~Grace~

My body ached all over. Thoughts swam through my head. I repeated the same questions in my head. Where am I? What happened? Why do I hurt?

It didn't take me long to remember what had happened to me. It all hit me at once. It felt sort of like how I imagined being hit by a charging bull elephant would feel: it hurt. It wasn't my body that hurt—though that hurt as well—it was my heart. As the tidal wave of memories flooded back to me, I felt tears slide down my face. Rin. I curled up into a ball, not bothering to open my eyes and determine where I was. I hid my face in my hands and let my tears silently fall. I had a creeping feeling that I wouldn't see Rin for a long time. I felt lonely. I longed for him. I wanted to feel his arms around me again. I wanted to feel safe. I knew, though, that safety wasn't something I would feel for a long time.

I took a deep breath and wiped my tears from my eyes. I eased myself upright, squeezing my eyes shut tighter as I pushed past the persistent aches. I opened my eyes slowly. All I saw was darkness. I waited for what seemed like hours for my eyes to adjust to the dark. Eventually I was able to make out my surroundings. There was a cot in the corner of the small room. The walls and floor were made of what seemed like black stone, but smelled not unlike a peculiar mixture sulfur and charcoal. The rest of the room was empty. I felt suffocated, unnerved by the low ceiling. There was a door on one wall. It was solely made up of bars.

I stood up shakily and walked over to the door. I reached out and touched it. I cried out immediately, snatching my hand back. When I touched it, it had stung sharply. I looked at my fingers and saw a burn mark. "I wouldn't touch that if I were you," said a voice. My gaze snapped up from my fingers to meet that of the man who was standing on the other side of the bars. He had reddish-black hair that shone in what little light leaked in from that hallway he was standing in. I squinted until I could make out his face.

His hair was short, but long enough to cover his forehead. He had high cheekbones and sharp features. I couldn't help but notice that he possessed the sort of lips that most girls would fawn over. A small scar stretched from his right temple to the corner of his eyebrow. When I met his eyes I saw something strange. Yes, they were dark with red rims around his pupils. They were initially intimidating, but when I stared into them I saw something there. What it was I couldn't tell you. They just seemed…gentle?

"Who are you?" I asked.

"My name is Judiyah, but you can call me Jude," he said, tilting his head down a bit and timidly fiddling with a lock of his hair in between two of his fingers.

"Where am I?"

He hesitated and I walked closer to the bars, careful not to touch them. I stared up at him, as he was at least a foot taller than me. When I got closer to the light I realized that he was wearing a long, black overcoat that reached down to his tall, black boots. His clothes looked shredded, exposing some of his pale skin. His shirt only covered half of his chest, exposing his well-defined stomach lines. I stared up at him, trying to get him to look at me. When he finally did I smiled, "Don't worry about me. You can tell me the truth." Something told me that this guy wasn't all that bad. I pride myself in my ability to judge people, so I trusted my gut feeling.

His eyes looked sad, "You're in Gehenna, in my father's dungeons."

"Your father?" I asked, leaning forward.

He nodded slightly, "Satan."

I gasped and then suddenly felt my strength leave me. My knees wavered and then I crumbled to the ground. I tried to take deep breaths, but I couldn't manage it. I gasped for air, clutching at my throat. I couldn't breath. I was being suffocated. I felt to the ground, shivering violently. Jude was looking down at me, pure shock on his face. Suddenly he swung the door open, leaning over me. He propped me up in his arms, "Damnit." He looked frustrated and a little scared.

I fisted his shirt as my lungs screamed out. I felt my eyes roll back in my head. My muscles cramped painfully as I struggled for air. I let my eyes close. Suddenly I felt something strange. Slowly I felt something creep down my throat, bringing sweet relief. My eyes snapped open and I gasped for air. I took in several deep gulps of air before questioning what had just happened.

"I'm sorry," Jude whispered, covering his face. I looked at him. I reached up and pried his hands from his face. I was surprised to find that his face was bright red. He wouldn't look me in the eye, "I had to do it…to save you."

"Wait, do what?" I asked, confused.

"You were going to die…because you're an angel. Angels don't belong in Gehenna. You couldn't breath the air. I'm not sure why it took so long for that to happen. You've been here for a while and it hadn't happened yet. You must have already been exposed greatly to demons." Does kissing one count as 'exposed'?

"I still don't know what you're talking about," I said.

"I gave you my blood…so that you could breath. I had to…to…" his voice drifted off as his face turned red again. My eyes went wide as I realized what he'd done, "You kissed me, didn't you!?"

He nodded, "But I had to! I'm sorry! I didn't want you to die!"

I smiled and playfully slapped him on the arm, "You're forgiven."

He glanced up at me timidly and nodded. I grinned, sliding off of his lap. I got to my feet and looked around me, "So I'm a prisoner?"

He got to his feet, towering above me, "Not my prisoner."

"I figured that out. You seem to nice to have prisoners," I said, stretching my arms above my head. I then wrapped my arms around myself, staring at my feet. Thoughts of Rin circled around my head again. I wanted to cry again, but held it in. I had to be strong now. Loneliness wasn't an option. I knew that they would come for me if they could, Rin and Mikael I mean. Probably all of the other Exwires and my dad would also come. Heck, exorcists might even come. The only problem was that they didn't have any way to get to Gehenna.

"I'm sorry," Jude whispered.

I looked up at him and smiled as best I could, "It's alright. Has anyone ever told you that you apologize a lot?"

He shook his head, "No one talks to me."

I raised an eyebrow, "What does that mean?"

"Everyone hates me because I'm weak. You're the first person I've talked to in a long time…"

"I'm sorry."

The corner of his lip lifted, "Who's saying sorry now?"

I smiled. Something about being with him made me feel a little less alone. "You got me," I said, walking over to the cot in the corner. I sat down on in and gestured for him to sit beside me. He hesitated. "What? Can't sit with an angel?" I jested.

He frowned, "That's not funny."

"I won't bite, though," I said, pouting. He was still frowning when he sat beside me. He looked stiff and uncomfortable.

"Would you mind listening to me?" I asked, curling my legs close to my chest and resting my head on my knees. His only answer was a slight nod. I took that as permission to speak, "I guess you could say that I feel a bit lonely…maybe even scared."

"I get it," he said. We were silent for a moment before he spoke again. "I'll do my best to help you, but I can't promise much. I'm too much of a coward to go against my father."

"Your father…Satan?" I asked.

"I'm not proud of it," he breathed, fidgeting with the same lock of hair he had before. I figured it was a nervous habit.

"You're not alone, though," I said calmly. He looked up at me, his hand freezing. He shot me a questioning look.

I smiled, "You have a brother…two, actually." His eyes went wide, "What!?"

"Rin and Yukio Okumura. I know them well. Actually, I fell in love with Rin," I said, openly stating the truth. For some reason I felt comfortable with him.

I looked up at him to see his reaction and saw tears in his kind eyes. "What? What's wrong?" I asked, putting a hand on his shoulder to try and comfort him. It struck me that perhaps the reason why I felt comfortable around him was because he was Rin's brother…well, half brother, at least.

"I have brothers?" he asked, a single tear falling from his chin.

"Yeah, but they're pretty stupid…and annoying," I said, laughing a little. He exhaled quickly, which seemed like a laugh.

"I miss them, though. Especially Rin," I said, leaning my head against the wall, "Wow. I must be really pathetic to go such a short amount of time and already be missing him."

"It's not pathetic. If my love ever came true, I'd want to spend all of my time with her," he said.

I nodded, "Thanks."

He sighed. My eyes went wide. "Wait, your love?!"

He blushed a little, "What?"

"Tell me about her."

"I don't—"

"Don't lie to me. We're closer than that."

"We just met a little while ago."

"Irrelevant. Proceed."

"Her name is Scarlet."

"Is she beautiful?"

He nodded, "I've loved her for a long time, but she's never noticed me."

"Aw, don't beat yourself up about it. I'm sure she's noticed you at least a little bit," I said, nudged his arm.

He shook his head, "No. She's a powerful demon. I'm a disgrace. I pass out whenever I even think about killing something."

"That's not necessarily a bad thing."

"It is in Gehenna."

I nodded, "I guess we do come from different worlds."

He opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off my a yell of rage, "Judiyah! What are you doing here!?" I looked to the doorway and felt the blood drain from my face. I stumbled to my feet alongside Jude.

"Father!" Jude squeaked, his own face growing pale. He shrunk against the wall as Satan bore down on him. Jude's father raised a hand and struck out at him. Jude accepted the blow, not resisting. A large gash opened up on Jude's face, which quickly started to close up. He lay on the ground and Satan kicked him repeatedly.

"Jude!" I yelled out, rushing to his side.

"No, don't," Jude coughed.

"Well, well. If it isn't the little angel. You're very important to me," Satan growled. I felt cold hands wrap around my wrist. I was suddenly pulled towards him. I grimaced as his disgustingly disfigured face hovered close to mine. I resisted my urge to gag at his smell.

"Don't hurt her," Jude said quietly, unable to rise from where he limply lay on the floor of my cell.

"You disgust me," Satan growled, "You'll receive your punishment later." His cold hands wrapped around me, pulling me against him. He ran his finger down the back of my neck, brushing my long, pale hair away from the nape of my neck. I shivered and squeezed my eyes shut. I didn't want to be here. I didn't want this to be reality. I wanted to wake up. I imagined Rin's face, smiling at me. I felt tears slide down my cheeks, but found comfort in the thoughts of Rin. I let his toothy grin fill me with serenity.

I flinched as Satan violently ripped the back of my shirt open. He walked around behind me and slammed me against the ground. He touched the tattoos on my back. "Ah, your wings are here, yes?" he whispered. I wanted to cry and then strike out at him, but figured it wouldn't end well for me. I couldn't even get my body to move. "Show them to me," Satan whispered into my ear. I shook my head weakly. "Show them to me!" Satan yelled. I flinched and whimpered.

There wasn't anything I could do. He yanked me to my feet and backhanded me. I cried out. "Stop!" Jude shouted, trying to push himself upright. He just collapsed again, looking up at me in horror. I took a deep breath and glared at Satan. I closed my eyes. I knew my usual stubbornness would just hurt me more. I gave in. I released my wings. The seemed to glow brightly in the cell, lighting up the whole room. I spread them out. They reached across the entire room. The snow white feathers shone brilliantly. Satan smiled and Jude gasped. "So it is true," Satan said, staring at my wings in wonder.

"What?" I said quietly.

"You don't know?" Satan asked. He took my face in one hand, "The purer an angel is, the whiter the wings. Do you know what that means? You are pristine. Untouched. The perfect specimen. You are the product of God and Venus. You are the most powerful angel the world has ever seen."

A/N: Yeah, so that probably left you with questions. Sorry about that! It'll all be explained soon. The next chapter will include a little-or a lot-of the worried and very angry Rin! If you liked it this chapter, don't forget to leave me a review. :)