Homeland

     Homeland by R.A. Salvatore. 

     Homeland is the first book in R.A. Salvatore's first trilogy, "The Dark Elf Trilogy."  I'm reviewing this book for a number of reasons.

     First of all, I love R.A. Salvatore's works.  His books are what I'm looking for when I say that I read Fantasy.  Salvatore is creative, descriptive, concise, and when you read his works a picture of his world is painted clearly in your mind's eye.  Most of the legends/myths/folklore of dark elves is solidified in Salvatore's works.  J.R.R. Tolkien created the idea of elves being more than mischievous, ankle-high, fairy creatures, but Salvatore took that idea, mixed it with Norse mythology, and created the first real Dark Elf world.  D&D (namely Gary Gygax) created the evil spider goddess Lolth, and Salvatore built a Dark Elf religion around the imagined dark-goddess.  He took ideas that were at their birth, and built on them to create a cohesive world of imagination.

     Secondly, Drizzt Do'Urden is a bad-guy who turned against his upbringing.  This concept is amazing.  There are probably earlier books which have done this, but this fantasy world creates a perfect environment to teach this lesson without offending anyone.  Drizzt is part of an evil society.  I don't think anyone can read about the Dark Elf society without thinking that they are pure evil.  Drizzt starts to realize this, but the doctrines of his upbringing make him afraid to even venture to leave.  If you were to try to do this with any real-life religion, nationality, political party, or even radical movement groups, you'd end up offending somebody.  I think even Nazis still have sympathizers out there somewhere.  The Dark Elf world is a sterile field which can exemplify evil without pointing fingers.  And Salvatore humanizes Drizzt by showing his inner turmoil about abandoning his people.  Even when he's fully convinced they are wrong.  Anyone who has had to leave a family, religion, political group, etc. must feel these same emotions.  No matter how bad they were, they were all that person knew.  Home is hard to leave.

     Lastly, life is not all gumdrops and kittens when Drizzts leaves.  Being alone is hard.  Salvatore shows this beautifully.  Drizzts is an amazing, adept warrior, and his life is a near-nightmare out on his own.  Just because you make the right decisions in life, doesn't mean life will be easy.  In most cases, the right decisions are the hardest.  

     These morals aren't jammed down your throat.  Most of the more modern novelists I've been reading are too quick to shove their point down your gullet.  Tell a good story, and let the moral show in your work.  I may be guilty of this because I'm a fairly new and inexperienced author, but I sure do admire Salvatore because of his ability to easily teach without preaching.

     Okay, now the synopsis:

     Drizzt Do'Urden (Our protagonist) is a male Dark Elf in a Matriarchal society which values him little more than a slave, despite being born into a prestigious family.  The Dark Elves are evil.  They strive only for power and position, at any cost.  The only way Drizzt can ingratiate himself with his mother and sisters is by destroying families in higher standing.  Even the Spider Queen, Lolth, goddess to the Dark Elves, demands blood and betrayal.  

     Drizzt recognizes that his family is brutal, but is largely protected from the depth of their wickedness by his weapons-master and trainer Zaknafein.  Male Dark Elves aren't blessed by Lolth, so they must rely on their physical prowess to fight, whereas the Females can wield dark magic from the Spider Queen.  The males can perform small spells, but nothing compared to the females.  Drizzt is more than gifted when it comes to the sword, mainly because he is being trained by the best weapon master in the realm, but this is considered a lesser talent even among the male Dark Elves.

     The more Drizzt studies, the more he becomes disillusioned with his people.  His only friend is a spirit animal which doesn't even belong to him; Guenhwyvar, a panther from the astral plain.  Guenhwyvar belongs to Masoj, a male wizard, but the panther bonds with Drizzt causing problems for the already doomed, innocent Dark Elf.

     The book leads to the shattering of his child-like perception of his people, and his eventual choice between his people and what he believes to be right.

     This is true literature.  I'm sure a lot of people in the literary world will quickly dismiss it as silly Fantasy/Fiction, but the lessons and emotions are more real than most great works of literature I was required to read throughout school.

     Salvatore is a close second for my favorite author because of the incredible world he created.  Most of modern Dark Elf lore in video games, movies, and books are derived from the Forgotten Realms world Salvatore created.  I was surprised a few weeks ago when I reviewed a book and the author didn't even know who Salvatore was.  The author patterned his Dark Elf world directly after Salvatore's, and didn't even know it because Salvatore's concepts have been expanded so much through the Fantasy world that most just accept them as the way Dark Elves are.

     Of course, I give this book

     

The Undecideds Chapt. 7

Chapter 7

                The council chamber was surprisingly full.  The room itself was enormous.  It had to be to accommodate any type of spirit beast might accompany the diverse council members.  White fluted columns held up a domed ceiling.  The room was built in a semicircle so that all present would be facing the Head Councilman.  In their case there were two, Saul and Claudia.  A few High Chancellors from the Angel’s Guild often sat behind the pulpit, along with a transcriber, and occasionally a delegate from one of the five major Guilds who was presenting a new law to be voted upon by the council.  Today, there were representatives from all factions of all the guilds.  Saul wondered why everyone decided to be here today.  There weren't any major laws being discussed, and none of the councilmen were presenting any new laws to the council that he knew of.  It was strange to see half this many council members on a day like today.  A flutter of worry tickled at his stomach that somehow everyone knew that the daughter of the two head council members had run away the day before.  He didn’t know how it could be so, but it seemed that everyone was watching him as though he were a bug in a box.

                Claudia was conducting herself as usual.  She didn't seem to be bothered in the least that everyone was in attendance.  The meeting had started as they all do.  Everyone announced themselves and which province they represented.  Of course, that part took longer than usual as there were four to five times more council members present than usual.  The council’s irrevocable law was stated and each representative gave their oath to uphold the time tested ideals on which the council was founded.

                After the last member gave their oath, Claudia began to move on to the issues placed before the council for that morning.  She was halfway through thanking everyone for being there when the head of the Demon Guild interrupted her.  “And what of the Head Councilwoman’s oath?”

                “Excuse me, Chairman Charrander?”

                “Excuse me for interrupting Madam Head Council Woman.  But shouldn't the heads of the council also give their oath, as all of us have,” the tenacious councilman said with an air of contempt.

                To her credit, Claudia didn’t even bat an eye.  She calmly stood, raised her arm to the square, and repeated the oath, “For peace, for love, for harmony, for all, I swear my oath to the laws of the ancients passed down through the generations to allow all to live in peace and harmony.” 

                As she lowered her arm, she looked meaningfully at Saul.  He immediately stood and gave his oath; staring down the Demon Guild’s chairman the whole time.  Saul’s angel didn’t like the man, nor his spirit beast, and she was not afraid to make it known.  The blue flame of justice ignited around her, and her flaming sword appeared in her hand. 

                Councilman Charrander was an older man.  His hair was gray, except for a small patch in front and to the left of his head, which was stark black in contrast to the rest of the thick, curly, neatly kept hair.  His spirit beast was a large demon.  Larger than most.  It stood about twenty feet tall, had goat legs with a humanoid torso, a long red tail which ended in a spade shape, two long horns made of flame protruded from the bull-like face of the creature, and bat wings with a twenty-foot wingspan.  His demon had a giant warhammer which could ignite with hellfire.  Neither the councilman, nor his beast reacted to Saul’s angel’s outburst.  Saul supposed they were used to seeing the female angel on the brink of battle when in their presence.  She had little tolerance for them.  It was easy for Saul to see why the ancient war burned on for centuries.  The opposing beasts could scarcely bear to be in the same room with one another.

                Claudia gave Saul a tight smile of appreciated and returned her gaze to the incorrigible councilman.  “Thank you, Councilman Charrander, for reminding us.  It is good for us all to remember the reason we are all here in peaceful talks and negotiations instead of in arms trying to destroy one another.”  Her lips smiled at the man, though her eyes did not. 

                Claudia addressed the rest of the council, “Now, there have been reports of bandits in the lands North of…”

                “So, do you mean to say that you truly do intend to keep all of the dictates of the ancient law,” the Demon Guild’s chairman interrupted again.  When Claudia looked at him, there was a hint of fire behind those kind blue eyes.  Her cheeks mantled a bit.  Councilman Charrander spread his arms out helplessly and said, “I mean, really?  No matter what?  You will obey all of the dictates of the old law, will you not?”

                Claudia took a calming breath.  “I have given my oath, along with every council member here.  I and my husband know better than most how important those dictates are, Councilman Charrander.  Perhaps if you had to solve every petty dispute between the different guilds, you too would understand that the law is irrevocable.  Those in ancient times came to the dictates of the law after centuries of war, death, and suffering.  I’m sure many of them signed the peace treaty standing next to those very men and women who had murdered a loved one.  You are mistaken if you believe I would waver on even the smallest point of the law.”  Her glare became cold as she locked eyes with the man.

                Again he held his arms out helplessly, “I wouldn’t dream of saying you wouldn’t, Madam Head Chairwoman.  And I can quite understand the difficulty you speak of.  Why, I have difficulty enough just trying to appease the different factions within my own guild.  I couldn’t begin to imagine how difficult it must be to uphold peace between overtly opposite guilds.”  It was all an act for the other council members, Saul knew, but the man had a silver tongue.  “I just mean to say, that there are times when upholding the law must be difficult.”

                “I cannot imagine a scenario where difficulty upholding the law would outweigh the pain and difficulty of returning to the savage days of war,” Claudia said, flatly.  By now, her angel was not sitting at ease behind her.  He too had materialized his weapons.  The sight of the silver trident and shield in the large male angel’s hand were enough to make the council members in the front row lean back to put some distance between themselves and the powerful spirit beast.  Unlike Saul’s angel, Claudia’s was slow to anger.  At home, Claudia was all business and ran a tight ship, so to speak.  The children probably feared her more than he.  His angel never seemed to be angry at home.  Her greatest pleasure in life was the children.  She had never shown them anything but a smiling loving face.  At work, the two switch roles as easily as one would change shoes.  His angel became a heated fireball at the smallest hint of opposition, while Claudia’s angel always sat relaxed in the background.  He was ever watchful, but rarely provoked to any reaction aside from feigned indifference.  Those in the council knew he was anything but indifferent.  His eyes never stopped moving when they were in council.  The male angel was always on guard, but never let those around him know it.  To see him in arms alarmed even Saul. 

                “That is good,” Councilman Charrander said.  He turned to face the rest of the council, “because I have learned that there has been a bit of disharmony in your home, of late.  It seems that not only have you lost your oldest son, but now you have lost a daughter.”  He turned back towards Claudia with an evil grin.  Her angel was ablaze now, with an angry orange flame.  Some of the council members gasped audibly.  Councilman Charrander did not.  “I would hate to lose faith in our beloved Head Councilwoman because she was more worried about her daughter than the ancient laws.”  He pretended to think, and then added, “I just wonder what is happening in our most trusted leaders’ home that would cause not one, but two children to run away.”

                This time Claudia didn’t try to hide her displeasure.  “You tread a very dangerous path, Samuel.  I will not abandon the laws of peace to save one person.”  Her voice cracked a bit.  “Even if that person is my own daughter.  It’s true that she has run away.  There was a fight at her school, and instead of handling, her principal called us in to deal with it.  We told her to handle it herself.  I can see now how that must have appeared to our dear daughter.  She must have been hurt, thinking we didn’t care.”  Her voice regained a bit of its strength.  “Most of you here are parents.  You understand that we were acting in Rachel’s best interest.  A parent can’t always rescue their child.  Children need to learn to work out their own problems at some point in their lives.  We wouldn’t be good parents if we solved all of hers for her.  Just as we don’t solve all of your problems when you bring them to us, we can’t solve our children’s.  The must grow to be strong, just as each of your factions have grown stronger when you figure out how to rule yourselves.”  She turned again to Councilman Charrander.  “I will not break the laws and go to rescue her.  She has made the choice to leave our protective care.  It is written in ancient law that she must be free to choose.  Even at her tender age, she must be free.  I will not take that freedom from her because it would be precedence for others to do the same, and we all know that sometimes children leave because they are in danger. Sometimes they fear that they are endangering their families.  We can’t know.  We are linked to our beasts, but only once that union has been solidified can control be established.  If not control, then understanding.  It breaks my heart as a mother to think of my child out there alone in a dangerous cruel world.  But I would not risk the lives of countless others who run away because they fear for the lives of their spirit beast, or because they fear for the lives of the spirit beasts of their families to save my own daughter.  For all I know, she could have left for one of these reasons.  Perhaps her beast has turned into a demon, perhaps a predator and she fears it will maul those of her siblings.  I don’t know her reasons, but I’ll not break the law to go find out.”

                Councilman Charrander turned to face the rest of the council.  “So she says.  A mother who drives not one, but two of her children from her own house can hardly be trusted, can she?”

                In a flash an orange flame vaulted the pulpit and first two rows of chairs and council members.  Councilman Charrander was on the third row, he now had a flaming trident against his neck.  Before Saul could react, a giant hammer was crashing down on his wife’s angel.  He heard a sickening crushing sound and the hammer made contact with the stone floor of the council chambers.  The councilman’s giant demon had crushed his wife’s angel.  Saul heard a scream.  It took several minutes to realize that his throat was sore.  It was him who was screaming.  His angel vaulted the pulpit.  Blue flame was all he could see as she streaked across his plane of sight.  A mighty swing of her sword threw the giant demon across the room.  It managed to get its warhammer up in time to block the blow, but the force was such that it took him from his feet, and one hundred paces across the room until a giant marble pillar stopped him.  The demon stood on unsteady legs.  Saul’s angel backhanded Councilman Carrander, sending him soaring across the room to land next to his spirit beast.  The female angel had tears streaking down her cheeks.  She was beyond reconciliation.  There was nothing Saul could do to stop her.  Nothing short of the blood of both the councilman and his spirit beast would soothe her anger.  Saul ran to stay close to her.  If she ran too far, she may sever the link between them and kill them both.  As he ran, he saw something moving in the rubble left by the giant hammer.  He didn’t have time to stop, though.

                Saul was only halfway to his angel, and she was in pitched battle with the giant demon.  Council members were scattering in every direction, most falling over themselves trying to get out of the way.  None dared to try to interrupt the two powerful beasts.  The giant war hammer came crashing down on Saul’s angel, but her sword met the swing.  The floor under the angel cracked with the impact, but her arms didn’t so much as tremble as she pushed the hammer up away from her.  She heaved up mightily, and the demon lost its footing almost tumbling backwards.  In a flash, the sword slashed through its closest leg.  Blood splattered across the pure white column of the council room.  The horrible beast cried out in pain.  The fire around the sword seared the flesh and hair of the goat legs, filling the room with a shock of metallic smelling blood along with a pleasant aroma of cooked meat.

                The councilman came to his feet just has Saul cut the remaining distance between him and his angel.  He snatched the irate Charrander just in time to save him from his angel.  If he tried to interfere with the battle, she would cut him down as surely as if he were his demon.  Saul struggled to hold the old man’s arms behind his back.

                With a whoosh of air, his angel took flight.  The giant demon was still teetering, trying to catch his balance and keep from falling backwards.  With a quick flap of her wings, Saul’s angel darted at the demon’s chest.  The blow not only knocked him back, but threw him another twenty feet back.  The large demon’s wings snapped as they made harsh contact with the unforgiving floor.  Before he even settled fully on the floor, she was standing on his chest with her sword poised for the kill.

                “Enough!”

                Saul jumped at the powerful authoritative voice coming from the pulpit.  There stood Claudia, unharmed.  He looked at the rubble where he thought her angel was smashed, only to see him standing there with his trident ready to throw should the battle turn against his love.  There was a large hole in the ground next to him.  He must have got his shield up in time to block the blow, but the impact drove him into the ground.

                Saul’s angel stood panting on the great demon’s chest.  The fire in her eyes faltered at seeing her love alive and well, but she wasn’t willing to back off just yet.  He had tried, that was all that mattered.  Saul knew well her character.  He had tried to kill her love.  That threat was worthy of death, in-and-of itself.  The demon lay on its back, the war hammer having been knocked out of his grasp lay a goodly distance away.  His wild eyes were wide open, looking at the angel on his chest poised to kill him.  Saul wasn’t sure, but it looked almost as if the great demon were surprised beyond reason that a creature one third its size could so easily overpower him. 

                There was a reason Saul and Claudia were Head Council members.  Their spirit beasts possessed powers beyond just outward appearances.  Saul’s angel was many times stronger than any giant-type monster.  Claudia’s was tougher than even Saul knew, apparently.

                “Enough, I said,” Claudia repeated. 

                Saul reluctantly let go of Councilman Charrander’s arms.  His angel was less forgiving.  She looked at Claudia, then at her angel, then back at the monstrous demon.

                “It’s okay,” Saul said.  He urged her through their bond to back down, but felt only anger and resistance.  She did not want to let a possible threat go unpunished.

                “Cindell, please,” Claudia begged.  “Let’s not spoil the sanctity of peace these halls have enjoyed for thousands of years.  Especially over petty words of hatred.”

                Saul’s angel looked back at Claudia.  Saul could feel her frustration.  She wanted nothing more than to end the life of this wretched beast who had so often brought out her ire.  She took a step closer to the demon’s face.  She stomped her foot, and her weapon dematerialized. 

                Just as she turned to walk off of the beast, it laughed.  Saul groaned inside.  His angel turned in a huff.  In a flash she reached out and grabbed the golden ring through the bull nose, and tore it out with a powerful yank.  The demon howled and covered his bleeding nose.  Sauls angel smirked and took wing, landing gracefully at Saul’s side.  He still had his face buried in his hand.

                “You’re not fit to rule this council,” Charrander yelled.

                “It seems we’re the perfect pair to rule this council,” Claudia retorted.  “We’re the only ones strong enough to keep you, and those like you, from getting it in their heads that they can overthrow the ruling power of this council.”  Councilman Charrander was about to sputter off a harsh remark, but Claudia held up a hand, silencing him.  “Don’t try my patience any farther Samuel.  It’s taking all my resolve to keep my angel under control.  He wants to tear your demons arms from his body and beat the two of you to death with them.  Don’t test me any farther Councilman.  Just don’t!”

                The man reluctantly stepped down, face red, and shaking with rage.  His spirit beast was having difficulty getting up.  Its wings were both broken, and the shin of the leg Cindell had cut was bleeding profusely.  The poor creature was holding its nose in agony, and couldn’t decide which wound hurt worse. 

                Saul’s angel was in the arms of her love; Claudia’s angel.  Saul wanted nothing more than to do the same to his dear wife, but he knew it wouldn’t be appropriate.  Instead, they shared a loving look.  Claudia gave him a tight smile then turned back to the council.  Council men and women were all pressed against the far walls of the great room.  Spirit bests were hiding in open terror of what they had just witnessed.  Even the predators were trying to stay out of the sight of the two powerful angels.  The demons were cowering like the worms they were.

                “That’s enough of that,” Claudia announced.  “Get back to your seats.  We have business to conduct.”  The council members reluctantly returned to their seats.  Apparently the upheaval they were promised in session today was not what they had expected.  Saul couldn’t help but be a little perturbed.  They all wanted to see the Angel Guild fall from power.  They didn’t seem to realize that it was the Angel Guild which kept them all safe, and war at bay.  Saul supposed that it was natural to want change, and the Angel Guild had been in charge for close to three thousand years now.  But those three thousand years had been peaceful.

                Councilman Charrander looked considerably humbler.  His demon had finally made it to its feet.  The demon studiously avoided the gaze of either of the angel, or their masters.  At least there was that.

                “I will see to it that my daughter is treated equally as any other runaway,” Claudia continued.  “She will get no special treatment, though I wish I could because of my love for her.  If she is to come back to the family, it will only be if she develops an angel spirit beast.  For now, she will be an outcast.  She will have to find her true place in Qualia duo, as do each of us.”

                Saul felt tears well up in his eyes with the finality of it all.  He had hoped nobody would find out, and they could take their daughter back with no incidents.  It appeared that the Demon Guild was watching them closer than they had thought.  They were always vying for power, like vultures circling an animal in the desert, the slightest hint of weakness and they would descend upon the carcass of what was now the council.  Nobody knew, but the balance of power was more precarious now than ever in the last three thousand years.  There was talk of real revolution.  Saul feared what such a revolution would do to their society.

The Undecideds Chapt. 6

     Once again... raw stuff.  I had fun writing in my other book today, though.  The story got away from me a little bit today, though.  I did some things that surprised me!

Chapter 6

                Rachel never really gave any thought as to where she would go.  At first she almost turned around and went home, but then she would think about having to go back to school and face all the other students and the principal again, and she renewed her determination.  She thought about going to go to Maddie’s house, but she knew that her parents would just turn Rachel in to her own parents, and Rachel couldn’t bear to face them again. 

Arabelle city was the center of the civilized world.  The city itself was divided into five sections like a pie with pieces cut out.  She grew up in the Angel Guild’s section of the city.  The other four were the four other major guilds, and the center was the grand council where all the guilds’ representatives ruled their respective guilds.  That would be where her parents were; working as always.  Rachel wanted to stay as far away from the city center as she could, but she knew she couldn’t stay in the Angel Guild’s section either because somebody would recognize her and take her home.  She decided the best place to go was the Prey Guild’s section.  The only problem was that she would have to go through the Demon Guild’s section to get to it.  She could go the other way around, but she would have to go through the Predator’s Guild section, and the Aviary Guild’s section to get to it.  Both would be dangerous with only a ball of fur for a pet.  Predators often killed the pets of their own kin because they couldn’t control their instinct.  And predatory birds in the Aviary Guild were no better.  But the Demon Guild was something altogether more dangerous.  She fussed and fussed about which way would be worse; two dangerous sections, or one really dangerous section. 

While she was thinking about her choices, she walked.  Several minutes later, she realized she was walking towards the Demon Guild’s section.  Rachel stopped with cold realization.  She was scared to death in the Demonology class, and now she was going to go walking through the Demon Guild’s section of the city.  She started to turn away, but stopped when she thought of the great cats and wolves of the Predator Guild ripping apart her little ball of fur.  She looked down at her little ball of fur.  “What do you think we should do?”

The ball rolled around a little.  She felt a small pull in her mind in the direction of the Demon Guild’s section.  She could feel fear from her ball of fur.  It was strange.  She had rarely felt anything from it.  And this was the first time she had ever felt its influence in a decision.  Her spirit beast did not want to go to the Predator Guild’s section of the city.  In spite of everything that was happening, Rachel smiled.  For the first time she was actually communicating with her spirit beast.  Perhaps she would eventually be able to talk to it as it seemed everyone else was able to do with their spirit beasts.  She turned back towards the Demon Guilds section, and started walking.  Then she felt a tug in her mind pulling in a different direction.

Rachel stopped and looked down at her ball of fur again.  “You want me to move farther away from the city before we go into the Demon Guild’s section?”  The little ball rolled around excitedly.  She could feel its enthusiasm for the idea.  “Ok,” she said with a smile.  “I suppose it would be better if we were outside of the city, altogether.  That way we would have less of a chance to run in to any people at all.”  The ball bounced up and down.  Rachel smiled again.  “Good idea...  hmm.  I don’t even know what to call you.  We’ve never really spoken before.  I think it’s time you had a name.”  The ball bounced again.  “Should I call you Wendy?”  The ball stopped bouncing.  Rachel laughed.  “Okay, okay.  Not Wendy.  I don’t even know if you’re a boy or a girl.  Are you a girl?”  The ball shook back and forth.  “A boy?”  The ball bounced up and down again.  Rachel giggled.  “Okay, so boy names, hmm.  Let me think.  Rob?  Paul?  Sam?”  The ball shook with each name.  “hmm, maybe animal names?”  The ball bounced again.  “So, fluffy?”  It stopped bouncing, and Rachel could feel its disgust for the name.  She laughed again.  “Okay, not fluffy.  Spot?  Tiger?  Rex?”  The ball shook with each name.  “Stripes?”  the ball stopped shaking, and Rachel could feel that it was thinking over the name.  At last it bounced up and down.  “Stripes.”  Rachel smiled again.  “Let’s hope you don’t turn out to be a spotted animal.”  The ball of fur stopped bouncing, and Rachel could feel that it was a little worried.  “It’s okay,” She reassured him.  “Even if you’re and angel, stripes is a good name.”  The ball bounced again.

Rachel looked up at where she was walking. “Here, you lead.” She told her ball.  She was determined to get to the Prey Guild’s section of the city, but she still had anxiety over passing through the Demon Guild.  At least now she had a friend.  She was actually talking to it.  Him.  She corrected herself quickly, so she wouldn’t offend her little Stripes.

Rachel’s head jerked at every sound; A car whizzing by, or some person from a distance walking.  She pulled the hoodie she’d brought along over her head, in attempt to stay hidden.  At times, she had to hide out behind some bushes or in an alley way so as not to be seen.  She couldn’t blow her cover or her parents would find her.  She was mad that she had to run away.  She was mad at the way she was treated.  She was mad at the Angel Guild.  But mostly, she was mad at her parents.  It was their fault she was in this mess to begin with.  She was so angry she threw caution to the wind and jumped on a free train that wove its way through the city so she could get away faster.  This one went right to the city edge and a little beyond.  Rachel sat with her hoddie covering her face the whole ride.  Most of the people on the train were too preoccupied with their own thoughts to notice her, anyway.  When the train got to the last station, just outside Arabelle, Rachel quickly exited, and started walking away as fast as her legs would permit without running.

As she walked farther from the city she realized the houses were getting smaller.  Between some of them were little homemade box shelters used by desperate people. She covered her mouth as she watched little children with caved in bellies play ball out in the rocky street. She ducked behind a bush so she wouldn’t be seen. The children might as well have been wearing rags. Their clothes looked as if they’d been handed down from seventeen different people who’d died in those clothes.  But the children all looked happy enough, just playing ball with their friends; happier than anyone Rachel had ever seen.  She blinked and even rubbed her eyes to make sure she was seeing right.  The children were still wearing the rags, still had those caved in bellies, and they were still beaming and laughing at the game they’d made up.  Rachel shook her head.  If she were in that situation, she’d be scrounging for food, not playing happily.

Suddenly, a door of a small house swung open and a dirty, skinny woman stepped out.  She wore a scowl that looked like it was permanent.  Rachel heard the muffled shouts of the mother calling her children in as she ducked underneath the bush.  She’d seen enough.  She looked at her ball, and felt sadness and pity.  She knew it was coming from Stripes.  

“Oh Stripes.” She whispered, “I didn’t know there were people who lived like this.”

Stripes’ pity and sadness got even worse.  It made Rachel want to curl up and cry. She wanted to tell him to stop, but she too, felt pity for the little children.  She had been living a much better life, and she had ran away from it.  She snorted and balled up her fists, remembering the reason she’d run away.  It was because of Mother and Father.  It was all their fault.  They were the reason she was here.  She felt her own anger and determination wash away the feelings she was getting from stripes.  Stripes squirmed in discomfort.  He obviously didn’t like the feeling of anger, but Rachel couldn’t help it.  It was Mother and Father’s fault.  For the first time, Rachel was glad she didn’t have to repent for her feelings. She felt freer to do whatever she wanted, and the chains of the Angel Guild’s dictates weren’t holding her back anymore.

She smiled and checked to see if the streets were empty once again.  They were.  Rachel knew she couldn’t walk along the streets or sidewalks anymore, she’d have to hide.  She wasn’t fat, but she wasn’t as skinny as anyone here, either.  And she wore nicer clothes.  Rachel felt so out of place.  She felt so superior to these people, and back at home, her appearance was normal.  Rachel didn’t know whether she should feel sorrow for these people or pride that she was better than them.  She stood up and was careful to walk behind houses, instead of in front of them.  Stripes seemed sad.  

Rachel looked down at him.  “I’m sorry, Stripes, that you had to be my spirit beast.” She looked up and tried to muffle the crunching of her sneakers against the rocks by shuffling.  “I’m sorry that I ignored you.  I was just so... scared.”  She felt tears spring to her eyes.  “I was scared of what you’d become.”  She sniffed back the tears and wiped her eyes.  “Now all I have to worry about is you becoming some angel.  I can’t go back, not ever. You know that too, right?”  The ball seemed to understand her completely.  She felt almost as if he promised not to become an Angel Beast.

Rachel looked at the sky. It was beginning to get dark.  She sighed and found a house with a roof that stuck out in the back, so she curled up against it.  She felt Stripes begin to shiver.  She looked for a warm shelter for him, and finally decided to just hold him.  They could keep each other warm.  She put Stripes at the entrance of her hoodie pocket, and waited for him to approve.  He rolled inside, and she nearly giggled at the strange feeling of him cuddling against her stomach, but not touching her skin.  She rubbed her arms as a frosty breeze bit at her nose.  She was freezing.  She felt worry creep into her and began caressing Stripes’ fur.  “I won’t die. I promise.”  She blew into her hands, and sighed at the warmth.  She rubbed her hands together and leaned her head gently against the wall. Slowly, and with a lot of effort, she drifted to sleep.  She woke up every fifteen or twenty minutes because of a cramp, or the cold, or just because she’d become uncomfortable and had to readjust herself.  Just before it became light, she nodded off for good.

Rachel woke suddenly to a bright sky and loud voices. She pulled her legs to her chest and looked around the side of the wall.  David was there!  He was talking to some police officers. “She wasn’t at school, and her parents didn’t know where she was, either,” he told them, as he showed them a picture of Rachel.

Rachel realized she’d finally gone to sleep when the sun came up and warmed the cool spring air.  She was so exhausted she must have slept through most of the day.   David must have started some sort of search party.  She wanted to scream in frustration.  “David, you idiot. Stop,” she thought.  She couldn’t be found yet.  She needed to get away from the Angel Guild’s territory. 

She looked around the wall again and continued listening to David and the police’s conversation. “Please, we’re really good friends,” David pleaded.  The police said something about it being against policy to look for runaways. 

Rachel felt a pain of guilt when she saw the sad look on David’s face.  She wasn’t thinking of all of the friends when she was leaving.  Maddie, David, and the others would miss her.  It was too late to turn back now, though.

When she heard David’s voice fade away, she looked out to check if the coast was clear.  She stood up and brushed herself off.  She put Stripes in her pocket, making it bulge like she was pregnant.  She had a little laugh at that, but stripes didn’t seem to like the idea of being stuffed in the front pouch pocket.  He barely fit in it to begin with.  She began to walk behind the houses and hoped that no one would catch her.  The houses thinned and became sparse as she walked further.  The sun grew hotter, and beat down on Rachel, making her take off her hoodie and stuff it in her backpack.  She took Stripes out and held him close to her.  She saw a few cacti and even touched one, immediately regretted it afterward.  Blood streamed from her finger and she wiped it on her leggings.  She shook her hand and blood spattered the dry dirt underneath her.  “I hate this”, she thought.  “I never knew running away could be so hard.”  She shook it off and sighed.  Her backpack seemed to get heavier.  She had to lean forward against the weight.  She’d only packed clothes and things for peanut butter and jam, but it felt like she was carrying her whole room in there.  She was hungry.  Ravished, in fact, since she’d missed dinner and breakfast, and it felt like lunchtime.  Finally, the hunger overcame her will to push forward, and she fell to the ground. She quickly unzipped her backpack and pulled out the three items of food. She took out two pieces of bread and spread out the bread on the dirt. It was too hot for bugs, and the dirt was dry and cracked, so it wouldn’t get into her food.  She used her finger to spread the peanut butter and jam on the bread and put the things back, and then dug in. Her teeth ripped the soft bread, and the sweet taste filled her mouth.

She chewed rapidly and took another hungry bite.  When she finished the sandwich, she wasn’t anywhere near satisfied, but she decided she’d better save some for later so she slung her backpack back over her shoulder.  As she secured the other strap she realized the peanut butter and bread had completely dried out her already parched tongue.  She began to cry.  What was she doing?

The Undecideds Chapt. 5

     Once again, this is all very rough work.  I hardly read this over before posting it, and there are a lot of parts I would change, but I've got to get back to my other book, so here's chapter 5 of the book I'm writing with my daughter.

Chapter 5

                The rest of that school day seemed to go on forever.  Rachel  had missed her Angelology, and Predatory classes, but she felt confident that she knew enough about those two guilds that she wouldn’t really be behind.  She walked in halfway through her Math Class, but the teacher didn’t say a word.  Rachel figured that the teacher had probably heard the gossip about the Co-Leaders of the Angel Guild showing up, and didn’t want to have any part of that trouble.  Math was easy, and this class seemed to be review compared to her private tutelage.  The new student’s assembly and orientation was next on her schedule.  Rachel wondered if the principal had had enough time to compose herself after the encounter with her parents.  She would find out soon enough.

The entire school met in the gymnasium for the assembly.  The second year kids were singing the school anthem when Rachel and the rest of the first year students arrived.  The gymnasium was enormous.  Rachel found herself lost in awe, temporarily forgetting her misery.  She and the rest of the first year students filed in, most with only a ball of fur in tow.  The second year students had a wide variety of spirit beasts.  Some were fully developed, but stayed at Undecided’s Intermediate because they didn’t want to switch schools half-way through.  Most, though, only had partially developed beasts.  Balls of fur with lion’s faces, or legs and no face, or goat heads, or arms, were all hooting and howling at the new students.  The gym was noise in a box.

There were cheerleaders on the basketball court rallying the crowd.  There was a mascot of a dragon, which was the school’s mascot because it was a legendary beast that nobody had had for thousands of years, dancing around the court.  It must have taken three or four students to operate the enormous costume.  Rachel smiled, in spite of her horrible day.

Once all the students were seated the principal took the pulpit and everyone quieted down.  Principal Winehart looked to be put back together as she welcomed the new students to Undecided’s Intermediate School.  She was halfway through her welcome speech when someone yelled, “Principal Whiner Baby.”  The rest of the school burst out in laughter.  Rachel’s cheeks burned.  The Principal looked to have been physically knocked back a step, and Rachel thought she saw her bottom lip quiver.

Principal Winehart smoothed her grey skirt down at her hips and took a step back up to the microphone.  A deep scowl settled on her face as she scanned the student body.  Most of the kids quieted down.  A few of the older boys were chanting, “Whiner Baby,” but eventually that too died out.  The Principal found Rachel in the crowd, and held up her hand to quiet the rest of the students.  All of the other students raised their hands and shut their mouths.  Rachel figured it must have been a sign to be quiet in the school.  They never needed such tactics in the Angel’s Elementary School she attended.  She shyly raised her hand and looked down at her feet to avoid eye contact with the principal.

“Rachel Sie,” the principal said in a commanding voice.  “Come to the pulpit at once!”

The students all around Rachel looked at her.  She felt her ears burning.  She didn’t want to, but felt herself stand up and start walking towards the pulpit, just the same.  She never took her eyes from her feet, but she knew that everyone was looking at her.  A few of the children whispered things to one another, but mostly the gym was dead silent.  Rachel could hear her heart beating in her ears with a loud whooshing sound.  After what seemed like the longest walk in her entire life, she found herself standing in front of the pulpit at the center of the gymnasium.

Principal Winehart covered the microphone with her hand and leaned around the pulpit towards Rachel.  “Been talking about what happened in my office, have we?”

Rachel looked up in shock, shaking her head, “No, I swe…”

“Hush,” the principal cut her off.  “I’ll have no lies to save your hide.” 

Rachel had thought the principal looked pleasant, and even beautiful in her own way, before.  Now, she looked mean.  And she wore a scowl that looked to be easily brought forth.  Her cat was sitting at her heels with the hair on its back raised.  A low moan resonating from the cat made Rachel sick with worry about what Principal Winehart had in store for her.

The principal took her hand from the microphone and looked back towards the students gathered at the assembly.  “This is Rachel Sie, daughter of Saul Sie and Claudia Sie, the Co-Leaders of the Angel Guild.”  She motioned to one of the other teachers, and he brought a sawhorse looking stand in front of the pulpit.  “Bend over it, Miss Sie.”

Rachel didn’t know what the sawhorse stand was, but she knew she didn’t want to bend over it.  Once again, she felt herself walking over to it anyway.  She felt numb.  She bent over the sawhorse with her face a bright red hue.  The principal walked around the pulpit and behind her.  Suddenly, Rachel felt a sharp pain on her rear-end.  She cried out, instinctively, and stood up slightly.  The male teacher pushed her shoulders back down over the sawhorse just as she received another thrashing on her rear-end.  Rachel tried to cover her bottom with her hands, but the rod struck her hands instead, causing even greater pain than her bottom, so she quickly moved them.  Principal Winehart struck her ten times in total.  By the sixth lash, Rachel was bawling.  The lashings hurt, but more than anything she was humiliated.  She had never been spanked growing up.  The Angel Guild’s elementary schools would never dream of striking a child.  Physical violence was considered barbaric to all in the Angel Guild, but here, they obviously had different ideas about it.

When the ordeal was over, the principal courtly said, “Stop your blubbering and return to your seat.”  Rachel tried to stifle her crying, but couldn’t seem to stop.  Her breath came in racking sobs as she tried with all her might to stop crying.  A few of the kids snickered at her, but most sat upright in fear of the horror they had just witnessed.  Obviously, some of them weren’t use to physical discipline either.  When she reached her seat, she sat down quickly, trying to hide from the thousands of eyes watching her.  The moment her bottom hit the seat she cried out in shock from the painful welts on her bottom.

Principal Winehart slowly walked back behind the pulpit and stood staring at Rachel until she looked up.  She was still holding the thin rod she had used to lash Rachel’s bottom.  Rachel felt angry,  humiliated, and scared all at once.  The principal held her gaze for a while before a self-satisfied smile crossed her lips.

She looked around at the rest of the student body and said, “She has the most powerful and influential parents among you, but she is not above me in my own school.  Just the rest of you think about that the next time you think to open your mouths.”  The gym was silent.  Even the second-year students were sobered by what they had witnessed.  The principal finished her speech and sat down.  Several other faculty members spoke to the students, but Rachel didn’t hear a word of what was said.  She sat in her seat in a daze.  Sometime the students would clap.  Sometimes they would laugh, but Rachel just stared at her feet, wishing the day would end.

After the assembly the students returned to their classes.  Rachel noticed that they studiously ignored her.  Some went so far as to turn their heads away from her as they walked past.  Rachel filed out of the gym with the rest of the students, and into the hall.  She had no idea where her next class was, nor did she care.  She just started walking down the hall with the flow of students leaving the gym. 

David found her and asked her something.  His voice sounded like it was coming from the opening of a deep well.  She turned to him and asked, “What?”

David smiled his goofy smile, and took her notebook from her hand, opening it up to her schedule.  “Ah, economics.  I know where that is, I’ll walk you.”

Rachel nodded numbly, and walked with David to her next class.  He was jabbering on about how he was sorry the principal had done that to her and how he knew she wasn’t use to that kind of punishment.  She hardly heard a word of what he was saying.  When they got to her economics class, David said his goodbyes and left her standing in the doorway.  Rachel could see the kids inside pointing and whispering to one another.  Tears filled her eyes, and she turned and ran down the hall.

She bumped into several students along the way, they yelled at her, but she didn’t stop nor did she hear a word of what they were saying.  She ran until she was at the front entrance of the school.  She saw the light of day beaming in through the glass doors of the large entryway, and ran for them.  Before she knew it, she was halfway home, and her lungs were burning with the effort to keep her panting.  She had a painful stitch in her side, and had to stop to catch her breath.  Her heaving panting turned into sobs, and she fell to her hands and knees, half crying and half gasping for air.

She cried for a long while before she ran out of tears.  Once she was able to stop, she felt something deep within her.  It wasn’t anger, or hurt, or sadness, but it was a powerful feeling.  It was a feeling of determination and strength.  She had never felt the likes of this before.  She knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that she would never cry again.  She wiped her nose on the back of her hand and picked herself up.  With shaky arms, she wiped away the streams of tears from her face.  Some had already dried to salty streaks, but she didn’t care anymore. 

Her parents were the cause of all of this, she was certain.  She wanted nothing more to do with the politics of the Angel Guild.  She marched the rest of the way home, knowing nobody would be there.  When she got home, she went to her room and started packing her things.  She didn’t really have any idea where she was going, but she knew she didn’t want to be there anymore.  Once she had a bag full of clothes, she went to the kitchen, and got some bread, and peanut butter and jelly.  She stuffed them in with her clothes and zipped the bag closed.  She didn’t want there to be any question as to where she went, so she decided to leave a note.  She wanted her parents to know that they had brought this on themselves.  She wanted them to hurt like she hurt, know that they had driven her away.

She put the pen to the paper and started to write:

Dear Mom and Dad,

                I cannot bear to live with the Angel Guild’s dictates anymore.  They seem to be constantly contradicting themselves, and I’m tired of hearing them all the time.  I can’t do anything right! I’m tired of feeling smothered all the time, so I’m running away.

                You ruined my life today when you came to my school and threatened my principal.  She struck me ten times with a rod in front of the entire school.  I have never been so humiliated in all of my life, and it’s all your fault.  I can never forgive you.  This is just the last thing in a long line of horrible things I’ve had to endure because I’m the daughter of the Angel Guild leaders.  The Angel Guild is full of hypocrites and so are its leaders.

                Don’t bother coming to look for me.  I’m never coming home, and I don’t want  to have anything to do with this family, or this guild ever again.

                Rachel

                Rachel read the letter over several times, thinking about changing different parts, but finally decided to just keep it the way she wrote it.  She picked up her bag and walked to the door.  Her stomach gave a little flurry when she opened the door and looked back into her house for the last time.  She took a deep breath, and closed the door behind her.

Fantasy Landscapes

I love fantasy landscapes to get the creative juices flowing.  Here's a few from the web

The Undecideds Chapt. 4

Chapter 4

The principal had a cat spirit beast.  Rachel thought it was a funny beast for a Principal to have, but she didn’t say anything.  It was a glossy, longhaired gray and black striped cat.  It sat regally on the Principal’s desk; head held high and proud, just like the Principal.  The Principal, herself, was a beautiful woman, though she had a stern look which only a Principal can possess.  Her dark black hair had wisps of gray, so the two looked to be perfectly matched.  Rachel had seen this beautiful woman before under much more pleasant conditions.  Principal Winehart warmly welcomed her at parent’s night, and beamed like a giddy school-girl at the opportunity to meet her famous parents.  That smile was now gone.

“Miss Rachel Sie, when you walked into our beloved school did you happened to see our motto painted in twenty-foot letters over the reception hall,” she asked, looking down her nose at the young girl.

 Rachel looked down at her hands. “Achieve greatness by acting upon it?”

The principal gave a small nod. “And what greatness were you trying to achieve by fighting with those two boys?”  Rachel had no answers.  “I had such high hopes for you this year, young lady,” the Principal said with a sad sigh.  “You know I had to call your parents?  Do you know how embarrassing it is to call the Chamber of Guild Representatives, The Angel Guild’s branch no less, and tell the head of the council that their child has been misbehaving at school?”  Principal Winehart sighed again as she removed her glasses, letting them dangle by the chain which wrapped around her neck, she pinched the bridge of her nose.  “The very first day of school,” she said into her hand, shaking her head.

                Rachel squirmed uneasily at the rebuke, but she felt a little indignant at the same time.  “I was only trying to save that poor boy from getting beat up any more,” she said weakly.

                “Well, we’ll see just how much weight that argument holds when your…”

                Just then the door burst open behind Rachel.  A great male angel came charging through the door.  Rachel was surprised the door stayed on its hinges.  Her mother’s angel was afire.  He only got this way while in battle or when greatly angered.  Rachel had only seen him this way on one other occasion, and that was the day her brother was kicked out of the family.  Fire danced all around the angel beast, but didn’t consume anything it touched.  A fiercer fire burned in the angel’s eyes.  Rachel was instantly sick. 

                Behind her angel, Rachel’s mother followed.  No flames surrounded the elegant woman, at least none which could be seen by the human eye.  Her face was stone cold, like a statue.  She showed no emotion, though Rachel knew she was furious.  She strode over to the Principal’s desk without even looking at Rachel.  Her angel beast floated around to stand right next to the Principal, who was still gawking in shock.

                Then, something Rachel didn’t expect happened.  Her father’s beautiful angel beast floated through the door.  She was also ablaze, but with a blue flame instead of an orange one.  Rachel had never seen her father’s angel like this.  She had never seen her without a smile on her face.  The expression on the female angel’s face would, from that day on, forever haunt her.

                The female angel floated right past Rachel and stood on the other side of the Principal, sandwiching her effectively between the two imposing spirit beasts.  Rachel’s Father came in the door.  He was a little less stoic.  His face was etched in concern, but there was also anger in his eyes.

                The Principal, surrounded on both sides by two of the most powerful spirit beasts alive, slowly stood and forced a wary smile.  “Mr. and Mrs. Sei,” she said as she extended her hand to Rachel’s mother.

                Rachel’s mother looked at the hand, then back into the Principal’s eyes.  Principal Winehart slowly lowered her hand, and then smoothed down her skirt in an attempt to hide the gesture.  No longer able to bear the scrutiny of Rachel’s mother, the Principal looked down at her desk.  Won’t you please have a se…”

                “I want to know exactly what happened,” Rachel’s mother said sternly.

                The Principal jerked back as if she’d been struck, and then quickly regained her composure.  She smoothed down her skirt again and extended her neck into the regal pose of a Principal, once again.  “Your daughter was involved in a fight this morning,” she said, confidently. 

                “Be precise,” Rachel’s mother said, repeating one of the hundreds of “Be dictates”.

                The Principal seemed suddenly flustered again.  She was being deposed from her own throne.  Rachel’s mother was the law, and even in the Principal’s own school, in her own office, she was way outranked.  And what was worse was she hadn’t even gotten the whole story before Rachel’s parents arrived.  She had nothing to add to her statement.

                Rachel’s mother sighed impatiently, and turned to Rachel.  “What happened?  Be precise.”

                Rachel explained that she’d heard the kids chanting and ran to help.  When she saw the boy getting beat up by the older boy, she jumped in to help him.  She had to tell the whole story, but felt her face flush red with shame when she recounted how she had lost her temper and struck the older boy.

                Her mother smiled at her warmly, and then turned to face the Principal again.  “Mrs. Winehart,” she started, in a tone that Rachel was oh so familiar with.  “Saul and I oversee the entire affairs of every guild in every community in every part of the civilized world.”  She paused to let her words sink in.  “It is no minor task.”  Principal Winehart was nodding earnestly.  “Now, I understand that you have a school to run, and in so doing you cannot play favorites.  Rules are rules, after all.  My children are to be punished the same as any other child, and are to receive no special treatment because of our positions.  However, we simply cannot be pulled from our duties for every little thing that happens to Rachel.  If she stands up to a bully, she should be rewarded, and I would like to know about it in the form of a note or something.  If she is the bully, she should be punished, and I would like to know about it so that I can correct her behavior, as well.”  Her mother leaned in over the desk causing the Principal to shrink back.  “But if I am ever called away from the council again for a simple matter which could have easily been resolved by you or one of your staff, I’ll see to it that you never work in education again.  Do I make myself clear?”

                “Yes, ma’am,” the principal said, as a tear scrolled down her cheek.

                Her spirit beast was not as easily backed down, and the little cat hissed at Rachel’s mother.  In the blink of an eye her father’s angel had the little beast by the nap of the neck with a flaming sword dancing inches from its throat.  Rachel didn’t even see the beautiful angel draw her sword.  The cat spirit beast was just as surprised, and a little puddle formed on the desk beneath it.

                Now, the Principal was visibly sweating.  If her cat died, so would she.  Rachel was helpless to intervene.  Sometimes spirit beasts acted on their own, and sometimes on the will of their human counter-part.  It was difficult to tell when one was acting on its own accord, or on the will of their master.  Beast killing a beast was rarely punished, even in the Angel Guild.  Their hierarchy worked differently than the human’s and was largely a mystery, so the guilds had an agreement not to get involved when it came to beasts fighting beasts.  The whole society of Qualia Duo was structured to avoid such occurrences, and Rachel’s parents oversaw the structure of that society.

                Rachel’s mother was unconcerned with the show, though, and never took her eyes off the Principal.  When the cat was secured, and the room fell silent she continued, “The only reason my daughter is in this school is to give her a wider range of understanding of the other types of spirit beasts.  This is training for her to understand the other guilds.  Today, I think she did that quite well, and I’m proud of how she conducted herself.  Standing up for the helpless is a trait most desired among my guild.  You should be rewarding her, not lecturing her.  Next time, I expect you to get the whole story before you jump to conclusion.”  The Principal was nodding vigorously before she even finished the sentence.  “And that goes for any student.  Not just my daughter.  You might do well to re-educate yourself on the dictates of school administrators, Principal Winehart, before your neglect of them costs you your job.”  She looked at the cat being held by the powerful angel spirit beast.  “Or even worse.”

                With that, the female angel dropped the cat, and the two angel beasts exited the room.  Rachel’s mother took her hand and led her out of the room, followed by her father.  The boy was waiting wide-eyed in the lobby, holding his little ball of fur as if he were afraid Rachel’s parents might call down lightning to strike it dead at any moment.  Rachel couldn’t even bear to look the young boy in the eyes.

                The two angel beasts’ fire didn’t extinguish in the halls, and everyone backed far away from the pair as they escorted Rachel and her parents towards the front of the school.  Mr. Sharp stepped out into the hall to see what all the commotion was about, but quickly ducked out of sight when he saw the two flaming angels.  Everybody came to look, but nobody dared to make eye contact with the beast or their masters.  Rachel didn’t notice.  She stared at the floor the whole way, fighting back the tears of embarrassment.

                When they reached the front of the school, they stopped.  Before she knew it, Rachel was scooped up by her father’s angel.  She hugged her so tight that Rachel thought she might have broken a rib.

                “She says she’s so proud of you,” her father said.  “And so am I.”

                When her father’s angel finally let her go, Rachel crumpled to the floor gasping for air.  Her mother knelt down next to her.  “That was brave of you,” she said, as she laid a hand on Rachel’s shoulder.  “Are you hurt?”

                Rachel finally caught her breath, and the tears filled her eyes again.

                “Why,” she asked.  “Why would you do that?  You always have to ruin everything.  Why?”

                Rachel’s mother was a bit surprised.  “I don’t see how I…”

                “Why,” Rachel repeated.

                “Rachel, I was doing my job.  I can’t just…”

                “Why,” Rachel screamed.  Both the angels jumped back in surprise. 

                Rachel’s mother was flabbergasted, but she quickly recovered, and her momentary lapse of control was quickly replaced by a bit of ire of her own.  “Now, you listen here young lady…”

                “No,” Rachel screamed.  “You ruined my whole life!  Now the Principal hates me.  The kids at school all saw you two, and now I’ll never make any friends.  I already have one teacher that hates me because of you, but now I’m sure the Principal will warn the others.  They’re all going to be afraid of me!”

                “I’ll just talk to th...”

                “No!  You’ll just make it worse,” Rachel insisted.  She lost it and started to cry.

                Her parents let her cry for a long while.  None of the other students wanted to appear that they were paying the family any attention, so they deliberately avoided the scene.  Rachel’s father’s angel was the first to console her.  The beautiful angel knelt on the ground next to the young girl and ran her fingers lovingly through Rachel’s hair.  After a while Rachel regained control, and the tears stopped.

                “Be respectful,” her mother said, weakly. 

                Rachel almost laughed at the absurdity of the remark, but she didn’t.  She dried her tears and looked around feeling very self conscious.  Luckily, the bell had rung, and all of the other students were in their classes.  Rachel picked herself off the ground, and wiped her nose which had begun to bleed again.  Her mother’s angel put his massive hand over her face, and with a flash of light, the bleeding was gone, and so was the blood trail.

                “Thank you,” Rachel muttered.

                Her mother took her by the shoulders and looked her in the eyes.  “We’re all proud of you for standing up for that boy,” she said.  “I’m sorry we embarrassed you.  That wasn’t our intention.  I know that having council members for parents isn’t easy.  My father was on the council when I was a child.  Heaven knows I had a difficult time in school because of it, but I can guarantee you that you will be stronger for all the difficulty you will have to pass through.”  Rachel dropped her eyes to the ground and nodded.  “I promise,” her mother said with a squeeze.  “Besides, I don’t think you’ll have any bullies of your own after today.”  That drew a laugh from Rachel.  “There’s my smile.”

                Rachel looked back up at her mother.  She couldn’t remember doing anything that made her mother proud before.  Even though she was convinced she’d be a social outcast for the rest of the year because of it, she was happy she’d made her mother proud. 

                “Do you want to finish out the day, or come back with us to the council,” her mother asked.

                Rachel didn’t want to face the other students after all that had happened, but a day in the council was even worse.  “I’ll stay,” she said.  “I can’t miss the first day of school.  The teachers will all think I’m a slacker.”

                Her mother laughed and gave her another hug.  “Okay, call us if you change your mind.  I don’t mind being interrupted at work for my kids.  I only wanted to make the Principal think twice before calling us next time.”  She laughed again.  “After that, I doubt I will ever hear from her again.”  Rachel laughed at that.  Her mother winked at her father’s angel, then turned back to Rachel.  “But seriously, the council, my job, all of Qualia Duo is not as important to me as my kids.  Don’t ever hesitate to call me if you need me, okay?”

                “Okay, mom,” Rachel said. 

                Her mother gave her another hug, followed by her mother’s angel, and then her father.  “I’m proud of you, baby,” he said as he squeezed her tight.  She nodded into his shoulder as she hugged him back.

                No sooner had she let go then she found herself up in the air, hurled by her father’s angel.  The female angel caught her as if she were a small child and hugged her tightly.  “Thank you,” Rachel whispered.  “You always make me feel better.”  The statuesque angel only smiled and hugged her again.

                The four rushed out of the school, leaving Rachel to face the rest of the day emotionally exhausted, and even more nervous than she had been that morning.  She had missed her third and fourth classes, and was now late for her fifth.  Rachel knew it was improper to be late, but thought it was forgivable considering the circumstances.