"To be human is to make mistakes."
Dirty Paws | Of Monsters and Men
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#F87531 ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя: #EE9572】
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#F87531 ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя: #EE9572】
Glass shattered against the floor, blue liquid oozing from the vial. “Zinnia!” Blithe knelt beside her as the witch clutched her chest, breathing hard. “I-I’m fine Blithe,” her demon assisted her to her feet, her legs shaking. She carried her Master to the closest chair, “I incidentally ingested some of the weeping snipe’s poison. The antidote is on the shelf, just over-“ Blithe grabbed it before Zinnia could finish and uncorked it, pouring a droplet into Zinnia’s mouth. The witch breathed out a sigh of relief as the shaking ceased and the chest pain began to ebb. “How do you accidentally ingest poison?” Blithe’s eyes narrowed, as though Zinnia had been purposely testing her resistance. “The cauldron bubbled faster than I had expected and I was mumbling to myself,” Zinnia admitted, her cheeks flushed. Blithe sighed, an acceptable response. “I swear, you’re never careful enough in that room.” Zinnia shook her head, she had had it under control of course. Rainarch was asleep in the corner, looking like a cat the way she curled up in the sunlight.
“Don’t try to stand, I’ll go fetch some water.” The witch nodded in response and sank lower into the chair. She sat on her hands to make the shaking stop. She had noticed, in the last few days, that her feathers were growing larger. Perhaps it may have been time to visit Heaven to see what the King and Queen had to say. She did not trust angels as far as she could throw them, but there was some validity in Micheal’s desire for her to go see his parents. If her feathers were truly the same as his sister’s and his sister was currently missing, it could be a clue as to where she had gone. Zinnia rose abruptly, recalling something the demon Queen, Kitra had said during the haze of pain. “What is it?” Blithe inquired, “what’s wrong?” The witch did not reply, instead, she rushed to the shelf and withdrew the key. “We must go to Heaven,” Blithe stiffened, “I can’t.” She whispered, “demons aren’t welcome.” Amaterasu’s home was its own territory, she made her own rules, but Heaven proper was a different story.
“I will be fine Blithe,” Zinnia assured her, patting Blithe’s head. “If I’m not back by noon, then you may alert someone.” It was currently eight in the morning, the day starting as early as it always did in the Evernight household. “Fine,” Blithe pouted, “but don’t hesitate to summon me, or at least, try to.” Zinnia nodded and placed the key in the lock, turning it. She opened up the door, the light blinding. “I will return, don’t worry.” Zinnia smiled to reassure her and stepped into the light.
There were weapons surrounding her on all sides. “Don’t move!” A voice bellowed, something sharp sticking into her back. Zinnia did not cry out in pain as blood trickled from the cut. “Who are you? Who gave you that key?” A voice snapped, “I was under the impression that Micheal wanted to see me.” Zinnia replied curtly, “or at least, those were his words when he left the key.”
“Michi sent you?” One of the angels lowered his weapon, signaling to the others to do the same. “Please, pardon hesitance, Heaven is currently in a state of emergency.” Zinnia nodded, she did not hold it against them of course. “My name is Raphael, I am Michi’s younger brother,” she would have laughed at the childish nickname if not for how tense of a situation she was currently in. “Micheal told me that you were expecting me, it was quite a surprise that this was the welcome that was in waiting.” Raphael scratched the back of his head, “Michi isn’t here right now, but I’ll take you to his retainers.” She was marched from the door to the castle gates, where two other angels were waiting for her. “This way, quickly please, the Queen is expecting you.” Zinnia followed behind them, they did not offer their names, but she could sense the amount of power leaking off of them. She was overwhelmed by the amount of latent energy pouring out of the next room, the Queen’s chambers.
“Who goes there?” A voice bellowed, feminine and powerful. Zinnia would have thought to tremble had she not been there on important business. “My name is Zinnia Evernight, Micheal sent me here to see you.” She curtsied, aware of her potion stained robes. Zinnia had never felt self conscious before, the woman standing before her put all others to shame. She was beautiful in every sense of the word, from her immaculate hair coif, to the intricate lace on her dress. “Oh my,” the woman grew closer, closing the gap between them. “Celeste,” she looked at the feathers growing from Zinnia’s back. “These are my daughter’s,” Zinnia nodded. “Micheal said the same thing,” the Queen tensed, then slowly, wrapped her arms around Zinnia in a hug. “I apologize Ms. Evernight, there is nothing I can do for you,” the witch tensed at the contact, the hug was unbearably warm.
“I thought as much,” Zinnia whispered, she had not come here with high hopes. “If you stay here, I can have my scientists study your condition. We have some of the best technology in all of the realms,” Zinnia shook her head. “Thank you, but I’m afraid I cannot.” The Queen released her from the hug, holding Zinnia at an arm’s length. “In truth, I came to tell you something I overheard while I was being tortured in Hell.” The Queen tensed, she sat on a plush velveteen chair, her legs crossing. “Tell me,” the Queen beckoned someone forth to write down what Zinnia had heard, should they need to study the words later. “She said she was going to kidnap the youngest Princess and punish her to teach her the pain of her own people.” The Angel Queen’s expression grew dark. She rose, paced the floor thrice, then reached for something on her shelf. “Take this,” a book, bound in white leather with words in a language Zinnia had never seen before. “It is an ancient book, you are of pure blood, I can sense it. Puzzling this book out will be easy,” her smile was gentle, she gave no other hints as to what the book could be. “You should go now, I’m afraid I have a war room to consult.”
Zinnia stepped through the portal, the door closing behind her. Blithe and Rainarch pounced almost immediately, “Zinnia, you’re hurt!” She placed the book down, her expression quizzical. “Oh that? Yes, the angels were waiting for me.” Zinnia flipped through the pages, but this was not an alphabet she recognized. The witch winced when Blithe began to clean and bandage the wound. “What happened?” Rainarch demanded, floating on top of the table. “I had consult with the angel Queen, of course.” Zinnia closed the leather bound book and went to her own bookshelf, wondering if there was a clue. “She told me there was nothing she could do for me, but was grateful for the hint. She gave me this book as thanks,” time flowed differently in all of the realms, it was well past noon, but Blithe had not sent for her, no doubt fearing the wrath of Heaven.
“Zinny, if the angels couldn’t help you, what are you going to do?”
“I’m afraid I’m going to have to find a mermaid.” The door knob jiggled, Rainarch pounced to answer it, jumping onto her Master and Orie. “Welcome home,” Zinnia said, but it was clear she was distracted.