Chapter 2: Home of the Fallen

"What are you doing to me Nephilim?" He did not answer, he just looked at her smiling that same old smile of his.

"I am keeping you calm. This way you do not do anything brash until we reach our destination." His logic was exemplary, but he did not need to keep me calm, I would not do anything brash even if I was required to. It was not in my nature to take harsh action for any reason, I was an Angel of the Lord.

"Tell me thei name Nephilim." He merely laughed again and looked at me somberly placing a hand under his chin and grinning at me calmly.

"Now. Now... you must remember that you are no longer an Angel of the Lord. You are a Fallen. An Angel of the Devils." That smile of his grew wider and the look in his eyes took on a darker tint as if the very idea of me belonging to the devil amused him at a level far beyond imagining.

"I did not fall by choice...I do not know how it happened... I did not fall by choice. I did not defy the Heavenly Father." That evoked him to raise one brow in surprise before shaking his head at my ignorance.

"Do not regret your actions now. It is far too late." I did not argue with him. It was not in my nature to argue with another. Besides he was a Fallen, he was misguided by nature and there was nothing that any of us could do about it.

We rode for a very long time. The man advised me to change my seating position ever once in a while to prevent my body from getting stiff, and to sit facing the seat for some time in order to give my wings room to stretch out. I did not need to do that after we switched vessels.

I had never seen a ship. And the sight of one as magnificent as this one had me completely awestruck. The man besides me seemed amused that I had never before seen a ship, taking it as another sign of my ignorance. I did not really argue much with him, nor did I try to correct his assessment. I did not see much of the human world, I occasionally heard stories from other Angels about how the Earth looked like...but all of them made it sound as if the earth was a pile of misery and sorrow, nothing like the wondrous thriving society that it was right now. I was not a Guardian Angel, a Punisher, or an Elemental Angel, nor was I a Muse. I was just an Angel of the Garden, I had never left the Garden for any other home in Heaven's sectors. The ship was large, very large and the tiny quarter I was given was larger than the horse drawn contraption was so I had more than enough room to stretch my wings in. The ride on the ship lasted for several long days. Food was brought to me...curtsy of the Nephilim of course. According to him I needed to maintain some semblance of normalcy. Of course I was not expected to eat the food; he wanted me to throw the food away, but I could not throw food away when there were others out there who needed it desperately. So instead I gave it to the young lad who brought the food up for me. At first he would not take it, but after two days- upon which I did not eat any of my three course meals- he began to accept them, even taking some away for his friends working in the lower levels.

It took seven days and seven nights before we reached our destination. The place we landed at was teaming with people all of whom were catering to some form of business or another. The city port was lively and boisterous. But there was another horse drawn contraption awaiting us as soon as we descended the ship. This one was larger and far more beautiful than the previous one. Its exterior was a polished clear light brown wood that shone under the sunlight next to the beautiful golden symbols and decorations. The inside seats were plump and cushioned with a softly smooth material that felt good to the touch.

The ride took us from the bustling city to the countryside where the grasslands stretched for miles and flowers grew in patches forming beautiful colors all over the plain.

"We will be arriving at my home where you will be staying for the time being. You will try and not offend anyone at the house, some of the other inhabitants will not be merciful to your ignorance or your careless tongue." I looked at him turning away from the window and the sunlight.

"I speak only the truth of my mind Nephilim. I know no other way of communication." The look on his face was chilling. It went dark instantly and he pulled me down to him taking no chance with me to move away. It was uncomfortable to see such a dark mood upon him. I immediately went silent, looking deep into his eyes waiting for what was to come next.

"My name is Endymion...do not call any of us Nephilim...it is a tittle that the Angels of Heaven plastered upon us as if to curse us for Falling. Do not insult anyone in such a manner. We were named, and if not our Angel names then use our human tittles. Mine is Endymion. Call me Endy, Darien, or Endymion. But not Nephilim." His fierce look did the oddest thing to my resolve. It made me want to defy him, want to argue with him...and that was something I was not use to. I did not usually take part in any sinful actions. I tried to maintain my control.

"You are a Nephilim. I shall tittle you what you are. You have fallen from the Lord's Grace." His usual smile turned cold and brutish in an attempt to intimidate me, but I did not feel intimidated, I just kept looking into his eyes not willing to loose to his arrogance.

"You will learn soon that God's Grace is no longer upon you." He laughed lightly dismissing me as if I were his subject.

"God's grace is upon all his children...even those who desert him." I breathed out turning away from him when he would have spoken again, dismissing him this time. Least to say he did not like that, the dark aura that engulfed our space gave lead to that...but I did not concern myself with him anymore. I just looked outside at the beautiful plain slowly giving way to an enormous building up ahead. The palace was made out of a beautiful white granite rock that reflected the sun's rays and made the palace seem to glow. There were gardens surrounding the structure, gardens that held some of the most beautiful flowers I had ever seen. As we descended, I scooted down to take a huge whiff of the flowers making sure I not to touch or harm any of them in the process. I was humming a silent tune when several dark presences surrounded me.

"What have we got here?" Cold hands touched my wings and I instinctually rushed away from them expanding my wings to their full size to ward them off.

"Do not touch me Nephilim. Your presence alone is disconcerting to me." That of course was the wrong thing to say. Because as soon as I spoke, a pair of pale hands wrapped around my throat and squeezed the air out of my lungs sending my vision askew. I began to struggle for breath, but to no avail. I called to my powers sending out waves of serenity to the surrounding Fallen. My assailants hands loosened a bit, enough for me to take in air before harshly releasing me to the ground on my posterior.

"What the hell...why did that just happen Darien?" The Fallen who had a hold of my throat turned to look at the man who had taken me from the small church to this House of the Fallen. The man moved through the crowd of Fallen who had surrounded me and lifted me up from the ground.

"She is a new Fallen... From the strength of her heavenly powers I can assume that she has been a Fallen for only about a maximum of two weeks now. Be careful with our new addition...she is confused and still claims to believe." A light of understanding entered their souls and I had the distinct notion that they were not as cruel as I was led to belief. The Fallen who had attacked me earlier looked at me regretfully before turning away with the others behind him. They entered the house while Darien carried me inside. I wanted to protest, demand that he release me...but I was too caught up with all of the sights, besides I was still a little shaken up by the whole attack from earlier. I knew that the Nephilim calmed down when I released my powers, but he was still fully incontrol and still had his objective. If he had been truly determined to kill me, even if I had calmed him down and made him feel at peace, I would have just made him feel at peace with killing me.

"I warned you little one. You were lucky you ran into one of the more gentler inhabitants around here. Be more careful...some will take real offense to that you know." I tried not to say anything he might perceive as rude so I refocused my attention to the beautiful structures of the house. The ornaments, statues, paintings, tapestries, and wall carvings were all very intricate, very beautiful. I was awe struck by all of them. Heaven was far more beautiful than the Earth could ever be...but this world had its charm...it held a sort of appeal in its imperfection that I was really drawn to.

"Why did you bring me here?" I had not asked the question before, but I was curious...which was not in my usual nature either.

"Many factors plaid into your being here. First of all you were causing far too much damage at that village church for us to leave you there. Second, you are a Fallen like us and third a companion of mine seeks your services and I promised to deliver you." He did have a point on the first one, I was causing more harm than good at the village, but I was not a Fallen, nor was I going to use my powers on another human again.

"I cannot help people the way they want me to. I cannot work miracles, you know that." Darien nodded turning to the left to enter a huge room to the far right. Releasing me into the room. It was magnificent in its own way. The room was spacious and broad. The walls were painted to resemble a sun lid meadow with animals all over the room. I picked up one of the strange animals like objects and hugged it to me feeling the soft, smooth fur, scenting the wonderful, realistic scent of it. It smelled like the real thing and looked like the real thing, but it was not the real thing, it did not have a soul, nor was it living.

"What is this?" My elated enthusiasm caused him to chuckle.

"Its a stuffed animal...I had the distinct feeling that you would like this room. No other Fallen has made use of it yet, I think you are going to be very special." A smile formed at my mouth. I was not a Fallen nor was I special. I was no different from the other Angels of Heaven. But before I could tell him that, he was already leaning into me, planting a gentle kiss on my lips. He moved away without a word leaving the room and me behind. I turned around to play with all of the other stuffed animals that decorated my new room. The stuffed toys were amazingly fun to play with. They could not talk or move, but they were still very adorable in their semblance to the real creatures...and sitting in a room that was made to look like a sunny meadow only enhanced the fun I was having.

I staid in that room for the remainder of the day. No food was brought up to me...and I was appreciative of the fact. Occasionally I would get someone would come in to make sure that I was still inside. I guess that Darien did not believe me when I claimed that I would not leave without a proper goodbye on my part. Being a Nephilim must mean having very little trust...but that only went to prove that I was not a Fallen, but rather an Angel who somehow, by some fault ended up here.

As the sun set, I began to tire out, when I had been with the nuns at the church, they had drawn a cold bath for me every night for me to bath in, before they handed me a white soft cloths to wear to bed. I was not certain if the same thing was going to take place here, nor did I have any intention at all to wait and find out if it would.

I began to take the cloths I was wearing of. I had the skirts off and the shirt had just fallen at my feet to form a pool of cloths, when the door to my chambers burst open and a red haired woman stepped in with an angry glare directed at me.

"What the hell is this Luc. why do you have a bitch like this in here?" I cringed at the horrid tittle. I could smell her aggression from where she was standing. It was so strong that I couldn't help but send out waves of my own positive energy outwards, trying to calm her down. Least to say she did not like that. And the fact that I was on the ground with her booted foot up on my chest was just one testament of her dislike of my powers. She glared down at me with deep hatred etched in her eyes. I was getting severely tired of people attacking me and I tried to pull her hand away only to have her magically restrain my hands then kick me across the face. Never having felt pain before my fall I found the sensation extremely unlikable. I wailed from the top of my lungs like a new born human infant. At least I thought I was crying...whatever I was doing made the other Fallen in the room come up to her and attempt to remove her from me. Of course they did not succeed she was still hurting me far too badly.

My wailing continued and as the tears fell from my eyes I felt something in my soul beginning to ache, and that ache evoked more tears from me. I was crying out surges of tears even after her foot and the restrains were removed from me. Endymion scooted down on the ground and took me into his arms cradling me and shaking me around like an infant. My crying calmed down after a while enabling me to take notice of the Fallen in the room who were now watching me with a sigh of relief.

"Now. Now. Calm down young one. Bearly has a temper issue that rivals even Cains' calm down now." I stopped crying long enough to start hiccuping over the whole thing. I felt like an infant, sitting down there wiping away tears while a Nephilim cradled me in his arms trying to shush me. I did quite down ceasing my tearing up and my wailing long enough for him to plant another gentle kiss this time on my forehead.

"What are you doing Darien. How can you touch such filth as if it were one of us." I cringed again, my lips trembling in preparation for more tears.

"She is one of us. She is a Fallen aren't you dear?" I wanted to respond but before I could I felt the presence of another Angel in the room and relief suddenly overcame me.

"What the hell...not this again...What's with these Angels lately?" I turned away from him to look at the Angel who managed to materialize in the room. A smile engulfed my face immediately as my saviors appeared in front of me.

HELLO....This is the first story I've posted in such a long time.... I hope those of u who've seen my other work notice the change in my work...grammar....LUV U.. XP