✦ . The first of the fallen . ✦

Chapter - 2 . The Presentation

Cicely's POV

"Orion, Cicely. You're up." Archangel Lilith demanded.

Orion and I stood from our seats, closely standing to the microphones. I cleared my throat as I closed in on the mic, my mouth opening to speak.

"What we have to present today of a punishment is not execution, not prison, but exile. It seems simple but it's not as simple as you may think, not only will said prisoner be exiled but they'd be cursed. The markings on their body would indicate their curse and therefore confirm them a 'blood angel' or what we consider a 'fallen'." I paused.

My eyes searched Archangel Lilith's face for any indication of acceptance but only her expressionless eyes stared back at me.

"Tell me more." Her voice boomed in demand.

I turned to Orion who was already looking at me. I nodded in reassurance and he nodded back before turning to his microphone.

"It's known by all in the council that exile is already a punishment, it's the lightest punishment. What we're proposing is the complete opposite, the worst punishment possible. Exiled angels have the chance to redeem themselves but these 'fallen' won't have that opportunity. Their curse insists on their sanity being based on killing living things, specifically humans." Orion stopped.

I glanced at him, his part wasn't over yet. Orion had swallowed hard and raised his shoulders, he was tense and it was noticeable.

My attention shifted back to Archangel Lilith whose eyes were squinted in a way that could tell she was thinking. My left hand silently moved to his.

"Orion." I whispered, squeezing his hand.

He was snapping out of reality, his pupils slowly becoming smaller. I squeezed his hand tighter and when he blinked his pupils were dilated back to normal.

"Cicely." He responded, squeezing my hand back.

He acknowledged what had just happened but didn't turn to me, he closed in to the mic again.

"Furthermore..." Orion continued.

It was odd, I was somehow focused on his words yet my mind completely drifted off. He wasn't just nervous, he was scared.

I know Orion better than anyone, even his human lover. I could tell the presentation reminded him of her. It reminded him of what he could lose if he was in fact caught.

"Their lust for the blood of humans forces them to become completely unredeemable, for if their aching hunger grows too big their sanity would be lost and they would see everything as nothing but food. That alone would force them to go beyond any sins they could've made during their trials." Orion finished.

The room was still, silent. I looked around at the other pairs of duos that we were competing against.

Some were exchanging looks, others looking at Archangel Lilith, and the cocky ones who assumed themselves the best were simply sitting straight and looking ahead.

I bit down on my lip looking up at Archangel Lilith. The same expression painted on her face, a look of thought.

My fingers interlocked with Orion's as I tried to keep him calm. Not that he needed it, he wasn't afraid about losing the competition. He was still thinking about her, the human.

"These sins you speak of that they'd be forced to commit, elaborate." Archangel Lilith broke the silence, her own voice bouncing off of the walls creating an echo.

"Murder on their own kind, cannibalism." Orion spoke calmly, as if he wasn't speaking of a gruesome horror forced to be cast upon sinners.

Some gasps rose around us, finally we had grabbed the attention of those snobby competitors who thought they were better than us.

I noticed their eyes widened as it finally clicked, what we were proposing was more gruesome than they thought.

Orion continued to go into detail the next few minutes what exactly would happen if the blood angels had reached their point of insanity.

It was magnificent, watching the shock grow in everyone's face. Everybody was completely focused on Orion and his speech.

This amount of attention was so.. intoxicating.

"Thank you for your time." Orion finally finished off the presentation.

We bowed our heads in respect and switched off our microphones before sitting down. Archangel Lilith sat quietly for a few seconds before her face shifted

A sinister smirk grew on her face before she opened her mouth to speak.

"Thank you all for your thought out presentations. I'll take all of your ideas and bring it upon the rest of the council, tomorrow morning meet back here early for your results. You may return to your dormitories until further notice." Archangel Lilith stood from her chair, her hand elegantly extended outwards as the entrance doors of the room opened.

Immediately we all stood from our chairs and grabbed our bags. My hand finally broke away from Orion's and for a moment it felt.. upsetting.

As we exited the room in our pairs I noticed how usually crowded the hallway was, Orion grabbed my hand tightly so as to not get separated and we began to push through the crowded hall.

"Don't you people know how to walk in a straight line, damn!" Orion scoffed as he shoved past a crowd of people.

The hall isn't usually crowded, why was it now?

"We're looking for Orion Endellion." A voice came from the end of the hall.

Orion slowed down, he turned back to me and I could see the look of worry on his face. Who was looking for Orion, and why?

Surely we weren't already being called back in from the meeting, right?

"I'm here!" Orion rose his other hand through the crowd.

Finally all the other academy students parted, making way for him. Orion held my hand tightly as we walked towards the voice.

At the end of the hall guarding the exit were two large Angels in knight uniforms. They took one look at Orion and immediately grabbed his wrists, slamming handcuffs onto them before opening the doors and shoving him out.

"Hey! What in the world are you doing!?" I yelled out, trying to follow.

I was stopped by one of the two guards, his hand slammed onto my chest, pushing me away from the door.

"You're not allowed to leave this hall until further notice, Orion is being taken into custody for his sins against The Holy Rules." He spoke sternly, standing in front of the now shut doors.

"What? Orion is being arrested? He didn't do anything!" I argued.

"Remain calm and stay in the hall until further notice, Orion has been deemed a danger to the public and the entire school will be in lockdown until he's in his cell." He responded calmly.

I began to panic and looked back at all the whispering students. Where were they taking Orion? Why had they taken him? Had someone snitched on him? Had he turned himself in?

Then it clicked.

Archangel Lilith.

Orion had mentioned being stopped by her the other day on his way back from visiting Evangeline. He said she was acting weird but didn't speak of him being out past dormitory hours. She must've known.

She must've told the council.