Behind These Wings

Fairy Lights

Izzy looked out of the bedroom window. Down in the courtyard below she could see the children playing in the snow. One young family caught her eye. The young girl, no more than five, was hovering a foot off of the ground, her father waiting anxiously below in case her wings failed to hold her up but the gleeful expression on the little angel's face told Izzy that this was unlikely to be a problem. The girl's older brother flew in circles around his sister obviously wanting to demonstrate his superior skills but his constant flurry of tips suggested that he cared more about her than he would let on. On the ground below their mother was beginning the foundations for an elaborate snow angel, the plumb base being formed first before she began to elongate the body and sculpt the wings.

They were laughing. Grinning as the snow coated their wings. Free.

Free to laugh.

Free to love.

Free to live.

Izzy watched as the father joined his children in the air, his powerful wings beating slowly to maintain his height before he swept in suddenly and whisked his son into his arms, tickling the giggling angel for a few minutes before he let go and proceeded to chase the young angel through the sky.

His little girl laughed so much at their antics that she lost her focus and tumbled to the ground but this didn't deter her as she quickly rose to her feet and called out to her father for a piggy back so that she could help him catch 'Natey.' He, of course, obliged.

With the window wide open it was easy to catch snippets of conversations. Whispers of glee as the angels enjoyed their free time. Glancing over her shoulder to the bare room behind her, Izzy was reminded that this wasn't her free time. It was a rarity for her to get such a thing. She was supposed to be organising the decoration of the Palace when she had been distracted by the lively chuckles of the angels outside.

She wished hopelessly that she could join them, even if only for a few minutes. She wondered what it felt like to be a child without a care. She had lost her childhood so young that she didn't think she could remember a time when there wasn't something to worry about, something that she needed to do or something that was threatening her.

Izzy looked wistfully back at the children once more but she knew that she had to go; she couldn't waste any more time dreaming. It wasn't an approved activity.

Feeling the chill in the air more than most, she took a thicker cardigan from her wardrobe and wrapped it around her pulling it in tight to her chest as she made her way down the draft filled corridors towards the ballroom. Even as she approached the room she could hear her husband's voice instructing the staff in where the hundreds of decorations should be placed. It was a task that Izzy used to love. The event that sparked that precious excitement for Christmas within her, but now it held no such appeal as the days went on she became more and more confused.

Drew was courteous as ever, careful not to overstep the mark but sometime she got the impression that he was trying not to spook her rather than drawing up those boundaries for his sake. Every so often she would wonder if it was possible. Was it possible for him to still love her? Even in the minutest quantity? After everything that she had done? It seemed impossible but for a few seconds every few days she would wonder.

Of course he still didn't know the worst of it.

Izzy couldn't help but feel under more scrutiny than ever before. Every time she looked up from a task there would be another set of eyes shadowing her every move. He had thankfully kept His distance for the past week but she could still feel His presence. He would lurk in the corners of a room, so deep within the shadows that you could be within a meter and still not recognise his features. He was watching her just as He had warned and He was determined, Izzy felt sure, to make her slip up.