• "Morrigan Falpese, please step forward."
    She steps forward slowly.
    “Morrigan, why do you sense that you are standing in front of the court order tonight?”
    Morrigan shifts her weight to one side and says without looking up, “I do not know, sir.”
    “Are you lying to me Morrigan?”
    “No. I do not know why I am here.” She still does not look up.
    “Then I shall tell you why.” The man clears his throat. “You are here, Morrigan Falpese, because your acts here have caused pain and anguish to the people of Jehovah. Do you know why the people of Jehovah feel this way?”
    “No sir, I do not.”
    “You have killed a citizen of Jehovah, Morrigan. You killed a young man by the name of Constantine Phillips. Do you remember doing this?”
    Her voice cracks now as she speaks, “No, I do not remember killing anyone. I know I have. I just can’t remember.” Voices from the jury rise from compelling whispers to violent and harsh murmurs.
    The man clears his throat again, trying to keep his temper down. “Do you know the consequences of killing a citizen of Jehovah Morrigan?”
    “Yes sir. I do.”
    “Then you know what has to be done.” The man taps his chin in thought. “A’marie? Can you read the sentences?” The man motions for A’marie to step forward. She stands up out of her seat and walks over to the spot near Morrigan. She faces the jury and read from the stiff white paper in her clammy palms. “Morrigan Falpese has been sentenced to the ultimate punishment, and only punishment, for killing a citizen of Jehovah,” A’marie pauses slightly to look back at Morrigan. She glares angrily at her feet, never looking up, and A’marie continued looking back at the jury, “the loss of her wings.” A quiet gasp broke the silence that had come with her speaking. She pursed her lips until they were pencil thin and continued reading the sentence. “Morrigan will be sent to hell, and her halo will no longer glow. She may never return to heaven, but, if the jury agrees as much, she may be sent to earth as a human female. If she dies in the course of her new life she will be sent straight to hell. But, until she dies, she may live out the course of her new life anyway she pleases.” A’marie looks up from the paper to scan her eyes across the jury of angels. One of the angels stands up to claim Morrigan ‘hell borne or human’.
    “What does the jury find Morrigan Falpese as?” The judge asks.
    “We, the jury, find Morrigan Falpese as guilty. But we agree to the claim that she may return to earth as human.” The angel sits back down, his eyes never meeting the judges.
    “Then we have it, “the judge smiles, “Morrigan will be sent back to earth as a human by the name of which she chooses. She may not choose the name of her past life, but she may keep her form and looks.” He taps the podium with his gavel to end the trial. Morrigan looks up for the first time and says in a hoarse whisper, “Thank you. You shall be rewarded for your kind acts.” She exits the room with a guard close behind her. And then when she was sure no one would here her Morrigan said, “Rewarded with a hell bound war!”


    6 Years Later

    “Chastity, baby, come on! One more round! I won’t let loose so early this time!”
    “Charles, that’s what you say every time. I’m done. And obviously you are to.” She looks down at the man. “Clean yourself up. You look like a child who just got done gluing together a piñata.” Chastity laughs and pulls a robe over her body. Charles groans but sits up and walks to the bathroom. Chastity laughs again and throws two $50 dollar bills onto the bed. “I have to go to some fancy party thing tonight, Charles. Get yourself something good to eat. And I’ll be back tonight.” Chastity waits for a response from Charles. She hears the toilet flush, and takes that as answer enough. She leaves the room and crosses the hall into the room 3 doors down. The door swings shut and she drops the robe to the floor. As she is getting dressed she thinks about how easy this life was. She was rich, beautiful, and successful. There was nothing else she needed. But she still felt empty. There were still things she wanted. Like her wings. But that was a dream that would never be made into reality. A wish that would never be granted. It didn’t really matter though. She was having fun while she was human and nothing was going to ruin that for her. She slipped her feet into red stilettos and walked out of her bedroom. She swiftly floated down the 4flights of steps and removed her clutch purse from its hook on the wall. “Charles I’m leaving!” She yells upstairs. The toilet flushes again and she smiles as she slips out the front door and walks to her Mercedes. She turns the key in the ignition and drives off into the evening.

    Chastity pulled up to the club. As she gets out of the car a man runs up to her.
    “Chastity! So glad you could make it!” Jordan DiMaggio held out his hand toward Chastity. She took it and he led her through the front door and the crowd over to the company owner and founder, James Wilson. Mr. Wilson owned all the Carrie’s Home Boutiques in the area. He was hosting a 35th anniversary party. “Miss. Hartland it is a pleasure to finally meet the designer of all my products! Please, my sweet, sit down. Pour yourself a glass.” Mr. Wilson waved his hand from a table in the far left corner. Jordan, Mr. Wilson’s bodyguard, led her over to the table. There were already two women sitting there. One of them smiled at Chastity softly. The other briefly glanced at her scowled and turned back to Mr. Wilson, the scowl dropping off her face quickly. I figured that the one who smiled gently was Mr. Wilson’s wife. I sat next to her and shook her hand. “Are you Mrs. Wilson?” I asked, unsure.
    “Yes dear, I am. And I’ve heard much about you Chastity, so don’t even bother introducing yourself. I’m so impressed with your designing. I’m even wearing one of your new blouses.” She smoothed out the lavender frock, smiling.
    “Oh, wow. Well it is one of my better designs. Thank you. I like having customers who actually know how to use fashion. Your taste is very eccentric Mrs. Wilson. We’ll have to get together sometime and share some tips and ideas.” Chastity picked up a glass from the middle of the table and poured herself a drink. The other woman was staring evilly at Chastity. Chastity just smiled sweetly and turned to Mr. Wilson, who had now started talking to her. “Now Chastity, I know you’re an expert at this and all. But I would like you to start taking some ideas from other designers. This young woman here is Amy Columbine. She is the designer over at Makita’s. She and Miss Makita have decided that it would be a good idea to bind the companies. I completely agree with her. So we, Makita and I, made arrangements for you and Amy to work together a couple days a week. Is that okay with you?”
    “I…um well.” Chastity clears her throat gently. “Of course it’s okay with me! I would love to work with someone new. My design ideas have been coming up short lately. Another advocate is just what I need!” She smiles widely, btu its obvious that it’s a fake one. Mr. Wilson pretends not to notice and claps his hands together loudly.
    “Well that’s it then! You and Ms. Amy will be working together 4 days a week on Tuesday through Friday. I hope to see some new eccentric styles coming from you two brilliant women. Now, who wants a martini?”
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