"you don't have to do anything for me," yuna smiled. "just listen to me. you won't believe what i have to tell you."
miyeon watched the younger angel with blurry, unfocused eyes. "are you absolutely sure this is what happened?"
"positive, your majesty. you can always have faith that i'll do what's right for everyone on Heaven and the Lord."
"very well, then."
"thank you for your time." yuna stood up and bowed, retreating from the room.
miyeon got out of her chair slowly, blankly staring out of the window. she felt like she was in a trance, or stuck in some bad dream.
how could she be telling the truth? no fledgeling would dare lie to me, but it is unlike shuhua to do this.
she shook her head. this is impossible.
the knock on her door snapped her out of her stupour, serving as an annoying reminder that, despite all this news yuna had shared, there were still duties she had to fulfil as the queen.
painting the serene, helpful smile back onto her face, she hurried back to her seat and folded her arms neatly in front of her, instantly becoming the perfect picture of royalty and reason she'd learned to upkeep since her first day of her reign, no real emotion making its way to her face.
the last time she let her true emotions take over was before accepting the Spirit, before she'd opened the wrong door and saw the old queen engulfed in white light-
"come in!" her clear voice rang through the air. "how may i help you?"
༻ ༒ ༺
"has shuhua returned?"
seunghee shook her head. "not since she went down to the mortal realm. whatever she's doing down there must be important."
miyeon bit back her annoyance, forcing the same serene smile onto her face instead. "oh, i'm sure it is, i trust her."
the angel continued to scan the text on the scrolls, tracing a finger along the lines and lines of words. "there's been an influx of depression in the past few days."
the queen let the slightest hint of a frown appear on her face, not wanting to seem completely emotionless. "what's the cause?"
"the fortune telling industry crashed a few days ago, and all the seers are on the streets. subsequently, lia, angel of promises, collapsed yesterday and is resting in the house of healing. i've met up with mark to discuss and we both think a spirit countering human promises has been stirring, which would also explain the depression. he suggested sending the rest of the fully-healed guardians back to oppose it."
i expected the fortune tellers to take a hit, but this is worse than i expected. it should be time to replace that rule-breaking angel. as for the guardian angels-
"hold on," miyeon waved a hand to stop her. "we can't just send them all back. i'll go see the ones who were injured later, i think i should speak to them."
seunghee nodded. "yes, your hi- miyeon, that can be arranged."
she sighed. "good. clear my schedule for the rest of the day, i have matters to attend to."
miyeon didn't say that it had to do with her strength that faded little by little as every day passed, but seunghee nodded, understanding.
"of course."
༻ ༒ ༺
despite her blatant refusal to believe it, she knew that, deep down, her time as queen of Heaven was coming to an end.
the reason why each queen's time was limited wasn't just because of the immense power that being the carrier of the Spirit allowed them to weild, but also because of the way it ebbed away at their spirits like a flame on a candle.
the Holy Spirit and the Flame that it commanded was never originally meant for angels to weild, but after the great battle between good and evil, they were left with no choice.
she could feel her control over it's power dwindling as every day passed, knowing that she had to let the Spirit go before her life force was put out, but not wanting to give it up all the same.
power was a scary thing. it clouded her thoughts and planted seeds of doubt into her mind. were they worthy of my trust, or were they just hiding behind my throne, using my influence as a shield for their own unholy deeds? who's the traitor and who isn't?
as she sat on her throne in the empty room, the lights dimmed to a faint glow, she could feel the Spirit trying to leave her, yearning for a new holder.
she reined it back, gritting her teeth, and took a deep breath. shuhua isn't ready yet. i will wait until she is.
but first, the angel.
squeezing her eyes shut, miyeon turned her head to the ceiling and called upon the power of God.
Heaven needs an angel, she commands. to replace one who betrayed our kind.
her next words were spoken out loud in a voice that isn't quite hers, words that she didn't say flowing from her mouth. "i gift Heaven an angel of the near future, who will carry out their duties for Heaven and for humanity."
her eyes flew open and an intense white light poured out, collecting to form a humanoid figure in the middle of the room.
the figure immediately fell to her knees, new wings folding onto her back.
"rise, jang yeeun. blessed be my angel."
the Spirit faded rapidly, and miyeon regained control of her body with a gasp, the light immediately flickering off. the angel stared at her, a mere child with a head of golden blonde hair.
she would age quicker than others. her power that was demanded on earth urgently needed, and her knowledge in divinity would be put to good use. miyeon could already see the angel growing in front of her and knew that the power of the near future would be in good hands.
"my queen," yeeun bowed. miyeon nodded back, and the wooden doors open to let saints take her away.
༻ ༒ ༺
she was lying in bed at night when the voice crept into her head, whispering in her ear.
don't you want more than this? you could be the queen of Heaven forever. all the power in the world could be yours.
"i do."
you know where to go.
climbing out of her bed, she threw her window open and took off into the night.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
