Angel’s Assignment

By Donna and Abby

Aubrey, the Elven princeling, and his true love, Angel, did not have a specific home.  Aubrey was welcomed in Rivendell, where his parents, Legolas and Eva, were living, and he was in high demand in the Elven camps throughout Edan.  Angel was happy anywhere he was.  She, of course, was the daughter of Shannon, the river fae, and Andrew, the angel of death.

From her mother, Angel had inherited a love for the water that was a constant source of amusement to Aubrey. She especially loved waterfalls, and would dance under them while he sat and watched, admiring the way her wet clothing clung to her soft curves. From her father, she seemed to have inherited most of the abilities that angels had, but for the most part, had yet to learn how to control any but the most basic ones. Tess was her teacher in those things, but for now, she was letting Angel go off on her own so that she could enjoy Aubrey's company.

They were completely in love, and completely happy!  But then Tess got word of an emergency, and had to enter into their happiness, delaying it for good purpose. Tess reached out with her awareness and located the two lovers. They were near the Trooper Fairie castle, talking with the Grand Banshee and her daughter, Melody. Tess tossed her cape over her shoulders and then walked right through the walls of Joe's, reappearing in a lovely little meadow.

Aubrey saw her first.  Bowing low, he said, "Welcome, Milady."

She smiled at him and then motioned for Angel to come over to her. "Angel Baby, guess what? You have your first assignment!"

"I do!"  Angel was not sure if she was excited or disappointed.  She wanted an assignment, but did not want to leave her lover!

Hearing this, Bannie told Melody they had to go tend to something and left the others alone. Once the Banshee and her lovely voiced daughter were gone, Tess sat down on a downed tree trunk and proceeded to tell them about the danger the Innocents were in.   Angel asked if Tess was going to accompany them, but the older angel shook her head. "I'm not allowed to help you on this assignment.  You have to do it on your own, baby."

"I will do my best!" said Angel, trying to sound confident. 

Aubrey took her hand and squeezed it reassuringly.  "I shall await your return at the home of my mother," he said.

Angel didn’t like the idea of going completely alone. "Can’t he come with me?" Angel asked Tess.

The older angel just chuckled. "I knew you would ask that, Angel Baby. If you want him to tag along, that is fine. If he wants to go, that is. It could be dangerous."

"Danger does not frighten me!" said the young elf prince.  "I was born to be a warrior!"

Angel beamed with pride at her beloved's confidence in himself. "I would feel safer with him at my side," she said, smiling at him. Tess just chuckled again and told them they had better get going!

And so they began.  Angel could teleport, but then she would leave Aubrey behind, so she flew instead.  Aubrey, being an elf, ran swiftly and lightly through the countryside, and flying beside him was easy for Angel. Learning how to make her wings appear at will had been one of her first lessons with Tess!

They covered ground quickly, but it still took time and it was tiring for the elf prince, even though he would never admit. She had to make him stop to take a breather! Of course, he tired much slower than a human would.  But they were going the long way across Edan!  They had left Esperanza behind before he felt any sort of fatigue, but there was still quite a way to go.  Aubrey said he would be able to run just as long once he had a short rest, and she believed him.  But when she gave him a hug - as was normal for them - and was wishing she was already on the Innocent Island, suddenly they were there!  BOTH of them!

Aubrey's eyes widened. "How did you do that?" he gasped.

Angel shook her head. "I don't know! I just wanted you not to hurt yourself running, and then we were here!"

He bristled.  "I ran nearly a hundred miles without mishap!"

"Yes, I know," she said proudly. "That is what really amazes me! I could never had done that."

This softened him, as he had thought she was disparaging his physical prowess, and he smiled.  "Well, at least we did not have to swim here," he said, noting the water that separated the Innocent Island from the Edan mainland.  Not that it was far or deep there.  He could have swum it easily.

"Let's see if we can find that fae that Tess told us about," Angel said. "She could tell us hopefully where to start looking."

Queenie, the sister of the Old One, and protector of the Innocents, found them.  She was a better protector than she was giving herself credit for, these days!

Angel was glad to see her. So far her first assignment was going well! "We were told that there were some Innocents that needed to be relocated to a safer part of Edan," she said with a friendly smile.

"I have found a few more," Queenie said seriously.  "It will take some time to find them all!  There were nearly fifty here!"

"Aubrey and I can take the ones that you have found then," Angel said. "Or we can stay here and help you guard them until a ship comes."

"Two ships have come," she said.  "One took several girls, and then another came when I had only two or three with me.  Right now, I have five, and I am not sure when the ships will return."

Angel conferred with Aubrey, who thought it best to get them to the mainland as soon as possible. Queenie agreed, and then took them to where the five were hiding. As soon as they saw their protector, they turned into their human forms to greet the newcomers. Amity was extremely friendly, if overly trusting; River was perhaps a bit less naive than the others; Wendy was bright and cheerful; Pixie small and very much a fae; and Trinity was somewhat somber and serious.

They all liked Angel of course. It would be very difficult not to! The elf fascinated them all, for this was the first time they had seen a man close up! Aubrey was very handsome, and because he was soft-spoken, they were not afraid of him.  They liked his pointed ears!  But they also knew, perhaps by instinct, that he belonged to Angel. "Let's go down to the beach," he said, smiling at the pretty girls. "I can build a raft for them all."

Giggling, the five Innocents followed Queenie and the couple down to the water. It was deep and wide, even at the narrowest point, and River was the only one of the girls that could swim well enough to reach the other side. But as Aubrey started to build a raft, the happy mood swiftly changed when suddenly they were attacked!

The men from Bub's ship had been watching the rescue efforts, of course, and were angry at missing not one, but two ships!  They  were not going to miss another chance to take hostages! Especially since this time, there was only one man. Surely they could overpower him! But even ganging up on the young elf prince, they soon found that they had their hands full. Aubrey was, as he said, a trained warrior!

He also had elven speed.  The men attacking were Immortal, but with an arrow in their heart they remained dead until the projectile was removed!  And Aubrey could shoot many arrows quickly! But once they got close enough to were the fighting was now hand-to-hand combat, the Immortals were starting to wear him down.

Angel, who was watching anxiously, the five Innocents hiding behind her, was starting to get worried. When she saw a one of the attackers swing his sword at Aubrey's back, she could no longer just watch. "NOOOOO!" she yelled at the top of her lungs.

Suddenly, the beach was filled with a blinding light and all of the evil ones were literally blasted them into the sea by some unseen force!

"What in the world was that?" asked a winded Aubrey.

Angel stared at him, eyes wide. "Me, I think!"

He shook his head.  "You are quite remarkable.  You know that, don't you?"

"So are you, my love," she said softly, reaching out to touch a bleeding wound.  As her fingers connected, the cut glowed with light, and then closed before their eyes. "We better get out of here," she said. "I don't know if I can do that again. I don’t even know how I did it! Tess is right. I do need more training. But I want so much to be with you, it is hard to concentrate one what she is trying to teach me!"

"Perhaps it is time for me to take care of some of my princely duties," he said, "and leave you to your studies.  But now we must get these girls across this channel, and I fear we do not have the time to make a raft." He was looking out at the sea, and could see that their attackers were swimming back to shore as fast as they could!

Angel turned to water, studying it. "I wonder...," she mussed to herself. Raising her hand she drew not only on her angelic abilities, but also the part of her that was one with the watery elements. Then to everyone's amazement, a path appeared between two tall walls of water!

Trinity seemed to shiver a little, as if in rapture, and then ran for the path.  The others followed, though more as if it were a game.  Queenie, who was staying behind, wished them all well.

They were almost to other side when they heard the outraged yells of their attackers as they raced after them. They had been tossed onto the shore by the motion of the water when it had parted to give Angel and the others a safe way to cross over. As soon as Aubrey had all five Innocents safely on the other side, Angel turned and faced their pursuers. With a wave of her hand, the walls of water collapsed!

Trinity was still in rapture, as if she had known all along that it would happen just this way.  The rest cheered as the waves overtook their pursuers.

Angel took a deep breath and turned to face her lover. He could see that the experience had somehow changed her in ways that were hard for him to comprehend. "Let's go home," she said, slipping her hand into his.