A happy- at least, that's how they seemed right then, under the circumstances- couple stood beside each other. The man had his arm around the woman's waist, and she leaned into him comfortably. They stood smiling down into a carved wood cradle that was gently rocked from side to side, being pushed by the man's other hand. Inside the cradle, wrapped in layers of thin, soft blankets, lay an infant girl. Small wisps of blonde hair curled around her ears and atop her small head. She looked up at the man and woman with the largest blue eyes the man claimed he'd ever seen. The woman laughed and pretended the man had insulted her. She reached into the cradle and scooped up the small girl. As she did, the blankets fell away, revealing pale feathered wings protruding from the infant's thin nightgown, wings like her mother and father's. The woman brought her close and tucked the child's head under her chin.
"My little Nessa," the woman whispered.
The man wrapped his arms around the two of them, and they stood like that for some time.
This was my favorite memory.
I stood away from the family, in the shadows of the small room. There was a time when these happy families existed, and war was scarce, sometimes unheard of. But angels have always been a threat to the other creatures of these worlds. There can never be true peace.
I stared at the woman's face and watched a tear slide down her cheek. I stood silent, unemotional. I mouthed the words as the woman spoke again.
"My sweet, darling girl."
My face remained stiff, a small frown on my lips. I'd seen this scene too often to cry every time.
"NESSA!"
I blinked, and I was back. I was not startled to see my rank leader's face inches from my own.
"Daydreaming?" he questioned with a snarl.
I smirked. "Always."
His brow furrowed. "You don't get payed to get lost in your own mind."
"I don't get payed at all."
He grunted. "Servitude to the Elders is enough, isn't it?
Sure it is. Cuz my whole point of life is to die for a bunch of old people.
The rank leader shoved me backward a bit, trying to steer me toward the large stone wall beyond the maze of red and blue tents. "Get to your post. The Elsan army isn't far away. We need you to be ready for anything."
I resisted spitting at him and started the long walk to the wall.
Almost three years of this, and I'm still being treated like a rookie.
I understood that with a power like mine, others like me were needed on the battlefield. With us, the angels held the advantage.
I looked back to make sure the rank leader had turned away, then I broke into a jog in the other direction, running parallel to the wall instead of towards it. I cut through the parade of tents, trying to get to one of the old watchtowers.
We were in Hynix then, just at the edge of it. Gladren was just a ways away, and that was why this next battle was so serious. If the Elsan army pushed us back our own land anymore than they already had, then Gladren would be in danger. The Elders would be in danger.
I climbed the stone steps to the watchtower and burst through the empty archway. Immediately, cold air hit my face, relieving after the heat of the crowd below.
"Nessa!"
It was Azreal on watch. The young warrior threw me a glare when I smiled at him.
"What?" I asked as innocently as I could.
His glare remained. "You're post is out on the wall, not here."
I tossed a thick blonde braid over my shoulder and fluttered my wings.
"Come on, I'm curious. I can't see far from down on the wall. I have to know what's going on."
"Nessa," he warned, but I ignored him and instead stared out over the tops of trees. A few plumes of smoke far in the distance were signs of where the Elsan army was.
"They're close," Azreal observed, following my gaze. I simply smiled.
"What do you think?" I asked, "Do you think we'll win, or the Elsans?
Azreal looked at me, looked at cocky, overconfident, courageous me, and said, "I truly don't know."
I simply laughed at his honesty.
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