When Angels Fall In Love

Chapter 8: His Name

Erelah made a feeble attempt to stretch her wings with hope to flee before being discovered.  If she left now the only things that would speak to her presence would be the crater she laid in and the scattering of fallen branches from the destroyed forest canopy.  Her wings shook as inch by inch she tried to extend them to full length.  Erelah had to stifle the silent scream as pain lined every muscle down to the feathers of her wings.  It was useless...

Her heartbeat sounded like a war drum pounding in her ears, sheer desperation taking over any logical thought as the footsteps could be heard over the frantic beat of her heart.  There was a crunch of leaves and snap of a branches, Erelah found herself flinching with each sound like she was being slapped.  She could taste her fear on her dry tongue.  She gave up on trying to flee, all she could do now was wrap her wings around herself and pray.  Pray for what? She didn't really know, Erelah was trapped and it took everything she had to still her shaking wings and slow her labored panicked breathing despite the pain and fear.

The thump of boots against dirt made Erelah jump as she subsequently tightened her wings further around herself.  The human was before her now, the mysterious human from the meadow just a few feet away, her entire being was screaming at her to flee, to hide, to do something! But she couldn't, it was too late now...Any previous curiosity or infatuation with the humans was now long forgotten.

"S-stay away," Erelah hissed, grimacing at the sound of her own voice as it trembled and sounded anything but strong and mighty like the angel she was.  Through her feathers, she caught a glimpse of the male.  Green eyes tracked the movement and their eyes met, her heart seizing in response but didn't break the contact with his gaze.

"I'm not going to her you..." He said gently, Erelah's body lost some of its tension at the of voice and the truth in his words.  His voice was deep and melodical, it felt like a salve against her skin as it caressed her ears.  Say something else..."Are you her?" He asked, "The same woman from the meadow?  Erelah didn't respond but she might as well have melted at the sound of his voice.  I would give up my halo to hear it again and again...

That singular thought scared her back to reality but found it curious that he wasn't afraid of her...at least not at the moment.  She had never had an encounter with a human, much less spoken to one.  Interaction with them was forbidden and Erelah was breaking about a hundred rules just being in his presence but at the moment she found she didn't care...

He took another step forward, albeit hesitant but she didn't flinch away at the movement this time.  Erelah watched him kneel before her with wide curious eyes, his body was graceful and full of care as if she was a doe that had emerged from the trees.  His hand reached towards her and her heart gave a hard thump against her chest.  She waited with bated breath, waited for he softest brush of his fingertips against her feathers...

His touch was utterly gentle and reverent, the slightest graze of his skin erupting a wave of tingles through her wing and into her body to warm it deliciously.  Erelah's body fully relaxed, muscles untensing at the waves of calm and subsequent comfort his touch brought with it.  Even the aching pain seemed to dull as he caressed her wing. 

Feeling brave, Erelah slowly allowed him to pull her wing back until no barriers separated them and they met face to face.  There was a soft smile on his lips as their eyes met.  Beautiful green orbs strayed from her gaze, traveling over the expanse of Erelah's ragged appearance as she stared at his face.  She searched his face for even a hint of fear, but found nothing as tingles erupted across her skin.

"Hello," A smile bloomed on his full lips and Erelah couldn't find her words, too stunned by his beauty to formulate a mutual greeting.  Disbelief had settled low in her gut like a rock and she couldn't bring herself to believe that he was truly standing before her now or that he was looking at her in such a way.  It seemed too much of a dream to be true.

It took all of Erelah's courage to reach for him, shaking fingers extending towards his face in hopes of dispelling the dream she was so obviously having.  This wasn't real.  She had to have hit her head...He wasn't real.

Oh, but it was...it was all too real as her fingertips brushed against his warm cheek and wandered down the side of his face to his jaw and neck.  So smooth and warm, no dream could compare to the human before her.

...forbidden...Erelah watched her fingertips trace over his shoulder.

...forbidden...Her hand traveling across his collar bones before pressing her palm lightly against his chest...this is forbidden...Erelah could feel his heartbeat, constant and steady...

THIS IS FORBIDDEN...Erelah pulled her hand back like she had been burned, the words repeating over and over in her head as her mind reeled from the consequences of this interaction.  Just in the past few minutes Erelah had broken hundreds of angelic laws.  Fear of the other angel's finding out about her transgressions made her chest clench so hard she couldn't breathe as panic took over. 

Erelah hurriedly tried to stand, suddenly desperate to flee and get as far away as possible, away from him and the feelings that he brought with him.  Pain brought Erelah out of the panic, her side and the rest of her body screaming in absolute protest as she clutched her ribs and the edges of her vision darkened considerably.  Erelah reached out to steady herself, a hand latching onto her wrist and holding her steady while she swayed on her feet. 

When Erelah finally sat down again, her head was spinning as pain and fear overrided any clear thought. 

"Everything's ok...I'm not going to hurt you," The human whispered, the sound of his voice seeming to ground her as she became acutely aware of his hand holding hers gently.  An unfamiliar warmth rose to Erelah' s cheeks before quickly slipping her hand out of his grasp.

 She quickly scooted away from him as much as she could, unable to hide the wince of pain as she pulled her knees protectively to her chest. A sad look crossed the males face, before pointing out the obvious, "You're hurt..."

"I'm fine," Erelah croaked. Her voice sounded anything but fine, coming out broken and strained. The human raised an eyebrow at her, looking doubtful.

Erelah openly glared at him before looking away and playing with a snarled strand of her golden hair. Her wings twitched involuntarily, the human's eyes flicking to them curiously before glancing back to her.

"Do you have a name?" The question made Erelah still, looking up at him finally. "I don't know what to call you...woman from the meadow doesn't seem fitting." His words made her crack a small smile while she contemplated the information's worth. Just a name, her name...Oh, to Hell with it.

"Erelah." Annoucing her name with pride as their eyes met with intensity.

"Beautiful..." The smiled that bloomed on his face was enough to knock the wind from Erelah chest as her heart seized with an emotion unknown to her.

"And to what do I call you?" Erelah's asks in attempt to hide her nervousness. "Human from the forest doesn't seem to fit you either."  Another dazzling smile from him and a light chuckle.

"Beautiful and witty." Erelah's face grew hot as he looked on with a gentle smile. A gentle smile that since their first meeting Erelah couldn't remember ever leaving his face like it was always naturally there. "Samuel," He cleared his throat. "Call me Samuel..."

...Samuel...