The Azra-El Series Ch. 13

As the last society took their leave from Blaze, the pixie he had noticed earlier started making her way towards him.

At slightly less than six feet, the pixie was quite conspicuous amongst the other adult angels. Her long and flowing bronze hair turned a tawny blonde towards the ends and was adorned by a massive yellow lily to the right of her head. An emerald tear hung from a golden chain around her forehead and decorated the center of her forehead.

Though she was small and didn't seem powerful, the pixie carried a certain confidence and surety. And unlike Siofra, she seemed to display her ears with pride.

"I am Asherah Eo-" the pixie began when she reached them.

"Siofra's mom!" Blaze greeted her enthusiastically. Asherah Eoiwagn was the pixie diplomat posted at Aranya. It was natural for her to be present at the meeting of the delegates.

The pixie seemed neither amused nor surprised. In fact, Blaze felt a hint of disapproval in her piercing orange eyes. Her resemblance with Siofra was unmistakable but it ended with their physical features. "Yes," she muttered with a sigh. "Can I chat with you privately, Ms. Blaze?"

Blaze gave Rebecca and Elyssa a quick glance, before following the pixie.

"The eastern pixies are grateful for your actions, Ms. Blaze. Princess Aleaya Glitterdust has personally asked me to thank you for your unyielding defense against pixie discrimination," she told him formally.

"I guess that's not what you brought me aside for?" Blaze asked her back. There was something about her tone that didn't sit right with him.

"No, it is not," Asherah sighed. "Despite my respect for you righteous fury, Ms. Blaze, I do not approve of your friendship with Siofra."

Blaze was struck speechless. What the fuck was this? Why was he being treated like a horny high schooler who's only interest was trying to get into her daughter's panties. Well the horny part is true. But he had no such interest in Siofra.

Controlling his irritation, he decided to give the pixie the benefit of doubt. "May I know why?" he asked, trying his best to sound polite.

"Your friendship, though benevolent, will make her weak. Azra-El is currently not a friendly place for a pixie to live in and I don't expect that to change any time soon. I have high hopes for Siofra, Ms. Blaze, and for her to reach her potential she needs to be able to face her challenges by herself and cannot be overshadowed by an angel.

"Your presence, Ms Blaze, will diminish the trials she has to face and make her complacent towards other angels. I am sure even you can see that. She will not be prepared for the ultimacy of you not being around when it matters," she elaborated, coldly and unapologetically.

"And what makes you think that I will not be around when it matters?" he instantly challenged her.

Asherah raised an eye at him. "Your words are that of a child."

"And yours are that of a cynic and a misangelope. You can try to convince your daughter of your cynical opinions, but you won't be getting any help from me, Min Asherah. Goodbye!" he said forcefully and left. Misangelope meant misanthrope but for angels.

He felt that there was no point in continuing a conversation with her, and he didn't want to do anything he regretted later – like punching a pixie in the face.

"What happened?" Elyssa asked him, noticing the look on his face.

"Siofra's mum's a bitch," he cursed.

"Language!" Elyssa whispered, looking around to see if anyone heard him. Rebecca simply giggled and told him not to let Jie Er hear him say such words.

He quickly explained his conversation to the two, but neither of them could explain her behavior. It was likely that it was just Asherah's convoluted thinking.

Anastasia returned to them a few minutes later and told them that they were free to leave if they wanted to. She needed to stay a little longer, but their presence was no longer required. The trio decided to head back, especially because Blaze didn't feel like sticking around after his conversation with Asherah.

oOo

Rebecca dropped them off at the manor and took off to her mom's house after telling Blaze that she'd bring Aurnia to see him off in the morning. She wanted to spend the rest of the day with her mother and take her out to celebrate the evening session of the carnival.

Blaze and Elyssa spent the rest of the evening together, and she introduced him to the world of Azra-El's illustrated books and the game of Chaken. It was an extremely complex chess like game with elements of poker. Blaze hadn't even begun to learn the basics by the time Astrid arrived.

Astrid walked into the room, with Elyssa's soulreaper robe and cloak draped over her arm.

"Why do you have my costume?" Elyssa asked suspiciously.

"Oh, I just made some quick modifications. It was a little dull," Astrid shrugged her shoulders.

"ASTRID!" Ely screamed and lunged for her costume. "Oh no!" she groaned as she hastily inspected her dress.

The robe and the cloak were now in tatters – tastefully done tatters but tatters, nonetheless. Astrid had taken the concept of the soulreaper to the next level by cutting and ripping apart the already scanty costume. To give her credit, however, it matched with the idea of a wraith like grimreaper.

"What have you done, Astrid!? How do you expect me to wear this?" Elyssa screamed at her cousin.

"It looks the part when you wear it, 'Lyssa. I tried it," Astrid replied, unfazed.

"There is nothing to wear! Tell her, Blaze," Ely shrieked, showing him the dress.

"I have no comments," Blaze replied, and quickly pretended to be interested in the game of Chaken. If it was any other angel besides Ely, he would've stood by the costume, but he was a little hesitant about seeing her half naked.

"Traitor!" she told him, before turning to Astrid. "You know what? If you like your work so much you wear it. We're pretty much the same size. I will take your Night Angel costume and you can be Blaze's soul reaper."

"That's an excellent idea!" Blaze chimed. Ely leveled a glare at him.

Astrid thought about it for a moment, weighing her options. "Only if you let me do your makeup."

"You have no right to bargain!"

"And you don't know if I still have a dress that'll suit your tastes."

The two had quick a staring contest before Elyssa gave in. "Fine! But the super cannon costume better not be in shreds."

***

After a small dinner, Blaze quietly changed into his Txiki costume and escaped Elyssa's room, leaving the two to get ready. He sat down in the living room and began reading one of Elyssa's illustrated books.

He was deeply immersed in a comic about a flying carnike when Elyssa and Astrid stepped into living room. He looked at them and did a double take. Elyssa looked like a completely different person.

She was now sporting a pale pink wig in a bob cut, bright red lipstick and light red winged mascara, and a pink blush. Elyssa had always been exceptionally beautiful, but Blaze had gotten used to it. However, the makeup gave her a beguiling charm. He gulped and told himself that she was just Elyssa, before moving his eyes to her dress.

She was wearing a simple draped red blouse over a skirt of white ribbons, and a pair of white compressed shorts underneath. He assumed the shorts to be Elyssa's addition.

Though her dress was modest, when his eyes took in her whole figure, his earlier emotion only intensified.

It's just Ely. She will be back to normal after the party, he told himself again, forcing his eyes away from her to look at Astrid.

Oh yes! Tonight, this Txiki shall steal the soulreaper's body. Muhahaha, he inwardly snickered as his eyes roved over Astrid's body.

The hems of her tattered robe were barely an inch below her groin and Astrid had littered the already scanty robe with gaping holes. Luckily for everyone present, she deemed it fit to wear a thong.

She also wore pitch-black mascara, black lipstick and makeup, and together with the tattered cloak and the threatening scythe, she looked a perfect cross between a grim reaper and a succubus.

"Weren't you supposed to be Night Angel?" he asked Elyssa. "And, how come you didn't offer me some makeup?" he jokingly added to Astrid.

"This is what Nychta wears as a reporter." Elyssa informed him. She seemed quite satisfied with her costume.

"You already look like the perfect Txiki. You would look like her even if you simply held her needle," Astrid told him as they headed out, still maintaining the distance she had created since he had arrived for the weekend. At first, he had assumed she was acting coy, but now he was beginning to have doubts.

Anastasia had not returned home but sent them her personal carriage to drop them off at the palace.

***

The Alaka gardens were a heavily landscaped three-acre piece of land within the palace grounds, designated for the princesses to hold their outdoor parties. It was surrounded by a fence of hardwood trees, and a grand gold-plated gate stood at the entrance.

As they arrived, they could hear the melodious music of the party drifting through the trees. An angel confirmed their identities at the entrance and let them in.

As the trio made their way through the cobblestoned pathways of polished granite, Blaze marveled at the haven like appearance of the gardens - beautiful flowers, entangled vines, perfectly arranged trees, and gushing creeks.

A steamy Olympic sized pool of polished stone lay at the center of the gardens. The waters were clear, but the vapors fogged up the air above the pool and the lampposts cast a hazy orange glow. A narrow, stony creek gurgled into the pool from a fountain atop a small grassy knoll.

A large group of costumed young angels were already gathered, strolling around the garden, making conversation and occasionally stopping to grab a bit of whatever delights the waiters brought them on silver plates.

To the west of the pool, a group of musicians stood on a large semicircular arena of polished wood and played a steady melodic tune. In their hands were musical instruments both familiar and foreign to Blaze – zither like guitars, violins held on the chest, a large ocarina, a pump organ, drums, lutes, and cymbals.

There were only a few angels older than two hundred, and they were mostly there to drop their children off or to say hello to the young angel that was currently walking towards them. She had a beaming smile and a goblet of gold in her hand.

"Elyssa! Astrid! When was the last time I saw you?" Princess Ila's voice boomed joyfully. "And you must be the Righteous fury!" she asked, turning to Blaze. She was wearing the same green and yellow peacock dress from earlier in the day.

Blaze immediately liked her. In his judgement, not being a snobby princess already amounted to something.

"Blaze Er Lokra. It's a pleasure to meet you, princess Ila," Blaze said, giving her a formal Ama.

"Oh, the pleasure is mine. And, don't bother with the formalities. I don't have much fondness for them. Now tell me, did you really defeat the Houri with a single punch?" she asked with a swish of her fist.

Blaze laughed. "I think that's a bit of an exaggeration, princess. It was an even fight. Though, I did use my fist to finish the duel," he replied. Maybe it was because of her age, but Blaze didn't feel uncomfortable whilst speaking with the princess, as he had felt with the other peerage he had met earlier. Princess Ila was forty-two.

"Let me guess what you're all supposed to be. Astrid is obviously the soulreaper. Lovely costume by the way. Blaze ..." she wondered, leaning back and giving him a once over, her eyes widening on noticing the needle in his hand. "Txiki?"

Blaze nodded with a smile.

"Hah! I knew it. It's hilarious and I love it," she said with a clap of her hands. "Now, I am not too sure what Elyssa is supposed to be. It's a lovely dress though."

Elyssa explained and the princess jovially conversed for a few minutes, before slipping away to meet the latest arrivals.

"She seems nice," Blaze softly remarked, noticing a waitress approach them with a trayful of golden goblets.

"Can I interest the Misses in some spiced mamgi cider?"

"Yes please!" Blaze replied, taking a goblet from the tray. The cider was piping hot and the bottom of the goblet was insulated to help in holding it.

"She is, but I don't remember her being as social," Elyssa said, after the waitress was out of earshot.

"Maybe she has learned to be," Astrid commented, as they watched the princess finish speaking to a trio of angels with unwavering enthusiasm.

Blaze took a sip of the cider and observed the trio of angels the princess had just left. All three had long pitch-black hair, but there was something familiar about the oldest and the youngest of the angels.

The older angel, who seemed to be in her early two-hundreds, wore a beautiful black and gold cheongsam and an exquisite gold and diamond fengguan – a traditional Xian tiara, indicating that she was of Xianese nobility.

The angel noticed Blaze's stare and gave him a prolonged half-smile, whose meaning he could not decipher.

"Who are they?" he asked Elyssa, who followed his gaze.

"Hmm. The ivka is Lan Luan from Xian," Elyssa replied. Ivka denoted a young angel between sixty and one twenty. "She is one of the top contenders in the upcoming tournament. She placed tenth in the previous one, but I am sure she is a lot stronger now.

The other two I am not sure. Judging by the fengguan, she seems to be nobility. It's possible that they're princess Ying Yue Shangdi and her daughter. But why do I feel like I've seen them before...Wait a minute. Didn't we see the two of them at the auction at Cali?"

Blaze suddenly remembered the three angels he had caught staring during the auction.

The older angel suddenly leaned towards her daughter and whispered in her ear. The daughter, decked in an impressive full suit of golden armor, looked at him and a menacing smile budded on her face. A serpentine dragon was etched onto the surface of her armor and it snaked its way around her body, opening its jaws at her neck.

She held a tall golden shafted spear with a dark red blade, and together with the smile she struck an imperious figure. However, the smile only lasted for a moment and she quickly turned away. The mother gave her a few words before she took off, leaving the other two to mingle.

"Did you see that?" Blaze confirmed out loud.

"Yes, and I think I know the reason behind it."

"What?"

"One of the topics of discussion in the meeting of delegates was about holding a parallel tournament for angels under sixty. I need to confirm it with my mother, but I think it may have come to pass. I think the young angel thinks of you as her opponent," Elyssa wondered.

"Ah! Well too bad for her, I am not interested," Blaze declared. Unless she offers something in challenge. Hehe.

"What do you mean?"

"I am not gonna fight in the tournament."

"You won't? Why not? I'd have thought you'd be itching to fight other strong angels."

"Maybe. But I also don't want to train my ass off for some stupid tournament. I am only twenty and I doubt anyone would care if I didn't participate this time around. Why bother with it if I am assured of winning it the next time. Besides, I am already famous. You don't want me to attract too much attention, do you?"

"Just confess that you're lazy..." Elyssa rolled her eyes.

"You shouldn't underestimate other angels of your generation. You may be a genius, but no one is infallible," Astrid added seriously, surprising Blaze. Her words were uncharacteristic of her usual flighty self.

"ASTRID!" they heard a loud squeal, before Blaze could reply.

They were swarmed by a gaggle of young angels, who excitedly chatted with Astrid, and introduced themselves to Blaze and Elyssa before taking Astrid away like a storm. The convivial lot invited Blaze and Ely to join them, but they politely refused. Neither of them was extroverted.

"I don't understand her," Blaze told Ely, as they started walking to not appear lost.

"She is quite intelligent. She just puts on the act of an idiot. She resembles you in that aspect."

"Hey! I don't act like an idiot."

"No, but you do act cute and innocent."

Blaze stood up straight, suddenly feeling a bit conscious of himself. Has Azra-El really changed me that much? He wondered as Ely giggled at him.

As they walked around the pool, Blaze began admiring the attires of the angels. They dressed as nymphs, fairies, cowgirls – bison herders of Anoan plateau, Valkyries, witches, and a variety of both real and fantastical characters. Some were modest while others were extremely skimpy, but none of them were completely exposing.

Though the angels did not care about nudity as much as humans, they still observed some propriety and did not usually prance around naked. And Blaze was grateful – it increased the appeal of the costumes.

As the night set in and the moon began to rise over the horizon, the princess walked to the middle of the grassy arena and the music quietened. She waited for the angels to stop their conversations before speaking.

"Greetings to everyone I haven't already met. I hope you've enjoyed the food and refreshments, and that you are not too full. For what is the Regnbage festival without dance? We shall be dancing for the rest of the night," Ila projected her voice, pitching it a little higher than normal.

A loud applause and cheer went up for Ila's words, and she continued speaking after it subsided. "Since I am expecting all of you to dance, I will strengthen my resolve and offer you the first performance," she said, her voice beginning to break in nervousness.

As the shouts of encouragement that followed her words subsided, she stretched her arms and bent her knees, waiting for the music to begin.

It started off with a quick beat of finger drums and cymbals as Ila tapped her feet in rhythm and the bells attached around her ankles rang with each tap. Her hands formed a pretty gesture as she held them perpendicular to her body.

She seemed a little awkward at first, but as the pace of the music picked up, her movements became composed. Lyres and violin joined the tune as her movements became alive.

She began to move like a peacock. The movements of her arms and feet were not exaggerated, but they conveyed a story as they weaved through the air and through the grass. The story of the life of a peacock.

How it grew after hatching. How it sprouted its first feathers. How it learned to run and flit through the forests in search of berries and mice. How it fought with the snakes. How it longed for the rain.

Suddenly, the cymbals thundered like lightning and she pulled on a string at her waist. Her gown went up her like a peacock's tail and the drums pattered like rain. Its radiant colors shimmered brilliantly under the light of the lampposts.

She danced through the arena and the music danced with her, rising and falling in a crescendo of her movements.

Finally, the music slowed down and came to a stop along with her at the center of the arena. Her canary colored wings manifested and burst out over her peacock fan. Gazing into the sky with a look of longing, she flapped her wings.

The rustle of feathers and the flurry of her wings were the music as she soared towards the moon, her silhouette strikingly clear against its silvery glow. She circled around the garden and descended to the center of the arena.

Silence prevailed as the angels watched her in awe. Despite her uncertain start, the princess had moved them with her dance. It wasn't exhilarating but it created a raw emotion that was different for every angel – nostalgia, longing, feelings of being trapped and then soaring away to freedom, or a simple recognition of the vagaries of life.