The Golden Touch
Chapter 3 – Wings
If I take the time to think.
If I take the time to breathe.
I can slowly remember it.
I can remember the very first time I cried.
I lay awake in the dark.
Staring at the cracks of the wall.
The sunrise slowly started to rise.
And with that sunrise, I began to cry.
That was when I realised.
I was in love.
The two figures stood on the brim of the bridge. In silence, they watched.
"Let me handle it tonight," said the first.
The second nodded slowly, her eyes focused intently on the soldiers below.
The first extended his wings; they were pure white and glowing like crystal. He turned to her,
"Stay here, be safe," he said, before swooping down out of her sight.
She didn't speak, she merely continued to watch.
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"You ready for this?"
"Couldn't be more ready,"
"Yeah, considering I'm the one doing all the work,"
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah."
"Okay then, fair enough,"
I was getting used to the transforming by now. It was easy, and I was slowly getting used to the unfamiliar feelings. Recently, it's been really easy, I close my eyes as me, and when I open them I'm Dark, that's how simple it was getting.
Tonight, we were stealing 'The Legend Of Kikah', a rare painting.
Dark smiled to himself in the mirror, before extending his black wings.
"Lets get the show on the road then," he smiled, ascending into the sky, "I hope it isn't too boring for my taste"
"What's with the insistent need for adventure? You'd think you'd have enough of these strange adrenaline rushes but no, you have to-" my ranting was cut off as we entered the room.
The painting hung on the far wall; there was no barrier and no glass.
Dark made an expression that was hard to tell if he were amused or annoyed, "This is easy!" he exclaimed.
"Yeah, too easy, Dark, I don't think that-" I started.
"Shh," Dark said, turning round.
"What?" I asked, panicked.
"Just be quiet," he whispered, looking around suspiciously.
The silence of the room was slowly creeping me out; it felt like someone was there, I was sure that Dark felt it too.
Something moved, Dark turned swiftly to its direction.
It was a single white feather.
Dark smirked, before looking straight up into the air.
"Fancy meeting you here," he said, "Krad,"
The figure descended to the ground lightly. His long, golden hair glimmering in the darkness. He was dressed in white, and had matching white wings.
I didn't speak. I knew who this was. This was Krad. He worked in lineage with Serenity.
"On the contrary, Dark I'm not here for the reason you think I am here. You may think I'm here to stop you from taking the picture, however, I'm here with a stead warning," said Krad, walking closer.
"And that is?" Dark asked.
"Serenity." Said Krad, smiling.
"Surprised you have a rival in affection? Krad?" Dark said raising an eyebrow.
"Quite." Said Krad, "and most of all, surprise that it's you."
"So, what's the warning?" Dark asked.
"You'll never be able to get her to love you back. Least of all, while I'm around, besides, don't you think its best not to go against me? You know you're not strong enough." Krad said, leaning back.
Dark's face flickered annoyance, "I always get what I want, Krad, you of all people should know that,"
Krad nodded, "Well then, looks like I've got a new reason to hate you,"
Dark paused, before jumping up out of the room, painting in hand.
"What-" I began.
"I don't know." He said.
"You don't know what I was going to ask!" I exclaimed.
"You were going to ask if things are going to get a little more complicated." He said.
"No. I was going to ask if what he said was true, is he stronger than you?" I asked.
"Well, that I don't know about, but I'm telling you something, there's no way I'm letting his get Serenity." He said.
Dark turned to look at the bridge, where we saw another figure. A woman. With wings of pure gold. Dark stopped.
"We're not going over there!" I shouted.
But Dark wasn't listening; he was already flying to the bridge.
"Isn't it a little late for a lady to be out by herself," Dark smiled.
"So, you got the painting," she said.
"You gonna try and stop me taking it away?" Dark asked.
"No. Lucky for you, I'm off duty. Tonight's all Krad," she said, folding her arms.
"Really?" said Dark, looking at the painting casually. He slowly held it forward, "You could just take it. Right now."
She looked at it carefully, but didn't move.
Dark put the painting down.
He walked closer to her, holding out his wrists, "Or, you could just take me."
She looked into his eyes. "Do you love me, Dark?" she asked.
I could tell Dark wasn't expecting that, he took a step back.
"Then promise me something," she said.
Before she could say anything, Krad cam from behind the bridge and picked up the painting, he smiled.
"Never trust me," she finished, before the two flew away into the night.
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"Great, that's just great. We don't have the painting and I think its safe to say that your pride is down the drain." I said, annoyed.
Dark didn't say anything from inside me. Since we transformed, he hadn't said a word.
"Come on, Dark, its not the end of the world." I said, in hope he would respond.
"I can't believe she knows that I love her." He said.
"Yeah, women do have a tendency for those things sometimes, or maybe you were being too obvious, anyway! I told you not to go over there! If you hadn't we would still have the painting, and if you hadn't been messing about, maybe you wouldn't be telling yourself that." I said.
"But, if she's telling me that she doesn't want me to trust her, that must mean she's trying to protect me, and if she's trying to protect me, that must mean she at least doesn't hate me!" Dark said, his regular tone starting to come back into speech.
"I think I preferred it when you were depressed," I said, tickling Wiz's tummy.
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Hokuto and Kunsuke walked down the moonlit path.
"I think its safe to say we won that time," Hokuto smiled, looking at the painting.
Kunsuke nodded.
"Looks like out alter-egos are in a bit of a love triangle," she laughed.
Kunsuke smiled.
Hokuto sighed, "He'll get the painting sooner or later, though, right?"
"Probably. But don't worry," smiled Kunsuke, looking at the painting closely.
"Krad and I have something very different in store for them next time."