The Awakening Ch. 41-45

Caliope smiled "I am so glad to hear that! Hahaha..."

"...is it the same? With humans and Angels?"

"I don't know... we only tried it with them... by direct touch or through clothes... each time I could see everything... so we didn't want to risk it... Nessa...!"

Before she could finish, Vanessa already gave a quick jump and hugged her friend. She squeezed her tight and suddenly started shaking. Caliope screamed as Pronab tried to pull them apart. When they finally did Vanessa had fainted, and Caliope was crying and sobbing. Shortly enough, Amra was rushing through the doors towards her. "My love!"

She was crying with her eyes closed and as soon as she felt Amra's arms around her she held tightly to him.

"Calm down my love... calm down... take a deep breath..."

"Nessa... is she... alive?"

Pronab was checking her pulse and nodded at her, he pulled her body to a couch on the side and laid her there slowly, with extreme care. Caliope looked at her and shook her head, then she looked at Amra and sobbed. "She is so stubborn... so stubborn!"

"Oh no! What happened?!" Elaine was rushing into the room to face the scene, she headed to check on Vanessa and then turned to look at Caliope.

"They were just talking, and Caly was telling her why they couldn't touch... when she asked her if we tested this with humans, Caly said no, and she rushed to hug her... after that..."

"I saw her... I saw her! But it was not her memories... she was dead... oh god she was dead!"

"How? When? my love... try to explain..."

"I saw her plane crash... and she was dead... dark fog surrounding her and the airplane... did I saw her future?"

"...it could be my dear... it could be... and she fainted... what a horrible way to find out what other powers you have... I am so sorry darling..."

"Uh... what... what happened?" Everyone turned around to see Vanessa. Pronab kneeled beside her and gently took her hand. She looked at him and blushed, then looked back at Caliope as she tried to sit. "You are so stubborn! How can you be so careless!"

"Wow... slow down baby... I was just trying to help you test your powers... with humans... did I faint?"

Pronab squeezed her hand "You fainted and she had a shock."

"Oh no baby... I am so sorry! Are you ok?"

"If I am ok? I am furious at you! I could have killed you! I would never be able to live with myself if I did something to harm you!"

And she started sobbing again, placing both hands on her face. Amra caressed her arms and shoulders slowly, as Vanessa looked down to her knees. "Good thing I am leaving tomorrow... I won't be able to interfere with your plans anymore..."

"You are not going anywhere... I am officially kidnapping you..."

Vanessa frowned and looked back at Caliope while she was staring back at her. She was determinate and angry, and Vanessa was not sure if she was being serious.

Elaine stepped in "Let's just all calm down... Vanessa darling, is there any way you can change your plans and stay longer? At least a day or two more..."

"I could... but I am not sure I want to right now..."

Amra stood up and turned to face her. She took a deep breath and pulled back in her seat by instinct. Something in him made her scare, or unsure of what to do.

"She saw you having an accident... and she wants you safe... if you can change your plans for now it would serve both well..."

Vanessa nodded, and tried to stand up. Pronab helped her to slowly recover posture as Caliope turned around on the bed and continued to sob more.

"I will have to make some calls..."

"I will take you to Maxwell, he surely will aid you on that."

Elaine nodded at Pronab as he took Vanessa away of the room. Amra sat back next to Caliope and Elaine approached her as well.

"She is just your friend, and wanted to help... I am sure she meant nothing more darling."

"I know... I just feel... helpless... frustrated... and hurt..."

"Hurt?"

"It shook me... I felt as if my hands and arms were burning... I thought I was burning her as well... but she just passed out?"

Elaine nodded "It seems so... she didn't complain on any pain... but if you want, I can go check and make sure..."

"Please... I don't want anything bad happening to her because of me..."

"I will stay here with you love..."

And he placed himself at her side, pulling her up into his lap and embracing her with his arms. She snuggled and sighed, trying to make some sense to what was going on. As she closed her eyes, the vision of her friend's remains amongst the airplane parts made her shiver. She opened her eyes once more.

"We will figure it out, my love..."

He held her tightly and she nodded, trying to rest on his arms as she watched time pass by. They stayed there for a while, slowly the sun came up at a distance, a sign that another day had started. Amra was quiet and still, and she was just happy she had someone to hold on to while everyone else was taking distance from her.

"Perhaps this is a punishment..."

"What do you mean?"

"For thinking and believing everything was perfect and I would have my forever after..."

"You will my love... and no one can punish you for that... you just need to learn to control yourself..."

"How?"

"We will find a way... I know we will... Maxwell is trying to investigate any precedent... any case similar to yours..."

"No... how can you control it? I know I am not an angel itself... I am... something else... but you... you have powers... and you control them... you even shield yourself so other powers can't affect you... how can you do that?"

"I don't know how to explain it... I just had to control myself... I didn't want to harm you... I had to control the time passing and moving around me... I started to focus on how it happened, how I made it move... what did I do to affect it... and once I figured that out, I could start to control it..."

"But I am not doing anything... I just touch people... and the first time, with Elaine, I wasn't even touching her, she was touching me... I wasn't expecting anything yet..."

"Yet...?"

She gasped and covered her mouth. Amra tilted his head and lifted her chin up so their eyes could meet. "You were saying..."

"I think... I know how it happened..."

"You do?"

"I was recovering from the ceremony... I felt dizzy, my head was hurting... yes... my head was hurting... and I was thinking... I was thinking I needed more information about what was going on... about Metatron... I was thinking I should ask later Elaine about him... and suddenly I was in her memories while she touched me... maybe that is why?"

"That could very well be... and with Pronab and Maxwell, you were touching them to see if you could, so in a way, you were already prepared, expecting it... but what happened with Vanessa?"

"I don't know... I have no idea... this is so frustrating!"

"It isnt my love... you are in a good track... perhaps it was just the same principle... she wanted to see if you could see through her..."

"She was asking me about it, and I was saying we did not tried it on humans... and... that is true! She jumped to hug me and everything happened then..."

"So that is a very marked pattern love... you were setting your mind into that when it happened... maybe you should think of the opposite..."

"You say it as if it was something easy..."

"You have now awakened my love... you have transcended into an Asteria... half Angel itself... for us, our will is our power... think about this with conviction... and it will happen..."

"I will... I will try... later... right now I just want to rest... I went inside too many places today..."

"Of course my love... you already went through more than enough on this day... and you should perhaps rest... would you like me to leave you to rest some?"

"No! Please don't go... I want to rest... but please stay with me..."

He held her tightly and nodded, kissing the top of her head. She sighed and closed her eyes, and started to finally sleep. He closed his eyes and sighed as well, holding her tight. As she started to drift, she remembered Amra never sleep; yet she was so tired, she could hardly remain conscious. She would have to remember to ask him about this in the future, and just as she took that mental note, she felt completely asleep.

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CHAPTER 43

After some knocks on the door, she opened her eyes wide, waking up. Looking at the window she realized it was still the morning, or perhaps the afternoon, so she couldn't have slept too long. Another few knocks on the door but she was not replying, she was searching for Amra, and he was nowhere to be found. A more insistent set of knocks on the doors made her take a deep breath and whispered a welcome. The doors opened and there was Amra with a large plate filled with different kinds of food. She smiled wide and sat on the bed.

"I was looking for you..."

"I am trying to play the traditional husband role... how am I doing so far?"

"Hmm... it will depend on what you bring on the plate..."

He smiled and sat next to her, resting the plate carefully. She looked at the content and felt her tummy growl. "When was the last time you ate?" Amra frowned.

"I think... yesterday... yes, at our dinner..."

"Too long, you need to eat some more..."

Caliope smiled "I love you..."

He leaned to kiss her and whispered "I love you" back.

The living room was empty of people besides Maxwell, Pronab and Vanessa who was at the phone. She was quietly waiting for some responses after she requested a few more days off.

"I understand Sir, I just need a couple more days... I promise I will work double time when I get back..."

Maxwell frowned and shook his head, Pronab leaned close to him and whispered a few words before he extended his hand and asked Vanessa for the phone. She looked hesitant at first, but the look in his eyes was filled with determination, so she gave up and passed the phone.

"Hello, am I talking to the direct boss of the lovely Lady Vanessa?"

Vanessa felt nervous but after giving a look at Pronab, her nervousness transformed into curiosity. He was smirking.

"I was hoping it would not come to this but, since I sense you are not giving her the time she needs... who am I? I am Sir Maxwell Caldwell. I am assisting her into acquiesce a rare collection she wished to surprise you with. Some old rare books from the 18^th Century... Yes, that is correct... Good, I am glad you understand now... I do not know how long it will take, but she might convince me to give her my private collection if she keeps being so good at her job... Thank you. I will have my people make a first delivery to your office with a present for your good predisposition."

He handed back the phone at Vanessa who was almost too shocked to continue speaking. She nodded and said just a few more words to her boss before hanging up.

"For the moment I am staying at his residence, the Caldwell Abbey... Thank you Sir... I will be in touch. Bye."

"That should give you enough time for whatever else you wish to do here..."

"Thank you Maxwell, I mean, Sir Maxwell..."

He shook his head. "You can still call me Maxwell, nothing has changed..."

"I will make the best of the time here to find those promised books for him, for a start..."

Pronab chuckled "There is no need."

"What do you mean?"

Maxwell grinned "I have the books, I will just give them to you, unless you want to acquire even more..."

"But... they are of your own private collection..."

"We collect things to preserve them... your Museum does the same, isn't that correct?"

Vanessa nodded "Yes, it is true... but they cost a fortune..."

"Pronab, you should try to explain to her how money means nothing to us... if it is going to a good cause, and a place that will take care of them, then there is nothing else to be said about it... You can pick any books you like from my library and take them to your boss when you return... just make sure not to take them all, that would give you reasons to return whenever you need to." He winked at her as he left the room, she was grinning and blushing all excited, she turned around to see Pronab and her grin faded into a smile. She lowered her head slightly.

"Thank you Pronab, I know you have something to do with this..."

"It is ok, I am glad we can do something for you... we can even go pay a visit to Lord Marshall, I will have a blast making him uncomfortable..."

"I thought you Angels were always protecting the humans..."

"I am not a common Angel... and what is wrong with having a little fun?"

"You are making me curious..."

He gave a few steps closer to her and she swallowed hard, she was breathing faster. He smirked and slid a finger to caress her cheek. She felt goosebumps on her body.

"Nothing bad with being a little curious, I am sure you can handle it too..."

"What... what do you mean?"

"I wasn't born as a good Angel... I was a dark Angel in my origins..."

She gasped and covered her mouth; she gave a step back and tried to look around for anyone else. He chuckled and stood there watching her. A couple of seconds later, Amra was walking in with Caliope next to him. Vanessa looked relieved at them both and Pronab gave a step back bowing his head slightly at them.

"Nessa... I am glad to find you here... I owe you an apology..."

"It's ok... really..." Vanessa whispered nervously.

Amra looked at her then at a smirking Pronab "is there something wrong?"

Vanessa looked at Pronab then back at them and Caliope perked a brow. Pronab started to laugh and leaned his back at one of the walls. Amra frowned at him and he tried to compose himself. "Sorry... it's my fault..." he chuckled "I think Vanessa is a little scared of me..."

Caliope looked at them both "scared of you? Why?"

"He... he said he was a dark Angel first... I think I heard enough about them to be a little scared, don't you think?"

Amra sighed and shook his head, as Caliope chuckled and walked closer to them holding hands with Amra. She sat on a couch and he sat next to her.

"There is no one in this new universe that I have now learned to know, who is worthy of my trust as much as Pronab... Besides Amra itself and Elaine that is, and of course, you Nessa..."

Pronab looked down and smiled; he stopped smirking and was now holding silence. Amra nodded at Caliope's words, and he smiled kindly at Vanessa.

"We Angels do not judge people for their pasts... if they are true to themselves and fight at our side, they are our allies as well... and Pronab is like family."

"Tell me Nessa... leaving aside what he said to you... did you ever felt you should be careful of him? Or that you should not trust him? What did your guts tell you about him?"

"My guts..." she blushed "I felt I could trust him..."

She refused to say anything else, she was embarrassed and ashamed now of her reaction. Caliope smiled at her trying to encourage her. "Someone told me once... 'Why can't there be a tad bit of darkness inside the light? Or some light inside the darkness?'... I believe those questions answers themselves on its own... I know you would agree with me Nessa... after all, am I not half darkness as well?"

Amra smiled "Such a smart comment... I owe to visit the source of your quote sometime soon, with you..."

Caliope smiled at Amra as she stood up again and sighed, looking outside at the window as the sunset was setting. She smiled at Pronab and he nodded at her back with a smile before she turned back towards the door.

"I still need to figure out how to control my abilities, but we understand it better now... so for the moment I am still going to have to avoid others... but while we are doing this, please try to enjoy your stay here Nessa..."

"Thank you baby... let me know when you are feeling better please...?"

"I will, I can't wait to hug you without burning either of us in the process..."

"I like that idea too..." Vanessa smiled.

Once both Caliope and Amra left the living room, she turned again to see Pronab, who was still leaning on the wall and slightly smiling. She sighed and walked closer to him.

"I am sorry... I really am..."

"It is ok... I usually don't go around telling about my origins to other people either... I think more would feel scared too if I did..."

"I was not really scared... I was more taken by surprise..."

He finally lifted his gaze and saw her standing close to him. He felt a little unease suddenly.

"I heard and saw quite a lot of work from the dark Angels to be afraid of them... but I also know you are someone they trust... someone I can trust... so my reaction was more of surprise and confusion..."

He perked a brow and then sighed, taking a deep breath. She sighed again and nodded, turning around as she headed to the door when his hand on her arm stopped her. She felt goosebumps all over her body again. He leaned to her neck and whispered.

"There is something about you that makes me uncomfortable... unsettling me..."

"And... what... what is that?"

"Something... I don't know yet..."

He released her and she felt as her breath was cut. She was scared of what his words could mean. She turned around to find him heading to the window and added.

"I am confused too... but if you think I am easy to harm, you are dead wrong... I am much stronger than you think..."

He chuckled and turned around to face her again, a low growl escaped his lips and she bite hers. Suddenly he was right in front of her in a blink of an eye, and grabbed a handful of her hair from the back of her head, pulling her towards him, stopping only inches from her face.

"You are so... very... tempting... exactly because of that..."

She gasped and breathe heavily, her throat pulsing as much as her heart. Against all she could have ever do or said in the past, before she was aware of this new world, before she met him; she imitated him by grabbing a handful of his hair from the back of his head and held him tight.

"How... much... tempting... am I?"

He crashed his lips on hers and kissed her with an urgent need. She moaned into his mouth as they both let go of each other's grip only to lock their arms around each other. She felt her throat burn, everything around her was moving, and she was gasping yet lingered on his mouth for more. For the first time he let himself go; he had been feeling attracted to her since he saw her, even when there was some strange connection with Caliope, he still felt attracted and protective of her. Now that any strange bond between him and Caliope broke after her awakening, and that Caliope herself encouraged him to follow his feelings; now that there was nothing else stopping him, he was hungry for her and she was not resisting.

As Caliope was taking a seat on the chair outside in the garden, Amra grabbed another one and pulled it close to her. Elaine and Wiltshire were not far; both discussing something that kept them entertained while Maxwell waved at them both approaching to Amra and her.

"I hope you are feeling better, Asteria..."

"I am, yes... did everyone else left? I haven't seen many around today."

"They did, we booked them on hotels close to the residence... I prefer you two feel comfortable before we introduce you to more questions and agitations from them."

"Thank you, I think that is for the best... she has an idea now of how her powers work... but we are not close yet to how to control them..."

"About that... I was thinking... there might be a way to help her... now that you mention she has an idea of how her powers work, it could really be something of use..."

"What way is that?"

"Metatron mentioned that Gusion was in town..."