Forbidden Dreams

Chapter One: A Trail of Feathers

Alex Bowleigh was a woman of a large imagination, many dreams…and lately, had contracted a bad case of bad luck. She was currently in one of the bathrooms in her college, washing off ink that had covered her arms and a little bit of her shirt. Thank Merlin this thing is old, she thought to herself. Wearing worn out old clothes to an art class was one of the smartest things she’d done in the past month.

Even after some major scrubbing, she still couldn’t get some of the ink off of her skin. Sighing, she turned the faucet off and shoved her hands under the air dryer, a frown on her features. This past week, she’d been having the worst of luck- and she wasn’t entirely pleased about it. She was glad school was out for the summer soon. Although she would miss this art class.

She was an art student. Most of her family said she should have gone to school so she could perfect her poetry and short stories- but her high school teachers had always complained that they couldn’t really critique them, so why go to school for it? Alex’s hands and arms were finally dry so she grabbed her bag and walked out of the bathroom.

Her teacher was just locking the door when she started to walk towards the staircase. “Did it come off?” he asked her as she took the first step down.

“Most of it did. I’ll see you on Monday.” The brunette quickly descended the staircase, putting headphones in her ears to block out whatever her teacher said in response to her. Pulling her gloves out of her pockets- black and white ones that only covered up to her knuckles- she put them back on as she exited the building and walked out towards the parking lot and where her car was.

Rummaging through her purse, she slowed as she approached her car until she yanked her keys out. Unlocking the door, she zipped the bag before tossing it inside, closely followed by the shoulder bag that had her art supplies. Ducking her head, she climbed in, turned the car on in one smooth motion. She reached down for the shifter but something stopped her. Frowning, she leaned forward in her seat to a guy across the parking lot.

She stared at him for a few minutes then shook her head and shifted the car out of park. She had thought….that was silly of her. It wasn’t even possible. Shaking her head, the college student pulled out of the parking lot and merged onto the highway so she could go home.

She blasted the radio as she drove, drumming her fingers on the steering wheel to the beat. She listened to alternative, soft rock, pop, and even some country…she was a bit diverse with her music. It didn’t take her long to get back to her town while she was entertained with the radio, but she didn’t go home. Instead, she drove into the driveway of her friend’s house, scooting out of her car and locking the door before running up the steps and walking in.

“ZOEEEEE!” she yelled as she shut the door and kicked off her shoes. There was the sound of a chair being pushed back and the quick sound of running feet before a tiny blond slid into the main room from down the hallway.

“Alex!” Running forward, the girl tackled the younger brunette in a hug just seconds after the girl set her bag down. This was Zoey Smythe, regularly called Zoe by all of her friends. The blond was a tiny little thing, just the same height of Alex at five foot four inches, known for her bouncy golden locks, her stunning blue eyes, her tiny waist and her not-so-tiny chest. Laughter was heard as the recipient hugged back and then they separated.

“Well, nice to see ya too.” She pulled out a chair and sat down, beginning to rummage through her bag.

“You got out of class a little late. Want some coffee?”

“That would be amazing. Thank you.” Alex peered up from her bag to give her friend a grin and resumed her search.

A few minutes later, just as Alex yelled out in victory, a mug of coffee was set down in front of her. “Oh! Sweet.” She took the mug and brought it to her lips, gingerly taking a sip of the very hot beverage before setting it back down again. The older girl sat down in a chair next to her.

“What were you searching for in there?” she asked her, holding the coffee mug in both hands. Her head tilted to the side a little as she watched the artsy girl.

“’Member how you told me you wanted to trace an angel wing on the wall?” The thing she had retrieved from her bag was being held to her chest, her arms only able to fit by going underneath it instead of around. Once the blond nodded in affirmation, her friend smiled. “Well…I decided to do this for one of my projects. We have to give it to someone and they have to write a letter to my teacher saying what they think of it. So uh…I hope you don’t mind. You have to write one.” Grinning, Alex turned the paper around to reveal a painting of an angel wing, feathers spread out and falling off of the page.

“Oh my god!” Letting go of the coffee mug, she reached over to take the painting, resting it against the table and looking at it with wide eyes. “This is amazing! Alex, you’re awesome.”

The eighteen year old leaned back against the cheer, a smile on her lips. “Oh, I know that.” She laughed at the roll of her friends eyes and then took another sip of coffee. “I really wish this would cool down.”

“Come on! You have to help me find a spot to put it in my room.” She stood up out of the chair and picked up the painting, frowning when something fell. Alex, however, was just getting up and didn’t notice- until she looked over and saw her friend looking at the floor in confusion.

“Err, something the matter?” Alex questioned.

“Something fell…”

“Fell? I didn’t paste anything onto that.” The brunette watched as the nineteen year old reached down and picked something off of the floor. “Another feather?” she said, eyes uneasy as she looked at the black feather in the other girl’s hand.

“Isn’t this like the fifth one we’ve found this week?” asked Zoe, glancing over with a frown.

“Yeah…” Alex didn’t mention the feather she had found this morning when she woke up, the one that was resting on her chest for Merlin knows how long. Zoey said something else but the brunette just agreed with a nod of her head, not really paying attention, and followed her friend into her room to help her set up the painting.

A few hours later she left the house with the letter to her teacher in one hand, her bag slung across her shoulder, and her keys in the opposite hand. Walking to the car, she unlocked the door and threw her stuff inside, just about to get in herself when she stopped. Do I really want to investigate? She thought to herself, and when she heard the sound again, she groaned and locked her car, shutting the door a little harder than she probably should have.

Her gray eyes scanned the street. The main road was practically empty, seeing as how it was cold, the middle of February, and rather late out. The sound drifted towards her again and she turned the other way, starting to walk down the sidewalk until she stopped outside an alley.

She stood there for a long moment. This was a déjà vu moment; and one from that recurring dream of hers. Now, Alex was small; undeniably thin, with long legs even for her short height, scruffy looking dark brown hair and toned muscles. Nobody would expect her to be able to defend herself, and as she bit the edge of her lip, she stared into the darkness, debating.

The sound was heard again. Muffled yells, and now that she was close, she could hear the thump of a foot hitting a body. But Alex’s gaze was drawn down to the pavement.

Against her better judgment, the brunette ran inside, enveloped into shadows; and running past the black feather that had caught her eye, the edges stained red.