They were married three months later. The entire village showed their support for them, too, much to their overjoyed surprise. She found herself expecting later in the year. When she began to get ill, the village midwife confirmed the suspicions.
"It appears to be a girl!" the elderly woman chuckled. "Most women get ill around this stage with baby girls. I know this all too well."
"A daughter?!" Ilerael gasped. The woman grinned a semi-toothless grin and made her way out of the small cottage. Now that they were alone, he moved to hug his wife close to her. She was blushing at him all the same. "I have the perfect name for her."
"What would that be?" Lilaurael smiled.
"Anaurael. We can call her Ana around the others," he grinned.
"I like that name," she agreed. He kissed her gently and let her rest against him. He was overjoyed that she was finally going to bear an offspring for them both. Hopefully not the only one, but one of many. He wasn't sure how it was going to work, though. Such things always took time. It was proven correct at how long it took to develop.
Nine months later, the healthy baby girl was delivered. To their surprise, her hair was a sheen of gold, and her eyes resembled the color of blue topaz gems. Anaurael had a rather ordinary birth, too. Ilerael was simply overjoyed when he held her for the first time. But, that joy would be shattered shortly.
On the eve of her birth, Imperius felt that something was wrong. Up in the luxurious domain of Heaven, he found himself glaring out at the depths of the skies below him. Even as his all golden armor shone and reflected the sun in perfect, awesome harmony, his thoughts were dark. The golden ringed halo over his head gleamed with the same sunny light, as he brooded. His thoughts seemed to reflect his inner Light, as it seemed to want to burst out like molten lava, yet stayed neatly confined within from the heated glowing throughout his body. Something just went horribly wrong. His large, fiery wings of golden tendrils of light flicked, as his anger seemed to grow. He seemed to fume and moved quickly to find Itherael. I need answers.
"Imperius?" the Archangel asked in his deep, slow, echoing tone. He was in the large, circular chamber that housed the Angiris Council. He was going through his Scroll to read up on current events. Like all males, he had chest armor, leggings and gauntlets, but he had more cloth flowing over his body to show that he was more of a scholar in looks. His wings held the color of milk-white consistency, almost like ivory, and his tendrils seemed to flow out gently to show his calm and collect nature. However, unlike other angels, his wings floated above his shoulders in their metallic plates. They were not attached to his body. Imperius's size easily dwarfed over his, but only concern seemed to come from the Archangel of Fate now.
"Check your Scroll. Now. For anything of interest that happened today!" he snapped in his harsh, deep tone. It echoed out like a roll of thunder from his anger from within his helmet of gold. Even his golden halo seemed to glow with his irritation. Itherael paused at the mood displayed to him and opened his Scroll to read. As much as he didn't like being around Imperius, he was only approached when something of vital importance needed to be discussed. He was also expecting the approach from what he had been reading up on just moments earlier. But, it was what he saw now that had him pause again with complete surprise. This was definitely important.
"An angelic child was born this day. From two angels that fell from here just two years ago," Itherael said with sheer wonder. "I have not seen this written until now."
"What angels?! Who fell?!" Imperius demanded.
"I have noticed that Ilerael and Lilaurael went missing," Itherael sighed from within his hood.
"It had to be them," Imperius seemed to fume. "Auriel! Where are you?!"
"I have come, Imperius," she said in her echoed, dulcet tone and elegantly appeared next to him. Her lavender tinted tendrils delicately floated around her, as she regarded the angry angelic brethren. The Archangel of Hope was clearly mystified by what she learned now. Her armor looked almost mystical at how the two pieces of silken cloth came from the top of her hood to gently stream over her arms. It almost reminded one of long lengths of white hair. They were not only for decoration, though. They could also become her weapons, too. "I did notice that the two of them shared a connection. A bond. I thought it only helped them in battle. I did not realize that it was also a form of love. The way they guarded each other now...it makes sense to me."
"It is sacrilege!" Imperius snarled. "They abandoned the fight!"
"They could not bear to be without the other," Itherael said solemnly from what he read. "They now have a daughter together. She has no strain of demon in her. She is purely of the angels."
"Now that is interesting," Auriel admitted. "A purely angelic offspring free of demonic taint."
"It doesn't matter! I should destroy it!" Imperius growled.
"We shall watch and observe. We did vow not to intervene with those on Sanctuary," Itherael reminded him. "There has been no harm done. I see no harm done."
"You may see. But, I do not," the valorous angel grumbled.
"Do we know where they are?" Auriel asked.
"They live as farmers on the outskirts of a village. They are doing well. We should not intervene. We have other matters to discuss. The demons are quiet. They are too quiet," Itherael said. At that, they agreed and parted ways. Imperius went back to the ledge he was on before to gaze out over the ground. The demons broke the pact to stay out of Sanctuary. There was no pact. As much as it should be honored, he felt threatened. I have to see this angelic child for myself. Even if I am caught, I don't care. It was too much to ignore.
"Great Anu, prepare me for such a challenge," he muttered to himself. He didn't call down his spear yet. There was no need for that. It was only going to be a visit. But, now he needed to see where he had to go. He moved to where a viewing chamber was close to his Halls and scanned around the land below the floating city. He checked for a purely angelic signature. Scowling when he found none, he realized that it was because they lost their wings. I would have to send scouts.
Calling for his most discreet brethren, he gave them all the mission to locate the missing angels. To not reveal themselves. To report back the moment the discovery was made. Over fifty of them were chosen for the mission. An hour later, one reported back. He called back his brethren and dismissed them, save the one that found the missing angels.
"They are located near the main city of Kingsport. A hundred miles west," the angel said.
"Thank you, my brother. You may go. Say nothing else. Forget all you know," Imperius ordered. The angel nodded and walked off. Now that he had the location, he moved to the bridge. Then he vanished in a ray of light. Auriel and Itherael watched from a safe distance.
"It is all that the Scroll has said," Itherael muttered.
"This child...will she truly hold such power?" Auriel whispered.
"If this child has already reached out to Imperius, who can say?" he shrugged lightly.
"If only Tyrael were here."
"I know. He is missed. He will come back, though. Give it time."
"All things take time," she nodded. Now they moved to the viewing chamber to bear witness of Imperius's first landing on Sanctuary.
It was a soft, moon-lit night now. Imperius stood tall on the soft grass under his golden boots. He despised being here. He already missed the hard feel of marble and clear, polished diamond under his feet. Not the soft dirt that caked up around his heels. It was nothing like Heaven. He was lucky that no humans were out now. His massive, fiery wings would have easily stuck out like sore thumb against the landscape. Grumbling to himself, he trudged forward to the small cottage. He didn't bother knocking. Instead, he shouted out, "Ilerael! Lilaurael! Come out now!"
They were both sleeping, but Ilerael jolted right out of it at the familiar tone. He paled. We were discovered?! Waking her gently, he saw she was already awake and trembling with fear. She was still recovering from the birth, but she forced herself to move. He let her lean on him, and they opened the door. Imperius's massive, golden frame easily filled the doorway. He was not happy. He was a touch surprised at how mortality made them look, but that quickly faded out of his mind.
"Imperius," Ilerael said with a nod. "I see you found us."
"I have. And, I know of the abomination you both created!" he snarled. "I want to see it!"
"You will not hurt her!" Lilaurael said with a small, protective growl. "She is nothing like the others! You shouldn't have come here."
"Neither should the two of you!" Imperius argued. "Regardless, I want to see it!"
"She is my daughter," Ilerael said with his own form of protection. "We cause no harm."
"Then why did you leave? Why come to this forsaken place of filth?!" Imperius demanded.
"Because we loved each other when we first met," he said slowly. "and we could only gaze at each other from afar. We left Heaven to come here to be together. Will our daughter breed with those here? It seems possible. But, we don't know. How can we know? What I do know is this. I love Lilaurael. My daughter's name is Anaurael. Her true bloodline will be hidden from those here."
"And what are you doing here, Imperius? You vowed to never step foot in Sanctuary! You doing this is very unlike yourself!" Lilaurael said in a point blank manner.
"I felt a threat. I came to remove it. That's why I am here," Imperius growled. "I will not leave until I see the threat."
"You can look. But that's it," Ilerael muttered. He kissed his wife and moved to the small cradle that held their daughter. He winced painfully at the thought of losing her. Sighing hard, he gently gathered up her sleeping form and brought her out to see the angry, powerful angel.
Imperius now gazed down at the sleeping infant and paused. She was definitely angelic. And she was very beautiful. Was this the threat? No. She was no threat. A form of protectiveness seemed to come over him now. What am I feeling? He now looked at Ilerael and seemed to snort. "Fine. She can live. I sensed ill from her before. I don't feel any of that now. However, she will need to be protected. She could prove beneficial."
"You think so?" Lilaurael asked with a raised brow. At this, Imperius moved to press his thumb on the infant's forehead in a surprisingly gentle way. When he removed his massive, gauntleted hand, Ilerael hissed with shock. She was now marked by Imperius. Only true, angelic bloodlines would see the mark. What did this mean?! He noticed how Imperius didn't stop watching his daughter now. It began to make him feel uneasy. Then, much to his surprise, his wife asked, "Would you like to hold her?"
"What?" Imperius seemed to ask out of a daze.
"Put your arms like mine," she said and made a cradling motion. Imperius seemed confused, but actually did as she showed him. Then she took her daughter and gently placed her in his arms.
"What are you doing?!" Ilerael hissed.
"Look," she whispered. Imperius was ignoring them. He was completely fixated on the small girl in his powerful frame. It was unlike him. Completely unlike him. He should toss her on the ground. He should give her back to them and leave. But, he couldn't leave. He didn't want to give her back. He didn't want to hurt her. She felt like a perfect fit from being there in his arms. When she stirred and opened her eyes, he went still. The topaz color of her eyes were like tiny, perfect gems that regarded him silently. Then she reached up a tiny hand and gave a small smile with a soft laugh.
"She...recognizes...him...?" Ilerael asked with complete shock.
"I think she knows that he is like us. An angel," Lilaurael smiled gently. "She trusts him."
When she yawned and started to get fussy, her mother was quick to take her back. At Imperius's sudden glance for an explanation, Ilerael said, "She's hungry. Lilaurael needs to feed her."
"Very well. I will be keeping watch. Close watch," he warned. He felt a connection with the child. He wanted to ensure her safety at all times. He wanted to go so far as to have an angelic warrior guard over her, but that would be too much. But, he could have one watch over her. Maybe a small group. He mused to himself now, as he turned and vanished in a beam of golden light.
After he left, Ilerael moved to look at the small, golden dot on their daughter's forehead. It seemed to gleam in the dull light of the candle. He was trembling with a form of dread and confusion. At his look of panic, Lilaurael could only sigh softly, as she nursed their daughter. "I know. I don't know why he marked her, either."
"Why did you let him hold her?!"
"Because I knew he wouldn't hurt her. I think he marked her to keep a form of watch on her. Call it that 'female intuition'. I also saw how he looked at her. He couldn't stop watching her! In a way, it was how you were with me when we first met."
"You think...he's in love with her?"
"Not right now. But...it may be possible. Who knows?" she shrugged. He sighed wearily and looked over the crops. At least Imperius didn't walk through the garden. He heard her put Anaurael back in her cradle, and she walked over to him to rest her hands on his shoulders. She knew he was tense now. And she knew that he was very scared. "Darling, come to bed."
"In a moment, love," he sighed. "I'll be there in a moment."
She seemed to wince, but she nodded. She would give him an hour to recollect his thoughts. Giving him a little time to himself would help him. When she felt him settle next to her only ten minutes later, she felt him pull her close. She turned in his arms to face him, and they held each other to sleep.