Angelraised

"Princess Rosalina!" I heard and turned towards the sound. A boy with blonde hair and purple eyes smiled down at me. He towered over my frame and I could practically see the muscle over his body. "I"m sorry to disturb you, but I was wondering if you like to dance?" He questioned, holding out a hand. I smiled and took it and let him lead me through the dance. I looked to my father"s approving gaze and couldn"t help but feel a little sick inside.

Father had Angel by his side and she looked to have the same expression I have about me dancing with the son of archangel Uriel. My eyes searched until they landed on Week. For some reason, I couldn"t even imagine a world without him, and even trying hurt me in ways I couldn"t even imagine.

"I"m sorry, Manuel, but may I take the princess from you please?" I heard and turned towards the person. There stood Zayn, the one my father wanted me to choose by the end of this. Manuel nodded and handed me off to him. The song"s speed picked up and everyone else left the floor. All that was left was Zayn and me. I watched him and felt fascination over him. I felt light and smiled at him and he returned it with sincerity written in his expression. Then I felt his grip tighten on me and he pulled closer to my ear.

"Rosalina, we both know how this will end, so why prolong the inevitable? Call of this whole compet.i.tion thing and marry me like we know will happen anyway," he whispered in my ear, low enough no one else heard it but me. I pulled back in surprise, but reined it in and stayed in position dancing with him. I felt another hand pull me away and pull me into their arms. I looked up to see my face mirrored back to me. Angel.

"That"s quite enough of that, Prince Zayn. I would like to borrow my sister, please," she said, pulling me along the floor to the balcony, telling the guard to not let anyone out with us. I sighed and stepped up next to her and looked out at the stars. "It"s pretty out tonight, isn"t it, Rosie?"

With that one word, a million images flew through my brain, but I forgot them before I could grasp at them. "Yeah, it is, Angel. Strange, isn"t it?" I replied, trying harder to pull whatever visions I had back into my mind.

"How so?"

"The sky is never this color of purple, it"s always a light grey around this time."

"How would you know that, Rosie?" There it was again. Those flashes of visions that I couldn"t place into anything. I swiped at them in my mind to grasp them and they disappeared once I noticed them.

"Because I"ve been here all my life," I almost immediately replied, trying to regain my stance and position, only to fall a slight bit short.

"Have you though, Rosie?" Again with that nickname, it caused the images to burn even brighter than before and then I knew I had known Angel before this, I didn"t know how or why, but I did. Her words only brought back even more visions and only one thing stuck with me. A girl with bright blue hair and emerald eyes kept coming back to me, yet I couldn"t place why.

"Father says I have."

"Here"s lesson number one of living here, Rosie, never listen to anything Father tells you. Archangels can never tell a lie, that part is true, but they can embellish the truth and make it kind of true yet not exactly. Okay?" I nodded in response and looked back out at the stars.

"Why did you run away from here, Angel?" I asked and she jumped in surprise at the sudden question, turning to me with her face red and warm.

"What do you mean run away? Why would I have run away?" She asked and she laughed, yet it felt cold and wrong from her lips. As if some part of me knew it wasn"t meant to sound that way. "Ummm, Rosalina, I don"t mean to freak you out, but your hair is turning silver."

I squealed and jumped back in reply, pulling my hair forward and seeing the silver with my own eyes. Fear clouded my vision as I stared at it. This is had, this makes me different.

Is being different like this all that bad though, Rosalina?

"Hey, breathe, okay? Listen to my voice, Rosalina. You"re having a panic attack. Please, just hear me and breathe with me, okay?" I heard and followed what the voice was asking of me.

My vision cleared and I saw Angel there but another familiar face entered my vision. Week.

"Is she okay now, Week?" She asked, her eyes held tears, yet I didn"t know why.

"She"s okay, Angel, just a little shaken up is all that"s wrong with her, why don"t you take her to bed? We"ll talk about this later," with that, Week left us alone on the balcony and I noticed Angel"s look of relief at the fact I was okay.

"You scared me, Rosie. Don"t do that ever again, okay?" She said, running to me and gripping my arms, shaking me to give emphasis on her words. I nodded a little and let out a tiny laugh. She soon joined me and I felt I had been like this with her before, but that"s impossible.

The two of us have never met before.

"There you two girls are," I heard from the door. I looked up to see Mother standing there, her eyes were laced with love and joy at seeing us there together. "It"s time for the announcement, so hurry up there!" We smiled and let out another laugh as we followed her back up to the stage. I slid my hand into hers and she gave mine a squeeze in return. It made me feel a bit safer and warmer inside.

"There"s my two beautiful daughters. Now we may tell the glorious news! Archangels and queens, you all remember my daughter Angel. As of tonight, the compet.i.tion is not only for Rosalina"s hand, but you can also win Angel"s as well. Good luck and may the power be with you. We have already been b.u.mped down to twenty-one compet.i.tors, so be on your guard, men."

Father"s eyes shined with pride at us, but Mother"s held something different, something darker.

Regret?