FALLEN ANGEL: MARRIED TO THE DEMON KING
Chapter 112: THE ANSWER (5)

Chapter 112: THE ANSWER (5)

She floated on her back for a moment, staring up at the high, gilded ceiling. It was strange—this entire body felt wrong, too large, too heavy, too foreign—but the water helped, at least a little.

She needed to figure this entire situation out as quickly as she could.

She didn’t know how long she would be stuck like this, in a body that definitely did not belong to her, and in a world that definitely did not welcome her. The sooner she and Haniel found Kratel’s missing soul, or the reason why she was here in the first place, the sooner she could return to her own body. Assuming her real body was still intact and waiting for her.

That thought sent a shiver down her spine.

She remembered how she had been fighting, and how she had been hurt, by whatever creatures had been attacking them. The last thing she had seen had been Varziel, floating over her, before she had passed out. Was he alright? Did he fight with the monsters on his own? What about Cassie? And Velmoria?

What about the noble ladies she had invited over for tea?

"Focus, Ella. Worrying won’t fix anything." She muttered, patting her cheeks to calm herself down.

She sat up, running a hand through Kratel’s long, golden hair. It felt strange to touch, like she was grooming someone else’s body, but she resigned herself to the task she had given herself and reached for a nearby bottle of cleansing oil. The scent of lilies filled the air as she worked the oil through the thick strands of hair and as much of his skin she could get to over the innerwear she wore.

By the time she was done with the bath, she felt a little more like herself.

Arella climbed out of the bath, drying off quickly before slipping into the tunic and pants she had found earlier. They were infinitely better than the cumbersome robes, allowing her to move freely. She rolled her shoulders, testing how Kratel’s wings adjusted to the new outfit.

She was immediately immensely grateful for the freedom of movement that the pants and tunic allowed her. They were a perfect fit for Kratel’s frame, and thankfully, she would not trip over herself every three steps.

Now came the real challenge, actually walking properly without looking like a waddling penguin.

Arella started pacing around the chamber, her steps awkward and unbalanced. Her entire balance was thrown off by Kratel’s height and build. His legs were longer than hers, and as such, his stance was naturally wider than hers were.

Her first attempt at walking was an absolute disaster. She bumped into furniture, her wings catching on the edges of shelves, and once even knocking over a candle stand.

"This is so humiliating," she said as she gave herself a glance in the mirror. Her face was flushed, and the tips of her wings trembled seeing as she had them stretched out.

The second attempt was almost as bad as the first, as her wings caught on the edges of shelves, and once even knocked over a candle stand.

Still, Arella was nothing if not stubborn. She adjusted with every mistake she made, corrected her posture with every awkwardness she felt, mimicking the way Haniel had moved earlier, walking in the way that felt and looked least weird, at least in the mirror.

Slowly she found a rhythm to move with, one that worked best for her.

By the time another fifteen minutes had passed, she was striding across the room with much more ease than she had started with. Her back was straight, and her wings were folded as neatly as she could get them to behind her back.

If her hands could stretch and contort, she would have patted herself in the back.

A knock at the door startled her out of her self-congratulatory moment.

"Sire," Haniel’s voice carried through the thick wood, laced with urgency. "Are you ready?"

She took a deep breath, exhaling slowly to steady herself. She had no idea what they would face inside the Hall of Eternity, but she couldn’t afford hesitation.

"Yeah, just a moment," she called back, turning toward the door.

Her fingers brushed over the tunic’s fabric, smoothing it down instinctively. With one last glance at her reflection— eyes staring back at her from a face that was not hers—she stepped forward and pulled the door open.

Haniel stood waiting, his expression unreadable. His gaze swept over her from head to toe before he nodded.

"I meet the standard of angel approval now do I?" Arella cackled as she allowed him to walk into the room.

"You do look presentable."

Arella smirked. "Oh, don’t flatter me all at once. I may pass out with all the praise."

Although Arella could not see his face, she was one hundred percent sure that Haniel rolled his eyes at her.

Still, she gave him a huge grin, and threw an arm over his shoulder, like one would do to an old friend, causing him to immediately stiffen. She could not accurately deduce his expression due to the halo that covered his eyes, but she could tell that she had successfully made him uncomfortable.

That in itself brought a Cheshire grin to her lips.

Haniel turned his head slowly to look at her. "What are you doing?"

"Bonding." Arella replied, giving him that cheeky grin.

"You mean testing my patience." He corrected, carefully removing her arm from his shoulder.

Arella laughed, taking a step back, and raised her arms in surrender, "Alright alright. I will keep my arms to myself." Then, her expression schooled as she became serious, "What is the plan?"

Haniel pinched the bridge of his nose, "the hall of eternity is the most guarded place in all of Heaven and it is watched at all hours. The moment an uninvited presence is detected, the High Council is usually alerted."

Arella cocked her head, "I already knew that we could not just waltz in there, but what can we do to actually get in without the both of our souls being destroyed by this high council?"

"We have two options, to go in the night, when we will not need a distraction, and when the security is tighter, but the council is no longer awake."

"Won’t that make it generally harder for us to sneak in. What are we going to do in front of the Archon’s mirror in the first place. Do we have to be prepared to fight someone or something or someone to get to it?"

Haniel tapped his foot, "at the moment, no one has figured out that you, as Kratel, is awake. I fear that someone else might be able to see through you and figure out that you are not Kratel as quickly as I did. That will all be prevented in the cover of darkness."

Arella tsked, "What is our other option?"

"Alternatively, we may walk in now, sneaking in while the high council breaks for lunch, and with the perfect distraction, we can be in and out within minutes. Once inside, we will have limited time. If we are caught..."

"Yeah yeah, we already went through this. No trial, no mercy, immediate death. You are very dramatic, you know that right?"

Haniel gave her a look, "I am realistic. You, on the other hand, are reckless."

Arella grinned, "You say that like it is a bad thing."

Haniel sighed, "We are wasting time. If we are going to do this, we must act now. They will be going to lunch soon, and if we sneak in while the security is low, then we will manage to get to the mirror."

Arella clapped her hands together. "Okay, perfect. Let us get to it then?"

"This is not a game," Haniel chastised.

If we fail... it is not just your life at stake. My sire’s fate hangs in the balance."

Arella’s playful smile softened, and for the first time since this crazy plan had begun, she saw the weight in Haniel’s eyes. The desperation was hidden beneath his composed exterior.

She placed her other hand over his and squeezed. "I know. And I promise, I won’t let him be lost forever. You need your sire back, and I need to get back home. Our goals are intertwined, and there is no way that I will fail to achieve my goals no matter the cost."

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