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Archangel's Destiny: Chapter 8

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                                 Chapter 8-Playing Mind Games

Serena swallowed her gathered up saliva in her mouth hard to make her stomach grumble. She slowly went over to the chair and sheepishly sat down. Her body was shaking, fearful for what he has in store for her. Sinclair put the sconce into the metal rack and looked over to Serena. He could see the fear in her eyes, scared for the unknown. He exhales a small breath and walks over to her and kneels down so that their eyes match each other.

       “Remember, this is only mind games. This will not hurt you physically, but emotionally it will take a toll on you. Demkai plays dirty, so we have to match his standards.” He puts his right hand on her knee and gently pats it. “Please don’t be worried. If you are as strong as we think that you are, you shall exceed expectations.” He moves his right hand to her cheek and smiles gently. “You can do this, I know you can.”

       “Just tell me when you are ready to do this, so I can prepare—AAHHHHHHHH!” A splitting headache began to form in her head. She cried out in pain. Sinclair’s hand began to glow a red-orange color. He was activating his dark power without telling her! She couldn’t move her body or speak; only her hands were gripping the chair. She tried to make sounds, but all that came out was a small choking noises. Her head tilted back towards the ceiling.

       “Let’s start with your past. Let me see what you are hiding.” Sinclair’s voice got deeper and almost sounded demonic like. He tiled her head back down to make eye contact with him. She had small tear droplets coming from the corner of her eyes. His eyes began to glow a crimson red color and stared into her green eyes.

        It was like a dream. Serena was transported back in time. “This can’t be real. It can’t—.” She looked at her hands, and they were transparent. In fact, her whole body was transparent. It was like she didn’t even exist. A scream echoed in the air. She looked up and saw bodies lying on the grass. Their blood was staining the earth. She could see a figure in the distance. It turns out that the figure is actually a human being, a child. This child looked to be no older than possibly eight years old. Serena started to walk towards the child and then sprinted when she could hear crying of the young human. “Don’t cry little one. I’m coming!” She now started to sprint her way to the child, but then abruptly stopped about a dozen yards away. She recognized that blue haired child. It was herself, the eight year old who was around all those dead bodies. “No, this can’t be.” Tears started to stream down Serena’s face, horrified that she is reliving her past. Chills ran through her body, but something felt like as if it was there. A deep voice emerged, and it sounded like it was next to her.

        “Time to go even deeper into that mind of yours.”

         She didn’t even get to blink, and she was once again transported. This time, she was in front of her younger self. Blood covered her young body from her mother’s wound. The older Serena collapsed on her knees and covered her face with her hands. It was happening again. She was reliving her worst nightmare. She started to sob in her hands. Tears flowed like a river out of her bloodshot eyes and dripped onto her lower body. She felt something dripping onto her dress, but it wasn’t her tears. It felt like that it was heavy drops. She moved her hands away from her face, and warm blood was dripping off of her skin. She screamed and tried to wipe it off on her dress, but it kept on reappearing. She screamed even louder, hoping that she would wake up from this nightmare. The sound of someone chuckling haunted her.

        “Blood of the innocent spilt on your hands! Why is that dear Serena?”

        “NOOOOO!! GO AWAY!” She covered her head with her arms and went into a fetal position. She was then in her home before it was destroyed—before her mother was killed. She was in the corner of her mother’s room, and she was witnessing her alive again. Her mother was getting ready for war, and young Serena entered the room.

        “Mama, why do you have to leave? Why can’t you stay here with me?”  The younger Serena was holding her teddy bear, gripping it with all her might.

        Serena’s mother fastened the last strap of her armor on her and gently walked over to the young child. “My dear Serena, I always want to be here next to you at all times.” She cupped her cheeks with her hands and stroked them. “You are my pride and joy, and I will always love you. But, you have to stay here. This is the only way I can protect you.” She put one hand to her cross and held it while she looked at her daughter. Sirens were then heard from the city limits, calling for all Archangels in the military to report for duty and prepare for an attack. “Quickly my sweet child, I must get you to safety!” She grabs young Serena’s hand and drags her outside to a metal door that was in the ground. She lifted it up, and told Serena to get inside. She got inside while gripping her stuffed animal and cried for her mother.

        “Mother! Please don’t leave me! I love you!” She tried to get up from the steep steps leading down to the bunker, but her mother kept pushing her back.

        “I am so sorry to do this, Serena.” She kissed her on the forehead and wiped her tears away. “I will be back for you, I promise.” She closed the metal door and locked it. Little to her knowledge, it was only locked half way because she was rushing to keep her safe and to report to the front lines. She sprouted her wings and flew into the air. Older Serena couldn’t take this pain anymore. She felt for that young child, for her younger self. Her mother left her-- abandoned her, to fight in the war. At the time, she didn’t understand why she did it—but now she does. Because she was protecting her since the Archangel of Hope was embedded in her.

        “Mama! MAMA!” She kept pounding on the door to see her mother for one last time. She let go of her bear and pushed on the door with what her little body could do. She desperately wanted to see her mother. She felt something give with the lock and pushed it open one last time. Her little body went soaring into the air and onto the grass, just enough time to see her mother fly away. She followed her mother to a wooded area, where she saw a battle go on. Chasing after her younger self, Serena ran into the woods—just in time to see her mother killed in action. Younger Serena stood in disbelief that her own mother was killed. Older Serena shook her head and collapsed to the ground.

        “MOTHER!” She couldn’t move. She didn’t want to see her mother dead in her arms for the second time. She realized that this was her fault. If she had stayed in that bunker like her mother told her, things could’ve been different. Her mother could’ve been still alive, or that she wouldn’t have to live through this pain. “Please, stop this! I can’t take this anymore!” Everything suddenly went dark. She didn’t know what was going on. She could hear a voice off in the distance, but it was muffled. It sounded like it was calling her name--

       Sinclair called for Serena to come back to reality. He realized that she had more guilt and revenge in her than he knew. “Serena, it’s okay! You can wake up now! Serena!” He started to gently shake her to wake her up.

       She could hear that voice more clearly now. It was Sinclair’s voice, his normal voice—not that deep voice that he had. Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes and felt like she couldn’t breathe. Her chest felt heavy like an elephant was stepping on it.  

       “Easy, easy. It’s okay.” He wraps his arm around her shoulder, keeping her body steady on the chair.

       “What—what did—you do—to me?” She threw off his arm and pushed him away out of anger.

       “That was my power, not to the fullest extent. I am able to manipulate your mind, just like the King said. I only went into your mind to see your past. I was curious to know exactly why you had so much revenge built up in you.” He didn’t want to upset her more than she already was, but he wanted to make her see the reasoning behind his powers. He thought that she understood about it, but it was quite possible it didn’t sink in all the way.

       “Did you like what you saw, huh? Was watching a little girl watching her own mother die in her arms pleasurable for you?” She folded her arms and brought up her legs into the fetal position on the chair. Everyone kept on saying that Sinclair wouldn’t hurt her, but he did. Emotionally, she was scarred. Those dreadful memories brought back up were too much for her.

        “No, they we—“

        “Why were you laughing then?! Am I some sort of joke to you?!” Her shouting was echoing in the room.

        “I had to play the part of Demkai. Remember, this is part of your training. He has more power than you think, and he could do more with your brain if he has you close to him.” He walked over to her and knelt down in front of her. “In reality, I was crushed. To see your parent die in front of you like that? Unimaginable. I didn’t even see my own parents die in front of me. I can’t imagine the pain and the suffering that you have endured. That is a lot of pain for an eight year old to take in.”

        “You have NO idea what pain is, what this pain feels like! All of this was because of me. It was my fault. If I hadn’t left that bunker, my mother would still either be alive or I wouldn’t have seen her die.” She lifted her head and made a scowl on her face.

        “You’re right. I don’t know what that pain feels like.” He looked away from her, knowing that he most likely scarred her for a while. “What I do know now is your reasoning for your revenge. When we talked in the Chamber of Converse, you found out that your mother was killed by Demkai. You never said that you saw him kill her. I know now why you are so motivated to get your revenge, and I don’t blame you.” It hurt him to see her sob like this. No child should ever have to go through losing a parent until they are older. “I know that today has been a rough first day of training, so we are going to stop for the day.” He extends his hand out, but she strikes it with her own hand and pushes it away.

        “I can get up on my own. I am not that child anymore.” She glares at him with a death stare.

        “I am only trying to help you. I am sorry that I had to do this to you, and I am sorry if I found out about your secret. But, you can’t keep this to yourself anymore. You will be consumed by that darkness, and it is not healthy for you. I am not saying to let it go, but give yourself some credit. If you pushed through this when you were a child, you can push through this now.” He extended his hand out once more. “Now, let me help you.”

        She was hesitant to take his hand. How would she be able to trust him again after what he did to her? Is this what she would be dealing with every day for the rest of her training? She was in a trance, not able to think or look clearly.

        “I know that this is difficult for you, but you have to understand that I will never hurt you on purpose. I will protect you, and it was my sworn duty to do so.” He kept his hand extended out, still having the offer to help her.

        His voice brought her back to reality and she caught the end of it when he said that he would protect her. She caved and set her stubbornness aside to take his hand. “Okay—“ She wrapped her fingers around the back of his hand and stood up. Her legs gave out and she started to collapse, but Sinclair grabbed her just in time before she would fall to the ground.

       “Looks like this took a toll on your physical strength too. Let’s get you into bed. We can get the kitchen to prepare you room service.” He puts her arm around his shoulder to steady her and begins to walk with along her side. She leaned against his body. Her stamina was too low for her to even try to walk alone. They exited the secret passage and entered through the castle gates. Neither of them said a word to each other. There was nothing but an awkward silence. Reginald was at the door, promptly on time. “Reginald, please let the kitchen know that they need to prepare Serena’s dinner for delivery to her room. She is exhausted from training today.”

        “Absolutely, sir. I will let them know immediately.” Reingald bows and strolls off to the kitchen.

        Sinclair didn’t want them not to talk for the entire walk. He quickly thought of something witty that he could talk about. “I think that we are having steak, potatoes, and green beans today for dinner.”

        “Is dinner like this every day, like glorious and expensive food?” Serena was semi-excited for dinner. She hasn’t had steak in a long time, mainly due to the fact that it is expensive to get food like steak in the marketplace. When she was with Agnes, all they could afford was roast and chicken. Now that she is here in the castle, she is going to eat like she is a queen!

        “Most of the time, yes. The King was once poor and didn’t have the same luxuries as the rich did. He was a farm boy, working with his father to provide for his family. As he got older, he wanted to provide for his people. He loved seeing their smiles on their faces each time that they came to his family’s stand for crops.” That awkward silence was now broken finally. He admitted to himself that it wasn’t the same not talking.

        “How did King Renaldi get picked for the court? That was always something I wanted to know.” Serena gained some balance back in her legs to walk. It must have been from the shock of everything, and it took a toll on her stamina.

        “King Renaldi got picked through an election. It is the same as they have it on Earth. The nominees are picked through the public. The nominees are picked by the Council, and then the public votes on the King.” He helped her get up the steps and to the corridor leading to her room.

        “That does make a lot of sense. At least it is fair with everyone.” She said in agreement and came to a stop in front of her door. “Well, this is me.”

        Sinclair released his arm from her and graciously opened up the door. “Can I help you get settled into bed or anything?”

       “No, I think I will be okay. Thank you though, James.” This was one of the first times she has called Sinclair by his first name. He did tell her that she could call him by his first name, so she did. “Good night, James.”

       “Not a problem. Reginald should be up shortly with your dinner. Have a good night.” He watches her go into the room and closed the door when she looked back and nodded to him. When the door closed, he turned around and retreated to his quarters.

       Serena went over to the dresser and changed her clothes into something that was more comfortable. Reginald soon knocked on the door with her dinner. Her platter of food was set on the rolling cart with a tray in the middle of it. On one plate was her steak, cooked to a medium rare temperature. Her potatoes were boiled with sour cream and butter on the side, and the green beans were next to the potatoes. She could estimate the size of a steak to be as thick as a half of the size of her pointer finger and long as the silver plate that it was on. She ate her meal in peace at the table. She didn’t realize how hungry she was until she started to eat. After her dinner, she wanted to look out the window to reflect on her day. She felt melancholy, border lining depressed. After Sinclair showed her the past, it came back to haunt her. For the remainder of the evening, she couldn’t stop thinking about her birth mother. Even though she was young when she passed away, she still could remember some of the fond memories she made with her mother. Flashbacks started to flow through her mind. They were memories of both of them playing cards in the living room, baking cookies in the kitchen, and playing outside.

       Something warm hit Serena’s heart. It felt like that she was being called upon, that she was needed. She glanced over to the nightstand to find the gem in the cross was glowing. “What is going on?” She said to herself. She got up from the window and walked over to the wooden stand. The closer she got to the cross, the more powerful the feeling in her heart got. It wasn’t hurting her, more like the stronger the calling got. Her hand shook, hesitant to even touch it. She never saw this happen before. She placed her hand over the top of it, and rays of crystal blue light burst from it. Scared from what was happening, she shrieked and fell backwards. Something was coming out of the rays, but she couldn’t tell what it was. Her heart was racing, her breathing became labored, and her eyes squinted shut from the brightness. A serene and calming voice alerted Serena that she wasn’t alone.

       “No need to fear little one, I do not intend to harm you.” A woman appeared from the cross. Her body was transparent like a spirit. “I was like you when I found out I was the Archangel of Hope.” She opened her eyes to reveal her sapphire blue eyes.

       Serena opened her eyes and couldn’t believe what she was seeing. A real live spirit was in her room, right in front of her. Serena recognized her from the picture on the wall. She had long brown hair, blue eyes that twinkled in the light, and two sets of wings. “I don’t believe it---Alexandria?”

       Hiding in the far corner from Serena was the mysterious black matter. It slithered in the cracks of the wall and turned invisible to the Archangel eye. It retracted itself from the ground and landed again in the Demon’s hand in the demon world. A messenger showed up in the King’s Room with a scroll. Inside the scroll is their intelligence from the Archangel world. “Archdemon, the Archangel of Hope is now training for battle. Shall we assemble the troops?” He bowed in respect for the King of Demons.

       “No, wait until dawn. Tonight will make or break the girl. She will decide if she has the heart to face me or not. At dawn, we will attack without hesitation!” He clenched his fist and chuckled to himself. “I will have a date with an old friend of mine.”
The next chapter of Archangel's Destiny is here! 

We left off with Sinclair and Serena in a secret corridor of the castle, about to test her psychological state. In this narrowing chapter, you will see how it all plays out and a special appearance by someone! 

**I would appreciate any critiques that I can get please and thank you! 

Archangel's Destiny (C) :iconfreeingmyangelwings:
© 2016 - 2024 FreeingMyAngelWings
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AngelKite's avatar
I think there are certain parts you could streamline or edit to make the story move more smoothly! Also noticed a few errors. I'll bold the parts I edited.

Just gonna list out a few parts:
1) Serena swallowed the gathered up saliva in her mouth hard to make her stomach grumble. She slowly went over to the chair and sheepishly sat down. Her body was shaking, fearful for what he had in store for her.

2) “Remember, these are only mind games. This will not hurt you physically, but emotionally it will take a toll on you. Demkai plays dirty, so we have to match his standards.” He put his right hand on her knee and gently patted it. “Please don’t be worried. If you are as strong as we think that you are, you shall exceed expectations.” He moved his right hand to her cheek and smiled gently.
^I realize you keep jumping between past and present tense. In the first sentence you already set out the past tense, so it's odd to suddenly switch to present tense.

3) She tried to make sounds, but all that came out were small choking noises.

4) Serena opened her eyes and couldn’t believe what she was seeing. A real live spirit was in her room, right in front of her. -> It is odd that there was a description of the spirit (being almost transparent, having blue eyes) before Serena opened her eyes. I think the description of the spirit should come after Serena opens her eyes, because during the whole story we experienced it through Serena.

(also I think you might mean translucent like a spirit! Transparent is clear, like glass. Translucent might be more accurate)


These are just minor errors ^^ I enjoyed the overall story! And it's a nice way of giving exposition without actually giving exposition hahaha

good luck :D