Chapter 1
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sand
Chapter 1
-1-
The Angel stood as hundreds of Demons walked around her.
The Demons walked in perfect unison separated into orderly lines. 3 parallel and 3 horizontal intersected at an angle by a seventh line.
Each Demon walked toe to heel in a calculated but meditative pace. Arms were straight, dark eyes slightly downcast. All the Brothers were dressed in pure black from shiny black shoes, perfectly tailored pants, shirts and vest. Some wore jackets. Jackets were optional.
White gold collar pins glinted in the dim light.
Perhaps the Angel had heard of and knew of The Walking Ritual, but for her to see it was another matter entirely.
So, this was the visual I had for the story and the sort of “ritualism” of the Angels and Demons was dropped.
The Angels only dressed in white. This Angel was in an short white dress, bare legs and a mid-back length cloak made of pure white feathers. Her intricate white gold collar pin clung around her neck.
In her hands the Angel held a dainty white basket filled with pure white apples.
Snowfire apples
The Angel Mother had used seeds from a Homeland plant to create the snowfire apples. The Angel-Mother had been rather desperate for money and quickly introduced the snowfire apples into the human NYC marketplace to great success.
I jumoe right in there with the backstory. As I also dropped the “Angel-Mother” thing. I do wish I had explored the white apples more.
You couldn’t open a magazine or walk by a bus without seeing a thin, beautiful, smiling foodie exalting the New York City delicacy. With their sugary sweet taste, health and beauty benefits of the apples pure white skin.
And yet, they are never mentioned again. . .except in a buzzfeed post about snacks from the 2010s that disappeared.
No calories
They were. . . divine.
Studying the lines of walking Brothers I easily moved through their ranks. I kept in time and slowly made my way to the Angel dressed in white.
“Sister”, I greeted her.
“Brother”, she responded formally with two cold kisses on my cheek.
Is it weird that they
called each other that ? I have no idea. Note Seraphina kissed Paris because
she is taller than him. CONTINUITY HIGH FIVE.
-2-
I
won’t traumatize you all with the irrelevant backstory but basically they ended
wandered into our world---ahem time. I had to include the gendercide to
explain why all the Angels are Female and the Demon men.
Umm . . . so also the whole possible cannibalism that is mentioned was put in here to explain WHERE Isaiah got the idea to make daemons/vampires.
All
though I like this but
To teach us tolerance we were made to camp in proximity to one another.
Father and The Angel Mother set up a large cauldron over a bonfire. We watched as The Angel Mother took from her dress 7 white gold blades and dropped them into the cauldron.
The sallow Angel girls followed The Angel Mother’s lead, dropping their white gold weapons, Father did the same and motioned for us to to follow in suit.
We did so hesitantly.
The molten white gold swirled in the cauldron, ,merging the weapons of two different races..
We slept as Father and The Angel Mother worked some type of magic by the fire. The older Demon boys watched the girls carefully, knowing it was the lust and bloodthirst of our king who caused the Transgression that lead to this harsh imbalance.
That didn’t mean the Angels had to murder our mothers.
Um. . . you killed all their Fathers Paris has only ever had one point of view put into his head. Setting him up with Seraphina is supposed to be the push that gets him over his misconceptions.
In the morning the molten gold was gone and in its place were 1000 white gold collar pins. Entwined gold links with buttons engraved with The Mark of the Angel and Demons.
The Lux Aeterna, we called it.
We boys were instructed to pick up a marked collar pin and give it to the girls.
An act of good faith
That we, the future and only generation left, would abide one another in a way our parents could not. - See, Sera and Paris really are meant to be. They take their weapons and make something beautiful out of it
We walked for several more years and we were nothing more than the
children we had been when we left Homeland.We stumbled upon human
civilization and (as we do) restless Demon boys created havoc in their wake.
It was Celtica 805 AD
What a time it was.
The Celts had greeted and danced with us. They pointed in amazement to the tiny child-horns on our heads. Father had kept his fully matured horns covered by a hooded cloak.
They knew our name as Demons and called us names we had never known like goblins, elfs and gods ! They marveled at our strange language and we learned thiers.
How we reveled in being forever children.
Childhood ended when the Romans came. They came with weapons, scripture and a harsh hand. We Demons hid in the moors, where we soon became nothing more than legends and heresy.
Oh, Catholics
Through our travels we learned the Angels had also made it to this human land. They had gained notoriety as they traveled ; saints, witches, banshees.
By the 17th Century most of us Demons had grown of to be of age. We often participated in the many wars of our adopted countries. The wars were so petty compared to the one we had known in Homeland.
Our strong skin and resilient bodies made us ideal soldiers. We brothers stayed close together in the trenches, never fraternizing much with the humans.
When war was not brewing, Father decided we must learn a trade.
So, we made guns.
Lucian Ammunition & Sport
This comes back in Bellum. I must have had some idea about Bellum
We made tiny innovative guns, some with gold bullets. Day in and day out 295 Demon brothers worked in the factory assembly line, and in the afternoons we did The Walking Ritual on the factory floor.
After The American Civil War, Father took us across the ocean to the America.
At the twilight of the 19th century, Father decided guns were dangerous and too evil for us Demons to make. So we left the factory catch fire and moved on to a new trade.
To this day Lucian Guns are antiques.
. . . this totally explains why they know how to make bullets. Y/Y
Tailoring, Father decided was a much more respectable trade in 19th century America, where more men went to white collar position.
After all with no women kind we had been making our own clothing and shoes for years. It was a profitable service that was necessity and skill no one cared to learn anymore.
I’m so logical
I don’t know when the Angel’s arrived in America. One day they seemed like something we had imagined and the next day we spotted groups of Angels in parks or on the street.
The world was getting too small. To sentient.
To much of that internet
Finding a new land for Angel or Demon kind was just a dream now. Something we told ourselves to help us sleep at night and make it to the next century.
OMG, New Aeterna. It’s New Aeterna. I actually see Helios POV now
Muse : Lils, that NewAeterna AU needs to happen
We are lost forever
Never to find a true home.
+++
The Angel slowed at every painting as they told the tale in chronological order.
It was sacrilege and unthinkable look at an Angel in any other way than with hatred or forced respect. Vice versa.
Wink wink nudge nudge
There was always something small but significant that made humans another species from us entirely. Many Demons confessed the love and company of human women was tolerable but severely lacking any real connection.
Angels
While they were a ignorant, spoiled, luddite race, surely they were at least the same species as us?
. . . so Paris is rhetoric here is super harsh. . . but it’s what he has been taught his whole life.
I touched the white thick white gold chain attached to my collar pin and remembered it was Angels who killed my mother and baby sister. It was a child Angel that had cut the smile into my face, packed it with dirt and ashes leaving me forever scarred when I was nothing but a child myself. ANGST ANGST ANGST
They were untouchable. Unknowable.
That's what you think . . .
In 1695 Brother Ashe had crossed a forest clearing to torment a group of Angels who had made sure not to make eye contact with us, they were in the midst of some sadistic Angel ritual.
“Will you not look at us, whores?” Brother Ashe shouted to the Angels.
“You dare you speak
us.”, a haughty Angel Seraphina had said.
“Is that how you speak around The Smiling Demon Prince?”, Ashe said.
“Prince ?”, the Angel Seraphina said
confused and staring at Ashe.
The haughty Angel Seraphina surveyed the group of adolescent Demon boys and her eyes
zeroed in on me. They all took in my second smile, it had long since broken and
turn dark from the ash and infection.
“You. You are the Demon King’s son. The Smiling Demon Prince”
Find the demon prince and make him smile
He we bleed for a while
Pack it with ashe and make him laugh
The king is dead the king is dead
the prince’s grin brings joy unsaid.
The haughty Angel spat in my face. I was still and shaken.
“This is all the Demon King’s fault. He pillaged, murdered and took what was not his. You should be hanged for your father’s crim--”
Brother Ashe hit the Angel in the jaw.
“Lucifer The Demon King was a great Demon and great Demons take what they want. If you Angels weren't all disgusting sapphist now,you would be crawling on your knees to the Prince.”
She kicked him the crotch.
I was originally sure if I wanted this Angel to be Seraphina but she is totally her.
Ashe kicked the Angel again and this time she stayed down, Brothers had surrounded the other Angels so they would not run.
“ What do you say boys ? Perhaps this cold Sapphist need something hard and warm.”, Ashe said aloud and laughed. *Is Homosexually Repressed*
The Angel reached beneath her sleeve and pulled out a white gold knife. Before Ashe could react she plunged it into Ashe’s eye.
So. . .Remember in New Aeterna when Sera puts her knife in the shooting target’s eyes ? *CONTINUITY HIGH FIVE*
She pulled out the knife out and and sliced the throats of the two Demons closest to her.
Wow, she just killed two people
I was next.
“Die, Prince”, she whispered.
She generally hates him because she blames him for her father’s death and she also hates Demons because her mother fell in love with one.
The Demon father granted
the haughty Angel Sera immunity, even though she had taken the lives of two Brothers.
He grants her immunity because he knows she will fall in love with Paris and he realizes she could be his protector and lover. This is the ONLY reason Hmjeu is nice to her.Sera finds this out in Bellum and it angers her. I don’t follow up on the storyline. . . but she becomes this on her own terms.
She hung herself, not wanting to take mercy from a Demon. – hung herself but didn’t die * a la Sweeney Todd*
It wasn’t till 1805 that the strict Rules of Civility were instituted by Father and The Angel Mother
We sat for hours as listening to lecture of how we were to be tolerant. That Civility was the key to peace and to finding a new Homeland.
TO MUCH ATTEMPTING AT WORLD BUILDING KEEP IT SIMPLE
Demons were not permitted to carry weapons, Angels are allowed but only for protection
GENDER POLITICS
Angels and Demons are to always greet one another as Brother and Sister, a sign of respect. Even if begrudging.
TO MUCH ATTEMPT AT WORLD BUILDING KEEP IT SIMPLE
War is expressly forbidden
See what I did thar
A kissed greeting was a tradition from Homeland that was strictly enforced, but even the touch of an Angel’s lips on the cheek felt taboo and sick.
Slap slap kiss kiss ??
+++
The Angel set the basket of apples next to Father’s bed and knelt to where the bedridden Demon Father stared at the wall. She kissed his cheeks in greeting. His eyes were glossed over but he still breathed. He lifted a hand up to the basket but his hand shook mid air.
“I’ll make juice for you, Father. These apples are a gift from The Angel Mother.”, I said.
The Angel felt Father’s warm forehead and watched his shallow breathing.
“Tis true ”, she said standing, “The Demon Father is . . . dying.”
LOL, Sera’s speech pattern also disappears. I was trying to hard.
“Yes”, I said placing the freshly processed apple juice next to him.
Unsteady in her high shoes the Angel tripped and knocked the glass over. I clenched my fist and tossed a rag on the floor.
I have no idea what Sera feels at this point but she just knows there is something between her and Paris. She does not want to love a Demon like her mother did.
“Brother, The Angel Mother would like to have an extended audience with you at our residence.”
This makes more sense in my originally incarnation of this story.
The Angels voice was raspy and oddly deep.
Wow, Paris describes her voice much like Theo dies in New Aeterna.
Even though she keeps it emotionless; her voice is soft, husky and sexiest thing I’ve ever heard.
Father’s illness was becoming a serious matter and without him to I knew I would have to follow in his great and mighty footsteps. I liked to think being the son of the long dead Demon King made it destiny.
Muse : See it’s Paris’
destiny to be a king, there should totes be a serial where his is a king ?
LiLe : IDK, King Paris doesn't sound right. What if it was a Principality ? . . wow this New Aeterna AU is becoming a thing.
My heart felt heavy knowing the man who had danced and led us out of hell into a new world might be dying.
He was teacher, friend, confidant, family.
“I shall return”, I pledged to him. My cheek on his slowly heaving chest, “You will not die without me.”
Chapter 2
So at this point we haven’t heard Paris and Sera’s names.
The Angel waited patiently by the main doors of St. Lilith’s. The Brothers had long since finished The Walking Ritual and returned to work.
Stop talking about the
Walking Ritual. So many regrets
Well disciplined Brothers were outsourced to tailor at the Macy’s on 34th, Barney’s and Neiman Marcus.
Those Brothers less likely to stray from trouble worked at one of Father’s Wicked Alterations Unlimited franchise locations. A few worked in the corporate office in the basement of the church performing administrative and marketing work.
Our logo was a well dressed devil
We never had any job openings
Weddings, award shows, theater performances, Proms. We tailored for all.
Reasonable prices too
Est. 1869
. . .and I hardly ever talk about the business again.
A pure white town car was waiting outside for the Angel. A human was driving.
The Angel Mother was so careful with her precious girls. I opened the door for the Angel and she glided in, when the door closed she spoke.
Once again, Paris has been raised to infantilize women and Angels.
“How old is the Demon Father ? After all--”
There it was. Her voice sounded controlled and deeper than I’d expected.
Right, so at this point Seraphina wants to join the Brotherhood and be with Hmjeu. He said she could join but she’d have to be disguised as a man so she’s on testosterone (that Hmjeu gave her). I orginally wanted Seraphina to be Transgender but the story didn’t go that way
Traffic across the Brooklyn Bridge was dreadful, I suggested we walk the rest of the way to Prospect Park. I was anxious to see The Angel Mother and return to Father's bedside.
I knew the Angel only agreed to walk because it was so rare that Angels were let out to among the humans.
I walked a few steps behind the Angel, not wanting people to think us equals.
. . . Wow, Paris is a real jerk
Many watched how graceful the Angel moved. She was way above average height but her dress didn’t quite fit right. It was clearly tailored but something was off about this Angel.
Onlookers watched the
bounce of her long golden brown hair and daintiness of her small facial
features.They probably found her
white attire and short feather cloak to be avant-garde and fashionable. I
found it arrogant.
Basically Angels in white = pure and good. Paris doesn’t like that.
Paris : Yeah, I mean who cares that she's pretty with pretty hair and pretty clothes. . .pretty.
With each of her steps I noticed the outline of a thin knife strapped to her hip.
“Your name, Brother ?”, she asks from the two steps in front of me.
The Angels had pronounced accents; a mix between our native tongue, Eastern European, Slavic with a hint of Transatlantic American. Spending most years cloistered away from human culture they never spoke quite right.
I have no idea what that sounds like
In the dorms brothers
made jokes about Angel’s cadence and dialect. I preferred them to the
more lewd jokes. Although To this day Ashe swears there is nothing but air and
ice between an Angel’s legs.
Paris has a lot of bad influences enabling his prejudice . . . I should really stop defending hi,
“Your name, Demon Brother ?”, she asks again. Her voice is deep, emotionless and grating.
I thought of my name in our language but it never translated.
“Melchoir”, I decided
SHV Reference
“Melchoir ? Tis not a demon name”
“Asataroth , Balthazar, Abbadon”, I said, “Pick your name for me”
“Biblical demons”, she noted, “Bezzelbub, then."
um. . . flirty flirty ?
I didn’t know if this was humor. This Angel's tone was unreadable.
Sera's stoic voice. Continuty High Five !
“Sister.”, I called to her.
She stopped and I tossed my business card at her. I took pleasure in watching her have to bow down to me to pick it up. She merely glanced at it and continued walking.
I'm not even going to say anything
+++
Queen Anne’s College consisted of a circle of 2 large white neoclassical mansions and two smaller white buildings along with a dining hall. There was an opulent garden in the courtyard surrounded by a field of manicured grass.Only a little of the grounds could be seen from the street. Tall hedges surrounded the towering gates, keeping unwanted guest out.
Queen Anne’s College had been many things since The Civil War
An exclusive boarding academy
A brothel that never took clients, well hardly.
A finishing school for European young ladies
Now it was an exclusive women’s college.
Standing in front of the serene gates you would never imagine the hustle and bustle of Brooklyn traffic and brownstones was behind you.
A human stood by the entrance of the gate with a wide angled lens camera, photographing the campus.
Hi, Isobel
The Angel stood in front of the gates and I held in a laugh as she typed in a security code.
Wow, they have a security code. That’s not hard to break.
The Angel paid no attention to the human, even as the human bought the camera to the Angel’s face and photographed her. The Angel looked at the human if she was a large insect that bothered her but she was still going to ignore.
OMG, Paris totes has this photograph on his computer background.
“Are you a student ?”, the human asked the Angel, “Do you know who I can talk to about the marki--
“This way, Brother”, The Angel called cutting off the human.
“Yes, Peter.”, I said
She’s an Angel. . . standing infront of gates. . . get it ?
The Angel held the gate open and turned back, she cut her eyes at me. I offered a small smirk and constant smile.
I walked towards the gate when I felt a small hand around my arm. I turned to see the human had its hand on my arm.
Wow, Paris is such a jerk. He calls Isobel and “it” He really is an arrogant Prince.
“I. . . know you”, The human said. The human’s eyes were slightly downcast but she subconsciously touched her cheek in a way small children did when they saw my smile.
“You’re mistaken.” , I said. I didn’t know any humans. Certainly not this one.
“But I. . . I”, the human continued
The human’s eyes rose to my smile and I turned as her camera went off.
I walked inside the gates of Queen Anne’s and the gate slammed closed automatically. I jogged to catch up to the Angel. Her feather cloak fluttered as she walked closer to the main building.
“That is a problem, I hope The Angel Mother is aware.”
“Problem ?”, The Angel seemed confused.
“Humans taking photographs so close to the gate. You must know the world is more sentient now than ever. You have to be more careful Or do you not know what going viral is?.”
“Queen Anne’s College is a beautiful Brooklyn landmark.”, she said as if reading from a dull book.
+++
She lead me to a well sized white bedroom that smelled like pepper and cotton.
It smelled like Father.
“I have been charged with watching you while you are at Queen Anne’s. To ensure you understand how a Demon is to behave when around the Legion.”, her voice was hollow and empty.
So… biblically speaking Angels are often referenced as Legion. . . this is never bought up again.
I ground my teeth, wishing Father had done more to prepare me for a visit with the Angels. They were so self righteous.
Oh, Paris I am going to break and then fix you. He’s very immature here.
“When can I see The Angel Mother ?”
“She is unavailable. She will be available in the morning. Mother has work for you to do.”
“Work ? Honestly ?”, I was outraged. I was here to discuss my future as the leader of my Brothers. Not do work for Angels.”
“ Humjgu always obliged--”
“Don’t be disgraceful, Angel. He is The Demon Father to you.”, I snapped at her.
Her lips were tight and I could see her suppressing her urge to snap back.
“Of course”, she said, “Dinner is at 6”
+2+
The Angels favored the gamey and peasant cuisine of Homeland and the early centuries. I didn't question the thick chunky stew that was placed in front of me, along with a good size piece of bread.
I’d expected a flurry of conversation and frivolous gossip but the Angels were polite and quiet as they ate. I watched from my single table in the far corner as they filed into the dining facility.
I watched them carefully hoping one of them would spill stew or red wine on their white attire.
They all had medium colored hair and blue eyes. Humans seemed to find them attractive. The youngest appeared maybe 16 or 17.
I saw the Angel who had escorted me at the end of the table. Her eyes were adoringly fixed on a bottle-blonde Angel leading an enigmatic hushed conversation.
Okay, so you were supposed to think Seraphina was his love interest until it's revealed she has a crush on Hippolyta
As the clock hit 6:45 the Angels stood and filed out as quickly as they had arrived. I followed them out of the dining hall and back to the main mansion..
I decided to go for another walk. Waiting outside of the door was the Angel who had brought me here.
“Angel, what is this ? Am I not entitled to privacy--”
The Angel turned to me. Her eyes were wet and two tears fell down her face followed by two others. She stepped forward and her knees gave out.
The dagger strapped to her leg hit the floor and spun infront of my feet.
She fell towards me but I stepped back. I’d be damned if I were caught holding a crying Angel. This is interesting, so because of his father’s notorious past Paris doesn’t want to put himself in a comproising positon.
Behind me another Angel rushed over to her. This Angel was also in tears and she held the Angel and helped her up.
The Angel opened her mouth and wailed a strangled cry.
MAKE IT STOP . . . MAKE IT STOP THE RITUALISM . . . WHY
“I didn’t do--”, I started
The Angel screamed a cry again and the other Angel held her close and tried to pull her up.
A realization came over me and I realized why they were crying.This was their ritual.
I stalked back to my bedroom enraged that Father put up with them for so long. In front of my door I found a white gold dagger.
I remembered it fell out of the Angel’s holster when she fell. I turned the ice cold dagger in my hands
In elegant script the Angel’s name appeared
Seraphina
Muse : Wait, so in Bellum Sera’s knife has Raziel engraved on it. Does that mean it belonged to someone named Raizel
Lils : Yeah. . . sure ?
Muse : . . . you didn’t re-read Lux Aeterna before you wrote Bellum did you
Lils : Not even a little bit. I wrote them so close together and I knew what I wanted so I didn’t go back.
+++
I was deep into my dreams when there was a knock on my door. I woke up quickly and threw on a pair of pants and shirt.
I opened the door to find the Angel I now knew as Seraphina on the other side.She had a weathered glass jar in her small hands. Her small blue eyes were hard and set on me.
Muse : *reads ahead*
What the F is wrong with us ?
LiLe : So. . .this is much darker than I realized. I Moving on.
Chapter 3
I had awoken that morning to find piles and piles of white dresses, pants and jackets in need of tailoring. Strict orders from The Angel Mother. I obliged for the sake of Father. It’s what he would have done. Wow, Paris is kind of a whiny bitch
My forehead beaded with sweat as I turned on the steam iron and tucked a few more pins in my sleeve. I hung the last skirt and turned to a pile of dresses.
Devil take this sweltering heat.
See. . . I tried to make tailoring smexy
I pulled a needle out of my other sleeve, threaded it and settled back down to work. Every time the song changed I could swear I heard someone talking outside of my door. Were they watching me ? Hadn’t they heard of security cameras ?
I heard muffled words again and opened the door to investigate.
I waited for a second and saw The Angel Seraphina pacing back and forth down the hall in front of my room. She spoke
Okay, so this part once again hints at the Paraphina. This Shakespeare section is from Rome and Juliet this is where t Romeo and Juliet first kiss. I’m sooooo clever. *Sarcasm*
“O, speak again, bright angel. . . For. . . thou art as glorious. . . to this night, being o'er my head, as is a wingèd messenger of heaven--”
The Angel folded her arms and continued pacing. She sounded as if she was trying to remember the words. Her hollow and frustratingly deep tone butchering any attempts at poetry.
“As is a winged messenger of heaven. . . .”, she started and failed again.
I stepped outside and spoke softly.
“Unto the white, upturnèd, wondering eyes Of mortals that fall back to gaze on him When he bestrides the lazy-puffing clouds And sails upon the bosom of the air.”, I finished, “It’s not that difficult. Does The Angel Mother have nothing better to do than teach you useless whores to recite Shakespeare”
She just looked at me with that defiant yet emotionless expression.The tone and words were not quite my own, but this Angel's display from last night left me a bit out of character.
Sera pretty much never changes. Also Sera does something pretty horrible that I edited out.
She didn’t seem warm at all in her white suit jacket and straight white pants, the only color on her was a gold chain belt across her shapeless waist and collar pin at her throat. Two small daggers lined her pockets, by the way her jacket draped I assumed she also had two daggers in her jacket.
Paris!Head : I mean I hate her but yet I notice every piece of clothing she is wearing and that she’s armed. . . which is kind of sexy.
“The Angel Mother is not ready to see you. You are to wait inside.”, she instructed.
“It’s past noon, she would never treat Father this way--”
“Mother has important matters to attend to.”
“More important than the impending death of The Demon Father---”
“Back. Demon”
“And what are you ? A guardian Angel ?”, I said with a bit of humor. A bit.
Well. . . yes, she is a guardian Angel. That’s her role in this series. She’s a kickass one. She also becomes Paris’ guardian angel so more Paraphina foreshadowing.
“You think Mother would leave a young uncastrated Demon bastard unsupervised at Queen Anne’s. I’m not here to guard you but my Sisters.”
What the hell was I on when I wrote this.
“Dear Angel I’d beg you to castrate me before I fell in bed with an Angel.”, I replied coolly.
*Wink wink nudge nudge*
No sooner had the words left my mouth, did she turn and run a elegant gold dagger into my sleeve of my shirt pinning me to the wall . She pulled it out ripping the fabric.
I was speechless. I was not sure if she was aiming for my shoulder and missed. Or if that was a warning.
Love, you Sera. Don’t ever change
Princes can't be speechless I reminded myself. I swallowed and readied a response.
“Am I really to take orders from a vapid Angel who can’t even recite Shakespeare ?”
. . . Nice comeback, Paris
I headed back and slammed the door. My phone had no missed calls and only few charming text from Ashe.
I barely had a text from my brother Jonathan.
Lils : Wait Jona is short for Jonathan ?
Muse : You really didn’t reread this at all did you
I love you
Oops. . .ignore that last one.
I should be there with Father, not here dealing with Angels.
There was a yelp.
My eyes shifted to the closet where I detected the sound of swinging hangers. Concentrating I could smell fresh dirt and. . . chocolate ?
I pulled the dagger out of the wall and and approached the closet. Holding the blade overhand I swung the closet the door open.
Note. I hated using the word ‘knife’ for some reason. I wanted to use a more old-timey word. So I go between daggar and blade. This is dropped in Bellum where it’s just knife. I wasn’t worried about creating a dated world around the Demons.
“Show yourself Ange--”
I expected to find a murderous Angel and instead an ordinary human rolled before my feet.
“Oh, God”, the human held up its hands in surrender, “Please don’t kill me I--”
“Who. are. you ?”, I demanded.
“I’m sorry--”
“Who. Are. You.”, I demanded again. Slowly.
“Isobel Charter.”, she said. Her hands covering her face.
I looked down and saw a large camera had rolled out the closet with her. I instantly recognized her.
“You were the one taking photos our front yesterday ? How did you get in ?”
She stood up flustered and gestured to the open window above the bed.
“There was a break in the gate, so I climbed through and I saw the window was open . . . I just--I know this sound crazy but I just can’t turn back now. I’m so close. . I . . .know you.
So, the break in the gate is because Caden is sneaking in.
There were those words again
I know you
Know one knew me.
I hate this backstory, but it served two purposes. One to inverse Paranormal romance tropes and two this is supposed to distract you from seeing Paraphina.
I bought the white gold blade down to my side.
“How ?”, I demanded.
The human was barely 5’2 when she stood, her long dark hair was pulled back and her dark jeans and gray button up and were dusted in dirt and spring leaves.
“This" , she said.
At this she pointed to my collar pin, her eyes were transfixed on it as if she had found something she’d lost a long time ago.
“You need to leave”, I heard The Angel Seraphina reciting outside my door. Angels were not keen on humans.
“No, please you have to come with me. I just need answers. . please.”, The human begged.
“Brother ?”, The Angel pounded on the door from outside, “What is that voice ?”
“Music.”, I called back.
The human Isobel was already at the window she had come through.
“Please”, Isobel Charter's eyes pleaded, “ I need answers. . . for my father.”
Isobel reached into her pocket and unwrapped a white gold collar pin marked with the Mark of The Angels and Demons, The Lux Aeterna. It looked just like the one that I wore now. Except the one she held was chipped on one side and had a faint layer of dirt.
“Is this yours ?”, she asked.
I looked at the chipped collar pin in her hands
Yes
Damn.
Reluctantly I followed the human and hoisted myself out of the window . If anything this human was a problem I needed to contain. I was sure to grab her camera on the way out.
We jogged to where the gate in the back of Queen Anne’s College did in fact have a break in it. Almost as if someone had sawed away at the bars. – eh ? eh ?
Keeping a watch behind me I followed Isobel under the gate and into the balmy Brooklyn afternoon. The street was crowded and I was glad to be out of that sweltering room.
“Fuck”, I whispered
“What ?”, she said
“Just walk faster.”
Isobel turned to see The Angel Seraphina coming up behind us. She was at least a block away and moved at an quick even stride in her high shoes, she wasn’t running but she walked with intent. Intent to kill. Her hand calmly rested inside her jacket.
Yeah, Seraphina and Isobel are pretty much the only consistent characters. I have no regrerts.
I let Isobel Charter take the lead, even though I knew this city inside and out. We cut down a side alley that lead to a busy Brooklyn street. Running drew too much attention so we walked with great speed.
A few feet away the Angel stepped through the crowd and I saw the glint of her white gold dagger in her hand. She spotted the human . . . then she charged like a bat out of hell.
“Run”, I shouted.
Muse : Why does Seraphina want to kill Isobel
Lils : Errrmmmm. . . .
I sped off towards one of the academic building, the human trailed behind me. I stopped myself and turned back for her.
“There ”, Isobel directed me towards a building on the left. I pulled her along and when we reached the door she pressed an ID to a scanner, the door clicked open and shut behind us.
We tumbled to the ground breathing hard. I sat up and realized I was still holding the human’s hands. The intimacy of it caught me by surprise and I quickly let go.
*Love Spark* (Pssst . . . this is a giant distraction from the Pariphian lovin’)
There was a thump as Seraphina tried to open the door.
“The buildings locked during breaks.”, Isobel explained holding up her ID.
I buried my head in my hands, surely I had proven myself unfit to follow Father’s footsteps.
I’d stolen an Angel’s dagger
Left Queen Anne’s when I knew the Angel Mother expected me
Furthermore I had run to protect a human.
Speaking of which I turned to see her getting to her feet.
See, Paris is getting his comeuppance. Losing a bit of his swaggering arrogance.
“I really hope this is worth it”, she offered to help me up.
+++
The second floor of the academic building was empty. The office spaces were stacked with desks and large cluttered workspaces.. Isobel guided me to a workspace by the window.It was obvious that this was the Department of History.
There was a small balcony that overlooked the entire campus but my eyes were on the walls of one of the workstations. Isobel Charter's workstation
This balcony only exist to that Seraphina can climb it later
Dozens of black and white photographs, printouts and maps covered the space. Hundreds of images with the same symbol
The Lux Aeterna
The Mark of The Angels and Demons
To the humans the Aeterna with two opposing crowns was probably an unnoticed enigma mystery. We left the mark as we traveled as sign to the world we didn’t belong in.
We are here
Are there others ?
I leaned closer to the collage.
In the background of six of the pictures was me. The photos where from different years maybe even decades. My collar pin gleamed brilliantly in all of them. My smile effervescence.
“You’re not. . .”, Isobel started, “You’re not human are you ?”
Tick tick tick
We both turned sharply to the balcony. The Angel had climbed up the balcony and was perched the other side of the window. Her dagger tapping on the glass. She turned the blade and raised the handle to the glass.
Wow. . . I actually think Sera needs to take it down a notch.
Then it shattered.
Once inside the Angel raised her dagger and lunged towards Isobel. I was faster and grabbed the Angel from behind. One arm crushed her wrist and held it it down while my other arm locked around her thin neck.
Muse : Wait’s isn’t Seraphina taller than—
Lils : Um, he’s standing on a chair
She really was as cold as ice.
I pulled my arm tight around her neck till the Angel started gasping for breathe. She dropped her blade and her eyes rolled back into her head before she passed out on the floor.
Wow, I think he just chocked her out.
+2+
Moments later the Angel awoke with my arm around her neck and her own blade at her neck. Her arms were bound tightly behind her with her belt.
“Listen, Angel”, I commanded in a whisper , “We are going to listen to this human, find out what she knows and then we will let Mother and Father decide what to do with her. You will not kill her.”
“The human knows to much she must die--”
“Shut up.”, I ordered.
Actually Isobel knows
nothing and even if she did know. . . so what ?
The Angel’s eyes lingered at all of the images Isobel had collected. Isobel eyes were locked on the white gold blade I had to the Angel’s neck.
“Are you going to kill her ?”, Isobel asked.
“I. . . can’t.”, there were some rules even I wouldn’t dare break.
Isobel Charter placed the chipped collar pin on the desk and pushed it towards me.
“I swear”, Isobel said, “This thing has been haunting me my entire life.”
Isobel continued.
“My father got this as a child back in Vietnam. . . during the war. He always told this story about how he was out getting water when his village was caught in the heat of battle when the Viet Cong moved in.
He ran to find cover when American soldiers were dropped in and started firing their weapons , not knowing their enemies from their allies. The sound of machine guns was all he could hear.
He accidentally ran right in front of the guns and prepared himself for death when he saw darkness.
An American soldier had thrown his body over him and taken the bullets. Father could see where the soldier had been shot but the soldier was unphased. The soldier took him to safety where he silently watched over my father till the fighting was over.
Just before the soldier departed, Dad pulled this collar pin off the soldier's jacket.
My dad was one of the few survivors of the attack. He told the story of the guardian angel to everyone who would listen. And I---”
“I’ve heard enough”, The Angel’s bitter voice cut Isobel off, “The gaul, you soft Demon Prince. Saving the enemy in the midst of war. No wonder you--”
are still a virgin”, she was going to say.
Sera has a keen interest in war and want to be a soldier like her father was. She wants to be able to fight in a way she couldn’t in the war of their Homeland. This is slightly foreshadows her becoming Helios’ solider in Bellum. She feels like she is doing her father justice.
Muse : Or she can be
an actual solider in New Aeterna if we write a New Aeterna!AU
Lils :This
is legit what goes through my head as I do this commentary.
“My father was 8 years old then”, Isobel corrected her sternly , “He was just a child caught in the middle, not the enemy.”
For a flinching second the Angel’s face was blank almost empathetic.
Oh, that’s right. Sera doesn’t realize Isobel’s Dad was a kid in this story. Suddenly Sera empathizes with Isobel because Sera was a child caught in war. I AM GOOD AT STORY
“Anyway”, Isobel continued taking a breath, “After the war Dad came to America and he swore to find the solider who had saved him. All he had to go on was this collar pin and the soldier's . . . um. . . scar
I’d heard the story my entire life and became obsessed with the idea of finding where the collar pin came from and finding the owner.
Dad died just before my
senior year of high school. He never had the chance to find the solider and thank
him. . . . I actually like this connection Isobel and Paris have. To bad it's never mentioned again.
I didn’t think anything more of it until my friend Hannah and I came to New York to visit colleges. Queen Anne’s College was on my list and it was open or the garden tour.
I thought it was the perfect school for me. Small, women-based with a focus on liberal arts. I wanted to study history and the school is a freaking a historical landmark
It was during the tour that I saw it.
Engraved on the bottom of the gate's metal work I saw the symbol from the collar pin. The tour guides didn’t know anything about it and no matter how many e-mails and phone calls I made that day no one at Queen Anne’s ever got back to me.
I thought I could do more research once I was at Queen Anne’s, but I didn’t get in. Even though I had amazing grades and references. As a matter of fact I couldn't find anyone who had actually gone there.
When I started at Brooklyn College I had unlimited access to archives and databases. I spent 4 years obsessing over this symbol. It was everywhere.
What stuck with me was a decorative page from the book of Isaiah chapter 14. The first mention of the Morningstar. . .or Lucifer.
Eh. . . Eh . . . eh ?
Last year I started my rotation as a GTA , helping a professor work on a visual piece on New York Architecture and guess what ?
I found the symbol, right here in New York City. Again and again
Except it was on people.
I scanned thousands of photos of soldiers, parades and crowds and I found the symbol. The exact pin on the same men year after year after year.
I can’t tell you how many days I’ve spent outside of Queen Anne’s begging someone to talk to me and there you were.
The man in the pictures. The man with the Glasgow smile. You fit the description of the soldier that saved my father. . . It was you.
I knew you.”
Muse : I can’t believe you don’t mention these collar pins ever again
Lils : They were a relic from the day of Hmjeu so the Demons got rid of them. And Helios wouldn’t approve of them so that’s why the Angels don’t have them.
“If this is true ? What do you want ? To thank me ?”, I asked.
“No.”, she said going through her desk, “I mean I would have if I hadn’t found this."
The human unfolded a print out that showed a scan of Brother's Isaiah's
Renaissance oil on vellum which showed small horned demon boys dancing
around a bonfire while eating the Angel.
Okay, once again the cannibalism was foreshadowing the vampires.
Seraphina’s eyes went taut at the painting. I could feel the pulse of her cold neck jumping at the savagery of it.
“What are you ?”, Isobel pleaded.
The wind was knocked out of me as The Angel’s elbow flew into my stomach and she threw me to the ground. The dagger spun out of my hand.
The Angel had managed to work her wrist out of the belt and stood ready to kill.
#Cant’stopwon’tstop
She took the short blades from hips and angled them towards the human, ready to impale the girl.
Isobel ducked and found the dagger I had dropped on the floor. Screaming the human jabbed the blade unskillfully into Seraphina’s stomach.
I think I mention the scar from this incident later so. . . continuity high five !
Pale red blood leaked over the Angel's white blouse. The Angel dropped to her knees.
The Angel grasped the dagger and pulled it out slowly. Her blouse tore and beneath it was bands of tight thick tape binding her upper body.
Once again Sera was orginally transgender and thiss why her body is bound. Also the coverage is what saves her from being stabbed to death
"Oh, my God", Isobel was frantic, "I-I'm so. . .sorry . ."
Isobel unwrapped her scarf and tied it over Seraphina’s wound pulling it tight. The Angel let out a grunt and I reached over to pull it tighter. She gritted her teeth
What would happen to me if the Angel tasked with watching me died in my presence.
Um, wow Paris. Self-centered much ?
“Call a cab”, I said to Isobel, “ We need to get back.”
Isobel was in shock. Her eyes stuck on the Angel’s wound.
“It was self-defense”, I said to break Isobel’s trance, “She was going to kill you. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
Isobel backed up and stepped into the hall with her cell phone.
“Angel”, I said, “We need to sneak back into to Queen Anne’s, unnoticed. Tell me how.”
“Bastard.”, she managed.
Paris :What ? I didn’t do anything
Seraphina : You told her stabbing me wasn’t wrong.
Paris : You were trying to kill her
Seraphina : I was not.
“The Angel Mother won’t be pleased that you let a Demon and human get the best of you. How do you think she will react when I tell her what a failure you are .”
Her eyes tightned at the last part. The Angel shoved me aside and picked herself up, staggering she headed for the door. I followed close behind as the Angel tried to walk off her still bleeding wound.
That’s right. She get stabbed and just walks it off.
“Human”, Seraphina stopped where Isobel was trying to be invisible, “This is a warning. Forget the symbol, forget everything. Next time I will kill you.”
Seraphina : . . . okay, I was
The Angel buttoned her suit jacket as a taxi approached and we drove away in silence. My eyes went to the rear view mirror to watch as Isobel turned back inside the building.
Somehow I didn’t expect the spoiled Angels to be living in dormitories. I stood back as the Angel twisted and fell on the marble steps. Without thinking I reached to steady her.
Awwww !
She tried to shrug me off, but that caused her to double over on the steps.
Hesitantly I grabbed her arm and half carried her up stairs, the last place any Demon worth his wit wanted to be.
Awwwww !
++++
The Angel had changed into a loose white cotton tank and white pants. Her wound was hastily patched by her own hand, she now she sat up in bed, her eyes facing forward as if she was a prisoner of war and not in her own bed.
So, here Paris is supposed to see a more vulerable side to her.
“You were going to kill that human”, I reflected quietly sitting on the bed next to hers.
“She was a threat to our kind. She had to be eliminated.”, she said it like a creed.
“You Angels are ruthless useless simple creatures.”
“ I am not useless”
“Why is that ? Because you can hold a blade ?”, I quietly mocked her, “How did an Angel learn such things ?”
“I protect my Mother and Sisters. I learned to fight in this world when they would not. I fought like my father and brothers did before your kind killed them.”
See, she just wants to protect people but Anne won’t let her. Anne drills into her head that she needs to be traditional.
She kept her eyes forward and breathed heavily. Bringing up the war or Transgression was forbidden.
“That’s the problem with you Angels. Complacent simple creatures. Mother has coddled you. What good are pretty women who recite poetry and learn the arts ? Tell me, Angel?”
“I am not useless”
“No, you are not. You are something else entirely. You are a bloodthirsty little Angel with no regard for human life. Remember Angel this is their world. We are the one who does not belong.”
“I could belong . . . be a fighter. I could be a warrior a soldier.”, her voice cracked.
Awwww ): She just wants to be free. Is is
“Spare me Angel, you think because you bind your breast and poison your body that you will ever be anything more than what you are ? Does your Mother know what you are doing ?”
She reached over and turned the key on her nightstand, shocked at my invasion of her privacy.
While she had changed
and stitched herself I’d found the prescription hormone replacement therapy
pills in her nightstand. I suddenly realized why her voice was unusually deep
and her body so tightly bound.
I’m retconning a small part of this. Sera just has a deep voice.
I truly hadn’t cared, but I knew The Angel Mother would never allow Angels to use modern medicine in such a way.
“I should have killed that human. Don’t think I won’t go back for her”, she spat, “I knew Paris The Demon Prince was always soft but I didn’t know it was also metaphoric.”
She just called him impotent
I felt an unusual rage welling up inside me, one that made my smile burn.
“Angel, I would call you call you a bitch but bitches are at least useful for breeding. This is the problem with Angels. If you are not vapid luddites you are as vacant and cold as your eyes and useless cun--”
Seraphina : *glares*
Lils : *glares*
Miss3rdwavefeminism : So much wrong here. So what just because a woman can’t reproduce with you or marry you she’s uselss ? Vaginas have other uses. Why is Paris not the villan ?
Paris : . . . well I was basically raised in a cult, these ideas were drilled into
my head. Her kind killed my family and it was traumatizing if anything Hmjeu is
the really villan here—
Miss3 : Are you mansplainig ?
A loud old fashioned mobile tone went off and the Angel reach for a flip phone on her bedside.
In my head she has a pink Razar. Remember those ?
She closed her eyes as she answered.
“Yes. . . Yes . . But, Mother you can’t he’s a . . . It’s not . . . But I . . .. Yes, Mother. . . .I’ll fetch him.”, she hung up, “ The Angel mother is ready for you.”
“It’s about time.”, I said
“What has been keeping Mother anyway ?”, I asked
I waited patiently for her to obey me.
“Angel”, I tried to sound stern, “ I will be the leader of the Demons one day, so I suggest you learn to answer me. Or I will tell The Angel Mother what you are do--”
“It’s the Snowfire Apples. . . they’ve been killing the humans.”
Finally. . . the plot.