Unendurable [Gabriel]

Hellfire

"IN WHICH WE SEE THE FORMATION OF AN UNEASY ALLIANCE"

          IT HAS BEEN MILLENNIA since Zenra first entered Heaven, a demon among angels, and stories of her have only become more terrifying. She is said to have claws, and to bathe in the blood of her enemies. Demons swear that she can break a man's mind faster that you can blink, and angels believe her to be more powerful that Lucifer himself. Hunters claim that she wears a crown of hellfire, and that demons call her Queen.

          She laughs at all the rumours except the last, for her reign over Hell has been a long one, indeed.

          Though the angels fear her as a powerful force, they remember the days when she laughed among them, as beautiful and pure as the best of them. Those days were long gone, but that did not change the order some had received: find Zenra Cileri and try to enlist her help in the fight against Lucifer. It was doubted that they would succeed, for it was a well-known fact that the fallen angel was a friend of the Queen of Hell. Still, they searched.

          It was the angel Castiel who found her, and that was a lucky thing indeed, as he was the only one who remained in Heaven who she had once loved. He approached her as she leaned upon a fallen gallows, sadly watching the torture of a witch at the hands of Dean Winchester.

          The angel stood behind her, hardly daring to speak, for he was not sure how the demon would react to his presence. But he need not have feared. "Go on," Zenra said, gesturing towards the hunter. "Take him back to the land of the living." Castiel came to stand beside her, cocking his head slightly, his eyes confused. "You would allow a soul to leave Hell so easily?" "This is Hell, not the American border," Zenra shot back. "The Apocalypse would not be good for my investments in Hell, therefore I will allow you to take your Righteous Man," she continued, when the angel's confusion was noticed. "That is not the only reason we have been searching for you," Castiel said, his voice deep and somber. Zenra turned, her eyes fierce and terrible as they pierced his blue ones. "We would request your assistance in the fight against Lucifer," the angel finished. Zenra scoffed, the fire in her eyes igniting. "I have a kingdom to run, and you know I would gladly kill any angel in Heaven. My assistance would be your downfall." "Not any angel," Castiel pressed. "You would not kill Balthazar, or Gabriel. Or me." Zenra laughed bitterly, saying, "Balthazar died without my help, and do not doubt my willingness to kill Gabriel."

          "Zenra, you have fought by our side before. Heaven cannot win without your help." The Queen turned away from Castiel, gazing down the hill at Dean. "You cannot win with my help, either," she muttered. "It's the humans, Castiel. They have been flooding Hell in greater numbers than ever before. I have had to expand several times in the past few years. And when they arrive...they are already close to becoming demons. That is not what Earth is supposed to do. It should not be happening." "That is why we must fight," Castiel replied softly. "For humanity." "For humanity," Zenra echoed. 

          The two stood there for a moment longer in a sad silence, one that cannot be bridged by words but that actions are unable to touch. "Go," Zenra suddenly said, turning again to pin Castiel with her cold gaze. "Go save Dean Winchester. I will be there when you call." The angel nodded, a slight smile lighting up his face as he flew over to the Righteous Man. 

           Zenra watched an angel who had once been a son to her claw his way out of Hell, and in that moment she felt something she had not felt in a long time: hope. Hope that, maybe, somehow, they could win. That they could be happy. It would take a miracle, but she had hope. The Queen of Hell turned on one black heel and headed off back to her palace. After all, she had work to do. Hell couldn't run itself.