The Ruler had him on his knees, his back and wings exposed. He couldn't remember what he had done wrong, but that didn't matter anymore. His elbows, forearms, and forehead were pressed against the ground as he knelt, waiting for the next strike. The Ruler cursed at him for being a waste of time, and the whips lashed against his back again.
Michael inhaled sharply, his eyes snapping open. He pushed himself up, seeing that he was not on the floor of the Palace, but lying on a soft bed. His body was bare, save for his trousers, but the Ruler had not stripped him of his shirt to punish him- he had fallen asleep on the chest of the woman he loved. – It was just another nightmare. The Ruler isn't here. I'm safe with her. –
He peered toward the other occupant of the bed, watching her chest slowly rise and fall as she slept peacefully. Her full lips were parted slightly, and he thought of how she had slept on his thigh the first night they had met. He subconsciously tried to stretch his wings the same way he had in his memory, covering her with his wing, but a jolt of pain in his back reminded him that it was a memory. He never would hold her in his wings again.
He quietly mourned his wings, and rested his head on Ravenna's chest, her steady heartbeat lulling him back to his slumber.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Stop moving, Michael, you're being impossible!"
"Immortal, not impossible." A cheeky grin stretched across his lips as Ravenna playfully chastised him. She had taken her measuring tape and wrapped it around him, and he embraced her as she worked.
"I'm never going to get your new clothes finished, you ridiculous thing!" He felt her smile against his chest, knowing she didn't truly mean her words.
"Maybe I just don't wear any."
"You're not going out into Canden with no clothes. And I'm still grateful that Gabriel brought you some of your clothes, but they're just so... fancy. We don't need you to stand out, your size will do that for us. Villagers will ask questions if you dress like you did in the Kingdom."
–Humans and their gossip.– "Are we still staying with the lie I told your friend? I'm a soldier? That's where I came from? That doesn't seem like enough."
"Well, the military is based in Panax. Lift your arm." Ravenna continued her measuring as she spoke. "But Caladium hasn't had a war with another country in a few years. We can say you were injured and presumed dead during training. It won't scare the villagers into thinking the military is becoming active this way. Other arm, please."
"Injured Panax soldier that they assumed was dead. I can do that. You know, that tickles." Michael squirmed away from Ravenna and her measuring tape, snickering.
"I was finished anyway. I'll start on your clothes tonight. Is there anything you would like to do today?"
Michael pressed his lips together, looking out the window as he thought. The grey clouds rolled in the sky, and he turned his back to the gathering storm. "Could we go to see where your grandmother is buried?"
"Oh! I haven't...I haven't gone myself since... since I've been back. I should have gone by now." Ravenna's eyes became downcast, ashamed that she had not gone to the burial site.
"I understand if it is too difficult. If you are not ready to go, we can go another day."
"No! I...I want to go with you. Let me change into a better dress, and we can go."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Ravenna found Michael waiting for her in the kitchen. He had dressed in his usual black-on-black attire from the Kingdom, courtesy of Gabriel and Zerachiel. She noticed the way the black pants fit him perfectly, and the way his waistcoat hugged his torso, accentuating his slim and muscular figure. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, hiding most of his bruising. She felt warmth spread throughout her as he turned to her and smiled. –Has he actually gotten more attractive, or is this what it feels like to fall in love with someone?–
"You look beautiful, Ravenna." His velvety voice cut through the quiet, and he broke the distance between them with a few strides. He tilted her chin up, and kissed her softly before offering his hand. "Shall we?"
Ravenna blinked a few times to prepare herself. She straightened her shoulders, attempting to make herself look bolder than she felt. She took his hand, and led them out of the small cottage.
"Wait. I saw something last time I was in a cemetery, I want to make sure I do things right." Michael turned away from Ravenna, back toward the gardens that surrounded the infirmary. After a moment, he returned with a handful of roses, and grasped Ravenna's hand again. "Will you tell me about her while we walk?"
Michael listened intently as Ravenna recounted some of her favorite childhood memories of Anne. The way her grandmother had taught her the Hawthorne family trade. Dancing with her in the rain, learning which plants were important in her forest sanctuary, and what their position in Canden meant to both them and the villagers.
He squeezed her hand as she spoke of the Sickness that claimed both her parents, and the pressures Anne felt when so many villagers became ill and died. He heard the pride in her voice when she told him that Anne had found the cure for the Sickness, and that the villagers still held a gathering in her honor every year.
The couple approached the cemetery as the grey skies slowly began to mourn the loss of Canden's great healer, and rain began to fall softly.
"You know, it's almost funny. It rained the first time I came here too," Michael said, giving the desolate skies a glance. "I found it fascinating how humans cared for their dead. And the angel statue over there," he gestured to it as he spoke. "It felt... wrong. I didn't understand. Did your kind have an incredible guess as to what my kind looked like? Was there an angel who had broken the rules before I had, and that's him? This was before I knew of Lucifer…oh goodness. That statue is Lucifer, isn't it?!"
Ravenna gave Michael a puzzled look as he mulled over his thoughts aloud. "I've never actually looked at it closely..."
The pair made their way to the base of the statue of the unknown angel, and Michael inspected it more thoroughly than he had the first time he had laid eyes on it. It still looked like him, but with no color in its eyes or hair, it certainly resembled a younger Lucifer, before he had grown his hair long and taken to having facial hair.
The couple turned from the statue, and stepped away from it, Michael not wanting to look at any reminder of Lucifer. "Has there ever been talk of an angel coming to your village?"
"No, not that I've ever heard? I'm sure Lucifer will eventually be back for you though, he certainly seemed determined to have you as his ally. We can always ask?"
"No. I'm still angry with him. He tried to use you against me when I was imprisoned. I have nothing to say to that man."
Lucifer's low chuckle came from behind the couple, and Michael whipped around to stand in front of Ravenna.
"My dear boy, what if I have things to say to you?"