Growing Up With Wings

The ceremony of my welcome into the family was an awe-inspiring sight to behold for all. Soon enough, word of Lilim’s birth spread across the realm of Yamo like a wildfire; it barely took weeks before all sentient, free-living beings, some big or small, some rich or poor, knew of the princess’s inheritance to the royal Archangel name. Upon the center throne sat Enoch on the right, and Leeuw on the left, both equally overjoyed at the rejoicing of their kin. Be they the burning, skeletal Honokkaku, the duty-bound Golemkin, the Frostmaiden, and even members of the authoritative Oathbroken Paladins; many species and national rulers, big and small, showered me, the baby princess, with their presence and gifts, after which they danced and sang in celebration. And it was like this for a full three days in endless tribute.

“This is a glorious night, Enoch…Celebrate. Don’t be cross with her,” remarked Leeuw.

“Hmph…Yes, I suppose fate has ordained it so.”

Leeuw chuckled and twirled her hair, losing herself to her thoughts before her one gentle smile burnt out into a hollow look of concern, “Be honest, Enoch; do you think…we will be good parents? I mean…we haven’t even started planning for her future yet, and already we've conceived her. Not to mention, there are talks amongst the Inoi of the humans bearing a child today as well. I just…I can’t help but worry.” Leeuw hugged herself tightly, while Enoch stood silent for a moment…was she really not prepared for the responsibility of motherhood?

I could practically feel her body quaking under the weight of her words. Granted, my physical age prevented me from really acknowledging any of what she said, but in spirit, I was someone entirely different from this Enoch or Leeuw - I was a human girl named Heaven Matthews. So I understood everything. And because I understood her thoughts, I understood HER. I don’t remember exactly, but I must have had some sort of family back home, wherever I came from. I just had to. But I could tilt my head like a confused little doggie and eek out inaudible babytalking gibberish, reaching all five stubs of my hand out with a giggle as I stroked the beautiful woman’s cheek. I admit it, she was a lovely woman - I felt…‘honored’ being her princess, her miracle daughter.

Enoch gave a deep, almost bellowing laugh at the sight, “Seems like someone agrees with me! See my love? She cherishes you! Believe in our girl’s judgment of character, and be glad.”

“Aww, Lili, how kind of you!” Leeuw said with a heartfelt and nearly tear-ridden chuckle. The archangel queen leaned in to her daughter’s full view, her lips gently brushing across the child’s still-developing forehead, soft and sweet like fresh honeydew, her breath warm but fresh to the touch, “You’ll grow into a beautiful young princess, and I look forward to seeing all the mischief you get up to…”

I was happy…I couldn’t explain why, but the way she held me, cooed to me, loved me…it felt like…l-like this hollow hole of my heart - one that was there even in the past - was suddenly being filled. Was this what love felt like? True, motherly love felt like this…? As I pondered that hint, the smiles on my new birth parents’ faces melted to looks of concern, and then alarm. Why were they looking at me, gasping for air? As I pondered the thought, it hit me: they weren’t surprised because of me, but rather what I - specifically my body - was doing TO me. I barely felt it, but my back had started to shift and buckle, and then two stubby little membranes wrenched themselves through, no signs of obvious bleeding in sight, like turnips sprouting from underground. Initially pale and blemish-free, an inky, jet-black substance slowly coated the now curved and extended membranes, and even that “ink” scattered to wax-like drops at the edges, materializing into…feathers; I was growing a pair of wings, there was no mistaking it now. My wingspan easily eclipsed six to eight feet by the time it was all over, and apparently, the tips of my feathers adopted a secondary shade of pearl white at the tip. My head began to sprout a pair of its own: a set of obsidian horns, short and sharp. My head tilted to the right again, because again, I didn’t realize any of this; my parents, however, drank in the sight, both relishing in what could only be assumed as either an instinctive display of joy…or of power. Who said bigger wasn’t always better, right?

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- 7 Years Later -

“YOUNG LADY!!!~ GET DOWN FROM THERE, THIS INSTANT; DO NOT MAKE ME SUMMON YOUR MOTHER!! LILIM, I SWEAR TO LILITH, IF YOU DO NOT–!! HEY!! LISTEN TO ME WHEN I SPEAK TO YOU, CHILD!!”

Poor Samael could only stammer and scrambled all across the castle hallways, up and down, left and right, futilely grasping at nothing but air in attempts to seize me in his deceptively iron grip. Fortunately for me, I got used to using my wings at a very young age. Ever since my wings came in, I basically had a reputation for being hard to catch and just not meshing well with authority figures outside of King Enoch and Queen Leeuw, much to the servants’ dismay, as you see. Our game lasted for what felt like a few hours—couldn’t have been more than two or three. It was totally random, but I was laughing at poor Samael’s tomato-red face and frantic breaks in his voice.

“For the last time, Lilim, this is NOT A GAME!! Come here and take your bath!!” Samael yelled, stamping his well-shod shoe against the cobblestone floor.

“Hehehehe, nope! I don’t wanna!” I said with a playful lick of my tongue before leaving him in the dust once more.

Alarmed and especially more pissed than anything else, Samael could only groan and give chase against the blur of violet and gray feathers; “Wha?! Come back here this instant!!” he yelled. Don’t let this deceive you, though; a part of me thinks he enjoys running all over with me. He’s the family butler and he works jointly with the Inoi: knights to the Archangel monarchy—before my coming of age eight years ago, it sounds like all he did was clean the castle and organize special conferences for my father to make some grand announcements; it sounded like a dull day-to-day life compared to what he was doing right now. I even caught a couple of chuckles spill from his normally by-the-book personality. Bitter chuckles, granted, but the point still stands. Of course, I was having fun too, until finally I got cornered in the Carnation Gardens outside. The field was massive, stretching across forty acres, and the garden itself was practically a maze of fragrance and flora. But once my mother approached, drenched in a flame of pure wrath, with a deceptively sweet and gentle smile curling across her lips, my wings instinctively folded, and gravity took me over, causing me to plummet back to the ground on my butt. Despite the jerk of pain, though, all that mattered to either of us in that moment was how screwed we were…

“My my…” Her footsteps were practically rhythmic echoes, like a towering giant seeking bones to make his bread. Under her feet, the ground was becoming scorched in violet flame, leaving black foot-shaped welts behind her as she drew nearer, “And what is this I’m seeing? Two lost lambs entering my precious garden? And WITHOUT permission, it seems. Ufufu, that simply won’t do at all. I wonder what crazy adventures we can go on today, you utter disgraces.”

“Ulp! U-Umm mommy, it’s not what you think—”

“Q-Queen Leeuw, please no, have mercy! I-It was an accident!”

Leeuw just chuckled with a hint of melancholy, only working to temper the rage that lies beneath. “Mercy is for simpletons who don’t know better,” she said with spiral flames practically elevating her wrath to divine levels, “Accidents, for fools incapable of doing a simple task correctly. Both of you were raised to be perfection incarnate, and I've already told you once, nary a million times by now: Stay away from my Carnations!”

Enoch, my father, was tending to personal matters in his chambers about thirty feet underground, though he didn’t specify what to me. However, he could only groan under his breath after feeling the castle’s very foundation shake, with both Samael and me screaming from the searing force of being reprimanded by his so-called loving wife. He felt it all, stammering about, knowing that once again, I unleashed the wrath of Leeuw. Ouchie…