White Wings

by Aimee Jessica Russ

  He stared into her bloodshot eyes. He wasn’t judging; he saw her beauty. “I have never felt this way for anyone else.” His face got closer to hers. “I love you, Millie.”

  Millie drew in a deep breath as her heart fluttered. She wasn’t used to her heart moving. He brushed his lips against hers. Her mind was spinning. She didn’t know what to do. His lips joined against hers again. They were soft. He pressed softly until Millie started kissing back. His hands tugged on her hair, as her hands pressed against his cheeks. The kiss was strong until Zeke pulled away.

  “I don’t want you to be kissing me just because you’re lonely,” he said, taking deep breaths. “I want you to want this.”

  Millie dropped her hands. “I--I . . .” She saw her blood on his cheek. She was horrified.

  “Its fine.” Zeke said like she knew what she was thinking.

  “Millie, I want you to want me to kiss you. I don’t want to force you,” he interrupted.

  Millie laid her head on his chest. He leant his head on hers. “My heart is still healing,” she said.

  “I know it is,” he reassured her, kissing her forehead. “Take all the time you need, but in the meantime, let’s clean your hand up.”

  * * * * *

  When night came, Zeke carried her upstairs. They lay next to each other, holding hands. For the first time in a long time, Millie felt love. I’m not in love with him but he’s giving me hope that my heart can love again, she thought to herself. Her heart was slowly on the mend. Zeke kissed her cheek. “Good night.”

  “Night, Zeke.”

  “And don’t worry. I’ll be here all night.”

  She smiled at the thought of not having a lonely night to face.

  * * * * *

  When morning came around, Millie jumped in the shower, embarrassed by her hygiene. She washed and shaved everything. After drying off, she put some makeup on and slid on some short, peach-coloured shorts with a tight, cream top that showed off her neckline. She didn’t take off the beautiful silver necklace that Zeke gave her. She opened the door to find Zeke still there. She smiled.

  “You look beautiful as always, Miss Birthday Girl.”

  “What are we doing today?” Millie asked as she walked over to him.

  They held each other’s arms tightly.

  “Well, I was . . .” Zeke stopped.

  A gust of wind flowed through the window. They both looked up to see Teal standing there. He retracted his wings whilst Zeke and Millie let go of each other. They all stared at each other for a moment.

  “Teal? What are you doing here?” Millie broke the silence.

  “I need you to come with me.”

  “What?”

  “I just need to you to trust me.”

  “How can I trust you after all the Angels I care about left me?”

  “I need you to come with me,” Teal repeated.

  “If she doesn’t want to go, you can’t make her,” Zeke said, stepping in front of Millie.

  Teal looked at him and then at Millie, and then back to Zeke. “Mace has chosen to fall.”

  Millie’s mouth dropped. Zeke felt whatever feelings Millie had for him slipping away at that very moment.

  “What?” Millie said, startled.

  “He has chosen to fall for you, Millie,” he said, stepping closer. “You are needed in Heaven to attend the High Court.”

  “Heaven?” Millie and Zeke said at the same time.

  “Yes, Heaven. He is attending a hearing right now, and you are needed, Millie.”

  “Why?”

  “If an Angel is choosing to fall, he needs to attend court to plead his case.”

  “I thought God just threw them out,” Millie said, confused.

  “That does happen, but only if the Angel has already turned wicked and there’s no turning back for him or her.” He stared at Zeke.

  Millie walked up to Zeke. She didn’t want to leave him. Her feelings had returned for him, but Mace was willing to fall for her. She was lost. She was baffled. She had no idea what to do.

  “Go,” Zeke said, grabbing her hand.

  “Zeke.”

  “You love him.”

  “But you are fixing my heart. My feelings are growing for you.”

  Zeke looked happy and sad at the same time. “You love him. You want to be with him more.”

  Millie stared at him. Tears formed in her eyes.

  “I want to see you always being happy, and if that means that I have to lose you to Mace, that’s fine with me,” he said, his brow creased.

  “Zeke.”

  “Please go.” He kissed her forehead.

  She tried to smile at him, but it wouldn’t appear on her face. She slowly walked over to Teal, still looking at Zeke. Teal’s wings spread as he picked up Millie. She looked over Teal’s shoulder to Zeke. Zeke smiled, but she knew he must be hurting. Teal jumped off the windowsill and flew into the sky. Zeke watched with a broken heart as Millie flew away.

  Millie felt the wind rush all over her body. It hurt when the wind hit her. They were flying faster than Millie had ever flown before.

  “Close your eyes,” Teal said.

  Millie didn’t. She looked up where a gleaming light burst through the sky. The light was so intense that she had to look away. When she opened her eyes again, the wind had stopped. Teal put her down. Her mouth dropped with amazement. The colours all around her made her feel blessed and holy. The whole room was made out of white, cream, and golden lights. Above her in the far distance were pure white archways that reached all the way down to where she was standing. The floor was a mixture of white and cream. It was the image of perfection. Even though there were hardly any colours, it looked stunning and the feeling that she had made her heart feel healed.

  “Heaven?” she could only say to Teal.

  “Yes. You are very lucky. Only a handful of humans have ever come here.”

  “What?” she asked, stunned.

  “This is Heaven for the Angels. Heaven for the humans is in a different realm.”

  Millie was shocked, but the feeling went away quickly. Peace came through her whole body.

  “Why did you bring me here?” she asked. “Why not Mace?”

  “It’s because...I’m your Guardian Angel. Only Guardian Angels can bring humans here,” he said with a smile that made his dimples appear.

  “What?” Millie said, still feeling at peace.

  “We all thought it was best that you didn’t know.”

  “Huh” was all that Millie could say. Teal is my freakin’ Guardian Angel! She screamed in her mind.

  “We have to go,” Teal said, grabbing her hand.

  She still looked around in amazement. A tall cream door opened for them as they went into another huge beautiful room. Millie looked around. There were Angels staring at her. Her mouth was wide opened as she looked at them all. They were all dressed in white or golden robes. Some Angels had halos around their heads. Some Angels didn’t have wings, but others had six. Millie looked at every single one of them. They all were mesmerising and beautiful. They all stared back in silence.

  Teal and Millie continued over to even larger cream doors that opened into another room. The doors opened and they walked in, and Millie immediately noticed that the ground was grey and dull. It looked out of place. They kept walking through the room until she saw Mace standing in front of three, large, white chairs with Angels in them. His wings looked glorious in Heaven. All three Angels were stunning. They were wearing rich golden robes and had bright halos hovering above their heads. To the right of Millie stood Lilly, Hudson, Channing, and Autumn.

  No one seemed to notice Millie until she and Teal stood right behind Mace. The three Angels looked at her. Mace turned around and stared into Millie’s eyes. She desperately wanted to run into his arms, but the Angels did not look happy. Mace smiled at Millie. She smiled back. Teal led Millie to stand next to Autumn.

  “Hello, Millie,” the Angel on the left said in a booming but sweet voi
ce. He stood up. He was tall, with blonde hair that flowed to his shoulders, and his skin was glowing. His eyes were pure green, and his wings were large, bigger then Mace’s, but his were golden with a hint of white. They nearly touched the ground.

  “I am Malachi. I am in charge of the Protectors.”

  His hand gestured to the far right. “This is Evangelina. She is in charge of the Guardian Angels.”

  Evangelina was very slender with strawberry blonde hair that fell below her hips. Her eyes were pure blue.

  “And this is Raguel. He is here to watch and then inform God the Almighty directly.”

  Raguel had a large jaw and chin, and short light brown hair. His eyes were pure light brown. He didn’t look too pleased. Malachi sat down again.

  “Continue,” Raguel said.

  Millie was thankful that Raguel talked. She wouldn’t know what to say to them. They looked powerful. Mace looked at Millie, then back at the three Angels.

  “I am in love with Millie. I want to be with her until the day she dies.”

  Millie’s mouth dropped even lower. She could feel her love for him slowly coming back into her mended heart.

  “Angels don’t fall in love,” Malachi said in a dull voice.

  “Well, obviously some of us do, because otherwise you wouldn’t have Angels falling for humans.”

  “That’s lust,” Malachi said.

  “Not for me,” Mace said firmly, looking at Millie.

  “Lilly, step forward,” Raguel said, looking at her.

  Lilly faced him.

  “Have you witnessed his love for Millie?” Malachi asked.

  “Yes, I have witnessed their love for one another. It is strong. I have seen that they can’t live without each other.”

  “Explain,” Malachi said.

  “For the past few weeks, they have both been in enormous pain from losing each other.”

  Millie looked at Mace, smiling. He wants to be with me, she thought. Even though he despises Hell, he is falling to be with me. She thought that he was never coming back, but here he was, standing in front of her, ready to become a Fallen.

  “Step back,” Malachi said.

  Lilly stepped back into the line and looked at Hudson with relief.

  “Millie, step forward,” Raguel spoke.

  The three Angels eyed her. She walked over to Mace and took his hand. His hand was perfectly warm. It was smooth to touch. She could feel his grace through her body once again. She missed that feeling. Touching him again made her love blossom. He looked at her with everlasting love. His prominent jaw gleamed in Heaven; his skin looked delicious. His hand tightened around hers. They both wanted to embrace each other, but they knew they couldn’t.

  “Are you in love with Mace?” Malachi asked.

  Millie hesitantly looked away from Mace to Malachi.

  “I am madly in love with Mace,” she said as her heart left her body.

  The three Angels stared at each other for a moment.

  “So it is decided then,” Raguel said, standing up.

  “You have chosen your destiny, Mace. This is your last chance to go back,” Evangelina warned.

  Millie was surprised at how magical her voice sounded.

  “I want to fall,” he said.

  “So be it,” Malachi said, looking disappointed.

  Malachi and Evangelina stood up.

  “Millie, please return to where you were,” Malachi said.

  Millie hesitantly let go of Mace’s hand and went back to stand next to Teal.

  The three Angels stood together. Raguel’s wings were completely golden. Evangelina’s wings looked exactly like Malachi’s but with a little more white. Raguel clapped his hands above his head and a crack formed in front of Mace. There was a loud bang and the crack became bigger. The ground was falling away. Beams of lights formed around Malachi, Raguel, and Evangelina. Millie put her hand in front of her eyes. She still saw Mace through the cracks of her fingers. Mace looked at Millie. She slid her hand away from her eyes.

  Mace’s face was full of love but also distress. She started to run towards him, but with another loud bang, Mace was gone. He had fallen through the large crack. Millie stopped, knelt on the floor, looked down, and saw Mace disappearing into the dark hole. She wanted to reach out her hand and save him, but he was too far away. She saw his pure white feathers falling off his wings. The ground started to reform, and with that, Mace had completely vanished.

  “Thank you for coming. You may go,” Malachi said in a calm voice.

  Autumn stormed out of there. Teal, Lilly, and Hudson came over to Millie, helped her up, and walked her out of the room.

  “Where is he?” Millie asked as tears formed in her eyes.

  “He’s falling to Hell,” Teal answered.

  The word rang through her ears. Hell.

  They walked through the room of Angels, who all stared at Millie once again. Finally, they reached the first room Millie and Teal had arrived in.

  “Are you okay?” Lilly asked, hugging Millie.

  “I thought I would never see him again,” Millie said, wiping her eyes.

  “He loves you too much to never see you again,” she said, standing back.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s fine, Millie,” Lilly said.

  “I have made your friend fall. Now you guys are enemies.”

  “He would have been miserable living a life without you,” Hudson spoke. “Now at least we know he will be happy.”

  Millie didn’t know if Mace was going to be happy. It was amazing how they were going to be allowed to see each other now, touch each other, kiss each other, but he had always despised Hell. Millie took hold of Zeke’s necklace around her neck. She felt so guilty for leaving Zeke.

  “I need to take you back now,” Teal said, picking Millie up.

  “I miss you guys.”

  “We miss you, too,” Lilly said with a loving smile.

  A beam of light shown through the floor and Teal flew down it.

  * * * * *

  Teal put Millie down inside her bedroom. Zeke was nowhere to be seen.

  “Thank you,” Millie said.

  “No problem,” he replied.

  He didn’t sound cheerful at all. No dimples were across his face.

  “I’m so sorry. You must hate me.”

  “I don’t hate you. You’re one of my charges. I could never hate you, Millie.”

  “But I made your friend, a fellow Angel, fall.”

  “He is going to be happy with you now. That is all that matters.”

  Millie nodded.

  “I have to go.”

  “Okay,” Millie said.

  He turned around and flew out of the window.

  “Bye,” Millie said softly after him.

  She knew he was angry at her. If there was ever a battle again, he would have to fight and possibly kill Mace.

  Millie sat on the end of her bed. She was alone, but she wasn’t breaking down. She knew Mace was coming back to her now. She smiled with joy. She waited and waited, but he never came. She was worried and scared. She wanted to hug him, kiss him, and tell him that she loved him, but he never came.

  “Happy seventeenth birthday,” she whispered to herself.

  Twenty-Three

  Waiting

  It had been four days since Mace had fallen, but Millie had not seen him. She became nervous and wondered if he was ever going to return. She walked around her bedroom timidly. She was wearing an ankle-length, white dress that had a black flower pattern along the hip. She had received it from her mum and dad as a birthday gift. She bit her nails and knew there was only one thing to do.

  “Zeke,” she said loudly.

  He didn’t come. She didn’t even know if this was going to work.

  “Zeke,” she said loudly again.

  She saw Zeke come through her window. It had worked, she thought to herself with glee. Zeke came to me when I called.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked, walkin
g up to her.

  He looked at her neck and realised she was not wearing his necklace. He scanned the room and saw it hanging over a picture frame of her friends. He looked down with sadness but then looked up again.

  “How are you doing?” Millie thought to ask.

  “I’m good. Why did you call for me?”

  “I--I just wanted to know if you’ve seen Mace,” she replied, looking for his reaction.

  It was blank.

  “I haven’t seen him,” he said, folding his arms. “How was Heaven?”

  “I can’t describe it. It was just beautiful,” she said, remembering it.

  “I miss Heaven,” he said with a sigh.

  “I know you do and I’m sorry that you weren’t able to see it with me.” She said sorrowfully.

  Zeke looked up with her. Experiencing Heaven with Millie would have been a glorious thing, Zeke thought to himself.

  “Do you mind me asking? Were you thrown out of Heaven or did you have to go to court?” Millie asked.

  “Thrown out,” he said bluntly. “Lucifer already had a hold on me, and the Angels knew I was a lost cause.”

  “What is it like? Falling?” Millie asked, wanting to know.

  “It is the most painful thing an Angel has to go through. You literally fall from Heaven to Hell. It hurts. Your wings are being ripped out whilst you’re falling. You can feel the grace leaving your body. It’s excruciating.”

  “It sounds horrible.”

  Millie thought of the pain Mace had to go through. She felt sick.

  She stared at Zeke, trying to think of something to get her mind off of Mace falling.

  “How old are you?” Millie blurted out. She then realised that she didn’t know.

  “I am 1,221 years old, but my body is that of a twenty-year-old.”

  Millie stared at him in shock.

  “That’s how I was able to kill those three Fallen in the battle.”

  “You killed them?” she asked.

  “It was the only way to make sure you were safe,” he said, walking over to her.

  Millie didn’t realise he had killed his own kind for her.

  “You shouldn’t have killed your own kind for me, Zeke.”

  “A world without you isn’t a world at all,” he said, placing his hand on her cheek.

  Millie’s breathing became heavier. His hot hand felt good against her cheek, but she thought of Mace.