Her name had been Ariel.
Softness rested under her head, tickling her nose but smelling so sweet. Her eyelids had been heavy to lift but she knew that she needed to open them. Slowly peeling back her heavy eyelids she found herself staring at greenness. It surrounded her. Grass. She stared at the blades in front of her, watching as they shifted in the breeze.
Her eyes scanned around in drowsy movements as she stared in wonder at the world. Then she saw it. Her first gaze of the sky took her breath away. She rolled onto her back, staring up at the intense blue. It was endless.
She was new. She understood that. Fresh and unknowing. It was so interesting to be new to the world, but understand so much. She was cautious to sit up, ensuring she saw every single thing as she moved. With her spine straight and eyes torn away from the sky, she glanced around her to see that she was not alone. Twelve other creatures sat around her, lying still in a deep sleep.
She looked at her own self, just becoming aware that she was something. She had a body, long and soft and curves. She touched herself gently, marvelling at the oddness. She glanced from herself to the others, realising they all shared the same skin and body. She lifted hands to explore herself, grabbing at a nose and fluttering a finger over an eye. She understood she was the same as the others around her. That must mean she had wings. She felt a twitch on her back and turned her head, glancing at the white wings which extended from her back.
Interesting.
She did not understand much of was happening. Yet, she understood what she was looking at, had a vague idea of who she was and that she was not alone.
She was certain of one thing, she wanted to stand. With shaking legs and a teetering spine, she stood. The others around her did not follow suit, still lying still on the soft grass and deep within a slumber.
She didn't know what to do now. She didn't exactly know anything really. She glanced up at the sky again, wondering if it had answers. It did not. When he brought her gaze down she saw them.
Three figures standing before her, seemingly appearing out of nowhere. They stood in golden robes, hoods hiding their face and their hands linked in front of them. There was something about them that radiated a demand for respect. These creatures needed to be obeyed.
Obedience, another interesting thing.
"Hello," she said. She had been the first to stand, and the first to speak.
The one in the middle of the three stepped forward and slowly pushed back their golden hood. A face like the ones around her presented itself, yet different. This face was unique and not the same as hers. It had soft squishy skin, a face with two eyes and a nose. Golden eyes peered out of a lean face, with black hair trailing down in a multitude of braids. The woman gave a smile, baring white teeth. It was unsettling to see so many teeth, but it wasn't threatening.
"Hello Ariel."
That was the first time she heard her name. She had a name. How interesting.
The woman offered her another small smile, "My name is Dalia. I, like you, are in service of the great divine, Fate. You, and your companions are angels. The first of your kind."
"Oh. I am in the service of someone?" Ariel said softly as she gazed around. Brothers and sisters. That's what they were. Ariel turned her gaze to Dalia. "Why are they not awake?"
Dalia smiled at her again, "They shall. You have just been the first. You are the strongest it seems."
"Because I awaken first? That seems an odd way to measure power."
Dalia looked startled at her, her eyebrows raising her smile dimming slightly. "I suppose it is."
Ariel turned to her sisters and brothers. "Why have we been created?"
"You creatures shall guide the world Fate has created. You shall shape those down below and guide them into the right path. Each of you has a role to play." Dalia said loudly, extending her hands towards them. "You angels have no set position; you must earn your role."
It seemed grand, but only silence reverberated after Dalia's declaration.
"This seems very odd. I don't understand much of what your saying."
"You will." Dalia smiled. "Go on and about, experience the world as it will be, and you will come to earn your position.
And then the three figures were gone, and they were left alone. Ariel frowned uncertain of everything she knew, which wasn't much. She turned to her companions, her brothers, and sisters. They were so utterly and completely asleep. It seemed . . . cruel to wake them from their slumber. Ariel doubted that there would be very few years of peace after this, they should enjoy it.
So instead she walked. She knew that she was capable of flight, but the desire did not strike her at this moment. She wanted to walk through the grass, feel it through her toes and experience the world. She walked for what could have been eons, through fields of flowers and streams. She climbed trees and swam. Every experience was remembered and appreciated for its simplicity.
For Ariel knew that this was simple. There was nothing complex about what she did at this moment, but there would surely be soon. This was a brief moment of peace and calm. She didn't know how she knew, but she did.
When her time was up, for she just knew it was, she began her walk back. Her return journey was brief, even though she had walked for seemingly decades. Her brothers and sister reappeared after only a few steps, still asleep even as she experienced the world.
Soon it would time to wake them, but not yet.
Instead she sat with knees tucked up and arms wrapped around them tightly, staring at the light. It was the sun. She was vaguely aware, the information within her mind but buried slightly under consciousness. Yet, it wasn't the real sun either, but what it would soon become. She knew so many things, but nothing really at all. She simply had to trust that she would soon be taught everything. So instead, she took a breath and enjoyed the sunset.
As she watched the ball of light sink below sight colour decorated the sky. Deep red revealed itself as light reached the edge of the world, and Ariel had never seen anything more beautiful in her life. There were flares or orange and bursts of pink, a painting in the sky that only she saw. That was when she felt it, a shudder down her spine. She glanced back in confusion, only to watch as her white wings slowly darkened in colour. White feathers turned to dark reds, hues of orange and flecks of pink. The colour of sunset. She tugged at her hair and watched as it lengthened and darkened, the red so intense in its colour and beauty she was breathless.
She glanced back at her brothers and sisters.
"It's time to wake up," she said it softly, but the command rippled through the air and they stirred immediately. Ariel gritted her teeth as she felt pain for the first time in her life. She glanced down at her arm and watched in fascination as writing burned its way into her flesh.
Seraphim.
She turned her head back as her siblings pulled themselves up from the ground and began muttering to themselves. Ariel stood and walked towards them, feeling a smile break out.
"How does everyone feel," Ariel asked softly. They stared at her, unblinking and confused.
"What is happening," one asked, knees shaking as they tried to stand.
Ariel gripped her sisters' forearm and pulled her up. Ariel smiled at her fellow angel, "The beginning."
YOU ARE READING
Fate and the Defiant Angel (COMPLETED)
WerewolfBeyond the realm of human exists demons, angels and reapers. A range of creatures which control the world of the humans, all on the behest of Fate. Azzarra, or Zara as she likes to call herself, is an angel created to confirm the deaths of creatures...