Angel and the Beast (A Good Omens fanfic)

Chapter 3

The sun was just beginning to set when Mrs Young's voice reverberated through the town square for the second time that day.
"ADAAAAAAAM! Adam Young if you don't show your face in five seconds there will be trouble!"
A pause, then:
"Oh where on earth has he got to? Adam? Adaaaaaam!"
Aziraphale walked downstairs and out the bookshop. Several other people were also coming out of their houses to see what all the fuss was about. Mrs Young's face was red, though whether it was from anger, shouting, or crying, Aziraphale wasn't sure. She was currently being consoled by a small flock of women.
"He's always been a little disobedient but he's never stayed out past teatime! What if something's happened to him?" Mrs Young was not a quiet woman, even when speaking normally. "If you ask me, it's all the fault of that Aziraphale fellow. Adam's always in his shop, who knows what sort of things he could be teaching him?"

Aziraphale turned away to avoid being spotted, and noticed a horse galloping towards the village. It got closer and Aziraphale realized it was Adam's horse, Alastor. Aziraphale rushed towards him and tried to calm him down. Thankfully the other villagers hadn't noticed Alastor's sudden arrival, so Aziraphale could quietly lead him over to his stable.
"Can you take us to Adam?" Aziraphale whispered to Alastor, as he reined him up in front of his own horse, Kamael.
If a horse could nod, this one did.
Aziraphale saddled Kamael, and they were off, exiting the village without a single person knowing they had left.

There was still some light in the sky, but it became scarce as the trio ventured deep into the woods. Aziraphale noticed that a tree had been struck down by lightning, blocking the main path to the left of it and forcing people to travel down the smaller path on the right.
"That must be where Adam went," said Aziraphale.

They ventured further, and suddenly Aziraphale was beginning to feel a little cold. The trees they passed had less and less leaves, replaced with ice and frost. Alastor and Kamael also seemed a little agitated by the change in climate.
"Its okay, Kamael, it's alright Alastor," Aziraphale reassured them, "it's just a little snow... in June..."
Wolves howled in the distance, but before Aziraphale could worry any further, he and the horses had arrived at the large open gates of an even larger castle. Aziraphale dismounted and took the reins off of Alastor, leading him and Kamael to the stables beside the castle's entrance.
"Hopefully the owner doesn't mind you two staying here for a moment," said Aziraphale. "I doubt we shall be here for very long."

Aziraphale walked up the snowy steps and creaked open the castle door. As he looked around the vast interior, two voices where whispering to each other, just out oh hearing range.
"Look, Shadwell! A man!"
"Yes I can see that, I'm nay blind y'know"
"He looks a bit older than the one who came in before. What if he's the one? The one who breaks the spell?"

Well, almost out of hearing range.
Aziraphale turned around.
"Hello? Is anyone there?" he called. His eyes focused on an ornate clock and candelabra sitting on a table, embellished with intricate designs Aziraphale had never seen before. He approached them curiously, and was just about to get a closer look when he heard a voice from upstairs.
"Help!"
Adam. Aziraphale grabbed the candelabra and headed up the stairs, following the voice.

He found Adam behind a large door made of iron bars. Adam lit up when he saw Aziraphale, but his expression quickly became fearful.
"Monsieur Fell! You have to get out of here!" he whispered urgently.
"I'm not leaving without you!" Aziraphale replied.
"Don't worry about me! You have to go! Before he finds you!"
"What are you talking about, Adam? Who is-"
A low, thundering growl echoed through the castle.
"Who's there?" called Aziraphale, looking around to find the source of the noise. "Who are you? Are you the owner of this castle?"
"Who are you?" a voice hissed.
Aziraphale hesitated. He looked at Adam, silently urging him to trust him, then looked back towards the direction of the voice.
"I've come for my son," he said. "He seems to be locked up." Aziraphale could just make out a large, shadowed figure descending some stairs a short distance away.
"Your son is a thief," said the shadowed figure.
"No! Surely that can't be!" said Aziraphale.
"He stole a rose," said the shadowed figure.
Aziraphale looked at Adam.
"I was just leaving the castle when I saw this rose in the garden, an' I thought I'd take it for Mama as a sort of sorry gift, to make her less angry, an' I took it, but then there was this huge beast an', and..." Adam trailed off, glancing nervously at the shadowed figure.
Aziraphale turned back towards the shadowed figure. "I was the one who had him sent out in the woods," he said, a statement not entirely untrue. "Punish me instead."
"No Monsieur Fell!" Adam whispered. "He means forever!"
Aziraphale gasped. "A life sentence for a rose?" he asked incredulously.