25: "My tooth is aching"

~~Rose~~

I don't know what I was expecting when I thought of how Razael would react to his son truly being dead, and that his ex-daughter-in-law was the reason. That he would never get to have a grandson like he was after, that he lost any chance of revenge when I left, that his granddaughter was getting further away from him.

I guess I was too enveloped by peace that I forgot what I was fighting for. I was too happy, and I forgot every one of my new duties. I forgot who I was and who I had wanted to become within my time here.

And here was my wakeup call, reminding me none of it was a dream. That I was abused. That I was raped. That I was supposed to be the strongest archangel. That I escaped.

That I killed my supposed husband.

I felt the fear as I held the feather and letter in my hands.

The lettering was blood red. It had the same metallic smell that blood normally, so I could only assume what it was written with.

'Dearest Archangel Rosalina-

Your feathers are some of the softest I have ever touched. Could it be your tainted blood?'

I held the feather in my hand and tried to analyze where it could have come from.

It was lightweight, which was common for archangels, but it held a pure white color that was uncommon in my bloodline due to the half-blood crossing.

It was too small to be my own-

I froze inside my thoughts and dropped both the letter and the feather to the ground. There was no way.

I ran to Maura's room where I had left her not too long before finding the letter and feather on my bed.

It was empty. Her bed was a mess with some of her hair left behind, showing me she was definitely in bed. The pink was slightly obnoxious, but what truly threw me off was the wide open window. The white fluff curtains were flying in a slight breeze.

Then I noticed the puddle of blood next to the bed, and in the puddle was a single white feather.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~Week~~

I startled at a scream from Maura's room as I was walking back to check on Rose. My running there is blurry, but I remember walking into Rose in hysterics while staring at the open window. The room was immaculate other than the blood on the floor next to her.

"My baby. . ."

"Rose?" I called to her. She looked a mess, and a single white feather caught my eye.

"Week, he took her."

"Who took her?" I asked as I bent down next to her.

"The archangels. She sprouted her wings, and they found her because of it."

~~~~~~~~~

"You're telling me," Angel started off. The jeweled crown on her hair was an inky black today, with a ruby hanging onto her forehead that emphasized each movement. "That the archangels got in here, terrorized Rose, and took Maura without anyone noticing, and I'm being told twenty-four hours later?"

"Yes," I answered honestly.

"Why, archdemon Xaphan, am I just now getting notified?"

"Because I was tracking the trail while still fresh, then consulting my promised who, mind you, is your twin sister and has just been reminded that she isn't safe anywhere she goes!"

Angel sighed again as she set her head in her hand. "And now you want to tell me that Maura's angel magic sprouted years before it was supposed to?"

"Yep."

"Well, isn't this just great? We have a tainted-blooded angel child that is missing, a grieving mother who was tortured by said child's father and who can't control her powers, along with a bunch of undisciplined soldiers who wouldn't stand a chance against one of the archangels as a group!"

"You better watch your mouth," I barely managed to growl out. I felt the anger growing and I didn't know how to push it down. "Another word against either my daughter or my promised and I swear to god, Angel, I'll burn this whole place to the ground."

She had the audacity to flinch back as I left. I was not going to deal with her today, I had better things to do.

More important things to care about.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~Rose~~

Dear Journal of Visions and Nightmares,

I choked this morning realizing that my first vision finally came true. I can not believe that my baby was in that wretched place and that Week wouldn't let me go get her yet.

He was always the logic behind my impulse. He said we did not have enough information yet to go get her, that we didn't know where they were holding her.

I don't care how long it takes, I am getting my baby back.

With or without him by my side.

~~~~~~~

I saw Andi again tonight. He was so tiny in my arms. I tried to look around the room where they had us, but we were the only two there. His eyes seemed to hold the universe's secrets within them, and I could feel myself falling in love with him.

He has a crazy ability to heal from what I've seen so far about him. My Andi saved me from death of childbirth when he touched me. It was a miracle in the eyes of all the on-lookers.

When he watched me, my world was complete minus my first baby.

Then Maura walked in, her hair was pitch black this time, reminding me of the loss we would have just had when Andi was born.

"Momma, how are you feeling?"

I watched her as she immediately took the seat on my left side.

The words I spoke were muddled even to my own ears. Andi was still watching me from the corner of my eye.

Then he giggled.

Oh that giggle.

As he did, the room erupted in light and flowers bloomed around us.

"Momma?" Maura asked again as she looked at her new baby brother.

"An archangel heir, Maura. He's an archangel."