#21: Ariel's Story

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When I woke up, I was tied to a pole, my hands hurt with the rope digging into my skin, I looked up and Jade too was tied beside me, Thankfully not so tight as mine, Mine would pierce me if I even moved. It was that tight, I could even feel my pulse as blood throbbed through my hand.

The blood dripped from the ropes into a jar. The surroundings seemed like an altar, which sent goosebumps across my whole body, my blood being collected in a jar, was I a sacrifice? I looked around, There was only one entry or exit . And from that emerged my nanny, She was smiling as she came, My whole body throbbed, and all of a sudden, my luscious black hair hair turned blood red and I could feel a weird but familiar sensation around my mouth as If I had something in my mouth, I ran my tongue over it, and it was fangs.... I got them back!?

A sudden spark went through my head and my memories came back, I was not Amber, I was Amber Mae Rune, The seventh heir of Rune. The fiancee of Leo; I felt really bad, considering how I was simping over Atlas instead of Leo, who is my fiancee made me seem like a bitch.

I looked straight at my nanny who was walking towards me. Her red hair set in a half bun with the rest hair flowing as she walked down the stairs, towards me. Her dress was weird, she had a long flowing dress and what was that on her back? Wings?

What happened? Why did she drug me? and what is this? I wanted to shout and complain. But the gag on my mouth made it difficult to even move. She walked gracefully as to not hurt the floor as she came close and removed the gag. She pulled my lip and checked my teeth,

"Hmm, They are quite sharp.. how unsightly..", she said.

"What? What are you saying? Are you even my nanny?", I croaked, my mouth had been dry for a while.

"Hmm, That is a rude way of talking. Well, the answer to your question is both yes and no. I am and I am not your nanny, Wait that's confusing, isn't it? Let me simplify, The one who taught you and loved you used this body once, but the one talking to you right now, is a new person you never dreamt of meeting, nor am I a nanny so, I say you call me, Ariel.", She said lifting my chin as she spoke, to stare into my eyes. Yes, it was different. The one from my memories wouldn't be like this!

"So, What do you want from me?", I asked.

"Nothing, I anyway got it!", she said.

"Got what?", I asked.

"You.", She said and chuckled.

"ME?", I asked.

"Well, Yes, You see you are a very important person, or must I say, my pawn?", She said walking behind me and lifted the jar of blood.

"A pawn? What is your problem? Can't you talk like a normal being?", I said.

"My Child, You gave up your succession rights didn't you?", She asked looking at the jar like it was something really exotic.

"Yes, but how do you know?", I asked.

"I know everything dear...I am just omnipresent.", She said still looking at the jar. She put the jar to her mouth and drank my blood. Ew... I know.. I am vampire.. drinking blood was an okay thing for me. But seeing my nanny drink my blood which also might have my sweat from being tied too long. That was gross.

"Eww.. Did you just drink it?", I asked. She didn't answer but her wings shone, and her face turned from aged grandma to a young girl of 16, her hair looked so pretty, her face perfect with perfect set of features.

"My blood has anti-aging properties?", I asked.

"No, It's just my curse...", she said sitting down, " But, Let me tell you what role you play, But for that you need to know what exactly is going on...", She said turning to get herself a chair. I looked at Jade, who had a phone is his hands. I don't know how, but I did manage to tell him to call Mr.Storm here immediately. But before he could, Nanny, no.. Ariel entered the room. She took a chair sat in front of me.

"Do you know, who the first was?", She asked.

"The First? As in mirror world's first?", I asked.

"Yes, you dumb vampire. ", She said.

"No.. Isn't he like...um.. God?", I said.

"HAhahaa!!! God? Hahahah.", She continued laughing.

"If he wasn't a God then what?", I asked.

"He was a criminal!", She said.

"What?", I asked.. A criminal??

"Yes, He was my senior once, the one I always looked up to, he lived a perfect life, never yearning for his own pleasures or happiness but spreading it to all, giving everyone he met a sense of fulfillment. Until... he broke the sacred vow... for a single woman!.. ", She said breaking the glass jar..

" Woman? Just why? No wait...First of all who are you? How are you related to the First? ", I asked.

" My dear, Who do you think the first is? a God? No, he is, no, he was a direct servant of the God, by God, I mean the creator, the one with power to create... ", She said.

" So... you are an angel? ", I asked.

" Angel is a biased word, but I guess you can call me that. We go by many names, so it's okay ", She said.

" No... Angels are a myth! " I said.

"Darling.. Do you know how stupid you sound? You yourself are a myth.. Vampires don't exist according to humans... but here you are bleeding and alive. Well, Shall I say something, if you thought your mirror world friends and humans to be the only one in this world. You're way wrong. Totally wrong. There are some forces way more powerful than all of you combined... ", She said licking her blood as they trickled down her wrist.

" But you, my nanny was a vampire! ", I said.

" No, she wasn't. When did she ever have fangs. hmm?. ", She asked.

" I don't know... ", The magic of Jade had disappeared but not completely, I am sure when I leave this region where her power is concentrated, I will go back to being the human Amber with all my memories of being vampire lost. Many details were still unclear. Yes, this nanny or Ariel was really powerful, but why is she telling me all this stuff.

"Listen up, dear, it's important that you are clear about your purpose.

so... The First, as you know, is , sorry, was one of the archangels. The one of eight. The Archangels were responsible for peace on Earth and had to make sure the opposition, our anti forces don't destroy the peace of humans.

It was all fine. Till the First broke the sacred vow.. ", She continued.

" The sacred vow? ", I asked. I don't know why maybe it is because she has a same voice as nanny, I just got drawn into her story, as if it was happening right in front of me.

" The vow of not having a relationship, neither of a guardian not lover not child, with a human. The only way we can be with humans is by being a friend. The kind who just drops you a favor and goes. ", She said using her magic to heal up her hand.

" So... he had a relationship with a woman? ", I asked.

" Yes! The most painful thing, being, That I fell in love. The First, his name was...", She wrote the name on the ground using my own blood. Yes. My precious blood.

"Rurahel? ", I asked reading it out.

" Yes.. Ru.... ra.. h-.. ",Her voice got cut. And she started coughing.

" What's going on.. Ariel? Are you ok? ", It felt kind of strange that I, who was chained and bleeding was asking this question to the one who chained me.

" I can't speak his name. But yes, he was a magnificent guy. His power more better and stronger than anyone else. I was his junior but I loved him. He was actually an eccentric angel. He had this crazy idea which no angel ever had. Doubt. He would doubt each and evey order we received and go demand to see the creator of the world.

He was labelled as a crazy guy. But he would do his job. He loved humans. He always would play with little human kids whenever he had free time. But the thing he never knew was.... angels never have free time. I kept a secret from him, that as he went playing with humans, it was I who was doing his work for him. And whenever he did anything that violated Angel's rules. It was I who would take the punishment of receiving a hundred lighting strikes and double work for next ten years.

I never said anything to him, because he was a silly guy, he might take it to heart and go rebel against the leader. The very reason as to why he was an archangel was because of me...

He agreed to stay with me till the end of the world. ...But... he didn't. ", She said.

" Then... ", I asked.

" Once on a mission to make the villagers of a certain area believe in miracles and in us, We both had come and took a human identity as a couple. I was totally excited. Though we weren't a couple, maybe he would look at me in a different view.... But no, he fell for the village chief's daughter. The daughter who was just a naive girl. Who would even go and jump from a cliff if some elder had asked her to. She never thought of consequences....

That girl, seduced... no I don't know what she did, but they slept together. And, He had broken the vow. Even after he knew what he had done. He still supported the girl, saying he would come back. And he would love her once again.

But Angels who break the vow, get stripped off their wings and wiped clean off their memories and sent to Earth. ", She said.

" So.. ",

"I took upon his punishment, of having my memories removed. He was stripped of his title and powers and made to stay on Earth. I took all the minor and major punishments of both his and mine So that he could go to his lover. Though I loved him, I wasn't that cruel as to chain him. But he didn't go back... He fell in love with another woman, a queen this time. And had a line of kids. I was toiling in the Skies, Crying and lost. I didn't know who I was or what I was doing there.....

I somehow had a single memory, his smiling face. That helped me calm down and I would just follow my superiors Later, I came to Earth when I saw him, now older. His kingdom destroyed and he was mad. My heart wrenched while looking at him so I tried accompanying him.

I learnt that his family had betrayed him. He now went to check that village head's daughter. And that girl was no more, After being pregnant with the child of his, she died while giving birth.

After all she gave birth to a part angel. Somehow, that child had died at the age of 50. Just a day before we arrived there.... He was mad. He caught me and somehow convinced me to take him to the heavens, and that he would later spend his whole life time with me.. I was a fool. I did that. I hid him under my beautiful wings. He did the unthinkable... he went over and did a grave mistake. He went and drank from the spring, the spring which makes us angels.... He then got his powers back but the spring dried up the second he gulped down a mouthful.

I was branded a traitor. But I was mad in love... It was not an excuse but... my superiors didn't listen.. The drying up of the spring caused all the angels to slowly disappear... except me. It was a punishment. I would stay and all would disappear. Both sides, the demons and us, were being sealed away but The atrocities of his didn't end yet. He went on and created a new world, the mirror world and the residents within. The Vampires from the dead body of his daughter. And the others from other little injured animals. ", She said

" So... He was the bad guy...? ", I asked.

" Not just the bad guy... The heavens just had me, a single simple angel to take care of it and everyday The Earth was in a spree of war, kingdoms going crazy. But humans are adaptable, they adapted well to not depend on miracles...I no longer served a purpose. When he came again. Instead of spending the lifetime with me.... He chose another human and married her. He lived and died as a human. ", She said.

" But what about you? ", I asked.

"My single actions had caused this. So I want revenge! No! I just want my friends and all to be back. And that is only possible when I destroy the false creations, the one created by The First. ", She said.

" Then why didn't you..? ", I asked.

" My occupation doesn't let me... Angels just can't go killing everything. I needed a support and that's where you come in... My dear cupcake.. ", She said

" I..? ", I asked.

" Yes.", She said coming closer to me and cutting out my ropes as I fell down.

"You are my weapon! ", She said smiling.