THE PORTAL TO THE ANGEL REALM (2)

His admission took the wind out of her fury for a moment, and she stared at him, searching his face for any insincerity, but found none.

"I know you do not believe me," he continued. "I do not expect you to forgive me. However, I came here to give you something." His actions were elegant, as they always were, as he reached into his robes, into the pockets that were on the inside, and withdrew a small satchel. He handed her that satchel.

She accepted it, though incredulous.

"Open it."

She reached inside it and withdrew a small, intricately carved box. It was made of polished silver wood and adorned with angelic runes. She could feel the faint angelic power emanating from the runes and immediately knew that they were made by her brother. She clutched it tighter in her hands.

"What is this?" She looked up at him.

"It is a safeguard," Castiel explained slowly, "inside the box is a talisman." His words caused her to open it. "The talisman is made of angel silver," he explained.

Indeed, upon opening the box, a flush of angelic power slapped her in the face, so much so that she immediately closed the box. At her side, Echo whimpered.

"If you ever find yourself in a situation where you cannot escape, a situation where you need me to come to your side to assist you, infuse it with your angelic power, and it will break and I will be called to you. No matter where you are, no matter what binds you, I will come to your side."

Arella stared at the box in her hands, her emotions even more heightened. A part of her wanted to hurl it at his face and cause him that black eye she had desperately wanted to all those years prior. However, another part, the part that remembered all the times her brother had shielded her from harm, held onto the box tightly.

"Why?" Her voice sounded choked. "Why are you giving me this?

Castiel's lips pulled up into the smile she had grown fond of. That smile that he always had before he cleaned up her messes, "You are my sister, Arella." His raised his hand and patted her head beneath the halo that rested above her tresses. "And no matter what has happened or how angry you are at me, I will always be there for you. That will never change."

Arella felt as if they were back to her younger years. She had always been an explosive child, and her parents did not know how to deal with it because their first child had been easy to raise. Therefore, it was Castiel who she had associated with the most.

He was there when she had burned the hair belonging to one of the angel children who had been making fun of her.

He was there when she had achieved all her different ranks and slowly became recognized as a strong angel.

He had helped her choose the perfect halo when she became a mid-tier two angel.

Of course, there were things that many did not know.

Like how he had watched the child's hair burn for a few seconds more in order to help her get back at him before putting the fire out for her.

Or how he had caused one of the female angels to trip and fall into a pond when she had decided it was a good idea to make fun of the halo they had chosen.

She swallowed hard, the wright of his words pressing against her chest. She looked up at him, letting him see the tears in her eyes. "You are still an ass, brother." She muttered.

His lips pulled up into an even bigger smile. "And you are still a brat."

They stood in silence for a moment, the golden glow of the portal casting long shadows around them. Arella could feel that he had more to say, so she waited.

Finally, he spoke, "Arella, when you meet him, be careful. The Demon realm is nothing like the Angel realm. The demons—they play by different rules."

"I am not afraid of it, brother," her voice was firm, not matching the turmoil that was going on in her heart.

"I know you are not." He patted her hair again. Then his expression turned serious. "But that does not mean you should not be cautious. I have met with Demon King Varziel once in the battle field. His power is much stronger than any demon you may have fought here in the angel realm."

Arella met his gaze. "I have always been strong, brother. Subduing my husband enough for me to run away will be enough if I sense I am in danger." She smiled up at him. "I also have little Echo with me." She patted the head of the creature that had been silent by her side the entire time.

Castiel's expression was neutral as he looked at the demonic creature. "The council will not like you bringing that creature to the angel realm."

"I guess both me and the council will be in equal terms of dissatisfaction then," Arella shot back.

Castiel shook his head with a smile.

"And anyway, if I am to be the Demon Queen, I need to get used to demonic creatures, do I not?"

Castiel laughed. "What am I going to do with you?"

"Nothing. I am going to be the Demon King's problem in less than forty-eight hours."

Solan cleared his voice behind them, "If the two of you have made up, then can we all pass through the portal now?" We are exposing this area to too much angelic power." His voice sounded irritated, even though Arella knew it was his normal tone.

"Let's go before Solan burns us to a crisp." Arella pushed her brother through the portal.

Just before she entered the portal, she turned back to look at the human realm once more. Angels rarely descended to the human realm unless they were assigned or there was an emergency that needed many angels to be stationed there. "I guess we won't be harvesting our tomatoes this year, Echo." She patted the furry creature's head before walking through the portal, Echo following behind her.

S/T:

Arella: (To all the readers) I will have you know my vegetable garden was the best in the human realm. It was not very hard, really. Granted, it was made by an angel, so it had to be nothing short of perfect. 

Jim from his grave somewhere: (Shouts) It took thirty years for you to learn how to plant tomatoes correctly

Arella: (Smiles sweetly at the camera.) Dead men tell no tales. Do you trust me or the words of a dead human?