Prologue

I was captured. At least I thought I was. I was in this...prison with brownish-green stone walls, with moss growing between the cracks. I stood up and stretched, my body a little sore from lying on the hard stone floor, for who knows how long. My eyes were a little foggy from being out of it, but I slowly grew more aware of my surroundings.

I looked around and noticed that my walls around me did not contain a window. It was just a cell with stone everywhere, save for the left of me which consisted of wrought black iron bars. That was when I noticed the chanting. Soft, monotone, and bone chilling. My ears did not recognize the eerie language that sent shivers up my spine.

Putting my arms around myself, I realized I was wearing a drapey pale gold toga, and dark gold sandals. I felt my hair, it was all down, and reached below my shoulderblades. I noticed a glint in a few strands and realized some parts of my hair were braided with gold thread.

I realized wherever I was, I should not be here.

I slowly stepped over to the iron bars, and noticed an old stone corridor, containing many more cells like mine. Although they were empty, with the gates open. Mine was the last one in the corridor. A warm glow from the floating fires surrounded everything, save for my dark cell.

I half-heartedly pushed on the bars that contained me, not expecting them to just open for me as I pushed it. But it did.

Really nervous now, I shakily took a step out into the firelit corridor. I looked curiously at the floating orbs of fire, but I remembered that I should be leaving.

The chanting was getting louder. I heard footsteps.

Without thinking, I sprinted as quietly as I could toward another cell, but something behind me caught my arm.

I screamed, but whatever it was covered my mouth and said, "Shh! They're coming!" I whipped around to face the thing that grabbed my arm...and I realized it was not a thing...but a man. Not just any man. A man about my age, a very familiar looking one, at that. And then I realised it was Taureo. "Taureo, thank the gods," I gasped as I hugged him.

He chuckled quietly. "What, did you think I'd leave you behind, Arella?" I blushed and looked into his blue-green eyes. "No. But we do have to get out of...wherever we are..." I trailed off as I glanced around once more. He nodded and said darkly, "Yes. I don't know where we are either, but I was being held prisoner I guess...and my cell just opened when I pushed it. Weird, right?" My stomach dropped. "Maybe whatever it is out there, wants us to escape?"

"I don't know...I just want to leave." "All right let's go, then, before whatever it is out there finds us..." "Agreed." We started walking briskly, yet cautiously, toward the northwest end of the corridors, each one we turned down, gradually getting darker and cooler, the scent of mold and moss getting stronger. "Do you have any idea where this leads?" I asked him, my voice echoing slightly.

"I'm following my instincts, I guess. I just have a feeling that we should be going this way." He looked certain, but a little bit of fear trickled to his face every once in a while. Finally I noticed a glowing warm light at the end of a corridor.

"There! Smell the clean air?" I asked excitedly.

He smiled. "Yes! Let's go!"

We sprinted toward the end of the tunnel, and, to our surprise, ended up, to what seemed like, a chamber that led under a mountain, yet grass and pine trees grew everywhere. We looked up and noticed the brown rock and dirt walls around us spiraled up in a cone shape, with two tunnels that led up to the night sky.

"Great." I muttered. "Now what? Taureo faced me, and took both of my hands in his, looking deep into my eyes.

"I have an idea. But you have to believe fully with your heart it will work, otherwise it won't. And I swear if we get out of this alive, Arella, I want us to be wed."

My heart filled with hope and love at his words. I knew him forever, and I always thought about it, even dreamed of it, but never have I thought it could be real. I hugged him and laughed. "Of course! But we can talk more about it after we escape."

His expression became solid once more. "All right." He reached into the pouch he carried on his belt and pulled out two porcelain white birds. "You have to hold onto this. You have to believe you can fly right out of here. If you don't, you will not rise an inch. And if you have doubts while you are in the air, you will fall." He gently placed the little bird into my hand as I nodded.

I closed my eyes and thought of flying, believing that we would be free, and would be happy forever in love after we escaped. I slowly rose into the air, and elation consumed me.

I opened my eyes to notice Taureo doing the same as me, both of us grinning.

"You ready?"

I smiled. "Always." We floated to the very top after a few minutes, and in one of the tunnels leading out to the sky, I saw a flame. And orb of flame, flickering its way down toward us. I heard Taureo gasp.

"Arella! It's here! GO!"

My stomach dropped in fear. "What? What is it?" He seemed to be frozen in place, in mid air, while the flame steadily got closer.

And suddenly, the flame reached him at light speed, and he was gone.

"TAUREO!" I screamed, staring at the spot where Taureo vanished, and the flame coming after me now, was. As it got closer, a transparent image of a dark cloaked skeleton that was holding a lantern with a flame inside, was coming after me. A faint echoing yell of "Arella!" was the last thing I ever heard, before eveything went black.

The Lion And the Angel
Chapter 1: The Garden

That kind of moment when you're just waking from a deep sleep, your eyes are still closed, and you're blissfully aware of how comfortable you are. When you inhale deeply and the scents of fresh earth overwhelm your nostrils.
Except, it wasn't quite like that.
She wiggled her fingers. The texture was...off. Se opened her eyes and was taken aback. She must be dreaming. Her senses were suddenly flooded by a muted golden light filtering through the tree branches abover her, dappling and dancing in the gentle breeze, and the dulcet songs of birds throughout the wood.
She stood up reveling the pleasantly cool texture of the moss under her toes. She andered slowly, taking in the verdant scenery around her. The trees only were about thrice as tall as she and the leaves and branches spread endlessly above her in a jade blanket. The flat forest seemed to spread infinitely in all directions with only moss covering the ground.
As she walked, she closed her eyes as she listened to the different bird songs, none of which she recognized. That's when she walked right into him.
Startled, she looked up at a kind-faced man, blue eyes sparkling like rain in the sun.
"S-sorry" she stammered, her hands accidentally shoved against his chest to keep her balance. He seemed unfazed as he tilted his head to look at her face.
"Who are you?" She asked.
He paused for a moment before glancing back down at her, ghosting a smile.
"I am Castiel."
She blinked. Who?
"I...I've been following you" he admitted, his eye contact fleeting.
"Am I dreaming?" She muttered absently, closing her eyes.
He tilted his head again. "No. You are here for a mission assigned to you from God."
This was blasphemous. God? Her? He's alive?
"Arella."
She looked up at him in shock. He knew her name. He took a step closer and she was unable to look away from his rainy eyes and stern gaze.
"Lioness of God. Your name has been seared into my brain since my creation." he stated, stepping all too close to her.
Has no one taught him about personal space?
She started hyperventilating.
Alarmed, Castiel put his hands around her arms to steady her.
Her memories started flood back to her.
The tunnel.
The darkness.
Taureo.
Tears welled up in her eyes and as she fell to her knees, they fell freely from her face.
"What happened?" She gasped, trying to get ahold of reality. "Where am I?"
Castiel knelt in front of her, reaching for her hand to help her to her feet.
"You...were in Hell." he stated calmly.
She stared. "Hell."
"Yes. Hell." he repeated solemnly.
"So...what happened to..." she blinked back more tears and struggled to find words while fighting down a sob. "...Taureo...?"
Castiel looked down at his feet. "He can not be saved."
Her broken heart turned over. Her blood started to boil.
"What?" she asked quietly, her face flushing from anger.
"I'm sorry." he muttered, still not meeting Arella's eyes. "He...is gone. He was taken by..." he drifted off.
"Tell me!" Arella shouted.
"I can't. I'm sorry. In due time. Follow this stream." he spoke again, pointing behind her. "It will lead you to the Garden. You will find your answers there."
She glanced where he was pointing, confused. There was no stream when she arrived here. But contrary to her first impression, there indeed was a happily bubbling stream very close to her, running adjacent to where she and Castiel were standing. She turned back around to ask him how long it would take. He was gone.
Arella sighed in defeat then started to walk along the mossy banks of the tinkling brook in the direction that Castiel had directed. She noticed the water ran the opposite way that she was headed, understanding that she may be heading toward the source.
She peered down into the water occasionally, admiring the colorful pebbles that littered the bottom, and the array of colorful betta fish that swam freely.
Eventually the stream led to an archway of two towering willow trees, right in between them. She had to step into the cool water to go through it, darkness consuming her field of vision.
Once she passed under the seemingly dark archway, after struggling slightly through the hanging willow branches, it was light again as an abundant amount of foliage appeared before her.
She glanced around in amazement. Many types of flowers, shrubs, trees, plants, everything seemed so expertly placed. Butterflies of every color danced in the air, and even a hummingbird flitted by, curious of the newcomer as she started to realize how perfect everything tuly was.
That's when she realized she reached her destination.
The Garden. Of Eden.