Feathers

Worries ☽✧☾ Charmaine

"It's true" Lailah said, curling a strand of black hair around her finger. It shone midnight blue where ever the sun hit it, and Charmaine envied her mysterious looks. "Sometimes I feel like a freaking slave" she added in a mumble. Charmaine shared a look with Evangeline. Both the girls had heard Lailah complain before, and it worried them that it was getting more frequent. 

"But it's all for our sake" Evangeline tried with a hopeful smile.

"Definitely! And I'm thankful" Gabriel said, obviously relieved for a reason Charmaine didn't know. Lailah made a disagreeing grunt, but didn't argue. They sat in silence and looked at each other.

"So" Charmaine said, eager to break it. "What are we doing tonight?"

Lailah pushed herself off the ground to stand up. "Well, I'm going back to my room"

Charmaine watched as she strolled off towards the dorm. She looked back to see Gabriel and Evangeline give each other a sad smile. 

"Should we follow the lead?" Gabriel asked in a mumble, and with a nod from each of the girls, he led them back through the courtyard.

 

*                           *                           *

 

"Fellow divines. To those of you who haven't met me before, my name is Michael. And yes, I am indeed the Archangel who banished Lucifer from Heaven"

Excited mumbles broke out in the classroom. Charmaine clapped her hands eagerly, smiling at her friends. 

"Guys, this is so cool. I mean, if someone is able to teach us something..." she trailed off, pointed towards the podium Michael was standing on and nodded, letting them finish the sentence for themselves.

"I think he's too full of himself" Gabriel said, lying lazily across the table. Evangeline smiled knowingly at Charmaine.

"As most of you know, today will be the day that you will be assigned to not only your Weapons Practice classes, but also the exact type of weapon that you will be practicing. Remember you do not have a say in this, even if you are unhappy with the decision. Your classes will not start right away. You will all have a shared Weapons Ethics-class before you begin the physical training next week" Michael informed, looking out at the crowd. Charmaine dared a glance at Raphael, wondering how he'd look with a weapon. She honestly couldn't imagine. Michael stepped down from the podium.

"I will now pass out the papers with your assigned class and weapons" he said, beginning a long walk down the rows of tables. When he placed one in front of Charmaine, she instantly picked it up.

"Single/Double sai, small weapons-class" she read out loud, then glanced at Lailah's paper.

"What'd you get?" she asked her.

"Whips, Small Weapons class" Lailah read, her otherwise indifferent expression changing to the hint of a smile. 

"And you guys?" Charmaine asked Raphael and Gabriel who were sitting in the row in front of hers.

"Sword, Large Weapons class" Gabriel smiled. "Classic!"

"Javelin, Large Weapons class" Raphael said with a confused frown. "What is that even?"

Charmaine and the others shook their heads.

"No idea!" Lailah shrugged. "What about you, Angie?"

"Bow and arrow, Archery class" Evangeline answered. Her mouth was a tight line and her face had lost a little color. Her blank eyes met Charmaine's with an expression Charmaine could only read as help me.

 

After class, Charmaine pulled Evangeline aside.

"Hey, are you alright?" she asked. To her surprise, Evangeline smiled.

"Sure, I'm fine" she said. Charmaine frowned.

"But before, you-"

"Char, I said I'm fine" Evangeline insisted. "Don't worry about me"

And without a warning, she turned around and left. Charmaine watched her leave, feeling heavy with worry. Why did all her friends act so strange sometimes?