Before I Fall

Chapter Seven

Morgan tried hard to search for the right words to say. She didn't know much about her father as he was never present at all in her life which subjected her to a horrible life with her crazy bitch of a mother.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Morgan asked as a little anger began bubbling inside her.

"I'm sorry peanut, I should have but I thought you would be fine. You were thriving here. You're angelic side has always been dominant, you've always yearned to do good, to be better at everything and so your demon was dormant. Now I fear that because of what Tarek did, it fueled a monstrous anger which has awoken your demon."

"I-I.... I can't believe this. An angel? What was my mother thinking? We never consort with their kind, it's unheard of." Still trying to get over her shock, Morgan began thinking about how such a thing could have happened. She's always known she had a father but was never given any details about him, only that he left as soon as he heard she was conceived. Things were now slowly starting to make sense when it came to the relationship with her mother.

"Mignon has always been a wild card, if it's not extreme then she wants no part of it. I have tried my best with that girl, trained her to be the Queen our race needs and what did she do? Start a bloody war that's been raging for five hundred years with no end in sight." Hillary was now scrambling some eggs as she continued talking.

"Sacrificing demons for her own selfish needs was bad enough, but who knows where she even dug up an angel from and flaunting him as her prized possession, corrupting him slowly as she did so. Anyone who dared question her affiliation with the angel was put to death. Then," she paused taking a breath, putting Morgan on edge.
"One night there was a threesome with your mother, her best friend and the winged creature that created you and your sister which in turn-"

"Wait, what? What sister?!" Morgan exclaimed because as far as she knew, she was an only child. Hillary sighed then admitted,

"Lourdes is your sister."

"Oh my- what?! Nana I thought we had a good relationship, why keep all these secrets from me, huh?!" In the span of twenty-four hours, her life felt like it was destroyed by a tornado, destroying everything she thought she'd ever known and the person she loved.

"I'm sorr-"

"Stop! Just... stop Nana. I can't take anymore apologies from you" Morgan had a hard time processing all this new information about her parents and her new sister. She'd always have a feeling that there was more to Lourdes than met the eye. The two just couldn't stay away from each other, ever since they were toddlers. Morgan removed herself from the presence of her grandmother and walked over to the opened glass door to take a breath of the fresh ocean breeze, her mind lingering on her best friend.

Mignon had never told Morgan why she and Tara, Lourdes' mother, didn't get along well even though Tara was one of Mignon's top generals. Then again, she was too young at the time to understand the dynamic of their strange relationship. No, all Morgan cared about at that time was sneaking in to the care center where the infants of demons in high positions could leave their youngs whenever they had business in the castle and that is where Tara would leave Lourdes as she spent long hours in meetings with Mignon.

Morgan at the time being starved for attention and love would slip quietly out of her bedroom she was constantly ordered to stay in and go to the care center to try and make friends with the other children. However, being afraid of getting in trouble for speaking to the princess, she was shunned by the other children but not Lourdes, no, on the second time going to the center Lourdes declared that they were best friends forever as she dragged Morgan to a corner away from the fearful eyes of the other children so that they could play with dolls together.

As they both got older, their frienship grew so strong to the point where they called themselves sisters. Morgan just didn't know how true that was, but she should have picked up on the signs, like the fact that they shared the same birthday and the same interests such as dancing. The more hate and criticism she received from Mignon the more love and appreciation she got from Lourdes, even Tara cared for her even though she wasn't on good terms with her mother.

The memory of Lourdes' light blue eyes and platinum blond hair floated around in her mind, she was the exact replica of Tara and in her heart Morgan was jealous of the bond they shared because she longed for one like that with her own mother.

Morgan and Lourdes were as different as pepper was from salt but they went so well together. It broke both their hearts when Morgan decided at only nine years old to take up her grandmother's offer to have her live with her on Earth because of Mignon's poor treatment. She wanted to live with Tara and Lourdes instead but Mignon couldn't find out that Lourdes and Morgan even knew each other at that time, the care center workers kept their friendship hush-hush as they took pity on the princess.

She had to admit, the friendship was too strong for them not to be sisters and now Morgan wondered if Lourdes knew the truth and what she thought about that whole situation with their parents. They only saw each other once after Morgan left the Underworld and it was on their seventeenth birthday. Lourdes said she insisted that she had to turn seventeen on Earth to celebrate with Morgan and that they did.

They went club hopping as being a dancer gave one the benefit of looking older than they were so they took full adavantage of that using fake IDs, doing shopping sprees, an exploration at Disney World then culminating their birthday weekend being pampered at Hillary's home at her expense. At the end of it all, Morgan tried to persuade Lourdes to stay on Earth with her instead of entering the portal that would take her back to the Underworld, but she couldn't.

Lourdes was in love. Her mate, Quinn, who she'd met five months prior was waiting for the love of his life to return to him and she also longed for him. Morgan felt annoyed and jealous that the only person she called friend was being taken from her and by a boy at that. They had sworn off boys when they six years old but that was then. However, they stayed in contact through magical messages transported through blood used as ink to write or through portals which are not guaranteed to reach the receiver. They always gave an update on what was happening in their lives to keep the excitement going between them.

The clanking and jingling of pans and utensils brought Morgan's mind back to the kitchen and the smell of breakfast hit her like a tonne of bricks making her belly growl. She turned to face her grandmother who then broke the long silence,

"Let's get you something to eat peanut." as Morgan nodded and sat at the table in the kitchen. Hillary handed her a plate of waffles, eggs, bacon and beans, a bowl of fruit salad and a cup of green tea then joined her at the table with her own as they began eating in silence.