Michael could no longer sit. He paced the forest edge; he hated the idea of Ravenna traveling without him. "She existed a long time without you, she can do it again," he reminded himself.
Michael ran his fingers through his golden curls. He knew Ravenna could take care of herself, and she promised to alert him as soon as she could meet him. Michael was frustrated with himself; Ravenna was a capable woman. He had seen her work in the forest by herself and travel to the market in her village by herself. Michael rolled his eyes, annoyed at his anxieties.
Michael's eyes scanned the buildings on the horizon. He looked for the two-lantern signal Ravenna was supposed to leave. His mind began to wander; what if the inn was off the outskirts of the town? He would wait until sundown for a sign from Ravenna. If he could see nothing from the woman, he would return to the Kingdom, sit by the Prayer Fountain, and wait for her to signal him that way.
Hopefully, none of his Brothers would be around and think it was a strange habit for him to have taken on; his Brothers knew his typical avoidance of the Fountain and its reminder that the Ruler had abandoned the humans that Michael wished to help.
But what if Ravenna began to think he was too protective of her? What if she wanted to get home by herself? She did seem to enjoy their time together, but what if she was just being polite?
Michael stressed. He pulled his right wing forward, running his hands over the feathers. He so badly wanted her to enjoy his company. But then again, she had encouraged him to bend to her height so she could kiss his cheek before leaving for Nerium.
Her kiss. Michael folded his wing back and sat on the ground. He pulled his knees to his chest, wrapped his arms around his legs, and placed his chin on his knees. He thought about how Ravenna had kissed him, the heat returning to his cheeks.
She had put her hands on his shoulders, pressing lightly, a silent way of asking him to come down to her height. The way she looked into his eyes once he brought himself to her size. The way her lips felt pressed against his cheek. It all felt so right.
Lost in his thoughts, Michael did not immediately notice the pair of lanterns glowing on the horizon. Once he was startled back to the present by a raven's call, he nearly leaped out of his skin to see the signal Ravenna left for him. He quickly stood, almost losing his balance. He pinched his side. "Focus, Michael," he muttered to himself irritably.
He closed his eyes, stepped forward, and realm-traveled to the source of the signal.
Michael appeared in a room in an inn. He looked around; he had never been in a human dwelling before. He observed a large bed, a pair of comfortable-looking chairs in front of a fireplace, and a screen separating a bathtub from the rest of the room. Where was Ravenna?
Michael found a note on the bed. Ravenna had gone out looking for a dress to replace the one Peter Jones had ruined. Good for her; the sooner she was rid of it, the sooner she could heal from that man's memory.
Michael continued to read the note. Ravenna informed him that a bath was prepared behind the screen, and he could use it. That was an intriguing offer; he did want to clean up a bit and make himself as appealing as possible to the young woman.
Michael removed his white boots, placing them at the end of the bed. He unbuttoned his shirt and removed it, placing it over the screen. He unlaced his pants, pulling them and putting them beside his shirt. His undergarments came off last; he neatly folded them and placed them on the floor next to the towels the housekeepers had left for Ravenna.
The water was slightly chilly, but Michael didn't mind. He scrubbed his skin with the soap left by the housekeeper. He carefully cleaned his wings, knowing Ravenna enjoyed being wrapped in them; he needed them clean. Lastly, he washed his golden hair, feeling much more himself now that he was clean.
He left the bathtub, rubbed the towel over his head to dry his hair, and dabbed the towel on his wings to dry them. He wrapped the towel around his hips and grabbed the second towel to start paying more attention to his wings. He pulled his left wing forward, patting the feathers with the towel.
Michael turned his head as he heard a sound. It was a key in a lock. His heart raced in his chest, he was still mostly bare, and Ravenna was back. Panic made Michael freeze - he was not ready for Ravenna to see him this way. His little desires and his actual reality were different, and he did not want the young woman to get the wrong impression after her kidnapping.
He did not have time to hide before Ravenna entered the room and saw him standing by the bath, his damp hair sticking in multiple directions erratically. Water dripped down his muscular and sculpted body, his towel hanging low on his hip bones. He turned red, and Ravenna blushed, turning away from the towel-clad Seraphim.