Angel Sanctuary Fan Fiction ❯ Lamentations ❯ Fourth Day X Exodus ( Chapter 3 )

Disclaimer: If it ever becomes mine, I'll be sure to let you know, m'kay?

AN: And I'm back again! It's weird looking down to see 'Fourth' something, and remembering that this is only chapter three. It's even weirder since, like I said, I've already written the end, so this really is the fourth chapter I've written. @.@ Oh, my brain... Other than that... Does my method of naming chapters make it seem like I'm ripping off the Poisonwood Bible? Yeah, like anyone here has actually heard of that book, let alone read it. But hey. Well, I didn't do it on purpose! I didn't even realize it 'til now o.o;; So don't sue me for that, either; I'm perfectly well aware that it's not mine, thank you very much. I wonder if I'll be able to make this chapter as long as the previous one? I severely doubt it. But I'll try! Enjoy :)

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Fourth Day X Exodus

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In a place across a void as wide as a dream, Katan - real, vibrantly conscious - stood with his back against the wall, and wondered what his master's nightmare was tonight that was making him thrash and moan so much...

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‘How is he doing...?’

A flash of red, so pretty. But it was followed by a foul taste in his mouth.

Blackness.

Someone pushed his hair out of his face gently. He was grateful, because his arms were suddenly much too weak for him to do it, and their touch seemed to take away the flames that chewed his skin...

Go to sleep. I'll take over. You've been watching over him much too long.

He heard Katan say, Just a little longer...

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Really? Never!

No, it's true! Listen, I know the one who saw them! She came because she heard noises; she thought Lord Rosiel might need something...

Oh... I just don't know. He's just so perfect! He'd never do something like that...

Are you sure?

Rosiel glared with utmost vehemence at the two maids, causing them to go pale and continue their work, as he strode through the corridors that led to the meeting room. Damn...! Someone was going to pay for this...

He reached the doors of the room in record time, and flung them open. "What is going on here?!"

The other angels stared in stunned silence. Sevothtarte's mouth was still open; he'd been shocked quiet in mid-word. Rosiel took a deep breath, tried to compose himself. It didn't work very well. "Who is behind this?" he said in a low voice. "Well? Who would dare spread such - such malicious lies?!"

"W-We don't know, Lord Rosiel," someone managed. "We think it was a servant; we were told anonymously-"

He scowled. "Well, surely you wouldn't believe the lies of one of them." He was greeted by more silence. "You wouldn't dare believe a servant over me, would you?!"

In the continuing silence that followed, he made a renewed effort to pull himself together. He must be calm. By letting it upset him so much, he was practically proving his guilt... He sighed, and then managed a light-hearted laugh. "Gentlemen! Please, forgive me. Try to understand. Surely any of you would also be upset if someone was spreading such harmful and ludicrous rumors about you." There was a scattering of nervous laughter. "I suspect that these rumors were started due to the complicated political situation we have at the moment." Ah, yes, feed them elegant garbage with just a hint of threat - that works much better... "But we don't have to sink that low, do we? I'm sure these issues will resolve peacefully quite soon." He smiled at them.

There was various nodding of heads and relieved agreements, and while some angels including Zaphikel and Sevothtarte stayed quiet, they didn't have anything negative to say either. He breathed a secret sigh of relief...

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The false cheerful exterior evaporated the instant he entered his chambers again. Katan was waiting for him; he reluctantly slipped into his - lover's? puppet's? - embrace.

"Katan, someone knows," he said. "One person knows with absolute certainty, and the others are doubting me. You must stay away from me in public, until I can kill that girl."

The creature nodded. "Of course, Lord Rosiel."

He sighed into Katan's shoulder. That was what he said when he first woke up, an infinitely long four days ago. That was his response to all orders. This creature was incapable of providing him comfort; the best he could do was hold him. "Katan? Can you remember... why you didn't want to swallow my chip?" Did you know I was wrong all along? How shameful...

He smiled. "But I did want to! All I have ever wanted to do is serve you."

...malicious lies...

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That evening, Rosiel examined his dinner a little closer than usual. He had been considering getting a food tester for a while now; maybe this was the time... There had already been an assassination attempt on Metatron, and after this he was bound to loose some of the supporters he had so far managed to accumulate. He considered it to be only a matter of time.

Katan sat next to him, but that was merely customary. They didn't want to appear too awkward, either.

Ah... everyone was so loud. His head ached. Most likely it was a combination of stress and lack of sleep. He wondered if there was any way for this to 'resolve peacefully.' All the conversation he could pick out was prattle about useless things, but somehow he had a feeling that people just outside his hearing range were talking about him. Was he getting overly paranoid? He thought not. Sometimes he would catch people watching him out of the corner of their eyes, or whispering. He had a strong feeling of foreboding for some reason...

Then one voice rose above the buzz, and it was calling his name.

The conversation came to a dead stop, and then restarted full force as people asked each other where it had come from. Katan scanned the rafters feverishly, and Rosiel's eyes followed his... "Rosiel!" it repeated. "You are so sinful! I saw you! And yet you still tell us you would make a good ruler?!"

A gunshot, a moment of silence, a scream. A body fell from the ceiling, though it was nothing more than a mass of cords by the time it hit the floor. It had been instinct, however; all this happened while Rosiel was still wondering at how correct the speaker had been.

Well, of course any idiot ought to know that a bullet wasn't enough to kill him. But where was the pain? There ought to be at least some p... Katan fell into him, dragging them both to the floor...

"Why?!" he screamed. It didn't matter who saw now, or what they thought. They could banish him, he wouldn't mind. "I would have been fine!"

Don't leave me again!

"It was not worth the risk."

It was surreal. The way the creature acted, he would have expected a small brave smile, or some sort of righteous joy in his voice at giving his life for such a cause. But actually the words were said in monotone, a statement of fact, and his face was blank. The creature couldn't really understand the concept of dramatic death, Rosiel supposed. Cords writhed out of the wound where blood should have been...

The most beautiful angel in Heaven threw back his head and laughed, and cried, as the world faded to black.

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AN: O.O Ah, the drama... (sniffle) Katan-kun!

Thatz, my inner glutton: Er, you killed him, remember?

Author: (sniff) Oh, hush. (locks Thatz in closet) (beams) There we go! I hope it wasn't too dramatic. I also hope it didn't seem too rushed. If it did, I have no excuse whatsoever. And finally, I hope that nobody is disappointed when they find out what Rosiel is really dreaming about. If any of you actually guessed right... O.O I bow before your awsome-o-powa genius! But it's probably nothing as cool as some of you might have been hoping. Hmm, I was hoping to make it more interesting with all this foreshadowing, but I may actually have made it worse... Oh yeah, one more thing! I hope you all R&R! ;)