by Linda Creel
A knock on the bedroom door interrupted Caspian’s thoughts. His mother had sent Joshua with a message. “Since most of the guests are here, Mother wants to start the ceremony now.”
“Have Axel and Analie arrived?”
“No and neither has the Guild and their families. Mother says I can stand in since your best man isn’t here.”
“We’ll see about that. I need to speak to Father.”
Caspian hurried out of the room, slamming the door behind him. Making his way down the spiral staircase, he arrived at his father’s study. When he opened the French doors, the governor was sitting behind a large cherry desk going through a stack of papers. Caspian plopped on one of the leather chairs and allowed his legs to dangle over the arm.
Henry Fairbourne was a gentle man; a trait his wife viewed as a sign of weakness. He had succeeded his father as Governor of Utopia, after his death, nearly thirty years ago. A touch of grey around his temples gave him a distinguished look, but it was his kindness towards the residents that made him so well-loved.
“I thought you would be outside greeting your guests,” Henry said.
“Some of them haven’t arrived yet. Were you aware Mother wants to change the time of the ceremony? I don’t know what kind of game she’s playing, but I have no intention of marrying that woman until Axel is here to bear witness.”
“From what Joshua tells me, Axel and Analie are on their way. I know you and your mother don’t always see eye to eye, but I assure you, her intentions are honorable,” Henry sighed. “This is our stormy season; you don’t want anyone to get caught in the rain.”
“Adam has assured me the weather will not be a problem. Don’t you trust him?”
“Of course I trust him; he’s a member of the Guild. Have you changed your mind about the marriage?”
“No – I’ll honor my agreement, though I dare say my brother would rather I didn’t.”
Henry chuckled. “You’re not listening to those rumors about Richard and Desiree? When you’ve been alive as long as I have you’ll realize most women are prone to gossip. You need to ignore them. Desiree is a fine young lady. If she had wanted to marry Richard, she wouldn’t have accepted your proposal.”
“It wasn’t really much of a proposal. I told her Mother thought we should marry, and she agreed.”
Henry patted his son affectionately on the shoulder. “I know you still care for Andromeda, but she is married to Gregory, and they have their own family now. You need to move forward with your life.”
“That ship sailed a long time ago.”
“We received word last night Andromeda and Gregory will be here for the wedding,” Henry said.
Caspian planted his feet on the ground, and stood to face his father. There was an air of excitement in his voice. “I thought they were going to Australia.”
“Apparently, Gregory changed his mind, or Andromeda changed it for him. Why don’t you go down to the garden? I’m sure your sister has arrived by now. You can have a quick chat before we begin the service. I’ll be down as soon as I sort through this mess on my desk.”
Henry walked Caspian out, and watched him exit through the front door. He shook his head. I have only ever wanted my children’s happiness. I hope this marriage isn’t a mistake.
“There he is now,” Joshua said, as Caspian walked down the outside steps to join them.
Analie grasped her brother’s hands. “I know you’re only doing this for Mother. If I allowed her to plan my future, I would never have married Axel. She’s never forgiven me for defying her.”
He pulled her into an embrace. “You made the right choice.”
Analie started to laugh. “I’m sure it’s killing Mother knowing Axel will be your best man.”
“She didn’t want either of you here, but I went to Father and told him in so many words that if you and Axel weren’t at the wedding, I wouldn’t be either.”
She gave his hand a gentle squeeze. “I’ll always be here for you.”
“I appreciate that more than you know.”
The group began their walk towards one of the tables close to the trellis. Joshua, his best friend Will, Will’s brother, Arian, and Analie’s daughter, Jade were already seated. As he scanned the guests, Caspian noticed the Guild still hadn’t arrived.
“You could wait for them,” Analie suggested.
“Mother would be livid if I postponed the service. I apologize for seating you so close to her table, but I had no choice. Everyone of prominence is sitting in the front row. At least you’ll have a table for the bridal party separating you from Mother. I assume Axel will be sitting with you?”
“You’ll forgive me if I want to keep my distance from your mother. She still thinks I have taken the same dark path as my father, but I assure you nothing is further from the truth,” Axel said.
“You don’t have to convince me; I’ve never doubted your loyalty. It looks like the cleric is here; I should speak to him before the ceremony. See you afterwards?” he said to Analie.
“I’ll be here.”
After kissing his sister on the cheek, Caspian and Axel walked towards the make-shift altar. Though Meredith wanted a huge wedding party, Caspian insisted on a small informal service.
Desiree’s mother, Charisse, arrived from Paris the day before to help her daughter dress for the wedding.
Aside from the bride and groom, there would only be two others at the altar – Axel, and Richard’s daughter, Nathali, who would serve as the bride’s maid of honor.
The service was brief, lasting only fifteen minutes. Just as the clergyman pronounced the bride and groom husband and wife, Caspian turned his eyes to the sky when he heard the crowd gasp.
Led by Bren and Tracy, the orphaned girls extended their wings, and hovered over the newly married couple.
“Are we too late to object to the marriage?” Bren asked.
“I’m afraid the ceremony is over,” the cleric said. “The groom was just about to kiss his bride.”
Bren and Tracy were the first to land on the grass in front of the trellis. When they concealed their wings; the other girls followed suit.
“Guess we’ll have to go to plan “B,” Bren said silently to Tracy.
“What’s plan B?”
“You’ll see; just watch.””
Before the congratulatory cheers, the residents heard Meredith shouting at one of the smaller children. Reaghan had spotted the trays of treats and a few of the girls followed her to the table.
She grabbed a handful of petit fours, but before she could pass them to the other children, Meredith slapped her fingers causing the crowd to go silent as the cakes fell to the ground. “Get away from there,” she shrieked.
Her face was rigid and stone-like when she turned to her husband. “I don’t know who invited these brats to my wedding, but they need to leave now! I will not have them putting their dirty little hands on my food!”
Reaghan began to whimper as tears streamed down her cheeks. No one had ever been cruel to her before; she was loved by everyone she met.
The pitiful whine from the young angel-blood filled the square. The rest of the Utopians were stunned. They couldn’t believe Meredith would strike the poor child, especially since she was Paul’s daughter.
Willow was the first to run to Reaghan’s side. She stroked the hand of her young friend, erasing the red mark and pain inflicted by the governor’s wife.
Then to everyone’s surprise, Willow drew back her fist, which connected with Meredith’s jaw.
The impact was so great, the diamond tiara worn by the Baroness, crashed to the ground before she landed with a splash in one of the fountains.
Some of the guests tried to muffle their chuckling, but Bren and Tracy hooped and hollered, which made the rest of the little ones laugh.
Willow’s voice was scary calm. “Don’t you ever hit one of my friends!”
“Do something, Richard,” Desiree cried. “These brats shouldn’t even be here.”
<
br /> “These children are my guests,” Caspian said.
Whether it was his wife calling for Richard, or referring to the Guild’s children as brats, Caspian was so angry, he shoved Desiree, who lost her balance, landing in the fountain next to her mother-in-law.
The crowd gasped as Richard’s hand flew beneath his coat jacket, but before he could pull out a weapon, Bren and Tracy were in front of him.
“If you value your life, you’ll put your hands where we can see them,” Bren warned.
Knowing the children of the Guild had special powers, Richard wasn’t about to test them, especially with Adam and Paul watching.
Bren then walked over to the treat table and picked up a tray of petite fours. The look in her eyes, dared anyone from trying to stop her from giving the little cakes to the other children.
Desiree started sobbing uncontrollably. “How can you defend these brats, Caspian? We agreed there would be no children at our wedding. You care more for them, than you care for your mother, and she’s a baroness!”
Eve approached the fountain, looking smug, while doing nothing to control her laughter, which further infuriated Meredith.
“There is no royal blood in Meredith’s veins,” she said, loud enough for the crowd to hear. “Hasn’t she told you the truth about her father? His biological mother made a pact with Lucifer -- her son would go to a childless couple, and she would go to Hell to become his new bride. Byron never wanted for anything growing up; his adoptive parents were true blue-bloods, coming from a long line of royals, but he was greedy, and they could never give him enough.”
Meredith tried to stand, but a flick of Bren’s wrist forced her back into the water. “That is a lie,” she bellowed. “My father was a good and decent man.”
Eve’s face hardened. This was a side of her the family had never seen before.
“Your father was a murderer. After he married Lucifer’s sister, Loralei, he took the Baron’s money, but wanted nothing more to do with him, or his wife. No – Byron only wanted a child with Lucifer’s blood – a child who could be controlled by darkness and evil. Loralei gave birth to you, and when you were ten years old, Byron poisoned his parents. When she discovered what he did, Byron had Loralei killed her too.”
“All lies – my father was innocent. The Guild killed him for no reason,” Meredith cried.
Eve’s tone softened. “Despite all his faults, you have always defended Byron.” She bent down to pick up the tiara. When she handed it to Meredith, she noticed one of the diamonds was missing.
Meredith snatched the tiara. “This was all I had left of my father, and now it’s broken because of your impertinent daughter,” she shouted.
Bren was about to push Meredith again, when Eve waved her off.
“The crown never belonged to your father; it was one of the many jewels he stole from the Baroness after her death. Your father followed a dark path, even though his wife remained faithful to Heaven. Thankfully, three of your children followed in her footsteps. The jury is still out on you and your eldest son.”
Eve sauntered closer to Richard. “You have your grandfather’s eyes. Do you know you can tell a lot about a person by the color of their eyes? Black is a telltale sign someone is being tempted by darkness. Tell me, Richard – is there any remnant of the angels in your blood? You don’t have to answer; I think we know.”
Eve’s gaze then followed Nathali who was standing beside her father. Like Meredith, her curly hair was an auburn color. “Lucifer’s daughter -- your eyes are as cold as your fathers.”
“What are you talking about? Richard is my father,” Nathali said.
“Is he? My apologies -- I must be mistaken.”
Meredith and Desiree climbed out of the fountain. Their once beautiful silk gowns lost their luster and clung to their bodies like limp dishrags. Just as their feet hit the ground, a wave of thunder and crack of lightning was heard. Everyone’s eyes turned to the sky in time to see Uriel arrive.
Dressed in a white linen shirt and loose-fitting black trousers, the archangel strode over to Reaghan, who jumped into his arms, and nestled her head against his shoulder. Though the red mark on her hand was gone, she was still whimpering.
Uriel kissed her fingers. “There – all better?”
She nodded, and then ran back to Bren and Tracy who had brought another tray of goodies to the table.
“I want all of these brats gone, and that one, -- she pointed a finger towards Willow – “punished for assaulting me,” Meredith yelled as she tried to wring the water out of her dress.
“I’m afraid there will be no more punishments today,” Uriel said tranquilly. “You were foolish to strike my granddaughter. As you can imagine, our young ones our very protective of each other.”
He winked at Willow, who was standing next to Rita, grinning from ear to ear.
“As to the presence of the other children; I believe it would be easier for my daughter-in-law to show you why they are under the watchful eyes of the Guild. I do apologize for the timing of this news, but it is imperative you realize the threat of danger is closer than you can imagine.”
Uriel motioned for Eve to pull up the visions of the angel-blood’s deaths, and show how their daughters came to be abused, and later rescued from Purgatory.
Holding nothing back, Eve showed everything, including the beatings and burning of their flesh with hell-fire.
Most of the residents were appalled by what they witnessed; some were openly sobbing, others were vomiting in the grass -- even the men had to look away, but Desiree, Richard, Nathali, and Meredith could have cared less about the children. Their expressions were emotionless as they continued to watch the horrific abuse.
“There is little we can do for those who choose to live outside the protection of the colonies,” Richard said. “They left their heritage behind a long time ago. Whatever happens to them is none of our business.”
“I’m sorry you feel that way,” Uriel said. “If you think Lucifer’s son won’t come after your children; you are sadly mistaken. He intends to use the angel-bloods when his father starts the second war. These children were not given a choice; it was taken from them. We are making arrangements to warn those who live amongst the mortals about the dangers they face. As you can imagine, tracking them has been a slow and tedious process.”
“Will you be asking for volunteers to assist with your mission?” Axel inquired.
“We would welcome your help, my friend. Paul can speak more on this after the celebration. I know of no immediate threat to Utopia, so I suggest you enjoy the rest of your party.”
Bren and Tracy slipped over to the orchestra pit and asked the band members to play something lively, so the guests could dance.
The swing music they decided on wasn’t the rock and roll the girls were used to, but the kids didn’t seem to mind. The instruments drowned out the sounds of Meredith and Desiree whining complaints about the children ruining the wedding.
Uriel pulled his son, Paul, to the side. “I have decided to allow Jeziel to come to Aeden, but you are not to speak of this to anyone else, including Adam. He is your best friend, but some of us feel he has never forgiven Mortriel for killing Tercia.”
“She has been reincarnated; Adam has no reason to be angry now. Are you certain we aren’t making a mistake by allowing Lucifer’s daughter to leave Heaven?”
“This command came from the Lord Father; perhaps he is testing her loyalty. I need you to speak to Hespa and tell her about our decision. She will argue against it, but won’t defy an order from Father. I have to return to Heaven. Michael has summoned Dahnael, and I need to have a word with Jeziel.”
Before Paul could respond, his father disappeared.
Caspian was so angry; he couldn’t even look at his wife. Henry demanded that Meredith apologize for her behavior, but instead, she and Desiree turned on their heels, and stormed into the house.
Not being used to controversy, Caspian was disappointed his friend Andromed
a left before he had the chance to speak to her. He would send a note of apology in the morning.
The servants arranged trays of food in the center of each table where the orphans were seated. The chefs, angry at Meredith’s behavior, made special treats for the little ones. Caspian insisted the children be served before anyone in the wedding party, including him and the bride, if she returned.
Satisfied his brother would be leaving soon, Richard poured himself a glass of champagne while he watched Caspian and Axel converse with Paul and Adam.
I’ll speak to Samhael tomorrow. We’ll take care of Analie first, and then we will arrange for Caspian and Axel’s deaths. If Joshua becomes a problem, he will be eliminated too. Soon, I will rule Utopia, and Desiree will be by my side. No one will keep us apart -- no one.
When he saw Eve staring at him, Richard raised his glass, and gave her a subtle nod.
I’m sure Samhael will be happy to know his prisoners were taken to Aeden. Your father’s shield may protect you, but it won’t protect them. Change is coming; Lucifer won’t fail a second time.
Chapter 18
The rest of the young captives left behind in Purgatory were worked well past dusk.
Even though Mortriel had warned the fallen not to harm them, he said nothing about the amount of tasks they were given to complete. They were deprived of food and water until they were locked in the carriage house for the night.
Verah, being the eldest at twenty three years, did her best to look after the others.
She was the first one captured almost four years ago when her car went over an embankment. Near death, Samhael had promised to return her to her husband, Alistair, the governor of the Australian colony. But he lied, and took her to Purgatory. When she tried to escape, he burned her arms with hell-fire.
There was no way to get a message to Alistair to tell him she was alive; he would have gone to hell and back to rescue her.
For three years, Verah was the sole entertainment for the fallen angels, and then, the other girls began to arrive.
Not one day went by that she didn’t think about her son, who would be nearing his fifth birthday. She wouldn’t have blamed Alistair if he found a new wife. If he thought she was dead, he had every right to move on with his life.
