The Awakening Ch. 51-63

"It makes perfect sense, she is not a common Asteria, she is the chosen one to be at Amra's side." Elaine nodded.

"All this seems so unreal to me." Finally Caliope spoke. "I know, months ago angels were unreal to me too, which is why I am not discrediting anything of what I am hearing. But please let me sink in what I just heard. I am supposed to be a Warrior Goddess for the dark angels? How? with what powers?"

"Darling, you see; plenty of what Gabrielle is telling you is the interpretation of people about past figures. There was once a woman who fought at our side without being an Angel nor an Asteria. She was courageous and a fierce opponent to them. To humans back in those ages, she was like a Goddess; and just as myths and legends, her story was passed from generations to generations. She represents a powerful force, and that is what they see in you. They want you because you represent power. Might not be direct power manifestations of you, but your presence, what you represent, that is what is most important to them."

Caliope nodded slowly. "The one who woke up Amra, and gave him a reason to fight."

Elaine nodded. "We still need to find out what specific powers you might hold. Usually Asterias, as they were once humans, have subtle powers such as healing certain kind of wounds or a kind of telekinesis. You haven't presented any of these manifestations, but if what you mean to them is this, the Warrior Goddess, then your powers will certainly be physical manifestations; it is what belongs to your name, to what you represent."

There was silence after what Elaine said, and Caliope lowered her head almost ashamed. Gabrielle interpreted this act as a sign of worry. "Caly, you will be ok, don't worry."

She nodded and lifted her gaze to give her a smile. Amra squeezed her tight in between his arms and he brushed his lips on her earlobe. She shivered and blushed. 'When will you let them know of your powers?' She heard him whisper in her mind.

"If I have no mental powers, why I was once available to communicate mentally with Amra? Although right now I seem to be incapable of this."

"That is completely normal to you both, a unique way of communication between the two of you. Even while you were human this happened, so you should not worry about it either. In time it will come back to you as well as your memories are." Elaine reassured her. "Anything between you two is not in the books, is unique and different." She chuckled.

"Ok, thank you. I really appreciate all the effort of you to help me. But I need some fresh air if you don't mind." She said attempting to move towards the door. Amra stopped her by not releasing his grip on her; when she turned to face him he kissed her lovingly. 'You will be ok. I promise.'

Caliope blushed and smiled. "I love you too." she said at him and he chuckled. A storm of thoughts and questions arose in her head, a new way of living was just beginning.

--

Chapter 54

"A New Horizon"

"Why can't I just dress up normal?"

"Because it will be fun, trust me darling."

"I dont think it is funny to be trapped in this asphyxiating clothing torture device." Said Caliope taking a sharp deep breath. "But I admit, it does make me look nice." She chuckled once looking at the mirror.

"Look nice? you look gorgeous!" Elaine smiled at her.

Caliope was looking at herself in the mirror, she was convinced by Elaine to wear a corseted dress to the meeting with the Angels; it would be a powerful statement, the visual indeed agreed with her.

"How will I be able to sit on this? I can barely walk without gasping."

"Oh darling, you will not need to seat, you are just thinking as human, but have you really felt the need to seat lately? or rest for that matter." She paused, letting Caliope slowly get in her system what she was saying. "Have you felt like you needed to rest or drink or eat?" Again silence, Caliope was looking at her through the mirror and pondering what she was saying. It was true, now that Elaine brought it to her attention; she had not felt the need to do neither of those things, she was just following what her rituals dictated; she would want to eat when the time would say it was needed for her human form, but she had not felt the need to eat herself. A wide smile was taking over her.

"So this is what being an Asteria feels like?"

"It is much more as you are slowly learning, but you are in fact, enjoying the best parts of it. Let's say, you had been enhanced." Elaine winked at her as she tied the last knot on the last part of her corset.

Later, when they walked down the stairs towards the ballroom and besides adjusting to her dress as she walked, she felt only slight discomfort but no real pain nor constriction around her body as she thought she would. She finally saw Amra, who was smiling widely as he waited for her at the end of the stairs, he was dressed in a white vintage suit, Caliope thought they both matched. She was so focused on him that she missed the room filled of people who were in return, staring at her.

'You look stunning, my love.'

She blushed and reached him, putting her arms around his waist and feeling his own ones wrap around her. "You do too." She whispered softly as she snuggled in his arms; only then she was able to look behind him and gasped at the sight of the room of people waiting in silence. She tugged his arm and he chuckled.

"My love, in general, meet the Angels. Angels, meet my Asteria."

She lowered her head in a gesture before working on raising her voice. "Greetings."

"Caly! I am so glad you are here!" She heard Gabrielle say as she lifted her eyes in time to reach to her. Her free spirit quickly made her smile and she chuckled amused as Gabrielle took her other arm and pulled her towards the middle of the room trying to rush, aware of Amra having her other arm, the scene of both walking at different rhythms made her giggle. Once they reached the middle of the room, She could see two elegant chairs waiting for them next to one with Elaine, another for Maxwell and two more for the Meng twins, Pronab was nowhere to be seen.

"Greetings, my dearest brothers and sisters." Elaine began as Caliope took her seat. "Thank you all for joining us here; I am aware many of your wish to be prowling the streets and playing games, enjoying yourselves, but we must remember the reason why you are here."

While Elaine spoke, every face focused on her, and Caliope took the courage to really look and study the room and the people around her. The ballroom was enough to hold them all comfortably in chairs, but the place was packed, it seemed not even one chair was left empty. Their faces were serene and in peace, they looked of all ages and ethnics; in fact, she would have thought of them as normal human beings if it wasn't that she was already aware of their true nature. She sighed, wondering when would she be able to notice the difference and be able to recognize one human from an Angel.

"...But the time has come for us to acknowledge the truth, this war has started with them ahead of us, and it has been seen and felt each of their moves touch us at different levels. They managed to reach to us into the closest circles, I felt tears pour from my eyes as I witnessed the depths of their hands reach and corrupt at different ranks."

Caliope noticed Pronab walking in quietly, behind him there was a shy Vanessa who looked half scared, half lost. She smiled at her as soon as their eyes met.

"We have been following the rules for too long, and after some discussion, we have reached to a possible next step for us to take. You are here to give ears and voice your opinions, and share what we decide after this meeting."

The Meng twins got up and walked to each side of the small center circle, then started to walk clockwise slowly. Caliope focused on them as Tiam exchanged a soft smile with her, and seconds later Yi gave her a grin. She felt goosebumps and Amra's hand reached for hers. 'What is wrong, love?' She looked at him and she leaned close to whisper "What is happening? I feel something strange." and she tilted her head towards the twins. He smiled 'They are getting ready for possible rogues who will object to what Elaine will propose. Earth Angels can be unstable sometimes.'

"What we will propose is a radical move, but one that will put us ahead of them for a very needed first time. We want to come out to the world, and we want to do it simultaneously with as many of us as we can, on a said day and time."

Caliope saw some faces expressing discomfort; most started to whisper between them and a large chantic buzz sounded in the room; a few stood up and one tried to leave the room, but froze mid way towards the exit. There was a sense of electrostatic around her, it was the twin's power and this was the first time she saw their combined power in a wider scale.

'Princess relax, everything will be fine, we are used to this.' A soft voice sounded in her head, she met Tiang's eyes who was smiling at her. She nodded and returned the smile, leaning on the chair.

"If you have opinions to give, we want to hear them. We will be here all day and more days if needed, but before you speak, I want you to hear everything I say with attention." Elaine smiled calmly, and looked at Caliope once, before standing up herself. The room went quiet, and all eyes focused on her once more. "We have studied the possible outcomes of this idea, we have seen the good and the bad possible outcomes. But we will be ahead of them and this will allow us a larger freedom to act in every way. Just take a moment to think about this; you will no longer have to hide, if you prefer so, no one will force you to come out. If you don't hide, you can act faster, you can protect more people, you can reach towards each other and not worry about the different reactions or how to hide what you are. You can walk or fly out of any situation. But more important, you can interfere directly when they are making a move. We had been target for the last couple of weeks at different locations, public places, with a huge danger to be exposed. They are losing the little fear they have, if they ever did, towards being seen or recognized anymore. If they want to affect us by toying with the humans, we need to be able to show no fear to react."

Elaine's words were having an effect on them, making them think. Caliope couldn't see yet how they would come out to the world and the images of chaos and panic flashed in her head, if this was their only way to fight back, things were really starting to get out of control.

"Let me hear your opinions, please." Elaine asked before taking back her seat.

Several in the audience raised hands, then some lowered them again. Elaine smiled and nodded at a young woman near the front line. She stood up and lowered her head in a gesture similar to the one Caliope made.

"Greetings, and thank you for allowing me to voice my thoughts." A soft and delicated voice that made Caliope smile. "I knew the situation was in a larger scale when we were invited to come here. This has always been a last option and many of us only dreamed to the day we would be able to come here. You wisely gave us a day to be around and have a taste of what you are promising; more freedom and less hiding. I personally haven't felt so comfortable in my own skin in a long time, and I could just fly and be myself all day enjoying this the last couple of hours. Which makes me consider your idea very appealing. I worry tho, to what could be some negative outcomes. Human laws, governments trying to experiment on us, movements to control us. I am sure you have thought about all these as well, but what were your thoughts on this? We wouldn't be anything different from what they call "aliens" if they landed on earth." The young one bowed her head again and took her seat.

Elaine smiled and waited a couple of seconds for the room to focus on her again. "Very wise of you Chandra, I am quite happy of the way you thought this through. It is true, we fear some humans, especially their government, to take a defensive, or better yet, a commanding standing point towards us. This is why we have several of you already inside their systems, and also many humans in our network, have very influential places. If you all let me be honest; we could spend a day or two discussing the pros and cons of this idea when it comes to how their government and their reactions could affect us, the truth is, that will only be certain if we do it and when we do it. What I really want to know and hear is what you feel about coming out, how do you think this will affect your life and the ones of those around you. Tell me if I am wrong Chandra."

The woman nodded and remained in her chair, some looking at her, others at Elaine. The room went silent and it was one made on purpose as Elaine let everyone ponder and think before she raised her voice once more. "I don't want to make all of you waste your time, I want you all to enjoy and have some fun, as you all deserve it. These times are difficult times, we need to stand together and strong. I want you all to trust in me, in us, and take a chance. I propose you all to think about this for the next couple of days, and we meet again to resolve it, before the arrival of the Illuminated ones."

Maxwell joined Elaine as he stood up to voice his opinion. "Let's go out there and have some fun, I want you all to think about this as you feel the breeze under your wings and sing under the storm."

Several cheered the idea and even though some went quiet, many stood up and went for the doors. The Meng twins both returned to their chairs and waited patiently. The sight was amusing for Caliope; as she saw several get up and different styles and types of wings being spread. She was entertained by their joyful spirit, but in awe to the extent diversity of wings designs.

After several minutes, everyone was gone, including those who left more reluctantly. Caliope squeezed Amra's hand and he smiled at her. "Now what?" she asked openly.

"Now we join them, you need to enjoy the day. No more worries, not today." Elaine declared as she stood up and walked towards the door. Amra chuckled and gave a nod.

As soon as Caliope reached the door, she hugged her friend tightly. She could also take a closer look at her dress; a very simple yet sophisticated lace and satin dress that embraced the contours of her body exquisitely. "You look gorgeous Nessa!"

Vanessa blushed and lowered her head, Pronab smirking quietly next to her. "Thank you, and you look stunning as well. Are you able to breath inside that?"

Caliope grinned. "That and more."

"Girls, let's go outside, we are missing the fun!" Gabrielle grinned as she put an arm around Caliope and another around Vanessa and walked out of the building with them. Amra chuckled as Caliope looked behind her half scared and half excited. 'I am not letting you out of my sight, don't worry.' He whispered into her mind.

They walked through the streets and watched angels fly graciously; they were playing games and simply enjoying life. Gabrielle giggled as she saw some fly close and wave, her friends inviting her to join them into the game. She would explain to them what they were doing, and every now and then she would just sigh and smile watching them. At the distance, Caliope saw Elaine take a seat at a restaurant with tables in the outside, soon she was joined by Wiltshire. She released kindly Gabrielle's arm and turned to meet quickly Amra's; he pulled her in, embracing her. She sighed and closed her eyes, a wide smile on her face as she snuggled in between his arms. He smiled and entangled his fingers in her hair, lowering his head to rest his chin on top of her's. 'This is the kind of days I am fighting to get you for life.' He whispered softly. Her arms wrapped tightly around him and she squeezed him. Finally she tilted her head up and looked at him. "I love you." she said firmly. He crushed his lips on hers kissing her with passion, making her gasp and blush. When they broke apart she was looking at him lovingly, he caressed her cheek. 'I am glad this part of you remains the same, I really like watching you blush.'

She giggled and pretended to hide her face as he chuckled. They walked by a park and separated from the rest, as he took her hand and walked slowly through the gardens. Some angels would fly around and see them, waving their wings and hands before leaving them alone. They found a spot that was surrounded by groomed green grass and had flowers close around as if guarding them; he sat on the natural blanquet and pulled her to sit on his lap.

"I could easily get used to this... Elaine is brilliant, she is making them all crave what she is offering."

"She has thought this through for a while, but it really is her last resource. She could keep everyone on the line and hold longer, but how many more casualties will we suffer while we try to find something else? Nothing that can convince everyone as much as this."

She nodded and sighed before closing her eyes. "She convinced me." She said before resting against his shoulder. He smiled at her. "That means she convinced me too."

The rest of their evening was uneventful; they spent it enjoying each other and talking about sweet nothings. He caressed her face and gave gentle kisses to different parts of her body, slowly awakening other feelings in her. She felt embarrassed of how far she went when she slid her hand inside his silk shirt and caressed his chest just to tease and hear his soft moanings. She giggled and gave him a deep and passionate kiss once he caught her wrists and gave her a hungry look. It felt right, it felt wrong, it felt wanted. But now was not the time for the level of intimacy they both craved. 'Tonight.' He promised her after watching her blush.

--

Chapter 55

"Latest News"

Caliope brushed her lips on Amra's neck and he entangled his fingers on her hair and pressed her gently more against him; she smiled inwardly and proud of the feelings she was able to awake in him. She licked his shoulder and he couldn't help himself anymore, pulling her gently by the hair and kissing her passionately. 'If you keep this up we won't get up today from bed.' He whispered into her mind and she giggled, making him smile at her. "I will always love that sound. Let's get a shower, shall we?" He said and she nodded.

When they joined the rest of the people in the large living room, Caliope noticed Vanessa and everyone else were looking at the big tv screen in the wall. When she followed their eyes she tensed and Amra's gaze turned from her to the tv as well. There was headlines and big colorful news flashes on the channel they were watching.

"What... what is going on?" Caliope finally broke the silence, Elaine turned her head to look at her with sad eyes.

"They are, again, one step ahead of us." Said Elaine as she pointed to the current home video recording that was being played on loop at the news channel; a kid trying to pet a wild cat in the playground park and being attacked by several other cats that in turn also attacked each other. Caliope gasped and Amra tensed, there was a dark shadow spreading its wings not far from them and at a certain moment, it waved to the camera then disappeared. The journalist was reporting that at first it was thought to be a hoax but then many similar events were being reported in the latest 24 hours all around the globe. There was some controversy as some were still thinking it was a publicity stunt for a possible new movie but more were going for the truth, as the videos were dated all from just the last hours and the amount of reports seemed to be too many for that purpose. Caliope looked at Elaine and then at Wiltshire who was next to her, shaking his head.

"Elaine..." Caliope began, and waited for her to look back, when she did, the words that came out of her mouth surprised everyone. "Make the call, this is enough, we still have the last step, coming out with everything at the public. Make a warning statement to everyone here and tell them they have, I don't know, 12 hours? to let the others know... then go at it, we need to make this as soon as possible, this is too much!"