Aldora

Prologue

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Her heels echoed through the floyer as she made her way towards the elevator, back aching with every stride.

"Good Morning Miss Poulí, your looking mighty fine this morning," Ms. Washington chimed from behind the front desk with a charming white smile.

"Thank you, you look lovely yourself this morning." She smiled at the greying black woman who had maned the front desk for long before most of the current employees had been here; some said even before Mr Hallbit, the boss, took over. Which was saying something as the man often joked that he use to ride a dinosaur into work everyday.

Giving a last little wave at Ms. Washington, the tall young women pushed the button to the top floor. When the doors opened again she headed over to her desk setting one cup of coffee down and grabbing her iPad, before taking the other and knocking on the large door that separated Mr. Hallbit's office from the rest of the floor space that was covered in cubicles.

Not waiting for an answer Alayla Poulí pushed open the door and entered the large office. Mr Hallbit was pacing up and down the wall of windows that looked out onto Wall Street, arguing eccentrically into a Bluetooth. He looked young for being so old; though he never spoke a lick of his age it was known to Alayla that he was well into his 70s, far passed the age of retirement. His hair was white and he walked a little slower then he use to, but he still carrier himself with an air that seeped of power and strength; fooling many into believing he was only in his late 40s early 50s.

Alayla stood by his desk waiting patiently for him to finish, holding out his coffee cup for him to grab on his next pace by. She couldn't help but wince as the aching between her shoulders and down her back started to pulse more than usual. She had already gone to a massage therapist to see if she could get the knots worked out, but it seemed not even several sessions of kneading by the well trainer professional's hands could do away with them. In fact they had seemed to even get worse, as they were now visible to see bulging and swelling beneath her skin. Alayla had only noticed them a month and a half prior, at first thinking that she must have pulled something out of place. But as the weeks went by and the aching became constant, it became clear that it was something more.

Too enraptured in her pain, Alayla hadn't noticed that Mr. Hallbit had finished his phone call and was standing in front of her until he spoke, "Your back still bugging you Ms. Poulì?"

Starting slightly out of her stupor, Alayla gave what she hoped could be called a smile, "Yes only a little. I am not quite sure what is wrong with it, nothing seems to be helping."

"You should probably go get it check by a physician at this point dear. It has been almost a month." Mr. Hallbit was known for being a kind and attentive boss, always taking good care of his employees. Especially Alayla, her grandmother had had the position before her and Mr Hallbit had been a dear friend to Mrs Rosella Macdonald.

"Yes, I have been thinking the same just haven't gotten around to it quite yet." She replied in order to soothe his worry, not hesitating to whip out her iPad and change the subject, "Now your schedule today is quite busy. You have a appointment with Mr. Finch from..."

~*~

Alayla continued to work as she would any other day answering calls, making appointments, note taking in meetings, all the everyday task of the average high dollar secretary. It wasn't long before it became apparent that her back was getting worse by the minute. She was finding it difficult to stand up straight and had taken enough ineffective pain pills that she was sure would have made even a pill junkie cringe. Finally after watching her suffer for half the day Mr. Hallbit had to put his foot down.

"You need to go home Alayla, you need to get that back of yours checked out right away." He said as they walked out of the board meeting that had just split for lunch. "I am putting you on leave until you get it looked at by a doctor, lord knows you have enough vacation days accumulated from over the years."

"Mr. Hallbit I am fine, honest. I'll finish out the day then call the doctor and make an appointment as soon as I get home, but this is really no reason to take a leave." Alayla replied smoothing out her blonde, almost white, hair back to her bun making sure it was still pristine. The movement of her arms caused her back to light fire and she was helpless to stop the whimper of pain that slipped out.

Mr Hallbit raised a bushy grey brow, "Sure you are dear. But I'm not asking, I am demanding you take this leave. It will only be for a couple of days and I promise I'll have Ms. Washington email you all the office gossip you'll miss out on." He chuckled humorously.

Alayla gave a weak smile, her back hurting to much for any more protest, and within the hour she had arranged all her office affairs in order and was on the subway headed for home. By the time she took the stairs to her apartment the pain had turned into agony. Unshed tears watered her eyes and blurred her vision, and she struggled to get the key into the door. Upon entering she quickly stripped her black work dress off and threw on a night slip before crawling into bed with a mug of wine. It didn't take long, only two glasses, for her pain to be dulled enough to drift into a fitful sleep.

~*~

Alayla woke to her back splitting open. At least that's what it felt like to her. Her mouth opened in a scream but nothing came out. Pain seared not just her back but her whole body as fear clouded and choked her lungs. She was going to die. She just knew that no pain and fear such as this could end in anything less then death. It felt like centuries but it could not have been more then a minute or two before it ended.

The aftermath was worse then the initial pain, her body ached and throbbed and for a long time she simply laid motionless, almost numb. She moved back and forth between conscious thought and utter blackness, her mind undecided on which survival technique was most effective. It finally decided when Alayla felt warm liquid drip down her rib cage.

She knew she need to get up and check the sheets. She hoped she hadn't gotten any blood on them, she didn't want to make a run down to the laundry mat and she had just washed them a few days ago. And how would she get the blood out of the pristine white cotton?

Shock.

She was in shock, she realized. Now was not the time to worry about stupid sheets, even if they were 1000 count Egyptian cotton, now was the time to get up off the sheets before she bleed to death on them. She struggled to lift herself up with her arms, her back roaring in outrage as the pain started to seep in through her bodies mental defenses. She finally got up and stumbled into the bathroom, throwing herself at the sink for support.

Her reflected look at her from out of the mirror, her dark ocean eyes filled to the brim with tears that would soon follow the path that was sheared red by those before it. Her hair was matted and blood smeared across one shoulder. Alayla reached up to touch it, not quite believing it was really there. How was she bleeding, she wondered as she faced her back to the mirror, looking over her shoulder.

Even though she had been in soul gripping pain earlier, no screams or shouts had left her mouth. She always like to consider herself someone who was stronger then most, though really she knew the only reason she hadn't screamed was because her body just couldn't handle it with the pain, but she in that second decided she was certainly not strong enough for this.

Her back had indeed split open with blood oozing out and staining the back of her pale pink slip. But that wasn't what made her finally snap. No, those things were no large then a bar of soap each, covered in wet bloody skin, protruding right out from between she shoulders. Her scream bounced off the bathroom walls and hanged in the air for quite some time, because there on her back were two, little, featherless...

Wings.