Chapter 10 – Separation

Michael was smug as he rode up with Metatron, Raphael, and Gadreel in tow. He looked down on the couple as his horse halted. "Surrender!" He ordered.

Castiel lifted a domineering eyebrow. "You wish to surrender to me?" He nodded. "Well then, I accept."

Gadreel snorted at his reply, but quieted when Michael leveled a glare at him. The prince turned back to his prey. "I'll give you marks for bravery." He admitted. "But don't be a fool."

"How are you proposing to capture us?" Cas pointed out, beginning to back up ever so slightly. "We know the ways of Purgatory. We can live there quite happily for some time, and if you feel like dying, you could always visit us."

Movement caught Dean's attention from the edges of his peripheral vision. Turning towards it, he saw soldiers aiming at Cas with crossbows. He was about to warn his love when he saw that they were also on their other side. Dread washed over him.

"I tell you again to surrender!" Michael continued to talk, not seeing that Dean had begun to notice his trap.

"I refuse." Castiel held his ground.

"For the last time, surrender!" Michael shouted.

"I'd rather die first!" Cas tightened his grip on Dean's hand.

"Will you promise not to hurt him?" Dean asked as he drew his gaze away from those crossbows to face Michael.

The two men snapped out of their staring contest. "What was that?" Michael asked.

"What was that?" Cas echoed him, turning towards Dean.

Dean straightened and tried to look a lot tougher than he felt at the moment. He released Cas's hand and pulled away. It was really hard to ignore the heartbroken puppy dog eyes that were suddenly directed at him. "If we surrender, will you promise not to hurt this man?"

Michael studied him for a moment before raising his right hand. "May I live a thousand years and never hunt again."

"He's a sailor on the pirate ship Singed Wings. Promise to return him to his ship." Dean demanded.

"I swear it will be done." Michael vowed. As Dean turned to say his goodbyes, the prince leant towards Count Metatron. "Once we're out of sight, take him back to Heaven and throw him in the Pit of Despair." He ordered.

Metatron smirked. "I swear it will be done, sire."

Gadreel sighed, knowing who would actually be doing the work.

Dean grabbed Cas's hand once more, and looked down into those blue eyes that showed pain at what was unfolding. "I thought you were dead and it almost destroyed me." He lifted one hand and caressed his cheek. Castiel closed his eyes and leant into his touch. "I couldn't live with myself if you died when I could have saved you."

"Dean…" The hunter didn't know what else would have come after that, for the prince hauled him onto his horse and swiftly left the scene. Most of the guards went with them.

Very few remained when Metatron turned to Gadreel. "Gadreel, if you will." That gleeful smirk remained on the count's face as he gestured at the pirate.

Gadreel sighed and moved his horse forward. He looked at Cas with pity in his eyes. "Come, sir, we must return you to your ship."

Cas gave him a once over and then responded with a small, sad smile. "We are men of action." He replied. "Lies do not become us."

Gadreel sighed once more. "Well spoken, sir." The knight shifted uncomfortably as Castiel's gaze fell on his right hand and never left. "What is it?"

"You have six fingers on your right hand." Castiel observed. His eyes shifted to meet Gadreel's. "I know someone who is looking for you." He glanced at the count. "Or more accurately, for your boss."

Gadreel didn't know what to make of that, so he did as Metatron had ordered and knocked Cas out with the hilt of his sword.

Darkness fell over the pirate.

When Castiel awoke, even before he opened his eyes, he realized that he was strapped down to a hard surface. He tested the bonds a bit, to see how strong they were, but found that they were too thick for him to so easily break. Therefore, he opened his eyes to gain more information.

He soon saw that he was in some kind of dungeon. He was strapped to a table, tied up with chains. There were various instruments of torture strewn around the place, but the one that he was unfamiliar with, and that was by far the strangest, was one that appeared to be some sort of machine. It had numbers along a lever, a waterwheel, and various things dangling from it. He had no clue what it was for. The sight of it made him uneasy though.

However, he took comfort in the fact that he still had his trench coat even if it was torn in places. He hadn't been lying when he said that he liked it.

The sound of a door opening and shutting drew his attention to the stairs that lead upward. A woman with red hair that was tied up in a bun was making her way down, and she was dressed as a nun, though she was missing her habit. She held a bowl of what smelled like medicine. When she saw Castiel was awake, she gave a large smile that was probably supposed to be reassuring. It only unnerved him further as it was empty and held no hint of sincerity.

"Hello." She greeted him as she came to stop beside him. "It's nice to see you awake." Without further ado, she began to treat his wounds.

Cas didn't even let a twitch escape as his injuries stung. With his face emotionless, he asked, "Where am I?"

"The Pit of Despair. I'm your nurse, Naomi." She said it so nonchalantly, as if it was no big deal. However, the name was quite alarming, though Castiel didn't give anything away. "Don't even think about trying to escape. The chains are too thick. And don't think about being rescued as only the prince, the count, his guard, and I know where this is." She continued to merrily fix his wounds.

"So I'm here until I die." Cas surmised.

"Until they kill you, yes." Naomi replied. "Though don't worry, I'll continue fixing you so that probably won't be for a while."

Cas couldn't help but stare at this woman. "You're healing me just so they can torture me longer?" Surely she had to be insane.

Naomi thought about it a moment. "Yes."

"I can endure torture." Castiel couldn't help but point out. She looked surprised but shook her head in disbelief. "You don't believe me?"

"Oh, you poor child." Naomi sighed. She gently caressed his cheek, which made Cas feel very uncomfortable and caused goose bumps to break out over his skin. "You must be very tough and brave to survive Purgatory. However, no one can withstand," her eyes raised to the mysterious, unidentifiable torture instrument, "the Machine."

Castiel really didn't like the sound of that.

Meanwhile, Dean was sulking in the castle. Due to the incident, he had been banned from riding Impala, and he was going stir crazy from having nothing to do. He stomped through the halls and pouted in corners, all while saying he was doing nothing of the sort. Anna's continued attempts at flirting were not helping his mood. There was only one person he wanted.

Michael and Metatron observed one of these incidences as Anna yelled at Dean once more for his lack of interest and the hunter stomped off in the opposite direction. The count sent the prince a questioning look.

Michael rolled his eyes. "He's been like this ever since Purgatory. It must be from the trauma."

"Of course." Metatron replied. And the two went on their way.

Anna's impatience had grown though, and due to her persistence, before the next day dawned, Anna and Dean were married. The next day at noon, he was presented once more to the people, only this time as a legitimate prince.

"Wait a minute, what the hell?" Claire burst out. She nearly let some of the chicken noodle soup she was eating spill out of her bowl.

"Hmm?" Jimmy tried to quickly chew the rest of the bite of his sandwich as he looked up at his daughter. "Problem?" He asked as he swallowed.

"You had to read that wrong!" Claire protested. "There is no way in hell that Dean would marry Anna! They have absolutely no chemistry! This is a freaking romance, so it should be Cas! Otherwise, with all the crap that guy has gone through for him, it wouldn't be fair."

"Life isn't fair." Jimmy pointed out. "I often have to point that out for you."

"Yeah, well, this is complete crap!"

"Do you want me to go on with this?" Jimmy raised an eyebrow at his daughter's antics.

Claire slumped down a bit and sipped more of her soup. "Fine. Go on."

"Good. Now no more interruptions." Jimmy raised the book once more.

"Citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven." Michael announced from the balcony overlooking the courtyard. "Very soon, I shall be crowned as king due to this auspicious event. For now though, let us congratulate the happy couple: Princess Anna and Prince Dean." With a wave of his hand, the guards opened the door and the newly weds walked out on the red carpet to be among the people.

The people clapped and cheered at them as Dean frowned. After all, this didn't feel right. However, as the cheers died down, people stared in shock as a new sound could be heard.

Someone was booing.

Everyone turned toward it, Dean included, and he felt a jolt as he recognized the woman booing.

It was Meg, the butcher's daughter from their village who had a tendency to be cruel but had always had a soft spot for Castiel.

"Boo! Boo! Boo!" She called out, a look of disgust on her face like someone had tried to sell her a piece of rotten meat.

"Meg?" Dean asked. "Why are you doing this?" The two of them hadn't always got along, but they had tolerated each other for Cas's sake.

Meg pointed an accusing finger at him. "Because you had love in your hands, and you threw it away! You broke my unicorn's heart after everything he did for you!"

Ice chilled through his veins. "They would have killed Cas if I hadn't done it." The hunter tried to justify his actions.

"Excuse me?" Meg crossed her arms. "Your true love lives! And yet you marry another." She waved a hand at Anna. She turned and appealed to the crowd. "True Love saved him in Hell and Purgatory, and he treated it like garbage."

The crowd was looking at him in disbelief. Disgust began to fill their eyes.

Meg turned back to him, and threw her dark hair over her shoulder. Her eyes met his and she gave the clincher. "I really should have taken Castiel for myself."

Dean gasped as he startled awake. He sat up in bed as he realized what he had to do. He quickly threw on his robe and headed towards the prince's office.

The wedding was ten days away, but he couldn't let this go any further.

"I told you so."

"No one likes a smart aleck, Claire."

AN: A little splash of Megstiel for those who ship it. Honestly, if I wasn't such a Destiel shipper, and Destiel never became canon, I would have been content at least with Meg and Cas getting together. Having Cas losing his virginity to a reaper b*tch who manipulated, used, and tortured him really pissed me off. Castiel deserved better especially considering the situation he was in. Anyway, this marks the half-way point of the story, because I've got ten more chapters waiting to be edited (though the last chapter is more like a short epilogue). Thanks for sticking with me.

On another note: IT'S SUPERNATURAL SEASON 11 PREMIERE! I am ready and yet not ready. After all, apparently Cas is going to be affected by the attack dog spell for a while and the previews show him getting hurt and being scared. I'm so worried for him! I hope it turns out alright. Still, I'm wearing my "The Angel Who Fell In Love" Destiel shirt and my blue and green striped socks. I think I'm as prepared as I can be.