Smoke And Mirror (Royal Angle l) S01 E26

Story 3 years ago

Smoke And Mirror (Royal Angle l) S01 E26

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 26

Sock wars

Written by Jchrist (African Good Boy)

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Xavier POV

Irony was being an angel terrified of flying.

“Are you scared two ninety year olds are making out in the clouds, Biscuit?”

Victoria’s voice was super causal for someone dangling ten thousand feet above the ground.

“You’re missing the view, Biscuit.”

“That’s the whole point, baby.” I muttered, my eyelids sealed shut.

“Come on, Xevi. It isn’t too far down.”

It was a rainy day, the first of that year, as we stood on the rooftop of the clock tower.

We were great at climbing, possibly the only thing we had in common. We skipped class again, eating chocolate and finding haunted buildings.

“You can do this.”

I’d looked at him standing on the very edge of the roof, confidently spreading his arms out like he was the god of the wind.

“Watch me.”

As he fell, I couldn’t help but notice how breakable he was, his eleven year old body flailing as he fell. The rain seemed to pour down harder, making it impossible for me to see after a while.

I only heard him scream.

I didn’t hesitate then, though I knew now that I should have.

I stepped off the ledge.

“Are you scared a crow’s going to peck your eyes out?”

Victoria thankfully snapped me out of that memory. I shrugged it off, focusing on her voice.

“No.” I answered, as she tried to get creative about my eyes-shut-tight policy.

“Are you scared of flying squirrels?”

“No.” I smiled. “That would be you, Shortcake.”

“Are you scared the moon’s prettier than you?”

“Also you.” I pointed out, which earned me Victoria’s signature smack on the head.

How she managed to do that midair was beyond me.

“You’re closing your eyes like you’re offended by condensation.”

“I actually am.” I muttered. “Physics was the bane of my existence.”

“I like chemistry and biology.” Victoria said abstractly.

I smiled. “Oh, I could definitely teach you both.”

Smack number two.

” What?” I said, innocently. “I happen to be an excellent tutor.”

I could practically hear her blush.

“Well, there ain’t going to be any

learning here, mister.”

“Bad students tend to get spanked.”

Smack number three .

“How are you doing that?” I asked, rubbing my head.

“Practice makes perfect.” She shot back, deadbeat. “Anyway, you know what I’ve always wondered about?”

I groaned internally. “I can honestly say no.”

“Why do you think socks need to be the same colour?” Victoria ignored me, sounding like a psych professor from Harvard. “Society makes us conform as a way to enslave our minds…”

I sighed.

Here we go again.

Sylphs were the hippies of the Immortal world. They loved to take things slow, which was fantastic and all –

But we had a thousand miles to cover and we were moving slower than a sloth on weed.

Plenty of time for Victoria to discuss the great mysteries of life.

Like a fücking government conspiracy behind socks.

“…And that’s probably why we have wars.”

“Yep.” I said, matter of factly. “Let’s wear different coloured socks to promote world peace.”

Because clearly it wouldn’t have anything to do whatsoever with your fifteen year old sister killing a monarch.

Victoria seemed to be thinking along the same lines.

“Do you think Ira’s aright?” She asked quietly, all playfulness gone.

“I don’t know.” I said honestly. “But she’s a tough one. A lot like her sister.”

Victoria suddenly asked me the one question I should’ve asked myself a long time ago.

“Why are you being nice to me, Biscuit?” Her laugh had a tinge of sadness. “God knows I haven’t given you any reason to.”

I thought about it.

“I don’t know.” I said after a while.

Only I knew I wasn’t being entirely honest this time.

Victoria was a far cry from being nice. But somewhere between shooting at me that day and smacking me now, I realised she was the closest thing I’d had to a friend after Daniel.

Great. Let’s get sappy because clearly being stupid isn’t good enough.

Fan-fücking-tastic.

“So what’re we going to do?” Victoria changed the subject when I didn’t say anything. “They’re probably showing crappy mugshots of us on TV now. I bet the tag phrase is “Batman and mad woman on the loose.””

“I bet Batman wouldn’t crash his car into a bunch of Barbies.” I muttered.

Danny told me about the murder of the Shapeshifter King on the phone earlier. I knew I had no option. “We need to go into the city. There’s an important person I have to meet.”

Victoria groaned.

“It may come as a shock to you but phones have been invented. Texting is also a real fun activity. You should try it sometime.”

I would’ve rolled my eyes if I had them open.

“I can’t do that.”

“We’re walking into a place where they’re going to say ‘Sup!’ using an assault rifle.” Victoria sounded mad. “At least tell me why we’re doing this, oh, all knowing Biscuit.”

“Long story.” I said simply. “I’ll tell you when we get there.”

Smack number four.

“You’re incredibly frustrating, you know that?”

“Thank you, Lady Shortcake of House Obvious.”

I lost count of the smacking after that .

After a while, we both fell silent. I was lost in my thoughts, listening to the faint sounds to traffic from down below and feeling the cold wind rustle by when she spoke again.

“You’re scared of heights, aren’t you?”

I shook my head, expressionless.

“Not exactly.” I said, trying to explain it. “It’s the idea, I guess? The idea of not being able to fly.”

Victoria was quiet for a while.

“You don’t like being weak.” She said simply.

“No.” I said, smiling sadly. “I don’t like making mistakes.”

” Xavier.” I heard his voice from afar. “Please. Please, please wake up, Xevi.”

I slowly opened my eyes. My whole body was in pain, bruises covering every inch of my skin, most of my bones broken. I knew I was healing fast – I always did, but nobody ever said that had to be painless.

“I’m so sorry.” He said over and over again. “I am so, so sorry.”

“It’s fine.” I said, simply.

It took the longest time but eventually I could sit up. It was just the two of us alone by the city’s edge near the forest. We’d fallen through the trees and I realised I’d caught him before we hit the ground.

It was only when I looked around that I noticed why he still didn’t stop apologising.

Blue feathers lay scattered on the ground. A pair of wings lay severed and stabbed by branches, surrounded in a pool of blood. It slowly sank in.

My body had healed.

But my wings never would.

“I didn’t mean to.” He’d said, tears rolling down his cheeks. “This is all my fault.”

“It’s not.” I’d assured him, though I felt like a part of me had died. I’d loved flying.

Wildfire spread behind my shoulders in place of the sapphire blue feathers.

“See.” I said, trying to smile. “I’m fine.”

There was a long silence.

“You saved my life.” Oddly, when I looked at his piercing blue eyes, they looked resolutely empty too. “I owe you, Your Highness.”

“You don’t.” I told him, meaning it. “You don’t owe me anything.”

As Victoria’s hand laced through mine, I knew Danny never did believe me that day.

***

Xavier : “COMMENT FOR A FREE TICKET TO VETRESCA.” XD