IF THERE BE THORNS
By Maggie Griffin
CHAPTER 12: When Angels Weep
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Perhaps it was the endless silence that was most painful at that moment. The stretch of strained quiet. Yet, as Aini tried to move her wings, she knew that the pain that even then was sharply cutting through her upper back surpassed even that of the silence.
Even now, free of her bonds as she was; yet it didn't make lying on the cold earth any easier for her. Her wings were wrapped around her body once more; cocooning her and making her feel a tinge of comfort, even if it was just for that moment. The bloodied end of her one broken wing dangles helplessly in front of her face, and each time the breeze blew by, it swung back and forth, and droplets of her own blood came to coat the ground beneath her, and her own ivory white skin.
Arbutus stood a few feet away, his back turned to her. His shoulders were shaking in what looked like an unbelievable amount of rage. His hands were fists once more, but this time they didn't rise to strike her so much as hang limply at his sides.
Ai had remained silent for the last few minutes since Arbutus had moved his hand and ordered the vines that had been wrapped around her body to release her, causing her to fall limply and painfully to the ground.
Now, there she lay.
She opened her mouth, intent on addressing Arbutus, but after a moment, shut it once more. She had no idea what she was supposed to say to him. No idea how to quell the fury she could see building inside him, and to bring back that old friend from so long ago. Maybe even more back then.
She had never known the intent of those kisses.
The one while she had supposedly slept, where moments later Arbutus had fled her side and vanished in the morning. The one the very next day, as she had similar to that moment, lain on the ground of the Garden, injured and bleeding.
Yet unlike then, Arbutus was not mending her wounds. He was not uttering sincere words of apology and stroking her hair. No sweet intentions followed the events that had just transpired. Only bitterness and hatred.
"A…Arbutus?"
The time had at least granted her enough control over her own voice, her panicked stutter not really vanishing, but at least relaxing slightly for the moment.
"Arbutus…Please, t..t..talk to me!" her voice was soft and pleading, the voice of an injured child on the brink of tears. Aini feared that it was probably the case. She feared that whatever he would say to her would simply result in her bursting out crying. But she had shed so many tears already; she didn't really take to the idea.
She waited another moment, and when only the same horrible silence met her ears, she collected herself off the floor with a pained cry, standing shakily.
She stood facing his back now, her wings and back trembling from her wounds and from the pain inside of her, which didn't just limit to her body.
"Please…" she whimpered, on the verge of completely breaking down.
When silence met her for the last time, Aini felt her resolve explode inside her, and with it, a fresh stream of tears coated her cheeks.
"FINE! I GUESS I WAS R..R…RIGHT! YOU NEVER DID WANT ME!" She sobbed suddenly, her voice broken, as was her body. Turning sharply, which caused her to emit a pained moan, she moved away from Arbutus, determined to leave the Garden and escape to somewhere she would never have to face anyone again.
~Damn you Chaos! For bringing me back, and for doing this to me….~
"AINI!"
The pained scream brought her to a dead stop, and she turned back to Arbutus in confusion, only to cry out in shock as he was mere inches away from her, and threw himself at her feet, his willowy arms coming to snake around her waist tightly.
Aini stood perfectly still, her body rigid as stone.
Arbutus had come to lean his head against her naked stomach, and Aini nearly yelped when she felt his lips touch against the skin softly.
His shoulders continued to quake violently, and yet as Aini drew her eyes over his face, she suddenly realized that it had not been the rage in Arbutus that had made his shiver so. For even then, she could plainly see the tears on his lean face, and feel them wetting her flesh. His sobs intensified so much she could hear them clearly now, and gasped as she realized that he had been weeping all along.
After another moment, Ai lifted her arms and placed then delicately around Arbutus' neck, holding him steady as he continued to weep.
Weep for the dead.
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It was no surprise that news of the strange creature seen fleeing the Cloak and Dagger soon reached Aladdin's ears.
Mechanicles had come back to the tavern, telling as many people as were willing to hear him out without cutting his throat. Telling them about the girl he had seen. About how she had vanished from a dead end alley into the night, like some strange enigma.
So the news traveled from cut-throat to thief, blending into the night until by morning, it had reached the ears of Arabian civilians, who whispered the tale to each other as though whispering of some strange ghost.
It was no surprise that while out with Carpet and Abu late in that very morning, he had heard a shopkeeper mentioning the tale of the beautiful phantom girl, who had lured a man into the darkness to follow her, leading him on a chase and then vanishing with the coming of dawn.
So he had stopped Carpet, and swooped down to hear the rest of that strange story. At first, he had been ready to dismiss it as another fairy tale, but when he had heard that the story had begun with Mechanicles, Aladdin had become rather interested. He knew Mechanicles was a maniac, not to mention a complete clear-freak, but he had never thought the Greek to be a flat-out liar. Figmenting some strange phantom from his own mind didn't seem his style.
Then again, the possibility that Mechanicles had finally snapped enough to start hallucinating didn't escape his thoughts either.
So that was what found Aladdin at the Cloak and Dagger, watching his back with caution as he made his way to the back of the tavern, knowing there were dozens of leering eyes at his back, all-too eager to slit his throat.
He found who he was looking for, huddled in a corner, drinking mint tea.
"Morning Mechanicles!"
The Greek had enough time to register the voice before it finally sunk in and he sputtered his tea, knocking over the white cup.
"What do you want?" Mechanicles demanded when he had managed to collect himself enough to get over the fact his arch-nemesis was sitting across from him.
"Just some information Mechanicles!" Aladdin spoke, trying to sound friendly, though he knew it was too no avail. "A bit about that girl you've been telling everyone about…that ghost, as I've heard!"
Mechanicles sneered. "And what makes you think I'm willing to share anything I know with the likes of you?"
Aladdin shrugged. "Well, I guess you really are as crazy as their saying!" He smiled, then prepared to leave the table.
"Wait!" Mechanicles interrupted, just as Aladdin had known he would. "I'm not crazy!" The Greek muttered with distaste, then turned his sharp eyes to the younger man before him. "And it was no ghost, much as some of these street scum seemed to have invented it to be."
"So what did you see?" Aladdin asked, prodding him further.
Mechanicles paused, and his face seemed to suddenly be overcome with emotion, though it was unlike any Aladdin had ever seen him weaken to, as he seemed to be at that moment.
"Well?" He demanded of the inventor.
"It was a girl!" Mechanicles sneered suddenly, then his face softened as he recalled her further. "She was young…beautiful…" he trailed off with a reminiscing sight, as though he were still dwelling in the moment of the previous evening.
"Well, you never struck me as someone who would go for young girls Mechanicles!" Aladdin smirked, obviously enjoying poking at the villain, who looked up at him with a horrified expression.
"I'll have you know boy, that this was no ordinary girl!" He growled, his voice clouding with anger. "She was an angel…. her skin was so white…" he shook his head, closing his eyes tightly then opening them again.
"So what? So maybe she's from another kingdom," Aladdin shrugged, not seeing the big deal.
"You don't understand, you simpleton!" Mechanicles laughed bitterly. "This was no ordinary pallor. It reminded me of the same ivory white tone used in the pillars of Greece, where they sometimes erected statues of the Gods. Why, I once recall setting my eyes on the sight of Aphrodite, made of the same sort of beautiful stone, as was the exact tone of this girl's skin!" He sighed dreamily once more.
Aladdin rolled his eyes at Mechanicles' dramatics, yet he could see what the Greek was talking about. Skin of that sort of pallor was abnormal, but many things in Agrabah were as well.
"But her eyes…. Gods those eyes…" Mechanicles trailed off until his voice was no longer audible.
For some reason, the reference to the strange girl's eyes drew Aladdin's attention. He wasn't sure why that was, but something about it made him take notice.
"What about her eyes?" He asked, now clearly interested.
Mechanicles sighed. "They were the most loveliest of green! Like that of the purest of Peridot!" He spoke, his own eyes narrowing dreamily.
For some reason, Aladdin felt a violent shiver go through him at that moment.
"Tell me more about her!" He demanded. "Every little thing you can remember!"
For some reason, he had a feeling it may have been a ghost Mechanicles had encountered after all.
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Next, Arbutus tries to cope with having Aini back so unexpectedly, while Aladdin learn the truth behind the so-called ghost.
Also, here is another extra for you readers ^^ Here is a pic of Aini after her transformation: http://www.mediaminer.org/fanart/view.php?id=87937