The next week was a rush for both Heaven and Sanctuary. Horadrim recruits were found and initiated. Xavian had survived the attacks, thankfully, and became a full Horadric member. Tyrael finally found Anaurael's parents, and it was an emotional reunion. It was also decided to have them leave the village for good. Many of the townsfolk sought to banish the angelic couple. So, Tyrael agreed to help them collect their things. Then they burned down the cottage and flattened the land. Of course, the finished crops were harvested to be used for emergency travel rations. Then the garden was destroyed and heavily salted to keep new crops from growing. They didn't want the villagers to try anything. All of this happened in the dead of night while the town slept.
"It hurts to do this, but there is no other choice," Ilerael sighed.
"I know," Tyrael agreed.
"I have not seen Anaurael, since Malthael's destruction," Lilaurael frowned. "Since Imperius took her to Heaven. I hope she is well."
"She is fine," Izarius said. "I shall remain as your link to her. Imperius has been keeping close watch on her. It is hard to see what he does now."
"Oh?" Ilerael asked.
"He...sealed his sanctum with her within it," Izarius said lightly.
"What?!" Lilaurael gasped.
"He is with her, too. It...does make me wonder..." the angelic warrior said softly.
"There's only one other reason why he would do that," Ilerael grumbled. "As much as I'm against it, she is an adult now."
"Do you mean...?" his wife blushed.
"What?" Tyrael frowned.
"If they make offspring, I will want to know," Ilerael sighed. That had Tyrael's jaw drop with surprise. "I'm not sure how it would be possible, either."
"But...has she eaten? Slept? I worry for her now," Lilaurael frowned.
"Well, we are about to find out," Tyrael said at the sight of Imperius with Anaurael in his arms. She was set down, and she paused with horror at the sight of her childhood home.
"No, the villagers didn't do this. We did," Ilerael said quickly. "It was safer this way."
"But..." Anaurael frowned.
"The villagers don't want us around anymore. It is best to let them think that our home was destroyed by demons. After the thanks we got for helping them..." Lilaurael sighed sadly. "Anyways, we accepted Tyrael's offer to help the Horadrim. We will travel with him from now on."
"Harvey may join us, though," Ilerael nodded. "He was defending us when the villagers showed discontent. He's closing up his shop now. He was threatened, too, for being in league with us."
"Fine," Imperius said.
"So...what did you both do?" Lilaurael asked.
"Oh..." Anaurael blushed.
"I joined with her in the Song of the Arc," Imperius said bluntly.
"What?!" Tyrael gaped.
"My Light is fully her Light. By the time it was over, I brought her back. Just now," Imperius said and placed his hands on her shoulders. It was a form of possession. Ilerael recognized that easily.
"A whole week passed by!" Lilaurael said.
"It did?! I had no idea!" Anaurael admitted.
"I know that time passes when assisting with new angels but...are you hungry? Thirsty?" Ilerael asked his daughter. "How did you survive?"
"Oh. I pretty much lived off of his Light," she blushed again. "I didn't feel hungry or thirsty at all. I'm sure I will soon, but I'm fine right now."
"Was it painful?" Tyrael asked. He was genuinely curious.
"Oh, no! It was...the best experience I ever had," she blushed a bit harder and looked away. If Imperius could show a wide, smug grin, he probably would. When she glanced up at him, he squeezed her shoulders gently and glared down the path of the hillside cottage as someone came up to meet them.
Lorath paused with sheer awe and terror at the sight of Imperius. The Archangel seemed to snort, and he watched Tyrael move to confront his loyal Horadric brother. He was helping Harvey move out of the shop. Other Horadrim would help him set up a place to work his valuable trade. After a bit of conversation, they walked up to the ruined cottage and turned to regard Imperius.
"How long will she travel with us? Your ward?" Lorath asked respectfully.
"She will train with you during most daylight hours. At night, she may come back to Heaven. She can teleport there and back at will now. She has a room, but it still needs a few things to be effective," Imperius muttered. "She knows what is needed."
"And, unfortunately, I can't have just anything there," Anaurael sighed.
"What do you need?" her mother asked.
"A bathtub, really. Izarius and various other angels help with removal of common wastes, but I feel bad on having them do such manual labors! I did offer to dump things out the window to see if it would hit someone. Imperius...well..." she smiled.
"As much as I would find it humorous, I declined the decision," Imperius said.
"That sounds a bit disgusting," Ilereal admitted. "but I would likely laugh hard, if someone did get hit. Try to aim for a villager around here."
"Or Willis," Lilaurael grinned. That got Anaurael biting back her own laugh. When Gurzick appeared to wave at them, Lorath quickly rose up his poleaxe to attack him.
"No!" Ilerael said quickly and stepped in front of the goblin. "Not this one. He's special. He works directly with Greed and aids us. If you have an item you don't need, give it to him. He'll trade something with you. Only once though, right, Gurzick?"
"Yes. One," he nodded. "Hi! You good?"
"Hello, Gurzick. Um, I need a bathtub to match the room," Anaurael sighed.
"Oh? Ah! Water hold?" he asked. He was trying to get most of the language down.
"Yes. To clean myself with," she nodded.
"Okay. Greed know. Will help. Hmm. Oh! Travel?" he asked.
"Yes. This home was destroyed. It is no longer good for us," Lilaurael frowned.
"Aww," he frowned. "I like."
"We all did. But, the villagers don't like us," Ilerael shrugged. At that, Gurzick hopped over to see the viewpoint of the village at the top of the hill. Then he flipped off the village. That got them all laughing, save Imperius who only smirked. Greed was going to have his goblins raid the place blind the moment they all left. He took it as a bit of insult. He favored the girl, and any that did not was subject to getting picked on and robbed blind.
"Sorry for trying to attack you. I didn't know," Lorath said.
"Okay," Gurzick nodded. "It good."
"I am getting hungry now," Anaurael admitted. A freshly harvested carrot was given over after it got cleaned up with a little water.
"I need to check on the Angelic Host and train the troops. I will be back for you later," Imperius promised her. She nodded, let him gather her up and kiss her. That had Lorath surprised.
"I thought he didn't care about anyone?" he whispered to Tyrael.
"Imperius and Anaurael share the same Light. I guess, you could say that, in human terms, they are husband and wife," Tyrael shrugged. Imperius now gave a small glance at him. What he said definitely caught his interest. At the look he gave Anaurael, she blushed.
"I can refer to that, if others try to pry too much," she smiled. "You did put a ring on my finger."
"That I have," Imperius mused. "Fine. Do that."
He kissed her again and set her down to vanish back to Heaven. At the questionable looks her parents gave her, she told them how Greed offered over two rings. She showed them off, and they gasped at the special blue topaz ring. "I had Imperius put that one on me."
"Good. That ring stays on you all the time," her father nodded. "I think we have dallied here long enough. We need to move."
"Rightly so," Tyrael agreed. "The Nephalem is busy cleansing the lands now. More work is still unfinished. Our next stop is New Tristram. I believe the Nephalem was heading there. The Khazra clans are still running rampant and causing problems."
"And there are still undead in that old cathedral, too," Lorath nodded. Anaurael studied Lorath now. He was tall, wore a hooded cloak, and had a partial cloth mask over his face. His robes appeared to be a tanned brown in color and moved over the sides of his armor. Silver steel armor covered his shoulders, chest, arms and legs. The massive poleaxe he carried required both hands to use.
"Tyrael, when was the last time you ate?" Ilerael asked, as they walked out of the village. Gurzick was skipping along until he got a poke from his god to help with some looting. He grinned wickedly and vanished off into a portal.
"Not long ago," he said. He did notice the Greed Goblin leaving and seemed to sigh. He only hoped that the little demon would stay out of trouble. He did prove valuable.
"Several hours ago," Lorath muttered under his breath.
"Eat this," Lilaurael said and handed over an apple. "It will help."
"At least I won't be the only one reminding him when to eat!" Lorath chuckled. Izarius, Mithus, Darius and Azarius followed alongside them to make a perimeter. The newer angels were already sent back to Heaven for more training. When Anaurael stumbled in her walk, Izarius quickly caught her.
"Are you all right?" Lilaurael asked.
"I think...the week of being with him...caught up to me..." she winced. "I'm exhausted..."
"I will take her back to Heaven. She can find you all later," Izarius nodded. "She has a bed there to rest in. When she is well, I will help her get back."
"Of course," Ilerael nodded. It was now that they finally hugged their daughter tight to show how much she was missed. They both pressed kisses to her temple and let Izarius spirit her away. As they kept traveling, Anaurael was taken straight to her bed. The moment her head hit the luxurious pillow, she fell into a deep and badly needed sleep.