Chapter 9
Caged Angel
Raphael walked through the woods. The darkness seemed to loom out at him, but he trudged on, wary, his golden eyes glittering as he tramped down the cool grass. This place... it smelled cold. Lonely. It smelled like a place you went to forget things; to forget sorrow.
Sticky tree-sap spiced with bitter scents of old leaves and lacing and threading through these scents was the almost intoxicatin scent of new, fresh, thriving moss.
"Weird," Raphael almost muttered aloud,"How the hell am I smelling all this?"
Suddenly, he stopped, as he detected the faintest of noise... a quiet sobbing.
The faint sound of crying.
Tenderest murmurings of deep, deep anguish.
Creeping forward, silent as death itself, Raphael passed through the forest, walking around the hugest trees he had ever seen. He walked throuh cool, soft, mossy grass and paused every now and then to listen. Suddenly, from the distance, came a soft, wailing song, and he was almost breathless with the beauty and the sorrow of it...
I'm so tired of being here, suppressed by all my childish fears
And if you have to leave, I wish that you would just leave
Your presence still lingers here and it won't leave me alone
He now ran, as the angelic tone rose in sorrow and sweet, sweet agony,
These wounds won't seem to heal, this pain is just too real
There's just too much that time cannot erase
Raphael snarled softly as he tripped over a root. He was back on his feet as he followed her cry,
When you cried, I'd wipe away all of your tears
When you'd scream, I'd fight away all of your fears
And I held your hand through all of these years
But you still have all of me
Raphael couldn't understand the pain that now tore through his heart.
Sorrow.
Regret, oh the bitter regret.
Endless, hopeless despair.
Raphael stopped short as he came to a small clearing in the woods. Moonlight flooded onto a silver cage.
Within the cage was the girl who smelled richly and alluringly of hot, dark chocolate. The scent hit him like a wave and he eagerly breathed it in.
Her ruby red hair hung about her like a cape, glittering in the moonlight.
Her pale skin shimmered like snow.
Her back was to him, and she was curled in a corner of the cage, her knees drawn to her chest, her forehead on her kneecaps, weeping bitterly.
Raphael watched in silence as she wept, moaning and sobbing with remorse.
Silently, she repeated her lament, softly pursing her lips as she moaned, "You still have… all of me."
Unwilling to wait any longer, Raphael stood up and approached her, making no noise in this dark, cold forest that seemed to press in from all sides.
Nonetheless, she seemed to hear him coming, though he made no noise, and bolted upright, her fiery emerald eyes flashing dangerously as she snarled," Get the hell away from me!"
Pressing herself against the far side of the cage, her eyes flashed dangerously as she bared her teeth in a grim scowl.
He growled back, taking offense at her obvious disgust.
"Why? You scared of me?" he sneered.
She glared bitterly at him.
"No, not of you. For you. You, you better go, while you still can! You, you-" the girl choked, her voice going out in her throat like a sputtering fire.
Raphael wasn't worried about whatever it was that seemed to be scaring the angelic creature within the silver cage. He coolly examined the lock before approaching it confidentally.
"Let me get ya outta here," he took out his sai and began to work on the lock.
Her hands reached out and caught his.
He sucked in his breath as her scent enveloped him, erasing all thoughts from his mind as he took in the sweet yet bitter scent. He nearly forgot what the hell he was doing...
"Don't bother with me…I'm already dead." She whispered as her agony-ridden eyes gazed into his.
Raphael felt scent was so good, her hands were so soft and white…
Her eyes were so full of pain.
So anguished.
So hurt. Oh, hell...
"No, I'm not leaving." He growled angrily as he jerked away from her touch and cranked on the lock with his blade.
Suddenly, mist rolled around him. Blinding him from sight, touch and smell... but he could hear her shriek of rage and despair as she screamed," NO! Not again! Help me! Please!-"
***
"-NOOOO!!!" Raphael roared as he bolted upright from bed.
He was drenched.
The sweat dripped off him like water.
As he panted, trying to reach a point of sanity through the turmoil of his mind and heart, there was a soft knock and Leo peered into his room.
"Raph? You okay?"
"No…No I ain't!" Raphael growled, as he swung out of bed and headed for the shower.
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