The Rising Star
Chapter One: The Fall From Grace
Disclaimer: I don't own Hazbin Hotel, Amazon and Vivziepop do.
Hey, everyone.
If you are a returning reader from Evening Star, I know I said that I may not return to this fandom after finishing it, well then I had the idea for a prequel about Emily's childhood and to explore the lie Sera had to spread to make sure no one knew the truth, so, here we are.
For my new readers, please check out Evening Star, either before reading this, or just go into it after finishing this, it was a fun time for me.
For my returning readers, most of you that read it as it was coming out, will know that I managed to bust that out in only a month, that is not happening here. For the new ones, if you want know about how I depict the Lord, it is based on some funny YouTube fan videos and some of my own beliefs, so I am sorry if it bothers you.
On with the Show:
Dawn of Creation Aftermath, Cliffs of Heaven
There the Heavenly Host stood, watching what was going on. An Angel, an Archangel Lord no less, had rebelled against Heaven. Of course, it had to be Lucifer Morningstar, the Bringer of Light, 2nd Son of the Lord, and the one that was most like his father in spirit, as both were the creative types. He had fallen in love with the first human woman, requiring his father to make a second wife for the first man, in order to make sure his plans were on track.
If an Archangel Lord falling in love with a human was not bad enough, he tempted Eve into eating of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, against God's Will, giving the new race of Humanity free will before it was time for them to have it. It also allowed the embodiment of all Evil to find a way into Creation, thus it was no longer completely good.
It was that second act that is why they were there today. Lucifer had forced his father's hand to kick him out of Heaven. As well as that, he was to take the woman he loved with him, to a new realm. A realm that was the opposite of Heaven, a realm of punishment, called Hell. Hell was created by the Lord to contain Roo, to hopefully imprison her forever. He also created the realm to give his wayward son a place in Creation like he had wanted to be part of, and to take a time out.
Currently at the forefront of the Heavenly Host, besides the Lord himself with his always pressed white suit, bow-tie, large hat, starry cape, and his double set of eyes that didn't actually reside on his face, were Lucifer's brother's. It is said that one pair of the Lord's eyes was for his normal sight and the others saw the past and the future, so they said. Standing next to the Lord were the Oldest and the Youngest Morningstars, Michael the Soldier and Azrael the Reaper. Behind the oldest and the youngest were the middle brothers, Gabriel the Messenger, Raphael the Healer, Zadkiel the Merciful, and Uriel the Artist.
As Lucifer and God argued at the cliff side about the woman he loved, among the Heavenly host, there was one other woman that he had once loved, the one appointed to be Lady Regent of Heaven, the High Seraphim: Sera. In her heart, there was a mix of emotions. She looked at the man that she had loved, who had loved her and then betrayed her love and trust upon meeting the First Woman. Her heart felt pangs of love and anger for him. She, at the behest of the Lord and for love, tried to keep Lucifer out of the creation process to protect him from the other Elder Angels that did not like the free spirit he possessed. She loved him and he left her.
As for the other one, Sera looked upon Lilith with spite in her heart. In Sera's eyes, the first woman had stolen Lucifer from her. She was meant to be Sera Morningstar, and now she wouldn't ever be that, and for that, Lilith had made a powerful enemy in Sera that day. Sera wanted to do something to the other woman, for stealing what was rightfully hers, but the Lord had forbidden the Angels from harming humans, unless he commanded them to or if it was in self defense or defense of others.
"How dare you do this, Lucifer Morningstar? To me, your brothers, and perhaps most importantly, to poor Sera?" God's voice was booming in divine, parental wrath. He could forgive a lot, even forgiving Lucifer giving the apple to humans, if Lucifer only knelt and begged his father for forgiveness and truly repented. However, when it comes to what happened with Sera, the Lord could not forgive it, as he had planned on their love. Sera would have been able to keep Lucifer reigned in and Lucifer would give her a good and happy eternity. Now, that was all for naught.
"I am sorry, Dad, but Lilith is my love. I only did what I thought was right," Lucifer said, trying to defend his actions. However, one part of what his father said was a bit concerning as he quickly looked over to Sera, with a look that tried to say that he was sorry for this, but her face was full of hatred. To Lucifer, whatever Hell hath as far as its fury was nothing compared to a woman scorned when it comes to matters of love, as he looked on his former lover and ex-fiance. A part of him knew he deserved to be punished for what he did to her. He was the only one that could make her smile, make her laugh and he was depriving Heaven of that.
"Homewrecker!" Sera shouted in hatred at Lilith for what she had done to her. She had already said several worse things to the woman earlier, that even the Lord was concerned about her. Her world had come crashing down in the last few weeks, since Creation. She had sat on her knees, crying her eyes out, for hours, the night Lucifer told her that their relationship was off. The Lord held out a hand to tell her that he had this in hand.
It hurt the Lord's heart to do it, but he knew that he had to do what he must do, for the good of Creation. He looked upon Lucifer one last time, as he did, he saw the son he had made. He saw the day he made the second Archangel, with little Michael sitting on his shoulder. He saw little Luci with a tiny harp in his hands, making music and the Lord with a smile on his face. Knowing that he had to act now, the Lord buried his parental love for his son deep inside him. "You're no longer my son," God said, with cold fury in his voice. With a flick of his head, both of Lucifer's older and youngest brothers closed in on their fallen brother, blades drawn. Michael's of gleaming white silver, with white flames burning on it and Azrael's was black as the night, with ethereal blue flames on it. In a moment of panic, Lucifer drew his own silvery red sword and engaged his older brother in a duel. Lucifer seemed to be able to hold his own against Michael, but Michael was merely toying with him. While all of the Morningstars knew how to fight, Michael was the Soldier, he was made for War and Defense as it were. Dad made him the Lord Defender of Heaven, and Lord Commander of the Heavenly Host. Azrael was the Reaper, given command over life and death as it were. Both of them were very knowledgeable in the ways of fighting. After a few minutes of parrying his brother's blade, as neither wanted to hurt the other, merely to disarm them, Michael managed to knock Lucifer's blade from his hand. It clattered to the ground in front of Azrael, who picked it up and snapped it over his knee. In breaking the blade, Azrael sent their father's message that he was not one of them anymore. That sword was both a symbol of his station, and was a unique weapon. One of seven special blades forged by Lord Archangel Uriel Morningstar for him and his brothers at their father's request, as a gift to his seven sons. Lucifer's face was distraught to see his brother destroy that gift.
"Begone, Lucifer Morningstar! I cast you down, to the realm of Hell, that had to be created when you sinned. You are not welcome here," God's voice was at its command level. Until you have redeemed yourself or a future Sinner, God thought to himself, hoping that his son would earn his forgiveness soon enough. Michael and Azrael forced both Lucifer and Lilith off the cliff's edge.
Down they fell, down into the new realm of Hell, and they were gone.
When it was done, everyone stood there in shock and quiet. The one's taking it the hardest were the six brothers of Lucifer, especially Michael, who loved his younger brother very much. Uriel was taking it hard as well, as he was also a creative spirit, like his father and older brother. Also, the fact his younger brother broke a gift he had made was not sitting well with him, as he picked up the pieces of the destroyed weapon.
"Can you reforge it?" Michael leaned in and asked Uriel.
"I can, but that's not the point," Uriel glared at his dark-haired brother next to him. "Besides, it's up to Dad if I should." Uriel looked over at their Lord Father for permission, who nodded at Uriel, to reforge the blade.
After a good, long moment, the Lord turned to everyone else. "Okay, back to work everyone, we have a lot of work to do." The Host turned and went back to work. As the Lord passed by Sera, he placed a hand on her shoulder to show his support to her, and that he was sorry. "Take the time you need." She nodded in thanks as her emotions were welling up inside of her.
As everyone else left, there Sera stood there, looking over the side of the cliffs at where Lucifer fell down to Hell, rage and sorrow waging war inside her.
"If it's any solace, in my opinion, you are one of us," Sera turned to the voice. It was Archangel Lord Gabriel, the Messenger of the Lord.
"Thank you, Lord Gabriel, however, I am not one of you. I did not marry Lucifer and I am no Morningstar," Sera told the other Angel.
"Just because you didn't get the chance to tie the knot with my brother, doesn't mean you are not one of us. We all see you as a sister in law already," he tried to console her.
"I appreciate it, but, please, I can't call myself a Morningstar without him." Sera impressed on the other angel, she did not feel like one of them, and as the High Seraph, she was all about procedure and order.
"I understand, Sera. I'll leave it be then. By the way, it's Gabe to you, same with Mikey, and Raph, and Zads and Uri and AZ. You have the right to use it, and we would appreciate it if you used the shorthand." Gabriel smiled a soft smile at her, hiding his own pain.
"Very well, as you wish, Lord Archangel," She gave him a sad smile. Despite being the High Seraph and appointed to be the Lady Regent of Heaven if the Lord wanted to go on Vacation, as he had rested on the seventh day, the Morningstar Lord Archangels were technically her superiors. Above her authority and below their father's. Gabriel turned and flew off, back to where he was needed.
Sera took another moment and looked back down over the side of the Golden City. Her heart hurt too much, "goodbye, Lucifer Morningstar," a part of her seemed to die in that moment. Then, she turned and went back to her office to bury herself in her work for the next thousand years or until the pain subsided, so she thought.
Several weeks later
Weeks had passed since everything that had happened at the cliffs of Heaven. Sera had buried her feelings deep inside under a layer of cold indifference, it was the only way she could do her job. Yet, for all the bitterness that was filling her over Lucifer betraying her love, she missed him so much. She could be herself around him, laugh like a normal person, and just enjoy things with him. Perhaps the hardest part of him being gone was coming home to an empty house. Sera would normally get home and Lucifer would already have dinner ready for them, and in the mornings he would have breakfast made and bring it to her in bed. He spoiled her and didn't ask for much in return, all he had asked for was to see her smile and to hear her laugh. Part of Sera wished to be able to hold him in her arms again, to have a chance to love him again, to have someone she can laugh and smile with again. Little did she know that fate had a funny way of providing what one asks for, just not the way one thinks it will. Such was the case with Sera as her life was about to change drastically.
It would have been like any other day for the High Seraphim, to get up and bury herself in her workload. However, fate had a different idea.
Sera awoke that one fateful morning and immediately had to empty the contents of her stomach. When she had a moment to process it, "weird," she commented to herself. Did she eat something that did not agree with her last night? Not that she was aware of. While it was unusual, she didn't think anything of it, when she should have realized that it was the beginning of something bigger. She initially passed it off as a one off thing, but it kept happening and she seemed to not be able to keep some foods down. When she started to have other odd symptoms, like tenderness in her chest and constant fatigue, she knew something was off. A couple weeks of dealing with these varying symptoms, she decided to go consult a healer, as this was definitely not normal for an angel.
So, she made a call to the one Healer she could trust to help her, ironically, he was one of her ex's brothers, though he was to be the one that would teach the new species of Humanity to heal, Archangel Lord Raphael.
Raphael's House of Healing
Knocking on the door of an Archangel Lord was always a bit of a nerve wracking thing, even for one such as her, the High Seraphim. However, Raphael was perhaps one of if not the easiest to see, as he was always willing to help those that needed it.
Waiting a moment, she hoped that he was home, as the Lord would call all six sons to his office once a week lately. However, she was glad when the door opened and she saw the red hair of the doctor that had a similar face to Lucifer's. "Sera, what can I do for you?" He asked as he showed her in.
"Something is wrong with me, Raph," Sera was one of the only few allowed to use the nicknames for the Morningstars that was not one of them, and started using them after Gabriel told her that she could.
He showed her to his operating room, and told her to get her heavy dress off so that he could check her over. He went into the next room to get her file out of his filing cabinet.
There she sat on the table in her undergarments in front of the healer, as he came back into the room, her file in hand and placed it on his small side table, then washed his hands, put gloves on and walked over to her. "What's going on?"
"Constant Nausea, can't keep certain foods down, fatigue, tenderness in my chest and other issues." Sera informed him of what was going on.
"How long has this been going on?" he asked as he went and grabbed his stethoscope from a drawer and walked back over to her. His brow creased in thought, as this could be a few things.
"A couple weeks now," she told him, concerned as to what was going on.
An idea formed in the doctor's mind as to what was going on, but he had to be sure. He put his stethoscope to his ears, "Alright, deep breaths for me." She did as he instructed. While he did not find anything unusual in the normal tests, things got interesting when he placed his instrument over her stomach and there was his answer: a second heartbeat.
"Well, that is interesting," Raphael remarked, as he withdrew from her. He didn't show it on his face, but Raphael was shocked to say the least. He knew it was going to happen with Humanity, but didn't know it could happen with Angels as well.
"What is it? Lord Raphael?" Sera asked him, concerned something was wrong with her.
"Well, I have news, whether it is good or bad is up to you, and if good, my congratulations are in order. You're pregnant," Raphael told her. To say her face spoke of shock was an understatement. It was about the same as he felt inside, as he was now going to be an uncle, as far as he was aware.
"Wait, you mean we can do that?" Sera asked, incredulously. She thought that was only something that humans were able to do, or going to be able to do.
"I guess it makes sense why you all got your new forms after my brothers and I came along," Raph offhandedly commented. He and his brothers didn't have a second form that was more esoteric, like other elder angels, or even Sera as she originally was more avian in appearance. "It's Luci's child, right?" As far as he knew, there was no other possible explanation. Lucifer may have spilled the beans to the brothers the day after they had their night of passion and they all had to swear Gabriel to absolute secrecy, as he was a bit of a gossiper, and none of them, especially Michael, did not want their father knowing that Luci and Sera had premarital sex. Yes, it went against their father's wishes, but they were still brothers that loved each other.
"Yes, he…"She began to tell him of their night of love, but then her face shifted in anger at a thought. "He knocked me up, and just abandoned me for another woman!"
"Sera," Raphael sighed as he set his instrument to the side. He was concerned where this conversation was going.
"I don't want it," Sera said, shocking the Healer. That was in defiance of his father's wishes. He hoped it was just her speaking in a moment of anger at the situation.
"Sera, please, children are a gift from Father," He tried to console her. He definitely did not like this line of thinking.
"What a gift indeed, imagine Raph, what it would do to my reputation that I had a kid with Heaven's public enemy number one? Not to mention, the flak I would get for having a kid out of wedlock. What the child will grow up facing being the offspring of two unwed parents, whose father is banished from Heaven." Sera was angry, rightfully so, but it was concerning for the Archangel.
"I never should have let him talk me into it!" Sera said with all spite in her voice. "If I had known it was possible, I would have told him to wait until he put a ring on my finger!"
"Sera, none of us, save probably Dad, knew that us Angels could do that. However, it does make sense when you add in the fact that he made the seven sons in the manner that he did, and how we don't have more esoteric forms. As well as the fact that you got the second form, both to be more approachable with Humans, and that Dad was planning on you and Luci being a couple, as he knew you would be good for each other, it is in all probability he was planning for you two to have kids." Raphael was trying his best to make Sera see reason. While it was her choice whether to have the kid, Raphael was worried that they would be both damned with Lucifer if he let her get rid of it. Yes, there were exceptions to the Lord's rule, but none of them applied here.
"I guess it does make sense," she sighed in thought. "I agreed to it, when Lucifer asked if we could try it, cause I thought we were safe as Angels. It's not like your father told us that we could have kids."
"I know, I remember when Luci told us about it," Raph had to laugh a moment in memory of that day. "We had to make Gabe swear to secrecy, under punishment of Michael's bootcamp if he mentioned it to Dad."
"Thanks, for that," she shook her head in regret at what she had done. She had willingly laid with Lucifer, before he married her, against the wishes of the Lord, and now had to bear the consequences of her actions.
However, her senses came back to her and one positive shined in her mind, that the child was a reminder of Lucifer, the happy times she had with him. She wanted to love Lucifer and hold him again, and now she could, as a mother to their kid, a combination of both of them. Once Sera seemed to calm down, she put her head in her hands. "What do I do, Raph?"
"You know what side of the argument I am on," he said, confirming what he would advise her to do without saying it. He wanted her to have the kid.
Sera mulled over the thoughts she had before asking the doctor his opinion on the matter. This was the last link to her lover that she had, and she couldn't throw it away now. Also, while she may have been in hot water with the Lord for breaking his rule about premarital relations, she would be in even greater peril if she denied the Lord a grandchild. Perhaps, it was her fear of God's Wrath, or perhaps a desire to still have a connection to Lucifer, but she made up her mind.
"I will be a mother," she said, easing Raphael's concerns. "No one must ever know about this," she decided that if she was going to have the kid, she would do it her way, to save her reputation as High Seraphim, and to protect the heir of the Morningstar.
"Then, I would suggest wearing heavier dresses to hide the bump. I will hold the secret until you come clean with the rest of the family," Raphael said, his vows as a man of medicine holding him to that principle. "Here, we can continue this in my office in the next room." Sera got her dress back on and followed him to his office.
"What must I do, Lord Archangel?" She asked him as she sat down, so that she would know how to handle this situation. Raphael went over to a shelf and pulled a book off the shelf that he had written that he was already given a copy of to Adam and Eve, for when they get settled and start having kids. He also knew that his Lord Father would probably send him down to Earth to oversee the process of helping bring the first born generation into Creation, as their doctor. He handed the copy of the book to Seraphim.
"Here, read this, it has everything you need to know about the process of pregnancy and what you need to know for the early years," he told her. She sighed in resignation, this is the way things were gonna go.
"Thank you, Lord Raph," Sera intended to start reading it as soon as she got home.
"I am mandating progress check ups throughout this whole thing, and despite the fact that in many ways, you are technically family, I will be your doctor overseeing this. Even if I am down on Earth over seeing things with Adam and Eve, I will come up when you need me." He half smiled at her, glad to have avoided a very awkward conversation with his father about Sera not wanting to have the kid. "Fair warning, you are going to put on some weight, both because of the child and the necessary intake of food to sustain both of you."
So that is why he mentioned the heavier dresses. Sera mulled over everything that Raph told her. This was going to be interesting to say the least.
"Speaking of eating, you are probably gonna have some weird cravings for certain kinds of food. Most likely due to any possible deficiencies in various nutrients that are going to the baby, for example you may crave ice cream for a lack of calcium and such," Raphael told her as he walked over to his desk, sat down and began to write his notes. "Also, I am mandating no wine or for that matter no alcohol for you, and limited caffeine per day, until at least after the child is done needing your breast milk, understood?"
"Perfectly clear, Doctor," limited coffee was going to be difficult to get around, especially the long days.
"If Dad offers a glass of wine, tell him that I ordered you to not be able to have it for a few months," Raph told her, his father had entrusted him with all medical knowledge and a vow to keep patient's problems confidential, even from him. He set his writing utensil down for a moment, "also, I know this will be difficult at the moment, but you will need to keep your emotions in check as there may be days you will swing hard one way or another and swap back."
"I understand," she said, that was indeed going to be the worst part of this whole process. She will be okay for the most part if she locks herself in her office, but it was the meetings with God that would be the issue.
"Now, what are we going to tell the family in the meantime?" He folded his hands on his desk.
Sera had to think for a moment, that was the question, wasn't it? She needed a good enough lie to sell all of Heaven on, and nothing was coming to her, and then the answer hit her. "I got it, the Well of Souls," she told him. Raphael's brow arched in question of where this was going, but it seemed like it had promise. The Well of Souls was what the Lord had set up after inventing souls for humans that would send new souls into the world as humans had children. "I will tell them all that in missing my love, and feeling lonely, I am going to go to the Well and create someone to fill the void he left in my heart." As High Seraphim, Sera had access to the Well, as only she and the Morningstars were the only Angels that were allowed to it.
"After which I can say that I warned you that it would not turn out the way you think and that you would end up with a baby instead of an adult," Raph saw where she was going with this, and mulled it over for a moment. Yes, the Well was the best chance to convince the Elder Angels of Sera's lie. "Alright, I will handle my brothers, specifically Uriel, in getting what you need for a nursery."
"Thank you, Raph, for this," Sera knew she owed him for this, but that it would be a future problem to deal with.
"I hope you understand how much this will hurt me to keep this from my family, from their family, your family," Raphael imposed on her.
"I know, Raph, I know," She knew she was asking a lot of the Healer. Raphael wrote a few things down for both his records and for Sera, some instructions to start following in the coming days. He stood up, took his reading glasses off, and handed Sera his notes for her. Raphael didn't need glasses normally, but he wore them to make sure he didn't miss any tiny, but crucial detail.
"Alright, well, I guess we are in it now," he ran a hand through his red hair, as an attempt to keep himself calm, for multiple reasons.
"Yeah, I guess we are," Sera said, not sure what to say at this moment.
"I'll call you later, once I get everything from Uriel," Raph showed her the door to his office. He needed to process everything for an hour or so, and knew she did as well.
"Sure, I'll keep in touch," Sera walked out of his office, and the Archangel gently closed the door behind her. As Sera extended her wings to fly back home, she was having a hard time processing what she was told. Pregnant, with Lucifer's child. If things were different, she would probably be ecstatic, to be a mother, but that required Lucifer to be with her right now, and with a ring on her finger. However, that was not here and now. She knew she would be in trouble with various people if they ever found out, the ones she was most worried about were those Elder Angels that helped her and the Lord create the Earth. Though she was their superior, they still wielded incredible authority and influence over the Heavenly Host. They were set in their ways, when the Lord first commanded unto them his will, they took it to heart and would proverbially damn anyone that broke that will. Sera would be in their sights if they knew.
When she got home, and had some water, she sat down on her couch, with some juice and began to read the book Raphael had given her on parenthood. As she read, she thought about what to do about the Elder Angels, and about the Lord should the secret become public. She made up her mind, as she placed a hand over her stomach, no matter what happens, I will raise you and love you. The last remnant of your father, still with me. A Daydream came to her a moment, of her, holding a bundle of blankets with her child in it, standing before the Judgment of the Lord for what she had done. This is mine, no matter what. She went back to reading the book she had.
Later that day, Uriel's Workshop
As Raphael walked into his brother's workshop, he saw his brother working reforging his fallen brother's blade. It had to be that blade when I show up, just great. This is much more problematic now. He had to be careful, more careful now with that additional reminder of Lucifer in the room.
"Hello, Uri," Raph greeted. Out of all seven brothers, Uriel was the one that had the weirdest shorthand.
"What can I do for you, brother?" Uriel's multicolor hair was a mess with sweat from working the forge. It was rare that Raphael came down there to see him, Michael and Azrael would come to make sure their blades were sharpened and Michael needed stuff for the Heavenly Host.
"I need you to make a crib, a rocking chair, and baby bottles for Sera," Raphael told him. Uriel's mind began to race with various questions to make sense of this.
"Excuse me, what?" Uriel asked, confused, needing to make sure he had heard his brother right.
"Sera told me that she was feeling lonely without our dear, fallen brother in her life, so she is planning, at some point, to go to the Well of Souls, to try to make someone she can love and laugh with. I told her that it will not go the way she thought, and she will wind up with a baby, not an adult. I just want her to be prepared," Raphael had practiced this lie a hundred times to make sure he could lie to his brothers' faces about it. It hurt him to lie about family to family.
"Well, that is true, she is probably still torn up about all that mess," Uriel conceded to his brother. "So, why do you come on her behalf, brother?" Uriel asked, confused. He would be happy to help the High Seraph, but why did his brother come to ask him for help instead of her.
"Because, brother, I am the one that knows how to raise a child, as Dad imprinted into my mind all the knowledge that humanity would need to do so." Raphael told him, which was true.
"True, alright, I'll get it done. Do you want me to deliver it to her?" Uriel asked.
"No, I will handle that, considering I am probably gonna have to help her with this whole mess for a while," Raph said. If only Uriel knew how true that was for his brother. Raphael was deep into it now, and what choice did he have that would not break his vows of confidentiality. It did not take Uriel long to make the requested works to hand over to his brother to take to the High Seraph at a later date.
As Raphael helped his once to be Sister-in-law with getting the nursery set up, he was wondering just how long would Sera go without telling someone in the family besides him of the pregnancy. He would stand by her through this, cause he was the one who knew, but he was also a family man. He just hoped that she would not make him have to forsake his vows to tell his father the truth.
Time passed, Sera would try to go about her life as normal as she could, and for the first little while things seemed okay, and she found ways to adapt to the restrictions she was under by doctor's orders. She would end up always needing some form of sweet drink nearby, mostly lemonade, both to replace wine and it was because she was craving sweet things. Ice cream was also popular with her, and to which she had found a little sad humor in. Lucifer had created the idea of ice cream in Heaven before his fall. He made it in their kitchen with Uriel's help and it was an instant success among the angels. When in public, she could keep her cravings under control for the most part, but when she was at home, she sometimes ended up gorging herself, to satiate both the cravings and the fact that she was eating for two. As for her mood, that was perhaps the hardest thing to control for her, especially in front of the Lord.
She was also beginning to wonder if God suspected anything considering his reaction to her turning him down for a glass of wine, and told him that Raphael ordered her not to drink any for a while. His response was an eyebrow twitch in thought and when he asked if she could tell him the reason, she told him that it was a private matter. The Lord let the matter slide for now, and gave her some regular grape juice that had yet to turn into wine.
As for the Lord's view on the matter, few reasons run through his mind as to why she was unable to drink wine, the big ones being either she tried to drown her sorrows, which is understandable, or she was pregnant. Guess he will wait until Sera comes clean with him, or he happens to catch a glimpse of her pregnant stomach, there would be no hiding it from him then.
First Man
When Adam, the First Man ascended to Heaven upon his mortal death, things turned a bit worse for the High Seraph, being in the middle stages of her pregnancy. Her stomach was already starting to show the signs of her state of being. Raphael was right that she had to wear some heavier dresses to hide it. However, that was not the problem, it was Adam's attitude being the both the first human soul to ascend to Heaven, and the fact that he was the first man, so he had quite an ego that Sera knew was going to get worse.
Eve had got sent to Hell, for what had happened in Eden, but the Lord seemed optimistic that it wouldn't be long for her, to Sera's brief confusion. When Sera asked him what he meant, all he said was that he had plans, and she wrote it off as one of the times that he would work in mysterious ways.
In actuality, Adam and Eve had longer lives than humans were to have going forward. When the Lord kicked them out of the Garden for Eve eating the Apple of Knowledge that he told them not to, and that Adam did not, he gave them extended life as a final parting gift, but warned them that they would die. It also came sooner than Sera would have liked as time on Earth was different that time in Heaven and Hell. The Garden of Eden was on the same time-frame as the Golden City, but not the rest of Earth. They passed on at the same time.
Sera was there, alongside the Lord, and Lord Archangel Michael when Adam appeared at the Gates of Heaven, and had to keep a cool head, easier said than done, with Adam literally saying "What's up, bitches?" when he arrived.
Luckily for Sera, and also unfortunately for Sera, as it added to her fear that God knew that she was pregnant, he kept Adam away from the High Seraphim, as not to add to her stress.
What Sera didn't know is that her dress had shifted just enough wrongly, as she and Adam sat down in God's office that He had seen the small baby bump before Sera had a chance to fix her dress. However, the Lord never asked her about it, so Sera continued on as if nothing ever happened. In reality, God had his suspicions, but decided that it was not wise to press the woman on the matter, and so left it be, and would let Sera tell him when she was ready.
Several Months Later
Other than having to deal with Adam every so often and a slight paranoia that God knew her secret, Sera seemed to be able to manage being pregnant and not arouse too much suspicion. Raphael was a great help to her, running interference as it were on his brothers and helping to cover things with his father.
During one of her late stage checkups, she had to ask Raphael's opinion on whether the Lord knew. "Do you think the family suspects anything?" She asked as she laid on her back as Raphael used his various tools to check on the baby.
Raphael blew out a breath, "Not sure, Sera. My brothers, I don't think so. Of them, possibly Uriel or AZ for different reasons. In Uriel's case, I told him the lie we agreed on, whether he bought it is a different matter, he seemed to, though. AZ, I am not sure, I didn't talk with him at all about it, but I do wonder if he knows, given that he has mastery over Life and Death. He hasn't said anything to me, and neither Gabriel or Michael have mentioned to me that AZ suspects anything."
That was the Uncles dealt with, but the bigger question remained. "What about your father?"
"Hard to tell, you know him, sometimes he will ask about stuff and sometimes he won't and wait for someone to tell him about it. He did however ask me about you seemingly putting on some weight, I told him that you have been binging a little as a coping mechanism for the really down days, missing Lucifer." Raphael shrugged slightly.
"Does answering that not break your vows?" Sera asked, in regard to his vows as a man of medicine that will keep patient confidentiality.
"One, it's not the truth, and two, he didn't ask if you were pregnant, so I didn't break it. I had practiced my lies enough that I could do it to his face and sound convincing, and he seemed like he bought it. Whether he did, is a different matter and he is not saying. If he does ask you about it, I say be honest with him, if not, we can continue this charade for a while longer." That was not comforting to the High Seraphim, in the least. However, she knew it was near impossible to hide things from the Lord.
"Alright," was all she could say. In some ways, as the date that her child will be born approached, it seemed like the walls were closing in on her. She knew she would have to face the music one day, but until that day comes, she will do what she can to keep it under wraps, both to protect her child and her reputation. Even if it means keeping her child in the dark about her parentage, she would do it.
"Alright, you are due any day now, so when your water breaks, you need to come see me right away, in fact, I am going to give you my own personal halo portal, to get here from wherever you are in heaven when it happens, just cancel all appointments this week, just in case." He told her as she got dressed.
"Well, it's a good thing I don't have to meet with your father in this coming week, as that would be a dead giveaway if it happens when I am with him." Sera rolled her eyes, in thought of that happening.
"Good, until then, take it easy and don't do anything that would cause undue stress to you or the kid," Raphael ordered, as he handed her the portal ring. As she left the place for that day and went back home, she began to think about how this will all change and become even more stressful for her.
A Week Later
As the date with destiny came near, in an ironic way, Sera was glad that she would soon give birth to her child, as that would end that part of this problem of anyone finding out the truth, then all that she had to do was keep to the lie she had crafted, that she went to the Well of Souls and made an Angel out of a Soul, and that it didn't go to plan, and that she was raising a sibling, not her offspring. She just hoped that the kid would look more like her than Lucifer, as it would also give it away if the kid looked a lot like their father, or uncles for that matter. In some ways, it was out of the frying pan and into the fire, as it were, as now she had to worry about all the stuff of raising a kid and do her job as the population of Heaven seemed to grow by a lot on the daily, but that was just do to the differences in time in Heaven vs Earth. She could only imagine what it was like down in Hell, as they were likely to have an equal or worse influx of new souls.
At last the day had finally come and her water broke, thankfully she was at home when it happened, so no one had seen it happen and so couldn't report it to anyone important enough to cause her problems. She raced for where she had put the halo ring, and used it to get to Raphael as quickly as she could.
Arriving like she did, she began to bang on the Archangel's door in panic that she was going to be seen. The door flew open, and Raphael knew it was her as he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her inside, shutting and locking his front door. It was a good thing she was not at her full potential height as High Seraph, as that would not have been possible otherwise. "This way," he told her as he led the way into his operating theater. "Get undressed fully, and get under the covers," he gestured to the medical bed in the room that he had gotten ready for her.
Not willing to mess around with the hassle of getting her clothes of, Sera just waved her hand at herself, using some angelic power and it all disappeared, she was as nude as when she was both created and when the first humans were created, and did as the Healer said and got in the bed.
He already knew what was going on as he got ready for this, throwing on his scrubs, washing his hands, and gloving up, before walking over to the bed, and telling Sera what he needed her to do for him.
It took several hours, and a lot of pain for Sera, as she pushed her baby out of her. Raph did as best he could to help her out from the other end, but it was a case that there was nothing more he could do, but get the child out as fast as was safe to do so. Hearing Sera scream in pain did his heart no favors, but he did his duty. "Alright, we are nearly there, Sera, one more push, we are at the finish line. Okay, get ready and… Push!" he commanded her. She did so, and Raphael was able to pull the rest of the baby angel out of their mother. Sera screamed in pain as it happened. "We did it, Sera, we did it. It's a beautiful baby girl," Raphael told Sera, who was still a bit out of it. While Sera calmed down, Raph cleaned the infant off and wrapped her up in a cloth he had managed to hang on to after Adam and Eve's kids were born.
Sera took some deep calming breaths, trying to get control of her senses again and to try to mitigate the pain in her womanhood. "I'll get you some painkillers in a second," Raphael told her as he held his niece in his arms. He had to savor it a moment, as he was not sure when the next time he would get to hold her like an Uncle again. "Hey, little one, Uncle Raph's got ya, welcome to Creation, you are in Heaven, where every day is a happy day." Next time he looked up at Sera, he could tell she was calmed down from giving birth and was looking at him with a bit of an accusatory look for what he said. "She won't remember this as she grows up, Adam has informed me that Cain and Abel have no memory of me being their doctor when they were born." That seemed to settle Sera's concerns, as she held out her arms to hold her newborn daughter. "Okay, little one, Uncle Raph is gonna hand you to Mommy now, so that she can see your wonderful face, and so we can get you a name." He gently placed the baby in Sera's arms. As she looked at her daughter, Sera was glad to see that she looked more like her, than her father. With the darker skin, white hair, and white face freckles, but her shade of blue eyes was a gift from her father, and her cheek structure was also Lucifer's. Sera sighed a breath of relief, as it would be easier to convince people that she had made a sister at the Well of Souls. "What name do you have picked out?" Raph asked as he was filling out the birth certificate.
It took Sera a moment to think, she had done some thinking before about what she had wanted to name her child, but never made a final decision, partially due to not wanting to know the gender until they were born. After a long moment, the name settled for her and it was sealed. "Emily, Emily Morningstar," she gave her child the name that was her birthright, the name that Sera had stolen from her by Lilith.
"Emily, good name, very human-like," Rapahel commented on her choice of name.
"Considering we have new human souls arriving nearly daily, and to be honest, I think Emily's role as a second Seraphim will be to keep them happy, when she is old enough to handle that responsibility," Sera told Emily's Uncle.
"I agree, that would be for the best. Ironic, too, if things had gone differently, I think that would be the role her father would have played." Sera looked at the Archangel with a confused look. "Pay it no mind, just thinking aloud for a moment." Raphael stroked his chin thought for a moment, before moving on. He switched from Uncle Raphael mode, back to Doctor Raphael mode. "Now, hand Emily back to me, I am going to put her in a special area I set up, on the other side of the room," he flicked his head and Sera saw what looked like a crib under a heating lamp, that she hadn't seen in the chaos earlier.
As Sera handed Emily back to the doctor, "you get some rest, you will need it after that ordeal. I will be right back with some painkillers to help you out, and I will wake you in a few hours when Emily will need to have her first meal." As Raphael walked over to where he had set up a makeshift infant ward, Sera got herself comfortable in the bed. A quick wave of Raphael's hand and the mess from the birth disappeared, and the bed was safe for her to sleep in. He walked over to his medicine cabinet and grabbed some strong painkillers that won't mess with Sera's breast milk. He filled a glass of water and gave them to Sera, who downed both and settled into bed, and was out like a light in short order.
Before he left the room to do some paperwork, Raphael looked at the two members of his family in the room, his newborn niece, and her mother, who was his sister-in-law in all but law. He half-smiled for a moment, happy that his family has grown, and he knew in his heart that his brothers and father would be glad too, if they knew. In his opinion, they should be here right now, to support Sera, and yet they had to be kept in the dark about what had happened. He would keep the secret, of course, as he had to as a man of medicine, but he knew that he and Sera would have arguments to come in the future about it. He flicked the light off in the room to let Sera have a few hours to sleep, and went to his office to fill out some paperwork and have a glass of wine to congratulate himself for his efforts.
Hey everyone, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of this prequel tale I am going to weave for you. To be honest, we are not going to see much of Lucifer, until later when it is relevant for him to come up again. However, we are going to see a good bit of his brothers in this, with Raphael being the main brother we see, and probably not much of Azrael, I used him a good bit in the Evening Star.
So, what do I need to address, for the new readers, well, it is my head-canon that Emily is Lucifer's and Sera's kid, meaning she is Charlie's half sister. I have heard she and Sera are supposed to be sisters, but when I watched episode 6 again for Evening Star, the only thing Sera said relating to the matter is that she is older than Emily, that is it.
As for the heavy topic, well, it was based on what her personality was in the show, and such, trust me, she will not regret not going through that line of thought, Raphael would not stand for it.
Anyway, whether you are a new or old reader of mine when it comes to this fandom, I hope you are along for the ride. I will see you next time. No idea when that will be. See ya later.