The Bad Fairy (girlxgirlxgirl)

14. Feather Light

💧

Anemone flies against a tree. It hits her back, and forces air out of her lungs, making her cough loudly. She tastes blood in her mouth and licks it off her sharp teeth, savouring the taste. It's been a while since she actually got to taste her own blood in her mouth.

As much as this angel could slam against a wall, choke and die, Anemone is still convinced that this is a pretty fun exercise. It's been about an hour since they started and she hasn't felt this out of breath since... well, since she was like-... a fourteen-year-old kid. Evangeline might be the most annoying, disgusting, ugly, disturbing creature in all of the three realms, but at least she knows how to fight. In the end, that's all that matters. Will, perseverance and capability.

She looks out into the forest, where a white creature is slammed against another tree far off in the distance. She looks at her for a moment, and wonders if she can taste the same amount of blood in her mouth. If she can feel her old wounds reopening. If she can feel the burn in her chest and throat, the fresh scars and magic burns against her skin. If her eyes are watering at every movement and arms and legs feel shaky and sore. It's been an hour of non-stop fighting, swords clashing, sparks of enchanted metal burning and their wings trying to hold them up in the air. Anemone breathes out, sweaty and tired, the sun already pressing harshly from above.

"Ready to die yet?"

Evangeline's voice echoes from the forest, still annoyingly calm and ready to fight. Anemone is only comforted by the slight breathlessness in her tone. They could keep going, but they both know that it's time to set their prides aside and get serious.

Chepi escaped over an hour ago. They both knew that it had happened, the moment it happened. Chepi isn't as quiet at escaping as she must think she is. Or, well, she's not silent to their well-trained ears. But they were both convinced that they could kill each other fast enough to be able to chase after Chepi later. Sadly, they were both wrong, and now it's been a whole hour after the fairy escaped and they're still stuck fighting each other.

Anemone rests her head back against the tree and tries to catch her breath.

She kind of wants to stop fighting and start chasing Chepi instead. But if she turns her back against the angel now, Evangeline will just find a window and kill her. She groans, frustrated. There is now way out of this. Soon they'll both go home without a fairy and without a crystal. And eventually Chepi will return home, where Dieq might even put her in a room without doors to keep her safe, and kidnapping her from there will become even more difficult.

"Or-.. Did you die already?"

Anemone rolls her eyes at the hopeful tone. She closes her eyes and sighs, swallowing her huge ego in one big go. It really hurts.

"Do you want to postpone the fight?"

Anemone closes her eyes even tighter, expecting the usual, 'too scared?' comment from the angel, which will certainly tick her off. They'll go back to fighting and neither of them will ever get the fairy again. She can already feel the rage bubbling under her skin, and her ego threatening to come right back up where she swallowed it. That's what all of her training buddies used to say. Demons are a little immature like that. They like to egg you on even though it's unnecessary. In a way, it's stupid. But in a way, it helps you push your limits and either burn and die, or grow and find power.