Chapter Sixteen

Agnes did not bow before the Base. She refused to look like an underling. As she stood there, her head held high, it was like a déjà vu. She had done it before. But she knew she had not. She was only eighteen. How come she did all of this?

"Angel, this is the last time you will be told to bow. If you do not oblige, you will be punished," a voice said. Agnes had no idea who talked. She did not care either.

"I will not bow," Agnes said. Her voice sounded firm. As if she was a Queen.

"You are my Queen," she heard someone say in her head.

It was stupid, for she had no lover. Her parents never told her they loved her. They wanted her to be firm. They thought telling your children you loved them made you look weak and your children became weak too.

She knew very well that she would never be anyone's queen. No one would love her for herself except for Jin. Who would love a murderer after all? Agnes could not understand why. It was not like she would kill someone she truly loved. For example, she would never hurt Jin. She would not hurt Alex and Theo either. Why would people care if she killed someone they did not know well? Yes, Theo did know Maia, but then again, he was not Maia's lover. Besides, Agnes had not wanted to kill her, but she had to.

"Agnes Raothiel. You were given nine chances. However, you disappointed the Base in every chance. You murdered innocent humans, angels. You aided demons. You refused to show respect to the Base. You are a disgrace. Being born an angel, you refused to be what you were meant to be. For that, the Base sentences you to 100 years of imprisonment, and after that, you will be stood before the Base once more. During these 100 years, you will be disciplined and punished for your actions."

It all felt like it had happened before. Moreover, Agnes did not do some of the things they accused her of. She did not kill angels. She did not aid demons. Then, why were they accusing her of something she had not done?

And 100 years? Would she not grow old and die? Did being an angel mean she would never age anymore? Not aging was not bad, however, she did not want to remain 18 forever. Being 25 forever was okay. But not 18.

She was taken to a room. It was a cell, but it was a comfortable-looking place with a soft bed. Angels did not need to use the toilet, an angel guard said when she asked. Agnes was not certain about it. For 18 years, she used the toilet as much as a regular human being.

"You don't need to use it anymore. We will make sure of that," the guard said.

"How, I pray ask?" Agnes asked mockingly.

"You just have to remember a few things," he said with a grin that did not make him look like an angel anymore.

Agnes sat on the bed with her knees to her chest and her arms wrapped around them. 100 years, she kept murmuring. What would happen to her? How would they discipline her?

She was not fearless. She was a killer, but she was not fearless. At this moment, she was scared. She was scared of being forced to do something she did not want to. She was scared of being the same for 100 years.

Agnes did not remember when she fell asleep. But maybe she did. Because surely, it was not real that her stomach was round and big like a very pregnant woman.

Agnes hated a lot of things. Most of all, she hated spiders and pregnancy. She was afraid of giving birth. The thought of a child being pushed out of her vagina scared her to death. When she would turn twenty, she was planning to get her womb removed.

But now, she was pregnant. She screamed and hoped to wake up, to end this nightmare. However, no matter how much she screamed, there was no waking up from it. It felt so real.

She was in a cell similar to the one she had been a while ago. The only difference was she was pregnant now.

Agnes could not calm down. She was panicking. She knew she ought to stop shaking to think straight. But she could not. Her legs were shaking. Her stomach was hurting, as if someone was kicking her repeatedly. Tears were falling from her eyes. She grabbed the mattress, sinking her nails into it, with both of her hands.

Agnes screamed again. She kept screaming, but no one came. It hurt so bad. She wanted it to stop hurting.

She felt blood running down her thighs. She was scared. Jin. She wanted him to hold her.

Agnes felt her insides tearing. Something was coming out of her. She tried to look between her thighs. It was not easy because of her swollen stomach. However, she could at least see what was coming out of her. She could see the head.

Agnes gagged. She closed her eyes and tried to calm herself. She needed to stop her sobs.

Agnes did not open her eyes again. She kept them closed and hoped for the nightmare to go away. She felt hands between her legs and someone pulled the baby out. But she did not care.

She heard the baby cry, but she did not open her eyes to even take a look at her child. It was not her child. She did not want it. She wanted it to die.

Hell, she wanted to die.

Agnes thought it was over. The child was born after all. Blood was running down her thighs without stopping. But so what? At least, the child was born. It meant it was over.

How wrong she was-

It started again.