Feather Droplets

Prologue

The night whispers silent reassurances through the leaves of the forest to Isabella as she is speeding through it. Her swollen feet fighting back harshly with everything step she took. The soil in the ground pinching at her skin, drawing small droplets of blood from the cuts. It was hard to imagine stopping now, even with every ounce of her body screaming at her to slow down. To give into her overwhelming pain. But with the window so quickly closing, she really had no choice. So, she kept moving, her wild curls fluttering in the wind behind her as she moved in a determined sprint.

The leaves brush at her sides, scratching at her arms. Though uncomfortable, she had to be thankful for them. The long, wispy trees covering her from the glaring gaze of Isabella's biggest fear from above. She knew that if even one pair managed to break through the carefully entangled barrier and landed on her, she would lose everything. The moonlit forest was difficult for her to navigate through. The fuzziness in her head didn't help one bit. Time was rushing her. The window from above could only stay covered for a few hours. The clock behind her luck was ticking unforgivingly and there was no slowing the seconds.

The pain in her abdomen increased once again as it had been for the last hour. The numbing shot in her swollen belly impossible to ignore, no matter how hard she tried. She screams as her stomach clinches once again causing her to fall. She collapsed onto the rigged forest floor, ashamed by her weakness. There was only one thought going through her head and even though she knew it went against their plan, though she knew it would put them both in the monstrous face of danger, how could she not call for him? Tears pour down her eyes as she succumbed to her desires. Pushing a shaky hand over eyes, she closed her lids and thought of the name that would fix it all.

Alizae.

A stir began to vibrate the forest. Soon a strong gust of air moves over her in a woosh. Her eyes stayed closed to avoid the simmering, overwhelming glow that she knew would follow. Through the closed lids, there was a red, vibrant glow that appeared. The pain subsides almost immediately, fleeing from the man that would extinguish it with great pleasure. Hearing his faint pants, she lifts her head from her hands. Finally, she thought. Her eyes caught his immediately.

His stocky, broad body expanded widely at his chest, strong and stone. The sturdy poles holding him up towered over her, lifting him steady. The crystalized sculpture of a man had long, dark waves flowing to his shoulders. The wind gracefully playing with the strands as they cascade around his perfectly flushed cheeks. The man stood straight and elegantly. His face set in a deep frown, brows bunching over his glistening pupils. Those eyes. His eyes. A lovely violet and gold. He was beautiful. A solidly made, grossly perfect man who was instantly lethal to all that made eye contact with him. He was void of any imperfections. And she was not. That is what made their love so heartbreakingly forbidden.

He moved to her quickly. Speeding through the dirt in solid, sloppy movements. For a man that was always the picture of grace and poise, he was a tumbling mess as he made his way to Isabella. Snapping her out of her deep trance with his crunchy footsteps, she was able to register the dull ache in her lower abdomen. And yet still the sight of him knocked the breath out of her lungs. Her focus always seems to falter when around him. That never changed. "Ella, my darling, are you alright?" He spoke softly when he finally reached her, a vulnerable look in his eye.

"Does it look like I'm alright?" She repeated hotly. Of all the things he could have said, that one question seemed to set off a screeching annoyance. "I'm having contractions, mind numbing contractions, and I'm about to give birth in the middle of a damn forest. With no goddamn drugs, might I add." She snapped viciously at him. The sweat glistening on her skin as the moon and stars lit the otherwise dark skies. Her eyes squint deep into his, "No Alizae, I'm not okay." She finished. That caused a smile to break across his face slowly. The fire she had in her has always intrigued him. It's what started his fascination towards her. The fascination that soon became love, leading them down the twisting path they found themselves happily lost in.