White Wing

A Fallen Angel

"No, I'm not going to defend myself," I said, head up as I stared into the eyes of my king, of my Lord. Lord Darian, his name was.

I had learnt it long ago, always keep your head up. Even if your wings are torn or burnt, always keep your head up.

"You'll be cast out if you don't defend yourself," said Lord Darian, looking as if each word physically pained him.

I shrugged, as I heard people whisper from the side in the throne room, Villainess. Well it's such a lovely title, I may as well adopt it.

"Farewell, Estriel."

And with that, I fell. I'd like to tell you I wasn't that worried, that it would be alright, but I didn't believe that myself. With one wing torn, there's no way I'll have a safe landing.

Or so I thought. My landing was quite soft, I realized as I looked down. I had landed on top of someone, someone whose lime green eyes were staring back at me.

Demon.

I could tell instinctively as I jumped back.

He got up and rubbed his head. "Ouch."

That may have made me feel slightly guilty, but I stepped back again, looking around. People were staring at me, or more specifically, the wings that spread behind me.

A flash of light beside me, and almost everyone stopped moving, as if they were frozen in time.

"Estriel."

I looked over to the voice, realizing we were beside the sea. Another angel was sitting on the railings, her wings spread behind her.

"Sanvi?"

Sanvi nodded and smiled. "That was quite the fall."

"Have you come to gloat?"

Sanvi put a hand to her heart as if I had stabbed her. "How could you accuse me of such a thing?" She smiled. "I thought you didn't like bad endings."

"Isn't it normal for the villainess to have a bad ending?"

"Have you started reflecting on your decisions already?"

"Of course not," I said with great dignity. "I am still an angel, with fire in my bones—"

"—and ichor in my veins," Sanvi completed, a sad smile on her face. "You still don't know much about an angel who falls from grace."

"Huh?" I asked.

Sanvi shook her head. "I should be going. You'll probably never see me again, but be sure we're watching you."

"That sounds like a threat," I said, an eyebrow raised.

Sanvi smiled and stepped back, disappearing, as time began to move again.

I saw the green-eyed, white-haired demon brat still eyeing me with interest. And that was when I realized he had not frozen in time. Sanvi was one of the most powerful angels, and I shuddered to think what this meant.

I noticed people were going about their day, meaning I was invisible to them.

My wings were throbbing as the white-haired man stepped forward.

"Demon," I hissed.

"Angel," he countered. "Although it would appear you've fallen quite hard, no?"

Talk about rubbing salt into a wound.

I looked up at my wing, properly for the first time after the fight. One was pure angel white. The other was blackened, tattered and torn. I sighed. I would never fly again. But no matter, I was just as good on my feet. I started to walk away.