The Fallen Angel Part 2

11. Summit

"Who are you?" The guards stood in front of the palace asked.

"Elsa Arendelle." I answer.

"Come with us."

I followed them through the halls in which felt more foreign than familiar. Perhaps because this time, I'm lugging around golden-lined armour dress and boots that hugged my body or I'm just hungover.

The guards opened the doors to reveal Jenx at the end of the table, sipping her tea. My father sitting near, looking worried as he gaze at me.

Jenx does not seem to have changed during this period. Of course, she was still fatally gorgeous and her hair was an inch longer but she seemed to be in the same state as I first saw her.

"Elsa!" Jenx's face lit up. "My! You look different, more mature it seems? Maybe it's because you're sporting a short bob haircut!"

I look around the room, it's not much of a summit if it's just my father and Jenx.

Jenx comes closer to inspect me, she lifts my arm up. "Don't tell me he did this?" She says as she squints at my aura.

I jerk my arm away. "No."

My father coughs loudly but Jenx ignores him. "I'm sure you want to know how Jack Blaze is doing?"

"I'm sure he's doing fine."

"Nice guess. But you're wrong."

I forcefully smile at Jenx. "Well, shall we talk about the Satanic Cults?"

"Ah, yes," she says and returns to her seat. "But first, tea?"

"No thanks." I take a seat beside her and anxiously look at my father.

"We've been sending requests to address this issue for 14 years and yet, you finally answer now?" I ask Jenx. "How come?"

"I invite you to my abode and I'm ready to talk, but you ask me this? Why not speak about the issue first and then address the 'why' later?"

I scoff. "I've been out there in the mortal world for a long time, I've seen the horrors of these cults and requesting your attention on them. But to have them ignored and knowing that I have to work harder to keep the evil away when there is a better solution kind of ... kind of pisses me off."

"So you're the Guardian Angel?"

I look back and forth from my father and to Jenx. "You did not know?"

"No. I didn't," she says. "But that's very interesting. You finally became stronger like you always wished you had. You crushed your innocence-"

"I never crushed my innocence," I interrupt. "It was never that."

"I envied that little bubble you were in though, now seeing that there's nothing to envy ... I kind of pity you."

I didn't remember Jenx to be this, this infuriating. I do remember she valued the Angel Orphans above all, but I don't understand her behaviour. It's as if she only invited me here just to piss me off.

"Back to the proposal," father begins.

"Uh-uh," Jenx halts father. "First of all, why should I help you?"

"This is for the wellbeing of the mortal lands."

"Heaven's job is to get rid of the evil, and Hell's job is to act as the dumpster for that evil," she explains. "Satanic cults do not fall under dumpster duty."

"It does," I say. "You're supposed to keep the evil, however you are failing miserably if they are being summoned out of Hell."

"Oh is that so?" Jenx acts oblivious. "By what exactly?"

"Why are you doing this? You invited us here just to ignore us?" I argue.

"Yes. Because we can't trust Heaven."

"Why is that?"

Jenx leans in closer. "Don't act dumb."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"15 years ago a fleet of angels attacked the demon residents and stole Fallen Angels. An elaborate attack, very planned out, I must say," Jenx explains. "It smelt like some secret initiative of the Angel Council."

"That is ridiculous!" Father stands up. "Why haven't we heard of this attack?"

"Because the Kingdom of Heaven has been under investigation for under those 15 years. If we reported to Hell about this attack we would receive no information at all but denial," Jenx explains. "Even such accusation will give the Angel Council an excuse to add more rules and regulations."

I couldn't even refute that claim, even though my father has final decision as the Head, he can't compete against the many raging bigots that fill up the seats in the Council Hall. 

"Once I heard you finally had a Guardian Angel it made me rethink the motive of the Kingdom of Heaven and I wanted to hear what you had to say," she tells us. "And to think, that Guardian Angel would be none other than your daughter ..."

"I assure you, Jenx, that the Angel Council had nothing to do with it. We were attacked too. They're called the Flight of Freedom, I know one of the members, Tooth. They have this mission to destroy the hierarchy of Heaven, but they completely disappeared." I explain to her. 

"Interesting ..." She fiddles with her hair. "So they stole our Fallen's to attack you guys from above? God, and they call us the bad ones."

"We're happy to have a joint investigation on this group if you will allow us." Father says.

"With who? Just you two knowing?"

Father nods.

"I'm sure Elsa is busy with addressing the prayers of mortals to be doing a thorough investigation, and so are you Agnarr." Jenx stands up. "But don't worry, we're still continuing our investigation from before."

"How's that been going?" I asked, in a passive-aggressive way.

"Well."

"Really? You just received information that took you 15 years to uncover and you also found out that it really doesn't concern Hell, because the organisation's target is Heaven."

"I thought you were smarter than that Elsa." She sighed. "If they wanted to destroy the hierarchy and Heaven in all it's 'corruptness', they would've of just destroyed Heaven. But no--they just sent a Fallen to send a message and then disappear. There's obviously something more going on and I'm going to continue this investigation to clear up that uncertainty."

Jenx hasn't changed. The smartest yet most cunning spiritual being did act the way I expected. But this time she doesn't trust anyone. 

"But don't worry," she begun. "I'll make sure to report any findings." Jenx stands by the door, indicating the end of the summit. "But about the cults, I have no control over that. But if you do need any cooperation within Hell's jurisdiction please let me know, I will not ghost you this time."

Father and I walk over to the door where Jenx gives a plastered, forced smile. 

"Thank you for visiting Hell."