The world was in its initial stages. Things were just beginning to grow, to change. It was dazzling to observe all the species and the foliage that shrouded the forests in dreamy darkness. The creatures were intriguing to watch, event the smallest, most inconspicuous organism. Every living thing was extremely intelligent. They had the gift of knowledge. They were aware. That was how it was in the beginning. The Archangels could gaze for centuries at all the strange happenings down on the globe called Earth. From watching a spider spinning a web, to watching a giant sea creature find its share of food for the day. Nights were so peaceful. It was restful just to see everything sleep and dream. The Northern Lights, or the Auroras, in Alaska and Sweden, were even more beautiful back then. It was easier to approach the earthy planet during this time. The connection was stronger, and the blinding light which of an Archangel was less violently perceived by earthly creatures. This was how it was in the beginning. All animals, their genders, their capabilities, all equal and living in perfect harmony. Male and female, neither being the leader, but rather leading as one, two perfect halves of one single unit.

   But all good things must come to an end. Like I said, it was the beginning. And then He created Man. All the beauty and euphoric peace shattered the moment he made the fatalistic command. We were honestly appalled when we saw it for the first time. It was odd looking, awkward. It had no survival instincts whatsoever, and relied solely on Him to function. But we loved the new species nonetheless. However, the Woman, the other half, had potential. It was odd, seeing as though she was his equal, but it was there, hidden. It was her yearning for knowledge that amazed us. She was as bright as an evening star.

  This is the world we want you to remember, the world He wants you to remember. Before all the destruction Man caused in his stupidity and his mindless need for control. How did this go so horribly wrong, we asked Him. He told us, this was how it was to be. Even though we didn't particularly like you, in our hearts, we wanted to intervene, shake you until you came to your senses, but it was forbidden. We watched helplessly as you fell forever, never hitting the bottom of the bottomless pit.

  A good many centuries have passed since the Fall of Man. Our Kingdom was ever-growing of course. Our numbers grew, as did our armies. As Archangels, we were created first. Contrary to your beliefs, there are around twenty of us, male and female, but usually both. We are the foremost hierarchic angels, the rulers of the angelic world. Michael, an androgynous angel,  is the Guardian, the conductor of your souls. Gabriel, a male, is the Messenger who tries to get things through to you, even though you rarely do give a rat's ass. Raphael, a male, is a Healer. He comes around when you're wounded, which means he's practically always on Earth. Sariel, a female, is God's Command. Then there's Uriel, androgynous angel, who's the Fire of God, presiding over Hell as both Seraphim and Cherubim, the angel of Repentance. Raguel, a male, is the Friend of God, watching over our good behaviour. There's Amitiel, female, whose the ruler of God's Love. She's always been a favourite of Father's. Remiel, a male, is the Mercy of God, leading souls into judgement. Raziel, a female, rules over the Secret Regions and Supreme Mysteries, a very trustworthy angel. And then  Metat, the Angel of the Covenant, and physically androgynous. We generally never see it. It's always with Him.

  And then, there's Lucifer. Ohh, Lucifer, my Brother. He was the Morning Star, Father called Him. He certainly held a high place with Him. He was one of the first to be created. And my, he was beautiful to look upon. He was so beautiful, a human could not stand in his presence without being damaged. I was a Healer, part of a coven of angels who healed the Earth. I only saw him a few times when I traveled past the castle. His long hair was so dark, just like the night sky, and his fierce eyes were grey like the fur of a wolf. His skin resembled alabaster, and he towered over almost all the angels. He was a proud sort, often exhibiting an air of darkness and mystery, and always in black. He was the Archangel of Music, among other things. He loved the Arts, the lyre, the piano. He was always allured by the beauty of things. He, like a few other angels, didn't particularly like humans. Well, he confided in me that he loathed them. Father knew, but since Lucifer never really rebelled, He ignored it and let him be.

     It was around the middle of December and it had been snowing. We loved marveling at the icy spectacle, the snowflakes falling, each unique and crystalline. We always had a Yule Ball to celebrate the end of a year. A lot of us were busy getting the decorations, ribbons, organza, and taffeta, arranging ornaments along the Grand Staircases in the castle. We were even outside, doing the works on the doors and French windows. Of course, with all the hustle and bustle, Lucifer was the first to go on one of his escapades as usual. He was always fascinated with all the merriment going on on Earth. They played interesting instruments. It was difficult getting past Michael, but somehow he always managed.

  It was particularly cold that night. There was a town under a constant cloud of rain and snow. It was in Nenara, a particularly frigid wintery place in Noroway. There was many covens there, pagans. Well, that's your word, not ours. Father always used them as an example of how humans ought to pray and behave. They took care of their land, nurtured it, and treated their people with justice and complete equality. We liked seeing that a great deal, it was quite rare even then. It amazed us to no end. The smokey air clouded above the stone houses and disappeared. It was another thanksgiving for Father. How happy he was to see them. He would always take care of them, and they knew that. The elk and their lambs were sleeping soundly, not paying much heed to their caretakers who were dancing around their little fire. Such a display of sheer innocence and happiness. I was glad Lucifer chose this place to observe tonight. The Mothers stood around with their husbands and little ones. The Sisters and Brothers hung holly and ivy on the evergreens and shrubs. Their lanterns shone dimly under the light of the Moon. The smell of roasted apples and ale was sweet and I suppose to humans, it was delicious. The Giving of thanks dance was held under a host of dark trees towards a more desolate area, closer to the mountains. Young girls, dressed in white and ivory. Lucifer and I stood by the mountains, imaginary to curious human eyes.

"Lucifer, honestly, we're not supposed to be down here,"  I hissed. "We have to get back to the castle, you know the Ball is tonight. You're supposed to be there, the orchestra..." I panicked. There was no point in me wasting my breath. Lucifer was completely distracted, his arms crossed and a faint smile on his perfect lips, head tilted to the side.

" I've never seen such gracefulness in centuries. Such strength, such poise", he said in his deep, melodious, voice I loved to hear. He was such a kind soul, deep down.

"Look Lu, Michael's gonna be really unhappy if we don't scramble on out of here", I looked around nervously as if Michael would suddenly appear, a disappointed grimace on his face. Lucifer rolled his eyes at me, and walked further towards the dance.

"Woa, woa, woa! What do you think you're doing there Lu. Hey, come on now. Let's be reasonable. They're gonna see us! You know what Father said about getting too close to the humans".

"Calm down, Morgana. You're gonna get pixie dust all over the place when you combust, " he ignored me and continued sauntering, pulling off a twig from an evergreen and fiddling with it before putting it into the pocket of his long black trench coat.

"Oh, he's finally lost it! He's delusional, he thinks he can mingle with the humans. Oh yea, Lu, let's do that. Just go up to em and say 'Hey, how are you. Love what you've done with the pots. Nice coat, is it lambswool? Nice, very nice. Oh and I forgot to mention, I'm an Archangel..." I blathered nervously as I often did when I was scared to bits. I followed him until we were behind more foliage closer to the town.

"Shhh", Lucifer held up his hand to get me to stop talking.

"Waaa! Who goes there!?" I nearly fell over in fright when a giant moose nudged my shoulder. Ah, I hated that we had to take human forms if we land on soil. Their emotions were so odd.

             Lucifer sighed frustratedly, but I could tell it wasn't because of my spineless behaviour. He wanted to be around humans. I could tell that although he hated them with a passion, that he was fascinated with them. He hated that God loved them dearly, even though they were brainless and simple cowardly creatures. Mother, or God's other half, loved to nurture them, make them strong. I could sense a little bit of confused jealousy, but Father had so much love, he could never love anything less than the other. It was hard for Lucifer  to imagine, even for us Archangels and you humans, but it was true. I feared that Lucifer wanted to be one of them. What a crazy, lunatic idea. But Lucifer was full of strange ideas. Gabriel loved to tease him about all the things he conjures up in his head. He always got into fist fights with Uriel and other fiery angels, and it was always Gabe who had to tear them apart before one either burnt the other to smoldering ash or froze them over to no end.

    A group of elders came from the town, dressed in warm cloth and carrying staffs. They were followed by a group of singers and minstrels. They spun ribbons around in the air, a ribbon dance, and threw bits of food for the animals. A few purring cats neared towards Lucifer, wrapping themselves around him. He petted their heads.

"Adorable, Lu, just fantastic", I said sarcastically, worried the folk would realize we were there because of the behaviour of their felines. The brown cat hissed at me.

"Who are those people?" Lucifer asked me. There were women dressed in sophistication and a few dressed as if going to war. There were men too, in equal ratio, standing by each other. The Leading Ladies and Gentlemen.

" They're the elders. See, there's the oldest woman there, and the oldest man there. Those women are warriors, but it's just in case someone attacks the town." They wouldn't attack unless completely necessary.  They all looked upon the festivities at hand with pleasure.

"Who is that?" Lucifer asked me. He was no longer beside me near the evergreens. I sighed irritatedly. It was difficult traveling with Archangels. They were faster than normal angels, moving faster than the speed of light. They could see different parts of their surroundings at once. If they desired to move from one position to another, they only had to hold that thought in their minds, but lithely, not grasping at it. To human eyes, the movement was spontaneous. It was as if the Arch never existed in your presence. The rest of us were not as quick. We took longer to move. It took me a few seconds to find Lucifer. He was dreadfully close to the heart of the fair city. There was a circle of stone houses. He was focused on a little bluish one, with a garden of bluebells and ferns. But clearly, he was impressed by a human, even though he would never admit it even to himself. Lucifer was drawn to beauty, as I said. There was a woman in front of the house, looking on as the Elders observed the merriment with glee. Her sons were on ladders, hanging decorations on the pines and evergreens. She was beautiful to human eyes. Archangels see them as you see ordinary objects, like spools of thread or wool. The woman was heavy with child, we realized, as her husband picked her up and twirled her around completely euphoric. It was a beautiful sight to behold. Their Elders nodded in approval while the Ladies and Gents chuckled with approval. The warriors looked away, respecting such a moment.

"Alexadra and Felippe Swan. Peasants of course, but vital nevertheless. Her mother is one of the Elders." The woman smiled down at her belly as the Women came around to bless her and the other expectant Mothers. The Men were certainly proud, and quite smug like lions.

"She's going to have a female child," I claimed. It was easy for a Healer to detect these things. "I think she's going to look a lot like her father." Lucifer furrowed his perfect dark eyebrows and I quickly added something else. "Uhh, I'm sure she's going to have the beauty of her mother, of course." I grinned widely like a Cheshire cat. It never boded well to irrate Lucifer, even for a moment. The festivities carried on under the light of a full Moon and flight of gilded starlings.

   The Yule Ball which was underway at the Castle was a dazzling display of regalement and splendour, to say the least. According to the time zones, a full day in the Kingdom was about five days on Earth, so no one hardly noticed our absence. Well, they noticed Lucifer's, being an Arch, and the bringer of all music. He took his place in the orchestra, and played his best from his music sheets, being able to maneuver several instruments at once. All the Archangels were dressed in formal attire. Michael's armor was made of fine gold and Ivy. Gabriel wore his long robes and crown of holly. Amitiel resembled your Goddess, Aphrodite. She was one of the youngest Archs, but she was extremely beautiful. Sariel and Raziel looked like mere visions of beauty, wearing long Greek like dresses. Uriel preferred his Dragon scales and Raphael liked his sterling gold rings. They all were stunning to look upon.  The Seraphims had cleared the sapphire sky that evening, and Remiel, or Remmy as we call him, and a few others glazed it with many stars so humans could easily look upon the heavens. Lucifer was by the tall windows that looked down at Earth. He was still very curious about the young family we came across on our time on Earth. He wasn't looking at the humans with detestation as he normally did, and Raguel noticed his "good" behaviour, whispering the pleasing information to Father during the Waltz, all the while clasping his hands with approval. Father looked upon Lucifer with pride. The other angels noticed the change in Lucifer and didn't know what to make of it. It was a foreign feeling, this curiousness, and it was evident that it made him uneasy and confused. It was honestly endearing to us all, his change of heart. Gabriel was happy of course, but not just because he was doing right by Father. I could see him making a mental list of all the affectionate mockery he could drive Lucifer mad with. He smirked to himself while Michael gave him a look of disapproval.  I could tell Lucifer wanted to go back, but he settled to viewing their mirth and revelry from afar. It was strange how, even then, she drew him to her. Their bond was stronger than iron, and it couldn't even contain itself for dignity's sake. Deeper than a bottomless ocean. But I shouldn't speak of it. Now now.

   From that day onwards, I myself was content. I sensed less bitterness in Lucifer. His thoughts drifted to the town of Nenara more and more. Of course, such peace is flighty, to say the least. There were complications in other parts of the Earth. Some tribes were having territorial issues and their feuds were not exactly quiet. We were not allowed to tamper with free will, but we tried to help as much as we could within our limits. Some tribes broke apart and new ones formed. We had to let you grow, and evolve. You wanted to explore your world, discover new continents and new species. You wanted more and more knowledge. And that was good, very good. But sometimes, you were so engrossed in your adventures that you drifted away from God. And that's where we came in. You rarely let us get the job done, but we are resilient.

  Africa, the sweltering continent of majesty, was certainly one of Father's most beautiful creations. Its plains and mountains seemed to go on forever, and the hundreds of species we could observe was incredible! You see, back then there were hundreds of different kinds. They were frightening really, even to us. There were giant toothed felines and canines, much stronger than the current ones. The reptiles were very resilient and they were, by far, Lucifer's favourite, especially the snakes. He said they had a certain grace about them, always seeming to be pondering over things. Gabriel liked to be with the Rhinoceroses, sometimes playfully irritating them until they ran amok. And then we had to set our works on the Himalayas, where their tribes were experiencing a difference of opinions as well. Humans certainly know how to fashion their spears and go ape.

   Uriel found it amusing how they declare little wars on the simplest things. It was difficult to think the way they did. Their minds were very narrow.  Many could analyze, but they were afraid to question what they couldn't understand. It took us a long time to get things sorted. Of course, our days are extremely long. A human would evidently expire if they had to survive staying awake for one heavenly day.

  It was soon the beginning of November. On Earth, seventeen years had passed, and even our days seemed like they had gone on infinitely. It was uniquely frigid that year, everywhere. Boulders of ice would fall to Earth like meteors and it would snow heavily. It had been over a decade since our last Yule Ball and arrangements were already underway to make it even more of a dazzling array of might than the previous. Although Archangels can observe planet Earth from above at any time they please, they do prefer to land. They are of course, more cautious about it than Lucifer is, but he is known for taking pleasure in risks. It had been very long since Lucifer landed Earth. It was most likely because Raguel ratted him out to Michael. He thought about Nenara constantly, very intrigued with the Nenarians for some reason. I saw him in the vast Royal Library, endlessly sifting through books about them. He asked a great deal of questions about the humans, and I found myself a bit jealous at times. All in good fun, of course. He longed to be with them again, and he had a difficult time in hiding it.

  That evening, I was required to discuss some matters with the Healers. Something about a plague, and a sickness called a fever that many humans were acquiring. The Archangels' presence was required for their own meeting, in the High Court. Lucifer was pacing up and down the Grand Hall like a gremlin. He was distracted and lost in thought. It was difficult to divert his attention even for a moment. He was moving so fast, his reflection could not rest on any reflective surfaces. The lights of the candelabra and thousands of candles floating in midair high above the halls flickered, interrupted.

"Lu, what's going on?" Gabriel asked, finding Lucifer's behaviour even more strange than usual.

"It's nothing, brother," Lucifer claimed, thoroughly trying to avoid any prying interrogations his older brother was about to exhibit.

"I completely understand, Lu." Gabriel swung a heavy arm over Lucifer's shoulder when he slowed down. His tone sounded exactly like it did before he fiendishly proceeded to taunt. It was all fair, if his heart was full of love, which it always was.

"I know you're scared. It's alright really. I would be too if I had to deliver the Honour Speech on Christmas. Imagine, all those people. A lot of em we haven't even met before, thousands! And in front of Father and, dare I say, Michael? If you mess up, Uriel is going to have a field day with it. I honestly don't envy you, Lu. Especially not when you have to lead the Waltz. Isn't it even a little bit nerve-wracking that your partner is Amitiel? Oh, man."

"Right. I think I should take a walk." Lucifer said, staring preoccupied. 

" And be late for the meeting? Look, I won't say anything at all to Michael. Just try not to be too late, you know how distracted you've been lately." Gabriel winked at Lucifer and disappeared.

  Lucifer didn't tell me where he was off to as he normally did. We always had each others' backs, but I supposed Lucifer knew what he was doing. He couldn't risk a moment to let me know and have Raguel or Michael find out what he was up to.

   Lucifer nearly shelled the ground on Earth when he landed. Archangels are told to take precautions when it came to tampering with Earth, but Lucifer was quite a rogue prince. Noroway looked almost unearthly, it seemed. It was a polar region, it was true, but it looked even more hyperborean than the Arctic itself. The Earth was frantically trying to settle into outer space, and that was unsettling. Humans were not adapting as well as they should, but they were making an effort. Nenara, which had never ceased to occupy Lucifer's thoughts all these decades, did not even look as if it was inhabited, although Lucifer hoped it still was. He passed by the familiar stone houses in their circular pattern and he was relieved when the candles inside them were lit and the lamp posts, even the ones in the distance, were lit, boasting their fiery glow. He circled the town like a hawk, but the Nenarians were not to be seen. Being an immortal Arch, he didn't realize how a human could not bear to be outside during such a glacial time. He recognized the bluish stone house, even though the bluebells had withered and the ferns were covered in snow. It didn't smell the same, it was a new family.

      In the castle, the illuminations were interrupted and the fires spat and the embers were dashed around. Considering the circumstances, everyone was not to be distracted from the task at hand. But I knew Lucifer was throwing some kind of fit, and not knowing it. I excused myself quickly and sent a raven to see what was hurting him. Of course. He went to Nenara. He thought that the Skalka family would remain at the birthing houses, which is what the blue houses were made for. They most likely had an estate further away from the heart of the city. He followed the raven to a grander dwelling. It was blue as well, and there was a faint ambrosial smell of roasted crab apples and berries. And there were bluebells and ferns planed in the garden long ago, before the snow. The fields of the estate looked more like a Grave for Souls, but it was quite quaint. He roamed about the estate, waiting for a human. Nenarian families were rarely alone. They were always with the Elders or other families and they would come together to create new melodies and write poems for Father, or set to work on recipes and remedies, or simply feast together, even in the darkest of times.

   The toll of being alone entered his thoughts. Lucifer had to come back to the castle, whether he liked it or not. It was unnatural for an Archangel to be alone. It was a troubling idea. That was why they traveled in pairs or groups, or with third - in-commands. That longing urged him to come home, and even though he was torn between two worlds, he turned to go. But as he was leaving, he could see in his aerial position that there was movement in the Calormen mountains. A human. His curiosity led him to their depths, their tips glazed with snowy icing. He was not particularly careful with his landing, as usual, and the moment he hit the ground once again, an avalanche fell fifty feet from a mountain, startling the wilder animals so much that they fled. He never could remember that Archangels were hundreds of tenfolds stronger than any other creature. We felt the rumble at the castle, and we tried to ignore it. Earth was certainly noisy tonight.

  Lucifer searched for the human he saw, or at least he thought he saw. Perhaps it was nothing.

But then he saw her.

  She was unlike any other human he had ever seen in his supernatural lifetime. She was immeasurable, incomparable, to any of them. She was gloriously beautiful, encompassing the beauty of an Archangel. In fact, at first he assumed she was one of them.