The Awakening Ch. 21-30

"I am ok with it, let's just let them do their job and go inside." Caliope gave a side step and opened her arms for the guards to search her. Elaine nodded and did the same thing. Amra shrugged and allowed them but Pronab was frowning and quite reluctant as the guards approached him to search.

Another guard bowed his head at Elaine "thank you, Madame."

Pronab grunted "and who checks those inside the house?"

Both guards felt offended and took a step towards him when a tall blonde men walked outside through the front doors chuckling "Why am I not surprised of such behavior of yours Pronab?" His face now showing a grin "Because you know I dont like people touching me, Falshore"

The blonde creature was elegant and suited, he had intense green eyes that seemed to piece thru Pronab with devilish intentions "Tis just procedure... don't be mad about it... thank you gentleman, they are expected inside."

Both guards nodded and quickly returned to their posts. Falshore smiled at them but did not speak as he was leading them through some rooms to the dining area, where they found a wide table prepared with a feast, and only two men sitting. At the head there was a young man, younger than any of them, including Caliope. He smiled politely and then returned his face to look at Falshore who gave him a nod. At his left a dark haired older man, and to the right Falshore took his place.

Elaine smiled kindly "Maxwell... thank you for inviting us to your residence."

The young man smiled a little more this time and nodded. He kindly gestured to the chairs around the table and they headed to pick seats. "Elaine, Pronab, thank you for coming. Amrafel, this must be your treasured Asteria."

Amra nodded and with an extreme kind smile Maxwell looked at Caliope and she felt a little uncomfortable. Falshore gestured to someone on the corner of the room and several waiters came in to place different appetizers. The silence took over as they danced their way in and out the room, but when they finally left, Elaine worked her charm to relax the environment "It is a lovely home you have here, tight security but... the place looks gorgeous. I love in particular the art, which reminds me I should buy some... will you recommend where?"

Maxwell smiled a bit disinterested but nodded "I can share a few addresses I guess... I have not bought anything in years, though." Falshore made a comment "I will give you a list, Lady Clark." and Maxwell smiled at him, letting silence take over the room again. Caliope was feeling nervous, but Amra was patiently waiting.

"Please, do not be shy... eat, enjoy..." Maxwell encouraged them, he himself grabbing one of the canapes near him. Caliope took advantage to finally focus on him; he had brown groomed hair, white milky skin and a set of beautiful brown and gold eyes, a mix of color that seemed impossible. She saw resemblance of his features in the pictures of old Roman emperors, yet he excelled in the live representation. Finally she decided to speak "Thank you for your kindness..."

Maxwell looked straight at her, his smile kind and simple "you have a beautiful voice, Caliope. Where are you from?"

She relaxed on her chair and replied "I was born in New York, according to the official records..." and then stopped, unsure of what more she could say. He nodded "ah yes, you were a foster child... your father was quite the figure..."

Caliope switched uncomfortably on her seat, a barely small move yet Amra looked at her and then turned at Maxwell no longer indifferent. He perceived the change and frowned. The older man finally spoke "I apologize, M'Lady Caliope... we meant not to cause you discomfort." Maxwell sighed and tried his best to clear the density of the environment "I am sorry, Caliope... I shouldn't have mention him so early in our conversation, or at all for that matter."

A small smile drew on her lips, his sincerity was felt thru his words. Amra nodded in return and relaxed. Elaine on the other hand sighed and rubbed Caliope's hand, making taking her by surprise, she felt her powers slide from her as a soft blanket that started to cover her. As the silence took over the room again, Pronab took a glass with water and stirred the room "is this a test of who holds silent best?"

Falshore replied almost instantly "you wouldn't win such test." Pronab looked back at him angry, placing the glass at the table a little too harshly "I am more than willing to show you what I can win."

Elaine frowned, shaking her head and directing her frustration at Pronab "that is enough, please."

Maxwell chuckled "entertaining..." Then Wiltshire whispered "excuse me..." as he stood up and walked away to another room.Maxwell sighed "I am sorry, it is not a very comfortable situation, I only invited you here to relax and enjoy the evening, not to talk about problems, and much less to create ones." He was looking directly at Falshore as he spoke the last words. Amra nodded and squeezed Caliope's hand.

Maxwell continued "I know we are famous among our own people for being elitist; but not all of us are, and those who pretend to be are being shown otherwise."

Pronab smirked but quickly composed himself as Elaine gave him a serious look. Falshore lowered his eyes and kept staring at his empty plate.

Elaine nodded "I couldn't agree more with you, and thank you for your kind invitation." giving the subject some closure.

When Wiltshire returned, he had with him an old book and as he took a seat, the book laid rested on his side. This brought curiosity to Caliope, but she decided to approach a different subject at the table "you are younger than the other Generals I have met."

Maxwell smiled with a hint of excitement "only by looks... we chose the age we wish to look like. To the humans, specially the curious people around here, I am a spoiled rich kid with too much money on his hands. Who would look for Angels in a place where party and women are coming and going daily?"

Elaine added "it is part of his facade... But he is actually, one of the oldest of our kind.

And Wiltshire follows him both in age and wisdom. Falshore on the other hand, is one of the youngest."

Caliope laid her back against the chair and nodded "ah... that makes sense..."

Falshore perked a brow and looked at her "does it?"

Caliope lowered her eyes "I am sorry..." He was looking at Caliope when Pronab chuckled and turned his head to look at his plate.

Elaine smiled, she knew the subject wouldn't be dropped easily "well... yes, Pronab and Falshore are the trouble makers of our keen..."

Maxwell laughed and so did Caliope, Elaine and Amra. The mood at the dinner became lighter and they continued to talk about different subjects throughout the rest of the night. By the time they finished dinner; Maxwell invited everyone to head to the ballroom where classical music played and they danced at different paces enjoying the sight of the artistic paintings decorating the walls.

Later, as Maxwell walked them to the front door and politely said good bye to each, Wiltshire approached Elaine and rested on her hands the old book he had with him through all the evening. She smiled a little surprised, and opened the old leather cover. After staring at it for some seconds she smiled and blushed, and looked at him full of emotions "This is... I have no words to describe it... thank you for letting me see it..."

Wiltshire shook his head as she tried to give it back "Tis a present, for you M'Lady."

Elaine gasped "for me? but this must be so valuable for you!"

"I plead you to accept it, I only acquired it with the purpose to present it to you."

She smiled and nodded slowly, as her eyes could not believe yet what she was witnessing. She leaned to kiss his cheek and whispered on his ear some words, to which he smiled and lowered his head.

"Thank you again... this has been a wonderful evening..." she finally said to both Maxwell and him; then everyone politely said their goodbyes, and once more the driver was expecting them at the front, ready to return them to their hotel.

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CHAPTER 28

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On road, Caliope was watching Elaine smile as she held tight to herself the old book that Wiltshire gave her. She was curious about what was it and finally decided to ask her "I rarely see you this excited, what is so special about that book?"

Elaine turned her head and smiled, instinctively caressed the book then laid it on her lap and watched it with a special care "This is one of the most valuables pieces of history for us in this Earth... The first book ever written by the first one to land here."

Caliope leaned towards her with curiosity "who was he?"

"The first fallen angel... you might know him by the name of Adam."

Caliope gasped, she shook her head as her words sank into her mind. Elaine noticed her reaction and stopped smiling, taking her hand and trying to explain herself "You must understand, most of what you know about your own past, at least about your most ancient one, is part of fairy tales that had been told from generation to generation endlessly until someone decided to make it part of the Bible."

"I am trying... but I don't understand... Weren't Adam and Eve the first humans?" Elaine smiled kindly "Eve was... " then looked at the window and realized they were about to reach the Hotel. She squeezed Caliope's hand and smiled at her nodding towards their destination, she decided to hold her questions for later. Amra kept an uninterested look towards the subject, but he remained quiet about it until they all walked out of the car and into the tall building. Pronab looked towards the sky before finally closing the door "A storm is coming..."

Once inside the hotel, each went to their respective rooms, and just before entering hers, Caliope stopped as Amra frowned. She tried to smile at him and walk inside but this time he stopped her "don't... something is inside... Asteria, please..."

She gasped as a dark shadow appeared from behind Amra in an attempt to capture him, but the shadow was not able to even touch him. Amra's glowing aura started to reveal itself, he grabbed her hand and pulled her to his chest and surrounded her with his arms as she felt the world spin around, even with her eyes closed "what is going on?!" Amra grunted and with low voice replied "they thought you were alone in this room, they came to take you... I am not going to let anyone take you..."

His words made her shiver, she was scared, even though he did not said who -they- were, she knew. The more she shivered, the more everything around her kept spinning, to a point where she started to feel sick. Amra tried his best "hold on to me... I need to be careful... I need to control myself as much as I can..." but she felt her world crumbling fast "I think... I am going... to faint..." He held her tighter "no, my love... please hold..." he pleaded almost desperately.

She kept her eyes closed but she felt Amra sigh with relief as something pulled her away, she started to kick and scream, terrified that something was strong enough to break them apart. She only heard Amra in the distance 'you are safe... you are safe...' Then his voice vanished and the world started to move slower, her head was not in pain anymore, and she slowly gave in to whatever, or whoever was taking her away. She started to open her eyes and realized she was in the arms of someone, as soon as she looked up, she saw Pronab's face, who was keeping a tight grip on her. His jaw was tense, his teeth gritting, his arms shaking a little. He was visibly upset and angry, but she was too happy to worry now; Amra was taking over what ever tried to harm them, and she was being taken away in order to be safe from anything Amra could do. She spread her arms around Pronab and rubbed her moisturized cheeks on his chest. He instantly relaxed.

Finally they entered a room at a different floor, and after some seconds in silence, he slowly laid her on a bed and gave a step back. She opened her eyes again and looked for him but he was already gone "Pronab?"

"I am here... just... making sure the room is clear..." He said slowly as he left the bathroom and headed to the window to close the curtains. She took a deep breath and looked down at her hands, realizing she was still shaking, taking both hands to her face and feeling them cold, her cheeks however, were red and flaming, yet the extreme contrast of temperature somehow was relaxing. When she lifted her eyes up to find Pronab again, she punched the cushion and left the tears continue to fall "Why?! why does this keep happening?! why everything wants to harm me? or people who I care? my ex... I can understand... but this? whatever that was! it was after me! all because of what I am? something that is not supposed to exist? is that it?"

"Calm down Caly... you will be ok..."

"For how long?! 24 hours?! 48?! I could get attacked the next hour and it will never stop until I die! will I have to be under surveillance 24 hours a day for eternity?"

"Trust me, please, calm down... things won't always be like this..."

She was still sobbing and agitated, her fists in the air kept hitting the bed and Pronab was getting more and more worried by the second, slowly getting closer to her with arms open and hands trying to reach her shoulders to calm her. But she was shaking and babbling, which made him frustrated.

"Maybe I should go away far from you all and that way you can finish your mission and stop babysitting me! I shouldn't have come... I shouldn't have gone to work for Elaine... I am only making things more complicated for you all..."

It was then when Pronab reached completely to her and shook her slightly, she locked her eyes on him and both stood there looking at each other in silence, until she whispered "I am too weak..."

Pronab frowned, visibly angry and she shook her head after seen him upset, lifting her hands to cover her face as she continued to sob. But he stopped her, took her hands with his hand and pulled her towards him, crashing his lips in hers. She gasped and froze in her spot. His lips were cold and harsh, and they were pressing into hers with fierceness. She did not reciprocated, but neither stopped it, which only made the kiss longer and harder; his hands now were holding her arms and she could feel a strange electricity running through her body. It was a mixture of intense emotions and instead of fighting against them she could not break apart. The she heard Amra's voice in her head 'Asteria... I am coming for you...' and his words broke the spell, she finally pushed Pronab apart; he looked confused and embarrassed at the same time. Lowering his eyes he tried to apologize "I... I am sorry, that was a serious mistake... I don't feel well with frustration... please..." Caliope shook her head and whispered "Amra is coming to us..." Her lips were trembling.

He turned towards the closed doors and after some long and eternal seconds, two simple knocks announced his arrival. Pronab stood up and walked cautiously towards it, Caliope imitated him and held a hand to her chest, uncertain of what Pronab would find behind the door, but it was Elaine the one who spoke "it is me..."

Pronab relaxed and Caliope took a deep breath; he opened the door and a worried and tired Elaine walked inside looking first at him, then at her, until she finally reached to Caliope to hold her tight. Just when Pronab was closing the door, Amra stopped him. Speechless, he lowered his head and let him in. "We are leaving as soon as me and Caly talk, if you two please make the proper arrangements..." were Amra's only words.

Elaine finally let her go and walked out of the room in silence with Pronab behind. Amra locked the door behind them and turned to look at her. She was shaking in her spot, and started to cry once more. Amra's hard semblant slowly started to vanish, giving room to a more concerned look. He walked slowly to her and carefully attempted to reach at her, looking into her eyes, as if asking permission to touch her. She noticed this and closed her eyes fighting more tears.

"Nothing in our world is easy, nothing in your world is, either... but all of this is worth fighting if you have the right motivation, if you know what you want... I understand if you do not want to be part of this anymore... it was always just too much for any common angel to cope with it, I can't begin to imagine how hard this is for you... half angel or not, is the weight of a world that you did not chose to be a part of."

Caliope looked up at him, now standing right in front of her, and felt a cold shiver run through her spine as his words slowly made sense to her.

"All you have to do is ask me to keep you away from this, and I will... you wont have to witness anything else like what you did today, or any other day before..."

She cried, and dropped down to her knees on the floor. Amra looked surprised and tried hard not to drop down to her as he continued to speak "You have given me a reason to fight this war, to take it to the end and win it... you have done already much more than anyone... so I will understand if you chose to be away from now on..."

"Stop... please stop... whatever you are trying to do, it is making me feel worst..."

"Asteria... what do you mean?"

"You... you are being cold to me... you want me to believe you are really ok with this... I just know that you are doing this against your will... am I right?"

"I am... I am honest, I mean what I say... every word..."

She shook her head and looked up at him, he instantly kneeled to her and put both hands on her arms. She cried and squeezed him towards her, and he finally embraced. They were holding eachother quietly; he closed his eyes trying to take in all of what was happening, and she sobbed against his chest, pushing aside her fears and gaining strength to finally speak "I am scared, I am upset, I am angry!... I am frustrated and confused... I am a mess! and is not your fault... it is no one's fault... only mine..."

"Asteria..."

"Please... let me finish..."

He nodded and kept quiet, letting her continue. She sighed and moved back to get a sight of him and speak frankly "It is my fault... I pretended to be brave and moved aside any possible danger... I overlooked the real facts and it is all crashing over me now... this... all of this... is bigger than I let myself believe it was... you are much more than what I allowed myself to believe you were... and my fears... fears I was fighting hard to ignore and push aside... finally bursted out... this fight is too big for me... I admit it... you are so much more to the world, you are so powerful, so intense, so magnificent... I feel I do not deserve you... and I am so insecure of myself, that I really think you deserve someone better, someone more divine..."

"Asteria!"

"Let me finish... I won't lie to you, I do believe in that... but I am also selfish... and I don't want anyone else to be what I am to you... I have never felt this special... the way that you make me feel... you make me believe that I am worth it... all my life I grew up believing I should make myself worth something... and here I am, loved by an amazing celestial being, and finding out I am half unhuman... I tried to just accept all these without really processing it... and it all came crumbling down on me after tonight... I am scared... I am terrified... I am... just what I am... and I can't help you any way, I feel like a crystal doll one has to only watch and not touch... I don't want to be taken away from you! I don't want to leave your side! I dont want to be afraid of everyone and everything! I dont want to be afraid of myself and what I can become! I dont want to die just because I don't want you to suffer and, to be honest, because I don't want another world without you... I am going crazy here!"