Prophetic Tragedy
Disclaimer: This is just a creative fan-fic from the depths of my mind. Angel is of my creation. POTO belongs to another, but in my mind they are mine! Any connection to a similar real life event is pure coincidence. Just enjoy my writing!
Summary: A young man becomes fascinated by the world of an ancient backwater tribe. Their ways leave such an imprint that he brings the teachings with him back to the States. Years later, Angel is born. Her childhood is nothing but these teachings, and so sheltered she is during that time, that she becomes forever set apart from society. Now a young woman, she has freed herself of the lifestyle that trapped her childhood. Or has she?
Rating: M//YA
Started: 11/25/06
Finished:
Chapter 1
There was intent on exiting the bedroom with her love, until she found herself lost in the expanse of his embrace. Marie had come by only moments ago with announcement that dinner was ready. Angel moaned into Erik's kiss. As ironic as her name was, she felt she was truly blessed only when she first laid eyes on the deformed man.
"We should get moving…" She spoke, knowing fully that her urgence wouldn't be so quickly acted on. Angel internally mused that he might as well have been deaf at this moment rather than disfigured.
Tonight's dinner was rather special. Marie's daughter, Meg, had brought a guest who apparently was a big fan of Angel's work. Erik was a bit hesitant about such a thing—thinking that everyone would then try to befriend innocent little Megan in hopes to get to Angel. But Meg had promised that this was different and she had no intent to provide this special invitation to EVERYONE. That put Erik at slight ease, though the whole thing didn't seem to upset Angel in the slightest. Erik had to chuckle towards her openness to meet all her fans—to not shun one over the other.
Suddenly the two lovers were startled by a face appearing in the doorway, "Are you two coming or not!?"
Erik chuckled again, "Yes, Little Meg!"
"Don't call me that!" She shouted in the usual protest to point out that she wasn't little anymore. Erik quickly nodded apologies upon noting that she was in fact a full grown woman now—much like Angel.
Angel only shook her head in amusement, knowing tomorrow he'd forget and this would happen all over again. She took Erik's hand and allowed Meg to lead them to the dining room. They saw Marie tapping her foot impatiently at the bottom of the stairs just outside the dining room door. "The poor lad is sitting at the table being coldly reminded of how such terrible hosts we are." Meg, Angel and Erik said nothing as Marie turned back into the dining room.
The door swung back towards them, giving just enough room for her to peek inside. She had the perfect angle to see a side view of the guest—and that's when her face went white. Before Erik could question her—Angel hastily snatched Meg's arm and pulled her friend and lover back toward the steps.
"Angel?!" Meg protested, being caught totally off guard and nearly tripping backward. Erik made sure to steady the young woman before turning to Angel.
"ARE YOU CRAZY!?" Angel harshly whispered to her friend. "Do you know what you've done!?" Erik was lost as to what was going on. He was about to open his mouth again in question, but Angel continued her tirade. "Of all people!!!" She started to walk away but whipped her gaze to Meg to yell one more thing at her friend—preferably something extremely harsh—when she noticed that the guest was standing there.
"Are you guys coming or not?" The man appeared as innocent as a newborn, but Angel knew better. Erik felt her hand violently tear from his hold and he didn't have to look to know she was putting distance between them. But as he turned to look at her, she had already slipped into a more frightening mask—showing just why she had excelled at the profession she was now famous for.
"Oh, but of course. We are dreadfully sorry for making you wait AND worry." Angel pushed forward, leaving the others to follow her of their own accord. As they all sat around the table, Erik seemed to be the only one aware that this guest had subtlety arranged to seat the women around him, leaving Angel directly across from the guest and away from the immediate grasp of him. Marie then started the chain of eating, but it was the guest that started the conversation—albeit exclusively with Angel.
"So, how long did it take to make that last movie, Angel?" The guest began, purposely ignoring the others. Erik noted that Marie and Meg seemed a bit put out, but had written it off as fan fascination. Erik remained silent, focusing curiously on Angel and this guest.
"Eleven months." Angel began. "Well actually, ten and a half. But it seemed like eleven when we had to go back and loop over some of the lines."
"Incredible." The guest beamed. "I've been following your work a LONG time." Stalker was the word that screamed in Erik's mind then, but still he kept silent. He glanced over to Angel, wondering what her expression was in this moment of revelation. He realized foolishly that she had her actors' mask on, so reading her true expression was impossible. "I've noticed that your list of credits is filled with very demanding roles. How are you able to emit exquisite work back to back like that? Surely anyone else would have worn out such talent long ago if they took the path you did."
Angel blushed. "Well, surely it was due to a mentor from long ago." The guest wickedly smiled at that, alarming Erik wildly. The rest of dinner went as such, and Erik noticed that the guest would constantly pass on a dish that was passed around the table only to ask for it once it was in Angel's grasp. It was nails on chalkboard every time the guest would say her name—the way he emphasized it was just unnerving. And when she politely handed the dish to him, he deliberately brushed her fingers with his own. By the time dinner ended, Erik was ready to scream insanely.
Angel started her chore of clearing the table, when the guest offered to help. Erik wondered if he was the only one to notice the subtle flinch she quickly hid before thanking and accepting the help. The two of them disappeared into the kitchen with a handful of dirty silverware.
That's when Erik leaned over to the others and harshly whispered, "Marie, surely you must see the uneasiness during dinner." He felt relieved when she nodded, along with Meg. Erik quickly tossed his lap napkin onto the table, clearly stressing that they were alone one second too long in there.
Angel entered the kitchen with HIM following behind her. "This meal was excellent." He commented, continuing the charade of a polite guest. "My compliments to the…"
Harshly she dropped the bundle of spoons into the sink with a clatter. "You can drop the act…Reece." She refused to look at him—because then she'd become aware of how close he stood near her. And once that was realized, the pull she'd feel toward him would kick in and she'd find herself again lost to that prophecy bullshit that had started when she was born.
"Well, it's only fair." She knew that Reece referred to her actions during dinner. She then felt his hand hovering over the flesh of her arm—knowing fully that he was going to force her to face him now. "Come now. Not even going to look at the man you owe EVERYTHING to?" Angel opened her eyes, but kept them on the icon on his t-shirt. He sighed and put his finger under her chin to pull her gaze up. "I'm up here!" How could he find the audacity to tease at a time like this? Just as her eyes were about to lock on his, Erik burst into the room with a dish in hand. She was never more thankful for Erik than she was now for the excuse to break away from Reece's grasp. In an instant, her mask was on.
She grabbed Erik's hand, quickly peeking into the dining room, "Marie…I hope you don't mind having Meg cover my chores tonight. I'm feeling very tired and would like Erik to escort me to bed." Marie nodded, and Meg didn't seem the least upset at the sudden change to the chore plans.
Erik said nothing until they reached the confines of their room. "Dare I ask for an explanation?"
"Please, Erik, I'm tired." She attempted to break away from him.
"That isn't the vibe I get from you, Angel." He sternly replied. She could not flee with his hand on her upper arm. Instead, she sighed heavily and fell back against him.
"Please, Erik." She simply stated again. "I can't." She lowered her voice to a whisper, "Not now." His heart broke for her and the pain he felt enshrouding her. Despite how bad he wanted to know, he didn't press any further. He escorted her to the bed and eased her under the covers. Just as he was about to leave her peacefully, her hand latched onto his wrist. "Stay with me Erik." When he looked back at her, the need in her eyes for him could not be denied. He obliged her.
The moment he pulled her against his body, he felt her figure shake with the tears she shed. He could hear muffled words, but only bits of them thus unable to make any sense of her babbling. He could only hold her and let her cry it out.
"Damnit, Angel!" A stern male voice broke into the child's concentration. "If you forget the words again, so help me…" The voice couldn't finish, being affected by the hint of water in the child's eyes.
"I'm sorry, Father!" Young Angel buried her head into the lap of her father and mentor. "Please! Let me try again!"
It seemed to be forever before the voice relented. "First you must realize the importance of these words, Angel. You insult not only me, but the ancient tribe that created them. Are you meaning to insult us?!"
"No!" She wailed desperately. "Please let me try again!" Without a cue from him to begin, she launched back into her recital. She watched his expression hesitantly shift from anger to pride.
When she had finished, he leaned forward, "Excellent. Just don't repeat this little tirade of yours in front of the gentlemen coming tonight."
"I won't!" She protested. "I'll…" The knock on the door interrupted her.
"That must be them." He got up and answered the door. Angel remained quiet even while she was introduced. To her, they didn't look at all like Tribesmen. They dressed just like her Father did.
She was quickly thrust from her thoughts when one of them came to her eye level, "So this is the child? The documents of our ancestors apparently are fulfilled, but can she live up to her role, Reece?"
Reece submissively nodded to the man, "She can more than live up to it, Sir. She is the embodiment of it. Angel?"
She knew that was her signal. The voice that came forth from her this time was clearly not of childlike qualities. Surely no eight year old knew such words nor could speak with such maturity. Her child body definitely clashed with her voice at this moment. And when she was done, the gentlemen couldn't speak.
Finally one spoke up, "Incredible, Reece."
Another chimed in, "Ages we have waited for such a day."
And the one that was eye level with her earlier added, "She shall return with us. We will give you a week to close out her life here, but from here on out, she belongs to us."
She wasn't sure she heard correctly, but one gaze at her father told her that she did. They were going to take her away? Away to where? Suddenly she didn't want to be whatever her father had mentored her for. She liked going to school here, even if she was sometimes picked on. And furthermore, she didn't want to leave her father.
"That's already taken care of Araphim. She can leave with you tonight."
"Very well then…come along Little One." Araphim motioned her to follow them.
"No!" She protested meekly upon seeing the death glare from her father. She quickly realized that protesting NOT to go was useless. "Can't my Father come with us?"
"I'm afraid not, Little One. He would only be a distraction at first, then a nuisance to you later." Araphim answered. Angel didn't know then what he meant by that. Dejectedly, she followed the gentlemen out the door, stealing a last glance at the man she would never see again.
Angel awoke that morning in a silent sweat, yet Erik jerked upright in alarm. "Angel?"
She looked over to him, taking a deep breath. "Just a nightmare, love."
He silently gazed at her before accepting it. "I just want you to know…that I'm here to talk to whenever you need it." Erik reached out and gently caressed her cheek. She noticed that he had his mask on.
"Must you wear that around me?" She tentatively reached for it. "Please, I need to see it—to help calm me down."
He blinked, "Well, never heard that reasoning before." He leaned back to her fingers, but helped to remove it as well. The mask fell to the space between them, and she carefully set it aside. Her eyes wandered up slowly and when her eyes met his, she felt a calm flow through her. As she pushed herself closer to him, she rested her head in the crevice of his neck and breathed him in. She felt his arms encircle her and she sighed contently.
They remained that way a moment before he felt her lips on his deformity. He gasped unreasonably, yet forced himself to be calm. He focused back on the feel of her love for him and realized her lips were now crushing his. "I love you Erik."
His hand rested on her side. "I love you as well, Angel." He then trailed his lips down her collarbone, pushing her to lie back onto the cushion of the bed. Her moan of pleasure thrilled him, encouraging him further. His hand fell from her side to her thigh. Her breath caught in her throat as she felt his deformity tickle her stomach. Erik paused to look back up to her, and felt himself swell below as he saw her pleasured expression. He noticed her lips twitch as her thighs shifted, signaling that she felt it as well. Her eyes opened only to be caught by his.
"Are you going to stare at me or make me feel good?" She teased him impatiently. A flush heated his face when he realized what she meant. Quickly, he regained his bearings and obliged her. The pounding of his heart couldn't drown out the gasp she emitted upon his entry of her. He moved as a man with a mission would. Yet his mission was bringing internal pleasure to the woman pinned within passion beneath him.
Erik loved the sensation of her clutching tightly to him. They often didn't get long enough for moments like these with her busy schedule, so he always savored EVERY moment she was with him. That led him to the memory of their first meeting four years ago. He recalled how two of those years they wasted on earning trust between them. It was nearly another year before they escalated to lovers.
"Oh my god!" He mistook her mumbling as disbelief to the pleasure he gave her until he realized she was pushing him away. That confused him terribly as he watched her jerk upright and modestly cover herself. He noticed she wasn't gazing at him, but something behind him.
"Well my dear. I see you've given yourself away." Erik was frozen as the voice penetrated his thoughts. He quickly realized that he was completely exposed to the intruder. The vulnerability left him almost too shocked to notice that Angel was rising from the bed. Erik tried for her arm, but only grabbed air.
"…Reece…" The soft whisper from her lips floated on air, drawing a frown from Erik and a smile from Reece. She was almost within grasp of him when the door was kicked open.
"I'd hate to ruin the fun…but you won't have her!" A man in a priest robe strode into the room and stood between Angel and Reece.
"You don't have a say in this old man!" Reece was clearly angry. Erik was grateful that his presence had been ignored at the moment to at least get his pants and mask on. As he finished, the priest turned to him.
"Get her downstairs…NOW!" The priest shouted as he turned to Angel, wrapping a bed sheet around her before Erik's hands dragged her away. The moment her concentration of Reece was broken, she whimpered and crumbled into Erik's hold.
to be continued...