The Rise and Fall

2 - Nicks and Scratches

Even though Emiliana had items of clothing coloured almost every other colour under the sun, she only owned one outfit of the colour black. Black was considered to be associated with the wings of the "losers" of the War if you like, but Emiliana liked to wear black to give her the element of surprise when her prey realised her true identity. 

The Highest Council didn't approve of her choice of colours to wear whilst out on a hunt, but then again, she didn't care; she was the famous hunter, not them and so therefore she made her own choices in what she did or what she wore. 

She stared in awe at her black leathers that she'd stolen from one of her first kills who'd been carrying several spare items of clothing in their rucksack. She'd shaken her head, slightly pitying the dead fashionista but admired the handy work of the leather. It was real leather, black and clean and smelled that earthy smell that all leather does. The leather jacket was hooded and when she first acquired it, the hood was slightly oversized on her head and she struggled to see out from under it, but she'd grown up and matured a little since then even though it still was a little oversized, she'd managed to tame it and use it to her advantage. The leather trousers were almost skin-tight but they stretched quite a way down her feet so that she had to roll them up, but the waist band sat perfectly around her stomach and stayed in place however quickly or sharply she moved. 

Now that she was stood wearing her black leathers and black boots that she'd bribed the cobbler to construct for her, she noticed in the mirror, a few nicks and scratches on the skin of the material where arrows or swords had sliced through, though they never quite had the opportunity to reach her skin. 

She stood tall. She was ready. Her silver dagger was concealed in a pouch just on the inside of her left sleeve next to the palm of her hand, creating easy access and she'd retrieved her bow and arrow from the box under her bed where the maids has stored it as soon as she'd come in this morning and threaded it over her head and under her left armpit so that it was secure against her back along with a quiver of arrows strapped around both arms. Her dark eyes swept over the mirror in front of her just one last time, the scar bleeding down her eyebrow until it stopped just at the edge of her brow bone. 

No one seemed to notice her as she snuck out of the palace. A few angels nodded their heads at her, but this was just an automatic reaction to a passing fellow angel because soon after they had nodded, they dropped their heads a little as she passed though she wasn't really in the mood to acknowledge this. A few heads turned when she moved on through the servants' kitchen where there was a back door that led out to the forest by a rather secluded path.

Forests were essential to The Cloud. With the thin supply of oxygen, it was paramount that trees be grown upon it so that there's was another resource of oxygen, making the air thicker for the angels. Unfortunately, the forests were very good hiding places for any Fallen Angels who forced their way up through The Cloud and needed somewhere to camp out or hide before they went ahead with their "attack." 

Emiliana made her way down the path, a little hurried skip in her step with her hood pulled up firmly up. No one wore black accept her so pulling her hood up was a futile business but it made her feel less exposed all the same. 

The forest greeted her with an earthy green glow and the sound of purity and serenity. Birds tweeted softly in the trees and leaves rustled their own song which echoed throughout the entire wood. Even as she entered on the edge of the forest, the beauty overwhelmed her, compelling her to tug her hood away from her hair, revealing those icy blonde curls and dark eyes that now bulged from her skull. The many times she'd been in this forest, but every time seemed to amaze her more and more. She looked behind her and saw the glass mansion glittering in the afternoon sun, but it looked like the work of an amateur in comparison to the beauty of the forest. Each tree was different, some were laden with bright green leaves, others were almost bare or bore crimson or golden leaves that fluttered to the floor. The forest floor was just mud, a few fingers of tree roots protruded from the ground in an attempt to be seen but many golden or brown leaves lay dying, coating the ground like a stunning carpet. 

Emiliana tiptoed across the earthy ground, being careful of the leaves that were dry and prone to crunching if any type of weight were exerted upon it. She continued to travel like this for about half an hour, keeping her eyes and ears open for any anomalies among the greenery, any dark shapes or figures that stood out in the light green glow, but her search so far was unsuccessful. She clambered up a small tree and sat in a low branch, out of sight from the ground. She was staring in the direction that she'd come from, but the palace could no longer be seen at all. Only the blue of the sky bled through the mesh of green and brown. Emiliana let out a sigh as she realised that she'd not bought any water, her tongue thirsted for the moistness of a cool drink and her head began to contemplate the possibility of it raining within the next couple of minutes. 

Something crunched in the distance. Not something. Somethings. Multiple sounds filled Emiliana's ears as her eyes scoured the direction they seemed to be pouring from, but her eye sight didn't stretch as far as her ears and the trees hid the secrets she wanted to unveil. The crunches were soon joined by voices that were all meshed together in excitement or anticipation and this made it difficult for Emiliana to decipher what they were saying. She prepared herself, syking herself up for the fight and waiting patiently as a large group of figures emerged through the confines of the trees.

There were twelve of them, not fourteen as the source had said. Seven male and five female. Two large men lead the group of excited looking, young men and women who were looking and acting as though they were on a school fieldtrip. They stopped a few hundred metres after Emiliana's tree and stood to attention as the two men ordered them. 

"Now, squadron 9-I-6-G!" The larger one bellowed. "We have come further than any of our predecessors, something that we should be proud of." 

Emiliana's face lit up with a brilliant smile as an idea materialised inside her mind and soon enough she was clambering down from the tree with an eerie silence that showed her experience in this field. The group had all jumbled into a crowd, all of them towering over Emiliana, even the girls, as she tiptoed around to the back of the group, pulling her trusty hood up. All of these Fallen Angels were giving their name away by wearing similar black leathers to that of what Emiliana was wearing and so she fitted in rather well. She'd also learnt the art of retracting her wings, something the Risen never did, but Emiliana thought that it seemed necessary in this situation. This helped too, because Emiliana had noticed that the Fallen Ones often retracted their wings unless they needed to fly, possibly because they had become accustomed to living amongst the Human people. 

She wandered slowly up to a tall, young boy with pitch black hair that sat in loose waves upon his head, his dark eyes trained upon the leaders of the group with such a level of concentration that he didn't even notice Emiliana's presence. 

"It is predicted that we are almost upon the palace." The leader's voice boomed through the group, some raised their eyebrows as the unnecessary volume. "This means that we must be prepared. We have already lost three fellow angels, one to the metal sky birds of the Humans and two to the White Feathers this morning whilst out on patrol." 

They were part of this group? Emiliana thought, her eyebrow raising a little under her hood as she continued to listen to this stupid leader. 

"As your leader, I shall continue with six others, whilst the rest stay behind and stay alert for the others, or any signs of her." Emiliana smirked a little as she was referred too. "I need six of you to come with me. There's twelve of us, correct?"

"Thirteen," the other large man replied after a few moments of screwing his face up in concentration. The leader's eyebrow knitted together as he looked towards his colleague. 

"Count again." He ordered and the man's face was momentarily screwed up again as he counted. 

"There's thirteen of us, Michael." He answered again, sounding very sure of himself. 

"No, there isn't." Michael, the leader stated, darting his eyes across the group. "There were fifteen originally, we've lost three. How can there be thirteen?"

The group dissipated and stood in different positions, all with confused looks upon their faces. One by one, the Fallen Angels noticed the tiny figure in the black leather clothing standing exactly where she had originally. Some contemplated a stowaway, others feared the worst. The thing that gave her away was her wings. Her wings that she let spread from her back, fluttering them in the little breeze. Gasps of horror escaped the mouths of at least half of the group which made Emiliana grin, her face ripping in half with delight. She threw down her hood and let the white blonde curls burst out of the hood and reveal her dark, cunning eyes.