BORDER

Chapter Sixteen

NERISSA

I awake to the sleeping bag pulled from underneath me. My dream fades to the back of my mind quickly as I hit hard, cold, earth.

"You, ugh!" I growl as I gape up at him. Anakin smirks before beginning to roll the sleeping bag up. "You're such a-"

"Uh, uh, uh, you wouldn't want to go against your great ruler's word, would you, Temptation? I'm convinced he would be very ashamed of your actions." Anakin says sarcastically as he rolls his eyes.

"You know nothing about Phanes."

He nods in agreement. "I know enough."

I knew we would never agree with this.

"I-"

"Let's go, Princess, I haven't got the time for another lecture." Anakin mutters before securing the sleeping bag to his bag and starting to walk towards the path. I dust myself off before following him. I take a deep breath as I try to fix my attitude. I am a positive person, I will not allow him to make me angry.

"Why is it okay for you to go against the rules of speaking of people, yet I can't?" I question as we thunder down a steep hill.

"Because you hail a dickwad who doesn't know his head from his ass." He responds with a groan.

Seriously? How insensitive.

"How would you know if you have never even seen him?" I say crossing my hands over my chest. I raise an eyebrow, doing my best to question him. I know better now than to make him more angry.

"Because I know things you don't nor will you ever understand." He says, glaring. "I defend what's right."

I laugh before glaring right back. "Yeah you could never do anything that's wrong, could you? Because you're such a good person."

His eyes slit my exterior and I can't help but look away. "You know, I was going to try and be nice to you but now, you're just a waste of time."

"It's not very you if you're not insulting my intelligence every five minutes." I shrug and snatch the map from his hand. "I'm tired of you being in charge, Grump. Take it from a real leader."

"I'm older than you by almost two centuries." He grumbles out.

"You don't look a single day over twenty-three." I joke and I see a small light flare in his eyes. He thinks my bad joke is funny, I wonder what else I can joke about to make him laugh.

"I wish I was only twenty-three." He looks wistful.

"The world was newer back then." I attempt to joke again but he has a weird look in his eyes.

"Yeah, actually." His age shows in his eyes. "It was."

I think it is a blessing to stop aging after a certain time. Most angels get our full form around our twenties, wings and all. I stopped aging at eighteen. I haven't grown physically since then. My face has slimmed out just slightly, but I've been stuck with this smaller frame for a while now. It's not so bad but I did wish to grow a couple inches. It is different for male angels though, fallen included. Some angels don't reach their full form until they are in their forties – a rarity but it happens.

I often think of why Phanes made us the way we are. I know it is not right to question him but...still. In our scripture of Phanes we are taught from a young age that men shouldn't hit, harm, or even lie to their women on our side of the border. It's different in the world of the fallen. They're hostile and overbearing and mean to their women which is why I doubt Anakin has any remorse for putting that dagger to my throat. I can not bring myself to stop wondering why? Why do the fallen exist? These supposed abominations that are not supposed to exist in the first place.