Thread: Bound to Grace

Joanna Jansen was traveling from St. Joseph, Missouri via coach with her ward, six year old Sarah Jansen. Of course, the girls real name was not Jansen as was it not also the woman with long brown wavy tresses who now held the child cradled in her arms as she slept. Joanna had taken the name two years ago when she had come to earth not for the purpose of saving the girl, but of making her transition to death easier. Joanna leaned her head back, resting it on the back of the leather seat and listening to the sound of whistling wind as the steam powered coach continued to take them upon their journey towards Vrain's Fort where she had decided would be as good of a place as any for herself and Sarah to begin their life over. The coach itself was relatively quiet, although perhaps not as quiet as a regular horse drawn coach, the small fan actually being rather noisy as they traveled. Her eyes remained closed for the briefest of moments as the little blonde haired girl stirred in her sleep. Joanna's eyes shot open and she pulled the child closer to her. One hand smoothed the fair skinned child's long locks away from her eyes as the once upon a time angel smiled down at the girl. Sarah was the reason for her being here. Sarah was the reason that Joanna had become a fallen angel. She softly murmured in a hushed voice soothing words and sounds to the child to help keep the girl asleep as she looked down upon her. Joanna could still so vividly recall the day that she had been sent to earth to be the young babes angel of mercy, or to put it even in simpler terms, to guide the child through death and into heaven. When it actually came time to take the child from it's already dead parents at the hands of bandits as they had tried to make their way westward along much the same path that the coach was now traveling, Joanna had found herself to be incapable of allowing the child to die. Although Joanna had known that in doing so she may possibly lose her wings and be bound to earth to live among the humans, it had become clear to her that it was something that she needed to do. She could not allow the child to die, even if it meant that God would cast her from heaven. Joanna had never questioned God before that day but when the moment came to allow the child to pass from the realms of earth into that of heaven, Joanna had held back and for the first time she had questioned God. In doing so, she was certain that she would be left to walk the earth, but at least the child would have someone and would be protected. Instead of allowing the child to die, Joanna had laid her hands upon her and through her, the child had been healed. Joanna's light had burned brightly that day as the healing touch was passed from her to child, and seconds later Joanna knew that she had been stripped of her wings. It was not until sometime later however, that Joanna came to suspect that she had not been stripped of all of her powers, but only with her gift of flight. This was her punishment for disobeying God, and she had accepted it as such but she held on to hope. Hope that because all of her angelic powers had not been taken from her, that some day perhaps she might again see the gates of heaven opening to allow her to come home. Her fingers stroked the child's hair idly as she also regarded the fact that she suspected, although it had yet to be proven that the child had somehow inherited some of Joanna's powers that day that she had been given the gift of life. Joanna had yet to be able to prove that she was correct, but there had been instances, unexplainable instances where the girl appeared to have extraordinary senses, or abilities. Time would tell if Joanna were correct in her assessment or not. As the young bundle in her arms was lulled back to sleep, Joanna's extra ordinary sense of hearing would pick up the sound of riders approaching, hard and fast. Seconds later, the sound of gun shots would shatter the otherwise peaceful moment and Joanna would react, shielding the girls body with her own in case any of the rounds made their way into the coach. Emerald eyes looked over to the seat opposite of her where an elderly couple sat, now clinging to each other as Sarah began to stir from her slumber. Joanna remained in a bent over position over the girl, protecting her the best that she could while trying to soothe the child. If she only still had her wings, she could wrap the child in the protection of the angels but all that Joanna could do now was do her best to keep her safe, and alive, and pray that God would stop whatever madness was happening outside of the coach.