The Curse of an Angel

Bright green and brown trees surround the soft meadow. A checkered white and red picnic blanket was spread across the center. Valencia and Audrey sat, enjoying a lovely lunch. A frisbee sat on the edge waiting to fly. They talked like friends even though they were so much more. Valencia was only sixteen and Audrey was more than double her age. They weren’t mother and daughter even though they could pass for it so easily. Valencia was related to Audrey through her father. She hadn’t seen him in years. The wind picked up swinging their hair to cover their faces. Valencia went cold when she parted her hair to see the shadows. They weren’t from the trees. These shadows surrounded them menacingly. Audrey moved to her niece but a shadow grabbed her. Audrey disappeared from Valencia’s view. A man stepped forward. He had midnight wings to match his hair. It was pulled back into a tight ponytail. His face was pale to the point of seeing veins. His eyes were a bright fiery red. The man stood in a suit that was perfectly trimmed and measured. In his hands was a burned scroll. With a smirk, he opened it. “Valencia, we hereby place you under arrest. Anything you say or do will be used against you. The charges are treason. A cell has been set up for you. If you run we have permission to hurt you. Please stand and turn around.” She obeyed only to be placed in handcuffs. They held her roughly and took to the sky. Her eyes remained shut hoping they wouldn’t drop her. Where they held was exactly where she had bruises from the other night. There was a reason she never trusted men so easily. They all turned on her even when she needed them most. Audrey had been the one to keep her safe. She had been there when she came home tattered. Audrey was gone, and Valencia wouldn’t last long.