THE COUNCIL (1)

The golden glow of the portal slowly faded after Arella stepped through it. Solan slowly turned his staff in a circle on the ground, and the light that emanated from the orb settled back to a soft dim. Arella looked around, noticing that they were in the heart of the Angel Council's central palace.

The air around the angel realm was, as always, charged with Holy Power.

Angels always emitted power from their very pores, and this caused the angel realm to be thick with it. This energy had congealed together over the millennia, resonating in a steady hum that seemed almost alive.

The central palace had not changed much in her absence. The walls were white and embellished with gold ornaments. Carved on the front doors were a pair of large angel wings. Arella remembered being so awed the first time she had come to the angel council. Her father, the youngest council member, had been a part of the council for as long as she could remember. When she was younger, he loved bringing her to the council to show her off to the other angels.

He had always wanted a daughter and did not fail to shower her with all the love he could muster.

Now, however, the doors to the council looked daunting. She felt suffocated and almost did not want to go inside.

Echo slinked beside her. His hackles were half raised as his green eyes darted warily around the area. The angel realm always seemed to have a certain shine, perhaps due to the energy that floated around. This made the Shadow Hound wary.

Arella knew that its presence was a brazen act of defiance in this sanctified space. As far as she knew, demons had never stepped foot in the angel realm, and Echo may have very well been the first. A pair of attendants that were walking nearby exchanged horrified glances after setting their eyes on the beast. Then their expression settled on looking disgusted.

They looked young, and Arella had never seen them before. Their lack of a halo signified that their rank was lower than hers. "Never seen a demonic beast before?" Arella bit at them.

Upon hearing her words, they flushed, turned on their heels, and left.

"Arella." Castiel chastised her, "Don't be mean to those who have nothing to do with your anger."

Arella turned to him, "Of course, brother. I should be smacking you around instead."

A chuckle sounded from Solan's side. However, when Arella turned to him, his face was still as stoic as before.

"I don't suppose we're stopping by the manor first?" Arella changed the subject and looked down at her garb. She had had half a mind to wear her angel robes when she was dressing that day. Even though they may have very well been out of style since the style of robes angels wore changed every few hundred years, it was still better than wearing the clothes she had gotten from the human realm.

Castiel avoided Arella's gaze. "The council is waiting."

"So, we will be going home after, right?" Arella squinted her eyes, glaring at him. Something was amiss; she could not figure out what it was, but she could feel it.

"The council decided that it was best that you stay at the central palace until you leave. They have prepared everything here. Your wedding dress, and the clothes that you will be wearing."

Arella shot Castiel a withering glare and was tempted to shout at him again. How could they have accepted this? Even if her father and brother were useless, mother had a backbone more than this, did she not? She swallowed the words she wanted to say. "I see." She spat out. "Let us meet with them then, shall we, brother?" Her tone was harsh, making Castiel flinch.

Her leather boots clicked against the polished marble as she strode forward, up the grand staircase that led to the large white doors. At the doors, the two angel sentinels flanking the doors stiffened. Above the soldier robes, which were a different kind compared to the normal robes, the guards wore light armor. Their torsos were covered by a chest plate made of angel metal, and one of them was holding their staff in their hand.

Their stoic expressions stiffened when they noticed Echo, who was trailing beside Arella.

"Oriel, Zadkiel." Arella greeted the two angels.

"Arella," Oriel of the Angels of Wind acknowledged her. The female angel was one of Arella's few, far and in between acquaintances. She was also one of her cousins.

The other angel, Zadkiel sneered at Arella. "You cannot bring this demonic creature into the central palace grounds."

"Oh, screw you." Arella rolled her eyes at him.

Zadkiel was shocked by her words, and she could see the red flush that seeped through his chocolate skin. Living in the human realm had given her a foul mouth that would be looked down on in the heavens. After all, angels were supposed to be the epitome of purity.

Still, she had never liked Zadkiel. He was a stick in the mud.

She sighed, "Sorry. I am a little on edge. This creature has a name, and he is coming with me." 

Zadkiel's jaw tightened, and he glanced at Castiel, as though he expected him to intervene. Castiel shook his head slightly with a sigh. There was no way that he was going to help someone take away the creature that Arella seemed to have formed an attachment to.

"The council will not like this." Oriel muttered, but nudged Zadkiel away from the doors and snapped the fingers on her arms twice. There was a slight shift in the air and a soft hum as her staff materialized in her hands.

Arella did not respond. Oriel tapped the doors with the top of her staff.

The doors opened with a swoosh, showing the large hall inside. There were a few angels scattered over the place. They all turned to the door, and she could feel their eyes as they realized who she was. Arella walked into the hall, her boots clicking against the polished marble.

As she reached the stairs, the angels noticed Echo, and their gazes morphed to that of disgust. They turned to each other and whispered behind their hands. Arella did not have to have super hearing to know that they were discussing her. Echo growled, the sound reverberating low in his throat. This caused the angels who were whispering to turn their heads away and stop the whispering.

Arella placed a calming hand on his head. "Down boy."

S/T:

(Oriel and Zadkiel after Arella and the others have left into the central palace grounds.)

Oriel: (Nudges Zadkiel) Are you sulking?

Zadkiel: (Purses lips) I am not sulking.

Oriel: Okay, then. I won't say that you wanted to talk to Ella so badly that you fumbled it. She might hate you now.

Zadkiel: (Groans) If you don't tell me, I may very well forget about this ordeal. 

Oriel: (Laughs.) Okay, I will not tell you. (There is silence for a few moments before Oriel snickers.) You so messed it up.

Zadkiel: Zip it.