The Rise and Fall

5 - Playing Fair

A large wave of silence broke over the crowd as Emiliana stared at the woman whose eyes refused to ever leave hers. The man looked in Emiliana's direction also, his eyebrows dipped in concentration. Whoever they thought she was, she definitely was not; they must have had the wrong angel. 

Before Emiliana could even react to these strange words that the woman had uttered not two moments ago, the young woman had stepped forward and was now stood just behind Emiliana. The boy, Leo, adjusted his grip on the tight shackles around her wrists, just enough so that she could turn around, but no leeway was emitted so that she could attack at any moment.

"Bring me Armaita," the woman ordered, not letting her eyes leave Emiliana's. Emiliana however was becoming uncomfortable with this situation and began to fidget, her shackles ringing out a little as they rattled together. Her face washed over with agitation as the woman's mouth stretched into a tiny smile, not a smirk, just a soft smile with the corners of her mouth upturned slightly. 

An old angel stepped out of the crowd, attracting Emiliana's attention instantly. She had dark hair, though it was greying around the roots and bags sat under her eyes showing how age had weakened her face. She, unlike the others, let her leathery wings float on the warm breeze as she staggered her way into the centre of the square, past the man, whose face was completely frozen in disbelief. The old angel stopped her journey just in front of Emiliana, next to Leo. Her aged face sagged in sympathy and belief as she outstretched her bony fingers towards Emiliana's left eye. Emiliana drew back quickly and struggled against the chains, but Leo had a firm grip and Emiliana was certainly going nowhere fast. The tips of Armaita's fingers grazed on Emiliana brow bone and traced her scar before Emiliana's mind became like a theatre as images flashed across her eyes like a screen. 

A tiny child with beautiful chocolate ringlets sprouting from her head laughed playfully along with the man holding her in his arms. From recognition, Emiliana could tell he was the angel in charge here, except he looked younger than even now, his eyes were fuller and his cheekbones sat high in his cheeks just beneath his eyes. Emiliana stared at the tiny little girl and saw the dark eyes that she too owned. But they weren't just any eyes, they were hers. And the way that  the little girl's lips turned upwards to the right a little more than the left and even their noses were identical. The image materialised before Emiliana could contemplate what was going on and the little girl's face transformed from that of happiness to a screwed up mess of worry and fear, her eyes red and puffy, her cheeks painted with tear streaks as they poured down her face into her mouth or onto the floor. The woman who'd accompanied that leader of this Fallen Angel clan was there too, lying on the ground, her eyes closed with an unreadable expression on her still face. Emiliana realised the little girl was crying over her and the man was there too, pleading with his unconscious love for her to wake up. There was a loud bang to the right of the scene and Emiliana attempted to glance over but Armaita had already retreated her fingers. 

The whole crowd of angels were watching her like hawks, their eyes goggling from their skulls as though they may fall out at any moment. 

"Unshackle her." The angel behind her ordered, her face lit up with happiness. 

"Mica..." The angel who Emiliana suddenly remembered as Angelo warned, his voice drawing closer as he strutted over and stood by 'Mica' protectively. 

"Leo, unshackle her." Mica also warned, her eyes widening with irritation. "Now." 

Leo took out the key from his pocket and stuck it into one of the shackles and it clicked open as the key squeaked around in a circle. He repeated this action with the second shackle and didn't bother to pick them up when Emiliana slid them off of her wrists straight onto the floor. Red scuffs and flakes of worn skin hung off of her wrists and she winced as she ran her fingertips over the wounds from the shackles. Even with the slightest pressure, nerve endings tingled and sting around the entire circumference of these areas. Emiliana narrowed her eyes at Leo before she twisted her neck to peer at the two angels staring at her, one with delight and one with hesitation. 

"Leo, take her to a room in the palace," Mica's voice had risen an octave. 

"The dungeons?" Leo asked, slight confusion washing over his face. 

"Certainly not, take her to one of the guest rooms!" Mica replied, flapping her arms a little until Angelo calmed her down. 

Leo raised his eyebrows and gripped Emiliana's elbow in his fingers and dragged her away from the couple. Like the parting of the sea, the crowd split into two instantly, making a solid, straight line path for the palace before them. 

Emiliana hadn't notice the colossal palace in front of her eyes until now. It was made from a dark stone, similar to the tower that still stretched into dark, almost night sky, and it was almost the spitting image of the crystal palace, with four turrets that rose regally into the air, with windows dotting it every few feet up. The huge wooden door stretched the entire width of the castle like building with two or three steps leading up to it. 

Leo pulled Emiliana through the door straight up the grand stairway, turning sharply down narrowing corridors that looked as though they could go on forever. Now was the time for Emiliana to take her chances. She yanked her elbow down so that Leo's fingers flailed about in surprise before she launched her black boot into the back of Leo's knee, sending him down to the floor, though he managed to pull himself up with one arm before he'd even touched the carpeted floor. She drove a fist into his stomach as he recovered from his fall, but he managed to refrain from doubling over and grappled onto one of Emiliana's wrists, a burning sensation sent her writhing in pain as Leo clutched it tighter, a smirk sliding onto his face. She shrieked and wriggled around in pain, her fingers of her free hand clutching at Leo's jacket as her eyelids squeezed shut trying to block out the pain through sight. 

"Play fair, Feathers," he hissed before releasing her wrist and placing his hand on her elbow again. Emiliana blinked away the tears as Leo began to yank her down the hall again. His body was slightly in front of hers as they moved swiftly through the corridors and Emiliana soon saw something flash a reflection of light, something just spilling out of his back pocket on his jeans. A black silk cloth. Emiliana thought about the chances that it might be the same cloth as the one that had been used to sedate her back on The Cloud. Once again, she needed all the luck she could get when she once again yanked her elbow away, snatched up the cloth and jumped on Leo's back before he'd even realised what was going on. Emiliana caught a small whiff of the cloth and smelt the same slightly strawberry scent as she had before.

The cloth was clamped to his mouth and nose before he'd turned around, but Emiliana held it firmly in place as he tugged at her wrists. Tears threatened the edges of her eyes but she held her position as the fingers on her wrists began to tire. When she thought he was about to fall, she jumped away and threw the cloth down on his face before dashing off down the corridor, only glancing back once to see Leo on his hands and knees, shaking the fatigue out of his head.