Fallen Angel

18. Sentence

Ethan's apartment smelled of freshly brewed coffee and new furniture. They had returned. Ethan was still wrapping his grey wings around Aurora when he realized they were holding hands. They looked at each other. She had tears in her eyes.

"We survived," he said. She just nodded, smiling.

A few minutes later, when they had both sat down at the table to eat some cookies and drink some coffee, Cassius appeared as if he were a ghost. They must have arrived the same way. He joined them and sat down in one of the free chairs.

"Okay. With Nathan off the map, things should seem simpler, but it's just the opposite," was the first thing he said. He looked at them both.

"What will happen now?" Aurora dared to ask, worried.

"Ethan has broken one of the laws of the angels. You both know his punishment: he will have to live forever wandering in limbo. You can never see each other again."

"You told me that something similar had already happened to Ethan's father. Haven't the laws changed?"

"No. The Kingdom of Angels is harsh, Aurora. Laws are not that easy to change."

"That's all right. I already knew what I was playing. I'll serve my sentence," Ethan interrupted.

Suddenly, four angels with white wings appeared in the room. It was as if Ethan, accepting his punishment, had summoned them. Two of them took it upon themselves to handcuff him. He did not resist. Aurora got up, nervous, screaming and crying. The other two angels held her so she wouldn't interrupt the process. Cassius simply watched, doing nothing.

***

"Ethan Hedger. Son of Yael. I see you really are family. Both condemned for love."

The King of Angels had risen from his throne. He wore a sky-blue robe and had a long beard of centuries; exquisite white wings. Ethan had laid down in front of him as a sign of respect. His head was down.

"Majesty."

The King stepped forward.

"Ethan, you knew the consequences and still took the risk. Why?"

"Majesty, when you love someone, you want to protect them even if it costs our lives. My mission was to protect this human, the beloved of the Lord, and I have done it. But a love has been born between us, a forbidden love, but we love each other." There was no fear or doubt in his voice.

"What does this human have that no other angel has?"

"Beauty, Majesty. Why is the Lord in love with her and asked us to protect her? Because her soul is pure. There is no evil." He raised his head and looked the King straight in the eye, challenging him." I have seen her paint with sweetness. I have seen her with her eyes lost among books in a library that sometimes I think I dreamed because of how perfect that image was. I've seen her get angry at injustices, and I've also seen her open her heart. I have known her vulnerability, and I have also seen how she suffers. I've seen how she smiles and how she cries. And I have loved and adored each of these things. Even the forbidden kiss that saved our lives."

"Do not continue."

"Yes, I continue, Your Majesty," interrupted Ethan. "Aurora didn't need any protection, because in reality it is she who protects us with her kindness and her innate strength. I can only think that the Lord wanted me to know her and that is why he sent me to her."

"Don't put things in the Lord's mouth that he hasn't said, Ethan."

"Forgive me. But I really believe it. My life changed from the moment I first saw her in the classroom when I pretended to be a student. I know nothing I'm saying will change my fate, and I'm ready, but I wanted you to know, Your Majesty, that I won't be the last one this happens to. Because falling in love with beauty is part of the nature of angels, and if you had ever fallen in love, you would know that limbos are nothing if we can kiss just once the person we love the most."

"Shut up!"

The King dropped a bolt of lightning on Ethan. The angel made movements of pain, screamed as if a thousand demons were eating him. Cassius watched from the tribune of the audience that had gone to see the trial. He did not understand love and could no longer do anything to save his friend. It hurt him to see that scene.

"I sentence that you rot in limbo."

He gave a hammer blow. He asked the archangels who accompanied him to take him out of his sight. Ethan had lost consciousness.

***

Aurora waited nervously in her apartment. She had spent the afternoon with Olivia to distract herself, but it didn't work. After a few hours she returned to her house to wait for news from Cassius. She, as a human, had not been able to cross the dimensions to reach the Kingdom of Angels because the King didn't allow it. Looking at the hand of the clock watching the minutes pass as if they were hours, the archangel finally made his appearance.

"Aurora."

"Cassius, tell me that they have forgiven him!"

She threw herself on his chest and grabbed his jacket, shaking him as she began to cry. He grabbed her wrists to stop her.

"It was not possible. I recorded his words for you, as you asked me before we left."

He didn't tell her about the beam and how much Ethan suffered. He pulled a tape recorder from his pocket and turned it on. Aurora listened to Ethan's entire speech through tears. She let go of Cassius and sat on the ground hugging her knees, weeping inconsolably. She said:

"And you didn't do anything to help him?"

"I couldn't, Aurora. I was only able to get you one last date with him before he's sent to limbo."

Her eyes sparkled.

"Really?"

"Yes. But it won't be long, so think carefully about what you want to say to him, because it will be the last thing you say to him. I won't be able to visit him anymore, either."

"Do you mean that...?"

"As an archangel, I have the right to see him one last time. But I gave you my place. I think he'll be more excited to see you than me. The girl for whom he has sacrificed everything."

Cassius crouched down beside her and hugged her as she cried again.

//

Well... lots of tears and suffer... </3 Are you curious about Ethan and Aurora's last conversation? Did you like this chapter? Thank you for reading!