Angel & Hero

5. The second meeting

Emée's Point of View

I was walking down the stairs leading outside the palace, dejected from not being able to go in hero territory and give the ornament back, when I heard a voice say "Wait!". It sounded familiar, I didn't know why so I looked up and saw him.

Was I that tired? He was standing right in front of me, the hero who had saved my life and it looked like he was also looking for me... Oh gosh he must think I have stolen his ornament and he came back to punish me!

"Are you the girl from the woods?" He asked. I couldn't speak, it was the first time something so out of the ordinary was happening in my life so I just nodded. I then realized my mistake... if he was here to take back his ornament I probably shouldn't have said that. But he didn't leave me time to prepare my defense as he took my arm and said "Come with me."

I was too scared and dumbfounded to react and maybe if I didn't fight he would let me go without a punishment. He dragged me outside of the castle grounds and took me to a more isolated place near the woods, the situation brought back bad memories and I got very nervous. I tried to squirm out of his hold but he stopped and took both my shoulders in his hands.

"I'm sorry if I scared you, I really don't want to hurt you but I need to speak to you, in private. Can we go to your home?" He asked.

I was lost for words and confused as to what he wanted. This definitely wasn't a good idea but I didn't know how to get out of that one, I was the culprit here.

"Hum... I... I don't know." I couldn't form a sentence.

"Please, I promise no harm will be done to you, it is very important." He insisted.

I didn't think he would give up so I agreed and led the way to my house. What's the worst that could happen?

We arrived shortly after in front of my very modest house, I was almost ashamed of bringing him here when i knew that he was royalty in the clan of heroes. During our short trip, I had taken the time to look at him, I hadn't noticed at first but he was much more taller than I was which was normal for a hero but it didn't really ease my nerves.

He was everything I could imagine a royal hero could be. He was very tall and build but not extravagantly, probably allowing him to be faster than his enemies. His hair was quite long for a hero, the brown strands falling in perfect waves I was almost jealous of. His eyes matched his hair color perfectly and were spectacularly brought out by long dark lashes. The hero had a beard too, and hairy arms, I didn't get to see that a lot as angel men tended to shave their hairs.

I fumbled with my keys and opened the door. "Come in, be my guest." I said. At that moment, I realized something: I didn't even know his name! He must have seen my strange expression as he said:

"I am very sorry, this must be so confusing for you. I haven't properly introduced myself. I am Léni, hero working for King Rédi and also the one who stopped Alexandre from doing... you know." He cleared his throat.

Advisor of the King himself... No wonder why he had such fine ornaments and was that fit, the man reeked of power. I blushed at my thoughts, I had never thought about a man like that before.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Emée, an angel." I didn't tell him where I worked even though he probably knew about my power, just like Alexandre. I didn't understand why he had insisted to go to my house just to ask for his ornament back.

"I'm here for a particular reason. I know we don't know each other and that you probably have a lot of questions but I'm going to ask you to trust me. I'm here to warn you."

"Warn me? About what?" Was he even still talking about the ornament? I sure had a lot of questions and trusting someone was not something I had planned on doing again that quickly but I still listened to him and tried to keep calm as much as I could.

"Has Alexandre come to cross your path again?" He asked, his eyes wide.

"No he hasn't." I answered honestly, it had only been a day and I had imagined he'd be in prison by now.

"Good. Listen, Alexandre is not going to back off, he has been released and he is looking for you. You must be very careful, he is a powerful man and has a lot of influence in the demon world."

I had even more questions now, how come had he been released? How could I protect myself against him all alone? I was starting to understand that perhaps this little meeting wasn't just about his ornament.

"How has he been released?" I asked, I couldn't help myself.

"I will tell you in due time." I couldn't believe it, how was I supposed to trust him if he didn't tell me the things that concerned me directly? "Listen, I know it's strange but we don't have a lot of time to find a solution. Alexandre is probably on his way and I'm going to have to go back to the King to inform him about the situation. This demon is a powerful man, Emée." The way Léni said my name did strange things to my heart, I just wanted to be shielded by his arms and never leave his side, what was happening to me? Focus!

"Like I said, Alexandre has power and admirers in all the clans, some even in the Angel community and those people could force you to live in isolation even if you don't have a single scar!" I didn't know if he was whispering or yelling at me, he seemed even more panicked than I was, I couldn't even process what was happening.

Isolation was the most horrible punishment in the Alderia, it was for the creatures who had done terrible harm to the clans, those who severely disrupted the balance. Generally, those creatures would have one scar because it wasn't their first mischief. Angels, demons and heroes needed each other to survive despite our little wars and we knew that the balance of the Alderia was the most important thing so condemning a creature to isolation was basically the death penalty.

"What should I do?" I didn't know what else to ask, I was no warrior, it wasn't a common situation for me.

"Stay safe, I have to go back in hero territory and tell King Rédi about it. I need his help to find a solution." His words were of no help and honestly, his complete uninterest for my well-being hurt me a little but I told myself it wasn't the moment for such feelings. I nodded, still not understanding the full consequences of what he just told me.

"Can you at least tell me why was Alexandre released?" I asked.

"Hum... I'm so sorry. Emée, I made a terrible mistake." He was starting to scare me. "When I brought him to be judged, I hadn't realized that your absence meant my testimony had no value. I needed you and didn't bring you because I was too caught up in my hate towards him. King Rédi gave me a day to find you and bring you to him or Alexandre would be free but I failed." He sounded genuinely sorry but his behavior was strange. Why confess that now when we had only just met? How could a royal advisor forget about the victim of the crime? It didn't seem right...

"Let's just hope we find a solution." I answered with a slight smile, perhaps the King would understand the little delay. "Oh, by the way I have something that belongs to you." I said, looking though my purse. "I thought you had come here for that at first but you probably hadn't noticed since it looks like you've been busy. This is yours, I think it fell off when you ran." I handed him the ornament. He took it from my hand, our fingers touched and it was the gentlest someone had ever touched me. I was used to be the one kissing the wounds, it was a strange feeling to receive such treatment.

"No, I hadn't noticed! Thank you so much Emée, you don't know how much this means to me!" Léni suddenly hugged me very briefly and put the ornament back on his shoulder. I wasn't expecting so much contact on a second meeting. Now that I think about it, there is nothing very usual about our meetings anyway.