Her tangled golden hair, mottled with dry blood, whipped around her as she looked over her shoulder. There was nothing there but a torn-down tree. Still she sprinted through the clutter of timber, dodging dangling branches and jagged boulders when she heard the deafening screech of frustration. She clutched her shoulder where the red fluid seeped out from the clawed mark. Her white wings, streaked with scarlet stains dragged her down as her shoulders sagged down from the weight she bore. Sweat dripped down from her forehead, but she brushed it aside.
                               Her legs collapsed under her as she hissed from the agony. Not daring to look, she fought back the tears and willed herself to get on her feet. She urged herself as she pushed against the grassy ground, but she fell back down. She heard a light giggle to her left which raised goosebumps along her arm. Abruptly, she turned to the source of the sound to find herself face-to-face with a tiny fairy with a pale complexion framed with light blue hair and frosty white wings. The magical being was clothed in a sundress that matched her startlingly electric sapphire eyes. She had a porcelain doll-like figure with a teal aura around her. She looked familiar to someone of her past, but Angelica couldn’t find the mystery person through her memories.
                                 “What are you laughing at?” snapped Angelica.
                                “My name’s Lily,” whispered the fairy in a melodious voice. Her laughter ceased as she flew toward a section of the woods where the trees seemed to have multiplied. Lily. Angelica thought back to the times up in the clouds when she was with her best friend, a fellow angel named Lilith. But Lilith was gone ever since she was banned from their paradise when her pure heart turned dark as she sought refuge in the human world. A gust of wind snapped her out of her trance. The frantic girl argued with her conscience as she wondered if she should follow the winged creature.  Despite her gut dismissing the idea, the fear of being alone dominated and so, she limped hurriedly behind the fairy, hoping to find shelter.
                                       -----
                                       The bruise on her leg throbbed with each step, causing Angelica to scream out in pain. She couldn’t find the voice in her to beg the fairy to halt so she could just have one satisfying moment of rest. Each time she decided to lean against a block of wood to catch her breath, Lily picked up her pace, her wings flapping quicker as she zipped through the air. The sunlight diminished as they treaded deeper into the forest. The trees created somber, towering shadows, causing her to cower and dart away from the solemn darkness. The lush, green grass was replaced with barren, dirt ground. Still Angelica sighed with relief knowing she had escaped the monster.
                                     As time passed, the journey became tedious and Angelica’s mind wandered to how she got herself into this mess of a situation.
                                     *****
“I have to get her back!” I shouted in vexation, my wings beating open and closed as I kicked down the door of the house that had turned into a prison for me, this month. “The world outside the clouds is no haven,” warned Father with his voice booming with authority. A crowd had gathered around us as the rest of my family trailed after Father. “Don’t do this to us,” begged Mother, worry etched on her face with tears threatening to spill out. I dismissed all of their words, directly looking at my brother whose opinion I would only care about. He scratched the back of his neck and c***ed his head to the right, deep in thought. “Jonathan, you have to understand that she’s my best friend. I have to know why she did that,” I begged him, desperation visible in my voice. With a deep sigh, he ambled to me and took hold of my hands, small compared to his callous ones. Staring into my golden eyes, he whispered, “Sometimes being with your best friend is all the therapy you need.” I broke into laughter, holding onto his shoulders for support. “That was probably the best advice I received in a long time,” I managed to said.

                                        *****
                         Abruptly, the fairy came to a stop and turned around to face the confused girl. The moon cast a shadow upon the fairy’s face, making her flawless face seem sinister as the creature smirked and her eyes turned pitch dark. The delicate white wings lengthened, turning a black hue as feathers appeared. The tiny fairy grew to Angelica’s height as her appearance shifted to one of a young adult. The dainty sundress was now a dark purple dress that reached the floor, the back spreading out behind her. A charcoal cloak with a hood concealed Lily’s face. Her polished nails elongated into pointed talons stained with blood. The creature pulled back her hood to reveal the face of Angelica’s childhood friend. A shiver ran up and down her spine as Angelica took a step back, gasping at the change in appearance. An itch in the back of her mind alerted her of the familiarity.
“Lilith!” Angelica cried out in shock.
The obsidian wings fanned out behind her as the fallen angel sneered, “It’s nice to see you again, dear friend.”