Dark Secrets of Thorns and Ice

Though the times changed since Wrath had been allowed out of her cage, she still knew how to turn a small frustration into a massive death run. It was a boy, by the name of Nelson James, who let Wrath out of her c age and welcomed death into his small Colorado town. It was bitter on the longest day of the year when Nelson welcomed his doom.

He had had a rough Monday. Things had been all wrong from when he rolled out of bed at 7:30 that morning. With the continual bad news from his missing wallet to his incomplete homework and finally to his wonderful 3 period long talk to his dean for snapping at a teacher and almost hitting another student, Nelson's day could not have gotten any worse. Then again, whenever something bad shouldn't happen, it usually does. Nelson was a boy of calm demeanor. Really very boring. He had plain brown hair that reached his ears and he had simple brown eyes that never knew anything other than happy feelings. He stood only normal height of 5'10 and he had no real outstanding features. In all truth, he was a painfully boring young man. He always housed a lazy grin and he rarely every frowned or rose his voice. He was calm and gentle and a very timid person. However, he did something that afternoon that made him worthy of being mentioned.

Since each of the sins are different, they must have different cages, you understand. Wrath is one that has a cage that truly destroys her. It eats her up inside. But let's get into the head of such a vicious woman as Wrath. Wrath is the eldest of these demons. She was a bold woman. A woman who knew no bounds. She held every ounce of bold and loud nature you could think of. She was someone who knew how to be loud and how to break hearts and how to destroy and to cause pain. She was locked away in a place that had never even heard of. She had to be placed into a cage that was pure and kind. A timid place.

Like the heart of a girl who had everything.

A heart of a girl who didn't know what it was like to have her heart stepped on by a boy who wanted nothing from her but her body. A heart that didn't know what it was like to have a best friend take her boyfriend from her. No, she didn't feel that. Not Amelia Lewis. Amelia was perfect. She indeed had a gentle heart. She felt terrible when she had to dissect a frog in tenth grade.

Amelia Lewis had long curly had hair that reached the middle of her back. She had eyes the color of the afternoon sky on a warm spring day. She had fair skin and she never gained a pound of unwanted fat. She knew nothing of what it was like to be ridiculed. She was perfect. Nelson knew her well. They had gone to school together since they were in kindergarten. He knew all about Amelia. He knew about her perfect parents, her perfect grades, her perfect little sister, her great friends, her great ability to play sports. Basically he knew all about her perfect nature. Then again, God made all his warriors perfect.

Since birth, Amelia had been the protector of the cage Wrath was in, much like her mother and her grandmother had protected it until they were no longer of use. Much like her mother and grandmother, Amelia had no clue she was the protector of one of the most dangerous demons that humans ever had the privilege to meet.

Back to the man of honor, though. Nelson walked home in the snow that began to fall and silently cursed his parents for leaving for a casino after they got a long phone call from the school. What a nice way to leave your son behind. The wind pushed his hair back from his face but the warm wool hat kept most of it at bay. His warm winter coat kept his arms warm but his sneakers didn't keep his feet warm. He was having a rough day.

"Afternoon, Nelson." Amelia's voice said from behind him. He stopped, turning his back to the wind, and nodded to the girl.

"Hey Amelia. How's it going?" He asked as he stared at the girl who climbed up the street to stand next to him. Her hair was tucked into her jacket that was zippered to her neck. She huffed, her cheeks a bright pink.

"I'm alright. How about you?" She asked as she held out her hand. She was always so formal. He shook it with a small smile before he turned to walk away. He tried to keep his mouth shut. He wanted to make sure he didn't hurt her feelings with random insults. He wasn't that kind of boy. Amelia's eyes always gave away her worry. "What's wrong Nelson?"

"I'm fine, Amelia." He said half-heartedly.

"I wouldn't want to be you on a bad day then." She tried to joke. He nodded but said nothing. "You want to go to the game with me? My dad loves basketball." Nelson shook his head.

"I'm good, Amelia." He said as he tugged the jacket closer. The wind pulled the black strands of her air out of her jacket, which she quickly tucked back away.

"Did something happen today?" She asked, trying to fix his problems.

"Just a bad day," was his only reply.

"Want to talk about it?"

"Not really Amelia. Like I said, I'm fine."

"I can help, Nelson." She said as she put her hand gingerly on his arm. Nelson shrugged it off and turned his fiery eyes on her.

"I bet you can, Amelia. You know cause you're so damn perfect. You're just GREAT, huh Amelia? You and your perfect little family can just take someone in and suddenly, all the damn problems they have are just GONE! Because you and your family are just the greatest thing to walk on the damn Earth, right Amelia? You and your family want to make every JUST.LIKE.YOU!" He shouted. "You snobby little princess! Take that well powdered nose of yours and shove it. I don't need your damn help so just leave.me.alone." He snarled out as he started to walk again and left Amelia standing in horror. The words rang in her head and tears came to her eyes and she touched them like they were a myth to her. Like they were too alien for her.

Nelson walked off with the fire of hatred burning deep in his belly. He couldn't stand the feeling he had. He couldn't stand the feeling of the heat rising in his cheeks and the insatiable need to scream in rage. He had to push his way home and while his parents and his older sister were out, he sat on the couch and stared aimlessly at the television that he turned on without a real thought. He heaved a sigh and clicked the buttons until he felt so angry he threw the remote across the couch and let the television stay on Morgan Freeman and his explanation of the penguin activities.

His mind did nothing but wander and he did nothing but try and figure his own life out. He had to figure a way to apologize to Amelia and tell her he didn't mean to hurt her feelings like that. He was just in a bad mood. Something rode him hard and made him so angry. With a sigh, he rose and walked into his kitchen to start boiling water for hot chocolate. That is, until the door bell rang. Curious, Nelson left his post and walked to the door, only to find Amelia. However, she wasn't the same. She had a dark look in her eyes and her dark hair was splayed around her head like she came from a 50s movie. Her lips were a dark maroon color and they were pulled in a small grin.

"Aren't you going to invite me in?" She asked slowly. He offered a small smile.

"Amelia, look, I'm sorry. I know what I said earlier…it wasn't right I know I…..I have just had the worst day and I…I don't think that stuff about you--"

"Yes you do." She said as she stepped in without invitation. "You hate me. Don't you? You hate anyone who's better than you. Or happier than you." He shook his head as he tried to laugh it off.

"Amelia."

"Don't call me that." She said, her grin sick. "I may be in her body but she is no longer here. Ohh it feels good to be back. To be free." Nelson stared at her.

"Amelia--"

"Wrath," the girl snapped. "Wrath. My name is Wrath." Nelson nodded a little and stared at her. "Nelson, I know how you feel."

"What?"

"That anger. The anger towards your parents for leaving you here. All alone. Away from the rest of the world? Like you were some sort of mistake? You'd like to get back at them wouldn't you, Nelson?" Something inside of him burned. All the things she was saying were true. He hated his parents for locking him up like a rat. Like an experiment. Like a child. "Nelson? How about we go check out the town? I'm sure we can find a lot of people who you can take your anger out on." Without thinking, Nelson nodded and walked over to the door. He grabbed a coat from the hook next to it and held it out to her.

"For you, Wrath." He said as he waited for her to come over and put it on. She smiled and kissed his cheek, making him smile.

"Thank you Nelson."

"I didn't do much." She let him leave before she smiled a smile so wicked Hades would have cringed.

"You did a lot, Nelson. And I will not waste it."