Angel Eggs

He was right, he was right and gods but he didn’t want to admit to it. He had spent the night picking at his dinner, pretending to care about all of the stuff that was being discussed, and trying to keep his food down while watching the two other couples as they hung all over each other. If nothing else at least he knew that Marina wouldn’t do that to him in public. She was far to uppity for that sort of thing.

He was home again thankfully thought exactly what it was that he was supposed to be thankful for he wasn’t sure yet. He didn’t want to come home only to see the egg in the shape it had been in when he had left it alone. Cracked by the hands of that woman that had broke into his room while he had been showering.

He hurried along up the stairs and down the hall towards his room ignoring the sound of the maid behind him calling to him to stop, that she needed to speak with him. He wasn’t in the mood to talk so why should he stop? He didn’t feel like listening to whatever gossiping babble the woman was going to spew at him as he had enough of women tonight to last him for a lifetime.

He stepped into his bedroom, eyes immediately going over to the bed and they went wide with almost horror, then egg… He rushed over to pick up the shards of blue shell and he felt his heart flip flop in his chest. The crack in it hadn’t been that bad! How could it have just fallen apart like this? No… He spun around on his heel, eyes pinning the woman servant that had been following him, “What happened to it? It… fell apart!”

She gave a little shocked sound taking a step back as she was glared at then blinked and laughed a bit, she had never seen the man she worked for so flustered before. It made him seem less frightening and far less scary, “Fell apart Mr. Damascus?” She asked then shook her head, “Not exactly. If you would follow me I could show you. Its quite remarkable really. I’ve never seen anything like it.” She told him then turned and headed out of the room.

Damascus was drawn out by an unfamiliar tug of curiosity and he found himself following the woman away from his own room and oddly enough to the quarters where she stayed. It wasn’t often if ever that he came to this place without the reason of firing someone or yelling at someone. So coming here for a neutral cause was one that he wasn’t very well used too.

“I was rather surprised myself to see it. Miss Marina told me that I should come and clean your rooms, something about a disgusting animal.” She said as she opened up the door to her room and walked in, “She was wrong though. Not disgusting at all though I’m not exactly sure what it is. You see most birds are born blind and featherless.”

Damascus gave a confused sort of sound, “Bird?” He asked as she walked over to her bed. Sure enough sitting on the bed, bouncing around was a tiny blue bird. He blinked a couple of times then walked over to the bed and sank down to his knees next to it, “It’s a… it’s a bird.” He said reaching his hand out towards it. The bird gave a little sing-song chirping sound that had the man almost entranced, though upon turning and see Damascus it gave a couple hopping steps back away from him, it blue eyes looking almost frightened.

“I looked through all the books I could and even on the net but I have no idea what sort of bird this is. There aren’t any even close to resembling it.”

“Wow…”

“No. No not wow. That means that it may be some sort of endangered species, you could get in so much trouble for having an animal like that. Its no doubt protected by a half a dozen laws, and the fines or jail time would be so high. You need to bring it somewhere to be taken care of.”

He looked up at her for a long moment then was on his feet scooping the little bird up into his hands despite the indignant sounds that it made over being picked up like that, “No! You don’t understand. This bird is mine and I won’t let anyone else have it. Ever.” He told her eyes narrowing, “You won’t tell anyone about it or I will have you fired, got it!”

She tilted her head to the side taking in the look on the man’s face, the tone in his voice, and the almost hysterical air around him, “I wouldn’t tell anyone I just think…”
“Don’t, I don’t pay you to think do I? I pay you to take care of the house while I’m away.” He snapped at her and turned on his heel and headed out of the room cradling the bird to him gently, “It’s ok. I won’t let anyone take you away from me.”

The servant plopped down onto her bed and shook her head, their had been talk about this happening to people before especially to those under a lot of stress. It wasn’t something though that she had ever seen before until now, Damascus had finally snapped. Though if you ask her it was a long time in coming with the woman he was forced to marry, the job that he took on, and just his life in general.

*****

It was as he was making his way back from the servants quarters that he looked around himself, “You know it doesn’t even feel as if this place is mine anymore. None of the stuff on the walls was picked out by me. The carpets are different, the knick-knacks. It seems like every time I leave and come back another part of what was mine is gone.” He murmured then looked down at the little bird in his hands and gave it a bit of a smile, “But you… your different you know. I’m not going to let her take you, let anyone take you. Or change you.”

He walked hurriedly towards his room, if he was lucky Marina would still be downstairs discussing things with the butler, when he had left her he had been yelling at the poor man for whatever reason. He wanted to get to his room and get the bird there where she wouldn’t see it or bitch about it for any reason. She hated animals when they were alive. She saw them as good for only two things, to eat them or to wear their fur aside from that she thought them disease ridden filth that had no reason running around inside of a civilized person’s home.

The bird gave a little chirping sound, an almost questioning on. Damascus looked down at it. The things eyes looked a little bit less frightened, that was good all that he could think about was how sad those eyes had seemed in his dream. That angel that he had so wounded when he had told him that he had been stolen.

“I will treat you well no matter what ok? I know that I got your egg through ill means but you were meant to be mind I just know it.” He murmured to the bird.

“What do you mean ill means?”

Damascus froze in his tracks before he slowly turned around to face the last person in the world that he really wanted to deal with at the moment. He gave a little groan and then forced a smile, “Nothing that you need to worry about Marina.”

“It had better not be! I refuse to be the wife of someone that…” She gave a little squeaking sound that reminded him of a dog attacking a squeaky toy , “W-What is that awful thing in your hands Damascus?” She cried pointed at the blue bird as if it were preparing to attack her. Instead it was hopping around in the man’s hands and chirping up a storm.

“Again not for you to worry about. Its mine and you don’t need to come anywhere near it.” He said giving her his back as he headed once more on the path to his room.

“No. No Damascus! You can’t let that thing run around in the house! Its disgusting and vile, it will make a mess, make noise, make a nuisance of itself!”

“It rather makes me think of someone I know.” He said looking over his shoulder to give her a cold glare, “Your no better or worse then the creature in my hands. Your flutter about, you squawk, and you peck at people. Your as big a nuisance if not more so then any animal could be as they won’t go around spending all of my damn money!” He snarled at her.

She gave him a look then crossed her arm, long well manicured nails rapping against her arm, “You have no reason to be like that Damascus! Just because I don’t share your love of animals…”

“The only thing you love is money and the things that you can buy with it.” He said digging into his pocket and got out his wallet. The leather hit the ground between her feet with a dull thud, “There you go now why don’t you go pick out a new car or house or whatever the fuck you think you need and leave me alone.”

The door to his room slammed loudly, almost enough that it went through, then there was the metallic click of the lock as it fell into place.

Marina stood there for a long moment in shock before she bent down and swept up the wallet, “You need a damn nap Damascus.” She muttered and headed down the hall, wallet in hand. It seemed at times as if nothing would faze the woman. Not even Damascus in all of his fury.