PROLOUGE
LOCATION: HEAVEN
I stand quietly outside the doors, waiting for permission to enter the room. The hallway is dimly lit, the only true light spilling out from the crack at the bottom of the doors. Usually, meetings with a member of the Right Hand Men only happen once every five years. For mine to have been suddenly pushed forward...he must already know.
"Enter, Machidiel."
A surge of magic tickles my feet and moves slowly up my body. It wraps around me, encasing me in a powerful wind. A moment later, I am on the other side of the doors. The magic recedes, and I instantly drop to one knee. "Sir."
"You may stand, Machidiel."
I stand, raising my eyes slowly from the floor to the foot of the stairs ahead of me. Then, to the throne sitting atop the stairs, made of pure magic energy. The waves emitting from the throne make me stand up straighter. It is an effort to not look around the room in a daze, to take in all its glory. I need to focus. This meeting is not going to be in my favor.
When he finally speaks again, the waves from the throne he is sitting on blast out in a wide circle. "Tell me what has happened, Machidiel."
"There was a...problem again, sir." Direct eye contact is always difficult in moments such as these. Instead, I focus my eyes to the left. His wings are a marvelous gold, stretching almost ten feet past his shoulders when at full length. I am in awe every time I see them. "My chosen was incompatible."
Silence for a moment as what I said settled. Then, a heavy sigh of disbelief. Blinking, I look over at him. Sablo is staring not at me, but behind me. The look on his face is not like the ones he usually made. He looks...tired.
"Machidiel," he says after a moment, "I do not think things can continue like this any longer."
"Sir?"
Sablo's eyes slide down slowly to meet mine. His are a fiery red, a symbol of the powers he hides within. "Every time, you have tried and failed. Every single time." As he speaks, his wings thunder against the throne behind him like they are banging on a drum. "Never have I met an angel who has tried over seven times to find their chosen's soulmate, and failed each time. Why is it that every other angel in Heaven except for you can complete their tasks without problems? Why is it that you are the only one who cannot find their chosen's soulmate? You've been through the 400 years of training. I myself have tested your abilities, and they work well. Yet out on the field, you fail."
I wish he would stop saying that word. "If you would just give me another chance-"
"And what will that do, Machidiel?" My name on his tongue again stops my sentence short. "You are faulty. No number of trials can compensate for the fact that you yourself are incapable."
I pause. I had been expecting harsh words, but that is an interesting sentence choice. Not that it matters. I need to say the right thing here. I kneel back down, placing my forehead against the cool tile. Hold it there for three, four, five seconds before slowly raising back up. "Sir, let me prove to you that I am a strong, true Guardian," I say. "Yes, I have had...difficulty in the past. But I assure you there is nothing wrong with me. Allow me another chance to show my worth. I will not fail you this time.
Sablo is silent again. Then, he stands. I watch as he descends the stairs and walks towards me. The fire flickering in his eyes stands out magnificently against his cool, dark brown skin. He stops mere feet from where I am kneeling. Slowly, he reaches his hand out, and I wait tensely.
Sablo places his hand on my head and says, "I will give you one more chance to prove yourself, Machidiel. You have two years, understood? Two years to make it work with your chosen. I will find a way to give you those two years in peace. But if you fail again, I will help you no more, and your fate will be beyond me."
"Thank you, brother."
Two years. Two years. Two years is all I had to make my plan work. I can work with that.
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Ch. 1
An Unexpected Greeting
"You know, I really wish you'd stop staring at me like that."
I roll over in my bed and find Peyton, my roommate, a few feet away. She flinches, jumping back a step. "You could tell?"
"Any longer and you would've burned a hole through me." I prop myself up on my elbow. "The hell is wrong with you?"
"I didn't know if you were asleep or not. I was trying to be quiet."
"Well, mission failed epically." I sit up and stretch. No point in going back to sleep now. "What's in the purple bag?"
Peyton flinches again. Then, rolling her eyes, she bends down and grabs the purple bag half sticking out of her backpack. "Well, it was going to be a surprise." She frowns at me, and I shrug. "But whatever, you can have it now."
She tosses me the bag. If she wanted it to be a surprise, she should've hid it better. Inside the bag is a huge box. I pull it out and read the label: World's Largest Gummy Bear! An Astounding 4 pounds!
I blink and look over at her. She's facing her mirror, pulling the hair pins out of her hair. "Before you say anything," she says, catching me staring at her in the mirror, "No, I didn't get it for any particular reason. I just saw it and thought you'd want it." She shook her head, her short black hair falling out of the high bun she'd had it in. "And no, you can't give it back."
"You know, I would've taken a regular pack of gummy bears," I mumble, shoving the box back in the bag and placing it on my desk. I wonder how she'd react if I told her that that would be the first thing I've eaten all day.
Don't get me wrong. I'm thankful for the gift. My issue is with the reason she got it, because I know damn well there's a reason. I'd just been hoping she had forgetten what today was.
Two months ago today, I broke up with my boyfriend, Charlie. We started dating during my junior year of high school, and we decided to go to the same college so we could continue to be together. I should've known high school relationships don't last, though. Honestly, I should've known any relationship with me wouldn't last.
My love life has been like this for as long as I can remember, and this just proves that it isn't going to get any better. I don't know if this really counts of not, but I technically got my first boyfriend, Harry, in the sixth grade. We broke up about two weeks later after I caught him kissing Molly Ranger in the bathroom.450Please respect copyright.PENANAVJvWpBmqPJ
Then, the summer before seventh grade, I dated this dude Jeremy at my summer camp. But he was super nitpicky and insecure about everything, and the smallest things would set him off. His final straw was when some friends measured us, and he realized I was taller than him. So that was nice.
And then during seventh grade, I dated this guy named Samuel. He dumped me exactly two hours and four minutes later, saying I'd just been a fling while he waited for his ex-girlfriend.
Freshman year, I dated this dude, Jacob. I left that relationship after finding out his weird obsession with pencils and where he liked to put them.
And, ugh, sophomore year of high school? I dated this dude August for about six months, and never once did we go on dates. We always met at my house or his house, never in public. He always denied that he was in any type of relationship whenever anyone asked, so it's interesting I even stayed with him that long.
Oh yeah. Then at my summer job before junior year I dated this dude Sebastian for a little, and he turned out to be gay. That was great. We still keep in touch, though. He's pretty chill.
But now this.
You'd think by now, I'd be able to tell if someone is bad news. Charlie was...I'd had thoughts. About the future. A future with him in it. It may sound dumb, especially considering I'm only a sophomore in college, but I really thought we could make it through anything. It takes a different level of trust to date someone for almost five years. But some people only live to tear other people down. I just wish it hadn't taken me so long to realize. The conversation from the night I left still echoes in my head every night. It feels like someone is banging on drums in my brain, and no matter how hard I squeeze my ears, I can't tune it out.
"Amber?"
I blink. "What?"
Peyton's staring at me now. "I wish you'd tell me what was going on in your head when you disappear like that. You always get this weird look on your face."
Yikes. "Troubled?" I laugh. "Sorry, probably just some gas. I ate those chicken tenders I left in the fridge before I fell asleep."
She gags. "The ones from last week? I told you to throw those out!" I laugh again and she rolls her eyes. "Well, enjoy your bubble guts. I just came to drop that off on my way to Psych. I'll see you when I get out."
"Byeeeeeeeee." I wiggle my fingers at her, waiting for the door to shut. Then, I fall back face down into my pillow. Two months ago today. It's crazy, honestly. I haven't seen Charlie since the night I walked away.
Charlie.
Charlie...
Whenever I think about him...I go back to that day. To that time. I remember how he looked at me. When I remember him staring at me, and then saying my name with that awful tone, I get this crazy headache. It's fucking annoying. The world's spinning and I want to vomit and-
"Hello, Amber."
That's a dude's voice. I sit up instantly in bed and spin towards the door. A boy who looks about my age is standing over by Peyton's bed. My mouth pops open, and I open and close it twice before sputtering, "How did you-"
"Yes, hello," the boy says, waving a hand. "We should talk. I have something very important to discuss with you."
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TO BE CONTINUED...
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Hello!! Thank you for reading the first chapter of The Angel and the Girl. This is a story I've been thinking about writing for a long time, so I'm excited to finally get into it! If you enjoyed this, don't forget to be on the lookout for chapter 2. 450Please respect copyright.PENANAHJGBdf2pLa
-Zuffy <3
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