Guardian - Chapter one

Not an Ordinary Girl- Chapter Two

Isbeth crossed her legs and straightened the doona in front of her.  Her hands flat, ironing over the creases until not a wrinkle remained.   She scanned her room. 

It was not the sort of room one would think of as a young girls room.  It did not have pink or purple walls, they were plain white.  There were not pictures hanging, or posters.  Not a single mirror was to be found.  In the middle of the room up against the wall was her Kingsized bed, with no side tables. 

A dull wooden rocking chair in one corner of her room oppostie her bed and a matching dull wooden dresser in the other corner.  Nothing with glass or pointed corners, infact, it could have been mistaken for a hotel room, except it didn't have a fridge and kitchen. 

How long was this going to take?  she began curling the ends of her long straight white hair between her fingers, glanced over at the window, then brushed the already unwrinkled covers of her bed again with her hands. 

That's it, she decided, i'm going to look whether they like it or not.  She scooted across the bed, jumped onto the floor landing softly on both feet without a single noise, as she was trained to do, and lept silently toward the window. 

Hiding behind the sheer curtain,  Isbeth looking through it as best she could without drawing attention.

Below she could see the circular driveway and gated entrance to the property, and standing around four black SUV's were 8 large blank faced men in suits, and her father. 

It was almost a comical scene watching them.  These large black suited men surrounding her dad, who was half their size and width.  His reading glasses pushed back up onto his receding hair like sunglasses, and he was wearing shorts and a ridiculous tropical shirt. 

If only she could hear what they were saying.  If only she knew where they were taking her this time. It was so frustrating having no clue.  Being so isolated. 

One of the bodyguards looked up in her direction, then her father followed suit.  Isbeth ducked back away from the window, her body flat against the wall, and her heart pounding. 

"silly" she closed her eyes for a moment "soooo silly.  someone could have seen you.  You know better" she said crossly to herself. 

She opened her eyes again and tipitoed back to her bed.   Climbed onto the king-size like a cat on the prowl, then flopped onto her back for a moment and looked up at the ceiling.  

Then sitting up she wriggled into the centre, crossed her legs and began straightening the bed covers again when the door burst open. 

Isbeth jumped.  Her heart hadn't regained it's normal rhythm yet and she was amazed how fast her father was able to get to her without a sound, till now.

"what have i told you about going near the window" his voice was unusually soft as he strode over and sat calmly on the edge of the bed.

"not to....i know...." she began regretfully

"this is for your own safety" he interrupted.  His voice was still soft.  It was unsettling.  He began to straighten the covers beside him with his hands, not looking her in the face.  There was something wrong.

"what is it this time" she sighed "another weird ritual or are you going away again?" her tone no longer sorry, but sarcastic.

  "neither....."he began "we are going to....." he stopped.  

The window Isbeth looked through only moments ago began to vibrate.  They both looked over at the window, then her father looked directly at Isbeth, his eyes widened and his face flushed white.  "oh no" he said standing suddenly and reached across the bed for Isbeth's hand.

"it's happening again isn't it" Isbeths heart was racing so fast it was hard to breath and tears suddenly burst from her eyes. 

Reaching for her father, she could already see her long straight white hair beginning to curl it's way up her shoulders into tight knots.  She watched as the skin of her outstretched hand turned pale, then white then almost translucent.

"pleassse daddy" she begged, though her voice was strained and it came out like a squeaky whisper.  Tears flowed freely down her cheeks now as her body stiffened and ached, she cried out, a barely audible squeal.  Still upright in a cross-legged position Isbeths body lifted off the bed. 

"dadddddyyyy" she groaned. 

He grabbed her hand just in time and pulled her behind him, using his body as a sheild and covered his eyes with his free arm.   Slowly and still holding Isbeth's hand tightly, he backed into the corner of the room without even a backward glance and pressed his back against her stomach holding in wedged in place between himself and the wall.

A screaming sound filled the air,  shattering the window.  Their faces grimaced, as both Isbeth and her father cried out, their eardrums succumbing to the pressure.  Isbeth could feel trickles of thick warm blood dripping from her ears, as the deafening scream continued.  Hovering off the ground stil, held in place in the corner of the room with her fathers back against her stomach, Isbeth watched the darkness enter through the broken window.  The dark mud like substance, moving like a smokey form, poured itself onto the carpet.  Her eyes blurred from the tears could still see this dark thing slick it's way across the carpet toward them. 

"you can't have her" her father yelled "you can't have her", she was sure that's what he said, the vibrations of his yelling sounding in the bones of her legs.  

Then as the darkness was nearly upon them, in that instant it reached out to touch them,  the room filled with a blinding white light.  Isbeth instictively covered her eyes with her free hand.  The screaming sound stoped, but now she could not see.   

As her eyes adjusted,  the light slowly fading, Isbeth noticed her ears somehow adjusted too and she could hear again.  She could see that the darkness had completely left.  She could hear the quick breaths of her father, still in front of her, but what caught Isbeth attention was the white winged figure at the door to her room. 

 At that moment, Isbeth's feet gently touched the floor.  Her hair fell loose about her shoulders and as she looked at her arms, she saw her skin change to the colour it should be again.  looking at her father, who had turned to see she was back to normal, Isbeth smiled, side stepped around him, releasing his hand as she went and asked the figure at the door...

"am i dead" her father turned to stand at her side as Isbeth looked  up at his face then to the figure at the door and back again.  Her voice sounded normal.  She touched her ear with her finger tips and looking at them saw there was blood.  "my ears don't hurt anymore and i can hear again.  Are you an angel?  Am i dead this time?"

The white light that fulled the room and the darkness that invaded it were both gone and yet standing there in the doorway was an angel, feathery wings outstretched, so large they covered both walls on either side. 

"no you aren't dead Isbeth" she said placing her Golden sword in it's sheath which hung from a golden belt at her waist. 

Isbeth didn't even notice she was holding a sword till now.  She watched as the angel folded her immense wings neatly behind her and as she flicked her long blond hair her clothing changed into a long white trench coat, white shirt and white pants.  She wore a gold belt, were her sword hung and wore practical white boots. 

"ahhh.." the angel sighed, tugging her jacket to neatly cover her sword, which seemed to disappear beneath.

"it's been a while since i've gone casual"  her eyes twinkled, it seemed.  A wave of relief, peace and calm, it was difficult to explain, washed over Isbeth. 

"oh and yes i am an angel.  I'm your guardian angel Isbeth.  My name is Calindra.  But you can call me Cal"