Ok….so I have a snow day today! WOOT! I should be doing my annotated bibliography for my English class…but I feel like writing…so! And, I kinda feel bad for leaving you guys in suspense.

So, let's keep going :)

Enjoy!

Nightwings93

Chapter Ten: Max POV:

My breath caught in my throat and my legs buckled. I landed hard on my knees as the pain spread through my back.

"What the hell are you doing!" I shouted as I clutched at my back.

The old lady gently knocked my hands away. "I don't want to be doing this. I really don't," she said, he voice sounding pained. "But, I have to do this…or Ari will…"

I held up my hand to stop the old woman from speaking. "Fine. Make it quick." I couldn't let this old lady get hurt because of me.

I bit my bottom lip until I tasted blood. I could feel the old lady making stitches in my skin and I could feel the cold metal rings she had brush up against my back. There was uncomfortable pulling and it felt like the metal rings were being embedded in my skin.

"Ok, almost done," the seamstress muttered.

I nodded and sucked in a deep breath as I felt the ribbon slide across my skin. I closed my eyes and tensed up as the lady pulled the ribbon. The sides of my torso exploded in pain. It felt as though my skin was being pulled back. Almost like a corset.

"What are you doing?" I whimpered.

"We have to make you smaller so you fit in the clothes," the seamstress muttered.

She yanked on the string again and rib cage squeezed tighter together. I sucked in another breath. It was getting harder to breathe.

"I can't breathe," I choked.

"You'll get used to it," the old woman said. She gave a final tug and my rib cage felt like it was going to collapse it was being squished so badly. "There," she said, stepping back. "Take a look." She pointed to a three-way mirror.

Standing slowly, I painstakingly walked over to the three sided mirror. I gasped. The old seamstress had sewed a corset into my back. Metal rings were sewn into my back in curving lines on the inside of my shoulder blades just next to my wings and down to the base of my back. Purple ribbon was laced tightly through each ring.

I whirled around and looked at her. "Why did you do this! Why couldn't you just make me a corset!"

"Oh, darling, that would restrict your dancing too much," she replied. "I have to do what Ari tells me to do."

I looked down at the ground so he seamstress wouldn't see my tears. My body was no longer my own. I was being altered too much. I focused on the old lady's feet to try and calm myself down. I gave a slight start when I noticed the shackle that was around her ankle.

"Are you a prisoner here?" I asked not looking up.

"Who could be a prisoner when she's in a room surrounded by what she loves?" The old woman replied. Her voice sounded sad.

"I…I'll find a way to get you out," I promised. How could Ari imprison an old woman? "I'll find a way to get everyone out."

The old lady laughed. "You sound just like Nicholas when he was little."

Nicholas? "You mean Fang?" I asked.

The lady nodded. "So, that's what they call him now. He never talks to me anymore when he comes for a fitting. He used to be such a bright child."

I started to ask the lady about Fang when a scientist and a couple of sharks burst into the room. I spun away from them and quickly put the nightgown on over my newly corseted back.

"Enough reminiscing," the scientist snapped. "It's time for her to go back."

I hesitated. I liked this old lady, even though she screwed my back up. For the first time in a long time, I felt comfortable and safe around this woman. I didn't want to go back in the small white room with the small, cramped cages.

"Let's go birdie!" one of the shark men yelled as he grabbed my shoulder.

I twisted out of his grasp. "I walk myself," I said haughtily and exited the costume room. I threw back one last glance to look at the old lady but she was already gone.

*****8*****8*****8*****8*****8*****

I walked back into the small white room. Everyone was being herded back into their cage. Including Fang. Fang was back from surgery. A shark was shoving him into my cage. We were going to have to share a cage again.

"Get in," the shark hissed.

"Well, no shit Sherlock," I quipped.

The shark glared at me punched me in the back. I let out a small cry of pain: the new piercings in my back yelling out in intense agony. The shark smirked at me as I slinked by him and into my cage.

I sat down next to Fang and brought my knees up to my chest, rounding my back. The metal rings pulled at my skin so I sat up straight which resulted in me banging my head on the ceiling of the cage. I winced. I just couldn't comfortable.

I looked over at Fang. He was already watching me intently. Something in me buzzed. The part of me that had found a connection with something seemed to be stronger.

"What did they do to you?" I whispered.

Fang sat completely still for a moment then extended his wings slightly so I could see them. My jaw dropped. The whole bottom row of Fang's beautiful black feathers had been replaced with white ones. Fang's feathers now looked just like mine only in reverse.

"Oh," I mumbled. "I'm sorry it hurt."

Fang looked surprised for a moment. And by surprised I mean his eyes widened about one third of an inch. "I never said it hurt."

"Oh…um…I just assumed…" I trailed off. I remembered feeling a pain in my wings earlier that day. A pain that wasn't mine. An intense pain that would hurt even someone as tough as Fang.

Fang eyed my carefully. He seemed suspicious. I looked away for a few moments, trying to clear my head. When I looked back, Fang's expression was blank again. "What about you?" He asked.

"I went in for a fitting," I replied, my back burning at the mention of the costume room.

A shadow briefly passed over Fang's face. "Go well?"

I shook my head. "My rib cage was too big."

I felt a wave apprehension and slight nausea come over me…only, it wasn't my own feelings. They were the feelings of the person I was newly connected to. And I was beginning to believe the person was Fang.

"Did they…" Fang's voice trailed off but I already knew what he was talking about.

I nodded, turned around, and slightly lifted the nightgown so Fang could see the corset that was now part of my body.

I felt anger flare up from the connection.

"You don't have to be mad on my behalf," I muttered.

I turned and looked at Fang. Once again, he seemed surprised. He looked like he was about to say something when Angel reached through the bars of the two cages and tapped Fang on the shoulder. Fang turned and looked at her. I could tell they were conversing telepathically again. Angel looked over at me with a smug expression. It was almost as if she was taunting me.

I put the nightgown down and looked away. Maybe the connection was all in my head.

Snap out of it Max! I ordered myself. You've barely known these people a month. It's not like you guys are going to be bosom buddies right away.

I shook my head to clear. That's right. I was being absurd. There's no point in feeling jealous.

Curling up into as small a ball as possible, I closed my eyes and tried to sleep. After getting a corset sewn into my back, I was fairly tired.

I was walking on a dirt road in the middle of the night. The stars were out and the moon was full but a heavy fog hindered its brightness. Dead looking trees were on either side of the road. Their branches curled down and seemed like they were the long, sharp arms of some savage animal that wanted to capture me.

For some reason, I wasn't afraid or worried. I wasn't lost. I knew exactly where I was going. The road forked and I took the path to the right without even hesitating. I knew where I was going. There was I reason I was here, I just couldn't remember why.

The path suddenly turned steep and was overgrown with weeds and tall grass. I could hear the soft bubbling of water in the distance. I was trying to get to the water, this I knew.

Finally, the water came into view. It was small lake. Two beautiful black swans were floating on the surface of the water. I watched them dance on the water together. They both looked so peaceful and happy.

Something about the swans seemed familiar. I wanted to call out to them but something stopped me.

The fog over the moon lifted and the pale silver light of the large ball in the sky shone on the lake. The swans gracefully swam through the reflection on the moon on the water. As they passed through the light of the moon, their forms began to change. Their bodies elongated and their wings thinned out into limbs. Soon, hovering just above the water, two human forms stood close together.

I recognized the taller form immediately, it was Fang. It took me a moment to realize who the other person was. It was me. Only, there was something a little off about the way I looked. My features were just ever so slightly wrong and my hair was just a smidge too pale and my eyes looked strangely dead.

I watched as Fang leaned forward and whispered something in the ear of the girl who stood before him. The girl that was me, supposedly.

Something in my heart constricted and it became hard to breathe. I somehow that what Fang had said to the girl he thought was me was slowly killing me. He was meant to whisper those words to me, not that girl that stood before him on the lake. Couldn't he see the way her hair was too pale and the way her features didn't match mine?

My knees gave way under me as if my bones were gone and my muscles had lost all their strength. My breath came out in short rasps and every portion of my body felt as though it was being stabbed by a needle.

I hunched over and clutched at my heart. It felt as though it was going to burst. I coughed and a large glob of blood landed in the water at the lake's edge. I looked into the lake. Dead eyes stared back at me. The dead eyes of my parents. They had been buried-

There was a loud banging noise, pulling me from my reoccurring nightmare. I jolted awake and looked around.

Fang had banged both fists against the bars of our cage. "God dammit, Angel!" Fang yelled. "Stop saying those things!"

By now, everyone was up and we were all looking between Angel and Fang. I didn't know what to do. I was in a state of shock. I didn't think it was possible for Fang to yell, let alone yell at Angel.

Tears streaked down Angel's face. "Why not? Huh! Why not! You know I'm right! You know it!" Angel shrieked angrily. "It's disgusting watching you go nuts over her! I see the way you look at her!" Angel gestured over to me but I couldn't react. "It's sickening! You're just trying to replace what you lost with her! And she's just…she's just…!" Angel let out a frustrated scream and burst into tears again. She put her head in her hands and her small body wracked with sobs.

Now, everybody was looking at me. Except for Fang. His was looking at the floor of our cage and his hands were gripping the bars so tightly that his knuckles were white.

I stared back at everyone. I had no idea what to say. I didn't even know what Fang was mad and Angel and didn't know why Angel seemed to hate me so much. I had no clue what to do and I couldn't run away. I was stuck in this cage and I had to come up with something to say.

I inched forward and pressed my face to the bars of the cage and looked down at Angel.

"Angel," I said softly. What could I say? "I'm sorry. But, I'm not sure what you want me to do. What can I do to make it better?"

Angel lifted her head and glared at me. Man, if looks could kill. "Go die!" Angel screamed.

Mmkay…there's that chapter. If you guys wanna know what Max's back looks like, just go to Google and type in "corset piercing". It's kinda messed up…but, yeah

Review?

Nightwings93