The Fates

Rhale and Amos had been arguing again. Amos wanted to send Celia straight to the Fates claiming that only they knew the answers that they were seeking, Rhale had shut that idea down saying that it was too dangerous.

Amos had then come up with ideas to try and test if she did possess any sort of powers, Rhale did not like how he wanted to test her and they were still arguing over how it could be done.

Celia had stopped trying to persuade them that she was not an angel, her arguments had only fallen on deaf ears.

What they both did agree on was that Celia needed to be able to protect herself. She had protested at first but their logic was solid. If they believed her to be an angel due to her scent others could as well, if that were to happen and if word got out she would be hunted and people would try to use her.

So here she was, three weeks after the decision had been made, in the courtyard running laps with Rhale. Prunella had started to braid her hair back for her but small pieces still got loose and stuck to her sweaty face.

Celia did not like running but Rhale had been adamant that it was necessary and when he reminded her that not so long ago she had needed to run away from danger she stopped trying to fight it. It was a low blow, they both knew it but the argument was solid.

So Celia ran and everyday he pushed her harder, making her run longer and faster. She was in constant pain and even though she was getting better she hated the fact that he was merely jogging while she was pushing herself to her limit.

After lunch they practiced archery, at first Celia had been too intimidated and she had been clumsy in her attempts but after the first week she had taken to it like a fish in water. There was something so soothing about the feel of the bow and arrow in her hand and as she aimed the whole world disappeared and all she saw was the target.

Rhale moved the target further and further away but she easily adjusted her aim and as soon as she released the arrow she somehow just knew that it would hit true.

After Rhale and Amos had seen how easily she took to archery they had started to question her more about her parents even though she had already told them everything that she knew.

Her mother was Avyanna, a human woman who had been twenty-two when she had Celia and she died that night that Rhale had found her. She had never known her father and her mother had refused to tell her about him.

They tried to calculate her age to when it was believed that the last angel had died but her birth did not line up, she was nineteen years old, born on the first of April. The last Angel had died five months before her mother must have gotten pregnant, or so it was believed.

For her that was proof enough that her scent was no more than a fluke but they had not been discouraged.

After archery Rhale was teaching her sword fighting and hand to hand combat, she hated it. Rhale was patient and always calm no matter how slow she was at progressing. Hand to hand combat was the worst, his proximity affected her more than she wanted to admit. They had not talked about that night when she had fallen asleep in his arms nor had it happened again. She still fell apart but she always made sure that no one was around, she was still ashamed that he had seen her in such a state.

His tenderness had surprised her, his exterior was hard and frightening but she had not once feared him. She always felt safe in his presence but she could clearly see how the poor maids hurried away in fright whenever he walked past them.

Her favorite part of the day was when all the training was done, she had some time then to do whatever she wanted before she needed to clean up and dress for the evening meal.

She almost always hurried to the stables to find Chip, the man who took care of all the animals that lived at the estate. She loved animals and for her it was a real treat to be surrounded by them. Chip, she had come to learn, was Prunella's brother and he was as kind as she was.

Celia was headed there now and even though she was tired and a little bruised from today’s training she was almost running to get there as fast as possible. On her way there the only goat that they had, found its way to her as always and ran beside her. Greta used to be a milk goat but she had stopped producing long ago and now she roamed free on the property at her own leisure.

“Come on Greta, let’s go to the stables”

“Baa” she took that as an agreement and they hurried along together. As they got closer Celia could clearly hear that Rhale was inside the stables talking to Chip. She made a shushing sign to Greta, telling her to be quiet and they both tiptoed to the side of the door to hear what they were saying without being seen.

“What else have you noticed?” The voice clearly belonged to Rhale.

“It’s strange, I know it is but I get the feeling that the animals understand her. More then normal I mean” that was Chip

“Could you explain more?”

“Well yesterday one of the horses accidently stepped on her foot when she was grooming him, he’s a clumsy horse and does it all the time. Thing is, he never notices and you always have to push him away with your elbow! She didn’t, he just asked him to move his hove and he did, just like that!”

“Sound more like a coincidence”

“But that’s just it, it’s not just that one time it’s all the time with all the animals. She calls them and they come, she asks them to stay still and they do, it’s strange.” Were they talking about her? Chip had mentioned on numerous occasions how good she was with the animals.

“Anything else?”

“Sometimes I get the feeling that she understands them too” sometimes she got that feeling too, the feeling of just understanding what the animals meant or wanted. But she just brushed it off, it’s not like they were actually talking to her. “Like that sodding goat, no one has been able to get close to it in years and now that thing acts like they are best buds! Greta follows her everywhere! And she never once attacks when she is around! I tell ya, it’s almost eerie”

Celia scrunched her eyebrows, how come Chip had not told her any of this? She looked at Greta and noticed that she looked kind of shameful, her head was bent down, her eyes lowered and her ears down to the sides. Here she had been thinking that everyone loved Greta and that was the reason why she was allowed to roam free.

“Why have you not killed the goat?” killed? Greta let out a whiney Baa and almost instantly the door to the stabled burst opened. Celia immediately stepped in front of Greta protectively.

“You can not kill her” she said to Rhale whose eyes softened as soon as he saw her.

“Don’t worry ma'am, I couldn't even if I tried. She’s a smart one” Chip said as he stepped out beside Rhale.

“Has anyone ever told you that it is rude to eavesdrop?” Rhale said sternly but she could see the twinkle in his eyes as he spoke.

“Has anyone ever told you that it is impolite to talk about people behind their back?” His sneer turned into a bemused smile.

“Come Celia, let us speak in private.” He motioned for her to follow him but she turned her attention to Chip.

“Please do not hurt her”

“I wouldn’t ma'am, no one will harm the goat.”

“Good, thank you” she turned to Greta and pointed a finger at her “You behave yourself”

“Baa” she petted Greta's ears and Chip shook his at them before she left to follow Rhale.

They walked in comfortable silence to her room and once they were there he closed the door behind them.

“How are you dealing with everything? I know that it has been a lot for you.”

Celia walked over to the sofa that stood in front of the fireplace and sat down “I am fine”

Rhale sat down beside her, staring at the fire that the maids made sure never went out. Winter was soon upon them and the rooms were growing chillier by the day.

“All of the Angels had magic but beyond that they all had different sets of skills. The Angel that died last, he was the most fearful of them all. He was known for many things but some things in particular, do you know what?” Celia tried to think hard about what she had heard about him, her mother had told her about the Angels and about how different the world had been when they were in it. She could not remember her mother ever mentioning the last Angel specifically.

“No, I do not”

“For one he bestowed the most magic of them all, so much so that he could both use it and give it away. The other Angels had to choose one or the other. That’s how Amos became a warlock, he was gifted with magic. It disappeared when the last Angel died. But what is most interesting to us is some of the other things the last Angel was gifted with, he was extremely skilful with a bow and arrow, so much so that he could hit a moving target from miles and miles away... You seem to have a natural talent for archery.”

Celia let his words sink in, she tried to imagine the mighty Angel and wondered how in the world anyone so powerful could have died. One thing she did remember about them was that they had been thought to be immortal. She wasn’t sure about the specifics, she was just about to ask when he started speaking again.

“He could also talk to animals, even call upon them, control them. Some of the shape shifter clans even worshiped him. You seem to have a gift with animals as well.”

She saw where he was going with this but he was wrong “I can not speak to animals Rhale, I just like them so they happen to like me back. And I am not that good at archery.”

“No? Have you not learnt in three weeks what it takes most people years to learn? You underestimate yourself Celia. And as for the Animals, you might not be able to talk to them as you and I are talking now but from me and Chip’s observation they most certainly understand you.”

“What happened to them? The Angels? I know they died but how? Weren’t they immortal?”

“So we all thought, the truth is no one really knows why they died, we only know that they did.”

Rhale looked at her then and like always she was unable to look away. His eyes held her captive and multiple emotions flooded her, some of which she was unable to understand.

“There is something else you need to know” she could only nod in response, “we received a letter from the royal courier. The King has become aware of your existence and whereabouts, he is demanding your presence at court before the months end.”

Celia Rose to her feet and started pacing back and forth, this was one of those things that they had tried to avoid. She knew that the world needed light magic, she knew only angels could restore that magic. If she could help of course she would, the problem was that she didn’t think that she could. She did not have any magic. The king would not be as lenient with her as Rhale and Amos had been and she shuddered at the thought of what he would do to try and find out if she did in fact possess the ability.

Her pacing came to a stop when Rhale grabbed her shoulders and pulled her to his chest.

“I will not let anything happen to you” she believed that he would try but not even he could go against the King. She let herself take comfort in his musky scent.

Reluctant to leave his calming embrace she let herself stand there, holding on to him and letting herself be held.

After a while she pulled back “Will we go to court?”

“I will not take you to court without knowing what we are walking into. The first thing we need is answers, so I will travel to The Fates”

She did not like the sound of that, what if he didn’t come back? He himself had said that many who had tried to reach The Fates did not survive it and even if you did they didn’t allow just anyone to enter their realm.

“Is it not too dangerous?”

“I am a demigod, remember? I will be fine.”

“But what if they don’t allow you to enter?”

That made him pause and she knew that she had hit a nerve.

“If I am what you claim me to be then wouldn’t they allow me entry? Angels are their creation and if I am an angel they wouldn’t refuse me, would they? Either way we would know then what I really am, if they refuse to let me enter then I am just human, if they do allow me to enter... Well then we would get our answers. We have to go together.”

“Absolutely not.”

“Why?”

“Because it is too dangerous”

“You would be with me so I would be in no more danger than you would be.”

“No, I will not allow it.”

But she knew that he could not argue with her logic, she was going to The Fates with him whether he wanted her to or not.