XX- The Plan

Ravenna stirred, pulling the blanket up to her face. The blanket pulled back a bit, resisting her pull. She frowned without opening her eyes; why was the blanket giving her a hard time? Her pillow chuckled. Ravenna quickly snapped awake. A pair of long legs in white pants stretched before her, then a couple of neat white boots were perfectly tied, crossed at the ankle. Ravenna searched her brain, was the angel not just a dream? Had she used a Seraphim as a pillow?

She sat up, rubbing her eyes. The golden-haired angel, Michael, sat beside her, carefully folding his left wing back. He smiled at her, crossing his long legs after a night of having them stretched out for her.

"Good morning, Ravenna. Did you sleep well?" Michael looked at her softly. He looked peaceful, she thought. This man sat on the forest floor all night so she could sleep.

"I slept too well. I was pretty sure I died for a few hours!" Ravenna stretched. She couldn't think of the last time she had slept so soundly. "Where did my blanket go? Please let me at least fold it and put it away for you."

Michael smirked as if he found her question incredibly funny. "I would hate for you to fold your blanket. Folding my wings would be rather painful for me."

Ravenna understood now why her blanket had fought back when she tried to pull it up to her chin. It was attached to him. She had used Michael's wing as a blanket. It was so soft, so warm. He had made her feel so safe. She felt an unusual warmth in her chest. "Oh! Well, thank you, Michael. I hope the night was not too long for you."

Michael assured her that the hours had passed like seconds. He stood, offering Ravenna his hand. Ravenna stood, and Michael quickly packed up the blanket they had spent the night on and placed it in the bag.

"Shall we begin our trip to Nerium, my dear?" Michael offered Ravenna his arm, and she took it.

"We need to travel north, and we will reach Nerium. My hope is to find an inn, find a dressmaker, and spend the night before traveling back home. Does that sound okay to you?" Ravenna looked up at Michael. She had never encountered someone as large as the Seraphim. Samuel was tall but still inches shorter than Michael.

"That sounds like a perfect plan to me. While you secure the room, I will wait in a hidden area so I am not detected. Once you have a room, place a lantern in the window, and I'll travel to the room. As long as I know where to travel, it will be safe, and I won't be seen." Michael was brilliant; he must have thought of this plan while she slept.

Ravenna had so many things she wanted to ask the Seraphim. She hoped he did not mind. The pair began to walk northward through the forest, so other humans would not detect Michael. After about five minutes into their journey, Ravenna gathered up her courage.

"Michael? Can I ask you about yourself?"

"Of course."

"How old are you?"

"Two hundred and twenty five."

Ravenna gasped and stopped walking. She looked up at Michael. "Two hundred and twenty five?! You look like a twenty four year old human!"

"Yes. Angels do not follow the rules of human aging. My second eldest Brother, Zerachiel, is a thousand years old. He looks about twenty nine by your human standards."

Ravenna's head swam. A thousand years. Imagine all the things that Zerachiel had seen, had experienced. "How many siblings do you have?"

"There are seven Seraphim Brothers. In order, there is Gabriel, Zerachiel, Raguel, Remiel, Jeremiel, Raphael, and myself. I am the youngest and the last. The Seraphim Brothers serve the Ruler in the Kingdom. There are other angels, of course, of varying ranks. Lower-ranking angels can be maidservants for Seraphim like myself. I have two, their names are Ophelia and Victoria. I think they would really like you."

Ravenna tried to process all this information. Two hundred and twenty-five years old. Seven Brothers. Ranks of angels. Michael knew and served the Ruler personally. Instead of having more information to process, she decided it was his turn to ask questions. "That's...a lot. Is there anything you want to ask me?"

Michael seemed to think for a moment. "Yes. There are many things. You're obviously less than a hundred years old. But how much less? I know you spend time in the forest, but you seem to be after specific plants. You seem popular in the market center. How long did that awful man have you captive? Was I able to rescue you in time or did he..." Michael trailed off, stopping more questions from running into each other.

Ravenna stopped walking. "One thing at a time! Okay...I am very much less than one hundred years old, I am twenty one. I frequent the forest for plants to stock up the medicine jars in my home that I share with Grandmother. We serve as healers for our village. We're always popular people to talk to in the village center when we go, because people always have questions about their health and ailments."

Ravenna took a deep breath. Michael's other questions took more work to answer. "As for Peter... he had only had me captive for one evening, that night, the following morning, and the early afternoon when you appeared. He had taken me from my home, not far from the forest you like visiting. He was taking me to Nerium; he said he had a priest that would marry us whether I agreed or not." Ravenna shifted. "The attack you stopped him from making was his only attempt. I'm still eternally grateful you found me."

Michael seemed visibly relieved. His gentle smile returned, and his shoulders relaxed. Ravenna noticed that every time the Seraphim appeared to think about Peter, his body became tense, and his jaw seemed to set as if he was attempting to control a more profound rage. Ravenna knew the angel was happy to have stopped the attack in time, but he seemed even more satisfied knowing that the intercepted episode was the only one.