To Be Wanted

Half-blooded

      The next ruler. Everyone talks about them. Iveska hasn't had a ruler in five thousand years, not since the day the Veltsen Invaded. They came through a portal from the underworld, and while a lot of the soldiers roamed the streets, some of them went to the High Grounds.
      The High Grounds, from what the stories say, was a plot of land suspended in the air, on top of which a castle was built. It was said that the High Grounds was impossible to reach, at least without an enchantment having been cast upon you, as the distance was so great that your wings would practically give out before you could ever even reach the base of the land.
      The original Veltsen, the first generation purebreds created by Hades himself, were genetically designed to withstand flying long distances.
      When the Veltsen invaded, it was like a flush of black over the land. Their dark cloaks, armor and wings blocked out the twin suns that shine over the world and shadowed the streets as quickly as they came.
      Brandishing swords, the soldiers terrorized the citizens on the ground, holding off any Sevitans who dare fight back while their team above began tearing the High Grounds apart, stone by stone.
      The Veltsen, at that time, had hyper synthesized strength strands in their genetics. The wings of a Sevitan could lift around a thousand pounds, whereas the wings of a Veltsen could lift ten thousand pounds and rip stone from the ground if given a good enough grip. Luckily for all of us, this ability was lost over time.
      They broke through the door of the entrance hall, and part of the walls, and began flooding into the building. The queen at the time, whom many knew as Taima the Swift, sat upon her throne alongside her guards, the gods and goddesses of Love, Charity, Protection, Healing and Snow, representing all that made up Iveska at the time
      The Throne Room lay in the center of the castle with many rooms and halls surrounding them, and even there, the thundering of the walls and doors being torn apart echoed in their direction. They stood to attention, taking defense over their queen who made quick work of finishing up one final piece of business before the Veltsen practically shattered the wooden door into splintered pieces.
      The group fought tirelessly to save their queen, however, it proved not to be enough and soon, one by one, the gods themselves began to fall. All except for the youngest, the god of Protection, Jetimel Fierlen, was only five at the time.
      The gods, legends say, were immortal until they reach about a thousand years old, as they no longer had a need for immortality with the extensive power they would have gained over time. However, as Jetimel still, for the time being, remained immortal, the Veltsen were not able to hurt him.
      They took him away and locked him an emergency disaster bunker. The bunkers originally were for, say a tornado were to ravage the land, the Sevitan could retreat to the bunkers until it was safe. The Veltsen modified the bunker into a prison that not even little Jetimel could escape.
      Everyone believes that one day a new ruler shall come, that they will rid Iveska of the Veltsen and resurrect the old gods of legend and finally restore order to our fallen dimension. Personally, I think they read a little too deep into things and do not take the time to wonder about the other 7 worlds that supposedly lay uninhabited since the attack. Also, quite frankly it is kind of racist for them to want to purge the Veltsen from Iveska after having been here for five thousand years.
      Do I believe all the Gossip? Not really. Maybe I would had it not been for the fact that I get bullied most days. You see, I attend the only school in my district that allows both Veltsen and Sevitan to attend, the other schools require that you have a blood test done to prove whether you are the type you say you are and if you are allowed to attend that school.
      That's fine and all, still a little racist as they want to segregate the Veltsen from the Sevitan and vice versa, however, there is one issue, upon being enrolled in this school, I made an attempt to my blood tested. It was a simple process, they draw some blood and then check for strands that correlate with being either type of angel.
      I did not match either, not a single strand of DNA matched Veltsen or Sevitan. Unfortunately, they were unable to simply ask my parents as, well, I don't have any.
      From what I was told growing up, or rather they made the attempt to get me to believe, was that my father left and my mother abandoned me soon after. I was heartbroken for the longest time, however, upon packing to move to a new foster home, I was rummaging through an old mail bin, one we would throw junk mail or opened letters we did not need anymore into, I came across a dusty old letter that I was supposedly left with.
      It was a suicide note from my mother, one that she wrote to her friend Detrina whom, after countless hours of research at the public library, I discovered passed away a few years beforehand from cancer. I don't know who my parents are but I hope they would have been able to explain my pale skin.
      I am the palest in the school and often get made fun of, saying that I need to get out more or have a part-time job as a clown and forget to take my makeup off.
      I mostly get this harassment from the twin queen bees of the school, Meiana and Fellesta Strovinder, who should have already transferred to another school after getting their wings, as is required by the school district. Veltsen and Sevitan grow their wings at age 16, and so the students in our school are required to, after their 16th birthdays, transfer to a blood school, the ones only allowing either Veltsen or Sevitan, to finish off the rest of high school.
      Here they were though, white wings and all, mocking those whom they figured they were better than. They are only still here because their dad owns the school and works for the board. I can't say I have gotten the worst of their wrath though. No, I would say that title goes to my best friend Tayoa. Taoya is 10 months older than me so she transferred a while back.
      She and I became friends after she dropped from her "popular" status when she turned down a jock, which is a big no-no for some reason as everyone in the "popular" category has been with a jock so far, so it is kind of a rite of passage.
      Really, what got us bonding was the fact that, quite frankly, neither of us actually care what everyone says about us. We also joked that the twins must secretly be inbred Veltsens who bleach their wings white as it is particularly uncommon to see bullying from Sevitans given our ancestry.
      As I pack my bag, finishing up history class, which everyone seemed overly engrossed in, likely where all the rumors and such come from, I exit into the hall and take one last look at the school, its loud halls, all the students shuffling about to try and get to their classes on time, the fights that break out pretty much every day, and think about how little I am going to miss this place.
      It was Friday, the last Friday before my birthday. This Sunday, I will be getting my wings, and I couldn't be more excited, I will finally find out who I am. I have had planned for a while that I will be spending it with Tayoa, she even makes jokes about wanting to be the first to see them, which makes me worry that she will sneak into my room in the middle of the night to watch them grow... Yeah, Taoya is weird like that, but that's why I love her.
      I race out of the school and hop onto my bike before pedaling off. I've always loved my afternoon bike rides, I've always found it so serene, the way the suns reflect off the buildings and roadways. Every chance I get, particularly whenever I stop, I take the chance to just look around and take in my view, sometimes I see an angel or two fly overhead or, like right now as I sit waiting to turn, my favorite type of flowers, the Potellas.
     The Potellas are semi-sentient, long-stemmed multi-bud flowers which, in their dormant state, depict sky blue petals. However, when someone comes within close enough proximity to it, they change their color to reflect the person's mood and right now, they were bright yellow as I feel happy as can be.
      As I reach Tayoa's house, I hop off my bike, pull it to the grass where it is out of the way and let it drop to the ground. Honestly, at this point, I do not care if someone steals it, after all, I will have my wings soon and if by chance someone does steal it, then they must need it more than I do.
      Tayoa's house had a pale blue hue to its walls, a dark wooden roof and a small garden full of yellow peonies. The smell of mangoes wafts through the air from the many trees planted around the house, her family was huge on eating homegrown fruits and vegetables so this came as no surprise to me. As I walk up to the door, Tayoa swings it open and, with a grin, uses the goofiest voice she could muster and begins to welcome me.
      "Well well. Serrima Torvido. We meet again. I trust you have your preparations for the celebration in two days time?" She raises an eyebrow at me. I smile before mimicking her voice as best I could.
      "Of course! What, you take me for a fool, Tayoa?" I fight back a laugh as she steps to the side and extends an arm out, inviting me inside.
      "Well then, right this way."
      I happily bounce into the house, setting my backpack down on the counter and give Tayoa a big hug. We spent that night and the next playing video games, eating lots of junk food, which was surprising with how her parents are about being healthy, and cracking silly jokes about our old schoolmates.
      Saturday night, I change into my pajamas and slip into my bed in the house's spare room. The room was mostly purple with a dark wood dresser and bed frame, pink sheets and comforter, a small tv and a tall floor mirror in the corner of the room that Taoya placed in there earlier in the day in preparation for the following morning.
      The room smelled of lavender from a small plant on the dresser that was beginning to overgrow. I would trim it a bit, however, this is not my house and I fear that would be rude.
      My eyes begin to fall heavy and I drift to sleep rather quickly. The night was not particularly comfortable, I kept tossing and turning in pain. The wings of a Veltsen or Sevitan grow throughout the night before their birthday, leaving them to awake with their new wings.
      Thankfully, once the process has completed, the brain secretes a natural painkiller which is distributed throughout the body to numb what can only be described as the bones in your shoulder blades shattering and reforming thousands of times over to form the shape of the wings.
      Luckily, you only have to endure this once and from what most people can tell, the process growing the feathers for your wings inflicts no pain, so you can rest peacefully while they grow at least.
      When the morning comes and light fills the room, I could already feel my wings in my dreams as I begin to wake up. I was already imagining all the things I would be able to do as my body slowly wakes itself up.
      As I open my eyes and they adjust to the light, I could make out the snow-white tips of the feathers. Excitedly, I stretch myself out in bed before hopping up and turning to the mirror. What I saw in the mirror was not what I was expecting, in fact, it horrified me. I stumble back and fall to the floor against the bed, staring at my reflection.
      My wings were black at the top and transitioned into white, it was unlike any other Sevitan- Veltsen's? I don't even know what I am. When my head clears up enough to properly think, I take a look around, realizing that Taoya is awake, she cannot see what I am.
      I quickly change into something normal before grabbing a blanket off the bed, sliding open the window and pulling myself through. I hop to the ground before running as fast as I could, covering my wings with the blanket.
      I reach a large outcropping of bushes as my legs give out, there was nowhere else I could go on foot, not that I would make it very far, so my only option was to fly.
      I give an exasperated sigh and toss the blanket off my shoulders, stretch out my wings and get a brief running start before taking off for the first time. It started off as a struggle to even keep in the air, however, with time I was able to learn how to keep my pace enough to keep aloft.
      My heart was racing, I didn't know where I expected to go, I mean, there was really nowhere I could go, I just wanted to get out. Little did I know, there was someone on the ground whom watched me fly off.
      Lurking in an alley, just within view of me, was a man, a Veltsen spy who, unless he just got lucky and was there for a different reason and spotted me, must have known what I was ahead of time and wanted to get proof after I officially got my wings.
      In a rush, he quickly flew to Xieren tower, the main governing building for the Veltsen. Approaching the building, which appeared to be mostly made of stone masonry, he landed with a skid and ran inside.
      The walls were supported by pillars made of Vephite, the same material used in the armor Veltsen soldiers wear, and had a mixture of modern and medieval design from the many and evergoing renovations.
      Up the tower he flew and raced through the corridors and halls until he came upon a large pair of doors made up of blood red-stained wood, trimmed with silver and gold painted handles.
      He pushed open the doors, interrupting an ongoing meeting. In the room was a large, polished dark oak table surrounded by chairs that had a metal frame, wooden paneling, and dark red cushions and were occupied by the top-ranked Veltsen.
      Among them was, as they had deemed, the true leader, the highest of the ranks, Altridem, who sat in a throne like a king, however, if you knew him, you'd know that he was nowhere near deserving of such a title.
      "What is it, Pironem?" He growls with a brash tone. It was enough to send chills down the spines of even the hardest of criminals, not that there were many of those in Iveska. "This had better be good."
      Altridem had medium-long length dark brown hair which he always kept swept to either side, he always thought it made him look powerful. His olive skin and brown eyes made him rather intimidating when combined with his advanced strength, which many believe is why he became the leader, that people were afraid of him.
      His dark red and brown tunic, with length down to his ankles, seemed as though it reflected no light, making him seem bulkier. The sleeves on the robe were wrist length and had a split down the front which exposed the black sleeves of a stretchy sweater underneath that conformed to his skin.
      Altridem glares at Pironem, who happens to be his younger brother. Pironem has short brown hair as well as brown eyes like his brother. He wears dark brown colored khakis, a black t-shirt with a strip of blood red coloring that starts around the collar of his shirt and dips down before turning into a skull with a faintly different shade of black that reads out "Hades" down at the bottom of the shirt, the lettering and skull were more visible in direct sunlight.
      He also wore jet black combat boots with silver laces. Overtop all of this was a sort of robe that hung over, dark brown, lined and striped in the same blood red color as his shirt to signify that he was a low-rank general of the Veltsen as well as being a spy
      "Altridem. There's a girl..." He spoke in a soft yet well trained and strict voice.
      "What have I told you about pestering us with your silly little fantasies?" Truth be told, Pironem had in fact, during his time in High School, bothered his older brother during his meetings with whatever crush he had developed that week. This was before he went into training to be a soldier.
      "Sir, please, listen. She is a Sevitan-"
      "A Sevitan? Have you fallen in love with a girl of the enemy race?!" Altridem at this point has had just about enough of his brother's foolishness. He was preparing to have the guards escort him out when Pironem spoke again.
      "But sir, she has black and white wings!" He practically shouted, Every Veltsen in the room turns and stares at him, including the guards. Altridem's eyes widen in surprise.
      "Are you sure of this, Pironem Zeties? This is not the byproduct of your imagination?"
      "No, Atridem- eh uh- sir! I saw her with my own two eyes. She seemed in a panic and flew off, however, it was clear as day."
      The room looks at him in utter befuddlement. What he was saying meant trouble, big trouble, and Pironem was not even sure why. Altridem stood up and leaned over the table, hands placed out in front of him, staring his brother dead in the eyes. I'd imagine this is what made him so intimidating, the take no joke attitude and aggressive demeanor.
      "Kill her."
      "But, sir, why? I understand that she is a threat to our plans, however no one has ever properly explained to me why!" He exclaims.
      "Did you just question an order?" Altridem barks. Everyone suddenly seemed to grow uncomfortable, like a cold chill began to fill the room.
      "No sir, I just want to get my facts straight. Everyone seems to be afraid of this girl, as though they know something that I have not been told. If I am to kill her, I would like to know exactly what is going on."
      Altridem sits back in his chair with a sigh. Pironem had always been a persistent pest to his brother, even as kids and now more so, Altridem knew that his brother was not going to leave until he got an explanation. He takes a deep breath and tries to sum up what he knew in a way that would convince his brother that this girl would be trouble.
      "There was a prophecy long ago, before our two kinds split into the government we know now, about a girl born half Veltsen, half Sevitan.
      It is said that this girl would be the new queen of Iveska, and with the powers of the Snow Pendant, she would become unstoppable." He was becoming visibly angry, digging his nails into the wood of the table.
      "If this girl you have found is the one spoken of, then we must find her. We are so close to finally taking over Iveska, she cannot ruin this now!" He calms down enough so as to not break the table in half and repeats his command. "Find her, Pironem, and kill her."
      "Yes, sir."
      "And Pironem," He adds as Pironem turns to open the door. "Send someone to keep an eye on the prisoner. If and when he catches word of the fate of his precious queen, I am sure he will not be too happy. I want to know the exact moment his last shred of hope is shattered."
      Pironem nods then looks at one of the guards who then follows him to the bottom of the building. The guard goes one way, to the prison camps, while Pironem heads out the front gates. With his head in a boggle, he looks around at the open world and could think of only one place where someone determined to hide could do so successfully, the top of Cielis Tower.
      Unfortunately for me, that was exactly where I was headed. My wings were practically numb by the time I reached the tower, however I couldn't go inside, there were too many people that would see I was different, the only option I had was to fly to the top.
      My wings give out as I grab onto the ledge and pull myself over, resting on the ground as my vision goes black around the edges. I took my time to rest, however I was not aware of what had already been set in motion so my rest is cut short by the sound of wings flapping. I felt that it was highly unusual to hear at this height... Unless, of course, I was followed.
      I lept to my feet and peer over the edge of the building, sure enough, a Veltsen dressed in all dark attire, which, unless you were military, was uncommon, could be seen approaching. I grab the nearest object, which happened to be a lead pipe, and watch as he flies up to the tower. Sure, the pipe felt moldy and probably wasn't going to keep me alive for very long, but hey, at least it was something.
      Meanwhile, a few miles east of me in the Veltsen prison camps, the guard makes his way through the moldy, damp tunnels of the camps that lay far underground, long abandoned to time to wither away and was practically falling apart at the seams.
      His footsteps echoed off the walls as he sloshes around in water which leaked from the ceiling, tiny squeaks from rats could be heard in the distance as well as drops of water calling and crashing into the pre-existing puddles of water below.
      He approaches one cell which, unlike the others, was relatively clean as it actually had been in contact with a person over the years as opposed to the others which had rusty, broken doors that were barely hanging onto their hinges
      He pushes open a slat in the door, peeking inside. Sitting in the corner, surrounded by thousands of tiny bones, was the withered and weary Jetimel Feirlen. His once bright white toga was stained brown and yellow from the years of being stuck in the cell with no real changes of clothes, in fact it was quite surprising that he even had something that fit him after growing up stuck in there. His hair, which was jet black and used to be wavy and brushed up, now lay flat, matted with dirt and mold.
      Jetimel used to be strong, however now his muscles have deteriorated and he remains malnourished, practically skin and bones. The guards only fed him once a week and gave him water every other day, in the end, he resorted to collecting the leaking water and eating whatever rats would stupidly stumble their way into his cell, into his clutches.
      Many of the guards had long since believed that he had gone insane, as most of the time he could be heard either talking to himself or screaming his head off. Jetimel, being a god, used to have a faint glow to his skin that showed his immortality, however over time, as he got older, his immortality faded and with it the glow. It was sad to see this shell of Jetimel, however the guard found it amusing, it is just lucky that the immortality still protects him from starvation or he would have died a long time ago.
      "Well well well. Little 'Jet'." The guard speaks. His voice was cold and monotone, almost sounding like he was bored. "It seems the queen of Iveska has been found."
      Jetimel perks his head up, a little glint of hope in his eyes."And today, she will die." The guard finishes with a laugh. Jetimel jumps up and slams into the door, pounding his fists on the metal.
      "Let me go! I have to save her!" He practically begs in a shout, though his voice remained weak.
      "You couldn't save the last queen, what makes you think that you would be able to save this one?"
      The guard shuts the slat and locks an extra deadbolt on the door before walking off with a smug little grin. Jetimel falls to his knees, a tear running down his cheek.
      He was filled with rage, disappointment and guilt, he could have knocked that guard out just now, however, he was too focused on the queen. He often thought about the potential of a new ruler, it is how he got through the years of solitude.
      Then, a thought crosses his mind. She is alive, maybe only temporarily, however, this meant he had a chance to set things right.
      Something within him must have clicked, he suddenly could feel his strength returning. Taking one look at the door, he lunges forward and plants one good kick on the door, and the moment his foot touches the rusted metal, it was as though a ribbon of light began to wrap around him, and as it does, he begins to transform.
      His once tarnished toga glows with a flash of light before rejuvenating into the beautiful bright white silk it once was. The metal bands, which he wore on his wrists, upper arms and around his ankles, as well as a plate on his toga, went from being rusted and scratched to being polished with hardly any flaws. The gems encrusted in the plates repair their cracks and gain a sleek shine.
      His hair loses the matted texture and puffed upward with a glossy look, his skin regained his lost muscle, filling in where you could see bone, he was actually fairly well built all things considered. Jetimel was his old self again, though much older in age, and it felt great.
      The hinges and locks on the door split and slammed against the wall adjacent to it, sending a large boom echoing through the underground halls. The guard comes bolting back. As he approaches the newly reformed god, Jetimel grabs him by the collar of his shirt and lands one hard punch to the nose, tossing the guard back and rendering him unconscious.
      With incredible speed, Jetimel races through the underground passageways until he comes across a large stone door leading into the stairwell. He leaps his way up to the top, bursting through the doors connecting to the main prison center. He leaps over the guards, knocking a few into walls or other guards before exiting the building. He closes his eyes and uses his extended sight to search the Sevitan regions of the world, finally stopping on the top of the Cielis Tower. He takes off running, just hoping he could get there in time.
      He sees, through his extended sight, that I duck as the Veltsen soldier dives toward me, pulling out and brandishing a large worn, yet still sharp sword which was holstered in his belt.
      I hold out my lead pipe and essentially mimicked whatever the soldier did. I manage to block a few swings, however when he knocks the pipe out of my hands, I dive to retrieve it and he manages to land a slash across the back of my wings.
      I cry out in pain before he places the bottom of his boot against my chest using all of his strength. He raises his sword to strike, however as he begins to lower it, a pair of hands grab the blade from behind him.
      The Veltsen is knocked off his feet and the sword is grabbed by Jet who seemed visibly angry. When the soldier pushes up back to his feet, Jetimel reaches behind him, does something to his wings that seemed to cause him a great deal of pain, before tossing him over the edge of the building.
      I watch in horror as he then turns to me, sword in hand. I try and slide back to avoid him, however he drops the sword and holds a hand out to me. He seemed to have calmed down and now has a concerned look on his face, he seemed rather worried about me.
      I push myself up off the ground, however as I take a step forward, I find myself suddenly weak and fall forward. Jetimel catches me in his arms, feeling the blood trickling down my back.
      "Don't you worry my queen. I am Jetimel Fierlen, god of Protection." He whispers. "And I will take care of you."
      He immediately picks me up before leaping off the side of the building, landing safely on the ground below and taking off in a sprint to who knows where. My vision was getting rather blurry and that same ring of blackness begins forming no matter where I look.
      Suddenly, Jet takes one great leap, higher than I had ever flown, and when I half expected him to begin falling, he lands safely on solid ground. Wait, solid ground? Looking around, from what I could make out through my blurry vision, there were a bunch of broken stone pillars, rotted wood chunks and dust everywhere.
      He sets me on the ground, sitting upward, and begins tending to my wings. I could feel him wrapping each individual feather in some sort of fabric. The only thing is, he did not seem to have any sort of med-kit on him and I did not hear any possible ripping of his toga.
      When he was finished with my wings, he began running around, looking underneath the earth for something. I gaze around the area and notice that there was a point when the area around us simply dropped off and filled with clouds.
      It finally clicked with me where we were. The High Grounds. I should have been impressed that I was sitting in the ruins of Queen Taima's castle upon a cloud, however, given the fact I felt drained of any energy I could have possibly had, I didn't have much interest in anything at that moment.
      Jetimel returns to me with a bowl of something light blue, it resembled a highly pigmented blue soup, the color of the ocean. He guides me to drink it and suddenly I felt very tired, though the pain in my wings did go away rather rapidly.
      As the suns set on the horizon, I curl up in a ball on the ground, Jetimel standing nearby in a sort of patrol mode. When the suns had set, and there seemed to be no signs of anyone having followed, Jetimal lights a small campfire nearby before laying down next to me and wrapping his arms around me.
      I wasn't sure if it was him trying to comfort me or if it was insurance, making sure that I am not snatched during the night or something. I feel myself fall asleep within the next few minutes as darkness finishes filling the sky.