tampered | Log: Complete

In Xanadu, he waits
When; 29 June. Sundown.
Rating; PG.
Characters; Uriel

againstgod
Summary; Alexiel has asked for an apology in person. Uriel will give it.
Log;

The last rays of the setting sun set Uriel's hair glittering with the lustre of a Raven's wing, as he stood alone by the water's edge. The stillness of evening was settling over the garden Xanadu, and the jasmine that twined among the trees began to release a gentle fragrance. The angel's stillness was inhuman. His countenance, unmoving like the waters of the lake by his feet did not betray the turmoil in his heart, the fear of what might happen if he said the wrong thing. Can hearts broken so completely truly be mended after such a long time? Without faith in God and his own need for punishment, he did not know what to do next.

Would she despise him? Would her strong, slender hands clench into fists at the sight of him? And would her eyes, those beautiful fire-filled eyes that spoke of unquenchable bravery, unstoppable devotion, whose light set his heart ablaze with love, would those eyes be full of hatred towards her betrayer? He would give up his life to undo what he had done.

Let there only be peace between us, he prayed, though he did not know who to any more.

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A grand shadow covered the setting sun and the lingering smell of blood from countless battles started to spread in the sweet, aromatic atmosphere of Xanadu gardens. She was the opposite to stillness, she was moving, ever changing and chaotic. Alexiel landed over the surface of the lake, walking through the surface as if she was weightless. Her six, luminous wings vanished at the touch with the water, leaving only dove-like feathers floating over the lake.

“Uriel,” Alexiel addressed formally, concealing all her emotions from her voice and eyes. She was storing away the conflicting feelings that his arrival had triggered inside her. The restless hunger for destruction that had been present again ever since the nightmares of her past days ago.

She had tore her mind away from her heart to be able to speak with him.

The splendour of her! The grace! She was unchanging, immortal, as beautiful now as the first day he had sat eyes upon her. And though her coming reminded him of great pain, he couldn't help but feel a touch of delight at looking upon her again.

But the emptiness of her eyes betrayed the locked doors of her heart. Uriel could see nothing of her thoughts, what she felt. He saw neither hatred, nor the will to mercy and forgiveness. But even that was a hopeful sign, for after all, she had come.

He could not meet the power of her gaze, but at the same time, he could not turn his face from the glory of her form. If he had been human, he would have been shaking, his lips dry and his forehead wet with sweat.

"Alexiel." He replied, with similar formality. To call her "Alex" was a boon she only granted to a friend, a position he could no longer claim.

He sank to one knee before her, humbly and in submission, the posture of an angel prostrating himself before his superior, his general.

"You have come, and so I will do as you ask, and if the words I speak seem trite, please forgive them their inadequacies. I apologise to you. I am sorry, that I cursed you, that I betrayed you. And I am sorry that I did not seek to undo what I had done, that instead of finding you and helping you when I realised my great mistake, I hid beneath the earth while you suffered. I am sorry for my jealousy and my cowardice. I offer you my life in penance, for none could deny your right to strike me down, here and now, to destroy me as I tried to destroy you."

This said, Uriel bowed his head, unable to look at her any more, and his hair fell to the floor like a shroud, discarded.

Alexiel walked calmly until she reached the green shore, unbothered by Uriel’s infatuated face and the increasing longing reflected in his dark eyes. She was not heartless about his feelings but she knew better than give him false hopes about returning them.

Crossing her arms, Alexiel stood silently as the Angel of Death humiliated himself in her presence. She heard each of his words, scrutinized every facial gesture with apparent indifference. He had a way with his words, so lyrical and expressive. She had forgotten that, accustomed to Lucifer’s blunt and direct declarations.

When Uriel bowed his head, Alexiel approached his still form, allowing a sigh escape her lips. She knew how much he regretted it and yet it was so hard for her to forgive. It was hard because Uriel had been her first friend, the person she had chosen to open her heart to.

And yet, he crushed it with such viciousness.

“Enough,” Alexiel finally uttered, resolute to end their shared pain. Gently, the Seraphita deposited her right hand over his lustrous, dark hair. “I shan’t destroy you, Uriel. But I will destroy our trust and friendship. You have already taken care of any torment I’d like to inflict out of revenge. There’s nothing more I want from you.”

At the touch of her hand, and the sound of her words, Uriel lifted his head, and rose to his feet, his face blank. Finally, he had the strength to met her eyes. So, it was over at last. She wanted nothing more to do with him.

Yes, this would probably be just about punishment enough for his sin.

He closed his eyes and nodded his acceptance of her decree, afraid that if he spoke his voice would crack, and he would scream and cry and beg her for forgiveness, and that would never do.

Then he turned away from her and walked away across the garden, and where he trod, the petals fell from the flowers, and the grass withered into brown twists, and the trees shed their leaves in grief.

Alexiel returned his quiet stare with one of her own but said no more. There was nothing else she could add or explain to soothe his pain. She just did not have the strength or want to drag this issue any further.

Instead, when closed his eyes, Alexiel planted a farewell kiss on his forehead, acknowledging his acceptance. Her lips were soft as silk and warm as the missing sunlight. She straightened her position afterwards and saw him part.

She knew of his pain despite his best to hide it. It was all around them. In the flowers, in the trees and the very earth. Uriel did not need to mourn; they wept on his behalf.

“Guardian of Earth,” Alexiel addressed before spreading her wings to leave. “Be in peace. While you’re no longer a friend of mine, you shall never be a foe in my heart.”

Log: Complete

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