The next morning came quicker than I had realized as a thunderous knock on my door roared through the room. I was still in a daze as Selyse quickly crawled over me and off the bed to greet who may had been at the door. Upon opening it, Selyse quickly kneeled before being shoved out of the way by Gabriel.

  “Thadeus!” he shouted.

  I quickly stood up, bowing.

  “Thadeus, take me to her!” he demanded.

  Returning to a standing position, I looked at him, confused. He had to know Antharian was on the top floor of this place, in her own room, so I had no clue why he was here and angry so early in the morning.

  “Lord Master Gabriel, she should be up on the fifth floor.” I said, pointing up.

  He walked over to me, abruptly grabbing my arm and pulling me into the hallway. He motioned for me to escort him there. Selyse came out of the room, handing me a sword. At this point, I thought something was wrong, so I pulled the sword from its sheath and ran up all flights of stairs with Gabriel and Selyse in tow. Upon reaching Antharian’s floor, I noticed that her door slightly ajar.

  I looked back at Gabriel, who looked as though he was about to end me for letting Antharian escape or something. I examined the door for any signs of a break-in, but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. I gently opened the door with the tip of my sword before making my way in. As I slowly crept around the room, it looked as though a struggle may have taken place as there were various clothes and other fabrics thrown about.

  I made my way into her bedroom, noticing a pile of blankets in the bed. I looked back at Gabriel and Selyse, with Gabriel looking on before shoving Selyse in front of him. She gave me a look that indicated she didn’t like he had shoved her, but came up next to me. I leant down and placed her on my shoulder.

  “When I set you down, I want you to rip off as many blankets as you can at once and I’ll cover you while you do it. On the count of three…” I whispered to her.

  She nodded, indicating she was ready. I kneeled on the ground, allowing her to quietly jump on the edge of the bed. She grabbed as many blankets as she could in her hands and I raised my sword in the air, ready to strike if needed.

  “Okay Selyse, 1.. 2.. 3..”

  She quickly ripped off multiple blankets at once, which revealed a sleeping Antharian. I put my sword away, and moved away so Gabriel could see for himself. He shoved Selyse over, who let out a small whimper as she fell to the ground. He turned around, looking at her.

  “Shut up you useless cunt of a servant. Had you been the servant of any other Angel, I’d have you beaten for your insolence.” He yelled.

  At this point, Antharian was already awake, baffled by what was going on. Gabriel sat on the bed next to her, slowly sniffing from the tip of her fingers to her neck. While he did this, she turned her head away from him, looking as if she was disgusted. Once he had finished his sniffing, he turned towards me, smiling.

  “This here Thadeus, this is a perfect female for the likes of myself. Remember, you too can have one like this someday. If you continue to work hard or if you wish to, you could take one of the slaves you own as your own as I shall take this one. Maybe one day, you’ll be like us in the Order, and you can be given the best quality female our kind has to give you.” He said, smiling.

  He grabbed at her face, squeezing it and turning her to look at him. He started to lick her face.

  “Mmm. You are obedient I see. You keep this up and you’ll be bearing plenty of perfect little ones for me. You shall give me many sons, but if you bare me a female she’ll have to be sold off as I will not tolerate having any daughters.” He said, sounding as if Antharian should be thankful for an opportunity.

  Once he was satisfied, he lightly slapped her on the cheek. “Good, very good. Since I know you’re in good hands with someone who doesn’t like your kind, I’m in no hurry to make you mine quite yet. I’ll check back every now and then but remember… if you try to escape from him, you’ll be severely punished. Don’t make me have to punish you, I’d hate to do that to my favorite plaything.”

  He removed himself from the bed, looking at me with a big smile before placing his hand on my shoulder and looking at me in the eyes.

  “Now, Master Thadeus, you won’t try to do anything with my future lover, will you?” he said, with a grin.

  I shook my head. I wasn’t sure if maybe he thought I was trying anything with her or not, but this felt like he caught wind of the previous night when we almost kissed. It’s almost as if he was here to rub salt into the wound. I had always disliked him for how he treated others and how he viewed the females as objects. But unfortunately, it’s just how the Holy Order saw females, as objects.

  “Very good. Very good indeed. Please take good care of her as I will be going on a mission myself that will keep me busy for a few years. While I am gone, you will continue to watch over her. I have someone else watching my castle. If they fail their duties feel free to execute them. If they try to reassign you, make them aware that they have no true authority over you and the reason why you aren’t in charge is because your tasked with a far greater task than their puny brain could understand. Understood?” he said.

  I nodded at him.

  “Very good Master Thadeus, keep it up and one day you’ll rise up to power in no time.” He said, as he was leaving the room making his way downstairs.

  He slammed the door on his way out. I stood there, frozen in place. Unsure what to say to either Selyse or Antharian after what had just occurred. I could see Antharian moving slightly towards me, but at that moment, I was at a loss for actions and words. She stood up, placing her hand on my shoulder.

  “Master Thadeus…” she whimpered.

  I made eye contact with her in anticipation of what she had to say.

  “I… would you join me for a bath after that, along with Selyse? I feel as though the three of us could use a bath after… that…” she said softly.

  Selyse tapped on my leg. I looked at her, she had a lump forming on her head from when she fell and hit her head. I gently placed my hand over it, hoping I could heal it. She slapped my hand away, suggesting she didn’t want me touching her.

  “C’mon Selyse, Antharian has requested we all go bathe to remove the filth from our visitor.” I said softly.

  Antharian leaned down, picking up Selyse, holding her tight to her.

  “It’s okay Selyse, don’t tell the others, but you’re my favorite.” She said.

  As I turned around, I saw Anatasia in the hallway, who was standing there naked. She made no attempt to cover up.

  “Please M’lord, Lady Antharian, allow me to assist you three in the bath.” She said.

  “Anatasia, how long have you been there?” I asked.

  “I heard Gabriel shouting and came to see what was going on, Master Thadeus. That was quite… disgusting.” She said, sounding grossed out.

  I nodded.

  “Anatasia, not that it’s any of my business, but why are you not decent?” I asked.

  She looked down, shrugging.

  “Master Thadeus, you have proven yourself to be safe around and unless you or Antharian request it, I prefer to be this way unless informed otherwise or we have guests around.” She said, sounding confident I wouldn’t say anything in return.

  I looked at Antharian, who shrugged. “I personally don’t care. If her or the others want to be naked, let them be naked. However, her and Selyse will need to take extra care of themselves if that is the case.”

  “Okay, well, you two are more than free to wander around here with no clothes on then if it pleases you.” I said.

  How they chose to dress, or not dress, did not bother me as I wanted to give them the freedom to do as they wanted to. They all know my rules and as long they abide by them, then we would be safe from the others. However, learning that Gabriel will be away for a few years made things a bit easier as that meant we wouldn’t have to deal with him until he came back. If he did at all.

  The four of us made our way down to the bathhouse, and to my surprise a couple of the other servants were already there. It appeared as they had just finished cleaning it and refilled it. I placed my sword outside the door as I wasn’t sure if the moisture from the room would cause any problems. I stepped into the water, expecting it to be scolding hot but was surprised when it felt room temperature. I looked over at the others, giving them an approval thumbs-up and smile.

  They bowed in return. “Master Thadeus, may we be of assistance?” they asked.

  I looked at Antharian, who nodded. “Only if you wish. On second thought, please leave us. Right now, this room is reserved to the four of us.” She said, sounding frustrated.

  They nodded and quickly their made way out, closing the door gently behind them. Antharian locked the door behind them.

  “There, now we’ll be left alone. Master Thadeus, may I make a request?” she said as she stepped into the water.

  “Depends on the request. What is it?”

  She sat down beside me, looking up as the water hit her neck. “Ahh, this feels amazing. If it’s not too much of a problem, I’d like for you to wash me this time around.” She said, sounding nervous.

  I lifted myself out of the water, feeling nervous knowing she wanted me to help her bathe. I figured that maybe since we both had issues with Gabriel, this was her way of rebelling behind his back. Anatasia motioned for me to follow her to another door. Upon opening it, it appeared to be a closet with supplies for everything one would need to properly clean themselves.

  She handed me a bucket and started filling it with what I’d need for the job. While watching her, it occurred to me that I had never cleaned myself as the servants usually did that for me. As I was thinking, a brush was placed in my hand causing me to look at her.

  “Here Master, you’ll need this. Just watch what I do for Selyse and apply the same to Antharian.” She said as she made her way out of the closet.

  When we reached Selyse, I watched as Anatasia sat behind her, pulling out a small ball-like object. I looked down at my bucket, pulling out a similar object. It felt a bit greasy and looked ant-sized in my palm. I continued watching her as she dunked her hand into the pool with it and rubbing it gently around Selyse’s shoulders. I looked at Antharian, who was smiling at me before facing forward, and rubbed the sudsy object into her shoulders.

  “Mmm. That feels great, Master.” She said, her feathers indicating she was experiencing what a human would call, goosebumps. She leaned forward slightly, so I shifted to rubbing this on her back. She lowered her head again, making sounds of happiness. I glanced back over at Anatasia, who placed the object back into the bucket and held up the handled brush. She was using it to slowly rub the suds into Selyse’s back.

  I grabbed my brush with my right, gently scrubbing at her shoulders before using my other hand to hold her forward slightly while I did her back. Up until now, I hadn’t noticed her wings. In fact, her back was bare.

  “Antharian?”

  “Mmm, what is it?”

  “I just realized… where are your wings? Where are the wings of the others?” I asked, confused.

  She slightly turned her head, barely making eye contact with me.

  “Master, there is a seal that prevents us from having our wings as otherwise we might fly away.” She said softly.

  “Oh. I had no idea.” I said.

  “Master Thadeus, I figured. It’s why I explained it you. “Grab the soap again.” She said, as she was turning to face me. “Anatasia, Selyse. I trust you two know not to say anything if Master Thadeus and I were to… do anything… yeah?”

  They both nodded, with Anatasia making a zip-motion across her lips.

  “Very good. Master Thadeus, take your time cleaning me. I’ll make this more enjoyable for you.” She said, a white light overtaking her.

  We slightly covered our eyes as the bright light around her had felt as though we were looking straight into the sun. After the light stopped, she removed my hand away from my face. Her hand was that of a normal human’s. Upon seeing her, she looked like a completely different person and had switched magically with someone else. She still had that gaze to her blue eyes, but her skin was like both Selyse & Anatasia. She had long dark blonde hair that looked like it stretched for miles.

  She stood up in the pool, doing a slow twirl in place and curtseying.

  “Master… are you… going to clean me?” she said, slightly jumping in place.

  I tried to advert my gaze from her chest as they bounced around with her, and judging by how she giggled, I must not have done a good enough job.

  “I… don’t know about this… you told me it was forbidden to be doing these sort of things the other day..” I said, skeptical of this.

  She sighed and sat back down.

  “Well. I figured it wouldn’t hurt Master Thadeus.” She said, as she changed back into her normal bird-like form.

  I stood up, making my way to the door. As I reached it, Antharian shouted at me.

  “I didn’t give you permission to leave, Master. You’re escorting me to the bath, and we’re not done bathing yet.”

  I looked at her, confused.

  “Your job is to take care of me and keep me safe, is it not?”

  “It is.”

  “So, what if something happened to me like I drowned, or Selyse and Anatasia decided to team up on me and cause harm to me, who would be responsible?” she asked, with a bizarre grin.

  “Well, I would be-“ I started to answer, before being cut off.

  “That’s right, Master Thadeus. You. So here is what I want to ensure that I’m safe in here. I want you to clean me and I don’t want any arguments from you about it, okay Master?” she bossily stated.

  “Okay. If that is what you want, I’ll do it.” I said, walking back to her.

  As I sat down behind her, she changed backed to the human form. She looked back at me, giving me an annoyed look as I picked up the brush. As I went to scrub her shoulder, she grabbed the brush out of my hand and used her other hand to place my hand onto her chest. Her heart felt as though it could pop out any moment. I could hear her breathing heavily.

  “Antharian, are you-“

  “Don’t worry about it.” Her heart now beating faster, her face turning slightly red. She moved my hand over her breasts, letting out what sounded like a faint “Eep” and her face now a dark red color. She slowly turned her head, facing me, looking to see if she could gauge a reaction from me. She must have been happy with my facial expression as she looked joyful.

  “Okay, good, good.” She exclaimed.

  I overheard the girls giggling at this whole debacle but chose to ignore them. I still felt conflicted by this as I should not be touching her this way. Even if I had her permission, it didn’t matter as she was technically Gabriel’s property, but Antharian didn’t seem to care right then.

  “What’s going on with you right now?” I asked.

  She chuckled, making random noises. I had hoped for an actual response other than the random noises and chuckle she offered in return.

  “Antharian?”

  She turned around, still holding my hand against her chest, but now facing me.

  “Master… you ask too many questions…” she said, letting go of my hand. “Okay, I guess I’m done then. You may return to whatever it is you were going to do before. Selyse and Anatasia can do the rest.”

  I stood up again and made my way to the door. As I reached the door, I paused, looking over my shoulder. The three of them huddled in a corner, talking amongst themselves. I unlocked the door, making my way out. Just outside the door, stood Elise, who took a step back as I came out. I looked at her, not expecting to see her.

  “Master Thadeus, a word please?”

  “Okay, but please follow me to the library.” I said, as I grabbed my sword before making my way for the staircase.

  We made our way to the library, where upon entry, I made my way to the shelf waiting for Elise to tell me what may have been on her mind.

  “Master Thadeus, I would like to request to go pick up some ingredients from a market to make some delicious food for us all. While I know we don’t have to eat, both Anatasia and Selyse do to survive. If I may, I’d like to request you go for me or at the very least, accompany me so I may.” She said, kneeling.

  “Elise, stand up. You know better. Also, I can send you on your own with a special badge. The badge indicates that you’re one of my servants and clearly states you’re a servant of the Right Hand of Gabriel. So, nobody should mess with you.”

  She jumped up in the air, as if she had expected a different result.

  “Thank you, Master, thank you!” she shouted rushing over to me, hugging me tightly.

  “Actually Elise…” I said, thinking more out loud.

  She let go of me, backing up slightly.

  “You and I will go to one of the human villages, see about getting some fresh supplies from one of those if possible.”

  She looked at me, nodding before running off to prepare for the journey ahead. I began to wonder if I should leave my armor behind and only take my shoulder-cape, or just take both. I thought about it for a few more moments, not realizing that Elise had already came back. She tapped me on my lower back, causing me to jump as I hadn’t expected her there.

  “Oh, sorry Master Thadeus, I did not mean to scare you” she said, giggling.

  I grabbed my bag and shoulder-cape, as I determined if we’re going to a controlled area, then there shouldn’t be any issues. I looked at Elise, before grabbing at her hand and walking into my room to retrieve a badge for her just to be safe. If her and I were separated, I wanted to ensure that she would be safe.

  As we exited, one of the other servants was sweeping the hall.

  “Elise and I will be leaving for a bit to gather some supplies. I’ll talk with a guard to see about ensuring nobody comes in while I am gone. If anyone comes in, please ensure you pay close attention to their armor and their markings and I shall handle it.” I said.

  She looked up. “Okay m’lord. I shall inform the others” she said, quietly.

  “Hey, you know what? Have Selyse handle whoever may attempt to come in. She’s sassy and makes it known to random guards who she serves and isn’t afraid to make it known to others that if they touch her, or you guys, I’ll chop their heads off.” I said, half jokingly.

  “Oh, very good idea Master. I shall go find her and let her know.” She said.

  Elise giggled as the other servant ran up the stairs. “Master, did you teach Selyse to be that way?”

  “No. I have always told her to behave. She’s a wild one though.” I said, laughing.

  Elise and I made our way to the first floor, making our way out. I double checked to ensure I had everything we would need for the quick journey. I looked over Elise. She donned a long elegant hooded robe, with sandals. I handed her the badge normally reserved for myself, while placing my shoulder-cape on. I did another check of my bag to ensure that I had the coordinates for one of the Human villages under our control, thankfully I did.

  “Okay Elise. I’m going to pick you up, and fly us over to the portal area as I’d like to make this a quick trip.”

  I leant down, scooping her up in between my arms. Her upper legs and back being supported by my arms. I jumped up in the air, making our way to the portals. The flight there was quick, as I didn’t want to waste a lot of time. When we arrived, a guard quickly approached us.

  “Excuse me, you can-“ he said as I turned around. He must have realized who I was the moment he saw the shoulder-cape as he took off quickly without saying another word.

  I placed Elise on the ground, receiving weird looks from those around me.

  “Servant, from here on out, you shall walk” I shouted, trying to show those around me that this was just going to be a one-time deal.

  She kneeled, not saying a word, looking down at the ground.

  “Good, now stand up and follow me” I said sternly.

  I felt bad for talking this way towards her but wanted others to see that I was being rough on her to not raise any suspicions.

  The portal master came up to me, looking at Elise in disgust.

  “Master Thadeus, what brings you and this… servant… here?” he asked.

  I reached into my bag, retrieving the coordinates for the Holy Order occupied Human region, handing it to him. He looked at it, before looking at me confused.

  “Master Thadeus, just so you are aware, this is a human controlled zone. These monsters are filthy and below even that of your servant here. Do you still wish to go?”

  “Are you questioning me, portal master, the Right hand of Gabriel?” I yelled.

  A nearby Holy Order guard overheard the commotion, rushing over.

  “Lord Master Angel of Gabriel, is this one refusing an order? He said, kneeling.

  I could see a bead of sweat dripping from his face as he tried to form words from his mouth. While it wasn’t a big deal in the long run, it also wasn’t any of his business what I was doing and why. After a few moments later, he finally mustered up some words.

  “No, no, the Right hand of Gabriel and I had a simple misunderstanding. Right Master Thadeus?” he said, sounding nervous.

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  “That’s correct guard, you are excused. The portal master here was just about to open the portal for where my servant and I need to go.” I looked at the portal master again.

  “That’s… yeah, that’s right.” He said.

  The Holy Order guard looked at him, satisfied with the solution and walked away. Without saying anything else, the portal master entered the stones into the portal and a few seconds later, Elise and I walked through the portal leading to a smaller system of portals just at the center of a large Human settlement.

  As we came out, we were greeted by a Human guard, which surprised me. He was fairly short, but donned the armor of a lower ranking angel. He kneeled quickly, putting his head down.

  “Welcome Master Angel of Gabriel. Had I known you were making an appearance, I would have gathered a bigger welcoming party.” He said.

  “Please stand.” I said quietly.

  He returned to standing up normally, trying to avoid eye contact.

  “Is there anything I know about this place?” I asked.

  He was silent for a minute.

  “Master Angel… there have been some… disputes amongst others here. To find out more, visit the town hall.” He said, quietly.

  I nodded, and motioned for Elise to follow me. The guard offered to take me directly to the town hall, but I ignored him. Elise followed me along dirt path, quietly humming to herself. Along the sides of the path were these tall gray stone walls, with torches occasionally lining the wall. It was surprisingly bright, but I guess it was still pretty early in the day.

  As we approached a gate leading to the city, we heard a bell, followed by some commotion. I ran up to the gate, knocking it at it, before it slowly opened up.

  “Master Angel, perfect timing, we require your help. Please follow me” A guard shouted.

  I looked back at Elise, who looked worried. The guard drew a spear from the wall, running towards the center of the city. Elise and I followed closely as there were people running against while.

  “MAKE WAY FOR THE LORD MASTER ANGEL OF GABRIEL” the guard shouted every now and again.

  When we finally reached where the guard took us, a fight had broken out between what seemed like a couple of Angelic guards and Human guards.

  “Lord Thadeus, Right hand of Gabriel, I demand you all stop fighting at once.” I shouted at them.

  They instantly stopped fighting, kneeling on the ground and not looking up. I stepped closer, noticing one of the humans had blood dripping down from his arm. I looked at Elise, who was being prevented from approaching closer by a couple of guards.

  “You shall let my servant pass; she dawns the badge of the right hand for a reason” I shouted.

  They quickly stepped aside, and I motioned for her to come towards me. She quickly approached me as I pointed at the blood on the human’s arm indicating I wanted her to check his wound out.

  “Master Thadeus, may I adjust him?” she asked.

  I nodded at her.

  “Guard, please take a seat.” She said softly.

  The guard sat flat on the ground, as Elise carefully lifted up his sleeve, revealing a slash wound. She looked at me, looking a bit concerned.

  “Master, this is deep and I do not think that a human healer has the capability to fix this.” She said.

  I looked around at all the guards and other random citizens just staring.

  “Well? Get lost already. Every one of you except for these four and my servant.” I shouted.

  Everyone quickly dispersed, returning to whatever it was they were doing before. I turned my attention to the other three, wondering what I should do with them since it would possibly be up to me now that I was the highest ranking official in this city. I looked back at Elise, as she reached into her basket to retrieve what appeared to be gauze, and wrapping it around his arm.

  “Master, this will only be a temporary fix, we will still need to visit a doctor or healer at some point”

  “Thank you, Elise. We will worry about that soon.” I said.

  I took a knee beside the wounded guard. “Tell me, what happened here to cause this scrap.”

  He looked at the others, thinking about his words.

  “M’lord… It’s nothing. Just a minor disagreement.” He said, quietly.

  I stood up, taking another look at them.

  “A minor disagreement. Is that what is happening here?”

  None of them answered or even tried to move.

  “Well? I’d like an answer please. You there, Angelic Guards of the Order. Answer me or else.” I stated, hoping to not have to behead one to get an answer.

  “Master Lord Thadeus, it indeed was a misunderstanding” he said, quietly.

  I let out a sigh. I drew my sword, stabbing at the ground in front of them. The other human guard stood straight up, looking scared.

  “My lord, the fight happened because we disagreed with your kind on the way it runs the city. They approached us first, calling us names and shoving us around. If you search them, you’ll see that there are no cuts or anything on them. But as you saw with my partner here, he is wounded.” He said, getting sweatier by the moment.

  I looked at Elise, who was still attending to the injured guard.

  “I’ve decided what to do.” I paused for a moment, before looking back at the Angelic guards. “My servant here will decide your fates. If she says you die, you die. If she says you live, you live.” I said, looking at Elise.

  Elise looked shocked, but I could tell she was thinking about the decision I presented to her.

  After a moment, she finally spoke up.

  “Master… I’ve made my decision” she said softly.

  “And what is your decision?

  She stood up, standing before the Angelic guards and pulling my sword from the ground. She looked back at me as if she was waiting for the go-ahead to do what she was about to do. I noticed the moment she picked up the sword, it caught the attention of a few other guards and random passerby’s as they froze in place, watching.

  “On behalf of Lord Master Thadeus, the right hand of Gabriel, I have made the decision to punish you two by death as you have misrepresented the Holy Order and all of it’s inhabitants who work so hard to ensure the safety of our Human and Elven companions. You have betrayed the trust of not just Gabriel, but the others too.” She shouted.

  One of the Angelic guards began to cry just as Elise swung the blade as hard she could. His neck rolled slowly rolled towards the feet of the guard standing up. Elise raised the blade up again, beheading the other guard. She wiped the sword clean of blood against the bodies before handing it back to me.

  “Very good.” I turned around, seeing further Angelic guards behind me. “Those of you who wish to cause further problems for me, please step forward so we may get it over with. From here on out, we shall work better with the human forces. We are here to protect them, not to harm them. If the Holy Order catches wind of further events where you good-for-nothing guards are abusing humans instead of protecting them, you will be executed without a second thought.” I shouted at the crowd.

  I sheathed my sword.

  “C’mon, lets get you to a doctor. You lead the way” I said.

  The injured guard stood up, looking a bit frightened but also relieved to still be alive. As he started walking, the crowd that had reformed in front of us dispersed. The guard led us around the corner, passed a few homes and a Well, before finally reaching a building with the words “DOCTOR” on a giant sign. He stopped walking as we reached the building, pointing at it.

  “Keep walking, we’re here for you. Not myself or my servant. But for you.” I said, as I was turning around as I heard something behind me.

  To my surprise, we had somehow picked up a few more guards.

  “What is the purpose of you following me?” I asked.

  One of them stepped forward, bowing. “Lord Master Thadeus, we are here to esco-“ He said before I interrupted him.

  “Return to your original duties. My escort is in front of me and that is all that I need.” I shouted.

  I turned my attention back to the wounded guard.

  “What is your name?” I asked him.

  “M’lord, my name is Josiah.”

  “Josiah. Okay Josiah, lets go talk with the doctor and after we get you treated, I have more questions for you.”

  He nodded, making his way into the building with myself and Elise behind him. As we entered, a man wearing white jacket, with blue pants and a headband on approached us.

  “Oh, Master Angel, what brings you here?” He asked, his voice sounding shaky.

  I pointed at Josiah.

  “I need you help this man, he was attacked by an Angelic guard.”

  The man walked over to Josiah, folding up his sleeve. He poked at the bandage Elise had fashioned a few times before sighing.

  “What is it? Are you going to be able to fix him?” I asked.

  “I’d have to cut off his arm, as the cut is too deep for me to just… fix.” He said, sounding as if it was the only option.

  Elise looked at the doctor as if he was crazy.

  “Master Thadeus, your servant is giving me the look you’d give a drunk running naked around in the middle of snow fall and I do not appreciate it.” He said.

  “My servant is free to do as she pleases for now. What do you think? Should I heal him myself?”

  I asked, looking at Elise. She smiled.

  I placed my hand just above Josiah’s wound, allowing the energy to focus on restoring his arm. Thankfully it didn’t look like it was incredibly deep, but it wasn’t deep enough for his whole arm to be amputated. After a few moments, his arm was back to normal. He removed the gauze medical wrapping that Elise had done for him.

  The doctor walked away, grumbling as he walked, throwing his arms up in the air before eventually closing a door behind him.

  Josiah bowed towards me. “Thank you, Master Lord Angel, for your gracious healing.” He said.

  “Don’t mention it. Could you please take us to the market? We came here for a casual reason, but just happened to get mixed into this. It’s fine, but please take us there” I said, hoping I wouldn’t have to deal with another incident.

  “Of course Maste-“ I interrupted him, getting tired of being called that. “Just… Lord Thadeus or Master Thadeus, stop with the super long titles. C’mon, lets get going already.”

  He nodded, making his way out of the building. We walked in the silence, and at his pace, it seemed to take forever to reach our destination. I occasionally glanced back at Elise to ensure she was still with us, as she made no noises when she walked. Eventually, I made her stand in the middle with how quiet she was.

  As we approached an area with many people, the volume of the once busy area had deafened as we entered a market area.

  “Josiah, it just occurred to me. Do we need currency to buy products here?”

  He turned around, facing Elise as she stood between us.

  “Normally you would, but with you m’lord, your costs are covered. As well as your servant so long, she bares that badge.”

  “I’m not the Master, guard. But if you want, I’ll relay the message” she jokingly said.

  “If you would…” Josiah responded.

  “Master, Josiah said…”

  “I know what he said. I’m right here.” I said, in disbelief Elise would do that.

  I motioned for Elise to go grab she needed. She took a small parchment from out of her basket, on it I could see pictures of the items she needed. It took me by surprise, as I expected words. But with her being a servant, I guess she never got the chance to learn how to read and write. But at least she could draw. Josiah followed her, figuring I could handle myself. I entered deeper in the market, feeling out of place as I was towered shops and all the humans in the area.

  Nothing caught my eye from any of the vendors so I made my way to an area that didn’t have anyone nearby, and leaned against the wall. I wanted to sit down but determined that if Elise wanted to find me easily, it’d be better if I remained standing. She was taller than a human, but not nearly as tall as I was.

  While standing there, I noticed another problem in the form of theft. There was a man wearing a black cloak who would wait until shop keepers were busy with another customer before swiping a product from the booth. I watched him steal six different items before I made my way over to him. As I got closer, I noticed him glance over at me, looking nervous. I pretended to have something catch my attention and looked at the first booth to directly to my right.

  “Ohhhh, Hello Master Angel… I never expected to see you here at my booth of all places.” An old woman said.

  I looked at what she was selling and it happened to be a mixture of colored rocks and jewelry. I looked at she had presented.

  “Heeey, these are neat rocks you got here.” I said, loudly. Drawing the attention of multiple people.

  The man in the black cloak, frozen in place. I slowly approached him.

  “If you return all the items you have stolen, I shall overlook this” I whispered.

  “Ye-ye-yes s-s-sir” he stammered.

  “Keep one of those fruits for yourself though but return the rest.”

  He nodded, quickly making his back into the market. I watched as he handed the items back one by one. I walked back to my original spot, leaning against the wall once again. After a long wait, I saw Elise’s head poking just above the tops of the stores.

  “Elise.” I called out.

  Her head turning towards me, now running faster.

  “Did you get what you needed?”

  “Yes sir.”

  “Any issues?”

  “No master. None. Everyone was super friendly.” She said with a smile.

  “Good. Let’s go home.” I said, wanting to get out before another incident happens.

  Just as I got off the wall, I heard someone shouting. I grabbed Elise, pulling her close to me and holding her against me tightly, trying to hide.

  “Where is the Master Angel? Master Angel! I need your help!”

  I looked at the ground, motioning for them to turn away and go about their business. A guard came rushing past where Elise and I stood, and I watched as figured out if he wanted to go straight or left within the market. Had he just looked a bit more to his left, he would’ve seen us. Thankfully, he didn’t. Once we were sure he was out of sight, I picked up Elise and took to the roofs. Whatever was going on, the local guards could handle.

  As we landed on a roof, the alarm bell started to go off. Several thunderous rings echoed through-out the city. Down below, I could hear yelling.

  “Did you find the Master Angel yet?”

  “No, I can’t find him at all. How’s it looking out there?”

  “Not good. That Ogre out there is destroying us and is just eating all the arrows we throw at it.”

  I sighed, looking at the gate where the alarm bell was ringing. I knew I couldn’t leave the city was under an active threat. I dropped Elise off on the last roof just before the gate.

  “Soldiers!” I yelled out.

  “It’s the Master Angel! He’s here. OPEN THE GATE!” shouted an Angelic guard.

  The gate slowly opened. Given that I did not bring my armor, I did not want to directly engage this threat. Every time he took a step, it caused the ground shake beneath my feet.

  “Stop! Or you’ll be engaged” I shouted at it.

  In return, a boulder was launched at me. I managed to jump away from it as it made a small crater where I once stood. I looked at the boulder, then back at the Ogre. It was clear that it was not going to retreat. I held my hand out, forming the Angelic-bow.

  “Last chance.” I yelled.

  The ogre started laughing.

  “Foolish Angel. Can’t stop me.” He shouted.

  I formed an arrow, focusing on for it to put an end to this attack. The ogre stood there, smiling, holding his hands out as if he was going to catch it.

  “Oh, you think you can catch this?” I asked.

  He laughed again. “Arrow easy catch”

  I released the arrow. Had this been a normal arrow, he would have indeed caught it. It went straight his hands, piercing his chest before dissipating. He fell backwards with a loud thump noise. I continued to hold the bow in place, forming another arrow. I looked over at a group of guards combined of Angels and Humans slowly approaching.

  “One of you, check him. If he moves, I’ll hit him again.” I shouted.

  The guards all looked at each other, taking a moment to figure out who would go check to see if he was still alive. After a few moments, one of them was giving a spear and he slowly made his way within poking distance. The guard gently poked the ogre with the tip.

  “Master Angel, he appears to be dead.” He shouted.

  “Get closer, I need a confirmation before I take off.”

  The guard started making his way down the shaft of the spear before coming within inches of the ogre’s hands. I noticed the guard lean down, placing a hand on the beast’s arm to check for a pulse. As he did that, I saw the ogre open an eye and slowly raise his head. As his head raised, I let another arrow lose, striking him through his forehead. His head fell back, and the guard jumped away in fear of his life.

  “Good work. Okay, so since I have been here, I have solved a few problems despite being here for other reasons. What else you got for me? Might as well.” I shouted at the guards.

  I had not planned on making a report of my time here but given that during the short time I had been in that city and running into several issues, I decided maybe it would have been appropriate to report it the Holy Order. But with Gabriel gone, I’d have to report it to Michael or one of the other Archs.

  I started to walk towards the guards as they all kneeled.

  “Take me to whoever oversees this settlement, city or whatever it is called. I wish to speak to them, NOW.” I said.

  One of the human guards stood up quickly.

  “Follow me m’lord” he said, as he took off running inside with me in tow. As I re-entered the gate, I noticed Elise was on the ground now, she quickly followed behind.

  After a few turns and the guard shouting at everyone in the way to get out of the way, we finally made our way to a large building with bars over the windows and a heavy metal door with a gold lining along the edge. The overall building seemed out of place in comparison of the architectural designs of the rest of the buildings nearby.

  I grabbed at the handle, gently pushing the door open, revealing a desk just upon entering with someone stationed at it. There was a female human, looking down at something hidden behind a plank of wood.

  “Sorry, but we’re closed for today. Please come back tomorrow” she said, still looking down.

  “No. No I don’t think I will. I want to speak to whoever is in charge.” I said.

  She sighed, slowly looking up. Her facial expression changing from annoyance to fearful.

  “Oh… I’m… Im sorry Master Angel. One moment while I fetch the Lord of this city. Please, come on.” She said as she stepped from out behind the desk, bowing then vanishing behind a swinging door.

  Elise came in behind me, closing the door.

  “Master… this isn’t how I expected the day to go… “ she whispered.

  “I know. It’s a bit frustrating. Since we’ve been here, we handled the issue with those guards, I caught thief and then defended the city from an ogre. It’s such a mess here.” I sighed.

  After a few more moments of waiting, a man emerged from behind the swinging doors. He looked as though he ate far too much, wore silk-weaved clothes, balding in the center of his head and wore a fancy red cape as if he were some sort of king.

  “Ah, Hello Master Angel, what brings you to my cozy little city?” he asked, sounding pompous. He approached me, but took a few steps back after seeing Elise standing behind me.

  “Mmm. Excuse Master Angel, but uhh… her kind… aren’t allowed in here.” He said, pointing at Elise and looking at her as if she were a rabid animal.

  “My servant is the least of your worries right now. We came here to gather a few supplies for a meal she planned to make tonight, but I’ve ran into a few issues since we’ve been here that I had to resolve, and let me tell you… I’m not pleased about what I have seen so far.” I said, not trying to hide my displeasure.

  He walked over to the window, looking outside.

  “The city doesn’t appear to be on fire, and I promise you Master Angel, this city is the safest of all controlled cities. Nothing ever happens here..”

  I walked over to him, picking up from his chair by the back of his shirt.

  “It’s clear that you do not understand what is going on in your city as you clearly have taken advantage of the Holy Order allowing you to be in this position. Given by your current state of appearance, your attitude among other things, you clearly forgot that you serve the Holy Order and not the other way around.”

  I unsheathed my sword, cutting off his silk clothing, leaving him in just his underwear.

  “Elise, open the door” I said to her calmly.

  She nodded, opening the door and holding it open. I picked up the clothes, tossing them outside in the dirt. A couple of guards were walking past as the clothes flew out in front of them. They turned, looking at what was going on but chose to quickly walk off, not wanting to get involved in what was happening.

  “C’mon you fat pig, outside” I shouted as I pointed outside.

  He reluctantly made his way outside the building.

  “C’mon, to the market” I said, pushing him. “Lead the way.”

  On the way back to the market, many different people stopped to stare and we had moderate-sized entourage following us the whole way there. One of the guards behind us carried a metallic shield.

  “Excuse me, shield user. Please bang on your shield with your sword every few seconds.” I told him.

  He nodded.

  As we walked, we’d hear “thunk thunk” every few seconds, which caught the attention of more people who started to follow us to the market-place. As we finally reached it, I noticed a stage-like area that I herded this man to before we finally made our way up the steps before finally being on the stage. I gently grabbed at the shield the guard was holding, who relinquished it.

  I unsheathed my sword and hit it against the shield a couple of times.

  “Attention citizens, this pig that stands before you today is the same man who sits in that building all day, denying you guys from having an audience to address your concerns, dons fancy clothing, eats as though he is a king, and who knows whatever else it is that he does. While your city is under attack from Ogres or other hostiles, the people fight amongst each other, and thieves steal from vendors. These are things I have noticed in the short time I have been here, visiting on my own time along with my servant here.” I said, pausing to see if anyone speaks up.

  Jeering erupted from the middle of the crowd, indicating that this man wasn’t very well liked, and a tomato came flying in from the crowd, smacking him square in the jaw. The rest of the crowd erupted in laughter.

  “I want to see a show of hands. All in favor of this man, please raise your hands.”

  I looked around the large crowd of people, trying to determine if anyone supported this man. I didn’t see any hands raised though, which was odd to me as I determined maybe I just happened to come on the wrong day.

  “If I am understanding this correctly, none of you approve of this man? Okay. If you do not approve of this man, please raise your hands.”

  This time, everyone in the area including guards, raised their hands. There were at least a few hundred people with their hand in the air, indicating that this man did nothing for this city and possibly only abused the people.

  “Okay, so, it appears that this man isn’t liked at all, is that my understanding?”

  The crowd yelled various things, but something that caught my attention was: “EXECUTE HIM!”

  It started to pick up amongst the crowd who all started chanting “EXE-CUTE” which I’m sure could have been heard throughout the entire city by now. I banged my sword against the shield again.

  “Quiet. QUIET DOWN!” I shouted.

  In the crowd, I saw a guard of the Holy Order standing at the edge of the crowd. I motioned for him to come to the stage. He made his way through the swarm of people before finally reaching the stairs.

  “Yes Master Angel?”

  “Gabriel isn’t available, so I’ll need you to go back to the Kingdom and make Lord Master Michael aware that I will be needing an emergency meeting with him in relation to what happened here. Let him know that I will explain everything upon my return.” I whispered to him.

  “Yes m’lord, I shall go right away.” He said, jumping into the air and flying towards the portal area.

  I looked at the crowd again.

  “If I execute this man, who will rise up to take his place then?”

  The crowd looked at one another, confused as to who will be the one to step up. One of the guards that Elise and I assisted earlier raised his hand.

  “M’lord” The crowd turned to him, “M’lord, I shall step up and take his place temporarily until the Order finds someone more suitable.” He said.

  The crowd cheered.

  “Okay, so there’s that then. Okay, so this fat pig here, I’ll be taking him back to the Kingdom with me and he will have to answer to Master Lord Michael for his lack of actions.” I shouted.

  I pushed him towards the stairs, making our way back towards the portal area. As we walked along, he kept trying to talk his way out of this whole ordeal, but I ignored every plea he made. At some point, Elise smacked him upside the head, which caused him to stop talking. Once we reached the portal area, the same guard from before gave us an odd look.

  “Three this time?” he asked.

  “Yep, back to the Holy Order.”

  “This portal will take you back there, thank you for visiting Master Thadeus.”

  I shoved the man through the portal first, allowed Elise to go before me before going through myself. On the other end of the portal, Michael and the same guard from earlier waited for our return along with several guards.

  “Lord Thadeus, Right hand to Gabriel, I do hope you can shed further light on this whole situation. From what this one has told me; it sounds as if he allowed a city under our control to fall into an unacceptable state riddled with issues and refused to fix it. Is this correct?” Michael asked, trying to get a grasp on what is going on.

  I spent a few minutes explaining to him and giving him a quick run-down of my experiences while in the city, in addition to outside of the city with the Ogre. During the entire explanation, Michael kept looking at the man. After I finished explaining everything, he finally spoke up.

  “Lord Thadeus, first off, good work and thank you for ensuring the safety of the people there. That is a key city for the Kingdom. Secondly, this disgusting… pig… will be executed and last, I will find a suitable replacement and reinforce the city with further guards. As for you, pig. Guards, take him away and have him executed immediately. I will not tolerate the level of incompetence you have showed human.” Michael said, sounding irritated.

  I bowed, before thanking him.

  “Master Thadeus, you and your servant are free to return to your duties or whatever you were doing beforehand. My men and I will go check it out ourselves since Gabriel is tied up with something else and the others are busy doing other things.” He said.

  As Elise and I started to walk away, he grabbed at my shoulder.

  “Lord Thadeus, I know you are preoccupied with whatever it may be that Gabriel has you doing, but I’d like for you to go to other areas under our control and do similar things if possible.” He whispered.

  “Of course, Lord Master Michael, I shall” I said, bowing before he and the others stepped through the portal.

  Elise and I made the long walk back to the garden tower. By the time we got back, it was nearly dark out. When we arrived, I noticed a guard standing in front of the door.

  “Master Thadeus, your return pleases me. Your head servant made it quite clear that if I came in, I’d be executed so I chose to remain out here.” He said.

  “You’re relieved, thanks” I said.

  He moved aside, allowing Elise and I to enter. As I went in, he tried to talk to me, but I chose to ignore him and shut the door on his face. He quickly got the hint as I heard him quickly walk away.

  “My lord, should I bother making a feast tonight or place this in a cool place for another day?” Elise asked.

  “Elise, you were great today, sorry for all the distractions. Lets save it for another day as I’d like for you to rest after that long journey.” I responded.

  She nodded, making her way up the stairs with a basket full of assorted goods for a feast that we had planned for that night had we not gotten mixed up with the events of that city. I sat on the couch, the fire still roaring, wondering if I could have done things any differently. In the long run, I did was potentially best for the city as a whole and not only that, but I did appear to have landed upon Michael’s good side.

  I sat there for a few moments before I heard footsteps quietly making their way towards me. I figured Selyse caught wind that I had returned but was surprised when my vision went dark. I could hear a soft giggle behind me along whispering.

  “Guess who” the voice said.

  “Considering these aren’t human hands, it can’t be Anatasia or Selyse. The only two here that are comfortable enough to play a trick on me like this would be Antharian or Elise as the others generally stick to themselves unless I request their assistance. Knowing that Elise is pre-occupied, Hello Antharian.”

  Suddenly, I could see again. Antharian stepped over the couch, sitting down next to me.

  “So Master Thadeus, how was your trip?” she asked.

  I sighed and took a few moments to tell her about what Elise and I had to go through just over a few vegetables, bread and a few other goods. After I had finished telling her the story, she scooted closer to me giving me a hug.

  “I’m sorry m’lord. That sounds terrible.” She said, standing up.

  She reached at my hand, pulling at it. I stood up and she started to lead me towards the stairs. She took me to the library, removing my shoulder-cape and gently placing it on an armor rack, along with my sword.

  “Master, I hope you don’t mind, but I went through the books in here. Gabriel and some of the others don’t know this, but Anatasia and I know how to read. I’m telling you this because I know I can trust you.” She whispered before pointing at a couple of books on the table. “Those books over there? Read them. They’ll help you. I found a book that teaches you to open portals for yourself, allowing you to go to places you’ve already been without the need for the portal master and making the long trek to/from the portal areas. I suggest you read them.”

  I looked at her, shocked that she would openly admit this to me but also ecstatic about learning a skill that could cut down the time it’d take to get to some of my destinations. Truth be told, I hated having to rely on the portal masters’ and the main portal system. Knowing I could learn something that would allow me to cut out the middleman and a save a ton of time excited me.

  “Antharian, if you find any other books that could potentially help me become more self-sufficient, that would be great. I’m a bit tuckered out from the events of today, but I will get started on this tomorrow unless something comes up. Which… could happen, but we’ll see” I said, excited by this development.

  I had considered fighting the urge to just lay down in bed for the rest of the evening and start fresh tomorrow, but I wanted to get started on learning new skills after a good night’s rest. I think Antharian understood that I was not in the right mindset at the moment to read up on any material tonight.

  “M’lord, let me escort you to your room” she said, smiling.

  She walked out of the library, opening my door up.

  “Master, you coming?”

  I walked out of the library, closing the door gently behind me and wandered into my room where I saw Antharian sitting on my bed. She looked up at me, with a soft smile that made my whole brain melt.

  “What? Are you spending the night in my room?” I joked.

  “If… If I could. Just close the windows. It’s not like Gabriel would find out anyways… he’ll be gone for a while anyways…” she said while twiddling her thumbs.

  I thought about it for a moment. She had a point about Gabriel not being back for a long period of time, plus it was just for tonight. There would be no harm in allowing her to spend the night with me in my room. I placed my hand on her back, which caused her to jump slightly.

  “Okay Antharian, you may stay with me tonight. But you’ll have to battle Selyse for her spot.” I said, jokingly.

  “Oh, that won’t be an issue. I told Selyse she had to sleep in my room tonight and that I’d be in here tonight. I have never seen a human who has ever looked that excited before.” She joked back.

  As we were talking, Anatasia came into the room.

  “M’lady” she said, curtseying. “M’lady, I have taken the liberty to ensure that the entrance is fully locked, and secured, so we won’t have any unwanted visitors” she said, as she walked over to the windows and securing them.

  “The windows are now secure as well, and I shall ensure that the entrance from the garden to your floor is also locked and secure. May I be of any further service?” she asked, with a slight smile on her face.

  “No Ana, you’ve been more than helpful, please take it easy the rest of the evening while I spend time with Master Thadeus.” She said.

  Anatasia nodded, smiled back and left the room. Closing the door behind her. Antharian stood up, walking over to the door, locking it before returning to sitting on the bed.

  “Master… thank you for your kindness” she said as rested her head against my shoulder.

  I placed my arm around her shoulder.

  “Don’t worry, I will keep you safe for as long as I’m assigned. I’d like to lay down though.”

  She stood up, allowing me to lay down before laying on her side. She placed her head over my chest, giggling.

  “Master… your heart… it’s beating fast. It’s almost as if you like me. Mmm. I wish it as you, Thadeus.” She said, inching her body close to me to where I could feel her warmth. My heart picked up a bit, causing her to giggle a bit more.

  As she laid against me, with her arm flat across my chest and her leg over mine, she let out a relieved sounding sigh. Her breathing indicated she was slowly falling asleep, until eventually falling asleep. I wasn’t too far behind her as I ended up falling asleep shortly after. Despite the day I had, this was the perfect way to end it.