The Demon's Angel

Chapter 7

Kurt
I woke up for an unknown reason, until I felt Elizabeth shivering against me in the frosty air. Her wings surrounded both of us, but she still shook like a leaf about to fall from a tree in autumn. I pulled her closer. She woke up and smiled, touching my arm. "You're furry," she said in wonder. I made a face. "Zat's me. Ze fuzzy dude." The light layer of fur on me is unnoticeable unless you touch it, but it still made me feel like a bigger freak than I already was. Elizabeth giggled.  "I don't mind. It's soft!" I grinned, pushing any negative thought from my mind. I was determined to enjoy the small moment. "Ju noticed my new conditioner," I said with mock surprise. "I take ze state of my fur very seriously. The velvety texture is very hard to get." Elizabeth raised her eyebrows, trying and failing to look impressed. "You must tell me who your barber is!" she gushed. "It is so beautifully done!" I grinned. "If ju you must know, darling, it is my mother zat cuts my hair." Elizabeth burst into laughter, and I joined in.

    We fell into a comfortable silence, staring up at the stars twinkling so brightly above. Elizabeth was starting to fall back asleep. "You know," she murmured. "I always thought that when I was free, I would fly all the way up into the sky and grab a star. Then, I would take it with me back down to earth, so that I could always see it's beauty, even during the day." I looked down at her. She was looking up, the stars seeming to become part of her blue eyes. "Then I realized something," she said, snuggling closer to me. I smiled. "And vhat is zat?" I asked. "Some things are too beautiful, too perfect, to mess with. Taking a star would mean taking it away from the sky, where it is beautiful and pure. I don't think that it belongs here, on a world that is so corrupt and cruel." I stared at her and knew that she was right. The world destroys beautiful things. Love, happiness, life. Something like a star would never belong here. Soon after I heard Elizabeth's breathing steady as sleep  finally overtook her, I too escaped into the world of dreams.

     The next morning, we began to make our way to France. To make travel faster, we took turns transporting each other. My circus, by the looks of a newspaper that Elizabeth had 'borrowed', was supposed to be performing right outside of Paris for the week. If we hurried, we would be able to catch it. I teleported us until I was exhausted, and then Elizabeth carried me. We made good progress this way, until finally, we crossed the French border. I hoped we weren't too late.

      Thankfully, we weren't. I ran all the way to the grounds, ignoring the screams and shouts of surprised pedestrians. I pushed any thought of my family's possible betrayal out of my head. 'They love me,' I thought. 'I can't doubt that.' Elizabeth had agreed to stay behind until I came to get her. Finally reaching my own trailer, I flung the door open on a very surprised Amanda. "Kurt?!" she cried. "You're ok!" Margali ran out of the back room, throwing her arms around me. "Kurt! We saw your empty bunk and signs of a struggle, and we thought....." She burst into tears. "My poor baby!" she wailed. "My poor, poor baby!" I grimaced. "Mutti...." I complained, but I hugged her back, tears running down my own face. I was so relieved. I shouldn't have ever doubted them. Amanda joined the hug. "I'm fine," I promised. "But I made a new friend during my 'adventure'. She's been through a lot and doesn't trust people very well. I convinced her to come with me and stay, but I need help making her comfortable. I don't want to overwhelm her with too many people at once." Amanda and Margali both gave a nod. "I'm going to go and get her. I'll introduce you to her first and then to everyone else, slowly. It will be less stressful," I explained. "We'll be waiting," said Margali. She grabbed my arm. "Wait, Kurt. Is she... like you?" she asked nervously. I rolled my eyes. "If you mean blue and furry, no, but she is a mutant." Margali nodded and smiled.  "She'll fit in perfectly here." I nodded and teleported to where Elizabeth was hiding.

     After explaining what was going on to Elizabeth, I teleported her into our trailer. Amanda waved once we appeared, but Elizabeth flinched and jumped back the second Amanda's hand was raised. Her sweater lifted slightly in the back, giving away the fact that her feathers ruffled up nervously. I grabbed her arm. "It's ok," I whispered. "Amanda is my sister." Margali slowly walked out. "Zat is meine Mutter." Visibly relaxing, the sweater smoothing out, she said, "Hello." Amanda greeted her back in broken English. Margali just waved. There was an awkward silence for a few minutes, but Margali broke it when she asked, "Kurt said that you are a mutant, like him. What can you do?" She said this in German, so all Elizabeth did was stare at her with a confused expression. I quickly translated. "She asked what your mutation is." She looked at me gratefully. "Please teach me German, so that I can talk to everyone myself," she said. I laughed. "Of course." She turned away from Amanda and Margali and shed her sweater. Both women gasped when her speckled wings unfolded. Margali moved to touch them, but she restrained herself. "They're so beautiful!" she murmured. Amanda seemed equally impressed. Elizabeth folded her wings and put the sweater back on with a blush.

     Suddenly, Lance flung the door open, yelling, "Margali! I need your hel- Kurt! You're ok!" he exclaimed. I glared at him. "Lance, this isn't the best time!" Elizabeth had froze. I noticed that the sweater twitched strangely. He seemed to notice her for the first time. He seemed to immediately forget me and flashed a charming grin that didn't seem to reach her. Pulling me aside, he whispered, "Hey, who's the pretty one?" I groaned. "Lance, please leave. She's had bad experiences with people, and I'm trying to introduce her to everyone slowly." I put emphasis on the word 'slowly'.  Lance ignored me. "Hey, I'm Lance. We should go have dinner sometime," he said, flashing her another smile and sticking out his hand. I slapped my own hand to my forehead. Elizabeth seemed to regain her ability to move at that moment. Grabbing Lance, she slammed him against the wall and held him up by his neck. Her wings tore the sweater and flared angrily. I dashed over, grabbing her arm once more. "Did I mention that she doesn't speak German?" I commented to my gasping friend. Without looking away from him, she asked, "Who is this guy?" I sighed. "He's my partner and friend, and I vould prefer ju not break his neck. He's a bit of a flirt, but besides zat, he's harmless." She let go, and he crumpled to the ground. Her body relaxed slightly, and she pulled off the shreds of the sweater before folding her wings up once more. Lance, to everyone's surprise, grinned as he gasped for breath. "I love a challenge!" Amanda and Margali both glared at him, but I laughed. "I feel a bit bad for you, buddy. She's going to tear you to pieces."

Yay! Finally caught up with my old story! Everything from here on out will be new!

TRANSLATIONS:
Mein Mutter = my mother