Teresa and her family left after a few hours, and Michael felt his nerves and body relax as the visitors to the Hawthorne cottage allowed him to rest. He had not realized how tense he had become with Ravenna's friend in the home, his need to keep his story straight about who he was posing as and where he was pretending to be from.
The afternoon had grown late, and Ravenna left to check on the broth she had allowed to simmer all afternoon. Pleased with its progress, she joined Michael in the parlor. "You've managed to sit for quite some time, are you ready to move back to your bed and rest?"
At the mention of the bed, fatigue overcame the Seraphim. "That really does sound like a good idea. I hadn't realized how much just sitting up was taking a toll."
"You have had a serious injury, Michael, simple things will feel very taxing for a while, unfortunately." She offered the angel her hand, and he smirked before taking it to help himself stand.
–She's so small, and I'm so much taller than she is, this seems silly to have her assist me…but I needed the help…– He allowed Ravenna to place her hand at his waist, and with her assistance, they made their way to the infirmary room, where his soft bed waited. He gingerly sat on the bed, trying to avoid any strain on his wounded back, and the healer helped him swing his long legs onto the mattress. Michael carefully laid down on his side, trying not to let the young woman see his pain as he shifted his position on the bed.
"Ravenna? Did your friend suspect anything…different about me?"
Ravenna gave a small smile as she placed her hand gently on the angel's arm. "She was here with me when you were brought to me. She has seen all your injuries. I know I can trust her with my life, and asked her if I could trust her with yours too. Teresa knows about you, and she knows what happened to me after Peter stole me from my home. She knows the entire truth."
Michael frowned. –I wish I had known that, I wouldn't have tried to lie! Teresa probably thinks I'm terrible, a liar, unfit for Ravenna!– "Why…why didn't you tell me that she knew about me?"
"We thought it would be best if you had some practice speaking to humans, to be able to come up with a story about who you are and where you came from. I think you did a wonderful job, Michael, and I'm proud of you for coming up with something so quickly. That was actually quite believable, and I think once you've healed up more, you would be able to go into the village without any trouble, maybe just a little guidance from me."
The frown eased from the Seraphim's face, as he hadn't thought of Ravenna trying to make sure he would be ready for more human interaction by testing him with a safe person first. –I really would hate to be caught off-guard or in a misunderstanding with the villagers that she cares about so much.– "I hadn't thought of that, I'm glad I did well with Teresa and her family. Thank you for looking out for me."
"You always looked out for me. It was only fair that I did the same." Ravenna brushed Michael's hair back from his face, and kissed his forehead. "Are you ready to tell me about your time in the Kingdom after Lucifer took me to his realm?" She sat on the chair next to the bed, preparing herself for his story.
Pain crossed Michael's face as the memories returned. "Some things are a little…faded. Do you promise not to be upset? I want you to remember that everything I did that led to the Archs coming for me, I made my own choices to do. None of the things that happened were your fault. Promise me, Ravenna. Promise me." He grimaced as he stretched his hand out, reaching for the woman he loved.
Ravenna hesitated a moment, before taking the angel's hand. "...okay, Michael, I promise.. Please, tell me what they did to you. I was so worried while you were gone. Lucifer and his demons kept excellent care of me, but it didn't stop the worry."
"I cannot imagine how much you must have worried." Michael sighed. "The Archangels that Zerachiel warned us of, they were ruthless. They came for me the evening that I sent you away with Lucifer. I tried to tell them I was not going back to the Kingdom with them; they started to fight with me. I did everything I could, but there were two of them, and I was by myself. They called down The Ruler's Blessing, a direct hit of lightning to my chest. They burned me badly." Michael's eyes left Ravenna's, looking downward, ashamed of his defeat.
Her hand squeezed his, aiming to comfort him, but his words had made Ravenna incredibly anxious. –The Archangels fought with him and then burnt him with lightning? He didn't deserve any of this! He just saved me from Peter!–
"Ravenna? Are you okay?" Michael's velvety voice cut through her thoughts, and he squeezed her hand gently. "You've turned awful pale."
"I-I'm okay. Please, continue."
"I woke up in a cell. I don't know how long I had been unconscious. They had me chained so I was sitting; if I couldn't stand, I couldn't realm-travel. They had chains around my arms, waist, ankles…the Archs really made sure I was secure. Samael and Azrael came down to my cell to bring me a thin broth, but they usually beat me as well. I don't know if that was on the Ruler's orders, or if they had done that for their own entertainment."
"After three weeks, the Ruler had Samael and Azrael bring me in to the Great Hall. Uriel was tasked with bringing in my Brothers. The Ruler began a trial against me – He showed my Brothers everything in the Reflecting Mirror. He showed them an image of me ripping Peter off of you, and killing him, calling it the sin of wrath, and the sin of pride, for answering your prayer. He showed my Brothers the time I accidentally appeared in the forest outside of the meadow where you were on a date with Samuel…I was so jealous…but yes, He showed my Brothers that as well, calling it the sin of envy. He showed them the image of us taking the coin purse from the corpse of Peter, calling it the sin of greed."
Michael's face flushed bright red as he took a deep breath, preparing to tell Ravenna the last of the things the Ruler had shown his Brothers; the private moments they had shared. "I'm sorry, Ravenna…the Ruler is a terrible man…He showed my Brothers the…my Brothers watched…they saw…"
"Michael? What did they see?"
He squeezed his eyes shut, not wanting to see her reaction when she found out that some of their intimate moments had been put on display for his Brothers, the Twin Archs, and Uriel to see. "...My Brothers saw the image of us…the sin of lust. They watched us kiss the first time after I braided your hair." Michael heard a sharp gasp from Ravenna. ``...and they watched a Reflection in the Mirror of us in the Graenwood Inn right before Zerachiel had appeared…" One of his ice-blue eyes opened to gauge her reaction to the news.
"Your Brothers saw you with no shirt lying on top of me on a bed?! The Ruler saw that?!"
"...and the Twin Archs…and Uriel…I'm so sorry, Ravenna…"
"Oh…that's so embarrassing, Michael, I thought our private moments were…private!"
"I'm so sorry, my dear, I thought they were too…"
Ravenna stood, pacing the room as she wrung her hands. Every step she took felt like a knife in Michael's chest, he felt terrible that she was embarrassed and self-conscious about their intimacy. –She's never going to want to kiss me again if she thinks the Ruler is watching her to put it on display…–
"I…I think I'm going to need a moment to think about that…I'm not upset with you! I just need time to get over the fact that your entire family watched some of our most…intimate times together…I'm going to go to the forest…I'll…I'll be back."
Embarrassed and upset, Ravenna left the infirmary.