VERY IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE AT THE BOTTOM


Sit down everyone, for I have come to tell you a story.

What would you say, if I told you that angels exist in our world? They are invisible, of course. Concealed by the Mist. But they exist, yes.

Angels come in many forms, but the two most prominent types are Dark and Light. All angels are either one or the other, even if only slightly. Some of us think of Light and Dark as Good and Evil. But, my friend, I'm afraid that life is not all black and white. Light and Dark are simply two different areas of power. But that is a story for another day.

Our tale starts centuries ago. I was not there myself, of course, and neither were you, most likely.


The goddess Aphrodite looked at the mortal couple with interest. They were walking along a beach, at sunset. The beach looked like it had not had to bear the footprint of man in several millennia. The sand was pale gold, contrasting against the turquoise waves. The sky was pink, streaked with orange and grey clouds. Aphrodite sighed, this was so romantic. She knew it was a good idea to have Eros strike them.

She giggled as the girl tripped on a rock, and her date caught her. They stood for a moment, gazing into each other's eyes, cheerful green meeting deep blue. Aphrodite squealed and twirled in a circle like a little girl.

The boy reached up and touched the girl's face, tucking a strand of soft brown hair behind her ear. She leaned forward, causing their lips to touch slightly. He kissed back, and tentatively put his hands on her hips. The girl did not object to this, but instead wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her hands in his black curls.

Aphrodite probably would've fainted if not for the giant booming sound that happened next.

A golden arrow the size of a fully-grown man shot out of the heavens, killing the teenage couple instantly. Aphrodite ran over, but their delicate mortal bodies were already crumbling to ash. "APOLLO!" She shrieked.

A scowling sun god swooped down from the sky on golden wings. He was the same size as a normal man, so Aphrodite couldn't figure out how he shot an arrow that size. Nor did she care.

"You know why I did it." Apollo grumbled. He was right, Aphrodite knew exactly why. Love goddess senses can be handy.

"Just because you're trying to woo every female (and some males) in Chaos's realm doesn't give you the right to kill the girl and her boyfriend!" She yelled. Who does he think he is? Only Aphrodite has the right to tragically break adorable couples apart!

"I asked you to send the girl to the beach so that I could romantically ask her on a date. Not so that she she could fall in love with someone else!" Apollo said through gritted teeth. That girl had been the most beautiful he had seen that day! Who does Aphrodite think she is, having her fall in love with someone who won't break her heart?

"Bah! I don't have time for this! I have my daily mani-pedi coming up soon!" And with that, Aphrodite stormed off, leaving an equally angry Apollo behind her.

{The Next Day}

Aphrodite stormed into the throne room, causing all the inhabitants to immediately give her their attention. In case you haven't noticed, Aphrodite is very good at that. "I have something to tell you all." She announced. "From now on, all mortals and demigods are under my blessing." She paused for dramatic effect, and let all the gods look at each other in confusion before continuing. "No immortal may hurt or kill any mortal or demigod purely because of who they love, except for myself of course. Got it?"

Everyone found themselves nodding. No one completely agreed, but remembering what happened to Selene and Apollo, they had to agree.

Aphrodite had left angels out of the blessing for a very specific reason. Although no one else knew, she had cursed Apollo in the worst way she could think of. And Aphrodite was very excited to see how it would play out.


That short story is the complete reason that this, much longer, story is happening. The story then starts off again hundreds of years later, during modern times, when Aphrodite has almost forgotten about the curse. But the Fates certainly haven't, and neither have we. Though I feel like I should introduce you to our two main characters first, eh?


Apollo grinned down at the little cherub in his arms. His son's wings were plain white, but Apollo knew that all cherub's wings start out like that. They would soon change colour, most likely to yellow or blue or another bright colour. He is as much as a child of Light as one could get, given the fact that his father is the King of Light.

William's big blue eyes stared at him curiously, as if he was counting all the freckles on his Apollo's face. His curls were golden blond, exactly like his father's. If Apollo had ever been a baby - instead of growing up immediately - this is what he would have looked like, minus the wings.

A tanned, chubby little baby fist reached out of the bundle of yellow blankets and forcefully grabbed Apollo's finger. No one else noticed, but the tingling feeling told Apollo that this little cherub would become a talented healer. His suspicions were confirmed when he look at his finger and, sure enough, the paper cut that he had gotten the other day was completely gone.

William giggled, and attempted to catch another finger. Apollo had a feeling that this would go on for a long time, so he gently set the bundle back into Naomi's arms, giving her a reassuring smile.

Naomi was... beautiful. She had long, curly blonde hair and bright, leaf-green eyes that seemed to twinkle with laughter even in the most intense moments. Her smile always made everyone want to laugh along with her. She looked like a fairy, basically. Tie her hair up in a bun and put her in a dress made of leaves, and she would be a dead-ringer for Tinkerbell.

Apollo had found her on the side of the road with tattered clothes and a dirty guitar. She had been starved and half-dead from exhaustion, but still hottest girl Apollo had seen that week.

He had found her a house and a job, even offering to buy her a new acoustic guitar (she turned him down politely, though) all as long has she would sing for him, and she did. Her voice was so angelic, Apollo found it difficult to believe she wasn't actually an angel.

Apollo visited Naomi from time to time, and those visits started getting... interesting. Eventually Naomi told him she was pregnant, and that he was the father. Now, nine months later, he was looking at his son.

...

"I christen you William Day Solace, angel of Healing, son of Apollo and Naomi Solace."


Hades stared down at the cherub in Maria's arms. He had olive skin and dark brown eyes, like his mother. That, Hades could appreciate, but unlike his sister, Nico had Hades' feathery black hair. He was dressed in only a black diaper, so Hades could see that his son's wings were, as usual, pure white.

Nico stared right back at Hades, as if challenging him. His little angel wings flapped weakly, though it was strange for an angel to try and take off at such a young age. Nico wasn't even strong enough to lift his head yet, nevermind fly.

Nico's dark eyes looked surprisingly... serious, for his age. Hades was reminded of the angels of Despair, and how they always looked like they were bearing the burdens of the sky upon their shoulders. Nico had the same sadness, but angels of Despair had to experience some sort of loss before they join the sphere of Despair. Hopefully, Nico would never have to experience that sort of grief.

How very, very wrong Hades was.

...

A high-pitched laugh filled the air of a small cottage in Venice. Six month old Nico was bobbing half a metre off the ground on grey wings. He did an accidental somersault in the air and tumbled back to the ground, still laughing. Bianca was showing him how to flap his wings in a way that meant he wouldn't fall flat on his face again, while Maria sat off to the side, watching in amusement.

Suddenly, Hades stepped out of the shadows, quietly enough as to not startle the children, but fast enough to make Maria jump. "Hades, mio amore, what brings you here?"

Hades started wringing his hand nervously. "It's about the children." Maria's expression changed to worry.

"What about them, tesoro? Are they in danger?"

"It's Zeus, I don't know what's come over him! He started demanding that none of the Big Three have any more kids, stating that they were, quote unquote, 'Too powerful.'"

"But you already have Nico and Bianca, surely-"

"No! He's saying that we need to round them all up, and give them to him!"

"But doesn't he himself have children?" Hades shook his head sadly.

"Yes, my dear. But I'm afraid I don't think that it's the children of the Big Three that's the problem. It's me."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I asked Poseidon what he thought about it, and he told me he knows nothing of it."

"So he just doesn't trust your children."

"Exactly. So, I know a place in the Underworld where we can hide you and the children, at least until Zeus gets over his madness."

"But what about Persephone, mio amore? What will she think?"

"I'll keep you hidden from her."

"Very well, tesoro. But first, let me get my bag. I shall see you in a moment." Maria kissed her lover's cheek and started walking towards her bedroom. But, as she passed one of the small windows, a sudden bolt of pure electricity struck Maria, and she fell to the ground, her heart failing immediately.

Nico and Bianca stopped laughing, looking confused. Bianca tottered unsteadily over to her mother, with Nico crawling slowly behind her, propelled by his wings. Together they started shaking Maria's shoulder, try to wake her up, repeating a constant chant of "Mama. Mama. Mama. Mama!"

All while this was happening, Hades sat in silence. He was overwhelmed by shock, sadness and anger. He could almost see Zeus's smug face, his booming words: THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU DEFY ME. The Lord of the Dead couldn't believe the lengths his brother would go to to prove a point. He... actually... killed Maria.

Bianca had burst into tears, hugging her brother, who was also crying. She sputter out one last "Mama." weakly, then just gave in to hysterical sobs. Seeing two little cherubs suffering the consequences of a crime they didn't commit, Hades could feel the anger building up in him. He summoned Alex.

"Take them to the Underworld," He growled at the Fury. "Keep them fed and hidden from Persephone until I return." Hades didn't want a two year old and a six month old witnessing the psychotic outbreak of their father. Alex nodded.

Once the children were gone, Hades let out a furious scream, and the entire cottage was destroyed by shadows.

...

"I christen you Nico di Angelo, angel of Despair, son of Hades and Maria di Angelo."


Some important facts about angels:

1. I know almost nothing about actual, religious/mythological angels, as these are angels I have come up with myself, and might be very different to whatever angels you are familiar with.

2. Baby angels are called cherubs.

3. Angels are ranked in the slot between 'Minor Deities' and 'Demigods'.

4. If a god has a child with a mortal, there is a 25% chance it will be an angel. If a god had a child with an angel, there is a 75% chance it will be an angel.

5. Angels are not immortal, although they are very hard to kill. Their weak spot is their wings, as they are vital organs to angels. If an angel gets mortally wounded in their wing, they will die.

6. The average lifespan of an angel is 300 years.

7. As with demigods, Celestial bronze is deadly to angels.

8. Angels have a brother race, spirits, who share traits with angels.


[Actual Author's Note]

Okay, so I was on WordHippo and I searched 'What's another word for wings.' and it just gave me a sh*t ton of synonyms for cocaine, so I'm stuck with using the word 'wings' because I'm poetic that way. Anyway! I have high hopes for this story, as I've been planning it for a while. I'm writing from Third Person perspective, which is a style I haven't used before and want to try out. And as you can see, I'm a huge fan of parallels. Get used to that if you want to read the story. 'Til next time! :)

~FALFAL