Ariel: Prologue

A beautiful woman danced around the island in the middle of the kitchen. Music blared from a speaker next to the stove. The woman licked the frosting from her caramel skin as she decorated the batch of cupcakes in front of her. She stopped as she heard the clicking of heels coming towards her. She spun around and smiled.

“Hey, Angi.” An elegant ginger-haired woman walked into the kitchen. She smiled back and posed for the woman. “How does it look?” She asked, gesturing to the new dress and boots her wife had gifted her.

Angi looked her sweetheart up and down before pulling her into a kiss. “Sexy, as always.”

She blushed as her crystal clear eyes locked with her partner’s. The redhead ran a hand through Angi’s poofy hair, pulling out a bit of frosting that had somehow gotten stuck. She giggled, shaking her head. “How did you manage this?”

The brown-haired woman gave her an over exaggerated roll of her eyes. “You try cooking with your hair always in your face.”

“I won’t because I’d probably burn down the house.” The redhead teased. She pulled away from her wife. “I gotta get back to work.”

Angi nodded, placing a quick kiss on her cheek. The redhead began to walk away, but was stopped by her partner’s words. “Oh, Emily, there was a letter from your work. I set it on your desk.”

Emily nodded, “thanks babe.”

Emily slaved away at her desk for so long that the sun had long vanished from the sky. She stared at her screen with tired eyes, quickly falling asleep. That’s when she heard an echoey whisper dance around her head. The woman shot awake and looked around to see where the sound was coming from. Then she heard it again, louder this time. The voice was speaking in an unknown language and it sounded like it was coming from everywhere, yet nowhere at the time. Despite the fact that she didn’t know what she was hearing, Emily could understand what it was saying. The mysterious voice asked her a simple question. And she said yes.

The dark room was enveloped in blinding white light. The woman’s blue eyes shone brightly. Just as fast as the light appeared, it vanished and she was left in complete darkness. The redhead opened the door and stepped into the hallway.

Angi smiled as she heard the door squeak open. She poked her head into the hallway. “Hey babe, how was work?” She watched as Emily looked around the room in silence. There was a look of confusion and wonder in her blue eyes as she scanned the decorations. It was as if she was in an unfamiliar place. “Emily? You ok?”

The ginger-haired girl glanced at her partner. The look of confusion remained, but the sense of wonder turned to concern. “Your soul is tainted.” She took a step towards the woman.

Angi took a step back in shocked confusion. “What?”

“You’ve been bound by dark forces. Your soul has been corrupted, but I can heal you.” Emily took another step and reached her hand out.

The dark-haired woman ducked out of her reach and ran to the bookshelf at the other end of the hallway. She glared back at the redhead, her charcoal eyes burning with suspicion. “You’re not Emily, are you?”

The woman, realizing that she frightened Angi, stopped in her tracks. “No, but I assure you she is safe.”

Angi grabbed one of the books from the shelf. It was withered with age and the leather cover was covered in strange symbols. “Why did you take her body?”

“I didn’t take anything. My name is Ariel. I asked for her vessel and she graciously agreed.”

Angi eyes squinted. She scanned the woman up and down. The look in her eyes was genuine and she wasn’t standing in a threatening way. “So, you’re an angel?”

Ariel nodded. “I’m sorry to disturb you. I have other matters I must attend to, so I’ll be going.” She turned and walked towards the door.

“Like hell you are!” Angi yelled. Throwing out her hand, a small bolt of energy shot out of her palm. However, it stopped and fizzled in mid air as soon as it got close to the angel.

Ariel looked back. “So, you’re a witch. That explains the corruption.”

The witch huffed, glaring daggers into the woman across from her. “Listen here you featherly bitch. You’re not taking my baby anywhere.” She opened the book in her hand as she readied her next spell. “You have one chance to get out of her before I turn you to dust.”

The angel turned to face Angi. Her stance was a little more serious, but her eyes remained soft. “Stop this, you’re only injuring your soul.”

The witch hissed at the angel “Shut up, bitch.” Her eyes lit up a bright lavender.

“I don’t think so,” Ari replied. She flicked her hand and Angi was flown across the room and pinned to the adjacent wall. The redhead glanced her azure eyes back at the woman, before walking out the door.