Chapter 20
So sorry I couldn't update. I had horrible writer's block and I still kind of do, sorry if this chapter is horrible. I did the best I could … I tried writing but nothing else came out. I don't believe in authors notes as chapters because that's just cruel to my dedicated readers. *sniffs in disdain* I can't believe I have over 2700 readers, can I get 3000 or do I not deserve it? Anyways, my brother used to say the reason that he doesn't write is because he's Writer's Block Incarnate. I'm starting to see the truth in this. Actually, no excuses, I'm sorry.
Max
I wake up suddenly, Fang's dark face looming over me. His hand is still clasped tightly in mine. I looked around. We're in a forest, I realize. It looks very familiar but I don't know how.
"Max?" Fang whispers gently.
"I'm awake, what is it?" I remain lying on the ground, looking up at him.
"I love you, Max," he leans down to kiss me. I sit up to meet him halfway and to kiss him better.
"I love you, too, Fang," I murmur into his lips.
We break apart and I settle back into his arms. "Where are we?" I ask suddenly.
"I was hoping you knew."
Something occurs. I bolt up to me feet. "Where's the Flock? There's not still in Hell are they?"
Fang just laughs- not really, it was more of a tiny chuckle because Fang doesn't laugh- and tugs my arm to make me sit back down. "I had help saving you, Max. The Flock is in Heaven right now, testifying what they experienced in Hell. We'll win this."
I just look at him, a deep feeling of foreboding deep in my chest.
"Once the Flock testifies, the Warriors will suit for battle and then we'll win the war. Relax, Max, you're like a statue," he jokes.
"But it's different this time, Fang!" I feel hopeless, "They have the advantages now! What with the obsidian and allies. They've been training for war every day of their existences!"
He looks at me like a stranger, "Max, have some faith will you?"
I close my eyes. This was a kind of fear too, not just the fears they showed me in the Torture Chambers. It was the fear of losing, losing everything I know, losing safety. I feared losing the Flock and losing Fang. I thought I was resentful before about becoming guardian but that's nothing. And I feared most of all that Lucifer will control me again. Whenever I was around him, I was under a spell of some kind. When I was around him, my heart beat Lucifer, Lucifer, Lucifer. But when I was away from him, I could think clearly and know what a monster he truly is. It was almost like a spell. Back before the War, I followed him like a puppy followed its master. Back before the War, he was safety to me. Now, the Flock is my safety.
Lucifer will always mean something to me because I loved him once, but not the way I loved Fang. I love Fang out of my free will, not because I was influenced by a spell, or anything of the sort. I loved Fang because I knew him, because he was there for me, because he took care of me. I loved him because he was my best friend.
But this was illegal. Angels couldn't love, not like this. What happened to my spiritual purity? Did I ever have any? Was I turning into an Earthborn or even a human? Was I around humans too much? Where did I get this emotion from? I've never met any other angel, not even the Earthborns or any other guardian, that felt this way to another. Maybe they were better at hiding their emotions than I was, but I've never heard of this.
Loving Fang was like faith, a blind faith. I could never know where it'll lead me, or if it was a good or bad thing. I just had to trust.
"Faith," I murmur, looking at Fang. I press my lips to his, pouring all my confusion, my despair, and my love into the kiss.
Fang
Max was silent for the longest time. I could almost see the thoughts flitting in her eyes. She kisses me and she tastes like sadness and fear. I kiss her back, holding her tightly. She pulls back first and I tuck a wild tendril of hair back behind her ears.
She shifts awkwardly, "We-We should find out where we are," she says, rising and holding out a hand to me. I take it and stand with her. I look at her a little confusedly.
We fly up into the air, our wings beating perfectly in synchronization. She laughs as she looks up at me, but the sound isn't relaxed as it used to be. She's tense, and she's rigid. She's grown up some, but she's still that selfish, lovable, one-track minded Max I always knew. I drop down below her and she looks shocked as my face appeared under hers. I lean up to kiss her and she almost forget to flap her wings. She comes tumbling into me for just a moment and I don't let her recover but instead wrap my arms firmly around her. I fold my wings in closely behind me and let us drop down. Her eyes fly open but I just hold onto her tightly. The ground rushes up at us. In the last second, I open my wings, slowing our fall just in time.
"Fang!" she says, but she's laughing, "Don't you ever do that again!"
She punches my arm but I don't mind so much. Suddenly she looks around at the clearing we're in. "We're back in Rome," she breathes, happily.
Max
I look around. I remembered this place. I'd been assigned to Titus since he was a child. Long ago, he used to go to this clearing when his relatives went on their Royal Hunting Trips. I'd used to watch him as he just lay there, just hiding from his teachers. He reminded him of me, when I was young. Back then, he could still see me. I called myself Lara back then, meaning Protector, and he could still see me. I was his only friend besides his family and a squire boy working for one of his father's generals. He used to tell me everything. Then, he turned eighteen, and he'd grown further and further from me as he accepted his responsibilities. That was the day he couldn't see me anymore. I think he still knows that I'm still here, still taking care of him.
Okay, there we go. Faxness, and some of Titus's background. This is sort of a filler for next chapter. So yeah… So sorry I didn't update. Reviews? Köszönöm (Hungarian)