The Fall {Ch.1}

[Shimmer]

The Fall
Chapter 1

The fall itself lasted nine days, nine days of helplessness and torture. Earth was more different than anything the angels had ever seen before, to the humans they were lovely to look at,  but they remained fearful,  forcing the winged ones into exile. For centuries they coexisted as the angels learned how to hide their powers and more importantly their wings. Nearly a millennia later,  Andromeda still wasn’t used to their new home. She still looked the same, flawless pale skin and hair as dark as the midnight sky.  Instead of her tattered dress she now wore dark skinny jeans and a navy blue tank top but her wings were unseen to human eyes. The wings were hidden inside her being until she chose to use them. Walking down the sidewalk,  she watched the store windows but there was nothing that caught her interest and there hadn’t been since the fall.  Everything was the same in the new world.   People wandering aimlessly through the streets, there were always things to look at though by now Andromeda had seen the majority of it.   Making her way through the streets she stopped at a bookstore.   Slowly pushing open the door she winced hearing the squeak of the old hinges. Moving past the front desk she saw the shopkeeper, an older woman with sandy blond hair done up in a messy bun. “Good afternoon Andromeda.” The woman’s voice was higher pitched than her own. Giving a small nod she continued weaving through the wooden shelves.  The shop had many books on angels and Andromeda enjoyed reading them and seeing what details the humans added to the legends. Eyeing the books as she walked,  she was so distracted by the titles and covers that she didn’t notice the bump of carpeting.  Her heel caught on the bump sending her stumbling backwards and tumbling into a shelf. Andromeda winced hearing the loud crash as the shelf toppled over.  Books flew across the floor but the bookcase itself wasn’t broken.  Throwing her hands in the air with a grunt she bent down and pulled the bookcase to an upright position. The shopkeeper walked over to where she was kneeling, “I’ve got it dear.” Andromeda could hear the underlying frustration in the woman’s  voice, this wasn’t the first time she had destroyed a display. She could feel her face heating with embarrassment as she hurried out of the shop. The green door slammed shut behind her as the summer breeze blew through her hair and she felt someone to her left. “Chaos Queen strikes again.” Orion laughed. Punching him lightly in the arm Andromeda walked on feeling two rough arms around her waist.  She stopped “Come on don’t be like that.” he spoke softly into her ear brushing her hair from her shoulder and planting a light kiss on her neck. “I suppose chaos is better than death.” She laughed spinning out of his grasp because she did pity him.  While she couldn’t go anywhere without a freak accident happening he couldn’t be in a place for over a month with out someone dying.  Andromeda continued to her favorite place on earth, the forest.  She loved the forest nearly as much as her garden in the divine. Once she entered the tree line she broke into a run.  She ran as the space near her shoulder blades began to burn. A few miles into the forest she released her wings. Powerful dark wings, edged with gold,  burst from her back creating two identical slits in her tank top.  A few powerful pulses and she was in the branches of one of the tallest trees. Maybe she loved the forest so much because she didn’t have to hide.  Andromeda looked over her forest escape.  She could see emerald green leaves stretching for miles, and beneath the trees was the light green grass followed by open meadow.  Hearing wing beats she turned seeing her golden winged angel swooping through the trees before circling back to where she was.   Landing a few branches lower Orion looked up at her with a smile. They sat in silence until Andromeda heard something that startled her, the sound of wings moving through the trees. Looking down she could tell Orion had heard it as well.   The angel came closer, while she felt her throat tighten in fear.   The being hovered before them and Andromeda was shocked to stillness, “I thought you were dead…..” she spoke her smooth voice hardly a whisper.