goes by as if it didn't exist. Seconds seems like minutes, and minutes seem to drag on like hours. Suddenly, he begins to move and leaves the dark shade of the tree behind him. You try to move back, but your instinct tells you its okay. Although this never happened in your dream, you seem to somehow embrace the idea of finally seeing the man that lived in your dreams for so long. Above the night sky, a thousand stars shine like fireflies and light up the earth. There pure and white light pierces through the shadow. The man walks towards you, as if he was nervous. Slowly, you begin to see more of him. His long, curled hair is hanging down, and he appears to be wearing a long jacket. Metal rings and chains sparkle now and then, when the movement he makes, reflect the stars bright shining light. The chains seem to cover his jackets, chest and pants. There tingling sound echoes on through the almost soundless area. When he gets closer, his face starts to become more visible. His eyes are brown and seem to hold pools of knowledge. Yet it also contains excitement, fear and something you cannot quite understand. A pointy nose and strong, yet soft lips. His expression is sweet when he looks at you. The steps he takes toward you seems an eternity for you. But before you know it, he's standing right in front of you. You can feel his warm breath with ever exhale gliding besides you. His body generates an intense warm heat, and you realize you're cold. Colder then you thought. The little hairs that cover your arms, legs and partly the back of your neck are rising. Your body is experiencing cold for the first time. It shows goose bumps that is a common thing for humans. The human body reacts to it when it is exposed to cold, but also, when it's exposed to an unknown feeling. You never felt this way. It's strange. It's new. It holds fear, excitement, and curiosity. But deep down you know, your angelic presence is interfering with all these emotions. You have been thought and partly, for your own existence, you always wanted to remain pure. In control of whatever it was, you would do. It's one of the reasons you are so strong. You are the embodiment of a real tabula rasa. Rules and restrictions apply on every turn or movement you do. You will never be free as long as the angelic power is inside you. That is the greatest strength of humans. There freedom. They can let go at every moment and experience everything to the fullest. What they do with that freedom however, is something different.
The man looks at you, and smiles. It's a friendly smile. A smile that brings you comfort. You and he are standing still. Like statues. Only the little clouds of exhaling breath betrays you're both still alive. He shrugs his arms and takes of his jacket. It's long and seems to be made of leather. He hands it to you. You hesitate, but slowly your hand rises to accept the friendly gesture. When you put on the jacket, it feels incredibly soft from the inside. As hard and cold it looked from the inside, so warm and soft it is from within. You feel warm, warmer than you ever did. But somehow your angelic power is screaming. You don't know why. You ignore the passive warnings it gives you. At one point, his eyes narrow as they look into the very existence of your life. He sees something that he doesn't want to see. He asks himself how such a wonderful, sweet and especially innocent creature could have befallen such harm. So much pain. For the second time he reaches out, but he doesn't reach out to touch you. He places his hand upon his own hearth as he feels the pain you felt. The feeling of loneliness you felt. The pain and fear you had to endure. He turns himself away from you. Tears fill his eyes. One tear falls down but before it splashes into a thousand crystals of water, the wind is reborn and strengthens itself. It picks up the tear before it falls down and carries it through the night sky. The stars shine their white light upon it, and it leaves a trail of tingling sparks. With open eyes you look at the tear, ascending higher and higher upon the clouds, until its trail of sparks is no longer seen.
Meanwhile the man has taken a few steps away from you and wind begins to swirl around him. The waterfall increases in sound again and the water itself begins to boil. You look at him and sense something that was not present a few moments ago. Something sinister is going on. You can't place it, but you know it's your angelic sense talking to you. This time you listen to it. Your human side is completely left out and has no clue what's going on. You cover your face for the surrounding dust, leaves and branches that are beginning to fly in the spinning wind. The forest around you begins to come alive again, but it's doesn't hold beauty anymore. It's fear that is being cried out in the night. The ground begins to rumble and at every sight dark flames are becoming visible. It's the flames of Uni. The Unicorns must've sensed the danger and turned them self into the Dread steeds. Before your eyes the man grows a set of wings. The wings look like that of a bat. He spreads them to the fullest and small red veins are visible inside. They are enormous and you are stunned. You never saw something like this. But more is happening around him. Strange dark clouds begin to form around his feet. He turns around and looks at you. Half expecting to see a hideous and monster like face, you are surprised the man still holds the friendly smile it had before. Tears are flowing out of his eyes and are being sucked up in the wind, creating sparkles that are swirling around him. With a deep, yet soothing and friendly voice he speaks to you. He tells you it was a mistake to wait for you. Before you can say something back, he turns around and begins to clap with his wings. At the moment he wants to take of an explosion of dark flames happens to your right side. The man looks surprised as he sees Dark Flame appears. The majestic white Unicorn known as White Flame has turned himself into a fierce Dread Steed and slowly walks between you and him. You are stunned but you can feel your angelic powers screaming to be released. But it's your control over your angelic powers that keeps it from emerging.
Suddenly, you hear voices speak.
It's Dark Flame. The majestic creature speaks in your mind. But it also speaks to the man who stands before you. He tells him to leave you alone. Or else he will make him leave you. By the sign of his majestic body staggering high above the man the other Dread Steeds rush out from the tree lines and form a flaming circle around him. You look at the great dark beasts and ask yourself what the greatest one was talking about. Even though the man is even stranger then you imagined he still holds your deepest thrust. Something you cannot ignore. The Dread Steeds begin to rant. There mighty voices call out names towards the man. They cry out in pain that they should've known he was looking for someone pure. The man hears everything but doesn't move. He remains silent. He bows his head and with a few mighty blows of his wings he lifts himself from the ground. You look up towards him, and something snaps in your human side. You don't want to lose him again. You want to know more.
You cry out to him not to go. By hearing your voice, he stops his ascend towards the sky and opens his eyes and looks at you. In your mind you suddenly can hear him speaking towards you. He apologizes. He never wanted to show himself towards you. He wanted to spare you for all the pain he has had in his live. He closes his eyes again and slowly, flies away. Leaving you confused. You don't understand anything. But you want to help him. You let the jacket fall on the ground. Light begins to pulse at an incredible rate from your naked body and within seconds you are back in you angelic form. It was a bold move, since you will experience almost no feelings anymore. Everything will be plain and cold. But the thought of letting him go is stronger and you begin to float above the ground. The Dread Steeds hold their breath as they watch you fly up. The whole area is exposed in your warm light. There dark bodies slowly turn back into the white majestic beings they were before. With wide eyes they stare at you. With a few claps you float higher, but suddenly White Flame stands before you. The creature seems even taller than before. He tells you that you don't know what you're doing and should return immediately. But you shake your head. With a gentle touch, you place your hand upon the nose of the great beast. Slowly you tell it that you must know. White Flame sighs and moves out of your way.
'Farewell little one.' It speaks softly.
The night sky above the sleeping earth is cold. At the speed your going everything is a blur, but you can see for hundreds of miles over the sleeping land. Desperately you seek the one who haunts your dreams. You have so many questions. In the distance, far to the east something stirs. Light begins to crawl slowly over the mountain of Karinda. You don't have much time left. If he vanishes again you will lose him forever. You speed up and like a hawk you watch the horizon for a glimpse of the long, leather wings. Forests, open landscapes and lakes and rivers are around you. Human city's that are shining with candle light are random placed over the land. The light begins to grow in strength and the night is beginning to fade rapidly.
When you almost cry out to the man you seek, you hear a high birdlike squeak above you. You look up and see a hawk. The hawk floats above you and as he notices you're starring at him, he descends. With one eye it looks into your eyes. You can see your shining reflection upon it. It squeak's again and flies away. Given the fact that two more great creatures have taken you to the men you seek, you begin to follow the great bird. You're wondering though, if the great white beast didn't want the man to be around you, why did he bring you there in the first place. You shake your head as if you were trying to lose the idea.
The sun is winning in strength and you actually never saw the daybreak of the earth. Your mouth falls open as the sky begins to turn warm orange. It is almost as if the sun is climbing back the sky to drive the night away. All around you, lakes and rivers begin to shine in a thousand sparkles. Trees and rocks are beginning to create their own shadow. Suddenly the hawk descends and you almost lose track of it, but you see it gliding down, through the trees. Quickly you go down as well and maneuver yourself through them. You have to slow down quite a bit, because your wings are a lot more delicate then your body, and you would be unable to heal any damaged feather. The last part you remember before you plumped yourself down, was that you were flying towards a mountain. A mountain that was high as far as the eye could see. The mountain of Flarignoa. The humans gave this mountain that name, since it was said; it holds the spirit of the free will. In time however that name was forgotten, and humans were able to let go whenever they wanted by their own doing. But legends keep it alive.
You struggle yourself through the trees as the hawk keeps on pushing you. Suddenly the foot of the mountain arises. You are stunned by the enormous landmass that is standing in front of you. What was still at the horizon a few minutes ago, is now in front of you. The hawk squeaks and tries to tell you, you have to go up. You look up at the enormous mountain but you begin to clap your wings again and start to rise. Higher and higher. You follow the hawk as he leads you onwards. At one point the hawk stops at a large cave that is leading inside. It squeaks one more time and flies inside. You look around you, and you know the hawk will be gone. It takes some time, but eventually you decide to go in as well. Something is not right though. Your angelic power is screaming towards you that you have to turn back. Daybreak is coming and other angels will wonder where you are. Even more, it doesn't feel right to go in the damp, dark cave. But you are stubborn. You want to know the truth. For too long has the man haunted your dreams. For too long your fantasies have played with the thought of being with that man. You want to know what he meant when he said it was a mistake to wait for you.
Inside, the darkness is impenetrable. Your angelic powers are strong, but you realize you have trouble navigating through. You walk and walk, through corridors and seemingly endless tunnels. It doesn't take long before you begin to realize how pointless it was. Your angelic power is trying to take the upper hand and is forcing you go back. Back towards heaven were everything is as it should be. Even though you are in your angelic form you experience the feeling of being lost. And not just literally, but also lost in your head. You have no clue anymore what to do. When you look back, you can only see darkness. Darkness is everywhere around you. You begin to feel sick. You need to get out of there. You begin to run, and your angelic powers are getting stronger. There fueled by your panic and fear. It makes them dangerous. You still have complete control over it, but there are two sides of humans and angels. Where humans have free will, it allows them to do what they want, how they want it. They can sit down and think it over, or they can fall back on instincts and would become animal like. Rage, anger and desperation would spur them on. It also makes them dangerous and it allows them to do things angels couldn't even dream off. In most cases, it involves the horrible crimes men can commit on their fellow humans. But angels are almost the same. The only difference is that if they fall back on that instinct; there angelic power is fueled by that same anger and desperation. It makes them extremely vulnerable, but also extremely hard to control with reason.
For the last hour, you have been running and you had a hard time getting your delicate wings through the narrow spaces. You need your angelic power, but you want to switch to your human form. It will be able to walk easily, but you need the light you can pulse out when you're in your angel form. You keep switching back and forth, and it's draining your power rapidly. And all this, for the man you wish to meet again. For the man you wanted to help. You have stopped your running and are now just walking aimlessly through the damp and warm halls. It all seems to be lost and pointless.
You stop. Little tears that hold the power of curing almost any disease are falling on the ground, and the dry earth eagerly consumes them. You're crying and you fall to your knees. Your angelic wings are beginning to disappear. Soon you will be left in complete darkness. All alone. You slam your hands in the earth, and small dust clouds appear around the little dusty craters. You wonder how this could've happened. You were so clean and strong of mind. And one man… one man has let to this. And you hardly know anything of him. Time stops around you. The light your body was pulsing out is getting weaker with every hearth beat you have. You draw your breaths slowly. The only thought you have left as your mind loses conscious is that you are alone…
Time has stopped itself from moving. Outside the mountain the heavens stir because something is wrong. At the foot of Flarignoa the great majestic Unicorns are waiting impatiently for your return. The forest is once again holding its breath. You don't notice any of it. You're deep, deep away in the mountain Flarignoa. Inside it, time does not exist. There is no life. There is nothing. But even so, not long after you became unconscious footsteps were heard. Hardly noticeable at first, but the echoes of the strong leather boots became louder. Far in the distance, a small orange light is becoming visible. A shadow of a man that is being created by the torch he is wielding is created on the walls. It takes some time but slowly he is getting there. He noticed your presence the second his hawk came flying through the darkness into his castle. He didn't wait a minute but rushed to get to you. But he had to be careful. Even from the distance he felt your dangerous angelic power. That power and his dark history combined would not make the best combination. It pained him, but he waited until you used up all your angelic energy. Only then would he have been able to come near you, would he be able to hold you in his arms.
Not long after he looks down upon you. His long dark hair is curling besides his face. His brown eyes glaze over your seemingly lifeless body. He sighs. Whispering into himself he tells you that you never should've come here. It will only make it harder. He doesn't want to take your innocence away, but he knows he already did it. He closes his eyes and continues. He tells you that it were only natural for him to become the embodiment of men, just like you were the embodiment of innocence for him. The torch flickers due to a sudden wind that came gushing through the damp tunnel and the light reflects the deep knowledge within the eyes of the man. 'I have seen and felt so much pain…' He mumbles. A tear is forming in his eyes and slowly, it glides down upon his cheeks towards his chin. He kneels before you, and as he bends over to pick you gracefully in his arms, the tear falls down on your neck. Your whole body trembles.
The man looks at you. A smile can be seen on his face, and pure love in his eyes. It was that emotion you didn't understand when you looked deep into his eyes. Angels never feel real love. It is unknown to them.
But the man knows. He thought he had lost the ability when all the ones he cared about left or betrayed him. He closes his eyes and prays that the outcome will be good this time.
He picks you up and carries you into the darkness.
Part 3.
Time and space is bending around you. You have no idea what has happened the last couple of hours. But something feels different. You're awake, but your body is sleeping. Whatever you try, your body won't respond to whatever you want it to do. But you do get the feeling that your head is dizzy and that your body feels sick. Time seems to go so slow, as you lay trapped inside your own shell. Without worrying why this is happening, or how it happened, you're mind falls back asleep. The angelic energy is woven into your body, and by using almost all of it, by transforming into a human, and then back to an angel, you exhausted it.
Outside the dark castle at the top of Flarignoa, the universe is on fire. A thousand bouncing stars have erupted and there supernova's can be seen all the way to the earth. The sky lights up as it never did before. A show of all the possible lights in the galaxy is displayed above the land. There twirling next and towards each other, while others explode like rockets in the sky. Even the strong and powerful sun is no match for this pure and raw power. Let alone the night. This is a fight he cannot win.
The man that carried you inside to where ever you are stands at the top of the largest tower on his castle. It reaches miles and miles above the highest tree and he almost touches the highest cloud. He looks through them with ease.
His cape is flying around in the strong wind that rules these altitudes. Yet he doesn't seem to be affected by it. Like a statue he stands while having his arms over each other and he stares over the land.
He sees the landmass, seas and waters. Mountains, forests and fields, and all are lying at his feet.
He has it all. From the far northern landscape of what is visible, to the highest top of the mountains in the south. All belongs to him. He has a lot to lose.
There was one point in his life where this actually meant something to him, a moment that he was happy. That his life had any form off meaning.
But all that changed.
Nothing ever goes as planned. And he had plans; he had a lot of them. But they all drastically altered when family and friends were starting to betray him.
Every day he would wake up, and realizing he was losing everything he had around him, and it all had to do with the corrupted and tainted mind of men; humans. There free will was enough to destroy what he had built up for more than a thousand years, in a mere couple of months. He would see his loved ones die, and his empire crumbles. Unstoppable the onslaught went on, and he slowly began to lose his mind. One day something snapped inside him. He didn't want this anymore. He wanted the pain to stop. The pain, that came from deep inside his hearth. It was spreading through its body and slowly began to eat him alive. Every day he felt like he was losing himself more and more to the pain that is called love. He wandered off to the highest mountain and cried. He cried like he never did before. His hands would claw in the dirt and his tears would be picked up by the wind and carried for miles and miles away. When he was done crying he swore a vow to himself. He would never ever love again. It would bring to much pain. A pain he couldn't handle any longer. By sacrificing his tears, he bled out what ever love he had left in himself. That way he wouldn't be able to hurt anyone else, and no one could hurt him.
Years would pass, and slowly he became the embodiment of pain, lust and desire. He became more dark and sinister. In time he became more and more human. His mind would become a prison where dark secrets would manifest itself. Demons started to arise and like angels, he began to grow a power that was just as strong, but dark and deadly. He didn't care anymore. He didn't care if he lived or died. If someone else was in pain, he would ignore them. Nothing mattered to him. No one did it for him as long as he had lived, so why would he manifest any feelings towards one another.
He kept living from day to day, meaningless.
Until the moment came, when he was watching from his tower and suddenly saw a moonbeam piercing the night sky. With it, one of the most beautiful things he could imagine descended down with it. He watched and watched, seeing your majestic white wings descending down. You were pure. Untainted. Not corrupted with the likes of humans. You were free of the pain that love can bring. He envied you. Quickly he made plans to go down there, but was stopped by White Flame, the Unicorn of legend. White Flame told him, even knowing that the man could vaporize the mighty beast in seconds, he would only allow him to pass if his motives were pure. White Flame knew of the past the man had, and what he was capable off. But he also knew he had calmed down in the years. He was sincere when he spoke. There for White Flame had let him pass. He even brought you before him, since the man asked nicely. The power of evil was not present at that point, so the Unicorn believed what the man told him.
But again, all changed.
He only wanted to see you up close, to bask in the light of a being so innocent, sweet and pure. A being that could let him forget for moments that love could only bring forth pain. That there was another feeling he deep inside so desperately searched for. After your first meeting with the man, he came back every night, to the same spot hoping he would see you again. You were the only thing he could think of for all that time. But the same goes for you. He haunted your dreams, and clouded your visions. Slowly, without knowing, you already started to become corrupt as an angel. When the time came you finally did came down, he was filled with happiness. Once again, he experienced the joy of being in love. But when he looked deep into your eyes, he saw something that he had not expected. You were tainted, but on a bad way. And he all he kept seeing in front of his eyes was a shattering necklace. Again and again, the necklace that was around your neck would break, would be torn from you. It released something inside him. It drove him in tears once again. He was losing control over his body but he never wanted to hurt you. There for he wanted to take of right away, but the forest was watching every move. The Unicorns came forth to protect you, since they thought the man had lost his mind once again, and was becoming very dangerous. If he killed himself, all living things in the area would go with him. He would make sure of that. All would feel the pain he had felt the last hundreds of years. That's what the creatures thought. But in fact, he only wanted to be left alone.
Still, you came after him.
He closes his eyes and sighs. Slowly he mumbles to himself that he should check on you. Most likely you would be awake by now.
Slowly, you open your eyes, but you stare into darkness. Nothing is there to see. You close your eyes again and for a second you thought you were still in that horrible damp hallway. But suddenly, you feel that you can move more of your body. You move your arms and legs, fingers and toes. All seems to work okay. You close your eyes and feel around you. Instantly you feel how high up in the sky you are, and how enormous the castle like building is. You're in one of the towers it seems.
You open your eyes again and take deep breaths. Your angelic powers sure need a lot of recovering. You have no idea how long you were out, but considering the weak state you're in, it can't be that long. Even though your angelic powers tell you to get out, since in the condition you are in now, you can hardly defend yourself if needed. But your human side, that is getting more and more the upper hand, tells you it will be okay. Something seems peaceful. You can't place the feeling that surrounds you, but somewhere, you know the man you had been searching for so desperately, is near.
Slowly you begin to feel the soft surroundings of bed sheets. It appears you are in bed of some sort. You feel your body and you're naked. You shrug and really start to wonder what happened to you. When you try to sit up, a fire light emerges within the darkness and softly hovers around the room. Surprised you look at it. It floats in the darkness, but suddenly the room is lit with a hundred small candles all around you. You close your eyes and need to adjust at the sudden light. Even though it's warm and orange yellow, it instantly appeared all around you. When your eyes have adjusted itself you look around. You look at a place where you think the light was going to, and it seems that one candled ignited all the others instantly. You notice how you lay in a gigantic four-poster bed. The bed sheets are white, and a dozen pillows are around you, varying from sanguine red to sand color white. You see that the room is big and everywhere are mannequins holding the most beautiful dresses you have ever seen. Angels don't wear dresses, but humans certainly do. You try to sit up and cover yourself with the white bed sheet, but you have trouble remaining in that position, and fall back down again. Suddenly you feel something. Something is different and instantly you look where the feeling is the strongest. Moments later a large wooden door in the stone wall opens and the man stands in the door opening. He sees you are already awake and smiles at you. He greets you and slowly enters the room. You tighten the bed sheet tighter around you but still, deep inside you feel a thrust towards him. He picks up a chair with one hand and places it in front of you. Moments later he sits down and looks into your eyes. Just like before, the both of you remain silent. You just look. After a long while, you ask him: 'Who are you?' with hesitation and a tremble in your voice. The man closes his eyes for a second and mumbles his name to you. When you repeat the name, to see how it is inside your own mind, he shivers. Quickly he stands up and walks towards one of the big windows and watches outside, towards the burning sky. You stand up as well, but slowly and holding the bed sheet tight around you with your hands.
'I am sorry, I didn't mean to…' You say softly.
'It's all right my dear…' The man turns around and looks at you. The expression on his face shows a smile, but you see there is more behind it.
'It's been a … Rather long time since I heard someone see my name with that much…' He stops with what he is saying and laughs a little.
You walk towards him and repeat his last words; 'with that much… what?'
'Feeling.' He replies. Slowly he walks towards you, reaches out with his hand. Your angelic powers scream to go back, but your human side is stronger at this point. You're curious. His hand is closed and it appears he is holding something in it. When he stands in front of you, he opens the palm of his hand and when you look down, your eyes widen. You set a foot back and look at the man.
'How did you…' You mumble.
'I've seen it, in your memories.' He replies softly. He knows he shouldn't give it to you. He knows that everything will be over then. You will become tainted and corrupted, and he will lose everything he has, again. But something inside him pushes him forwards. For the first time in hundreds of years again, he feels excitement because of something positive.
Tears begin to form in your eyes. It's been so long since you saw something like it. It's beauty. The silver shine from the candles on the hearth shaped figure and necklace itself. He says that he saw a necklace being torn in your memories. So he created a new one. When you stare at the necklace you feel something pouring out of it. It holds the same strange feeling as when you looked into the eyes of the man. It is the same feeling, as when you said his name for the first time. Before you can think anymore, he asks: 'May I?'
Speechless you stand there. Your angelic powers are screaming since it knows that when he puts that necklace around your neck, all will be over for you as an angel. You will lose control over yourself and your angelic power would weaken until it would disappear. You would become human with no restraints. You would let go and do whatever you want to, in name of love. But at the same moment, you think how it would be like. To live the fantasies you had in your dreams. The way you laughed together. They way you made a long walk around a beach so far away from here. How it would be to hold his hands and just watch into his eyes. How it would be, to kiss him for the very first time. Your very first kiss you would ever share with someone.
Slowly, real slowly, he begins to move around you. Step by step, he closes in your back, and reaches out with both his hands, with the necklace in between. As your power is screaming to you, his power is screaming that he should stop right now and let her go. He would only feel pain again, and he would lose all he has. All the power, he craved for so long. But his human side resists too hard. He wants to feel love again. He wants to experience what he had lost for so long. What he had thrown away when he cried and cried his tears of sorrow. Wind begins to flow around the room, and the candles are beginning to dance on it. Both your powers are beginning to emerge. Darkness rises at one point of the room, while white pure power is manifesting itself on the other side. It collides with each other and electric energy is beginning to emerge. Tiny sparks of white lighting flashes on and on around you two. His hands are closing in on you and you can feel his intense warm heat coming from behind you. His heavy breathing flows down your neck and are beginning to lose control. Your angelic power is screaming and tries to free itself from your human body. But he keeps going, and slowly the necklace appears before your eyes and you see it descending further and further. Your eyes can see his hands on both sides of your face and your angelic form feels trapped, while your human form screams that it wants to feel the warm hands.
It feels cold as the necklace touches your skin. The hanger in the shape of a hearth glides down and in mere moments, the little lock on the back will be sealed, and it is over. Even though both your powers are trying to make you move away from each other, the human side remains stronger. This is the true power of humans, to just let go of everything and just see what happens. To let go of any restrains and control.
The castle suddenly shakes on its very foundation. Just before the man could close the sealing of the necklace, an explosion caused the towers to collapse. He looks up and sees the huge stone bricks coming down. Veins in his forehead are visible and at a flash his dark leather wings are there. There strong. He pushes you down and closes his wings around the both of you. He's protecting you from the falling debris that is coming down. Wind attacks the castle and candles are falling and there burning spraks, fueled by the wind spreads out like wildfire. In minutes the entire castle is turning into a huge fiery sea. Stone walls are falling down, and massive wooden bars are breaking like toothpicks.
Heavy breathing can be heard from underneath the debris. You look with fear in your eyes towards the man who is above you. His hands are next to your face, while his arms keep him up from collapsing. His wings are protecting you, but can you can hear the little drippings of blood falling down around you. Many of the stones and sharp broken wood bars ruptured the wings but both of you are alive. You look at the man, and you can see that his face has changed. It holds an expression you haven't seen before. Veins are pulsing in his neck and forehead and his voice trembles when he speaks. But his eyes have remained the same. They show the same thing you couldn't place before. But you now can. You know now what love can do, and that you want to feel it all the way. From the first kiss to whatever there is more, you want know of it. His arms are beginning to tremble and he concentrates on the muscles in his body. Dark clouds are arising around you and your angelic power is bursting from your body to protect you. The heavy debris that is on top of him, and the white energy that is burning his flesh in front of him are making it extremely difficult and he has to take action. He closes his eyes and tells you to close yours. You cannot control the protective energy that your angelic power is gushing out now, but you do what he says.
Moments later he opens them and their changed. They have become snake like eyes burning with a dark energy. Slowly he begins to arise from his position and his muscles bulk under the sheer weight around him. He knows he is changed into what he never wanted you to see, but he also knows, this is the only way to save your life. His hands are growing and his finger nails are turning black and sharp. His skin is changing from the white human skin tone, to black leather like flesh. He keeps his wings closed around the both of you. Stones, wood and other sharp objects rupture his flesh but he can only think of you. This physical pain is nothing in compare of what he had felt so many years. And after all this time, he felt again what it was to feel love. True beautiful love. Slowly he begins to stand and opens the palm of his hand. The necklace, he wanted you to give rests inside it.
'I am sorry… My love.' He mumbles.
Black tears fill his eyes and while his teeth are growing sharp and his ears are becoming pointer he begins to open his wings pushing away the tons of debris with them. His face betrays the pain he's feeling when his bones are breaking and his flesh is being stripped from its wings. But he doesn't move an inch. It doesn't matter. All he wants for you is to be free, and soon he will be as well. He sensed what caused the enormous explosion. He just wished he had more time.
Part 4.
When he released the power that was needed to save your life, he had awoken the pain and anger he felt for so long. Now it manifested itself in the form of a corrupted and dark creature with no longer the ability to speak normal. There for he talks in your mind. He tells you, that whatever happens, you must promise that you keep your eyes closed. He doesn't want you to see how he looks like. With hesitation, you promise him. The man looks up in the sky, where the universe is a burning sea of colors. He notices how the sky is on fire and how everything has no clue of what it's doing. He looks to his right and sees the angels that are looking down upon him. There white wings keep them still in the relentless cold wind that is beating down on everything. The man hears them saying what they're going to do. He shakes his head and lifts his shoulders. More pain and suffering. He doesn't know anymore. His human side is buried deep away and his feeling for love has almost disappeared. The dark power that surges through him keeps it at bay. But something is different. The dark form he controls no longer has the desire to cause havoc and pain around him. Something feels… as it is over. In a blink of an eye, one of the angels appears before him, with a heavenly sword gripped tightly in his hands. You feel the angel appearing close by and time seems to stop. As in a motion capture film, you see the sword being swung at the man you pledged your love to. You want to scream out but your voice is lost in the wind.
The man vanishes.
The swords cuts through air with a blazing speed that creates a lighting flash. Behind the angel the man appears. The angel turns around and with another lighting flash he cleaves through air again. They keep shifting through time and space with an incredible speed but the broken body of the man is slowly destroying itself. The man is moving for his life but doesn't do anything. Somehow he doesn't want to fight anymore. He just wants to sleep. Then he stares down and sees your lying on the ground. Two angels are by your side and try to heal you. There replenishing your angelic energy and lift you up from the ground. With their help they remove your human form and change you back into your angelic presence. You lose your emotions, but just as him, something feels different. Your human side is slumbering close to the surface and it withholds you from opening your eyes. With your angelic power restored however you can feel around and you notice how one of the angels picks up the necklace with the tip of his sword. Before you can say something he throws it over the cliff with a mighty swing of the sword. In your mind, you can see the silver necklace plunging deeper and deeper. Something snaps inside. With a mighty clap of your wings you spread them and the surrounding debris is blown away. Without thinking you jump after it. The human side that is slumbering near the surface makes you reckless and gives you the emotion of letting go everything around you to focus on a certain goal. And that goal for you right now, is to hold on to that necklace.
The man sees your explosion of power and is stunned. For a moment he forgets time and place and sees you descending deeper and deeper. And that's when the angelic blade pierces right through his heart. For a moment time stops, the supernova's in the universe are stopping the display of power to witness the death of an old man. A man that had everything and lost it all. A man that sacrificed himself to save men. His hand reaches out to the sword and grabs it tightly. Blood appears where the blade is cutting his hand and glides down via his arm. He looks the angel in his eyes, but only sees emptiness. No free will. No pain. No pleasure of love. Only… restraints. With his last strength, he reaches out for you. 'I am sorry… My love.'
You stop your descend and look up. You break your promise and open your eyes. Tears begin to fill your eyes. You begin to protest but it is vain. The angel looks at the demon that looked like man and pulls back the sword and watches the lifeless body fall down.
In his descend the dark transformation reverts itself and the man becomes who he was so long ago. His wings disappear and his dark curled hair glides on the streaming waves of the wind and tears that are leaving his eyes are forming a long trail of sparkling colors. His facial expression holds a small smile. It is finally over for him. No longer will he be pained. No longer will he fall in love with those he can only hurt. He only wished he could've said that you are beautiful. The forest grows silent. The Unicorns let the white flames of Uni shine brighter as ever before as they watch the man fall down. They deem him worthy. White Flame walks pass the tree line and sighs. More and more Unicorns appear besides him. Just before he crashes down upon the earth, a strong wind picks him up and lets him down softly on the moss filled ground. Upon touching the ground all the Unicorns stagger with their hooves on the ground, as a sign they respect his final wish.
With tears in your eyes you rush out towards and kneel next to him. The transformation revered him back to how he was as a human. The gaping slash where his heart was, is closed but still he is no longer with you.
'It pains me to see him go…' Says White Flame while he stands still besides you.
'Why…' You cry.
'For you little one. I have known him for a long time, and when he met you, all he could speak off was you. The last couple of weeks he changed. We were a fool to believe he was still the same man we thought him to be. ' White Flame stops for a moment and bows his mighty head down. He sniffs the hair of the man and closes his eyes.
'Goodbye my old friend.'
You burst in tears and place your face upon his chest. For the first time you touch the man you loved. Your hands are shivering and trembling but you glide slowly through his long curled hair. They glide over his still warm face, his eyes, nose and warm lips.
'You released him little one.' Said White Flame.
You look up to the mighty beast and almost scream: 'I didn't even know him! How can he be gone! What is left for me now! I am torn with these feelings… I am… I…'
Your tears keep coming and you don't hold them back. You're letting go and cover your face in his neck. You smell the scent he carried with him and you inhale deep. You only wish you had smelled it sooner. You wish you only loved him sooner. You blame yourself that you are born in this angelic body. That you cannot let go. That you cannot be free and do the things you want to. Without thinking you spread your wings to their fullest and their soft light shines down upon the sad display of live.
The angels watch you laying there. Crying for a demon they shake their heads slowly as they take their leave and will await your return. Suddenly, you hear a high loud squeak. Crying you look up and see the hawk descending down. In one of his claws he holds the necklace. He hovers above the man he knew for such a long time, and drops the necklace on his chest. After that he flies to a stone where he begins to cry. With trembling hands you pick up the necklace and stroke it.
'It was for you?' White Flame asks softly.
You nod slowly.
High above, far above the earth the supernovas are dying. There energy is over. There raw display of power is beginning to fade. Night is once again able to pull his bed sheet of darkness over the land and clouds are forming thunderstorms. Not much later, they break open and rain begins to fall upon the earth. It was as if the earth itself was crying. You feel how your wings are getting soaked. Soon your angelic powers would need time again to recover.
That's when it hits you.
Your wings.
You stand up. You look down upon the man and almost shout: 'I can save him!'
White Flame turns around and looks at you.
'How, little one...'
You explain that each feather is a portion of your power. All the feathers are unique and maintain your energy. But if you combine them, you would be able to give up your own life, to save that of his. It is the strongest power an angel has. But in this case it would be ever more powerful, since he would no longer feel pain. He would be human, with a free will and mind. Free from the pain, since your love will always be with him. White Flame looks at you and tells you that you will lose everything you have.
'He lost everything he had for me…' You reply crying.
The Unicorns stand back and their horns are shining the white flames of Uni. They are crying for the greatest sacrifice you could make. Slowly, your wings are diminishing. The glow you have around you is fading. Your halo is disintegrating. You begin to feel less and less around you and darkness is closing in. You close your eyes and smile.
'I love you.' You mumble softly. After that, you fall upon your knees and look up to sky one last time. But then you head falls down upon the man's chest. The last bit of light resides where your heart is, and slowly it fades away. The Unicorns stagger before you and cry with the tears of the rain that is falling down. All around you the forest is looking. Rabbits, foxes, owls and mice all are looking at the last moments of your angelic existence. None fight. No one makes a sound. Only the drops of rain that are splashing like tears on the ground are hearable.
When he opens his eyes, he looks at the clouds that are slowly passing by. Rain has stopped but he can feel how he is soaked and cold. He tries to get up, but feels you lying upon him. Your head is resting on his chest. To the left of him he hears mighty hooves closing in. He looks towards it and see's White Flame approaching. Around his horn, the necklace is bouncing up and down. Without speaking, the mighty Unicorn of legend bows before him and lets the necklace glide down upon his open hand. The man feels where his heart was with his hand and then strokes your hair. He lifts himself up and holds you in his arms, holding the necklace tight in his left hand.
'Go ahead…' White Flame whispers to him.
The man nods and loses the grip he has on the necklace. Laying you against his chest he puts the necklace around your neck and closes the sealing. He then turns you around and looks at your face. You seem lifeless. He strokes your face with his hand and cries. But these are no longer tears of sorrow. These are tears of happiness and joy. He bends his head and kisses your lips softly. A tremble as reaction in your body tells him you're still alive. He kisses you one more time on your lips and then holds you tight. Slowly, you raise your arms and return the tight grip. White Flame looks at the two of you and vanishes. You open your eyes and the only thing you can ask is how.
'You have given up your restraints and angelic life to save me. You're human now. And so am I.' The man replied.
You release yourself from the hug and look into his eyes. You understand the emotions now. You smile and he smiles back at you.
Under the night sky the forest is sleeping. The only two that are awake is you and the man of your dreams. You're both laughing. There is a thrust between the two of you that is stronger than the strongest supernova in the universe. You are letting go of the past, and so is he. Together you will experience everything. From the first kiss you shared, to the love you have when laying on the beach. Watching the waves come in and go away. You will share each other's fantasies and laughter. There will be pain and sorrow, but you will help each other through it.
You have lost your wings. You have lost your wings of innocence for the man you love. A new life, and a new day awaits you.
