**Caelin**
No. No, no, no. God, no.
She was remembering.
Oh, God what could I do?! My love, my Deliah! She was going to die if she remembered.
I could set her free.
Ah, the old, stupid cleshe. 'If you love her, let her go.'
One problem. That was an impossibility.
Oh, sure, I could wipe her memory and hand her back to her parents. They would get their memories back, and she would live happily ever after in her nice little sheltered home. Never knowing who she was, where she belonged.
I had been watching her doing that for 158 years.
Reancarnation was a bitch, huh?
Yeah. Every time she died, she came back as another human. That was how Alanze's curse worked. My Deliah couldnt remember me, not without dieing.
But I couldnt be away from her anymore. To watch her from a distance, and her not knowing I was there...
It was torture. I had been with her through every one of her lives. Sometimes I guided her.
But now I was going to take her back.
The flashback hit me without warning.
***
I walked along the icy roads of Hell. My raven-dark wings ruffled in the arctic breeze, and I closed my eyes. So cold. Cold as I was.
A shrill scream distrubed my deadly calm.
It was a slave woman, her pale brown hair unwashed and matted. I paid her no mind. She was a mere slave, and her master was keeping control of her. Nothing out of the ordinary.
But then there was a soft white light aroung the slave woman. Her tortured eyes settled a bit, and in a moment she was resting peacefuly. The white light pooled in the street, slowly forming the shape of a young woman.
Ah. That explained it. I was an Angel. Not a Dark Angel, but one from a heavenly dimension. The girl went to the slave and toched her delicately on the forehead. She smiled.
Her pure white wings enfolded the woman. when she pulled back, the slave was gone.
The slave owner was not happy.
"Wha'dja do that for?!" The slave owner demanded. "She was my best girl, she was!"
"Well, we had a callback," the Angel said. "The womann is released from Hell and is going to the land of Gods. She is free."
The demon snorted and went on his way.
I found myself staring at the girl. She had long white hair that cascaded to her ankles in waves. Her skin was the fair white ofpeach blossoms. Her large, innocent eyes were lapis blue, with a dusting of pink rose.
She turned to look at me.
The question slipped out of my mouth.
"Who are you?"
***
"Caelin... Caelin?... Caelin!"
I shook my head and looked up to see Zara's cat-green eyes giving me a quizzical look. Her blue hair shimmered in the dim light of my bedroom.
"Zara..." I whispered. I knew my voice was choked.
"I know," was all she said.
**Deliah**
Caelin could feel love. Huh.
I had a hard time beleving it.
I rested my head against the headboard of my bed. My hair pooled around me, making it look like I was sitting in a puddle of moonlight.
Was that why I was here? Did I look like this old girlfriend of Caelin's? Was he that insane?
There was a knock at my door. Caelin walked in.
"Uh, hi," I said. He answered with a grim nod.
"I wanted to apologize for my behavior to you. I was rude." he said.
I raised an eyebrow at him. "Uhuh."
"Yes. I am, ah, deeply sorry for the way I treeted you."
"Uhuh."
"Do you accept?"
"Uhuh."
He exploded.
"Can you say anything else?!" he roared. I grinned at him evily.
"Urgh! So stubborn! And you've always been this way, always having the last word..."
His dark eyes held mine. We were inches apart.
And then, of course, he kissed me.
