Chapter 2: A Tour of Heaven
A new day began in Heaven and the newest angel, Lapis was all curled up in her cozy bed. You had never seen an angel sleep more peacefully. Even the early morning beams of sunshine couldn't stir her from her slumber.
Just then, Rose Quartz entered her bedroom, gave her arm a light shake, and said: "Rise and shine, sleeping beauty. A new day awaits."
"I'm too cozy to start the day." Lapis mumbled, half-asleep as she snuggled under her blanket.
"Then, I guess you need some energy." Rose replied as she removed the blanket from the new angel and helped her out of bed.
In the kitchen, the angel guardian was stirring a thick, golden liquid in a pot. Lapis watched as the liquid swirled as it was being stirred like a mini whirlpool, entranced by its hypnotic, fluid movements.
"What is that stuff?" the young angel asked curiously.
"It's called Holy Nectar." answered Rose, scooping a spoonful of the golden liquid. "It's full of nutrients and vitamins that angels need to be healthy. Here, take it while it's warm."
She fed the spoonful of nectar to Lapis and the newly born angel savored the taste in her mouth. The nectar was sweet like honey and yet fizzy at the same time. The sparkling flavor made her tongue tingle and she chuckled from the tickly sensation. Any trace of early morning drowsiness she may have previously had was now gone.
"Mmmm, I love this." Lapis commented, smiling.
"I'm glad to hear that." Rose beamed. "Now, get dressed. We've got a whole lot of Heaven to see."
Later that day, Rose took Lapis out and showed her around all of Heaven. The Chrono Tower was where angels looked after the passage of time. The Blessed Gardens was where angels raised a diversity of flowers. And the Celestial Observatory was a building where angels would watch the sky, star, and weather patterns. Then, the two went to a grand looking fountain where a familiar gold liquid was flowing.
"Is that Holy Nectar?" asked Lapis.
"That's right, Lapis." Rose answered. "This is called the Revered Fountain and this is where the Holy Nectar comes from. If it ever stopped flowing, angels wouldn't have the energy to do their jobs."
The reality of energy depleted angels concerned the young angel as she continued to watch the Holy Nectar flow from the fountain.
As the two of them were making their way to the matriach's fortress, Lapis saw four angels flying above her and she stopped dead in her tracks.
Rose turned back and asked, "What is it, Lapis?"
"Those angels." the new arrival said, pointing up.
"Do you want to go talk to them?" her guardian inquired. "Maybe you'll get to be their friend."
"Oh no, I can't." Lapis answered, nervously. "I've never talked to any other angel besides you and Blue Diamond. I'm sure they don't even know who I am."
"Lapis, every angel was at your Arrival Ceremony." Rose reminded her. "I'm pretty sure those four know who you are."
"But, what if they don't like me?" the shy angel asked.
"Nonsense." her caretaker responded. "I'm sure if you put yourself out there and introduce yourself, you just might be surprised."
"Okay." Lapis sighed as she flapped her wings to join the group of four above her.
Now that she was in the same level in the sky as them, she could make the angels out much more clearly.
The tallest angel had deep brown skin, an afro of indigo-black hair, majenta tinted wings, and a pair of red and blue eyes. She wore thin gold bands on her forearms and raspberry-colored slippers. Her glimmering white dress had a fuchsia colored ribbon held by a small gold medallion over a deep majenta romper.
The second tallest angel who was only a few inches shorter than the tallest angel had friendly black eyes, a light tan complexion, soft pink tinted wings, and curly dark brown hair. She had a loose pink blouse over her shimmering white dress and dark pink slippers on her feet.
The medium-sized angel who was only a few inches taller than Lapis had fair skin, sky blue eyes, peach-colored hair, and sea green tinted wings. She wore gold sandals on her feet and her short, gleaming white dress was complimented by a baby blue ribbon on the neckline.
The shortest angel had brightly tanned skin, dark indigo eyes, pale lilac-colored hair, and purple tinted wings. She wore a sparkly white dress with a loose, light purple belt and violet slippers on her feet.
Gathering all the courage she had, Lapis softly said, "Hi there."
"Hi. You must be the new arrival." the angel in pink replied. "You were so cute."
"It's Lapis Lazuli, isn't it?" asked the shortest angel.
"Um, yes." the young angel answered meekly.
"I'm Stevonnie." the pink angel introduced herself. "And these are my friends Garnet, Pearl, and Amethyst."
"Glad to meet you all." Lapis said back, giving a small smile.
"So what do you think of Heaven?" Pearl inquired.
"Oh, it's... really great here." the new angel responded.
"You wanna know what's a great place?" Amethyst asked, rhetorically. "Earth. Am I right, girls?"
The other angels except for Lapis started talking amongst each other about this Earth place. Lapis felt confused and left out of the new conversion.
"So sorry to interrupt, but what's Earth?" she spoke up.
"You mean no one ever told you about Earth yet?" Garnet questioned, to which Lapis shook her head in response.
"It's the place where terrestrials live." Amethyst explained simply. "If you want to learn more, you should go talk to Blue Diamond."
"Maybe I will." Lapis said. "Rose and I were just on our way to the matriach's fortress."
"You know, we're going with some other angels down to Earth tomorrow." Stevonnie brought up. "You should come with us."
"That sounds like fun." the new arrival replied, getting interested. "I'd love to come, once I learn a little more about Earth first."
"Okay, I guess we'll see you tomorrow." Pearl smiled.
"Sure, bye." Lapis said, waving goodbye and joined back with Rose.
While the two of them were exploring the grand castle, the new arrival and her guardian happened upon the matriach herself.
"Well, hello." Blue Diamond greeted the two angels. "I take it that the tour must be going well."
"Oh, yes." Rose answered, her hands gently holding Lapis' shoulders. "We would've come here sooner, but our new arrival got a little sidetracked. Young Lapis here made some new friends today."
"That's wonderful." the matriach smiled.
"They were talking about going to a place called Earth." Lapis told her. "But, I've never even heard of Earth. Do you what it is?"
"Of course." answered Blue Diamond. "Follow me."
She led the young angel, followed by Rose down a hall until they arrived at a mural on the wall that was divided into three sections.
"Look here, Lapis." the angel leader said to Lapis. "The world that we live in is divided into three separate realms: Heaven, Earth, and Tartarus. Earth is right in the middle while Heaven is up here in the sky. Our job as angels is to watch over and protect the terrestrial beings called humans that live on Earth."
"What about that place down below?" the new angel asked, curiously pointing at the lower section of the mural.
"Oh no, that's not a place you should go to; Lapis." Blue Diamond spoke, shaking her head.
"Why not?" the young one questioned.
"Tartarus is the realm where the demons reside." Rose told her.
"Demons?" Lapis echoed. "What are those?"
"They're the exact opposite of angels." the angel matriach explained. "They have powers like we do, but they use their powers to spread evil and misery everywhere they go. Most of them are extremely dangerous."
"What if they come here?" the young angel squeaked, shaking in fear.
"It's alright." Rose assured her. "A demon wouldn't dare come into Heaven. It's forbidden."
Hearing that made Lapis feel a little better, but she could've sworn that the demons in the mural were glaring and cackling evilly at her. Her face was pale with fright.
"Are you alright, my dear?" Blue Diamond asked, feeling concerned for the young arrival.
"I'm fine." Lapis answered, snapping out of her daze. "I'm just a little tired."
"You must be after everything you've seen today." suggested Rose. "Let's get you rested up for tomorrow. We wouldn't want you to be too exhausted for your first trip to Earth."
She took her charge's hand to guide her back to her home just as Lapis made one final fear-filled glance at the Tartarus section of the mural.
"I hope I never go to that place." she thought as held onto her guardian's hand for comfort.