Chapter 8- Love's Dawn

The nightmares hadn't returned, that much he knew. Once Cassiel had soothed away the fear, the torment and pain, he'd fallen into a dreamless state of sleep. He opened a single eye to see the girl's head resting on his shoulder, still in a quiet slumber. Pearly rolled his eyes, thinking he must've looked more than pathetic to her. He had a reputation to maintain, and if word got out about the nightmares-

Well thankfully he didn't have to worry about that. The girl was his prisoner and would be for the rest of her days if he had any say in the matter. She wasn't going anywhere, and telling anyone anything. His rep was secure, but still…

Something in him felt warm. Her hair was soft on his shoulder, her dark tresses like soft thread cascading down his arm and part of his chest. Almost on impulse, he reached a little ways over and held a part of those soft tresses, twisting it around his finger curiously, his face focused, though his thoughts were far from it.

Why had she come for him? Why didn't she hate him? It would make more sense to do so, and make his life easier. She had no reason to care for him, unless she was trying to find a way out of the bargain. Yeah, like that was ever going to happen! Not on his watch it wasn't! With that thought in mind, Pearly decided to keep a closer eye on her intentions, and observe her much more keenly. A sleepy hazel eye opened and he immediately stopped with her hair. She looked up at him sleepily, which he actually found…cute. Where the hell did that come from?! He shook his head slightly in attempts to get it out.

"Morning" she said in a hushed tone.

He tried to reply but the words died on his lips. All he could do was bring himself to nod.

"I…I'm sorry, I probably should've gone back to my room. But, I was so tired, and…nevermind. It's nothing. I'm sorry".
"What?".
"What do you mean?"
"What else?"
"Do you want me to be honest?"
"Always".
"It's really comfortable in here. Dark, but comfortable. And" She hesitated again, "you're actually really warm".

That was another first. But then again, hardly anyone had ever gotten as close to him as she had. So, he assumed it was to be expected. But still, why did her comment about it make him feel so…light? What was going on? And on top of that, a certain owl demon was still not back in his head. This was cause enough for concern, and it didn't help that apparently now he couldn't place his own emotions. The girl had a hold on him, and he didn't like it in the slightest.

"Go get yerself some food. Ya look like ye're starvin'".
Cassiel laughed a little and gave him a pleasant smile. "Do you want anything?"
"Nah, I'll be down later. Got some thinkin' ta do".

She got up and he found himself missing her own warmth. As she walked toward the door, he finally dared a question.

"Why? Why did ya come in tha first place? Not like ya should've-"
"Pearly…look, I suppose you think I should despise you, and believe me a part of me despises what you do, but not you personally. A man's path is his own and who am I to judge it? But I also something else: Nobody, not even you, deserve to be alone. That is especially true when one has a night terror like that. I couldn't let you suffer that way. I know it wasn't my place, but…it said a lot about you".
"Like what?"
"That there's a longing in you. A part of you wants something, like any lonely man would".
"And what would that be?"
Cassiel smiled warmly, almost sympathetically. "Love. Companionship. Someone to comfort your heart on nights like that".
Pearly scoffed. "As if I got one".
The girl's smile dropped, as did her eyes almost shyly. "I think you do".

Before he could say anything else, she walked out, leaving him to his thoughts. So what? She thought highly of him, again probably a ploy to get herself out of the bargain. No one had ever been truly generous with him, only when they wanted something. He knew that was the way of the world. Everybody always wanted something, quid pro quo. But her words had also struck a chord with him that no one else ever had.

It was a deep seated want, or at least it started out as a want but had somehow evolved into a need. He didn't know when it started, maybe it'd always been there, buried beneath his anger and hatred at the world. He'd just been too blind to it to see. Now he understood why he'd turned a blind eye to it. Of course having a demon didn't help to constantly remind him of what and who all exactly made him this way. There was nothing the world had to offer him, nothing but pain. The world despised him, he was a criminal, a monster in every sense of the word. And, for all this time, Pearly Soamed reveled in it. He never denied being anything that people, and other demons said he was. But somehow this girl, this human, had dared come into his life and deny what he'd always known, and had, in a small way, made him question what precisely he was.

He had a heart, that much was true, but it wasn't there to make him feel. Far from it. In his eyes it was nothing more than a little machine that just kept him running. He viewed feeling with it as weakness, and fools to all those who dared to believe it was anything more than what he saw it as. But Cassiel Wright was no fool. Or, if she was, she was probably the most genuine fool he'd met. Naïve, sure, but genuine. She was more in touch with her feelings than most, just like he felt stronger than most people. It was strange, the girl was like his own internal reflection. Equal, but somehow opposite. She loved being able to feel, he hated as much as she loved it.

Even if he did feel with his heart, he didn't know how to use it, how to know if he was feeling with it. All the technicalities, he didn't know. And surprisingly, it scared him. In his long life, Pearly knew one thing: Whoever came up with the phrase that what one didn't know couldn't hurt was an idiot beyond any worldly definition of the word. He learned the world was quite the opposite. It was what you didn't know that got you killed, or something close to it. He'd never been given love, so of course he didn't know how to receive it or show it. He barely knew what it meant to love. He knew how to care, as he cared for Malikai, and now he was slowly starting to care for the girl. The events of last night, though it made him seem weak and pathetic, only seemed to endear Cassiel to him more. So…was that love?

Pearly face palmed himself. "Ye're bein' an idiot now…stop. Ye're overthinkin' all this…There's no way, at all, whatsoever that-"

True love! Andras' voice sounded in his head like an alarm.
"Where the hell have you been all night?! I'm goin' through a damn crises and ye're just now getting' back?!"
Left to go see the Judge. He knows the power radiating from her. Soames…We've got a miracle to crush and it should be a piece of cake, since it's so close to home.
"What do you mean?"
Cassiel Wright's miracle! Hers is to love truly, to love strongly. She puts that love into what she does! All we have to do is find the source!
"Ya mean the one she's meant ta love?"
Well think about it, maybe it's not a someone, but it could be something, or an idea or something along those lines. I'd imagine the girl's cryptic in her own way.
"Any ideas?"
None really, but she seems to be growing closer to you…You don't think-
"Absolutely not!"
Well I mean, if you're attracted to her-
"Attracted?! To that skinny little rat, have ya lost yer mind?!".
First of all, look at who you're talking to here. I lost my mind centuries ago. Second, I was only fixing to ask a simple question or make a suggestion. All I'm saying, is it's okay to be drawn to her, physically at least. And if you are that's fine, I can't blame you actually. Cassiel is…well, she's not really my type, but you get the picture.
"Look, Andras, do me a favor will ya? Just don't talk right now. It's only gonna upset me".
As you wish. My beak is sealed…

He just knew a few things were certain. One, he didn't want to be alone anymore. Not if he didn't have to be. Two, he could give at least trusting Cassie a chance. Maybe, just maybe, he'd get whatever it was that he needed so badly.

Little did he know, that love had already taken its root deep in his own heart, provoking him to feel again…

How they'd broken her out, she didn't know. She must've been knocked out, or perhaps asleep. But when she woke, she was somewhere else. Somewhere that felt familiar, but she didn't know. Her head throbbed, but at the same time she was curious. This place…it was like a memory from a dream, from another life. Very careful, she struggled to sit up, the pain in her head intensifying. The bed she was in was large and comfortable, a part of her didn't want to leave it. She was still in her hospital clothes, but it didn't matter. The curtains around the large room were drawn closed, surrounding the room in darkness which made her feel drowsy for some reason.

She struggled to keep her breathing calm. But she was afraid. She didn't know where she was and no one could hear her thoughts. Wait, no one could-Linette's eyes widened with shock. No one could hear her thoughts here, not even the ones controlling her! But why? This made her more suspicious. It was bad enough to be in the hands of demons, but in the hands of angels, it could get worse. She heard footsteps outside the door and immediately ran back into bed, covering herself again, turning on her side, facing away from the door to make it look like she was still sleeping. The door opened and she heard footsteps. In just a few minutes she felt a hand touch her head, running a hand through her very short hair.

"I hope you can forgive me. But I had to get you out, mo chol beag. I promise, ye're safe here. No one's gonna hurt ya. I won't let 'em. I just gotta find out who they are".

She almost stirred, pretended to wake, but she didn't dare. The voice she knew, the one who soothed her night terrors, was speaking again. She dared not move. But her heart pounded, and she hoped somehow, for some reason, he could hear it, feel it. He gently kissed her head.

"I love you".

Author's note: I like this one, not as fluffy as I thought again it was gonna be, but I really wanted to put you guys in Pearly's position. I figured he's never given or received love, I can imagine how hard it is or how hard it's gonna be for him to love, but he's learning. Slowly but surely, he is. Anyway, read and review, again, huge help. Thanks to all who have so far.