"You don't understand!" Emily shouted from under the bush of thorns. "I come from a really small town. My family will be wondering where I am…and I'm sure a search party will be sent out soon."
The winged creature with the blue hair rested his head against the branch of a tree. "And I keep telling you Emily, that we are no longer any where near your home town. We are hundreds and hundreds of miles away and there is no way anyone will hear your cry's."
Emily calmly closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The safety the thick thorn bushes were providing from the winged creature wouldn't last forever. He couldn't land safely for fear of tearing his precious wings. But Emily knew that sooner or later she'd have to move her body from the cramped space.
"Go away!" She shouted again.
The same quiet voice spoke. "Not until you come out under that thorn bush."
"Your crazy."
The creature just looked away.
******************
Emily's eye's felt heavy with sleep, but she forced them open.
It was so warm, she didn't want to get up.
Her eyes opened to see her hand resting against a soft white blanket.
She touched the incredibly soft cover. Her eyes sharpened and her hand pulled back with a silent cry.
She was covered under a wing! White feathers covered her from head to toe!
She turned her head upwards and came face to face with the creature, who was, thankfully, still asleep.
She must have fallen asleep and he'd pulled her from the bush, and now she was underneath the creature's wings! She had to escape while he was still asleep.
Quietly as she could Emily began to move upwards, trying not to touch the wing that covered her or the creatures body.
When she was halfway out, her hand accidentally brushed the wing closest to the shoulder.
The creature shuddered and the wing flexed.
Emily held her breath, but the creature remained asleep.
Trying not to go too quickly, Emily managed to pull herself out from under the creature.
She turned her head to get up when she felt a backwards wind gush push her hair forward.
She gasped as she turned and saw the creature's wings stretch high and the creature rear up on elbows to look at her.
Back peddling like a crab, Emily scrambled out of the creatures reach and took off.
She'd gotten three steps away when an arm encircled her waist and she was pulled off the ground.
She let out a scream and tried to kick or punch the creature.
"Good morning to you too Emily." the creature said in it's soft voice.
Emily stopped screaming, but didn't stop pounding on the arms holding her.
The huge white wings around her beat against the wind and took them higher and higher off the ground.
"Let me go!"
"I can't do that Emily."
The creature rested a hand against her forehead and against her will she relaxed in his arms and felt her eyes close against the wind.
**************
Gabriel held Emily close, fearful she would wake up again and start to struggle. They were soaring at too far a height for him to concentrate on the wind and her struggles..
Far below between the ocean and the clouds he could make out the beginning of the dotted Islands. Soon, he would have to make a quick landing.
Pulling his wings up tighter, he caught the air and began to dive.
A strand of Emily's chocolate hair kept wiping at his face.
He took one quick moment to look at her peaceful face. She couldn't understand how important she was. She would learn soon enough though, and then she would help them.
Suddenly, the sharp cliffs of the Island appeared through the gray clouds.
Jerking to the right, Gabriel avoided crashing into one of the spiky pillars that protected the castle from ever being seen by the outside world.
Concentrating very hard, Gabriel swooped down and came to a gliding halt on the top of the stone building.
"Lord Gabriel!"
Gabriel folded his wings behind him.
"Father Jenson, I am pleased to see you received the message!" Gabriel shouted over the wind.
He glanced over the other men in the brown robes. "Has Daniel arrived?"
Father Jenson shook his head. "The wind has been incredibly rough these past few days. He is waiting for the windstorms to die down a bit! You were always the reckless one Lord Gabriel!"
Gabriel smiled at the old man.
"Very well. Let's get out of this wind or soon we'll be horse from shouting!"
Father Jenson nodded his head.
The group traveled through the arched stone door into the cavern that was the castle. Gabriel still held Emily close to him, hoping she would remain asleep long enough for him to have her safely secured behind a locked door.
************
Emily coughed again and more liquid spilled onto the bed sheet.
"I won't drink anymore of that stuff!" she said.
"It's brandy and it will help you calm down." Gabriel told her.
Emily swatted away one of his feathers.
"I don't want to calm down. I want to know what I'm doing here!"
"We've been through this already Emily. You are a genetically altered human, after years of searching we, the Agean race have found the missing gene pool here on your Earth. Earth had been a colony for us many thousands of years ago until it was abandoned. Some remained and so the missing gene pool line filtered down into the veins of humans. Including you."
Emily looked at the blue haired creature with the small horns and tried to think straight.
"I want…my lawyer." Emily said tightly. "I'll sue your butt right through a couple thousand years of jail time!"
Gabriel sighed and put the goblet back onto the bed's side table.
"At least try to get some sleep Emily."
Emily did the opposite and jumped up. Standing on the bed she could now look the so-called 'alien' right in the eye.
"Look 'Mr. Psycho Alien Angel thing', I don't have to take this!" she shouted.
"Take what? I'm not giving you anything."
"What?"
"Pardon?"
Emily hands clenched into fists and she closed her eyes.
"Take me home right now." Emily told him.
"We can't do that." "Can't or won't?" Emily asked. When Gabriel didn't say anything, Emily shouted again. "Let me out of here!"
She then swung her foot upwards and caught the angel alien right in the stomach. Not exactly where she'd been aiming but close enough.
Gabriel bent over with a huff and came back up laughing.
"Now what are you doing?" Gabriel asked with a smile still on his face.
Emily was poised on the bed in the simple fighting stance everyone knows, fist outstretched ready for action.
"I'm getting ready to hurt you."
Gabriel smiled. White teeth flashing.
"Oh really?" he asked.
Emily tried to jump back but the wing caught her from behind and pulled her forward, she fell off the bed and landed hard against Gabriel's chest.
"I wouldn't call this trying to hurting me. In fact I'm rather enjoying it!"
Emily looked up into his conceited smiling face and cringed.
"I'm leaving!" she stated.
"Alright."
Emily remained in his arms, unable to move because of the blockade of feathers that surrounded her.
"Was there something you forgot to do? Another insult bubble to life in that little mind of yours."
"Don't call me little!" Emily snapped.
"Very well, how about beautiful."
Emily watched the smile on his face change. She didn't know what the difference was but it was there.
"I think I…I liked little actually."
"No, let's stick with beautiful for the moment."
Emily saw his head bend, felt his wings pull her closer and she tried to move out of the way.
"Don't!"
Suddenly he stopped. His wings lifted and the smile was gone from his face.
He stared at her, eyes wide with some emotion she couldn't or shouldn't understand.
He folded his wings behind him.
"Get some rest Emily." He said in a brisk authoritative tone she'd never heard before.
He'd actually been flirting with her for a while.
He walked out of the room and locked the door behind him.
Emily sat down on the bed, her mind reeling from what just had happened.
Correction, at what was happening.
She'd been kidnapped by a supposed 'angel alien', brought to some kind of castle where she was told by a bunch of fake monks that she was to be part of some kind of union to take place between the humans and the Ageans."!
Of course after such a wonderful journey, fight in the woods, plus in the air, Emily fell back on the bed completely exhausted.
Emily closed her eyes and remembered how she'd woken up in this small room. Gabriel had been pouring brandy in a goblet and had forced her to drink half of it.
There was a knock at her door.
Startled, Emily looked to the door.
"Who is it?"
"I'm Clarisa, Father Gregory sent me."
"Come on in."
The latch and lock on the outside opened and the door swung forward.
Emily blinked.
The woman wore the habit of a nun, but no nun ever looked like her.
"Hello." Clarisa said.
"Hi. I'm..."
"Emily. I know."
The woman actually sauntered into the room. No nun walked like that either.
"Who are you?" Emily asked suspiciously.
"I'm a friend of Gabriel's."
"Are you Agean?"
The woman named Clarisa rolled her eyes. "Of course! You're the only human in this castle you know."
Clarisa moved around Emily like she was examining her. "What?" Emily asked.
Clarisa stopped and sat down on the bed. "I hope you don't think that Gabriel will actually go through with this union project. I mean just...look at you. You're so…human!"
"This is a bad thing?" Emily said snapped.
"Gabriel needs an Agean woman Emily. Not some pain in the butt human childchasing after him.
Emily stood up from the bed and faced the blond woman.
"Look! You want Gabriel, fine you can have him."
"What are you stupid?"
"According to you I am."
"Are you mocking me?" Clarisa's eyes narrowed.
Emily sighed. "Look Clarisa, I just met this Gabriel Agean, I just found out about all of this, half of which I don't even believe. So trust me if you want to send me back home. I'm willing and ready to go!"
"I won't let you take him away from me." Clarisa said.
Emily shook her head. "Clarisa, we're just not getting through to each other here are we. I don't even like Gabriel, I don't even know him!"
"Liar!"
Clarisa just suddenly launched herself at Emily.
She was a tall woman and strong, Emily went toppling against the bed then fell to the stone floor. Clarisa landed on top of her, pulling at her hair and dress. Something tore and it was Emily's gown.
"Lying human!" Screamed Clarisa.
She grabbed more of Emily's dress and yanked Emily to her feet.
Emily rammed her fist into Clarisa's side
. Clarisa screamed but didn't let go of her grasp on Emily. Instead she pushed her forward to the window at the end of the room.
Emily realized that Clarisa was going to try and push her out the window.
"Help!" she screamed. "Help!"
COPYRIGHT 2000, Charmeye Thyme.
