A/N: Historically inaccurate. I wrote this when I was young, I have made some changes, but for the most part it is still the religion assignment from a few years ag
A young girl walked into town one day. She glanced around the empty streets, her dark hair bobbing at the movement.
Nostalgic she thought to himself, smirk evident on her face, the implications of such well past the years her little body suggested.
She walked, seemingly unnoticed by everyone, to a seemingly abandoned house, knocking a few times until the door opened by a thin, red-haired woman. She glanced around nervously before spotting the kid, her face shifting into a welcoming smile. She stepped aside, letting the girl pass. The quickly, as if some unknown force was propelling it, the door slammed shut.
Both the child and the woman thought that their interaction had gone by unnoticed; they figured that at the early hours when there was still work to be done tomorrow, not one person would be up snooping. They would have been right too, but there was one person up, a little boy, no more than 12, had seen everything from his bedroom window. He thought this moment to be a little strange, but nothing more. He glanced back, green eyes resting on the babe in the crib not car from the window and waddled over, kissing the child on the forehead before finding his own bed. He would meet the boy tomorrow.
The next day he woke up with a yawn, stretching his arms above his head and feeling his shoulder pop back into place.
"Castiel! Get up!" his mother called from the kitchen, he voice echoing through their little house.
He pushed back the covers and nearly fell out of bed as he applied more momentum then necessary for his body. Ignoring his grace-less blunder he hurriedly changed, bounding out of his room and into the tiny kitchen where his mother had breakfast laid out. His stomach growled encouragingly and Castiel sat himself down, chewing the food gingerly as his mother described the chores he was to be doing.
Castiel grimaced, wishing to explore the town, after all it was supposed to be the place that Jesus was rumored to be.
Castiel had heard about Jesus, rumors and other such unsure pieces of information, though for the most part no one around him had ever been interested, so the man remained quite the mystery. The most recent information he had received was of his 12 Disciples. Apostles as he had heard them be called. Castiel was eager to find out more.
"Castiel, honey, you have heard of Jesus before, have you not?" his mother, Anael smiled down at him, waiting for his nod of approval. "I want you to promise me that you will not go looking for information on him, it is greatly frowned upon here."
Castiel's face fell, but he quickly composed himself and nodded again. While Castiel was desperate for information, he also wished to obey his mother; he hadn't met the woman until recently, his father sending him to help her as Castiel's older siblings were helping him. He nodded again, he understood and he would obey.
Castiel cleared the table, setting them beside where his mother was already washing the dishes before making his way to the door and marching out to the market his mother had described. Shopping in the market was not exactly a manly duty, but he would carry it with pride, just as he was instructed.
The young man breathed in, enthralled by the scents that floated around it. He was completely smitten with her new surroundings and couldn't wait to experience more of it. Castiel turned around, examining the little structure he couldn't quite see when he had arrived last night, and it was – for whatever reason – so perfect in Castiel's eyes that the cracked walls and the shambled roof meant nothing to him.
"Hey! You! Girl!" shouted a voice from behind him. He ignored it, letting himself drink in his new, beautiful home.
The owner of the voice, a young boy, tapped him on the shoulder almost angrily. "Hey! Answer me next time!"
It took a moment, but it annoyed Castiel and he clenched his hand. He spun, the boy had been close and the action knocked the boy to the ground.
"Girl?" he fumed. "Do I really seem so effeminate? I am a boy." He enunciated, eyes narrowing. "How did you mistake me for a girl?" the mere notion was laughable!
He shuffled back some before getting to his feet and coughing awkwardly. " It's your clothes." He stated simply, elaborating when he saw the look on Castiel's face. "It's a robe made for girls."
"Oh." Castiel calmed considerably, remembering that his mother had fixed one of her old robes to fit him so that he could fit in easier. He felt bad about knocking the other boy down now.
"What are we waiting around here for? Come on!" the boy nearly shrieked, grabbing Castiel's wrist and dragging her towards the town's center. "We're going to miss the execution!"
Castiel reeled a moment realizing that the boy tugging him along seemed almost…happy at the thought of someone losing their life. He opened his mouth to ask who it was for as the boy pulled him through the crowd, worming their way through the mobs so they could get a better view. Castiel quickly closed it as they reached their vantage point, noticing the man marching to his end. Jesus. The very man Castiel idolized and yearned to know more about. He was the man who stood up for his beliefs, no matter what everyone else was telling him, no matter what they were saying about him.
Castiel gasped in horror at the sight. People pined the boy against each other until he was the man take one final breath. There was nothing more that Castiel wanted to do than leave but the crowd ignored his struggling and pleas. After everyone was sure the man was dead the boy snatched his wrist again and dragged her back to the street that they had met.
"That man got what he deserved! Blasphemy isn't to be taken lightly around here, that's what my daddy says!" the boy bounded around in excitement at justice being carried out in his presence. "That was the very first one I saw!"
Castiel mumbled goodbye, not wishing to stay with someone so different, someone who could take pleasure in the loss of a human life. He wasn't sure if the other had heard him or not but didn't stay to find out, instead bolting back into his new home and up into his bedroom and cried until sleep overtook him.
His dreams were filled with nightmares of the horrors he had seen in the day.
Days passed by and Castiel resigned himself to his new life, even the boy across the street, and people had finally stopped mistaking him for a girl. Castiel learned that the boy he had met on his first day was called Dean. A strange name if Castiel had ever heard one, but as Jesus had taught him, he wasn't going to judge the boy on that.
Castiel and Dean had taken to roaming the streets in their spare time, sometimes running errands with one another or helping each other with their chores. It didn't seem to matter what they were doing, Castiel always enjoyed his time with Dean.
They went out into the town on an errand for Dean's mother, picking out rice and Dean wasn't exactly sure which kind she wanted. While he deliberated they overheard a conversation claiming Jesus' resurrection. They quickly purchased whatever rice Dean had been holding and ran back to their homes to spread the news.
Anael was furious with him, they had told Castiel specifically not to go and get information on Jesus.
"You deliberately disobeyed us! You broke the rules! You are rebelling against your own mother!" Castiel mimicked in a high-pitched voice when he retold the story to Dean as the other boy sat and minded his parents' store.
They heard low murmurs of prayer trickle down from above them and Dean explained how some of Jesus' followers were staying in the room above the store. Castiel only half heard him, keeping his blue eyes trained on the ceiling as he thought, in wonderment, about the people who were so close to him now.
The next day had Dean and Castiel strolling through town once more, Dean prattling on about how the men above the store would only see those who were ailing, refusing anyone and everyone else. Castiel's eyes lit up as they did whenever Jesus or his Disciples were mentioned. There had been a lot of talk around town recently about why Jesus' followers were still here when Jesus was not. They had all expected the men to leave.
At supper Castiel had asked her mother why her face contorted slightly before telling him to finish his meal before returning to her own. Castiel wondered about the rumor of Jesus still being alive, thought about asking his mother if this was purely fiction or fact but thought better of it, instead returning to his meal as he had been instructed.
A few days later had Dean and Castiel walking in places they didn't often visit, like the river and the grassy hills just outside the town. As they strode down one of the hills they noticed Jesus' Apostles clustered into one group and staring up at the sky as if it held the answer to their problems. Castiel was happy that they were finally out of the room above the store, but thought that their actions were rather strange. They weren't speaking, weren't moving, just staring up t the sky. They never expected adults to be doing something so childish.
Dean and Castiel would rarely do similar things, lay down in the grass and watch the clouds drift by, telling each other what they saw in each one.
"Why aren't they talking?" Dean questioned, leaning closer to Castiel so the adults wouldn't hear them.
Castiel shrugged. "We still talk whenever we play."
"They're weird." Dean concluded, figuring that if the adults wanted to play childish games wrong, it was their right. "They're probably staying for the Pentecost festival." He reasoned in a knowing voice. "Though whatever miracles they think are going to happen probably won't."
"Yes. But there is always room for hope." Castiel tried, a small half-smile playing on his lips.
Lots of people around Castiel spoke about the Apostles, about how they were still there because they were waiting for something big. Whenever Castiel heard these conversations he felt a pull to join them, to ask questions, to just sit there are listen, but then he would remember his mother, about disobeying her and would, instead, leave.
It was time for the Pentecost Festival and Dean and Castiel had taken to sight seeing, viewing all the decorations that the townsmen had put up for the holiday. On their mission they passed a rather large group of people. They stopped, wondering if some of the festivities had started early.
An old woman broke away from the crowd followed by a younger man, possibly her son. They looked around frantically, pulling at anyone and everyone, telling them that they were hearing preaching in their own language. Castiel furrowed his brow, well aware that they were not speaking in the same tongue as Castiel and Dean spoke to each other in. She spoke about how it was Jesus, about how something called the Holy Spirit had descended upon them and that other's could understand them because of this. They had never sounded more confident.
After the preaching finished the group started lining up, waiting to get baptized by the Disciples on the platform.
Dean had to drag Castiel away after most of the crowd had either left or gone up to get blessed, just in case the boy got any ideas of his own.
That night at supper Castiel listened to his mother talk about Jesus, a rare and strange occurrence when he thought about what she had told him before. "Perhaps we should get baptized?" she questioned, talking more to herself than Castiel.
Castiel's eyes widened, praying that Anael was serious about this; he had always wished to get baptized. Castiel remembered when he had heard so little about Jesus and his group. The town where he had previously lived had been quiet, withdrawn, scared at what could possibly come of talking about the man that was sweeping the nation. Still, Castiel made certain that he heard and memorized every word. Now, as if in complete contrast, people couldn't stop talking about him, like they were purging something from within them.
"Yes, I do think we shall." Castiel's mother decided, nodding her head before catching her son's gaze with hers.
Castiel swallowed her food and nodded vigorously. "I have always wanted to get baptized." He confessed, slightly embarrassed.
Anael merely smiled and they continued on with their meal.
Castiel had to suppress a grin, for a few days later, Castiel had been baptized, and people from all over the town had already done the same. Castiel glanced around; figuring that maybe a quarter had done so, even Dean had been baptized. Castiel knew that it wasn't exactly a lot of people, but he was sure that it was the start of something great.
Dean grabbed Castiel's hand, smiling widely as they made their way home. Yes. Castiel decided, returning the happy gesture. His new town was great.