Michael woke late the following day. He stripped from his black silken night pants and stepped into the bath prepared for him by Ophelia, a lower-ranking angel who worked as a maidservant in his home. He carefully cleaned his wings and washed his body. Exiting the bath, Michael stood and dried his golden hair. His wet skin glistened, dripping down his sculpted body. He passed by his usual white-on-white attire, instead choosing a similar look in black. The dark colors suited his mood better than the white.
After dressing, Michael closed his eyes, stepped forward, and entered the Mortal Plane. He arrived near a mill, far from his usual forest. "What happened?" Michael asked himself. "I didn't mean to come here, where am I?" He stood in the shadows that a nearby thicket of trees provided. His wings twitched irritably; he had never made a mistake when stepping between the realms, not since he had learned under Zerachiel's guidance over 150 years ago.
The Seraphim looked around, but nothing was familiar. Daring to slip through the thicket of trees, he prepared to travel back to the Kingdom. "If I can't even walk between the realms properly, it's just a sign to go home." Michael closed his eyes and lifted his black boot to step forward to the Kingdom but stopped when he heard a woman's laugh. It was musical, and it grabbed his heart. He knew that voice.
Quietly making his way through the thicket of trees, Michael followed the woman's voice. He spotted Ravenna sitting on a blanket in the grass, and he leaned against the closest tree. She looked flawless in her pink dress. Michael's lips parted slightly in awe of this beautiful girl. He tilted his head against the tree, soaking in the radiance of Ravenna. He wanted to go to her, talk to her, and wrap his arms and wings around her. He wanted to caress her, play with her hair, and make her love him.
Michael was quickly pulled out of his daydream by a man's voice. Surprised, he stood up fully, no longer leaning against the wide tree. The Seraphim snapped his attention to the source of the second voice, blocked by another tree. A young man sat in the clearing with Ravenna, sharing the blanket she sat on and, worse: her whole attention. Michael's chest panged as he watched the tall man with a muscular physique animatedly talk to Ravenna. The unknown man was talking with his hands, gesturing as if exaggerating his words' meaning. And Ravenna was laughing. She was enjoying this man's company.
Michael turned pale. He had heard of heartache, and this was it. The woman he had admired- her knowledge of the plants, sweet interactions with her raven friends, grace, singing, and beauty- was sitting in a meadow with another man. Was this... envy? When he was young, Gabriel had taught Michael the Seven Deadly Sins, and envy was one of them. And Michael, a high-ranking angel, was painfully jealous of the man with Ravenna. He needed to leave; he could not risk punishment from the Ruler. A Seraphim was never supposed to commit any sin, let alone one of the Seven.
Why couldn't he leave? Michael desperately wanted to leave the trees he stood among. His heart hurt. Instead, he sat on a tree stump, dirt settling on his black-on-black ensemble. He couldn't watch; he was too envious of the young man with shaggy brown hair and a wide smile. But he couldn't leave, hearing Ravenna's voice that sounded like the sweetest music.
Michael sat until the late afternoon when the couple packed their things and headed toward the village. He continued to sit until the sky turned dark.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Late into the night, Michael stepped forward and home to the Kingdom. He was miserable. He entered his home, not wanting to be around his Brothers or anyone else. A few lower-ranking angels lived in his home, prepared to serve. He stepped around the pair of angels, trying to ignore them completely.
"Greetings, Seraphim Michael, may I-" began one of the angels, Victoria.
"No." Michael shortly dismissed Victoria and the other angel, Ophelia. He shut the door to his bed-chamber, swiftly removing his earth-dusted clothing. He donned a pair of black silken night pants and laid face down on the bed.
Outside of his room, Ophelia and Victoria were concerned. Their master had never behaved this way.
"Should we offer him a calming tea?" Victoria asked her friend.
"What about asking him what happened?" Ophelia offered.
"Michael has always been kind and open to us, should we return the favor?"
Victoria stretched her wings. "I am worried about him. He never ignores our presence, and treats us like an equal. That's why he was the Seraphim Brother I was hoping to serve. Tonight, he stepped around us like we were just in his way! He's not himself."
Ophelia, the braver of the girls, quietly knocked on Michael's door. "We apologize, Seraphim Michael, but we are worried about you. You are not yourself. Would you like to talk?"
Her attempts were met with silence.
Victoria sat on the couch in the parlor, playing anxiously with her red tresses as she did when she was worried. Her grey eyes were downcast beneath her furrowed brows. "I suppose there is nothing to do but wait until he comes to us, Ophelia," she quietly spoke.
Ophelia turned away from Michael's bedchamber door and sat with her friend. The pair had been friends for decades and always enjoyed serving Michael. He was kind to them. They had heard of other maidservants of the other Brothers that were not so fortunate. Jeremiel was known to be moody, and it was challenging for the lower-ranking angels who served him. Raphael was kind enough but somewhat reclusive, so he was less interested in interacting with those who worked in his home. The maidservants of Remiel had it the hardest; Remiel was a perfectionist and demanded perfection in his home. Many maidservants had gone through his home, as they did not serve to his impossible standards.
Victoria and Ophelia made Michael's favorite desserts and ensured his home was extra clean. Every few hours, Ophelia would attempt to ask their master if everything was alright and if they could do anything for him. Every attempt was met with silence. The pair wondered if he had slipped out of the home and they hadn't noticed.