Oriel was sitting in her favorite spot on the ruins of the Glastonbury Tor. She leaned against a tree trunk and watched visitors to the spot wander the grounds. Her body had completely healed from her wounds and she felt no lingering pain from where Amenadiel's wing feather had pierced her side. In fact, there wasn't even a scar left behind marking the spot and Oriel found that if she kept herself busy enough, she was able to keep her mind from returning to what had happened with both Blasius and Amenadiel.
It had been two months since Lucifer had departed her bedroom and the shrouded land of the aos sí. He had not contacted her since leaving and although Oriel had considered going to Lux on more than one occasion, she had decided against it. Lucifer had always been good to his word and Oriel knew he would call her as he had promised; she would just have to wait until the devil was ready. The fae knew it was her own impatience in wanting all her questions answered that was causing most of her unrest.
Lucifer's silence was a minor annoyance compared to the wary looks and apprehensive expressions Oriel received from the other aos sí as she wandered the land she now considered home. Oriel knew that being struck with an angel's wing and surviving was unheard of, but their reactions towards her seemed extreme. It was almost as if they were afraid of her since her brush with death and Oriel was unsure why. As one of the youngest aos sí, she didn't have the power advantage that came along with age and being of human lineage, Oriel did not possess all the abilities the original residents of the silver city had. It was another question she wanted answered.
While she was sitting under the tree pondering the reactions she was receiving and Lucifer's silence, a slight rustling of the grass nearby made her jump slightly. Oriel turned her head and saw Mael standing a few feet away. The ancient aos sí, who appeared no older than twenty-five years of age, had decided to make a rare visit to the human world. Mael had jet black hair that appeared almost blue when hit by the bright sunlight and gleaming golden eyes. Both features were striking and as unnatural as Oriel's own glimmering hair which was reminiscent of a roaring fire and her teal-colored eyes.
"Don't you ever get tired of sitting here and watching them?" Mael asked as he gazed off into the distance. Although he wasn't looking directly at them, she knew he was referring to the humans roaming about the hill. Oriel was used to the question as she heard it quite often from those of her kind. The other aos sí only dealt with humans only when it could not be avoided, preferring to exist apart and in relative anonymity.
"When I do, I go and sit other places. Don't you ever get tired of staying behind the veil and not being a part of the world?" she responded looking up at him from where she sat.
"I do come out once in a while," he reminded Oriel and offered her hand to assist her as she stood up.
"And you're sure to not speak to them or let them see you unless absolutely necessary," Oriel said with a touch of cynicism in her voice as they began walking. Even after knowing each other for centuries and spending countless hours in conversation, neither truly understood the other's feelings towards humans.
"They can see me right now," Mael countered as a child almost ran into him. The young boy halted two steps before impact, looked up at the tall aos sí with a look of awe, and then took off running in the opposite direction. Oriel was unsure if the sudden stop was due to the stern look Mael had given the boy or if the aos sí had displayed a bit of his supernatural power.
"And if I wasn't here with you?" she inquired mischievously as she watched the child run off.
"I don't bask in their attention like another you know," Mael stated with a pointed look at Oriel. Although he didn't mention a name, she knew the aos sí was referring to Lucifer. Mael then gestured to the people wandering about, "They are not capable of understanding what we are. They never were."
"Some of them try to understand – some even accept it," she answered. Oriel's thoughts drifted to her human foster parents that had taken her in as a newborn and raised a decidedly unearthly child and of the one human man she had allowed herself to fall in love with centuries ago.
"Would they have been as understanding and accepting if you were not a helpless foundling?" he inquired solemnly guessing thoseedetil now but their reactions seem she was referring to.
"Yes," Oriel told him with certainty.
"You cannot know that for sure," Mael argued shaking his head.
"They died trying to protect me. Because of me and what I am, they were killed. You do not sacrifice yourself for something or someone you do not care about, that much I know," Oriel asserted.
"And Taras? He made no sacrifice for you," the elder aos sí said which earned him a distinctly irate glare from Oriel. She had told only one other being the entire story of her relationship with Taras. Although Lucifer had chided her for the foolishness of becoming close with the man, he knew what the human had meant to Oriel and how deeply she had cared for Taras in return.
"You do not know what Taras did or did not do," Oriel retorted heatedly, her eyes flashing with teal light as her temper flared. She was still ready to defend him even after centuries. Upon seeing her eyes begin to glow, Mael took an almost imperceptible step back from Oriel. His movement did not escape Oriel's notice, but she chose to remain silent on the matter and forced herself to calm down.
"You watched him live his life, grow old, and die, mostly remaining on the periphery, never truly a part of his life," Mael told her. The disdain was evident in his voice.
"An immortal fae did not fit into the responsibilities of Taras' human life, so we made certain compromises. We had our moments throughout his years and I was a part of his life. Perhaps his descendants still tell the story," she replied quietly.
"Were those moments worth the pain it must have caused you, Oriel?" Mael asked harshly.
"I have no regrets," Oriel stated. Upon seeing the look on the ancient aos sí's face, she told him solemnly, "Do not judge me for something you know nothing about."
"You aren't out here thinking about your humans. The one filling your mind has decidedly more divine origins," Mael stated with certainty.
"I don't remember inviting you into my thoughts," she said coldly even though Oriel knew that he would never intrude without permission.
"I don't need to be able to see into your mind to know what, or rather who, has your attention. Given recent events, I don't think I need to remind you that Lucifer only thinks of himself," he told her.
"He is the devil," Oriel declared wryly, her eyes sparkling.
"Yes, he is," Mael agreed before continuing somberly. "Oriel, Lucifer uses those around him for his own gain. You did what he hoped you would do, he has no use for you now."
"Mael, you truly don't expect me to believe he strung me along for almost twelve hundred years so I could intervene in a fight with his brother?" she asked incredulously and then scoffed, "Lucifer doesn't take the time to think what may happen five minutes into the future."
"You need to see him for what he is," the aos sí rebuked her.
"He is a fallen angel," Oriel declared seriously.
"Angel, yes, and also a prideful manipulative being. Lucifer does things for others only to exploit them to his best interest later, just as he has done with you," Mael emphasized.
"I have never made a deal with him or accepted a favor of any sort," she reminded him and then continued with a fixed stare. "He also doesn't have a monopoly on pride or manipulation, trust me."
"He used you," he countered ignoring her verbal jab.
"To what end? I couldn't win against his brother. Lucifer knows that," Oriel argued in a hushed voice.
"The devil doesn't like to get his hands dirty," Mael told her soberly with a side wise glance at her.
"If he wanted to be rid of me, he need only say the word," she replied. The implication that Lucifer somehow engineered her being gravely injured troubled Oriel.
"That isn't what I meant," the ancient aos sí tried to explain.
"Then choose your words with more care," she retorted crossly and began striding off quickly in the opposite direction.
"Oriel, at times you are as deliberately argumentative and determined to see the world against you as Lucifer," Mael said as he caught up with her.
"And you remain deliberately determined to see him in the worst light," Oriel retorted with a toss of her head. The movement caused her hair to blaze like a flame around her and the tourists strolling in the distance looked in their direction startled, thinking a fire had started before attributing it to a trick of the light.
"Do you even think he would've come to you if it wasn't for Michael?" grumbled Mael.
"Would he have been allowed in if he did?" Oriel answered.
"No," Mael declared unequivocally. "We have rules."
"But Michael was allowed in," she argued. Oriel was well aware of the terms that had been agreed upon since Lucifer's rebellion. Since heaven and hell were now banned to the aos sí, all other creatures were banned from the world the fae had created for themselves.
"He brought you," came the reply, swift and direct.
"Was I alive when Michael brought me home?" she asked in the same manner.
"Yes. Barely," Mael told her.
"I must have been very close to death," Oriel mused as she leaned against the remains of a stone wall.
"A breath away," he said matter-of-factly.
"Why did I not die from the wound? An angel's feather is fatal when used as a weapon," she inquired earnestly. Mael turned away from Oriel's probing gaze.
"Answer my question," she demanded.
"It was Lucifer," Mael begrudgingly admitted.
"Lucifer couldn't heal me. If he had been able to, Michael would not have been involved – nor would you," Oriel stated coldly.
Mael exhaled slowly and as he did, he tried to put aside his intense dislike for Lucifer in order to answer her as calmly and civilly as possible. "You survived on the beach because of the devil. You clung to that bit of him that lives in you through your binding. Without it, you would have perished quickly," he told her reluctantly.
"That doesn't really answer my question as to why I'm not dead," she pronounced remaining stone-faced even though she knew what it took for Mael to admit aloud that Lucifer had assisted her in any way.
"It is not my place to tell you," Mael said as he turned away from her.
"Not your place? You were there. You did something. I can feel a trace of your power inside me," Oriel contended boldly.
"I did what was needed. A binding is not a miracle. You were a breath away from dying. Would you prefer I let you succumb to the darkness, child?" he asked her as he pushed Oriel's hair away from her face and let his hand linger against her cheek. Although they were often at odds, the ancient aos sí was fiercely protective of the younger fae.
"I would prefer you answer my question," she muttered and pulled away from his touch. "I know that even you, Mael – as powerful as you are – do not possess the ability to heal the wound I suffered."
"You're correct. Like Lucifer, I could not heal you," Mael admitted. As he finished speaking, Oriel slightly tilted her head indicating she wanted him to continue.
"You should've asked the devil or his brother while they were with you," he went on to tell her, his golden eyes glittering.
"I tried. Lucifer said we would talk later, when I was well. He hasn't contacted me," Oriel growled.
"Yet you remain steadfast to him," Mael chuckled and shook his head in disbelief.
"If you would just answer the question maybe I would be content to just sit on the Tor and watch my humans – leaving you in peace," she said in an attempt to bargain with the aos sí.
"You will never be content to just sit on the Tor," he declared with an indulgent smile. "Oriel, I cannot answer you. Michael didn't tell me what happened before he brought you back to us."
"You must know something. I go from a moment away from dying to waking up with nothing more than a bruise. That doesn't just happen, even for our kind, after being impaled by an angel's wing feather," she pressed.
"Let me remind you that you didn't wake up for two days," Mael said somberly. "Oriel, if Michael and Lucifer did not tell you what occurred, I cannot."
"Cannot or will not?" Oriel asked angrily.
"Oriel, why can you not be satisfied that you are still alive?" the elder aos sí asked her. "Be grateful for that and forget all your questions."
"Forget my questions? Do you think I don't see the way everyone looks at me now? Do you think I didn't notice how you stepped away from me earlier?" she told Mael. "They're afraid – you're afraid."
"You were gravely injured. Everyone was concerned about you. We still are," the ancient being told her in the hopes of excusing their actions. He was surprised to learn that Oriel had noticed his slight retreat earlier and let it pass without mention.
"No. Something has changed and you aren't telling me what it is," Oriel declared trying to keep her voice low even though they were keeping some distance away from the humans milling about.
"I can't tell you what I don't know," Mael replied calmly. The statement wasn't completely a lie; he didn't know the entirety of the angelic and devilish undertakings that had taken place to allow Oriel to live through her injury.
Oriel looked at him dubiously, her eyes narrowed and mouth firmly set in a straight line. "Come back with me now. Perhaps I can find pheasant for dinner," he said.
"You go. I'm going to stay for a while yet," she answered and turned in the opposite direction despite being tempted by the thought of pheasant for dinner.
"Oriel…," Mael began to protest.
"I'll be along shortly," Oriel told him. Mael looked at her with concern, his golden eyes dull with sadness at Oriel's refusal to accompany him back to their land. She turned back, gave him a nod and small smile in reassurance, and watched him vanish.
Oriel then returned to the tree she had been sitting against prior to Mael's arrival. As she sunk down to the ground, she wished she could be more like Mael and the other aos sí. They were able to accept without questioning and saw almost everything in black and white terms. Oriel always questioned and wanted answers and her encounters and experiences were colored in shades of grey. Leaning against the tree, again mulling over her questions, she realized Mael's refusal to respond to her inquiries only intensified her need for answers. Slowly Oriel stood and looked towards the spot where the other fae had vanished; she sighed, gave the Tor a final glance, and disappeared.