Angel & Hero

1. The Alderia

The Alderia was a rather simple place to understand, a balanced universe where three clans cohabited.

First were the angels: pure beings, relying on their intelligence and their powers, their goal was always to look for the truth in its most objective way. They rarely lied and never let emotions get the best of them which sometimes made them quite naive. The more their power was useful to the big truth, the better their reputation was.

The second ones were the demons, creatures of emotion. They didn't get along with angels very well because of their manipulative and creative nature.

Last were the heroes or adventurers, they ensured the sacred balance in the Alderia. Brave, proud, they couldn't bare the sight of injustice and were physical creatures.

Each clan had a King or Father or a Queen or Mother, protectors of their own clan and of the Alderia. Alderians didn't have an age, their appeared every now and then in the forest of the Alderia every time a star was born.

The forest was an important aspect of their lives. It divided the lands but also brought them together. The center of the Alderia, where creatures appeared, was a round-shaped surface where very few people lived. On the outside of it were the three territories with their respective castles. And finally, the Alderia as all creatures knew it was surrounded from all parts by the remaining of the forest.

So that was it: the world of the Alderia, a simple but troublesome place where angels, demons and heroes had to live in. And in the middle of all this: Emée, the sweet angel who could kiss the wounds away.

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Emée's Point of View

It was the day of the market, I was surrounded by a huge crowd. Today, it was especially full because tomorrow was the celebration of the Alderia. Once a year, all the clans went to the forest to thank the Alderia for its new members. Each year, the location changed from a territory of another and this one, it was the angels' turn. Foods, games and decorations were prepared to make this party the most joyful of the year and bring peace on the clans.

I tried to make my way between the creatures, it was pretty uncommon to see so many heroes and demons here, I could see that from the unusual sea of colors. Angels traditionally wore white clothes, we didn't have any wings or strange things of that sort, just like demons didn't have horns, but we still had some particular rules such as wearing white. Angels were strict by nature, never fooled around because there was a truth to look for.

Mother Vani was the perfect example: she always wore a long white dress with long sleeves, hair braided and a flower crown when she was feeling reckless. Despite her strict looks, she was an incredibly kind woman who loved all of her angels dearly. She had an amazing gift which never failed to impress anybody: her memory was without limits, she never forgot anything. She knew the stars by heart, so every night she scrutinized the sky, looking for a new star to see if an Alderian was born in the forest. I admired her, her intelligence and empathy regarding my gift were immensely greater than those of the angels who deemed worthless anything that wasn't a challenge to their intellect. For them, I was just a cool nurse.

The mother of demons was Queen Bali, a very creative woman and heroes were ruled by King Rédi, the man of justice. Every ruler was the image of their people.

Queen Bali and the demons were always in loose and colorful clothing, draping over them in layers and covered from head to toe. Some demons even liked to dress in terms of their current feelings. King Rédi was just like all heroes: strict clothing close to the body with multiple ornaments from the shoulders to the wrists and a sword attached to the hip.

I finally arrived in front of the fruit stand, those heroes had solid shoulders!

"Hello Emée! How are you? What can I do for you?" Paul said, he was a nice demon and was wearing a grey cape over a loose bodysuit of the same color. I had never known him to be mean or manipulative, most demons weren't really like that anymore in order to have peace between all clans.

"I'm very well, thank you. I'd like the usual to make my famous fruit salad, please!" I said.

"I'll be right back with what you need sweetie."

Waiting for Paul, I looked around, seeing people laughing, exchanging smiles.

"Daydreaming again, kissy girl?" I spun around to see Sébastien, an angel in a white shirt and white jeans. Well, that was unpleasant to the eye.

"Oh hello Sebastien, how are you?" I said smiling, trying to make the future harsh words that I knew were coming, a little less poisonous.

"I'm good, I keep translating this ancient manuscript. And you, still at the hospital?" Sébastien also had an impressive gift, as much as I'd like to say the contrary, he could read and understand any language. I knew that his attempt to ask how I was was only to make me feel less of me.

"Yes, that's right."

"Here's what you need, Emée!" Paul saved me from Sébastien's claws with my basket full of fruits. I knew he had chosen the best for me, colorful and with a delicate aroma.

"Thank you very much Paul, see you tomorrow I hope!"

"Bye Emée" He answered.

Sebastien took my hand and kissed it, looking into my eyes, "Goodbye little angel" he said sarcastically.

I arrived home a few minutes later after that wonderful encounter. My house wasn't big, a bedroom, a small bathroom and a cozy living room next to the kitchen, angels tended to live in simplicity as we weren't physical creatures who could build palaces on our own. I had inherited this house after an ancient angel had passed away to join the stars, it was much more comfortable than my old cabin in the woods. I didn't even know if anyone else had stepped a foot in there after me.

I put the groceries on the kitchen counter and started cutting some vegetables to make diner. I dreaded a bit to be tomorrow. The angels don't particularly appreciate me because of my "useless capacity" as they say because it has caused many demons and heroes to come in our territory just to for a kiss. The truth was that they came less and less because Vani didn't want anyone to come as they pleased to "take advantage of such a gift". She believed that there were more to my power than we thought. Some people had come to see me for a cut, or with an arm bandaged, I had kissed the wound and a few weeks later, no scar was to be seen.

Scars were important for heroes, they allowed them to see who had already once compromised the balance in the Alderia. If someone's hurt by accident, they don't scar but a punishment always leaves a scar even if the punishment isn't physical.

That's what Vani was afraid of: she didn't want angels or demons to come erase their scars and keep disturbing the balance. I was pretty sure that some people were going to look at me like a circus animal tomorrow or that heroes would think I'm here to mess up their job.

After my meal, I started preparing the food I was going to bring the next day to the celebration and went to bed right after I was done. The days at work were quite long: it was either waiting or tending to people suffering, not very fun but I didn't really have a choice. If I didn't do that I was basically useless to the Angel community.

I went to bed and closed my eyes almost immediately, in hopes tomorrow would be good.