Scheri stared at him like he'd just grown another head. "I'm a what?!" She exclaimed. "A prophet, doll." He replied, smirking. Scheri stared for a second longer, and then burst out laughing. "What?" Gabriel asked, sending Scheri into a new fit of giggles. Gabriel stared at her, mystified. Scheri doubled over laughing so hard her face was red and tears where running down her cheeks. Gabriel was getting annoyed; his patience was starting to run thin. Once her laughter finally started to die down she explained, "I'm a thief! I've lived my whole life on the street, I can't read or write!" Gabriel stared. "You're kidding, right?" Scheri gave him a sympathetic smile. "Nope." She said, popping the 'p'. He sighed in frustration and raked a hand through his hair. "I think you should check your boss on this, because it sure seems like a mistake to me." She suggested. Gabriel stared at her suspiciously, "And what if it's not? How do I know you're not just trying to get rid of me?" He asked. She raised her hands in surrender. "I'll wait right here, I promise." Gabriel studied her face for a moment, then, when he was sure she wasn't lying he disappeared. As soon as he was gone she bolted out the window again, sliding off the awning and jumping off the barrel as soon as she landed on it. She hit the ground running, trying to get away as fast as she could before he found her missing. She ran until she hit the poorest part of town, she dashed down an alley between two houses that were abandoned and climbed up the weather drain pipe of the house on the left.

Once she was at the top climbed onto the roof, she walked over to the poorly made tent. Inside was a small pile of blankets and a big wooden box with the few possessions she had. On the top of the wooden box was a slightly curved piece of metal that held a candle, her only source of light. She moved the candle so she could open the box, she pulled out a piece of parchment, an ink well and a wooden pen. After closing the box, she set everything down on top along with the candle which she lit using flint rocks and a small bit of straw. Once the candle was in place she dipped the pen in the ink and began writing. After a while she noticed someone's breath on her neck. Her blood ran cold and she stopped writing. Oh, shit. She thought in horror. "Why did you stop?" Gabriel asked, making Scheri flinch. "I… Uh… Well, you see… Um…" Scheri continued to stutter. Gabriel sat down next to her. "So, do you want to tell me why you lied to me?" He asked in a faux pleasant tone. Scheri gulped fearfully, "N-not really." She replied smiling to cover her nervousness. "It wasn't actually a request." He said coldly. Scheri was at a loss for words for a moment. When she finally found her voice she tried to explain. "I was testing you, well, sort of; you see it's against the law for women, especially of my stature to be taught to read and write. And it's actually punishable by death, so you can understand if I don't want to be a prophet and such." She lied. Gabriel looked surprised, "I did not know that." Scheri smiled sympathetically. "Is that how your mother died?" He asked; the smile dropped off of her face instantly. "Don't talk about my mother." She said angrily. Gabriel opened his mouth, about to say something. "Don't!" She snapped at him. He sighed in defeat, and Scheri started to put away her writing materials.

Gabriel snapped his fingers and they were suddenly back in his place, along with all her stuff. Scheri looked around and stood up. "What did you do?!" She yelled. Gabriel looked surprised, "I moved us to my place; it's much safer." Scheri growled in frustration, "What made you think I wanted to be here?! Can you NOT take a hint?! I run away from here every chance I get!" She yelled. Gabriel stared at her incredulously, "What?!" She asked, shouting. Gabriel blinked and cleared his throat. "Sorry, I didn't mean to uh… Upset you… I just uh, wanted to solve the problem of you being in danger." He said, obviously distracted. "What's wrong with you?" She asked, noticing his lack of concentration. "Sorry, I've just never been yelled at by a woman before." He explained; Scheri looked at him weird. She walked over to her makeshift bed and sat down, "So, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that you're not going to let me go, right?" She said in sarcasm. "Nope!" Gabriel popped the 'p' and grinned. Scheri sighed; it was getting late and had been dark for hours so Scheri curled up pretended to sleep. Gabriel watched her for a while, suspicious of her lack of resistance. But after a few hours of being cooped up in a room with a sleeping girl he had to get out, so he decided to pop up to heaven for a few minutes. He disappeared with the sound of fluttering wings.

Once he was gone Scheri peeked through her lashes to make sure he was gone. As soon as the coast was clear she got into a crouch and stealthily made her way to the door opposite the window, she opened it a crack, wincing as it groaned. She slipped out the door and ran down the deserted hall. She stopped when she came to a corridor, looking down each hall; she decided to go left, but turned back because it was a dead end. When she got back to the corridor, she flattened herself against the wall as she heard footsteps approach. A maid walked past, Scheri turned her head away and squeezed her eyes shut as she passed right by where Scheri was hiding; the maid continued walking, oblivious to Scheri's presence. As the maid's footsteps faded away, Scheri let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. She ran down the right hallway, hoping to find an exit. Luck was on her side, she found a small staircase going down, and she raced down it as fast as her legs would move without tripping. She kept going as she got to the bottom of the stairs; she stumbled as she switched from going down stairs to racing across the level floor, barely catching herself she pumped her legs harder, desperate for speed. Scheri caught sight of an exit at the end of the narrow hall; she ripped open the door and fell as she flew out the door, not seeing the step down. Scrambling to her feet, she bolted down the nearby alleyway. Scheri ran across town, taking back streets and narrow alleyways. When she reached her destination, she skidded to a stop so fast she teetered and fell over. She didn't bother getting up, the street was deserted.

Or so she thought, someone moved out of the shadows as she lay on the ground, gasping for breath. "You're late." Said the stranger coldly. Scheri scrambled to her feet, facing the shadowed person. "I got caught; it was harder to break out than I originally thought." She explained nervously, hoping he believed her story. The person rushed at her and pinned her against the nearby wall with just one hand, "You didn't lose the merchandise did you?" The stranger growled menacingly, Scheri shook her head, unable to speak due to being throttled. The person lifted her up higher on the wall; Scheri grasped the person's wrist trying to lessen the pressure on her throat as her feet dangled a few feet above the ground. "Are you sure?" They asked; Scheri nodded frantically. The person stepped back as they released Scheri, she dropped to the ground on her hands and knees coughing. "Where is it?" They asked, "I'll have to show you, it's heavily guarded." Scheri replied, massaging her throat. "I thought you said you had it?" The shadow man asked angrily, "I do, but I've got to be sure that you hold up your end of the bargain and let me live." She replied hoarsely. The man growled angrily and kicked her in the ribs. Scheri whimpered in pain and fell on her side; the man didn't stop kicking her. Scheri curled up in pain, trying to ward off the kicks. The man picked her up and shoved her against the wall, his face less than an inch from her's; Scheri felt a wave of nausea as the man's foul breath blew in her face. "You will give it to me, or you will no longer be of use to me. You do know what I do to useless people right?" He threatened quietly. Scheri nodded, "I'll have it to you by tomorrow." She replied urgently. The man seemed satisfied with her answer because he let her go. "You better not disappoint." He said and left. Scheri sighed in relief and slumped to the ground.

After she sat there for a while she picked herself off the ground and started to walk back to Gabriel's house, clutching her ribs with one arm. It was slow going because of her injured ribs, but she made it back finally. Gabriel found her just as she was opening the door that she had rushed out of only a short time ago. "What do you think you're doing?" He asked angrily, Scheri sighed, "What, you're the only one who's allowed to take walk?" Gabriel glared at her, "I'm the only one allowed to do it alone." He said seriously. "Look, I don't know if you know this, but I've been surviving just fine on my own for quite some time now." She retorted in a snarky tone. "Yeah, and look where that's gotten you!" He replied, gesturing to her shabby clothes. "I've survived, I'm alive aren't I?" She argued. Gabriel snorted, "Barely, you're a thief!" Scheri glared at him, "Well I'm sorry, I can't make anything appear out of thin air with just a snap of my fingers, I have to actually go out and get what I want; it's just a little bit harder." She snapped sarcastically. Gabriel glared, "Let's go." He grabbed her arm and they suddenly appeared back in the room. Scheri wrenched her arm away from him, trying not to wince as the sudden motion caused her injured ribs to flare up in pain. "I just wanted to go for a walk! It's not a crime, nor am I your prisoner! I'm a prophet, it's a job and you're supposed to protect me! That doesn't mean you keep me stuck in here all damn day and night against my will! I'm free to go where ever the hell I want and you have no say in that!" She yelled. Gabriel opened and closed his mouth a few times trying to find something to say. Finally, he realized he couldn't say anything. Scheri sighed wearily and slowly walked over to her pile of blankets, not trusting Gabriel enough to go sleep on the bed, no matter how badly she wanted to. She curled up and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the blanket. Gabriel didn't leave this time, and she wasn't faking.

Scheri was in a field of grass, with no end in sight. "Scheherazade," A deep voice said from behind her, she whirled around to face them. She saw a tall man with dark curly hair just like her own. "Who are you?" She asked in wonder, he stepped closer and she noticed his eyes where the color of liquid gold. "I am the angel Metatron, the Heavenly Scribe. And you are the first of a long line of human scribes that keep the words of God. Scheri folded her arms and glared, "You're lying." She told him forcefully, he smiled sadly. "You and I both know that I am not." He said calmly. Scheri sighed in frustration, dropping her arms to her sides and looking away. "Yeah, I know, I've known all my life." She confessed sadly, Metatron put a hand on her shoulder and Scheri looked up at him. She noticed his strong cheekbones and slightly crooked nose, she had seen them before; she saw them every time she looked at her reflection. "You're him, aren't you? The golden eyed man that my mother used to tell me about." She said looking at him sadly. He smiled and nodded, "It is time you accepted your duty to the world. Fighting it will only make things worse." Scheri sighed and hung her head, "And Scheherazade, that man you are working with? Stop, it will only result in death and despair, for everyone." Scheri looked up at him in surprise. "How did you- nevermind, how? If I don't get him what he wants he'll find me and kill me! And I don't think even that angel protecting me will be able to stop him!" Metatron smiled, "Give him a chance, if he knows what is happening he can be quite surprising." Scheri looked like she didn't quite believe him. "He's telling the truth Scheri." Said a familiar voice. Scheri turned toward the voice and locked eyes with the dark sea green eyes that belonged to only one other person besides herself, "Mother?" Scheri breathed in surprise. "Hello Scheri," Her mother replied, walking over to Metatron, she stood next to him and grabbed his hand. Scheri exhaled in shock, her heart going a mile a minute. "Scheri, listen to Metatron, you can trust Gabriel, I chose him myself and, for a very good reason." Her mother said. "You chose him? Why?" Scheri asked; her mother just smiled. "You will see, just be patient with him. And Scheri, I love you." The last thing Scheri saw was her mother's smiling face.

Scheri was suddenly aware of a very bright light in her face. She moaned and covered her face, still fairly sleepy. "Oh good you're awake!" Said an annoyingly chipper Gabriel. Scheri groan and rolled over, but hissed in pain as she aggravated her sore ribs, the events of last night coming back to her. Suddenly Gabriel was squatting over her, "Hey are you alright? You sounded like you were in pain there." Scheri moaned and covered her face with her blanket, trying to ignore both Gabriel and the pain. Gabriel pulled the blanket back and touched her face. The pain suddenly disappeared; Scheri sat up in surprise and looked at Gabriel. "How did you do that?" She asked him in wonder. He smirked and wiggled his fingers at her. "I've got magic fingers, all the girls like them." Scheri smirked and rolled her eyes. Gabriel was chuckling in self-satisfaction, so Scheri pushed him over, she squealed as he grabbed her arms and pulled her down with him; she landed on top of him, her head on his chest. She looked up at him as he looked down, they started laughing. Maybe he's not so bad after all. She admitted to herself. Gabriel started tickling her and she squealed again, squirming in his grip.

Author's Note: So? Was it good? I thought it was better than the first chapter. Please review!