Violet Feathers

by Gaysimpstuff

Summary:

Things aren't right in Heaven- if you look close enough, you see the cracks. You see the faults. And Caden can finally see them all, but after being sent down to Hell in punishment for his questioning his lord, there's not much he can do. He's in the custody of the loathed and feared Demon King Valerius, and with his shattered halo and broken wings, there's no escape from him... but should he even want to leave?

This story originated as an RP on the Raythe Reign discord server with Snom (who has no AO3 account, so unfortunately cannot be added as a co-creator). It began October 3rd 2022 and has since continued! It has been edited to fit a more straightfoward fanfiction format, but if you want the original story please visit the discord server, it's the thread in the Dragon's Reign channel titled "Demon Valerius x Fallen Angel Caden."

Notes:

The noncon/rape elements show up later in the story. I will provide warnings om the specific chapter and provide a brief summary for those who don't want to read that content in detail so the plot is not lost.

Chapter 1: Prologue: To Fall and Not Fly

Another day, another children's hospital. More halls covered in paintings of lions cuddling and smiling sunchines, all meant to comfort the little kids that stayed here. Some stayed longer than others. He liked seeing the kids here for check-ups, getting weighed, recieving lollipops. He listened to every compliment they recieved while he was there. Look how much they grew! What little football stars! What little scientists and fancers!

What little children with futures.

But he was stalling, hovering here, away from his duty. Away from the soul that was ready for him, calling him. The longer he stayed here with the kids that would make it, the more risky it was for the new soul. If it wandered, it would become a ghost. Or worse, a demon would find it. No one knew what exactly the demons did with the souls they found. Some said they ate them, others said they kept and tortured them. God however was very adamant as to what the demons did with the souls they stole. They were used to power spells, power weapons. And if the demons managed to get enough one day, they would attempt to take over Heaven. 

Caden didn't want to imagine the soul of a little child being forced into a weapon used against the angels. He had a feeling it hurt, to have your soul morphed and altered. He had to move quickly to get to the soul in time, slipping silently between nurses and doctors. None of them could see him. If they looked closely, they might notice the hallway was a little bit brighter, or maybe they’d see the reflection of a flickering halo in the windows. 

Down the stairs, across the hall, and through the doors flung wide open. There she was, blanket already pulled over her head. Caden didn't need to look to know that the girl was small, even smaller than most children her age. She was thin and bald with a sickly pallor. A nurse was already leading a sobbing woman out of the room. She was curled over the nurse's arm, begging him to let her go, let her hold her baby. Her screams were terrible, latching onto Caden and ripping at his heart. Soon, Caden was alone in the room. Well, alone except for the little girl's soul. 

While still on Earth, souls took on the appearance of their bodies, albeit translucent with a low saturation. She didn't look surprised that he was there. Or surprised that she was no longer in her body. She stared right up at him once the doors shut. Her large eyes looked at his face for long moments before flickering down to the bed. She sat on the edge of it, next to her body. Caden sucked in a long deep breath. 

He had a speech. All angels had one for when they retrieved souls. He’d spent weeks working on it, erasing it all, then rewriting it again. When he’d finally gotten approval and was sent down the first time, he was so nervous about forgetting the words. Being nervous only made it worse- he did end up forgetting everything he’d planned on saying, and needed to be comforted by the soul he was bringing to Heaven! He couldn’t believe himself, but over the years he’d gotten better at it. 

"Hello, my name is Caden. I'm an angel. I am so sorry to have to tell you this, but you're dead." he began. "Don’t worry, it's not all bad, you've made it into Heaven. I've been sent to retrieve you. You're going to a wonderful place. The clouds are soft, and the sun is golden. You can be reincarnated, or you can become an angel like me. There's even another choice, so wonderful we do not even speak it. God may choose you Himself for this wonderful path. Please take my hand, I'll lead you to the gates."

The girl looked back up at him, eyes still so wide with childhood. How old was she? She was older than a toddler, but not a preteen. She was so small. He wondered how much of her life was spent inside hospitals like these. Had she ever been to a school? Gone out with friends? He knew that from now on she'd never be able to do anything other children had the chance to do. She wouldn't go to a school dance, or sneak out her room to go on a date. 

A small part of Caden wanted to act like the girl's mother had. Wanted to take her soul and force it back inside her body, but her body was suffering before. Now she had the opportunity to go someplace where she would never suffer again. 

"My name's Emma." she whispered, lifting her hand for Caden to take. He almost didn't take it. But he did, feeling her cold fingers curl around his own. She was not alive. Not anymore. And Caden had a job to do. But he couldn't help but wonder why all this had to happen. Wasn't God in control?

 

---

 

A lot of people were surprised when he brought them up, expecting large pearly gates with music and loved ones held tight and protected within. But there were none. It was just the wide white expanse of cloud, littered with white stoney buildings. Looming cathedrals with quartz, diamonds, and white opal embedded deep in their walls. The only spots of color in the stained glass windows. Angels darted beneath bridges and swooped over shining hills. 

Emma’s hands gripped his like her life depended on it. How ironic. She had held onto him tightly the whole flight up out of the city and into the sky. Neither spoke as they soared high above the city, quickly approaching the centerpiece of Heaven; The Temple. 

The whole building was made of white and transparent crystals, revealing long lines of prayers waiting to see God. Prayers materialized at the bottom of The Temple, taking the form of the people they came from. All kinds of people sent their prayers, their hopes and dreams to their ruler, waiting patiently for their questions to be answered. There was no need for Caden and Emma to wait in that line though, but as they passed by the thin walls, they could hear the prayers of the people echoing. 

Wholesome prayers likely to be answered were soft, yet audible. Prayers of ‘let my team win this game’ or ‘let me get that monster truck for my birthday.’ But the loud ones were the desperate ones. The ones the angels did their best to ignore (angels could do nothing, could not grant miracles without a go-ahead from God), the ones that were so tricky to grant. ‘Please God, let it not be cancer.’ ‘Please God, make Daddy stop hitting Mommy.’ ‘Please let me have enough food for the kids tonight.’ 

Caden knew Emma heard them, but he kept flying, leading her into The Temple. Ducking into a wide hall, Caden lead her up through the crystal up to the top tower, where a short line of angels holding the hands of spirits waited to see Him. He would judge the souls to see which afterlife they would be granted: reincarnation, eternity in Heaven as an angel, or the glory of the third option.

"Slow day huh?" Caden turned to Emma as he drifted to his feet. She remained floating a little above the floor, untethered. 

"What do you mean?" she asked, looking back up at him.

"Well, a lot of people die every day on Earth. I mean sure, I get that not a lot of people get into Heaven but seriously, this has got to be a record." he was trying to keep the mood light, not wanting Emma to freak out, even if she had expected to die. There were only two other angels in line ahead of him. The one first in line was holding the hand of an old woman, the second standing with a dog's soul. The rumor saying all dogs go to Heaven was true. Sinners were often reincarnated into the bodies of dogs to purify their soul. It worked wonders. 

"Why don't people get in?" Emma questioned. Caden sighed, remembering she was a kid- kids asked questions. Often times lots of them. 

"Well Earth has just gotten so complicated- so many people commit sins without even knowing it nowadays." As he spoke, the great white doors swung open, and the first angel in line lead the old lady in. The doors slammed shut, the sound reverberating through the halls. 

"What kinds of sins?" Caden held in a groan. This was just like when his little sister was about four. His parents were always busy- his mother was a Guardian who protected special souls, and his father was a Warrior who kept demons from Heaven and from corrupting humans. 

"Well, Exodus 20:4 says you shouldn't make pictures of anything between Heaven and Earth."

"So can you make pictures of Hell?" Emma asked. 

"We don't say that word. Also you shouldn't mix clothes-"

"What does that mean? What others are there?"

"Uh- there's no shellfish, no tattoos, don't touch someone when they're menstruating-"

"What's menstruating mean?" the doors swung open once again and the angel with the dog moved forward. Once again the bam of the closing doors made Caden's white robes flutter from the force of it. 

"You don't need to know. You're not going to go through it anyways." he shook his head. 

"Oh, right." 

There was an awkward pause as Emma looked at the ground instead of at Caden. He tried to say something- apologize? But what he said was true. Unless she was reincarnated, she would never experience something nearly half the human population had to suffer through. Although maybe that was a good thing- he'd heard it was not fun. Emma stared blankly up at the doors in front of them, her grip tightening on his hand evermore. They would swing open once again, and then they would be before God. 

Caden had seen Him, spoken to Him before, yet it was nervewracking each and every time he had to do it. How else was one supposed to react when facing The Great Creator? Ruler of the Known World? With awe ; that was how. Yet each time he faced Him, something other than awe crept deeper into his veins. The feeling that something wasn't right. The echoes of prayers waiting years to be answered piled on, and the fear in Emma's eyes only hardened the feeling in his chest. 

He felt dirty for thinking it- for thinking maybe things weren't as they were said to be. If everything was in His plan, what was He to say about people like Emma? Was it moral to call souls up so early? If it was in His plan, did He control everything? Did He create the very things He swore His life against? And why was such a high population of humanity rejecting Him? They were beginning to reject so many things that were terrible, war, poverty, child abuse, bigotry, was God another terror that needed rejecting? 

A shudder went through his body as he shoved the thought far from his head. It was his turn to squeeze Emma's hand as the doors finally creaked open one last time for them. He strode forward in false confidence, leading Emma into the pristine shrine that held their deity. It was neigh impossible to see in the shrine, you were surrounded by the brightest white on all sides, stretching out for infinity. He never remembered how he left the room, for as soon as the doors shut behind them, they dissapeared. Yet after delivering souls to God, he always woke up back in his bedroom.

Who have you brought for me?

God's voice was entirely indescribable, and upon hearing it, Emma fastened herself to his leg. He looked down at her, and she hid her face in the white cloth of his robe, overwhelmed. 

"This is Emma." He said. "She-"

I know Emma. A kind soul, I enjoyed myself with her creation. Won't you step forward, Emma? 

Caden set his hand on Emma's back, gently peeling her off his body. She protested, grabbing at him in order to stay near, but whisps of white curled around her body, tugging him away from her. Her eyes remained locked on him. It didn't matter where she looked, in the shrine, He was everywhere.

Are you scared, Emma?

She nodded frantically, hugging herself and rocking as she silently pleaded with Caden to hold her again. She could feel it, what Caden already knew. The wrongness here. 

"Yeah she's scared, just let her move on okay?" he spoke into the void. His chest stung as if he was dreaming as He responded. 

Do not speak now, o Child. It is not your turn. 

Caden sighed, forcing himself to relax and look anywhere but the shaking girl in front of him. 

What is it you desire, Emma? Do you wish to try again as a mortal? Do you wish to fly in my heavens as an angel? Or do you wish for knowledge few have been granted? Speak now, child. 

"I- I want-" Emma stammered, now staring at her feet, "I wanna go back home to my mom!" 

You cannot. Even if you reincarnate, you will not likely be placed with your mother again.

"I didn't wanna die! I wanna go to school, I want friends! I wanna see my mommy again!" Emma was crying, stomping her feet on the ground. The shrine shook with her tears. 

Console her, Child. 

"Console- are you kidding?" Caden ran forward, and Emma collasped into his arms. "There is no consolation! Why? Why did you have to let her die? Or any of them? This is completely unfair!" 

Emma shivered in his arms, nails digging into his skin painfully. He glared at the great white surrounding them. He'd never felt so small. 

Are you… rejecting me , Child?

There was no holding it back. He had been struggling with these thoughts for upwards of a year at this point. God needed to know that things weren’t going well, maybe he would listen. He had to listen. He was God! He would feel shame for his mistakes (crazy as the thought of God making mistakes was) and want to fix things!

"Yes!” he snapped. “Maybe you should protect your people like you promised you would! And answer prayers! Those prayers haven't moved up in line in ages, and the line just keeps growing! You need to actually do something!"

So you reject me. 

He was God. He was never wrong. He would not listen otherwise. 

Emma disappeared from his grasp instantaneously, her spirit forming a bright golden orb before vanishing into the blank void. The weight of what Caden had just said settled in all too quickly. To reject God as a disciple of his was- he couldn't even utter the word for it, it was the ultimate sin. He didn't get the chance to say much else before a crack whipped through the room, sending bright hot pain jolting up his spine into his skull. He instinctively reached for his halo, knowing what was coming. 

An angel's halo was built up from their skull, bone forming a circle above their head that glowed. It ensured all followers of God would not be affected by misery. They would never get sick, never get hurt. Wouldn't even stub their toes on sharp corners. Caden could feel it breaking. Long cracks forming across the bone and shattering his halo. To describe God would be easier than describing the agony bursting through Caden's head as he collapsed to his knees, unable to utter out a single scream. 

He could feel the ground opening beneath him, gravity embracing him and pulling him downwards. Gravity had never been a problem- he could fly . Down through the Temple, and through the clouds he plummeted. The dampness of the clouds passed around him and then they were gone, growing smaller and smaller as he plummeted through the sky towards Earth. He spread his wings, praying his feathers would catch the air and he would be able to fly, but they didn't. They were blown back, tugging at his shoulder blades as the ground approached rapidly. He braced for impact, but the ground instead yawned open beneath him like a giant hungry maw and he fell right through. 

He was flung into sweltering heat, red and gold glowing around him. The entire time he screamed as he plunged into Hell- into Hell ! All too suddenly, the drop ended, and his whole world left him with the snapping sound of his bones shattering inside his body.

Chapter 2: Welcome TO Hell Little One

Summary:

But he did have a glimmer of hope that the angel would choose to stay here, with him. He felt... responsible for him. He had to care for this creature, ensure his recovery went well.

And destroy anything that dared to hurt him again. 

Notes:

So I wrote this chapter a while ago, and Snom (my RP partner) left the server and the RP. I was given permission to continue the story without her, so I will because I feel like this is a great story and I want to tell it (and that has nothing to do with the fact that 50% of it is my favorite tropes with the other 50% being my favorite kinks).

When I reach the point in the story where the RP ends, I will let you know in the chapter notes at the beginning, so you know it's no longer an edited RP, and now just straight story. Thanks!

Valerius was reading without really reading. Eyes squinting at a long page dotted with tiny black words and trying, really he was trying , to absorb the information the ink blots held. But as per usual, his brain had decided to work against him. He could see the words- he knew what they meant! But every time he tried to connect them with meaning they fell apart, giggling and dancing away from him like little vexes. He was once again tempted with the urge to strangle the paper. But strangling paper wouldn't do anything. It was paper, it was not alive. Strangling it would not teach it a lesson, and would not make the words bend to his will. It would just crumple the paper and make it even harder to read. He groaned audibly, letting his forehead slam against his desk.

Sometimes he really hated being king. He was the most powerful demon in Hell, but he couldn't read a damn paper? Just one measly report on agriculture; it wasn't even that long! He could spend hours inhaling whole novels in the dark of his bedroom, illuminated by a just candle. If he could read trilogies in the dark, surely he could read one damn page in a brightly lit office, right? Noooo he had to sit and suffer and struggle at it because God hated him. And that wasn’t just some phrase for him. Humans whined about it when struck with minor inconvenience- but they were not the actual target of the most powerful being in all existence's rage. They had not been nearly assasinated by the angels just for existing! 

Valerius was the enemy. Valerius had lost everything, and built himself back up again. 

Valerius was going to read this damn paper.

He slowly lifted his head from the wood of the table, staring at the paper once more. He could digest the title at least, "Monthly report on the Agriculture in Valerius' Ring of Hell; December Edition." Just one month's worth of yields from his ring's farms. He sat up, determined this time, and picked up the paper. He took a deep breath, warm air filling his body and revitalizing his brain as his eyes scanned over the words once more. This time, he was able to pick things up! He was finally reading the damn thing, making progress! Being productive! Pride swelled in his chest, he was nearly halfway down the report, paying close attention to the note about dry soil and a request for trades to be made with Queen Esme's or Queen Kaila's ring for more water. 

But he was quickly pulled from his progress by frantic knocking on his door. He grunted, putting the paper down. Perhaps he deserved a break... from reading half a page. 

"Come in!" he shouted, and the door creaked open, his advisor and the only person he'd ever consider calling a friend stepped in. Chione looked frantic, brushing braids out of her face as she ran to his desk. She was followed by one of his citizens, based on their uniform Valerius assumed they worked the crystal fields. They were holding someone in the fireman carry, his body slumped limply over their shoulders. Valerius stood up once he realized just who- or rather what they was holding. 

It was an angel. A fallen angel. Everything about him was stained; his hair, his wings, his robes, his skin, all mahogany in color with his own blood. His halo was almost completely gone, but the bases of it were still there, poking out of garnet flaked hair. It must have been big, a glorious halo. It was flickering now, light diminished. The flickering would stop soon, and he would be completely disconnected from Heaven and from God. He was in bad shape, twisted and pitiful. Valerius asked no questions, but moved forward, gently taking the injured darling from his citizen. He cradled him in his arms, his face was caked in dried blood, but he was breathing. Thank fuck he was still breathing. 

"He's really banged up- you can see that. He barely managed to avoid landing on a really big crystal, but he did still land in my fields. His wings- his wings are the worst part of it. I did the best I could to patch him up, stop the bleeding, but I figured I should bring him here." the crystal farmer bowed low, shaking a little. 

"Thank you. You might have saved him. Chione, take this person back to their home, and compensate them for their troubles. I will take care of this angel myself." 

"Shouldn't he go to the infirmery?" Chione asked. 

"There's nothing the healers can do for him that I cannot. Do not question me." he snapped at her, and she bristled, yet relented. She put her arm around the shoulder of the other shaking demon, leading them out. Valerius wondered if they were shaking from the effort of carrying the angel, or from the fact that they’d witnessed an angel falling. It was such a rare thing- it had been at least thirteen years since Valerius had last cared for a fallen angel. They were always banged up, broken and shaking and scared. The last one had not survived. Nor had the one before him, and the one before her. It was so incredibly rare that many people only considered two ways to survive falling from Heaven; repent or bond.

While it was technically true that one could survive without doing either, it was incredibly rare. Not to mention, if they did survive, they would be on their own. They would not become a demon, but they would not exactly be an angel either. They would roam the overworld, hiding from humans, the only one of their kind. It wasn't like there were support groups for fallen angels who didn't repent or bond. If an angel were to repent, their halo would be fixed, they'd be brought back up to Heaven, but their wings were often still messed up, and would remain that way for all eternity. It was a reminder to their friends, family, and neighbors. 

‘Don't fuck up.’

To bond though, hardly any angel ever chose it. To bond with a demon. To become one of them, to be reliant on them, and share health with them, that would be a worse punishment than death. He could understand why angels did not take that option, despite it being their best chance at survival. There were stories about demons that circulated in the clouds. Stories of how they enjoyed killing, raping, and eating humans and angels, and even each other. As false as it was- it was difficult to explain that to a traumatized angel in distressing amounts of pain. 

Valerius moved quickly, but kept the angel still in his arms as he shouldered the door to his bedroom open. He needed to get the angel out of these robes so he could examine the injuries beneath them. He lay the angel sideways on the bed, not wanting to disturb his clearly broken wings. He murmured an apology to the angel as he cut the cloth open, peeling it from his skin. The blood acted as a  glue, sticking the cloth to his skin. He finally managed to get it all off him. Normally, seeing the sight that was beholden to him would be enough to make any demon vomit, but Valerius had been through enough wars and seen enough death that no gore surprised him. 

But it could still upset him. 

His skin had been broken in many places, but most of it looked not too deep. The real gashes were in his wings. Thankfully, Valerius kept a first aid kit near his bed at all times. It had more in it than the average kit though. He pulled out alcohol wipes, and began dabbing away at the open cuts to clean them. As he cleared away the blood, he revealed smooth pale skin. At least some of it was pale- the rest of his skin was covered in painful yellow bruises. They would be purple soon. The angel was starting to sweat as Valerius wrapped cuts in bandages. Nothing that needed stitches, everything had stopped bleeding. He hoped so at least. 

Then the angel moved. He twitched, eyes flickering open for a moment before shutting once more. Tears flowed down his cheeks, having escaped from under his eyelids. The angel let out a soft, barely audible whimper of pain. Valerius' heart ached at the sound, filled with agony and sadness. No fear yet. He was not concious enough for fear. But he would be soon, if he was beginning to wake up. 

"Angel," he whispered, moving closer to the pitiful creature's face. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the angel's finger twitch. He was trying to reach for him, but he was in too much pain right now. 

"Angel, little songbird." he continued. "You will be alright." 

Finally, he spoke- well it was closer to a whine than to speaking, but a word, a name tumbled out of his mouth, out from between his bloody yet pretty lips. 

"God?" he asked. 

"No." Valerius chuckled sadly. Of course the angel would ask for Him. Valerius hoped that once he was cognant, he would not repent. It would not be a life worth living. Though who was he to say that? If the angel wanted to live in Heaven again, he could do nothing to stop him. But he did have a glimmer of hope that the angel would choose to stay here, with him. He felt... responsible for him. He had to care for this creature, ensure his recovery went well. 

And destroy anything that dared to hurt him again. 

The angel needed to be cleaned, all the dried blood was making it hard to tell where the real injuries were. Valerius had filled his tub a little less than halfway, but it was drained and refilled many times over the next hour. The blood seemed endless as it stained the once clear water. He doubted he'd be able to get all of the blood off the creature, but it would still help. The water at least would cool him down. Heaven was apparently cold because of it's elevation, versus the sweltering depths of Hell. But two of the rings of hell were thankfully a bit cooler than Valerius' ring of fire. That's where most of the water was imported, from Queen Esme's and Queen Kaila's ring. 

He carefully poured water over the angel's fragile body, through his hair as well. He'd thought the angel to be a redhead when he first saw him, but once the blood washed out, he could see beautiful golden half curls. He'd washed out as much blood from his hair as he could. Rough scrubbing would get the rest, but right now the angel needed to be handled with care, he was more breakable than glass at the moment. 

He gazed upon the beauty in his bathtub. He looked at his wings mostly. They were crooked, held at awkward angles. He could tell that they'd been pierced by crystals when he'd landed, most of the blood was concentrated in one spot on each wing. In an area were mostly primary flight feathers grew. He'd run them under water a few times, but many feathers were still deep red. He moved a finger underneath one of the feathers gently. While most of the wings were stained red, there where parts where it's true color was visible. A pristine white, with just a little bit of an icy undertone at the tips. All angel wings were this color, and he'd seen many angel wings, but somehow he felt these were different. He couldn't describe it, it was just truth. It was such a shame that someone so beautiful had been tossed away. Did other angels know of his beauty? Valerius figured this one had many an admirer back home. 

But Heaven wasn't his home anymore, and the feather he was holding was broken. It needed to be removed so healthy, clean feathers could grow back in it's place. If he ever wanted to fly again, this had to happen sooner rather than later. It didn't take much effort, it was plucked from his plumage without much trouble. Then the next one. And the next. Valerius unconsiously sorted them into two piles, irrepairably damaged or stained feathers, and feathers that didn't look too bad, pretty ones he could salvage for something. 

"Ah-!" the angel gasped suddenly, and Valerius' head jerked up at the sound, staring at the angel's face. His eyes were opening again, more tears wetting his face. His eyes- holy shit his eyes were the bluest he'd ever seen. Bluer than the crystals grown in his kingdom, bluer still than the Earth's sky he had not seen in so long. They were sharp, yet unfocused. He blinked languidly, pupils taking in his surroundings. 

"Hello again, songbird." he cooed happily as the angel turned his head to face him, mouth dropping open. Valerius was certain he was blurry, but visible. When the angel's eyes widened, he knew he'd caught sight of his wings. They were massive, dark as a void. 

"W-wha-"

"Be calm, do not move." Valerius murmured to him. The angel was weak, he should not be speaking. It would take up energy he did not have. He needed to feed him once he was awake enough. 

"D-don't touch-" the angel murmured, "Don't touch my w-wings." Valerius watched as the angel's hand lifted out of the water, shaking. It dropped back into the bath a moment later. 

"Shh, I said do not move. This must be done, your feathers are very damaged. You'll feel better soon." 

"P-please, my wings." he whimpered as his eyes closed once more. 

"It's okay, I'll take good care of them." he assured the angel as he drifted away once more. His pity for the angel grew, he had suffered so much after being thrown down here like trash. The recovery would be a long gruelling process, God knew if he'd even be able to walk let alone fly again. He'd heard the angel's voice now, it was so pretty, but so weak. He wondered if he sang. He wanted to hear him singing, asking for his assistance. It had been too long since he'd had someone in his arms...

But the angel was barely conscious, In and out of fretful sleep and likely nightmares. Valerius had not fallen. He had not been human either, sent here for his sins. He was born in the fire. But he'd seen many angels fall, heard many of their screams, heard bones snapping, and seen far too many eyes fall blank than he'd like to admit. This angel had survived the first hour- the first hour was when most died. But that didn't mean it was over, far from it. The angel would face seizures, fevers, and storms of depression. 

He paused as he fingered a feather dyed with so much blood it appeared black. The stem was so thick it had to be a blood feather. But it was broken, already leaking blood onto the other feathers. 

"I'm so sorry, this one is really going to hurt." he yanked it, flinching as fresh blood gushed over his hand. This needed to end soon, it was dangerous for him to be loosing this much blood. 

"Why would he refute someone as beautiful as you?" he whispered to himself. He already knew the answer to the question as he pressed a wet cloth against the spot of bleeding. The man in the sky tossed any angel who thought against him if even for a second. He wanted nothing but pure unrelenting faith and worship. 

He finished bathing and preening him, finally draining the water one last time. It was all red, and the porcelain of the tub was too. He patted the angel down gently with a towel before carrying him to his own bed. He pulled the blankets over his body gently, but he stirred. Valerius watched the angel pull himself to wakefullness once more, with great effort. He was blinking again, and there were more tears. Valerius frowned. His eyes really should not be watering this much- he made a mental note to check them later. There may be something wrong with them. He looked dazed, wholly unfocused as he blinked. His gaze finally landed on Valerius, and he went visibly rigid. 

"Hello songbird, do your wings feel better?"

The angel screamed.

Chapter 3: Welcome To Hell Cont.

Summary:

Every cell in his body was telling him to ignore the burning pain in his arms, wings, the burning pain everywhere in his body. Every angel knew the best strategy to survive a demon encounter was to run, fly, get away from the thing. But there was nowhere to go. The door was locked, he was pressed against the bedframe, and every movement crumpled his wings between his back and the wood a little more. He couldn’t bite back another scream as his bones tried to stab him- no they were stabbing him. The warm liquid running down his back wasn’t water from the bath.

 

Violet Feathers

Caden didn’t take any time to see his surroundings, the blurriness of his vision was already fading, and he knew exactly what had been hovering over him in the bath. And now that he knew what it was, why would he spend any time looking around? That was a demon . A real-life demon. A living, fire breathing, soul-eating, butt-raping demon. He’d never seen one before, just crude drawings made by children and stained glass windows in churches, the only vibrant colors to exist in the clouds. He’d heard too many horror stories from Warriors about them, and he didn’t want to stick around to find out just how true they were.

He ignored the burn in his whole body and rolled backward off the other side of the bed, slamming hard into the ground. It was carpeted, thankfully, but his gratefulness didn’t last long. The demon was still right there , and surely it would move faster than him since Caden was hurt. He couldn’t quite remember why he was hurt, but it was easy to put two and two together. 

There was a demon in the room with him.

He launched himself at the door, not even attempting to stand up properly, he’d be faster like this, and his back hurt. Holy cow his back hurt. Moments before he reached the tall mahogony door, it opened. He sprung back again, his back hitting the foot of the bed, crushing his wings behind him. He let out a wail of agony- agony he’d never felt in his life. 

Why he was in so much pain? This couldn’t be real- had the demons cursed him? Angels weren’t supposed to feel anything like this! If he had known this was what humans complained about when he took them up above, he would’ve acted a bit differently with them.

A second demon entered the room, he hadn’t had much of a chance to truly take in the appearance of the first demon, but now he could with this one. She was dark skinned, with curly hair twisted into braids adorned with gold rings. Her outfit was gold too, she looked like the embodiment of a jewelry store with how much her clothes sparkled. It was too bright for Caden’s eyes, and he shielded himself from the view with a shaky arm. 

He heard her sigh with exasperation, moving around him in a wide arc (after shutting and locking the door he noticed) towards the first demon, who had been slowly approaching him. She grabbed it, dragging it across the room to the furthest point from him. When he lowered his arm, he saw she was grabbing him was by the ear. She stuck her mouth right up against it, hissing in a tone she likely thought he couldn’t hear, but he could hear all too well.

“You’re scaring him.” She then turned back to him again, crouching down to his level. Her voice now soft and gentle.

“Hello there, dear.” she was smiling. “Do you feel better?” Caden looked between the two vaguely blurry figures. The first demon appeared male, but he’d been wrong before. It was just that the whole of him was so much bigger than the she-demon, and broader too. He expected him to swoop towards him and take him where he crouched any moment now. But he hadn’t yet, he was listening to the woman.

Every cell in his body was telling him to ignore the burning pain in his arms, wings, the burning pain everywhere in his body. Every angel knew the best strategy to survive a demon encounter was to run, fly, get away from the thing. But there was nowhere to go. The door was locked, he was pressed against the bedframe, and every movement crumpled his wings between his back and the wood a little more. He couldn’t bite back another scream as his bones tried to stab him- no they were stabbing him. The warm liquid running down his back wasn’t water from the bath. 

The two demons flinched at his scream, the woman shushing him and waving her hands as if she could magically take away the pain.

“No no no no don’t worry, just calm down. You’re going to be okay, just move a little bit forward, I’ll move back, just don’t hurt yourself.” she pleaded. He didn’t understand why she would care, unless maybe they wanted him for display? He’d hardly be a pretty statue if he was all broken and bloody. But then why would they hurt him so much in the first place?

 He found himself listening to her, moving just a couple inches forward. His wings slumped down, spreading out across the floor like water. The blood on his back continued to drip down his bare bottom-

Bare bottom. Caden was naked. He let out another shrill noise as he covered himself, staring back up at the demons. They’d stripped him! The female moved forward again- no no she’d promised she’d stay back! She shushed him again, holding a hand to him as if he was a wild animal and she was his savior. 

“It’s alright, I know you’re scared, but it’s okay. My name is Chione. That’s Valerius. What’s your name?” Valerius. The name sounded like a greek hero of old, but God had taken those barbarians out of commission a long time ago. Was it possible one had escaped His wrath and become… this?

“DON’T TOUCH ME!” he replied, shying back from her hand. She retreated it. He wanted to kick her, bite her, get out of here, but he was losing feeling in his legs. Oh, this was so terrible! Pain and numbness, these were feelings reserved for mortals and the damned! Not for angels! Not for angels… but every Sunday he’d heard the Fathers speak about it, about pain and suffering. He remembered looking up with wide eyes as he was told in no uncertain terms that if he faltered in his faith, he’d experience it too. Everything was so blurry, both in his mind and outside his eyes, so there was the possibility… the possibility he had- no. No.

“I won’t touch you, neither of us will!” Chione pleaded with him, her hands were up, palms facing him. She had to spear, no sword, no hanging spiked mace, but a demon’s body was weapon enough. He swallowed around a dry throat, desperate for air. It was so difficult to breathe though, he felt pressure all around his lungs, poking and squeezing him.

“I-” he choked “I’m not a sinner.”

“I never said you were,  just relax.” she crouched down to his height, folding her wings behind her. She then grabbed Valerius’ shirt and tugged him down. He sat all too quickly, as if he hadn’t even been paying attention to her, just to him. It made Caden shudder, the way the larger demon’s eyes bore into his face, studying him with fervor.

“What do you want with me?” he whined, but his voice broke every other word. He hadn’t noticed it before because of how much of his body hurt, but his voice hurt. Great God everything hurt. Things he’d never even imagined were capable of pain were inflamed, like his hair and fingernails. “Which one of you dragged me down here?”

“So he’s still saying the same things about us?” Valerius was the one to respond this time, scoffing as his wings fluttered in annoyance, his huge black wings dark as night. Chione hissed at him to be quiet, he wasn’t making things any better.

“No, dear. No one dragged you down. Demons can’t get halfway up to Heaven without…” she trailed off, a dark look crossing her face before she continued. “God sent you down here, I’m so sorry. But you’ve survived, which shows how strong you are, you’re going to be okay. I promise.”

“No, no no I didn’t do anything!” he insisted, despite his gut trying to tell him otherwise. “I’m good, I’m faithful. ”

“I’m sure you’re wonderful-” 

“No- no I didn’t- I’m not-” he choked out half-sobs, desperately ignoring the memories that were flooding back into his head. He barely caught all of them as they flooded past his eyes, but he caught the important bits, the bright white void of God, his screams of unfairness, the searing pain, a loud CRACK, falling, falling, falling. He shook his head to try and clear it and gagged. Nope, that hurt too. He felt like he was going to throw up, but his stomach was empty and tight. He’d vomited on the way down, and it had been a long long way down. His gaze slowly moved from Chione to Valerius, pointing a shaky hand at him as one final memory revealed itself.

“Y-you touched my wings.” he whispered. A full minute of silence passed before he responded.

“I had to.” he finally responed. “Your wings are broken , and badly. There’s only so much we can do, I had to remove the damaged feathers so healthy ones can grow back.

“No, no that’s- you don’t get it .” This man hadn’t just violated him, he didn’t even realize what he’d done! “You preened me!” He tried to draw his wing around himself for comfort, but that intensity shot through him once more. He cried out, wrenching his eyes away from the demons. “Why didn’t you just leave me ?”

“If I had you would be another fucking corpse!” he snapped. “If you want to fly again your wings needed to be preened.” Valerius’ wings burst open, filling the space behind him.

“Valerius!” Chione glared behind her at him for his outburst. 

“But you preened me!” he wailed. How could he not understand what it meant? “I was saving them! You- you made me dirty !” He pressed his face into his hands, hiding. Humiliation filled him with every beat of his heart. He had sinned, he had fallen, he’d been touched by a demon. He felt like he was going to pass out. But he needed to stay awake- keep the demons talking so he could figure out how to get back to his home, his family, his life. 

But if he went back, he’d be complicit in everything God was doing. All the horrors and cruelty He’d inflicted on the people of the world, on his family, on him. He couldn’t go back, he couldn’t be complicit in it all, but staying here was suicide.

“I-” Valerius started, emotion thick in his voice. What did he have to be emotional about? He heard the sound of one of the demons approaching him, head lifted to protect himself. Chione was setting a blanket in front of him, just a foot from where he was sitting. She immediately moved back away from him. He stared at it, unsure of what to do. He so desperately wanted to cover his still naked body, but he didn’t want to move even an inch closer to them. 

“I’m sorry.” Valerius finally said, distracting Caden from the blanket dilemma. “Would you please let us take care of you?”

Caden didn’t respond, looking at the blanket instead. He wanted it. Spots swam in his vision as he reached for it shakily. He tried to grab it, but his grip wasn’t working. His vision blurred again, and he was so tired . He wasn’t sure how, but he could feel the blanket against his cheek now, and there was a muffled shout. He felt a large hand pressed against his cheek and he whimpered, the world fading out once more.