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“I better get going,” Gabriel said.

“Yes”,
Camulus
replied. “I wouldn’t want Violet taking another step up her mountain without you there to catch her if she falls,” he stated.  He still doubted Violet even though he said he would reserve his unjust judgments. Gabriel said nothing. He simply gave him a look, the look that showed his utter discontent for his constant pummeling of his dear friend Violet. He left the room and headed down the hall, slightly distracted and still annoyed by
Camulus
’ comments about Violet. Gabriel was not paying any attention to the door that was about to burst open right into him.

“Hey…watch it!” Gabriel shouted at the person as he rubbed his arm that had been thrashed by the door.

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Fallon called out when she realized she had hit someone. The two looked at each other and their expressions suddenly changed.

“Oh, it’s just you,” she said quickly, trying to retract her apology.

“Fallon, how long do you plan on remaining angry with me?” Gabriel asked her.

“
Till
eternity and beyond!” she exclaimed indignantly.

“I see,” he said, knowing it was useless to plead his case yet again.

“Ok then.  I guess I will talk to you whenever that is,” he said brazenly.

She slammed the door and grabbed his already aching arm. 
“Why Gabriel?
Just tell me why?” Fallon’s eyes were filled with so much displeasure it was scary.

“You know why,” he said pulling his arm out of her tightly squeezed grasp.

“No, what I know is that she has you not thinking clearly!” Fallon said glaring at him with her light green, untrusting eyes.

“Violet has every right to be there!” He raised his voice to show his confidence in her.

“No she doesn’t!” Fallon hollered back. “I belong there, not her,” she said angrily.

“Fallon, I know you want to be part of this mission, but there will be plenty more missions for us and you will
..”

“Stop!
Just stop with your obvious and insulting consoling words. I don’t want or need to hear them from you right now!” she warned him.

“Fallon, I just wish you would understand that I selected the Guardian I believed would be most helpful for this particular mission,” Gabriel said, trying again to plead his case.

“Violet
is
NOT a Guardian and you know it!” Fallon’s face began to turn red with fury.

“She is a Guardian sworn in and trained just like the rest of us.”  He continued to defend Violet’s honor.

“No, we were all chosen to be here and she just showed up out of nowhere with all of her misguided fantasies about ‘her destiny’ and blah
blah
blah
!” Fallon was almost mocking her now and that infuriated Gabriel.

“You know what Fallon?” Gabriel said as he moved closer to her. He was standing inches from her nose and he could feel her hot breath on his face like a fire breathing dragon.

“What?” Fallon responded, wondering what he was going to say in the quite intense moment they were sharing.

“There is something about you that I’ve never quite noticed before?” he said tilting his head and looking into her eyes as if he could see her soul.

Fallon waited and just stared into his eyes.  She wondered if he was going to tell her he was wrong and she should be down there, with him, like always.

“I’ve just noticed that your eyes are actually the perfect match for your soul…GREEN!” Gabriel dropped her arm and walked away satisfied by the food for thought he had just delivered to
Fallon. Her jealousy was out of control and Gabriel was beginning to wonder what was happening at the Gates that seemed to be charging everyone up. First it was Reese and now Fallon was acting all green with envy over Violet.  Surely
Camulus
would not be happy that all of his precious Guardians were becoming pitted against each other. Gabriel couldn’t wait to get back to Violet, to hear her voice and to talk about what was going on.  She was his confidant, his go to person, the person he unloaded his problems on.  She was…his best friend.

Fallon watched as Gabriel headed out past the gates and toward rainbow, never once looking back. She hated knowing Gabriel was upset with her, but what she hated more was Violet coming between them. Fallon needed answers; she needed to know why Violet had been sent on the mission. Nothing she had been told made any sense to her. Fallon decided to go to
Camulus
and appeal to his sense of righteousness and get the answers she needed and deserved.

“Knock, knock.”

“Enter Fallon,”
Camulus
said, knowing she would come to see him.

“I assume you just saw Gabriel,” he said again as if he knew what she wanted.

“I did and I need something from you
Camulus
,” Fallon replied.

“You want to know why Violet was selected and not you, correct?” The wise old Guardian read her like a book.

“Yes, sir I do and I think I deserve to know,” she added.

“Fallon, you are a wonderful warrior, one of my best, but this mission needed a different approach,” he said
.

“I’m afraid I don’t follow?” she said confused and frustrated with the vague answers she was getting.

“Violet is crucial to this mission and that is all I can tell you!”
Camulus
raised his voice in command. He waited to see if Fallon would persist or except his vague explanation.

“Sir, I think I deserve more.  In fact I insist.” She spoke without a quiver in her voice.

Camulus
liked that Fallon did not back down from anyone. She was a great warrior that had succeeded in many missions alongside Gabriel for as long as he could remember. She was a great asset to the guardians and
Camulus
hated that he could not share any information regarding Violet with her. He knew he had to make sure she understood that she needed to back off.

“Enough!”
Camulus
roared at her. “Do you think you can demand things of me and get away with it?  I will not tolerate this insubordination from you or anyone else here. I am in charge!  I
give the orders and when I do Fallon, they are not up for discussion. DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?” he thundered at her.

“Perfectly!” she said as she stormed out of the room.

Camulus
couldn’t worry about Fallon. There were other matters that needed his immediate attention and her temper tantrum about not being selected for the mission was not high on his priority list. He wished he could tell her what she needed to know but it was forbidden. Only
Camulus
and two other members of the council knew why Violet had to be the one to find Carter and show him his destiny.

A guard entered the room. “Sir, they need you in the briefing room right away,” he said.

“What now?”
Camulus
shook his head as he headed out of his chamber.

Fallon was close by and saw
Camulus
leave his chamber. She had to know why Violet was chosen and not her. She hated that Violet was coming between her and Gabriel. Everything was perfect, she thought to herself, before she landed at our doorstep. Gabriel and Fallon were close, very close. Fallon loved being with Gabriel and he admired her like no other. They did every mission together and spent all of their free time with each other. Fallon was in love with Gabriel, but that love was her secret that had never been shared with anyone. Guardians did not have those kinds of relationships. It was not that it wasn’t allowed, it was just one of those things that was rare among them. The Guardians were an elite group of stoic beings that devoted their entire existence to protecting the gates and the world below. They were devoted to the cause, not to soul mating.

Fallon knew what she had to do. Every soul has a documented journal of history beginning with creation. When any soul is created, born or otherwise, it is followed and can be viewed at any time through their soul diary. Fallon needed to know how and why Violet came to them. No one was told how Violet came to their world, only that she arrived unexpectedly and no questions were to be asked. As Guardians, they are taught to obey the commands given to them without question. However, this practice seemed to be wearing thin with some of the Guardians and they were beginning to show resistance. Fallon needed to know and would risk everything to find out.

She rem
embered hearing that the soul diaries
were kep
t hidden somewhere
in
Camulus
’ chambers. Fallon nervously took a few stealth
-like footsteps toward the chamber
and glanced around the room to make sure no one was watching. Then she looked to the
golden
angel
perched on a pedestal at the back of the room
and said, “God help me make this be the right decision for all of us.” Fallon put her hand on the wings of the angel and they began to move. This startled Fallon and she jumped back knocking over the chair with a loud “
kerplunk
”!

“Gosh, maybe this is my sign. Maybe this is not the right decision,” Fallon thought to herself. “What am I doing?” she wondered. “No, I can’t do this!” Fallon decided she needed to let it be,
for now anyways. She picked up the chair and placed it back at the desk.  Then she looked at the angel with its wings still fluttering and walked back over to it.

“Great, how do I stop the wings from flapping?” she wondered. Fallon slowly put her hand on the wings to stop them from moving and they began fluttering faster and faster, sending the golden angel in flight all the way to the top of the chamber ceiling.

“No, no, no!” she shouted nervously watching the statue go higher and higher. And then it happened, the point at which there was no turning back for Fallon. The wall behind the angel had opened up during the golden angel’s ascent to the ceiling of the chamber. Fallon thought that was her sign and she decided to enter the room. There was a mountain of tiny angel pendants encased behind the wall.  They were the soul diaries. She walked slowly down the hall with her hands placed on the wall, searching for the one that belonged to Violet. The problem was Fallon couldn’t tell the difference between any of them. They all appeared exactly alike.

“Ok, I guess I was wrong about the sign thing.  I don’t think I am supposed to be in here searching for Violet’s diary.” Fallon changed her mind again, thinking this was a really bad idea.

“I don’t even know what her full name is, no one does!  I’ll never find her in here.  It’s impossible!” she yelled distressed by it all.

“Darn it Violet …Violet…Violet DOE!” she yelled.

Suddenly, one of the angel pendants
glided off the shelf and
floated over to where she stood.

“Clever,” she thought amazed by the flight the little angel took when the name of the soul was called out.

It fluttered its wings for a moment, hovering in front of Fallon, and then dropped straight into the palm of her hand. Fallon couldn’t believe her eyes. “Could it be?” she wondered. “Is it?  It has to be,” she said looking at the pendant.  It was apparent to Fallon that no one knew Violet’s full name. “How could that be,” she thought to herself. “Surely
Camulus
would know.  But this is proof he does not.” She just looked at the tiny angel lying in her palm. “What secrets do you hold?” she said studying the delicate angel. Fallon was anxious to see the diary. She had become more than curious now that all of the secrets to Violet’s arrival lay in the palms of her hands. In fact, Fallon was absolutely bursting with anticipation to find out about the soul of the girl they called Violet Doe. Seconds later the angel opened up, dropping Violet’s identifying feather in her palm.  Moments later Fallon was viewing Violet’s soul diary and she could not believe her eyes.

Chapter 8

Colors of a Chameleon

Violet woke up bright and early, excited to start her first day of school or rather the first day of her mission. She fumbled through Vivian’s wardrobe wishing she had picked out her clothes the night before. It was clear to see, even in the short amount of time Violet had spent here in this world, that the way a person dressed determined their acceptance with a particular crowd. Violet needed to get the approval of Carter Stone’s crowd, so she was feeling anxious about what to wear. She was having a hard time in the closet viewing half of Vivian’s wardrobe as a bit smart and old fashioned while the other half were more bold and alluring.

“Darn, darn, darn!” she yelled. “Where’s casual and trendy?” she said out loud, sliding the hangers over one by one. Violet had an idea; she mixed together both sides of Vivian’s closet, coming up with a perfectly acceptable outfit. She put on a pair of dark skinny jeans, casual, paired with a
flowing version of the camisole that accentuated her beautiful eyes, trendy. Violet added a belt across her waist and a pair of black flats to complete her outfit. “There,” she said looking in the mirror pleased with her selection. Violet played with her hair trying to decide what to do with it.  She opened the dressing table drawer and pulled out a hair clip.