Victoria POV

                In the pitch black of night, a small dimly lit lantern at the surrounding shadows. All the while, my eyes were hardly focusing on the path before me. In fact, they were hardly focusing on anything at all as my mind raced over the hundreds of possibilities that this night would foretell. Would my fate change with this particular meeting?

                When my mind began to wander too far away, my feet suddenly stumbled across the stones that lay on the path. My heart leapt into my throat as I tightened my grip on the lantern. For a moment or so, I allowed myself to pause and catch my breath before I caused even worse damage.

                During that time, I glanced about. In the daylight, the scenery would be quite the sight to see. Flowers sprinkled across the deep green grass in a colorful array while maids poked through them, doing their best to fit the needs of their mistresses. A handful of yards away would be more maids shaking out sheets and clothing, preparing them to dry. Behind them would be the large estates in which they would have to scrub and polish until they shone.

                Yet, the darkness only allowed for black silhouettes. The houses looked brooding and malicious while the beds of flowers were merely dull bushes. It wasn’t long until the sight made me feel like shadows were creeping my way. I could just envision dark hands reaching out, ready to wrap their long spindly finders around me and pull me in.

                Shuddering at the idea, I clutched my lantern close and hurried on my way before the shadows could do such a thing. Whenever I was outside at night, it always seemed that the darkness was alive and breathing, which was a little unnerving. I never enjoyed the feeling, so it was a rare occurrence for me to wander past the confinements of my room past sunset. Only on certain occasions did I dare to venture out.

                At the end of my path, a medium sized, grey building sat there, waiting for me. Taking everything in, my heart twisted nervously. I had a feeling that the meeting I was called to wasn’t just to say hello.

                I glanced about once more and took a deep breath. From there, I ascended the three steps that led up to the door. Due to being encased in even deeper shadows, I shivered and quickly knocked three times before pausing and adding two more.

                Almost instantly, as if the man had been eagerly waiting, the door flung wide open to reveal a man cloaked in fancy clothing. In looks, he seemed to be ten to fifteen years older than me, but in reality he was centuries older. The part about him that made such an obvious was the depths of his all-knowing eyes. They were the color of the waters that rested off of a coast of a deserted island—crystalline blue. A color that matched the small sunburst in my own two eyes.

                “Ah, Victoria! Welcome!” the man greeted with an overly warm smile.

Realizing that I was simply staring at the man, I rapidly averted my gaze and bowed in greeting. Once I straightened up once more, I tightened the grip on my lantern and waited for him to allow me inside. Time started to stretch on before the man decided to step aside and beckon me to enter.

                “The others are waiting in the other room, so let’s hurry,” he urged. Quietly, I kicked off my shoes, set down my lantern, and followed the man deeper into the building.

                “Finally!” a man exclaimed the moment I entered the front room. Shocked by such a greeting, I stopped and scanned the room. There were four other men clothed in similar clothes to the first. They were spread out across the room, but each one had a look of relaxation as they lounged in their seats. Exactly like the man who first greeted me, the four others also had the same shade surrounding their dark pupils. Being under the spotlight with all five pairs of stark blue eyes glued to me was a little unnerving. How was I able to deal with this in the past?

                “It’s been a while Victoria!”

                “Nice to finally see you!”

                “The human world hasn’t changed you a bit! You’re still as beautiful as ever!” Each one chirped almost instantly.

                “Let’s get started, shall we?” the man who led me to the others—the one supposedly in charge—cut in. “I’ve only been here a handful of minutes and my wings are trembling with unease.” He then visibly shuddered while the others stared at their leader with shock etched into their faces. “Ah, sorry,” he took a moment to grimace my way. Not sure how to feel, I simply blinked at him.

                “Sit! Sit!” one of the men—sitting in the far corner—chimed in while another patted a seat that was open beside him. The tone of his voice seemed like it was a warm attempt to ease the atmosphere that had grown stiff almost instantly. Bowing yet again, I carefully made my way over to the seat offered to me.

                “I would like to skip past all of the formalities and get straight to the point. You do know why we’re here, correct?” the one in charge inquired.

                “Not at all, Sir,” I muttered, my heart stopping. Was I supposed to know?

                “That messenger…” the one sitting beside me grunted and clicked his tongue in disappointment.

                “Well then. That’s quite unfortunate. We came under the pretense of receiving an answer from you during this meeting.”

                “What kind of answer?” I questioned, my voice catching slightly.

                “We need your help.” My heart stopped. These men—these angels—need my help? What for? What could I possibly do for them when they’re the ones with power?

                “This might sound extremely insincere, but all of us within this room know you’re Fallen.”

                “Our difference in eyes can attest for that.” My breath caught by the suddenness of their words.

                “Yes, well, we have a slight problem that has been occurring,” one started. “The number of angels falling—both fairly and unfairly combined—has been drastically increasing as of late.”

                “But that isn’t the real problem. I mean, it is a problem, but not the words of it.” I stared at each of the angels within the room, trying to understand. Sure, I understood that there was a problem at hand. But I still didn’t know where I fit into the picture to the point where they had to take a trip out of their beloved heaven to tell me these things.

                “The worst part is that we can’t find any of our newly fallen angels. Along with some of the angels who have fallen a while ago. They’ve all suddenly disappeared. The instant they fall from heaven, our usual connection to them is immediately severed.”

                “Normally, after we are forced to bid our farewells to the sudden sin-stricken angels, we try our best to see where they’re headed. In your case, we overlooked where you were placed and made sure that you were treated well.” I bit the inside of my cheek, trying my best not to scoff. “So, you could probably guess what it was like for us when all of the sudden we couldn’t find them. It’s quite worrisome to not know where our poor angels are headed, and whether or not they’ve been taken into good hands.”

                Despite how well they played off the part of being the caring angels they should be, I couldn’t empathize with them. In fact, all I could think of was that it was their fault. If they wanted to keep track of their angels, then why did they kick them out in the first place? I understood that it was because of the fact that so many had been enveloped in sin, but couldn’t that be forgiven? Slowly exhaling, I watched the men before me.

                “That being said, we’ve decided to look for help here on earth,” one continued when it was obvious I wouldn’t speak.

                “And that said ‘help’ just so happened to be me?”

                “Yes, because you’re the first fallen angel we’ve come across.”

                “How would a fallen angel do any good? Especially one like me? You are all angels of high rank. You have more power than anyone, yet you’re looking for help among the lowest.”

                “This is why I was against this. The broken ones are always like this,” the one in the corner—the one who was most silent—finally sighed.

                “It seems like you don’t quite understand, Victoria dear.”

                “Although we have power, there are some barriers even for us. There are some distortions, some things we cannot handle on our own. So that is why we are looking—as you said—for our lowest to aid us in this. There are fewer distortions when we see through the eyes of someone else. Not only that, but there is also a special power that comes with being the same as those who are missing. When you figure out that power, then you could be a great asset. Rank clearly doesn’t matter in this situation.”

                “Now I must ask, what would you do if I declined? I was the first fallen one you came across, and I’m certainly not the last. Maybe the other one would be easier to convince. Maybe the next one would do anything for you.”

                “What would you do if we say that there’s an offer for your if you choose to accept?”

                “And what would that be?”

                “Your wings.”

                That instant, my blood ran cold. Every inch of my body tingled uncomfortably while my stomach twisted into what seemed like a thousand knots. These five angels with powerfully blue eyes were the only ones aside from God Himself who had such a power. And yet they were offering it up as if it was nothing. I really didn’t want to be considered as their “pet”. I didn’t want to do the dirty work for them. But my wings were at stake.

                When I was in heaven, words were spread about how awful hell was. It was said that hell was the most torturous place for a soul to reside. It was such a place that made one believe that it would have been better if their soul never existed in the first place.

                The moment my wings were unfairly pried from the skin of my back was the moment when I began to realize that nothing could be worse than living on earth. Nothing would be worse than reliving the horrifying memories day in and day out while swallowing the despair and dealing with everyday human life. And nothing would be worse than the angels of high position turning their backs on me when I was at my lowest. So, how could I find it in myself to forgive them enough to help them in such a task?

                “If you help us by finding the answer to our missing angels, then we will return the wings that are rightfully yours.”

                “And if I couldn’t figure out the problem?”

                “Then you wouldn’t receive the chance.”

                “Meaning, I’ll have to continue living the way I am now?”

                “Exactly.”

                “We know that this is a mighty trial to face for us. Appropriately, we decided to offer up what you want the most in return.”

                “I understand that.”

                “We never wanted you to fall in the first place,” the one beside me sighed, his eyes glazed over with a look of pining. Across the room, another coughed and shot him a look.

                “Will you help us?”

                “Will I be doing this on my own?”

                “Why of course not!” the one in charge chuckled awkwardly. “We couldn’t solely rely on a fallen angel to do all that we need, now could we?”

                “We have an angel that has been living on earth for a while now. Through his time on earth, he has seen a lot of things and gained a large number of connections. Alongside him, the two of you would be spending time figuring out this problem together with any help that our Almighty God decides upon.”

                “Now my question is, how would I be able to locate said angel?”

                “Your questions baffle me, Victoria.”

                “We’ve already contacted him, and he has recently established himself within this town with the prospect of you being able to help us.”

                “On top of that, we expect that you go stay at his manor so that you aren’t distracted by meddling humans.”

                “If you really do want to help, then our dear angel will be waiting for you tomorrow a quarter past noon. Don’t be late.”

                “Under those circumstances, we will take our leave,” the leader announced. Soon afterwards, I leapt to my feet.

                “I hope that you will accept this offer not just because we need you, but because it’s a pity not to have your shining face always with us,” the one whispered, patting me on the shoulder.

                “Ah, before we go, I must ask you something! I’ve been extremely curious about this, but do you ever encounter pain where your wings were?” the one who had been sitting in the corner blurted. The slight frown I had displayed across my face deepened while the others nudged him in the side.

                “Well, take care, lovely Victoria,” one sighed.

                Without delay, the five started to slowly fade before my eyes. Pressing my lips together, I bowed one last time and held it there until there was no trace of them left. When the room was finally cleared, I quickly moved to the door where I left my shoes and lantern. I grimaced at the extremely dull light and prepared to leave the now empty building.

                Outside, I dashed back down the passageway I had taken not too long ago. With the severely dim light that I was forced to use as a guide, I didn’t want to take any chances. Therefore, I rushed down the winding path, not even stopping once to catch my breath. At my destination, I rounded the large estate to the back where my sleeping quarters lay separate—hidden by brush. Without a second thought, I quietly entered the little shack, let my travelling cloak drop to the floor, and puffed at the miniscule flame that was struggling to stay alive.

                Spaced evenly throughout the little shack were about a dozen cots that supported the bodies of maids who had fallen asleep much earlier. Off to the corner of the crowded room was a medium sized cot that stretched out beneath the only window in the place. The faint light that was produced by the moon sprinkled across the ratty blankets ever so slightly.

Typically, one would by bothered by the idea of sleeping on such a contraption, but I wasn’t bothered in the least bit. Instead, I instantly longed to stretch my aching body on top. That being said, I wasted no time in heading over and flinging myself upon it. Closing my eyes, I exhaled a deep sigh of relief. Although the springs bit into my sides, it was the most comfortable I had been all day.

                For hours, I laid on my back, staring into the blackness of my eyelids. All the while, I allowed my mind to mull over all that had been said during the meeting. No matter how many times I thought it through, I couldn’t get over the fact that these angels had their backs me for so long. I didn’t understand why they believed that they could demand for me to assist them in this without any notice.

                Even when I was an angel, I saw noses turned upward and backs turned against those who fell from heaven. I saw the cries of those in pain from below, yet no one moved to help them, and I never understood why. Time and time again, it had been explained to me that it was because of the fact that the fallen were tainted with sin. They possessed thoughts and feelings that could easily taint other angels. We were simply supposed to be messengers of God’s will. No feelings were to be felt aside from when God declared it to be so. That especially meant that we could not judge whether or not it was okay to accept them back into heaven.

                What bothered me the most was that it seemed like ignoring the ones in need was a sin in itself. And that made me wonder if us angels were truly pure to begin with. As I thought further about the situation, I began to contemplate about the disappearance of the fallen ones. If they happened to be found, what would happen? Would the angels offer them a chance to return? Or would the angels express their satisfaction that they were alright and force them to continue living among the humans?

                Soon enough, peach colored light began to seep through the small window. Along with the light came a small amount of heat as it rested on the thin skin of my eyelids. Upon feeling the heat, I turned over onto my side and allowed my eyes to flutter open. The question as to whether or not I wanted to take up on the angels’ offer was still in the air. The fated day had arrived, and I still didn’t come upon the conclusion.

                Using barely any energy, I forced myself out of the warmth of the small cot and shuffled about the shack to prepare for the day. Throughout the motions, my mind continued to go in circles as if it was a broken record.

                I couldn’t help but think that there were so many cons to this offer. There was even the possibility of my wings being stripped away from me a second time. Would my already battered heart be able to bear such a thing? Then again, it was the first and only time I was given the opportunity to go back to an eternity of happiness. I severely wanted to go back to the time when I sang, or danced, or even laughed. Even if there was a hint of a smile that tried to sneak its way across my lips now, my heart would instantly twist a thousand times while memories of the pain I endured would unwillingly crash back into my mind.

                “Victoria Unnie! If you don’t get up now and start your chores, the Mistress won’t be too happy with you!” a familiar female voice yelled through the thin door. A second later, a fist began to rapidly pound, making the walls shake. Grunts chorused from the lucky few who were able to sleep in. Grimacing, I rushed to the door.

                “I’m up! I’m up!” I softly called out, trying my best to mask my annoyance. With that, I fluffed at my dull skirt before prying open the door to reveal a young girl bathed in pinkish light.

                “Thank goodness!” she huffed, softer this time as I eased the door shut behind me. “I was worried that you had overslept like the last maid!”

                “Please, I have been in this household for a lot longer than most of these maids here. You should know that I wouldn’t dare to do such a thing,” I huffed, pushing past her. Ashamed, the girl quietly followed only to run into me as I abruptly stopped in my tracks. “What are you doing around noon?”

                “I’m off to have lunch in town around that time. Why do—”

                “Ah, well I really need you to cover for me around then. There’s a very important meeting that I must attend. It was very short notice so I couldn’t mention it to the Mistress.”

                “Well…you see…” the girl started, forming a small pout.

                “Thank you, Seulgi-ya! You’re a doll!”

                Before the rejection could occur, I rushed into the house to start on my morning duties. For an hour or so, I focused on overseeing the lower maids clean and prepare for breakfast. Once they started on actually cooking the food, I hitched up my skirts and rushed up the stairs to get the young master ready for the day.

                The child was barely three years old and was expected to attend lessons from a private tutor for most hours of his day. When he wasn’t with the tutor, he was with his nanny who had strict orders to teach him all that she could.

Sometimes, when I looked at the miserable and stiff child, I wished that he didn’t have to deal with such pressure. Especially since I got the brunt of all of his pent up energy as I tried to prepare him for his day and him around to different places. However, I was extremely grateful that he was busy for a large chunk of the day for one specific matter. Anxious to fill the time until the meeting that I had unconsciously decided upon attending, I attentively clothed, fed, and occupied the young boy. Two hours later, the tutor arrived with a stern look. A little reluctantly, I left the two alone to work on other chores.

                In what seemed like no time at all, the clock chimed for the midday hour. Upon hearing the twelfth strike, my hand paused in the middle of scrubbing. From the sound, all I could think of was that it was now or never. If I went now, there was a high possibility of retrieving my wings—of having a second chance. But if I didn’t do anything, then I would be forcing myself into an eternity of slaving away at a pointless life.

                Inhaling deeply, it took a mere second before I threw down the cloth clutched in my hand, yanked off my apron and skirted around the table I had been polishing. When I reached the kitchen, I threw my apron aside and dashed to the back door.

                “Where are you going, Victoria, dear?” an elderly voice called out in shock.

                “Out! I’ll be back later, okay?”

                Without waiting for an answer, I shoved through the door which nearly made the milkman—who had his hand poised and ready to knock—topple over. Giving a slight bow in apology, I pulled up my long skirt and continued to run. My feet padding down the dirt path that wound throughout the large estates, I dared not to focus on much else. All my mind could comprehend was the worry that was clawing at my heart. If I was late, then there would be no chance. I would be stuck in this world and I dreaded that the most. So, I couldn’t handle the thought of being late.

                When I finally reached the yard that belonged to the large, brooding house I visited the night before, I paused. On most days, the house was unoccupied. There weren’t any housekeepers to make sure the place was free from dust, and there weren’t any groundskeepers to maintain weed-filled, overgrown yard. That being said, the yard was unkempt and the house was caked in a thick layer of dust that I didn’t notice the night before.

                Heaving, I took a moment to catch my breath. As I focused on the house before me, I became conscious of the fact that there was an angel in there waiting for me to arrive and help him figure out the task that was presented by the higher-ups. He was waiting for me in order to start working on a case that my mind deemed ridiculous and impossible. Such facts made my breath hitch at the base of my throat. It was too much. They were expecting too much from a mere fallen angel.

                Stumbling back, I continued to stare at the closed door. It wasn’t possible. I couldn’t do it. But as I took another step back, I remembered what it was like to laugh without a care in the world. When I took yet another step back, I remembered what it was like to smile, to enjoy being alive. Instantaneously, I closed my eyes and tried to snuff out the overwhelming sense of yearning that came from deep within my heart. Yet it was to no avail.

                Feeling the tears prick at the corners of my eyes, I rapidly blinked to keep them from spilling out. I ran all the way to this house, so I had to try and meet with this angel. Heaving a sigh, I reluctantly crossed the little stone path to the porch. Like the night before, I lifted my hand to knock once I reached the door. Yet, I paused once more. Inhaling deeply, I tried to calm my nerves once more. Awkwardly, I managed to beat the usual pattern into the door. Almost that instant, I let my hand drop to my side, expecting to be welcomed in. But nothing happened. Knitting my eyebrows together, I tried once more. Nevertheless, it seemed like there would be no reply no matter how many times I tried.

                As an attempt to stay calm, I curled my hands into tight fists. It was all I could do in order not to believe that I was too late. For a few minutes, I stood before the cold, lifeless door, waiting. But my patience was stretching thin, and my nerves were starting to get to the best of me. Not only that, but disappointment was also hastily welling up on the inside. When I felt like I was going to go insane, I spun back around, ready to storm back the way I had come.

                Upon turning, however, my eyes caught a glimpse of the high grass shaking violently. My curiosity was instantly spiked. Carefully, I edged as close as I could to the section of the grass without stepping off of the porch. At the edge, I rose up on my tip-toes and craned my neck to see if I could spot the culprit. Sure enough, there was something there. In fact, it was the body of a full grown man on all fours, thoroughly sifting through the weeds. Raising my eyebrows, I decided to watch the man complete his little expedition for a little while.

                “Oh, I give up!” he cried out and stood up. It was so abrupt that I jumped in shock only to lose my balance and fall off the open-ended porch. “And who are you?” the man inquired, shoving through the grass towards my crumpled self.

                From where I sat, I glanced up only to crane my head all the way back due to his height. Despite the dirt that covered him from head to toe, the man had an elegant air to him. His compellingly deep, dark blue eyes stared me down which made me want to squirm until I was free from his gaze. However, I couldn’t stop myself from staring at him.

                “Wait a minute,” the man muttered and quickly crouched before me. Shoving his face into mine, I could see the small golden flecks that decorated his beautiful blue eyes. “You’re Victoria, aren’t you?” he inquired, his breath hot against my face.

Trying my hardest not to make a face of any sort, I slowly nodded in reply. What seemed like no time at all, the man sprung back up to his full height. His gaze instantly softened and the corners of his pink lips tugged upwards ever so slightly.

                “And you must be the angel—”

                “Jaejoong. Kim Jaejoong,” he quickly intercepted. Swallowing my words, I continued to stare at this weird angel.

                “You don’t really look like the others.”

                “And you’re not the best looking either, darling,” he sniffed.

                “I meant, your eyes are different.”

                “Oh. Those. Well, that’s because I’ve been on earth for a long time—much longer than your time here doubled.”

                “And you haven’t been corrupted?”

                “Depends on what you mean by that,” he grunted and moved around me to step onto the porch. Sighing, I finally picked myself up off of the ground and brushed my skirts free from the dirt. “I really don’t know why those old blokes up there decided that you were so important. I thought I was doing just fine by myself, but they requested that I had to move here for you. Because of that, I have high expectations. Or, you know, prove to me that you’re worth it by helping me improve the standstill I’ve come across.”

                “And how would I go about doing that?” The man stopped in his tracks. Right as he did so, I bit my tongue and hoped that he didn’t turn around. The silence between the two of us was enough to make the hairs on the back of my neck rise.

                “Do you know anything about your skills as a fallen angel?” his voice adapting an accusatory tone. Not daring to make it worse, I remained silent. The man’s tall frame shook for a second before he turned around. As I had feared, his eyes were little flames dancing in fury. “If you know nothing, then why did you come? You want your wings—you want to go back—but how can you figure anything out if you’re this stupid?”

                Taken aback, I stared his way, my own eyes narrowing. A part of me wanted to yell back at him, to send him to shame for uttering such words. Yet another part urged me to remain calm. Just because I didn’t know anything at the moment, it didn’t mean that I couldn’t learn. As if he had taken the moment to think the same thing, the furious man’s chest heaved up and dropped a few times in order to calm down.

                “Alright…” he whispered after a bit. “I’ll give you a second chance. You’ve lived here for a while, correct?”

                “Yes, that’s correct.”

                “From the connections I have, some have stated that there were some fallen angels who took refuge here. A whole community of them actually. Do you know if you have encountered any at all?” he questioned. Unsure, I tried my best to remember. But all I knew was that I was only surrounded by humans day in and day out. I never even thought of the possibility of others like me.

                “How would I possibly know?”

                “You just know,” he sighed.

                “Oh, well, then I don’t believe I have.”

                “Great…” Looking like he was at a loss for what to do, the man folded his arms across his chest. Time stretched on and I began to awkwardly shift on my feet. “Oh that’s right! I drew some copies of some of the sketches of the supposed fallen angels! Maybe you would recognize some, or at the very least one of the fallen angels here.”

                With that, he turned and crossed to the other side of the porch where a small brown satchel rested. From there, he began to rummage through it, not caring if things fell out. When he yanked out a fistful of crumpled up papers, he dropped the satchel as if it had no use to him and moved to sit on the stairs.

                “Here, sit!” He patted the top step.

                “But, what happened to meeting inside?”

                “Ah, that? Those pesky angels hid the key in the grass…” he sighed, shaking his head. Furrowing my brow in confusion, I carefully closed the distance and settled beside him. Would those angels really do something like that? “Next time we meet, we’ll be at my manor, so this missing key isn’t a problem. Anyways, here are the sketches.”

Straight away, the man shoved the crumpled handful in my face. Blinking, I accepted them and smoothed the pieces of paper out. Upon doing so, I had to stop and look at them a second time. Completely opposite of my expectations, the drawings were poor attempts at people. The faces were oddly proportioned while some were smudged beyond compare. It was so bad that I didn’t know how I could possibly recognize a face out of such quality. After staring at each drawing individually, I had to glance back up at the angel who was intently staring my way. When our eyes met, he quickly urged me to focus once more.

                Reluctantly, I turned back to the childish drawings. Hoping to find at least something to work with, I squinted both eyes. When that didn’t even work, I tried to tilt my head ever so slightly. Yet there was still nothing. On the last of ten pages, I took note of the fact that the drawings were slightly better than the others despite being horribly smudged.

                “That’s when I started to trace,” the angel beside me commented.

Prying my eyes from the page, I stared at him incredulously. But when I started to wonder why he didn’t try that with the others, I saw the look of pride swelling across his face. Biting back my comments, I went back to the drawings. Just as I did so, I caught sight of something recognizable. A familiar slant of the eye. I blinked at the page as if it had grown arms and legs. In all the time I spent staring at these weird shapes, I never expected to find something that had even a slightly redeeming feature.

                Eager to actually piece the drawing to another person, I squinted one eye and then the other only to squint both. From there, I began to turn the paper. By the time the paper was flipped over and turned upside down, I gained a clear, recognizable image in my mind. I then closed my eyes to focus in order to recall who it was.

                “I wouldn’t have thought that she was an angel,” I finally sighed after some time had passed. The moment he heard my voice, Jaejoong—who was laying back and staring at the roof of the porch—abruptly sat up. Undoubtedly, he was waiting for me to explain. “I’m not completely sure, but I think her name is Jessica, and she owns a large estate on the edge of the town. And from what I remember, she isn’t exactly the friendliest person in town.”

                “That’s fantastic!” His eyes beaming with excitement. “And now that you’ve figure this problem out, I’ll have you go visit her right this minute. This has lasted a lot longer than I had been expecting, and I still have other tasks to complete before nightfall. Thus I cannot attend this wonderful meeting with you.”

                “But, Sir, I can’t today. I’ve been away from my duties for too long. My mistress must already be furious with me.”

                “You’re a maid?” he scoffed.

                “Yes, I am. And I am my young master’s personal maid for that matter.”

                “I’m sorry, that’s just wonderful! Absolutely wonderful!” he chuckled while I scowled. “But this young master doesn’t have a nanny?”

                “He does, it’s just…”

                “I’ll send a replacement.”

                “What?” I stared at the man as if he was insane. “You can’t just do that, I don’t know what human world you’ve been living in, but it surely wasn’t the same as mine. Because you can’t just do that here! I don’t even have a place to go if—”

                “Sure you do, you can come stay at my place. I’m sure that the crazy blokes up top already mentioned that I wanted you to do that anyways. We will be rather busy, so it’d be best if you weren’t running off to attend to some human boy each time he cries.”

                “I don’t do that.”

                “But you would be running off to attend to him. So, come stay with me.”

                “I’m quite grateful for this offer, but I can’t accept. There would be talk, my mistress would not accept this, and I barely know you. Most of all, how do you know that we will be able to figure any of this out? If we don’t, I would be indebted to you forever.”

                “If you refuse, then I will go call on this mistress of yours. With a good replacement and a large sum of money, I don’t believe I will be rejected a second time.” Without another word, the man gathered everything he had thrown aside earlier back into his satchel and stood. Not even glancing my way, he descended the steps and started off towards the edge of the property. “Personally, I believe we are related in a way. We were both in heaven at one point, if that means anything at all. So, I could treat you like a long lost cousin.”

                “Were you serious when you said you lived here for a long time? Because these actions of yours are not plausible by any means. Moreover, wouldn’t you be considered a laughing case if the angels above heard that an angel was living with one of the fallen?”

                “Victoria, darling, please!” he laughed. “Does living among humans depict the way I must act at all times? Also, have you forgotten about something? I am already known as the ridiculous one by choosing earth as my home. So, I don’t quite care what those lunatics have to say about me.”

                “You have a point,” I sighed.

                “Exactly. Now, let me perform that miracle. With a snap of my fingers, the lowly maid becomes high class? Sounds like a fairy tale to me,” he chuckled to himself and ran down the path I had taken to arrive. “Now hurry along and check on that Jess girl! I’ll find you later!”

                “How do you know where my mistress’ house is?”

                “I don’t, but I’m sure someone will know!”

                “You’re mad!”

                “Exactly! Now go!” With that, he continued running in the direction he chose. Huffing out, I stared in disbelief until he disappeared. Was I he really an angel? Because I was starting to believe that he wasn’t.

                Shaking my head, I decided that it wouldn’t hurt to go see the woman that could have been connected to the picture. As I walked, however, I began to think. How would I confront her? The idea of her being a fallen angel never occurred to me due to the fact that her eyes were a completely different shade. But as Jaejoong might have proved, there were different shades than the usual. But what would I say? Would I be up front about it?

                By the time I arrived, my knees were shaking. Heart pounding, I stepped forward and stopped in front of the door. Even as I stood there, I still had no idea as to what I was going to say. And I had begun to worry that I would be rejected. Taking a deep breath, I reached up and beat on the door. A few minutes passed and there was still no response. Frustrated, I moved to knock once more. As my knuckles rapped against the wood the first time, the door flew open. Caught off guard, my hand instantly flew forward. Embarrassed, I quickly stepped back to look at the young maid who seemed to be equally surprised.

                “Hello,” I awkwardly greeted with a bow of my head. She responded the same way—but with a deeper bow. “I came here to call on—”

                “Call on who, might I ask?” a man’s voice sounded behind me. A voice that seemed oddly familiar.

                “To call on Miss Jess…” I trailed off as soon as I turned around. Just as I saw the familiar mismatched eye shape and slight frown loom over me, my blood ran cold. Why was he here? How could he be here? Unexpectedly, the place on my back where my wings once existed began to burn and the shaking from anxiety formed into that of fear.

                “Hello Victoria,” he greeted ever so softly. Tears pricked at my eyes at the sound as all of the horrible memories raced back to greet me. “It’s been a while…”

Author's Note

Heyyy readers! 

Finally! I finally got the first chapter typed up! I don't know about you, but I'm pretty excited with it. Granted, I'm not sure how much I like Victoria's wishy-washyness but maybe I can empathize with her because it's a major decision. Maybe I'll cut it down when I go back to revise it in the future. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this first chapter and I hope that you will be looking forward to more! :D 

Truthfully, I didn't know how much I would like Jaejoong's character (sorry he doesn't fit with his usual personality). But when I decided to make him insane, I found myself having the most fun! :D Also, I hope it wasn't too confusing with the angels' meeting! I tried to make it chaotic because it was chaotic to her...just phrases thrown at her randomly.

If you would like, please leave a comment and I'll do my best to reply! ^______________________^ Love you all!

Love,

Milly <3333

P.S Also! I worked hard to type this up super fast for my dearest friend as a congratulations for getting a job and completing her first day of training today~ <3333 She better love me because work has worn me out to the point of exhaustion yet I still went between my computer and notebook to type this up on time. It was still a slow write, but I went until I needed clothespins to keep my eyes pried open. (Alas, I have none...so...I had to stop at those times...) And now it's time for a wonderful nap! :D 

But no worries guys, I posted this for your benefit too! ^^; So if something special happened today for you, then congratulations~ <333

P.P.S And I know...St. Raphael is the angel of "happy" meetings...but...I don't know if this meeting was exactly "happy" so I excluded that part...forgive me. I thought it was cool.