1 STORY ONE- Clipped Wings I

Gabrielle woke up to the distant sounds of ringing bell. It was midnight and the whole room was filled with darkness. Her body felt numb, tired to the bones. Her sheets were eerie cold with the stench of something unknown.

Although unable to see anything her feet still remembered her room. She got up from the bed, her unsteady feet touching the carpeted ground. The softness of the carpet faded under her feet and something coarse tingled the senses in her feet. The porcelain vase that was kept at the side table were filled with fresh daisies smelling like it was recently changed, however Gabrielle had no recollection of putting daisies in her rose vase. With each movement her body became heavier and heavier with pain killing her back. It felt itchy and a weird sensation crept through her back where wings were.

Her tired feet moved towards the supposed door and with a fumbling touch she found the bronze knob.

Just as she was opening the door, the knob turned from the other side and a clicking sound was heard. Gabrielle in panic moved back crashing into an old oak table. The impact was not much however she felt more pain than usual.

This is what happens when one starves for three days

'Gabrielle is that you?' A desperate voice was heard from the silhouette that opened the door. It was an anxious however sweet and soft tone that sounded just like she recalled it.

'Dan…' Gabrielle said in a croaking voice, her throat feeling dry. It felt like her vocal cords were not used for many days yet she clearly remembered sleeping just three hours ago after a long talk with this man.

'Gabrielle…Gabrielle…I am so glad you are alive!!!' Dan rushes up to embrace her.

Gabrielle was stunned for a moment…the body of the man who hugged her was bigger and broader than the last time. The warm back was a little stiff and the coarse clothes that earlier used to hug those shoulders were now replaced with the silk and velvet.

'Gabrielle…it feels strange if you touch me like that.' Dan whispered near her ears.

'Huh…I am sorry.' She did not realize that her thin fingers were flowing through Dan's shoulders. Touching through his spine…his broad shoulders and back. The movement of his shoulders as he hugged her…Gabrielle was so invested in the sudden change in Dan that she did not grasp her sensual touch.

'It is fine' Dan pulled away from her. 'Come let us go outside…'

'But Duke…' Gabrielle said in a defeated tone. Her face drooped when talking about her father, who hated her so much that he had not let Gabrielle touch a single bite of food or water. Dan who was the son of the family butler too knew it and thus always sneaked some apples for her. Red juicy apples were her favorite.

'Don't worry Gabe…Duke and Duchess has gone on a long trip to the neighboring state with majority of the servants. You are free to eat in the dining room.' Dan told her…his voice was deeper and manlier than before.

'Ok…'

Dan held her hands in his gloved ones and slowly led her out from the darkness of the room...Gabrielle held her breath in anticipation, one thing was clear to her…she had not been asleep just for three hours.

'What…what is this!!! Dan?' She shouted as she went into the light. When her eyes adjusted the Dan Infront of her did not resemble the Dan, she knew at all!!

Dan who was a gangly sixteen-year-old, suffering with neglect just like her was nowhere to be found. He looked tall and lean with adequate muscles, his angular face looked filled with a reddish tint of good health.

'You look just like a prince!' A mesmerized Gabrielle whispered. Butler's uniform with neat black hair and shining cerulean eyes, the man Infront of her did not look remotely similar to the sad and lonely Dan.

'Thanks Gabrielle…you haven't changed even a single bit though.' He smiled and planted a kiss on her forehead.

'You!' Gabrielle became beet red.

'Do you feel any difficulty in walking?' Dan asked with concern.

Her step mother or the current Duchess is a cruel woman who belonged to the demonic clan just like Dan. Gabrielle who was an Angel just like her mother was ostracized by her own family and three days ago due to the engagement annulment of her step sister all the anger of the family was showed on her. Her wings were cut and she was left to starve for three days. No doctor came to treat her nor anyone came to talk to her. Sometimes she would hear Dan's cries from across the room while she held her breath waiting for the pain to subside.

'Yes…it does not hurt but I think with little practice I can maintain my balance…' she said remembering the time when she laid on the bed and Dan finally came sneaking in…His worried face was the last thing she saw before falling asleep.

'Then we should practice walking to the dining…' he said in a relieved tone.

The mansion was same…the red carpets spread from one corner to another looked like blood spilled on the ground disappearing in the carpet. There were no patterns on the covered floor since her step mother did not like it. The paintings on the walls were the same and the vases and simple decorations towards her side of the mansion did not change. Her stepmother hated her so much that everything Gabrielle loved was snatched away from her…first it was her mother …then her infant brother. She felt a little happy that Dan remained by her side, he was more healthy and handsome now.

She came to the dining hall that her parents exclusively used. It was once her best place where her family used to gather together. Golden apple - honey pies and tender roasted chicken hot from the barbeque. Ham slices cut into thinnest pieces with buttered bread and sauces. Her mother used to cook everything as a Sunday treat.

'You remembered what my mother cooked for me?' Gabrielle looked at the exact copy of her mother's foods laid out for her.

'How can I forget what our little lady wanted. Come sit …I cooked all of this by myself.'

Gabrielle sat down to eat the such scrumptious delight for the first time in three days…or after many years.

'Dan?' She asked stuffing a slice of ham.

'Hmmm…' Dan like a dutiful butler was standing near her pouring some milk tea.

'How long was I asleep for?' She asked.