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"Your Grace! You have returned!"
Footsteps scurry in different directions. Feet tap against the marble flooring. Hushed voices echo everywhere, too scared to speak any louder. A soft wind blows through the open-air hallway, coming from both directions, spinning around the poles that hold up the marble roof above them. A tall, white-winged creature scowls in distaste and doesn't even bother turning around to face the joyous angel. She walks nearly too fast for the shorter to catch up.
"I have. Prepare a bath"
They walk into the white-estate, through a pair of large, tall wooden doors and past a couple of bowing guards. Here the click of the marble against their shoes is even louder, echoing against the high and rather empty walls of the fancy, castle-like building. She's beginning to have a headache. Headaches are not nice for angels like her. She is too high up. A headache will sour everyone's mood, along with her own. They walk through the hallways at a rapid pace, with her in the lead, and five servants scurrying behind her.
"Of course, your Grace. Prepare a bath for the archangel!"
The four angels behind the shorter angel nod. "yes ma'am" They singsong in chorus, rushing past the shorter angel and the archangel to prepare the water in time for her arrival. Their white wings flap wildly for more speed to their rush. The archangel rolls her eyes, holds onto her pained head and keeps walking. The guards standing by the next wooden doors bow, and once again she walks past them with nothing but a nod and a grimace. "Juno, give me something for a headache. I can feel it coming"
The angel behind her scurries to catch up. She smiles politely and bows while they continue walking at a fast pace. "Yes, your Grace. I will prepare a herbal mix for you right away"
The taller angel nods with a small frown, and turns to the left in the empty, marble hallway. There are rows and rows of tall windows with white curtains, white marble hallways that stretch on for ages and rooms and rooms full of empty salons. The archangel simply doesn't know what to do with all of this space. She's a mighty archangel with divine powers reached after years and years of work and training. The castle is a bonus that comes with the job, and sadly it is a bonus that she really doesn't need. Walking through all these long hallways full of echoes and nothing more is a bother, not a gift.
The servant angel seems to notice her sour mood. She is usually sour, cold and angry, but today it's even more than usual.
"Did the hunt for the crystal not go well, your Grace?"
The archangel keeps walking, her mind occupied by the happenings in the forest down below the higher realm. Here everything is peaceful, quiet and regular, as always. The servants could never know what's going on down there, because they have always been up here. But down in the middle realm she has just fought with a demon over that crystal, and now it lays in the hand of a thieving fairy, soon to be in the claws of that new goblin prince. It could not get any more complicated than this, and yet somehow everything up here in the higher realm is just as she left it.
"Your Grace?"
It's like she has left a world of chaos and carousels, just in a second. From noise to silence. Strong colour and maximalism in the forest, to light pastels and large, empty corridors up here. The quick change of atmosphere is giving her a headache, and she can't tell if it is the middle realm or the higher realm that is the cause of the pain.
"Evangeline-"
The archangel turns around, suddenly, and stops. The servant angel nearly crashes into her, but manages to stop herself just in time. When the shorter angel looks up, she sees eyes filled with cold anger, burning with the eternal flame of the golden rings around her irises.
"Do not say my name, Juno"
Juno quickly cowers under her gaze, and the anger in Eva's eyes dies down rather quickly. "Sorry, Your Grace. I only asked about your hunt for the-"
"It went terribly" she answers curtly, and stops the conversation right then and there. With a quick sigh and roll of her eyes she turns around and keeps walking, with the same fast pace as before. Juno gasps under her breath and runs to catch up. She's always out of breath when Evangeline comes home. The archangel likes to keep things cold and efficient. She has routines, she walks fast and she needs things to be done a certain way. In that way, it is a good thing that the archangel is seldom home. None of her seven hundred serving angels feel at ease when the cold and terrifying angel resides among them.
They finally make their last turn and enter the inner parts of the castle, where Eva sighs out in relief at the sight of her large bath. It is a marble structure in the form of a small pool, standing in the centre of a big room. On the walls, there is nothing, except for a few candle holders and candles that shine a dim light over her. When the doors close, like right now, the dim light is all they can see. The maids stand ready by her bath, and hold onto vases filled with warm water. Maybe this will finally calm her headache. Eva sighs and lets them undress her from the rather complicated white dress and armour.
A few minutes later she sits in her bath as silence surrounds her ears. The bath is necessary for an angel coming back from the middle realm. There are lots of unfamiliar enchanted dust particles down there that don't fit well in with the cleaner, specifically divine dust that exists up here. Evangeline always gets these baths whenever she returns from the middle realm, and it always looks the same. A few angels stand around her in their loose-fitting, white dresses, and occasionally pour more warm water, scrub at her skin and wrap up the bruises that have appeared while she has been away. Juno stands off by the door in her white dress with golden hems and orders the angels around, occasionally receiving messages from the outside, which she reports. That's her job. She's the highest off staff in Evangeline's household.
The archangel sighs.
Finally, peace.
But it is only on the outside. On the inside, her mind is in turmoil. A gaping black hole that is filled with nothing but pure rage and self hatred, because she's sitting in a bath right now, trying to calm down, while some stupid fairy is celebrating the blue glow around her irises. Eva's mouth quickly drops into a frown.
"The archangels will be here in just a minute, your Grace. Great Archangel Xeraphina has notified that she will be late"
Juno says with a quiet tone, snapping her fingers halfway through the sentence to make one of the maids bring yet another vase of water into the tub. The angel flutters to life and quickly pours the water, while Evangline rests her head backwards and just sighs. Her strong arms hold on to each side of the tub, with small scars covering her otherwise smooth skin. Scars from both powerful blasts of divine and dark magic, as well as an occasional slash from a sword. She turns her head from side to side, relaxing her neck.
"I'll be back out on the field as soon as the meeting is over, as long as the vote allows it"
Juno glances down at her. The angels glance at each other. Eva closes her eyes, a cold and dull expression on her face. She traces the light bruises over her knuckle with her other hand. "But, your Grace-" Juno hesitates, glancing at the other angels before continuing. Eva doesn't bother opening her eyes.
"Your Grace has been gone for months. Would it not be wiser to-"
"Nonsense. I was home just yesterday" Eva sighs. Juno bites her lip in thought. "Yes, but only for a day. Before that, you-... Your Grace was gone for three months"
Eva opens her eyes and makes a move to stand up, waving with her hand. The maids quickly rush into action to help her. She climbs out of the tub and stares directly at Juno while they get her dressed, armour and all. The metal is heavy and kind of digs into her wounds, but it doesn't matter. Eva can't feel it anymore.
"Yes, Juno. The third war is still ongoing, and now the crystal needs to be retrieved. So, keep quiet and help me get ready for the meeting"
Sometimes Evangeline kind of wishes she could go back in time.
Back to when she was just Eva, first a servant in the previous archangel Daphne's court, and then a regular soldier in the new third war. Back when things were just so much more simple. No great estate, no household with staff, no duties that would take months to complete or hundreds of thousands of angels to command. Just one job, one goal and one purpose. Serve, win and fight.
But the third war against the demons changed her destiny. Eva happens to be terrifyingly good at war. She survived battle after battle, then got promotion after promotion until she was leading whole legions down the loopholes to beat the demons, most of which she won in strikingly fast numbers. The archangel position fell to her naturally once Daphne died in the third war. Not only had she worked at Daphne's court, in this very estate, but she was also the strongest and most promising military leader the angels had.
And terrifyingly, she found that the higher she rose in the ranks, the more comfortable she became with being a leader. With commanding. Even though, in the beginning she was so certain that her only job would be to serve.
The archangels chose her to be their newest archangel, and now ten years down the line, Evangeline kind of regrets being chosen.
"And the fairy kingdom is now in possession of the crystal? That does make the situation complicated..."
The archangels stand around a large, white marble table, a big map of the world shining in front of them. It is made from divine magic, showing the mountains, forests, villages and kingdoms of the middle realm. The enchanted forest is highlighted with a blue light. Evangeline stands on one end of the table, her armour and white dress finally fitting in with the rest of the crowd's dressing. Archangel Anselm, the current leader of them all, stands on the other end of the table with a thoughtful expression on his greying self. Evangeline is quick to shake her head, a dull expression on her face.
"No, I do not believe that they are, Anselm"
She hates having to have these meetings. Usually when a meeting is held, it means that she has failed to do her task. She, together with archangel Xeraphina, are the two archangels who take care of most of the war and the spread of influence to the middle realm. The rest of the eight archangels, six not counting the two of them, have their own duties.
"Excuse my tardiness, archangels. I was stuck on the front"
Speaking of, the black-haired archangel Xeraphina storms into Evangeline's meeting room with a rush to her steps. She and Xeraphina are very similiar. Both strong and tall, covered in bruises and scars that never have time to heal, and young selves that are ready to fight a war with energy bursting through. The other archangels give her a nod, while Anselm is more interested in Evangeline's odd words.
"And whyever not Evangeline? You did say that it was a fairy who swallowed the teardrop?"
She has just explained everything to them. That she came to the enchanted forest, fought a demon over the crystal and then watched a fairy slip by the both of them and swallow the crystal, just like that. She also mentioned that the fairy managed to escape her at the very last second, and that she is now in the possession of the crystal, while she is not. This is proving to become one of her biggest failures. Evangeline can't stop herself from being angry, but she does control her expression like always.
"Yes, but if I am to trust my instinct, I would not assume her to be of the fairy kingdom. I believe she works for someone else. The goblins, most likely"
It is not a hard conclusion to make. Fairies and goblins are enemies. A fairy would not wear clothing inspired by goblin fashion, or use potions made by goblin hands if she worked for the fairy king. That kind of stuff would be treasonous for a fairy. Evangeline does not know why, but she is certain that the fairy works for Prince Dieq. He is a bloodthirsty, eager ruler, that has managed to stretch out his sphere of influence despite not even being king yet. Evangeline knows that he is behind this, and that the fairy works for him. Others, who have not seen the fairy, might find that hard to imagine.
"The goblins? You do understand that your analysis makes little to no sense?"
An archangel across the table clears his throat, and fixes his round, golden glasses. Archangel Pacome is the angel in charge of the angel sphere of influence. That includes the kingdom of fairies, who have a long history of working together with angels, and using divine powers. He is an expert on fairies, and Evangeline knows that he will be on her side.
"No, Anselm, I believe she is right. Our relationship with the fairies is strong. If they were to have wanted the crystal, surely they would've brought it up in the past three thousand years" Pacome says, his voice soft and melodious like always. He was a singing angel before he became an archangel, not too long ago. With brown locks and warm, brown eyes surrounded by golden irises, Evangeline finds him to be the least annoying one out of the seven archangels that aren't her. He is young, just like Xeraphina and Evangeline. There are many young, new archangels these days. The war has made sure of that.
"We must entertain the idea that they went behind our backs, then" A slightly older, red-haired archangel says, her hair tied up in a tight bun.
"Archangel Imara, if I may speak-" Evangeline starts, her voice holding a hint of annoyance. Nobody else seems to comment on it, considering that they know why she's angry. Losing the teardrop crystal is not a small deal. Imara nods in her direction, and Evangeline continues. "The fairy did not seem like other fairies. Her clothes were in goblin fashion, and she used their potions and tricks to escape our- I mean, my hold. The new prince Dieq surely wants the crystal for himself, I believe she is now on her way to the goblin kingdom"
Evangeline nearly slips up and mentions the demon's involvement in her chase of the fairy, but she catches herself before she can do it. The demon was a minor part of the whole thing. She doesn't want the other archangels to think that it'll become a problem. All they know is that she fought a demon there, nothing more. Xeraphina looks up from the map, having seemingly caught up with the whole situation. Someone must have briefed her on it before she rushed inside.
"If what you speak of is indeed true, Evangeline, then she will be inside the cave city's walls before we can even begin our search"
"Xeraphina is correct. If the fairy is with the goblins, we need to approach this situation carefully. At least, it is not as complicated as it would've been if the crystal was with the fairies" Anselm mutters. "Yes. And we can begin by finding out who this fairy is. Surely a fairy living among goblins is a one-of-a-kind, unique case. The fairies must know something" Xeraphina adds, her voice filled with both power and energy. Evangeline glances up at the black-haired angel. She must be on some kind of post-battle high, because her eyes glow and the divine powers around her body have not calmed down quite yet.
Imara looks over the table at the younger, brown-haired angel.
"Archangel Pacome, how do you suggest we approach this matter?"
He pushes up his glasses and thinks, for a moment, while the other archangels wait for his words. This is how they work. The eight of them rule the higher realm of angels, and together they decide on all important aspects of angel life. Pacome, Evangeline and Xeraphina are the three youngest archangels, who work mostly with out-of-the-realm matters. Such as the war, or the angel sphere of influence. Xeraphina is mostly involved with the war, Pacome takes care of their sphere of influence and divine powers outside the higher realm, while Evangeline dabbles in both. She's a warrior of sorts. The angel who takes care of the toughest missions, which no regular soldier could do. She is also an angel who has just failed to do her one and only task.
Pacome glances up at the angels around the table. His eyes shine with a golden glow.
"Well, the first thing we need to do is travel down to the fairy kingdom and speak with king Novus. We need them on our side if we want to be in the possession of the crystal by the time the blue moon rises"
Anselm nods. Evangeline looks at him, and notices that he seems to have already made up his mind. She sighs in her head. Dreads what he has planned.
"Then archangel Evangeline will speak to the king by sunrise tomorrow, and chase that fairy after that"
Must she always get these boring missions? It is her job, yes. But usually her job includes fighting, like the kind of fighting she did for years and years at the front. Now, she has to speak to the fairy king? What a hassle. Imara smiles. She and Anselm are good at teaming up.
"I believe Anselm has constructed a good plan. Can we trust you to succeed this time, archangel Evangeline?" She says, with no judging or hatred in her tone. It is merely a question. Evangeline does not have the energy to get bothered by the question, either. She nods, and doesn't bother forcing a smile on her face. That kind of stuff just looks awkward on her.
"Of course, Imara. This fairy is nothing but a setback"
Xeraphina, however, loves to smile. She is always overly positive, full of energy and ready to fight at any given moment. "That's the spirit! I'll come down from the war front to help you once you've got the fairy in your sights. Call for me whenever you need me"
Evangeline nearly rolls her eyes. Imara laughs.
"That is very kind of you to offer the archangel Evangeline, Xeraphina. However, knowing her nature she will not call anyone for help"
"You know me well" Evangeline says. "Then I shall head down to see the king, and see you before the blue moon rises"
Anselm smiles, with a firm nod. "So it shall be"
And no dumb fairy, or indeed demon, is going to get in her way.
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