Heaven and Hell

FIVE

P A R A D I S I C   L A N D

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LUCIUS PURPOSELY SLOWED down his pace so that Adelia could reach their destination first. It was worth it, to see her jubilantly bright smile as she waved at Lucius from where she had landed. Due to the flight, her hair was a mess, strewn in all directions as she ran her hair through it again and again but never seemingly able to tame the strands. Lips stretched into a full-blown smile, Lucius thought that his heart might burst just by the sight of her.

"I won!" She cried with joy, her wings fluttering a little behind her when Lucius finally landed on the grassy ground. "By any chance had you purposely flown slower just so that I could win?"

Lucius couldn't help but smile. Of course she would figure it out. After all, he had never met another angel quite as brilliant as Adelia was. She viewed the world with such scrutiny but held bits and pieces of curiosity deep within her sapphire blue irises. There was no border to cease where she could inquire. If the world went by her rules, Lucius was sure that Adelia would have demanded to know the reason behind every small little thing. Her intelligence, besides her outstanding beauty and challenging defiance, had been the one to draw Lucius towards her.

"Of course not." Lucius tried to hide his smile but his lips betrayed him. "Why ever would you think of it that way?"

"Well, you seem like the sort that would think of himself gentleman enough to let a girl win. But I will have you know that just because I am a female does not mean I will lose to you if you placed your entire effort. I just save my strength for the people that are worthy of it."

With her nose high up in the air, Adelia rested her clenched fists on her hips, the air of outright snobbery surrounding her. She seemed indignant but the glint of playfulness in her eyes made Lucius release the breath he had not known he was holding.

"I did not mean to offend you in any way, Adelia." Lucius started, his smile bashful and sweet. He thought he even saw Adelia crack a small smile of her own. "It was just all in good fun."

She did not reply, simply waving off the matter casually before reaching up to comb back her hair again. Lucius noticed that she did that a lot; run her hands through her thick curls only to have it bounce back with even more vigor and volume. He liked it, though. It suited her really well and in his eyes, only she could pull off such a look so elegantly. If any of the other much fairer angels had done it, he might have even raised an eyebrow at them. Then again, Lucius had always been taught not to judge others just by their appearance. Everyone was made beautiful and unique and he should be thoughtful enough to respect that; even if their definition of beautiful was not his own.

It was just that even the gleam of the bright stars could not hold a flame against the bright light within Adelia's irises. To Lucius, no other angel could shine as brightly when placed beside the only one he thought mattered.

"So what was it that you wanted to show me, Lucius?" She asked, batting her long eyelashes in what she thought was the least flirtatious way, yet it made Lucius shudder.

He cleared his throat, scratching the back of his neck before gesturing over to a little alcove hidden within the tall trees and colorful flowers.

"This way," he stated before quickly walking over to where he had discovered the most amazing entrance to another realm. "I found someplace which might just be better than Heaven. The nights last just the same but the days, the days last for so much longer. I know that you adore the night time but maybe you will finally be able to find some joy in seeing the sunlight without having to disturb your rest."