Chapter one: a fall from grace.

 　She flew as fast as her wings could take her. She had no idea of where to go, only that she needed to follow her brother, Alaric. A storm was coming, and her kind was falling fast. Her parents and sisters have already fallen, and they were too slow. She begged quietly for her little bundles to be calm as she tried to catch up to her older brother. He needs to slow down! “I’m too small for this dang it!”, she curses under her breath. She just has to keep flying, keep trying, follow Alaric to safety. He promised me we wouldn't fall like mom and dad, or Saffy and Gwen. Too late. “Hes falling!”, she screams, despair in her voice. Her wings collapse under the force of Yehovah’s will. Her last thoughts as she falls is to keep her twins safe. All goes dark, and all she knows is pain.

　　She wakes up to ear splitting screams. Angels are scattered around her, broken, bleeding, and dying. She blocks it out, her only worry her twins. Ignoring her pain, she bolts to her feet, her eyes wild with concern and fear. 

　　“Shh, Rue, I have them. I can’t find mom or dad, or Saff and Gwen. Its just us honey,” he whispers quietly, fighting back his own pain to keep his sister calm. He hands the young twins to their young, broken mother. She sighs in relief. The kids are safe. Not even a scratch on their precious, tiny bodies. Thank God... No... Not God. She shivers and glances at her surroundings halfheartedly, not willing to accept her fate just yet. She looks to her brother instead, trying to keep the pain and fear from her eyes. He looks terrible, scratches and gashes covering his golden skin, and a major bone sticking from his wing. Hes never going to fly again, she things sadly. She kisses the small babes and hugs them close to her. Alaric looks her over, sorrow seeping from him as he examines the damage his parents have caused on his little sister. She screams as he sets her wings to keep them immobile. She halfheartedly laughs out a snide remark on not needing them anymore, and frowns when he doesn't laugh along with her.

　　“Come on Rosie, we need to find our uncle. He can help us. We can’t think of them anymore. Its just you and me and the twins. We will be ok. Just you and me. I promise. Now chin up. This wont be so bad! Think of it as an adventure!”, he says cheerfully, putting on a good show for his frightened sister as they set off to find their uncle, who just so happens to be the king of Hell, Lucifer himself. 

　　They walk in silence, listening to the screams of the other unfortunate souls that fell along side them. The pain and agony in the air makes the small, nervous girl shiver, and Alaric stretches one shattered wing around her, taking the boy named Luca in his arms to keep her close to him. She smiles up at the protective brother, thankful for his protection. It is obvious to him that she is beyond scared. It wasn’t their choice to fall, but their parents were instrumental to the planning of the fall, and their fates were sealed, despite having no involvement at all. Guilt by association so to speak. He breaks the silence, trying to get the girl to perk up and smile.

　　“It looks like uncle Luce has been pretty busy lately,” he jokes, “the architecture is phenomenal!”. Not even a smile. He sighs as they walk past broken down buildings and torn up yards. It’s odd to think that its been close to fifty years down here since the fall. He remembers when he was only twelve, and she was six, and their sisters were nine. It was when their parents fell. He shakes the sad thoughts from his mind. Its only been six years since they fell and its still fresh in his mind. He glances down at his little sister and pulls her closer as she hears the vile beings whisper and call out to them from the shadows, her little girl clutched tight in her arms. He vows once again to protect the three beings under his watch at all costs. 

　　When a young man walks from the shadows towards them, she cries out, taking her boy and running behind her big brother. He snarls and spreads his shattered wings to block her from the mans line of vision. Its obvious he is not angelic by the inky black runes covering his strong, tan body, and the curling, draconian horns half hidden by a mop of curly black hair. Finally, the figure speaks, addressing the group of travelers. His voice is calm and cool, his eyes a piercing green.

　　“Hmm... Golden hair, silver wings, bright blue eyes. Gabriel is your uncle, isn’t he brother? And you,” he points to the girl hiding behind the strong guardian in front of her, “black hair, same silver wings as your brothers, grey green eyes, you must be Lucifers niece! But then again, all you angels are related, aren’t you? But you must be Charsoc’s children. A great man, but stupid.” 

　　Alaric growls, and the man smiles, knowing hes hit a nerve. This man knows too much about us to be a stranger, he thinks. Before he could do anything rash, Rosie steps in front of him, small and inferior compared to the two boys she stands between. The man’s eyebrows raise in intrigue when he sees the two small children cradled in her arms, and he bows courteously to the twins and smiles wide. She speaks up before he can spout off anymore nonsense. 

　　“Who are you? You are obviously not an angel, yet you know of us and our father? How is that? My name is Rosalyn Nightshade, and this is my brother Alaric. Oh, and these are my twins, Luca and Calystia.” Her voice shakes with every word, but she holds her chin high, the angelic pride and grace she once had showing in her stubborn stare.

　　“My name is Camilo. I am a general for the Old Gods. It is my job to know everything. I can take you to Lucifer. It is a pleasure to meet you M’lady, and your beautiful children as well. Here. Have my extra cloak. That way you can keep your hands free to fight,” he tosses her a thin silk cloak, and uses it to tie a sling to hold the children to her. She smiles at his kindness, only to see him walking away. After much protesting from her brother, they follow him, and eventually fall into step with him. They were all tired from the days events, and Camilo finds a safe spot for the family to rest for the night, putting up wards around the perimeter to protect them. As he starts a fire, he asks a question, causing the girl to stalk off into the woods. 

　　“I only asked who the father was. What have I said wrong?”. Camilo looks off into the direction in which the girl went. 

　　“We do not talk about it. It does not matter how or who or why. We are just glad to have the little guys around,” Alaric snaps coolly, a note of anger in his voice.

　　Camilo nods slowly, a smile attempting to break the silence. As the small boy named Luca begins to fuss where he lay, he picks the child up and cradles him close, causing him to instantly calm down in the mans arms.

　　“How old is she,” he asks as he smiles and croons at the happily babbling child,”your sister, I mean.”

　　“I am twenty, our twin sisters, Safrael and Gwendolyn, are seventeen, and Rose is fourteen.” A small, sad smile appears on his lips as he looks down at the little girl born of terrible causes. After a long silence, Rose returns, a dagger in one hand, and the carcass of some hellish prey in the other. Her eyes are softer, but there is blood on the corners of her mouth.

　　Quickly, Camilo jumps up, removes the young mother from the burden of her prey, and guides her to a pool of clear water to clean her of her first sin. As he wipes the blood from her palms and face, removing the grime and dirt of her fall, he sees her in a new light: scared and determined. He senses an aura of deadly strength under the quiet, scared disposition she is showing him. She just doesn’t know that its there. Its a shame. After a long moment, he breaks the silence.

　　“You have a beautiful family Rose, but I think your son thinks I am his father.”

　　“Did... He speak to you or something? They’re too young to speak though,” she whispers tiredly.

　　“Not directly, I’ve actually been communicating with him for the past four months now, I just didn’t know he was your boy until I saw him.” His voice is calm and quiet as he wipes down her wings. 

　　“So you two are.. Connected or something? How can that be?” Her question is a good one, but one he cannot answer. 

　　“I don’t know, but right now, you four need sleep. I’ll make sure camp is set up and all is well. Lets get you back to your family, ok?”

　　She nods, too tired to argue. He puts a hand gently onto her back between her soft, clean wings and she leans into his touch, and he feels something strange. All he can do is smile as he leads her back to her family, only to find the twins passed out under Alarics wing, wrapped in the thick velvet cloak Camilo left behind when he went with Rose. Alaric had put the prey on the fire to cook, and was passed out beside the radiating warmth. Within seconds of reaching them, she crawled under her brother’s large wing and fell asleep. Camilo sighed contentedly, and prepared to watch over the small family for much longer than just tonight. He felt a connection to them, and the girl was absolutely beautiful. He was smitten.

　　After what felt like hours of watching the family sleep, he dozes off, the girl and her children on his mind. For once he forgot about the old gods, his purpose they have planned for him, and all of the horrors of his life. For once things felt right. Even if they aren’t, at least for tonight he felt safe, which was a new feeling for him. 

　　He dreams of pleasant things, of angels in their full glory, wings glistening in the sunlight under God’s grace. He dreams of children playing in the warm sunlight of a calm summer afternoon. He dreams of the raven headed girl and her brother, And he dreams of the purpose the Old Gods have planned for her. He can only hope to be part of those plans. He wakes up halfway through the night to soothe the little girl who was crying and fussing in her sleep. As he was laying there with the girl and her family, sleep takes him once more, his hand wrapped softly around a lock of the raven hair he dreamed about, but nightmares are dreams too.