Within The Flames

Prologue

Prologue

My heartbeat thudded in my ears.

I gulped and bore my gaze into the desk below me as I was raised high (floating even), trapped in a box which wasn't so tall; it was only as high as my waist. I rubbed my foot against the bottom of the box, screeches echoing across the room from the friction of my air maxes. It's all I could do to prevent myself from trembling and collapsing to the bottom of the box, although, the two guards either side of me that had my arms locked in chains wouldn't allow that of course. They would just drag me up by pulling the ends of the chains they held. I knew nothing of the two men besides me since I was too afraid to glance their way, but only that their wings were much, much larger than mine. They had them wrapped around themselves in protection because I was deemed highly dangerous. It's been so long that with each passing day I began to believe those sneering, glaring whispers in every step I took, but here I was, finding out my fate for the actions I could barely remember happening.

"May the jury make their verdict please," The judge called out with his gravel in hand, ready to hit it against the block for the end of the case.

I found it quite amusing, in my short time as an Angel (or so that's what I thought we were at the time), that things worked very similarly in the Angel world as they did in the human world (not that they were two different worlds, just that humans were – possibly up until recently – unaware that creatures like us lived amongst them). Laws and regulations were pretty much the same; the leaders were selected in the same way, but the only difference was the obvious: we can fly, are much stronger than humans and cannot be harmed by objects created by them.

I looked up as the Jury closest to the judge stood up and his short, black hair glistened against the lighting provided by the court. His pure white wings were neither expanded nor retracted, they just lay limp behind him, as were everyone else's, I noticed. I allowed a tear to escape my eye as the tension built up. The jury concentrated his gaze on the judge and coughed a few times. The wait for their verdict felt like it took longer than the case itself, which expanded over a week. I bit my lips, preventing myself from speaking up but when the man still had yet to voice their judgement I could no longer keep content.

"Get on with it already!" I croaked across the room, leaning over the edge of the box only to be immediately pulled back with the chains. My voice wavered towards the end. What had I done? Gasps erupted in dominos along the room and I snapped my head towards the source of the noise. My parents were there, seated far behind. Mum's head was buried in Dad's shoulder, his wings protectively wrapped around both of them, providing her with comfort no doubt. Dad's eyes were rimmed with red, yet refused to let out the much needed tears.

I turned to the judge expectantly; could this possibly affect the decision of my fate? The judge, who was sat even higher than me in my floating box-like cage, didn't react in the slightest. The jury merely flinched. He swallowed hard and I saw his pointed Adams apple bounce up and down as he did so.

"The defendant is..." I waited, taking a deep breath in, not that it helped. I felt more suffocated than ever. His deep, controlled voice echoed in the room. I swear he was pointlessly dragging this out to find amusement in my frustration. "Not guilty."

The judge banged the gravel against the block three times. "Case closed." His voice boomed over all the chattering and noises from the others. The judge left the room through the back door just behind his seat, retracting his wings as he did so. The chains were taken off me and the box disappeared as I glided straight down to the ground. A mixture of emotions penetrated through my body as the words finally sunk into my brain and I sunk to the floor, my legs suddenly giving way.

Not guilty. Not guilty. Not guilty. The words echoed in my mind. This was a hell of a few weeks and I thought I was finally free. Things would finally look up, I thought, but was I wrong. Very wrong.

A heavy hand rested on my shoulder and I peered up to view the relief-filled face of my father. A small smile played amongst his lips, giving me the courage to stand up. Dark circles had made permanent residency under his eyes for a while now, but knowing it would soon fade warmed my heart. As his arms wrapped around me, so did his wide spread wings, squishing mine into my back (very painful if not done in a specific way, might I add) in the process. Soon afterwards, he directed us out the court, ensuring we pushed our wings in before we left and directed me towards the car. Mum left as soon as the verdict was made and sat silently in the driver's seat. I climbed in the back while my father took the passenger seat at front. Mum started the ignition and we were off. I spent most of the journey home listening to the quiet hum of my mother until she stopped abruptly and turned to my father, giving him a discrete nod. My mother's dark, silky hair fell to her face, her fringe breaking free from behind her ear as she nodded.

Dad turned to me, a smile placed on his face, although it seemed rather forced. His hazel eyes bore into my red-ish ones.

He coughed to clear his throat. "Your mother and I have discussed this and we think its best you don't stay with us anymore."