Finding Heathcliff

Thirty-Four

Leaving the first cave behind, Azrael led Astrid into another room, a little darker but much wider than the previous ones. This room could have passed for a village square, Astrid decided, if there wasn't the rocky ceiling instead of the sky above their heads.

A fire burned in the middle of the round cave, with many people, who must have been informed about their arrival, gathered around it, looking towards the newcomers expectantly. Several well-lit passages opened in the tall wall painted in moving shadows behind the gathering, lined with openings to many smaller, separate caves, looking vaguely like streets with rows of houses. Interestingly, despite the lively fire, the cave wasn't filled with smoke or the smell of burning wood. The air within was cool and fresh, bearing a faint scent of the sea, making Astrid wonder what sort of technology these people used to bring fresh air into the caves hidden so deep underground.

She let Azrael pull her towards the fire where the introductions continued.
The inhabitants of the caves, a motley group of people of all shapes and sizes, speaking several different languages among them, treated Astrid with kindness and respect. But she gathered soon enough that she had to thank Azrael for that. They showed her respect only because he treated her as a close friend-- the angel, seeing how exhausted and cold she was, removed his cloak and wrapped it over her shoulders when they sat down by the fire, and Astrid was certain that in the people's eyes the gesture was equal to setting a crown on her head.

They seemed to like Rigel even more than Astrid. The youth, excited by meeting these strange, pale and white-haired people whose eyes were of all imaginable shades of blue, took it upon himself now to become Astrid's spokesman, explaining how the princess was on her way to meet the archangels and improve the old treaty, and become a ruler different from her uncle, a queen who would make it possible for every one of them to live in Eurovea happily and without fear of persecution.

The people-- LandEnders, as Azrael whispered to her they called themselves-- obviously disliked Orion and the guards though; the occasional glances they shot at them were cold and suspicious. Astrid heard several LandEnders solemnly promise to Ramiel to keep an eye on the men the fallen angels would leave in their care in the morning; no one would escape them.

Astrid gladly accepted a cup of mulled wine a woman brought to her while the men spoke, revelling in its warmth, which spread through her tired body as she sat huddled comfortably under Azrael's cloak. The sound of the people's conversation felt soothing, the flames dancing before her eyes mesmerising, Azrael's closeness so strangely familiar...

She was brought back to consciousness by a hand shaking her shoulder, a female voice whispering in her ear, "Princess, your room is ready."

Astrid opened her eyes into an incense-scented whiteness, which it took her a few moments to recognise as Azrael's shirt-- her head was resting in the crook of his shoulder, his arm wrapped across her back feeling perfectly natural. Everything was perfect... until she recalled that they were not alone.

"I... I'm sorry," she muttered," avoiding looking at anyone except for the woman who woke her as she pulled herself to her feet. "Please, may I take my things? I'd like to wash and change."

"We've already carried everything for you, and your dinner is ready," the woman said, leading her towards one of the passages lined with caves, a distant, muffled sound of running water echoing around them. "Your friends will share the rooms on either side of yours, and we've already taken care of the men that will remain with us here."

Astrid nodded silently, fighting the urge to turn around as she felt Azrael's eyes on her back.

He was so... Heathcliff, she couldn't think of a better way to explain him to herself. There was darkness in him, she could feel it, dangerous, mysterious, attractive darkness, but there was light, too. Despair and hope, strength and weakness, love and hatred... She shook her head, blushing furiously as she remembered that he was probably reading her thoughts even as they formed.

I'll learn to block you, Azrael, she thought, his soft chuckle following that thought immediately, confirming her suspicions.

"...Princess?" the woman said, making Astrid realise that she had been talking to her for a while.

"I... Excuse me. I wasn't paying attention," she admitted, feeling awful. The angel was too distracting.

"Would you like me to stay to help you?" the woman repeated, moving aside a thick curtain as black as the walls of the cave, letting Astrid inside a room.

"No, thank you. I'll be fine," Astrid said.

She let her eyes stroll around the small space lit by a fire burning in an alcove that served as a fireplace. Even here, a few electric lights were fixed to the walls, but there was no need for them now, the fire's light was sufficient.

"Good night then," the woman said, and Astrid thanked her before she slipped beyond the curtain again, and Astrid heard her exchange a few lines with Rigel and Ramiel outside.

There wasn't a bath as she had hoped, but Astrid found a jug full of water and a large basin in a corner behind an incredibly cosy-looking bed, together with her bag and a food-filled tray set on a low wooden table. The room didn't offer more privacy than a tent, but at least there was a bed, and Orion would not be too close, Astrid mused, she really needed some distance from him to think things through.

She washed and changed as fast as she could and after having rushed her comb through her tangled curls she collapsed into the bed, realising only then that she had meant to carry Azrael's cloak back to its owner, and that she had forgotten to eat.

But she had no strength to get up again before the sleep took her the moment she pulled the bed's multitude of soft blankets up to her chin, breathing in their faintest scent of burning incense.