No One's POV

With Darkness defeated, Heaven at peace, and Father's power spiraling across the universe, one would believe that everything in Heaven was blissful and perfect.

Yet, not everything was.

Whispers and unrest grew within the ranks of the angels; darkness, jealousy, and seeds of hatred would begin to be sown in the hearts of several that would forever set a destiny that would alter the future of the Heavenly Hosts.

And at the spearhead of this twisted, diverging path, a tragedy that would shock Heaven and the celestial bodies to their core.

Our backdrop for the scene, however, would begin like any other day, with the celestial sun heralding in a new day and Michael, Lucifer, and Cassiel taking their usual morning flight across the celestial skies, fiery red and pure white wings soaring after raven colored.

Michael and Lucifer would then bid their mate goodbye, leaving her under the watchful eye of Gadreel, as Michael had an assignment from Father in another one of the new worlds and Lucifer had to oversee training of his garrisons.

Cassiel, with Gadreel trailing her of course, would make her way towards the gardens, for Gabriel was currently overseeing final adjustments to one of the new worlds Father was in the middle of creating, and Castiel was on an assignment checking in on another infant world and she thus had free time to herself.

It would be there that the tides of change found their crossroads.

Sitting by the banks of the river, Cassiel watched in quiet serenity as otters played on the shoreline, and Gadreel leaning up against a tree a few paces away, keeping watch.

Gadreel, of course, keeping an ever watchful eye over the two highest Archangel Commanders' mate, also reflected on the time spent with Cassiel. He had come to enjoy the time spent with her.

Originally, nervous around the Archangel Commanders' mate (and the Commanders themselves), not knowing what she'd be like when he had been assigned to her, and not wanting to anger either her or her powerful mates, Cassiel had proven to be easy to get along with and more than kind and compassionate. She was his friend and had taught him to appreciate things he hadn't appreciated before, like gazing at clouds rolling by or watching otters play in the water, as she was doing now.

Suddenly hearing movement, Gadreel was on alert, hand resting on his sword (given to him by Michael for this assignment, as it was stronger and overall more deadly than the regular angel blades, and Michael and Lucifer only wanted the best to protect their mate) as a precaution.

Gadreel's precaution was not misplaced; suddenly drawing his sword, Gadreel spun behind him with barely a look and in a downward cut, drove his sword into the chest of an angel, the light blasting outward, the imprint of wings inking on the ground.

"Cassiel. We need to go, now." Gadreel calls urgently, yanking out his sword and offering his hand to Cassiel.

Nodding, Cassiel takes his hand, both turning the other direction to leave, only to have Cassiel draw her own blade, spinning on the balls of her feet, swinging her blade to the left, striking at an angel dead on the mark.

Then, it was like the floodgates had opened. Several angels, not just one or two were upon them.

"Cassiel! Go!" Gadreel commands as he fights off another attacker, dodging a blade swinging at his face.

"Gadreel! Watch out!" Cassiel screams, warning Gadreel as another angel poises to strike from behind, Cassiel twisting around and doing a graceful kick dodge to slide between Gadreel and one of his attackers, though one or two other angels had focused her while others on Gadreel, in an obvious ploy to separate them.

It was clear that the angels attacking knew that Gadreel was her bodyguard, and whoever was behind this master plan, whatever the plan was, knew that it was his sole purpose to protect her.

The roar of the fight intensified, and sooner or later the attacking angels successful in their tactics of separating Gadreel and Cassiel, and worse yet, injuring both of them profoundly.

Gadreel having taken the brunt of the original attack was still struggling, though in vain to get to Cassiel, who was pinned by three angels.

"Cassiel!" Gadreel screams, being held back by several other angels.

"Gadreel!" Cassiel screams back, pain lacing through her voice and agony as hands rip at her feathers and her wings.

"Let her go! LET HER GO!" Gadreel roars, his voice rising above the cruel sounding laughter of the angels above those that pin Cassiel helplessly to the ground.

"GADREEL!" Cassiel screams again, struggling harder, and managing to barb one of her attackers.

Snarling in anger and vindictive cruelty, the angel picks up Gadreel's discarded sword, walking towards Cassiel as Cassiel is hauled upwards between the two other angels.

"NO!" Gadreel screams the moment the blade glints in the sun.

Cassiel screams, the sound sharp and blood curdling, and freezing his grace and piercing through Gadreel's mind like a brand that would forever haunt him for eternity.

Bone and black feathers fell to the ground and blood spilled on the grass like a river, Cassiel left shell shocked, nearly collapsed to her knees, if it weren't for the two angels holding her up, but it wasn't out of kindness, it was out of sheer cruelty they kept her standing.

Then, in another moment Gadreel's sword is sticking out of Cassiel's back, Cassie's grace blasting outward from her.

"NO! NO! CASSIEL! NO!" Gadreel screams, he screamed until his voice was hoarse.

Gadreel was barely aware of being released and dropped to the ground carelessly, but he couldn't get himself to move anyways.

He had failed. He was better off dead. Michael and Lucifer were going to kill him once they found him so what did it matter. He would just lay here in misery. Cassiel was his friend and he had failed.

"Cassiel. I'm sorry." Gadreel murmurs, mustering the energy to look at her face one last time as darkness takes him.

Cassiel had been murdered.

Edited 2/16/19