Some time has passed in the day. Charlie had gotten used to her new wings, but she still couldn't do sustained flight. God, however, was happy to tutor her further for however long they had. The pair had left the room now. God was guiding a floating Charlie, hastily flapping her wings as they walked around the palace. Charlie was not wearing her usual attire anymore. It was a dress that God had bought for her. The dress was not too dissimilar to Emily's, but instead of a full skirt, the front was exposed. The outfit was primarily red with white and gold accents. Charlie loved it and decided to wear it for the rest of the day.
As the two were walking down the halls, they had attracted the attention of the other angels. They looked on with perplexed expressions. 'She did not look like an angel and yet she has the wings of the seraphim,' they thought. Some even recognized Charlie as the visiting princess of Hell, which further worried them. God had gestured to some that things were alright, but not all were swayed. While she wasn't looking, however, Charlie had sped up. Pretty soon, Charlie was approaching a wall. She tried to stop, but she had been flapping her wings like a bee for so long that she was effectively on autopilot. In moments, Charlie was going to crash.
"Careful there!" A feminine voice rang out .
Before Charlie could kiss the end of the wall, her hand was grabbed by a stranger. The woman pulled Charlie down so that she could land. As she started to gain control of her wings, Charlie thanked the kind stranger. "Are you okay," the woman asked.
"Thanks, miss...," Charlie said, as her thoughts trailed. The woman looked very familiar.
"Is something wrong," the woman said.
"No, it's just that, are you Uriel?"
"Yes."
"Is something the matter, dear sister," a taller, seemingly masked man interjected.
The two seraphim looked just like God had described in the family painting. They both possessed skin as white as Charlie's. The woman possessed white hair in the style of a bob, but the rest seemed to look like it was made of feathers. There seemed to be feathers under her eyes as well. Above her chest was a zigzagging shape, almost like a lightning bolt. The angel was tall as well, not much taller than Charlie, but it was noticeable. She wore a lilac dress and lastly, her halo took the shape of infinity.
The man was dressed as an 18th-19th century military officer would. His eyes were covered by his brown hair and a small pair of wings. Surrounding the head were multiple halos, all at different angles. The most striking part about him was the huge eye floating over his chest. This must have been the giant eye God spoke of.
Before Charlie realized it, God had caught up, worried about Charlie's safety. "Charlie are you okay," God said worryingly.
"Yeah, thanks to Uriel," Charlie responded.
"Thank you, Uriel."
"It was of no issue, mother."
"Do you know this one?" the strange man asked.
"Why yes," God said, bringing Charlie to her front. "Uriel, Michael, this is your niece, Charlie Morningstar. She is the daughter of our dear old Lucifer."
Charlie just smiled and waved.
"Oh, you are THAT Charlie," Uriel exclaimed. "I figured you look familiar."
"Yes, you do share a resemblance to Lucifer," Michael added. " You even have his wings, err. Somewhat anyway.
"Thank you", Charlie said. "But these are a recent addition. I wasn't sure I'd even get them."
"Well, you are at least part angel, so I would assume you would inherit them at some point. Regardless, we should introduce ourselves properly. I am Michael, the firstborn son of God, and the virtue of generosity."
"And I am Uriel," Uriel proclaimed. "the firstborn daughter. I am the Regent of the Sun and the virtue of chastity."
"It is nice to meet you both," Charlie said.
"If you don't mind me asking," Uriel said, holding Charlie's hands. "Is Lucifer ok? It has been so long since we've seen him."
"Well.....," Charlie said. "I'm not sure of this, but he's been a little depressed in the last seven years since my mom disappeared. We just reconnected."
"Oh, I am so sorry," the two elder angels exclaimed. Michael and Uriel were the closest to Lucifer before Eden, second to their mother, of course. Uriel tried hard to check up on her youngest brother to see if he had been okay after many centuries. And out of all the siblings, Michael had suffered the most along with his mother. After all, he helped God raise each of the other virtues to adulthood, especially Lucifer.
Charlie was immediately battered with questions and concerns by her elders, and she tried to answer as much as she could. But it was a little too much.
"Now, now, my virtues. Don't overwhelm her," God had requested. "She is still new to all of this."
That had given Michael a thought. "Speaking of which," he stated. "If I may Charlie, what is the purpose of your visit? You may be family by blood, but I do not believe the council would allow a demon to reside in heaven."
"Ah, right," God remarked, lowering her head to look at Charlie. "Luci had asked that you come to present a proposition to the court of Heaven."
"Yeah," Charlie affirmed. She squeezed between Uriel and Michael to advertise her ideals. "Well, you see, the Pride ring is becoming a little overcrowded with all the sinners coming in, so I want to try and move them up here."
Uriel and Michael did not know how to feel about this idea. "I don't think we can allow human sinners to transfer over here," Uriel critiqued.
"Well, of course not as they are. I want better lives for the sinners, so I propose that we redeem them."
"Redemption, you say...," Michael pondered.
"Mhm." Charlie had then conjured some of her drawings. "I run a hotel where we help people overcome their vices. Deal with their issues. Overall turn them into good people."
"Oh, what a marvelous idea," God declared, clapping her hands in excitement.
"I have heard of humans changing their ways, but post-mortem redemption?" Uriel questioned.
"It's better than suffering for eternity," Charlie replied while being hugged and head patted by God.
"I'm not saying I am opposed to it," Uriel assured. "I think it is a noble effort, but-"
"It is a mighty concept, and if possible, would overturn some of the laws of heaven," Michael added, while Uriel nodded. "I do not doubt that you do not have any opponents to this back in hell."
As Charlie further explained her thought process, the reactions to this idea have been mixed. God, Uriel, and Michael do support her, but the former was too happy about Charlie's heart in her proposal to think of the complications. As the embodiment of good, God adored the possibility of any soul renouncing their sinful ways for a better existence. Uriel and Michael, however, were not so naive. Michael, in particular, hypothesized another reason as to why Charlie proposed this idea. He knew about Adam's extermination campaign that Sera greenlit. He didn't find out directly, he overheard something from an isolated Sera and pondered why there were increasing numbers of black-winged angels, dressing like demons in recent decades. Michael knew that this proposal of redemption wouldn't go through easily, but he had hope that Sera would listen to reason.
"I mean if you guys support it, I can get my idea through," Charlie said.
"Oh I'm sorry, but we don't have a complete say in the council," Uriel regrettably answered.
"Unfortunately, Uriel is correct," Michael added. "We may be the sovereign family, but each of us virtues have our own duties and responsibilities to uphold. Even our own mother, despite being God Almighty, does not have much influence in any of Sera's official decisions."
"Wait, you don't," Charlie questioned, looking at God.
With a said expression, God had confirmed this discovery. Letting Charlie go and holding her hands. "I'm sorry, my little angel," God apologized. "But I do not. I only created so much of our existence so Earth and humanity are out of my jurisdiction. I have great authority sure, but, not enough to have a final say."
"Oh," Charlie murmured.
"Don't fret, Charlie. I'm sure Sera will hear your proposal and give you the chance you need."
This gave Charlie a little bit of hope.
**********
Hours had passed, and Charlie was still not back at the apartment. Vaggie reluctantly took on another tour with Emily around the holy palace. All she could think about was that this trip 'home' would be done with, regardless of the outcome. From time to time, she thought on God's words. Vaggie knew Charlie would understand that she's an angel, but an exorcist? How could Charlie love someone who killed the people she worked hard to save. A knock broke her out of the stigma. She went to open it and when she did, a winged Charlie burst through the door.
"Aaagghhhh"
"HEY VAGGIE!!!"
Vaggie flew back in surprise. Before she landed on the floor, Charlie caught her and lifted her up. At this point, Charlie became well accustomed to her new wings. Wings that Vaggie was unnerved with.
"Hey babe, uhh....," Vaggie rebutted. "Where did you get... those?"
"God gave them to me," Charlie said. "Since I'm half angel, she thought that I would reasonably inherit them. So she, I don't know, awakened something in me."
"Half angel?"
"Yeah, my dad is still an angel."
Vaggie had forgotten that Lucifer was and is a seraph. He may not be a part of heaven but he still is an angel l. The sight of Charlie possessing the wings of the seraphim gave Vaggie hope to tell Charlie about her origins. Maybe she won't be mad... But before she could consider that, Vaggie would have to get Charlie back on dry land.