Beyond Our World

Chapter 1 - Part 2: If I Could Love Somebody

"Let's just say I keep an open mind and leave it at that." She looked away. A harsh, icy tone had crept into her voice. It suggested I do as told. I played obedient, but I knew I would bring up the topic again another day.

"Hey. I didn't catch your name."

She beamed, seizing the chance at a different topic.

"Of course you didn't. I didn't tell you what it was."

I grinned at her, glad to be off thin ice now too. "So...?"

"Which one?" She asked, tilting her head to her left.

"What d'ya mean-" I started.

"Woah. Lisenna. You almost gave away your name back there. You know how dangerous that is." Mocked a voice that had suddenly come from behind me.

I turned around and got a good look at the surprise guest.

"Well, stupid. You gave it away for me. Thanks." Sighed Lis. She went to sit behind her desk and started to jot down some notes.

"Oops," said the boy. He was clearly lying through his teeth, with heavy sarcasm. He was also clearly eye-candy. For anyone else that is. He had that messily cute blob of hair that seemed effortless, but probably took ages to perfect. Strands hung over his eyes, accentuating their navy-blueness. He was well built, and it showed through his grey V-neck tee. His outfit overall was not too shabby, for a semi-fashion-conscious boy.

Even with all that going on, the most interesting thing about him that instantly caught my attention were the stunning pair of wings.

"How did you get those?" I blurted out, unable to control my astonishment.

He smirked. "What, these guns? Oh, just with a lil' work. That's how." He flexed his biceps and smirked wider.

"Thanks for telling me your little secret. Now I can get biceps as big and as useless as yours! Really, thanks!" Fake gratitude seeped into my demeanor in such a heavy concentration that the sarcasm was obvious. Lisenna laughed outright at that.

"HAH! She's a keeper! You passed the test, my friend." She came over and clapped me on the back. "Now you really must be going or you'll be late to the Orientation." She proceeded to push me out of a door I had not noticed before. The boy followed me out, chuckling.

The sliding door slid shut and its edges disappeared from sight, not peripheral vision though.

"How did I not see that before?"

"Well, maybe it's because it wasn't there before." The boy explained. "That door moves all the time. It's part of the security."

"Why would you need to control who goes in or out?" I wondered.

"We have our reasons. And our special emergency situations."

I arched a brow at that.

"By the way, my name's Raphael. Thanks for asking."

"Oh, sorry. I'm Arelisiana. Arelisiana Raelysa Dujardin."

"Yeah. Well. I'm just Raphael. But wait a sec. You said Dujardin?"

"Yeaaah. Why do you ask?"

"Surnames are kind of a big thing here. You'll learn more about them in school. I mean, the H.E.L.P."

"Oh."

"Well at least we know she has manners. And a fancy name. Pray tell, what remaining questions run through your mind?"

"Well, I'm still wondering what exactly you are."

"I'm one of those guardian angels, for one of you transcending spirits."

"Lemme guess. Emphasis on guard?"

He nodded. "Hence the test."

"But why would you need to test my personality?"

"Well, it's really just for me. It helps me figure out how I should react to you. Some girls get offended easily so I have to at least get some warning as to how I should act around them."

"So you use this test on everyone? Not just me?"

"Yeah."

"So even on the guys? I'm assuming there are other guys here."

He deadpanned, cocked his head to the side and then seemed to think about the question that I just asked.

"Yeaaah. I do actually use it on the guys. It's very effective for them. Instant results."

I burst out laughing and he soon joined me. I was bent over my knees, wiping away tears when a creeping thought entered my mind. My face turned down. It didn't really matter what the answer to my question was. Nevertheless, I still wanted to know.

"Are you acting with me?" I softly asked, unsure as to how I would react to his answer.

He stared at me while I looked at the floor. I swung my foot back and forth in small movements, waiting for his reply.

"No, actually." He came to my side and smiled at me, bumping his shoulder with mine. "But there's no way for me to prove it at the moment. You'll just have to trust me."

I grinned. "And your horrible acting skills."

"They are not horrible. They aren't even that bad!" He insisted.

"I don't know about that. But I can sorta see through your pretense. And Lisenna's too."

"Well then, that must be your superpower."

"But I don't think it is."

"Well, you won't really know until Orientation. But Lizzie's pretense is easy to see through; she lets you see through her. That's her thing. She's the welcoming comittee so she's gotta be welcoming at least."

I dipped my head to show my understanding and then focused on where my feet were going. We had walked quite a while through the empty, white landscape. I turned around and couldn't even see the outline of the cream-colored building I had come from.

"Where are we going, Raphael?"

He smiled with giddy joy upon hearing his own name uttered by myself. He paused before telling me what I wanted to know. "Well, we are going to see the Vanity Vault. But I'm gonna stay out here. And you're gonna be in there. Got it?"

We had arrived at a big, blue metal wardrobe of a sort.

"This reminds me of a story I once read; The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe."

[The End of Part 2 and Chapter 1.]