Page 36 of The Human Element (The Human Element Collection #1)

Raphael

Raphael wandered casually through the southernmost gardens; the one that Ariel spent the majority of her time in.

The luminescent glow of the plants surrounding the pathway brightened as he passed them.

All gardens in Heaven glowed, as did most anything else here.

This garden was named “The Garden of the Virtues,” for it was created by the Virtues themselves to tend to and spend time when they were not on Earth.

The Virtues were the angels who preceded over the elements of the Universe, making sure everything in the cosmos remained intact.

They were also in charge of keeping nature on Earth in balance.

Ariel was the ArchAngel in charge of the Virtues, for she was the overseer of all plant and animal life on Earth.

This garden was her sanctuary in Heaven, and one she went to whenever something was troubling her mind.

Raphael found his way to a small pond near a gazebo and saw Ariel holding a petal of a blue flower that glowed brightly at her touch.

Ariel was petite; some would say she resembled a fairy.

She had fair, ivory skin with deep golden hair that fell in waves around her and down the length of her back.

Today she was wearing a warm pink dress that clung to her small frame, long, draping sleeves that fell from her arms, and her head was adorned with a matching crown made of blushing roses.

The one thing she never wore was shoes; she said she preferred to be barefoot to connect to the energy within the ground.

Her cheeks were always warm with a flush pink hue that matched the mixture of pink and green aura that engulfed her body.

Everyone in Heaven exuded a colored aura, and the color depended on their rank or duties; for instance Raphael’s aura was yellow, for he was the analytical one, the one tasked with overseeing projects, dictating orders, and keeping other lower-leveled angels in line.

Ariel’s showed she was a mixture, because her duties were plentiful; the green was for her connection to nature and overseeing the Virtues, and pink was because of her compassion.

She was often brought in to help the new angels or angels struggling emotionally, acting sort of like a human therapist.

She was highly empathic, and was able to discern emotions of those nearby her, as well as soothe others easily and with an air of maturity that Raphael felt surpassed many, even other ArchAngels.

ArchAngels were powerful, but this did not mean they were the most caring of beings.

Often, ArchAngels ruled with a cold indifference, a harsh hand of justice—not one of emotion.

As Raphael approached Ariel, she lifted her head and met his eyes with a smile.

Returning one, he stood by her side and watched as she delicately released the flower she was holding and let the now free hand loop into his own as she leaned on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek.

Raphael ran a hand through her curly golden locks and cupped her face gently.

“You ran off so fast after the last meeting—I was worried about you.”

Ariel sighed and nuzzled her face into his hand.

“I’m fine, Raphie. I'm just a little overwhelmed by these delegations. I’m not sure why, but this instance of attack seems profoundly wrong to me.

I know we have never been ones to shy away from doing what must be done for the good of all the Universe, but this girl, Lorelei. ..she doesn’t deserve this fate.”

Raphael did his best to not wince at the pet name Ariel used for him, because although she’d used it from the start of their relationship a thousand years ago, it still wasn’t preferred.

He nodded and let his hand find hers again, leading her to the bench under the gazebo that overlooked the glass-like pond.

Although she often had the personality of innocence and sweetness, her dress spoke nothing of this; she was sultry and elegance at its finest. The pink dress clung perfectly at her small curves, hugging every inch of her body, its fabric made of divine silk, making Raphael’s hands roam on her waist; imagining how easily he could tear it, and bring her close.

It’d been awhile since they were intimate, and she was gorgeous beyond reproach; they made a miraculous pair together.

But he steadied his thoughts, for this was all a delicate and difficult situation, and Ariel’s mind was saddened by the processions.

He cared for her deeply. She was the first being Raphael actually fell in love with, and she was precious to him beyond all others.

Personality-wise, they were vastly opposite.

Raphael was calm and calculated, run by logic and confidence.

Ariel was all passion and emotions, run by the need to express herself.

She always acted more with her feelings than her head, but that’s also what made her so different from the others; she was kind, to the point he would do everything in this Universe to protect her, hold her close, and hope that her kindness would never be sullied by another being ever.

And that ability to express herself helped him do the same, little by little over the centuries—but only when they were totally alone, making love, sipping wine and duties were momentarily put aside.

Otherwise, he remained composed: the perfect angel to enforce duties.

Sitting beside her, he adjusted his white linen suit, picking lint off his shoulders before pulling her closer to him.

She let herself fall into the crack of his arms, and he hugged her.

He didn’t often show such physical affection publicly, but he too, felt his heart needed reassurance.

It was taking a long time for the ArchAngels to deliberate on what to do about the situation pertaining to Lorelei and Daemon.

Time for angels ran differently seeing as they can operate on multiple planes at the same time.

This is why three weeks had already passed in Heaven’s time since Raphael gave the warning to Daemon, when for them it had still only been a few days.

Half of the council, including the head, Michael, were in vote to attack them and take them out by whatever means necessary.

The other half, including Ariel and himself, were on the fence about that tactic.

The deliberations were starting to get tense for everyone, and so a recess was set to allow time to think on what had been argued thus far.

“You’re not the only one thinking that way. Although it's not the majority’s opinion, a few of the others have started questioning the point of the war. But I don’t think anyone will speak up about that on account of what happened to...”

Raphael’s mind went directly to Daemon, remembering the day he had condemned Daemon for the very thing the others were now rethinking, and turned his wings black—marking him as one of the Fallen for all eternity.

It was one of the most difficult days of Raph’s existence.

Daemon was his closest friend and therefore, Michael decided that the person to carry out the ruling against Daemon would be him. To become a disgraced angel, there is a hearing in front of all angels—but there was hardly ever a verdict of not guilty once a hearing was called.

The accused angel would sit in the middle of a glass courtroom, where the walls and floors shimmered in the light and reflected strange, distorted faces on the walls from those around you.

Michael was the judge and final decision in the matter, but the ArchAngels would proceed to vote on the punishment.

The only ArchAngels who didn’t vote guilty were Raphael and Ariel.

Michael saw this as being sympathetic to his friend and thus forced Raphael to carry out the next phase: blackening his wings and condemning him to a life on Earth.

Blackening an angel’s wings is a very grueling and painful process.

It requires the accused to be chained to large pillars to keep from escaping as they are “stained.” Staining was a marking of not only the outer appearance of the angel’s wings, but would leave an inner mark or wound of sorts within the angel as well.

This inner mark was said to be damaging to an angel’s very essence.

The screams still haunted Raphael to this day.

Daemon was the first ever angel to survive the ceremony .

Nobody could say for certain they knew what the long-term effects were.

They casted him out, and he has been living on Earth ever since; unable to return home.

Most angels never questioned their orders; they trusted what they were tasked to do, whether good or wrong in their eyes, believing the higher-ups knew what should be done for the good of all. They were doing the Divine’s will; how could it be wrong?

But Daemon had always been different. He asked more questions about his missions rather than the others who would take their assignments and go.

He would always eventually shrug his shoulders and take the task, but it wasn’t until he was assigned to make sure Lorelei did indeed die from being hit by that car that he instead, saved her.

He didn’t just question it, he didn’t follow it at all—which to the ArchAngels, was instant mutiny.

There hadn’t been such a blatant disregard for orders since Lucifer.

Over the millennia, there were occasionally other angels who questioned an order, but never to this magnitude. Not to the point of allowing the prophesied girl, the only one who could stop the Great War altogether; continue on. That was out of the question.

It honestly broke Raph’s heart to have to do it, and although Daemon believes that not a single person was on his side, he would scoff to find out that about half the council was on the fence about a very similar predicament.

He’d probably say something snarky and ironic about it.

Even Raph couldn’t help but think similarly about whether or not they should send an attack on Lorelei and Daemon, or let what unfolds come to be.

Raph hadn’t noticed that Ariel was saying his name. Her soft, gentle voice could sometimes make it difficult to hear her when he was deep in thought. Blinking a few times, he turned to her and gave a faint smile.

“Apologies, my darling. I was only thinking..”

She went to take his hand and place it on her lap.

“I know, I know you were thinking about Daemon. I am sure all this happening is stirring up feelings from the past around you two’s relationship and what happened. Daemon is your best friend, more like your brother, and you have to know he doesn't actually hate you for what you had to do.”

Raphael thought back on the look Daemon gave him when they met outside that restaurant in Inverness.

Daemon’s usual bright, green eyes narrowed over Raph and he could see the momentary joy at seeing his old friend pass through his eyes, and then fade swiftly to betrayal and pain.

Seeing his friend look at him as though he were the scum of all creation was harder for Raph to handle than he thought.

He figured Daemon would still be angry with him, but he hoped after all the time that passed, perhaps he wouldn’t feel as much animosity towards him.

When Raphael returned to Heaven, he sat quietly in his chambers for several hours.

It was only when Ariel came knocking on his door, he realized how long he had been in there mulling over the interaction.

Ariel was the only one to know that Raphael defied the no-contact order to warn Daemon of what was to come.

If any other ArchAngel found out what he did, he’d meet a similar fate to Daemon.

It was the first time Raphael disobeyed an order; it weighed heavy on him.

She was the only one he could trust, and the only one who knew how much it scarred Raphael to lose his friend forever.

“You didn’t see the way he looked at me, Ariel. I think if you had, you might not be saying that.”

Ariel squeezed his hand and looked like she might say more, but her gaze moved from Raph to the figure over his shoulder.

When he turned, their fellow ArchAngel, Gabriel, was standing there.

Gabriel was beautiful for a man. He had a sleek, angular face that always seemed stern to Raph.

His long, straight white hair went below his shoulders, and he was wearing a fine white suit with gold trimmings.

The pants were hemmed above the ankles and were fitted to his thin, but fit form.

His white aura surrounding him made him even brighter against the white suit and hair.

As he approached, he eyed them both without emotion, and spoke.

“We are being called to come back.”

Pausing, he measured his words before he continued.

“And it doesn’t look good for Daemon and the human girl.”