Obey

Chapter Ten: Visitation

Azrael's P.O.V:

It's been a few days since Unikai carried out her punishment. I've given Azazel and Unikai orders to take care of her, as well as keep her company in the room so she isn't alone. I know of many humans dying due to feeling alone or upset. In the meantime, I keep busy by writing in the notebook. The dates, times and ways people leave are known to me a list I receive every week, but they are for millions of years in the future. We reside in a space where time both exists and doesn't exist at once. Feeling bored and accomplished, I think about going to see her. I hear some commotion in the hallway and decide to get up. Unikai and Azazel are fighting again.

"Calm down please, both of you." I sigh.

"He started it!" Azazel yells like a child.

"I'm finishing it." I glare at him.

"Yes Azrael." They both bow to me a little. I nod and they stand back up.

"Sir Azrael?" Unikai asks me.

"Yes?"

"You should go see her, it's been days and... while she knows us pretty well at this point... You're still a stranger to her. It's been almost two months since she arrived." Unikai tells me.

"I'm not in the-"

"Why are we taking care of your pet if you never actually wanted her then?" Azazel asks, leaning against the wall.

"Azazel, hold your tongue." Unikai answers.

"No. No, he's right." I sigh. "I shall visit her this afternoon. Make sure she understands that she has to behave."

"Yes sir." They both answer.

I mentally and physically prepare myself for this afternoon. It's been an awful mess so far trying to talk to her. She's so scared all of the time that she gets defensive and can't behave. Finally I am prepared to go see her. When I walk in, she is reading a book— "Prometheus Bound". I wait a few moments in the room, listening to her inner voice read. She seems to ignore me while reading. I clear my throat trying to gauge where she's at in terms of her attitude.

'Can't he wait a sec? I'm at a good part.' She continues reading. I go and sit at the desk chair, trying to be patient. After she finishes the page she marks it with a slip of paper and sits up, facing me.

"Good afternoon, Fidelina." I smile.

"Hey." She shifts uncomfortably, 'why's he looking at me like that? What does he even want anyway?'

"To talk." I answer. "If you promise to be good of course."

'Be good? I'm always good. It's him who can't control his temper.'

"No yelling, and no fighting. I want an adult conversation." I tell her.

'Whatever.' She snaps back into action saying "Yes, Master Azrael."

I'll ignore her thoughts for now, she shouldn't be punished for thinking things if she's obeying in person. Eventually, she'll understand. I cast a  protection spell on the door from the chair so Unikai can't eavesdrop anymore. She sits in a ball on the bed.

"What do you want to talk about?" I ask her.

"Why do you talk to Sir Lucifer and-" she stops herself by thinking 'is demons offensive?'

"No, it is a race. Go on." I answer, trying to keep from chuckling at her. She's so funny sometimes.

"Demons... if you're supposed to be neutral? Why not then also speak with angels and-" she stops. 'I better not say his name again.'

"Fidelina... I hate to say this, but most of your race ends up with Lucifer—due to the sins they commit. I end up having more contact with him, since he doesn't have to control earth and hell at once like the creator controls heaven and earth. Lucifer can leave it and come back more frequently than the creator can. The creator is too far away and controls too much. Besides... I also took... a fall of sorts. Sometimes I think I'm more damned than Lucifer himself..." I tell her. It's a long story, one I haven't... probably can't tell for a while.

She sighs and I come back to reality from my own thoughts. 'Just ask him.' I hear her think to herself.

"Did... did you lie to me about why I am here?" She asks looking down.

"Wherever did you get an idea like that?" I ask her.

"I can handle it, Master Azrael. I just have to know. Did my mom... did my mom trade my life for hers?" She is tearing up as she says this.

"Of course not. Your mother loved you very much Fidelina." I get up and go to her, sitting next to her on the bed. Hesitantly, I put my arm around her. She tenses, but allows it to happen. I pull her chin up to look me in the eyes. "Had she been given a choice I'm sure she would have picked your life and her perish." She looks away from me, and I let her.

"Fidelina, Unikai May have punished you, but that was it. He gets into your mind and inflicts emotional wounds, manipulating people's emotions and their thoughts." I sigh, trying to get this out is tougher than I thought. "What else has he told you wrong?" Maybe she wasn't ready for that punishment either. I'm doing everything wrong. It's been so long since I last had a human here with me...

"Nothing I guess..." she says quietly.

"Azrael... Sir... am I the only..." she stops and thinks to herself. 'I'm being dumb.' "Am I the only human that you've brought to your realm?" She asks.

"No." I answer her quietly. I really didn't want to go into this so soon. "There was another... but... I couldn't protect her... I-I'm sorry to say that I cannot protect you as I want to either... that much is obvious after what's happened to you." I answer.

'Did he kill the last one? Is he going to kill-'

"No!" I yell angrily. A little more angrily than I wanted. "I never hurt her... I never wanted to hurt her... Fidelina, the reason I'm so strict with you is because of her... I didn't teach her anything and- she's gone now... this is why it's crucial you behave. I don't want you to leave too... don't you understand? I only hurt you because... because... I love you. I would never want to inflict something on you that you couldn't handle." I'm pacing by the end of this because of both anxiety and fear. I can't go around Unikai anytime soon or he would lose control..."Fidelina... there's a lot about my past that I haven't told you... that... that I can't tell you... not now anyway..." I look at her, she's terrified.

I leave and go to my room. Why does she only see me as a monster?! Why can't she just trust me and know that I do what's best for her? I start to tear the room apart in anger and Azazel comes in to find the room destroyed. He turns and leaves me alone in my mess.