- TWO - The Live In Partner

Pools of sunlight spilled across Katie’s sprawling curled body on a nest like divan. Her breathing like her sleep was peaceful and silent, even numbers of deep inhales then exhales. Her eyes relaxingly squeezed shut and arm outstretched as her pillow. Songbirds hummed a beautiful melody, their chirps signaling sunrise. Besides her, sat a handsome man in a worn out grey medieval tank top and jeans he had removed his boots and spread them across the polished wooden floor below them. His back rested on the feather filled sack, his left arm spread width wise above her head and the other stroking her hair gently, admiring the teenage sleeping beauty. His fingers ran from her blond glossy threads, then her forehead, tracing her long eyelashes, then stroking the fine lines of her nose and finally traced the lines of her rosy lips. His face closed in towards her, their nose lightly touching, her silent breathing sending a pleasing feeling as it touched his skin, his lips nearly touching hers with a grin, his long ebony threads falling over his forehead.  

            Katie’s eyes fluttered open, instantly jerking up and bumping her forehead with his, their lips for a short period of time touching until she pulled back hastily, blushing. She skimmed the dimly lit room in frantic panic. Below her was a nest like divan, twigs surprisingly soft and comfortable to lie on. The entire room was cylindrical like the insides of a hallow tree trunk, the walls wooden and peach in color. There was nothing much other than that and the man right next to her. Her eyes wandered back to meet his jadish-yellow anxiously. “Where am I?”

            He pulled back “we’re home,” He said stroking her hair reassuringly “you’re real home.”

“That’s a lie,” stuttered Katie dragging her jeans against the twig-like-bed and falling off it, her bottom bruised and shrieking in outmost pain by the impact “I’m dreaming, that’s right, this is all part of a dream, when I wake up, everything will be back to normal.”

He got up to his feet, reaching his hands forward as he came close to her. Katie stepped back high alert and tripping on scraps below her. “Calm down Katie,” he started. Katie confused as to how he knew her name raise both hands to preserve the distance between them, another reason she did so was for defense. She backing away until there was no possible way to go any further.

“How do you know my name?”

“It’s a long story Kaitlin, and I know you’re not much fond of them.” He said a conceited smirk playing on his lips. She stared right past him behind him were two white wings, the same wings from her dreams.

“You, you’re the guy from my dream.”

“You shouldn’t know about me but alright,” he smirked one that was devious and conceited, “and it’s not a dream, what happened last night was real.”

“You’re lying this is all a dream,” she defended shutting her eyes, “if I close my eyes I’ll wake up from this weird dream.”

“Don’t be ridiculous Kaitlin we both know I exist and that you just woke up a few moments ago.”

Katie shook her head denying, “You’re lying!” she screeched pushing past him and out through the door covered with beaded drapes. She burst outside, stopping short before killing herself, a few more steps she would have fallen for sure. She was probably thousands of feet high, below her was a kingdom, serene and beautiful covered with a spray of misty rain clouds. Butterflies varying from different colors circled the outside of the home �" and to her shock it was indeed a hallow tree trunk, a custom made livable tree house. Birds squawked, flocks of doves and other various small birds roaming and surfing the skies. The man joined her, regarding her obvious awed expression. “Pretty isn’t it, this place is called Eden, home of the sky riders �" the golden wings.”

“Golden Wings?” Katie repeated, saying those words felt like saying foreign words she never heard of.

“Yep, you’re like us, your mother is a golden wing.”

“No that can’t be, my mom was human her name was Desiree, married to my father Daniel Stoke. She was a vet and she died years ago because of some kind of unknown illness.”

“She’s not dead, you know that.” His words shot her like a bullet, he was right. Though she thought her mother was dead something inside her felt as if she was just there, watching over her, protecting her.

“You’re lying, you don’t know my mother.”

“I do, I can take you to her.” 

“How would I know you’re not lying?”

“If I tell you everything that only you know will you believe me?”

Katie nodded, swallowing the sudden large lump on her throat, “yeah.”

He first let out a sigh, dropping down to sit cross-legged on the floor next to her. He patted the empty space to his left, urging her to sit. She shook her head and sat there, scooting back a little to preserve the distance between them.

“When you lie,” he said his jade-yellow irises aligning dreamily with hers, “your eyes wander around or focus somewhere else instead of looking straight into the eyes of the person you’re lying to” he started, a smirk playing on his lips. “You still sleep like a little girl, curled up into a corner but you like your feet uncovered by bed sheets because you can’t stand the heat, its suffocating.”

“What are you some kind of stalker?”

“You’re seventeen, 5’2, Taurus currently a senior in high school �" Heirest. Your best friend, a nerd named Jessie you get bullied a lot by a guy name Allen. Your favorite color is jade because it matches your eyes, when you were 12 you cheated on your science test copying from Stacy Ford. Although you’re cute you never had a �"”

“Okay I get it, you’re a major stalker, like that’s gonna make me believe in all of this crap.”

“You’re mother left you when you were 10, you’re angry at her for that. You got your first pay at the age of 14, and used it to pay your apartment even up to now.”

“How do you know all of that?”

“Like I said it’s a long story, and I know you Kaitlin, even if I tell you, you won’t believe me. I’ll just waste my breath, that’s why I offered taking you to her.”

“Fine I believe you.”

A wicked smile passed his lips and he was now on both feet, his tall figure a head taller than she was “then give me your hand.” He said extending a hand towards her, palm faced right side up.

Katie hesitated for a moment her eyes watching his extend hand warily. “I just wish I could wake up from this dream,” she said and placed her hand on his, her small palms gently pressed and locked with his, warm and reassuring. The instant their hands touched, two wings sprouted out of his back, Katie like her heart leapt back, but he had a firm grip on her hand.

“It’s alright,” he said his grin as wide as ever, “these babies don’t bite.” and he was now around her, a hand wrapped on her torso and the other still holding her hand. Stunned, Katie’s body was pressed against his, warm and firm, he slowly lifted her off her two feet and gently glided both of them high in the sky.

The stirring breeze was calm as they hit her skin, her hair fluttering out place. Katie had a firm grip on his hand burying her head against his stern chest not daring to look down, she was still afraid of heights after all. He smirked gently stroking her hair reassuringly as if he was used to this, probably have done it countless times, most specifically on her.

They landed on both feet in front of a small bamboo house, it’s exterior like the outside of a tree trunk, like the one they were once in, only this time this was stable and glued to the ground. Silver charms dangled on the front doorstep, the design of two turtledoves locking on the center of the wooden front door, greenish yellow light like dozens of fireflies spilled out its croaky windowsill.

The man stepped forward, being the first to open the door. The door, whose knob was a simple iron clamp, creaked open. Katie’s heart began to beat fast as he stepped inside the dark dusty abandoned home. The man stepped in, urging Katie to follow behind him. Katie hesitated, in a dilemma whether to stay put or follow him.

“Micah,” a hoarse female voice called out from upstairs said, “is that you?”

The man casted a quick glance at Katie, “yes Apo,” He said taking Katie’s hand as he led her up the wooden spiral staircase, “I’ve brought someone.”

“You know I can’t accept visitor’s Micah, and shouldn’t you be watching my daughter?”

“I am, Apo, but you might want to see her,” said Micah releasing his hold of Katie and lightly pushing her forward.

Katie with a troubled look on her face, looked up, her tousled blond hair webbing parts of her vision as they fell over her forehead. The woman across her in a long white laced gown and matching wings turned, her bleached blond curls, bouncing with one twirl. She was beautiful and ageless she still looked the same as when she last saw her, time never seemed to have affected her.  She wore an expression of shock she was more shocked than Katie was. Her jaws dropped but closed immediately setting a fine line on her rosy pink lips.

“Kaitlin,” she said staring at her for quite some time, still rendered speechless, she casted a worried glance at Micah then back at Katie. “Why did you bring her here Micah?”

Katie shocked by her mother’s words frowned, such reunions should have been blessed with tears and hugs but instead she was filled with anger and hatred. “You sound like you don’t want to see me here mother,” she retorted her voice rose higher than usual, “all this time I thought you were dead but no, all this time you were here mingling with some teenager!”

Micah squeezed her shoulder, this only made Katie cringe and brush his grip off, “Apo, something came up, she was being preyed on by the black hawks.”

“Did they know who she really is?”

“I believe not, I did what you told me she’s protected by my niche she’s just an ordinary girl they coincidentally planned feasting on. Unfortunately one of them escaped and witnesses her aurora.”

“This is bad,” the woman said, coughing weakly, “by now he must have heard of this and their probably looking for Kaitlin.”

“That’s the problem Apo, it would be risky if I returned her home, and now that she had her first aurora, she could stay here, where she belongs.”

“Whoa,” interrupted Kaitlin, flustered that they acted as if she wasn’t there hearing what they were saying, deciding, “Just stop there. There’s no way I’m staying here.”

“It’s dangerous out there Kaitlin.” Her mother says extending her hand to reach her daughter, Katie moved back brushing her hold rather harshly and to this her mother nodded understanding why she felt that way.

“Oh, and you should have thought of that before you left me alone.”

“I only did that to protect you.”

“Protect me, huh, the last time I checked I was kidnapped by people wings and now I think I’m going crazy with this horrible dream, seriously when can I wake up?”

“You’re right this is a dream,” said the woman, Micah shot her a confused look, “when you wake up you’ll forget all of this happened you understand me? You’ll live normally and finish your remaining months in high school, you’ll spend one last birthday without me and until then live well and take care of yourself.”

With that, the woman blew golden pixie dust on Katie and like the black hawk Micah sent away before she plummeted hundreds of feet down, her physique shimmered as she fell in the arms of Micah, eyes closed and engaged into deep slumber.

“Apo,” Micah called out confused and deceived, “What are you doing?”

“You know the drill Micah, take care of my daughter for me,” she gave him a wry grin, “and this time do a better job.”

The two of them shimmered like small molecules in empty space and in a blink of an eye, the two of them were back in Katie’s apartment in New York, Katie unconscious in Micah’s arms and Micah clipped off his wings. Micah gently placed Katie’s body on her lilac divan, her body in an instant cringe into a curled ball, her arms like a pillow and legs pulled up against her belly. Micah sat on the edge of her bed, burying his forehead on his palms, “damn it Apo.”

Katie woke up the next morning, arms outstretched as she sat cross-legged, a smile playing on her lips with her half closed eyes. She had never felt so alive, her body as light as a feather and the previous slumber she was in felt like she hadn’t slept for a month, it was revitalizing.

“Good Morning,” a masculine voice cooed ruining her moment of spotlight. Katie’s eyes flung open, searching her room from were in came from. Her eyes stopped short to her left, lying beside her, his hand propped angular to support his head was the white winged man from her dream.

“You?” she beamed dragging her jeans backwards forgetting she was on the edge of her bed, her hands paddled as she almost fell off but lucky to be caught into his arms. Micah sat up, releasing her the moment she gained her composure.

“Should we buy you training wheels so you won’t fall of again?”

“I’m not a bike, who are you and what are you doing in my room?”

“Aren’t we a little forgetful?” Micah chuckled placing both hands on the base of her cheeks pressing their foreheads together, nose touching and lips nearly inches apart. Katie pulled back, tugging her bed sheets up defensively in front of her.

“I’m still dreaming right?”

“Oh come on Kaitlin, are you still on to that?” he said his voice clearly telling Katie he was British, “you couldn’t possibly forget such a handsome face.”

“Sure I can, and most dreams could look real but actually isn’t.”

Micah let out an amused ‘oh’ sound and hovered over her, the gap of his denim leather jacket exposing much of his skin as he leaned forward his arms between both of her legs locking their distance, the heat let out of his body stung Katie as he came closer, so close that she looked away with a blush. “So if I do something to you and you actually feel it then is it still a dream?”

Katie chuckled, “you could always pinch me, that’s the least likely illusory.”

He chuckled sitting beside her and lightly pinching her arm, Katie let out a screech of deceiving pain, it was real she thought, horrified by the truth.

“You really are hard to convince, just like your mother.”

“Oh and how so?”

“Apo, would do anything to keep you safe, she’s stubborn just like you, your stubborn, because you don’t want to accept the truth.”

“Please tell me I’m going crazy.”

“Why can’t you just accept it Katie? Denying won’t get you anywhere.”

“Who would believe that crap, I mean people with wings?”

“Golden Wing’s. You’re one of them.”

“Right and I can tell it’s a lie already, who calls themselves a golden wing when they obviously have white ones?”

“You know nothing of us to begin with sweetheart, so unless you want my lips against yours I urge you shut up and listen.”

Katie pursed her lips, his threat was tempting, but she didn’t want it, instead she nodded waiting for his next words.

Micah sighed, brushing his ebony threads back the silky mop falling back gracefully.

“Your religious teachers might have taught you a thing or two of something about angels and fallen angels, how Lucifer or Michael was casted down as archangels and king of hell. The tale is similar, we are distant ancestors a breed of angels and humans. The tale goes on by two brothers, the good law-abiding brother and law loathing hypocrite, both whom are one of the first pure golden wings by the father. We are Guardians of heaven and Earth and Eden as you know is where we live is the utopia and core environment for our kind, the golden wings. It is believed that the special golden wings the pure and righteous are gifted with real golden wings, while the typical golden wings are just us white wings �" the soldiers to carry out the core. Think of it like a food chain or chain of command the real golden wings although rare are up there for a reason and is rare to be seen or heard of because they need a clean face to represent them instead of some mere soldier. But even with this name our deeds are worth the righteous name, it’s just a title. Lucifer believed this wasn’t right he was the brother who didn’t believe in this law, and so he was casted down with the king of hell, alongside his followers. Anyone who doesn’t abide by the law would be burned out his purity, his soul and his wings would turn ash black, its flesh will disintegrate to bones, and he’ll be casted down and he shall be the followers of darkness, the outcast, the black hawks. Since this had been the case many where segregated following their own belief, partial of this population were condemned as part of his forces and casted out of Eden, and the black hawks who all did but envy had accepted their faith, rotting with their leader and withstanding evil. The jealous brother and the outright brother are at war, and this world clearly doesn’t know it. Black Hawks roaming this land are terrorizing it’s kind and that’s where we golden wings come in, guardians assigned to different wards around the world, state to state, city to city, even island to island. In addition, some of us are even assigned to a gypsy, which is you. A child of Golden Wing, one without memory of home or plainly just those of special powers and is unable to protect oneself one who isn’t exposed to real home yet, a fallen angel. But you’re no ordinary golden wing to begin with; a golden wing shouldn’t be born in this world or live in this world at that matter. You belong in Eden, attend the academy there, but you didn’t and that’s only part of the story.”

Katie was left wide eye, speechless. “If I’m not supposed to be here then why did my mother bring me here, why did she leave me here in the first place?”

Micah sighed, “Apo should be telling you this not me, I’m just your guardian and I’m not really sure if I’m supposed to tell you.”

“So why don’t we just fly there and ask her to explain herself.”

Micah stroked her hair gingerly, which made Katie cringe, “because your devious mother clipped my wings and I have no means of contacting her.”

“Well that’s a pity I wouldn’t be surprised since she left me thinking she was dead.”

“Well if the king of hell wasn’t haunting her head down who wouldn’t drop everything?”

“What do you mean?”

“Damn, I shouldn’t have told you that, any who,” Micah dismissed with a wave of his hand, “My name is Micah your new live in partner, please take care of me darling.” he winked, flashing Katie one of his trade mark crooked grin, like the bloody winged men in her dream.

“You gotta be kidding me,” snarled Katie, her hair bouncing off her shoulder as she shook her head irritably, “you’re living here?”

“Well I’ve always lived here you just didn’t know it, and with your mother removing most of my magic how else could you think I wouldn’t even be here?”

“So you’re telling me that all this time I’ve been watched by some pervert while I bathe.”

“You could say that, I’ve been with you for years but you don’t remember. Although I must admit you are clever, which is both troublesome in both me and your mothers part.”

“And by clever you mean how?”

“Well, every secret would eventually be discovered. It’s not the first time you lost your memories or met me at that matter.”

Katie squinted trying to recall his face but failed to do so, “I never met you.”

“Sure you have the feathers you find every morning, the merlin you’ve stroked and kept for quite some time until it left?”

“I thought you’re an angel?”

“Well yeah, but that doesn’t limit us into shifting to something else. Think of it as our totem, our spirits bound to the creatures of this land, and us Merlin’s is as it is.” Micah says with a scholarly tone, “And like I said, I’ve been with you for quite some time and you just didn’t know it.”

“You said I was clever, and that my mother had to erase my memories, what do you mean?”

Now this, Micah shifted his weight, lying back flat against her fluffy soft bed, hands tucked behind his head, his eyes dreamily staring straight ahead at the dull lilac roofing as if he were remembering some kind of distant yet unforgettable memory. “There were two incidents,” he said and everything faded like a black and white view of a movie in the dark cinema theaters.

At the age of five, young golden wings are separated from their parents to attend the academy, they really see each other after that and the people there becomes your replacement family. I always hated the place because they separated me from my family. I was twelve years old when my childhood friend and I sneaked out of the academy it was a stupid trick. We both were lost and ended up out in the human world. At the age of ten, we would learn to take our totem form, a sparling. I was separated from my friend, ended up caught in the wind, and slashed by kites, those nylon strings really are sharp little creatures and dare I say I got a scar on my chest for life. I spiraled down and slammed by a nearby bush, coincidentally enough, a little girl was picking up berries a few feet away. When she heard my bodily impact, she rushed to where I was and poked my wounded arm. I sat up, a little dizzy and suddenly all patched up she must have been carrying a first aid kit. I felt stupid for a kid who was probably five or six years old knowing how to use a first aid kit at a situation such as this. She brushed this pink napkin on the corner of my lip and held my graze, her green irises staring with worry and concern at mine. I held her hand, and she was smiling so sweetly I thought I’d fallen for her, and then her mother called her, I forgot what it was, and she handed me the napkin, disappearing as she skipped away without a word. After that I met up with my friend, we managed to get back we got into huge trouble, and my parents were called. I’ve never been this happy to see them but they weren’t fond of this meeting either they just scolded me and lectured me about how they worked their asses off just to get me into a better education.

It was a sunny day, they say butterflies circling a tree meant that it would be sunny but later in the day it would eventually down pour. On my first mission as a freshman, I was fifteen years old then, I was assigned to a gypsy as part of my guardian training. I was in my totem form, with my endurance I was ranked up as the youngest to become a merlin at the age of fifteen, just about to meet my new apprentice when a sleek shot of pebbles passed right through me and I swear my heart stopped at that moment. I looked down spotting three little boys, my birdshot view expedient to see exactly what they were doing. They held sling shots with red rubber canvas pulled back reloaded with yet another pebble stone. One of them, a red headed freckled boy older than the other two flung the pebble and it shot right through me, it was a perfect shot. The next thing I knew I was spiraling dizzily towards the ground. I felt the impact of my defenseless wings slam together with my trifling body, my beak scraping and chewing on soil. A shriek came from the distance, and although my eyes were in agonizing pain I managed to spot the large shadow hovering over me, the same cute little girl, she was probably seven or eight years old then, bent down, tears streaming down her eyes as she curled me against her small chest, shooing the boys with feisty eyes. I didn’t understand why she would cry over something so ugly as me, a bird bruised for life and filthy with blood. She stroked my bloody coat and carried me in the rain back at her place. She was humming this beautiful melody, it was nostalgic and calming, if she hadn’t hum that lullaby, I wouldn’t have been here today. Her mother, Apo, I recalled her as my first grade teacher, charming and funny, patched me up and in her eyes I knew she knew me. When her daughter left she tended my wounds, she had me return to my human form, and as soon as I was all patched up immediately returned to my totem form. Kaitlin was there at the wrong time seeing me transform into a talking bird right before her eyes. And I saw what Apo did, she erased her memories, it was like hypnotism except there were no strings attached. With a snap of her fingers she was a walking zombie one minute and the next the same Kaitlin before she saw everything. she spoke to me outside where her daughter couldn’t hear us before I departed she told me that her daughter would be my gypsy, that I would and should take care of her even if it cost me my life. And I kept that promise, because I owed my life to her, not her mother but her, to this little girl, to Kaitlin.

“It’s a long story, and you have a lot of time to hear it someday.” He said snapping out of his reverie and turning to look at Katie beside him, she was parallel to him, pulling her knees up to her chest and buried her chin on top of them. She pouted, rather disappointed to have wasted her time for nothing. “That’s so not fair, you have some kind of secret memory that I don’t remember, I wanna know it!”

“If I could recall, you didn’t want to believe me at first.”

“Well this is mental abuse, I deserve to know something!”

“Oh look at the time kiddo if you don’t get ready you’ll be late for school.”

“But �"”

“If you don’t get your butt off bed,” Micah started threateningly, “I’ll force you into bath and you’re not going to like that.”

With that, Katie jumped out of bed, darting and locking the bathroom door behind her. Micah with a wide smirk on his face stared up at the dull ceiling, he didn’t want to tell her because it was his secret to keep and he would want to keep it that way. “Oh Apo, you’re daughter’s helpless.” He says and closes his eyes engaging into a military style still half-alert slumber.

Author's Note

The pic of this chapter is Micah ;)