The Above || Completed

34 The Rebellion

Maddison had to be kept hidden from the rest of the world until she was old and strong enough for Luziel to perform a charm on her to hide all her celestial features. She was still a child, unable to conceal these things on her own. Her parents planned to wait until she came of age to tell her of who she really was. Due to Maddison's birth, the rebellion's activity went dormant for ten years. Luziel refused to leave Quin to care for their daughter alone. He juggled his time between caring for his wonderful wife and daughter and keeping his art gallery running. The other members of the rebellion also returned to their normal, everyday lives. However, they worked on gathering more followers. More free angels and even angels who were trapped by slavery. Their numbers grew immensely over the years. They were spreading hope.

When ten years finally passed, Luziel and his followers reunited. Luziel was astonished at the amount of new faces he saw upon his arrival at their first meeting in a decade. Quin wouldn't believe it either. This entire thing was all thanks to her. Now that Maddison had grown up enough not to be a handful, Quin demanded that Luziel set up another meeting with his rebellion as soon as possible. She nearly threw an ice sculpture at his head the previous night when he'd shown signs of refusal.
"Coward!" she'd roared maniacally.
Luziel smiled endearingly at the memory. He didn't hesitate to do as his wife said and not long after the gathering took place, they decided to take action.

It started with leaving traces of their existence everywhere. They began appearing in the dreams of the people in the Above, leaving them concerned and curious. The acts escalated to fleeting public sightings of angels flying over the Above. Anything as mundane as a shadow shaped like wings could trigger assumptions and rumours. People questioned whether the council had anything to do with it. As expected, it wasn't long before the council caught wind of what was going on. In order to avoid being traced, the rebellion had to fall back slightly. The sightings became less frequent over the next two years. The council was hunting the free angels under the radar in order to keep up appearances. This only made it more difficult for them.

Maddison was growing to become a quiet, mature pre-adolescent. Her hair had been recently styled into a pixie cut at the time, which made her appear much older to say the least. Luziel thought that she'd become a warrior some day. Quin was oblivious as to how her daughter turned out, willing to accept her as she was. And it was better that way. What was about to happen was something Luziel would rather not have had her involved in.
They were planning to gather the majority of the Above's population in one area and completely expose their council. It was time to stop hiding and face the opponent. There was no telling of how dangerous it could become, so Luziel hid his family away from the Above. They were to stay on this island of cloud until Luziel came back for them. Quin and Maddison said their goodbyes reluctantly and Luziel went to save the angelic race.

As Luziel flew stealthily over the Above towards his destination, he went over the plan in his head. One half of his followers had been instructed to secure the area where they were to meet; the heart of the Above. The other half had been ordered to gather as many citizens as they could and lead them to the centre. All the angels had to disguise their identities by making their eyes glow more intensely. That way, their faces would be too blinding to look at. With a spur of confidence spiraling inside him, Luziel picked up the pace. He began to descend, willing his eyes to shine incessantly and brilliantly. Luziel had never felt this free in such a long time. And he finally had a chance to be free.

Luziel's hope and confidence died as soon as he touched down in the Above. The cloud soil beneath him was scorched and smoking, littered with the corpses of several citizens as well as that of his brothers and sisters. The buildings around him were dismal, crumbling in places. He was living his worst nightmare.
"Luziel!" He heard a familiar voice call hoarsely from behind him.
"Haniel."
The first member of his rebellion was lying on the unbelievably smoldering ground, his limbs twisted at odd angles and his now-blackened wings detached from him on either side.
Haniel was dying.
"What happened?" Luziel asked through the lump in his throat, crouching beside his mangled body.
"We were betrayed by one of the council's loyal citizens. They slaughtered us," Haniel explained, having trouble keeping his voice audible.
He choked on a sob. "I've failed you."
"No," Haniel uttered, "you gave us hope, the closest we've had to freedom."
Those were his last words.

The rebellion was dead.

^^^

!!Author's Note!!

I'm dedicating this chapter to as a thank-you for all the votes. THANKS SO MUCH!!😛💙

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