[Fic] "Forbidden" -- Angel Sanctuary, Kira/Setsuna/Sara, Theme 14
*waves to icedark_elf* See, not dead! And quite definitely still writing! (I still think I must be crazy for doing this project twice, but at least I'm having fun.)
Author: Elizabeth Culmer edenfalling
Fandom/Pairing: Angel Sanctuary, Kira/Setsuna/Sara
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Kaori Yuki, Hakusensha, VIZ Media, et al. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Theme: #14 - Forbidden
Warnings: spoilers
Note: Set way, way far pre-manga, so the name that looks like a typographic error? Is actually not, at least at this point in the canon timeline.
Also, I am making some speculations that, while not wild, are perhaps a bit of a stretch. There's no hard evidence against what I'm proposing, and there is canon evidence that at some point Jibril came to conclusions not terribly out of line with what I've written here, but the time at which she reached those conclusions, and exactly how far she traveled along certain lines of thought, is very much up in the air. So... work with me here, okay? *hopeful smile*
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The Transient and the Eternal: Forbidden
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Nobody precisely sent out search parties, but after Michael's grumbling reached epic levels, the other elemental guardians quietly directed their subordinates to keep an eye out for Lucifel -- in the practice grounds, the slums, or some isolated wilderness, most likely. The last place Jibril expected to find him was in her own gardens a bare hour past dawn. He sat in one of the willows, a splash of shadow against sunlit colors, staring blankly at an elaborate marble fountain.
Jibril stepped off the path, her skirts dragging through the dew-drenched grass, and rested her hand against the tree. "Hello," she said. "It's been a while since you visited -- do you like what I've done with the landscaping?"
Lucifel nodded absently, apparently lost in thought. His gray eyes were narrowed and his hands clenched tightly against the branch on which he sat.
"I hear that God summoned you to his presence recently," Jibril said, trying not to sound too curious.
He smiled as he studied her, faint and chill -- Jibril did her best to meet his eyes steadily -- and then his mouth twisted wryly. "Rumors are the penalty of fame. Yes, I was summoned."
"And?"
Lucifel turned away. "And I will have to think closely about what I learned, as well as... other things."
Something in his voice, nearly hidden in his habitual cloak of indifference, caught Jibril's attention. If she didn't know better, she'd swear Lucifel was interested in someone -- but surely not. If he had ever felt any emotions beyond well-concealed anger and contempt, she would... she would confess undying love to his brother, that's what she'd do.
"Jibril?" Lucifel was looking at her again, his gray eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"What do you think of love?" she asked abruptly. They played this game sometimes, tossing philosophy back and forth, fighting with words since she had no skill with swords and Lucifel only noticed other people when they offered a challenge. If she could drain some of his aggression now, he would be less likely to hurt Michael when he went home. And there was something thrilling about being the focus of Lucifel's attention.
He was silent for a long moment, and then he said, slowly, "God has proclaimed love among angels a sin -- we must care equally for all, and specially for none. And yet, he made us capable of particular love, while dispassionate love hardly seems worthy of the name 'love' at all." He tilted his head. "What do you suppose Michael feels for me?"
Jibril shrugged, mimicking his indifference. "Awe. Jealousy. Hatred. Love."
"And does God punish Michael for that?"
"Michael punishes himself," Jibril said dryly. She changed her approach. "Lucifel. What did God say to you, and who else did you see in Atziluth?"
Lucifel leapt down from the tree, his four wings snapping open and sweeping forward to wrap Jibril in a cloak of pitch-black feathers. "You're too clever for your own good, guardian of water. What God told me will remain my secret for now, but as for the other... What do you know of Alexiel?"
Jibril took a steadying breath, all too conscious of his power and the sword at his side, but determined not to show fear before Michael's unpredictable brother. "She's Rosiel's twin, her title is Organic Angel, she has three wings, and she lives in the Garden of Eden and speaks to no one. I saw her once when I was very young, a few years before you and Michael were brought out of Atziluth. Her hair was dark, and she seemed sad." She looked up and caught Lucifel's eyes. "What is she like?"
"When I left God's presence," Lucifel said, his expression gone distant again, "I flew over the garden and saw her eating fruit. I thought to kill her, as repayment for God's orders, but she snatched my sword from my hand. She could have killed me in a heartbeat. Instead, she let me live. She's a tempered blade, lightning made flesh, and yet she wears her hair long and loose, and something in her eyes is so full of despair..." He shuddered. "Heaven is rotten. Heaven has been rotting since its creation, and nobody is willing to face the truth."
Jibril touched Lucifel's arm, lightly, trying to draw him back. "What did God tell you, Lucifel?" She was afraid of the answer.
"Michael is not the dark enemy," Lucifel said, his voice hard and ice-cold. "I am. God made me to be evil, so that humans and angels will have a perfect example of both their eternal choices. I am to be lawless, and base, and incapable of love by either definition. I am to lead a rebellion against God, fight Michael, and be cast down into hell." His wings tightened around Jibril, and his power sang dangerously through the air, electric against her skin; she gasped.
"I would fight anyway, knowing that he planned this, that he created heaven to be corrupt and gave us laws we cannot follow -- but he wants me to fight. How can I rebel when rebellion only follows his plan?"
Abruptly, Lucifel seemed to realize the magnitude of what he had confessed, and he seized Jibril's hands. "Tell no one." The consequences of disobedience were implicit in his voice and eyes, and she knew he would have no trouble destroying her if she fought.
"I'll keep silent," Jibril promised.
Lucifel studied her, and then nodded. "Good. Will you join me?"
She hesitated -- God was the creator, all-knowing, benevolent, but this plan, to tear away Lucifel's free will on a whim...
"I can't," Jibril said. "I have responsibilities here, and--"
"--and it might be useful for a rebel to have a friend among the high angels," Lucifel finished for her. "Besides, someone will have to keep Michael in line once I'm gone. Baal will be no use at all -- the fool is infatuated with me -- but if you, Raphael, and Uriel work together, you can stop him from doing anything too rash." He smiled at her, that chill, faint twitch of his lips that seemed as close as he could come to affection. "Perhaps this is part of God's plan as well, but even so, even if I'm doomed before I start, I swear that I'll pull him down from his throne and kill him someday."
Jibril shivered.
"Afraid, Jibril? The world won't end with God's death. He wouldn't take such pains binding us if he had nothing to fear." Lucifel pulled in his wings; the sudden rush of sunlight blinded Jibril for a moment. "Until I find a way to reach him, though, I'll settle for dramatic gestures. If he wants a rebellion and a battle, I'll give him one, but set to my own script. And then I think I'll open his doors and let his prisoners free. Alexiel has no reason to love him, after all."
Lucifel smiled, and this time Jibril saw a spark of warmth in his pale, ice-gray eyes before he flew away -- warmth, where there should have been nothing but anger and pride.
If God intended Lucifel to be incapable of love, then perhaps his plan was not as perfect a trap as he thought.
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End
Author: Elizabeth Culmer edenfalling
Fandom/Pairing: Angel Sanctuary, Kira/Setsuna/Sara
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Kaori Yuki, Hakusensha, VIZ Media, et al. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Theme: #14 - Forbidden
Warnings: spoilers
Note: Set way, way far pre-manga, so the name that looks like a typographic error? Is actually not, at least at this point in the canon timeline.
Also, I am making some speculations that, while not wild, are perhaps a bit of a stretch. There's no hard evidence against what I'm proposing, and there is canon evidence that at some point Jibril came to conclusions not terribly out of line with what I've written here, but the time at which she reached those conclusions, and exactly how far she traveled along certain lines of thought, is very much up in the air. So... work with me here, okay? *hopeful smile*
---------------------------------------------
The Transient and the Eternal: Forbidden
---------------------------------------------
Nobody precisely sent out search parties, but after Michael's grumbling reached epic levels, the other elemental guardians quietly directed their subordinates to keep an eye out for Lucifel -- in the practice grounds, the slums, or some isolated wilderness, most likely. The last place Jibril expected to find him was in her own gardens a bare hour past dawn. He sat in one of the willows, a splash of shadow against sunlit colors, staring blankly at an elaborate marble fountain.
Jibril stepped off the path, her skirts dragging through the dew-drenched grass, and rested her hand against the tree. "Hello," she said. "It's been a while since you visited -- do you like what I've done with the landscaping?"
Lucifel nodded absently, apparently lost in thought. His gray eyes were narrowed and his hands clenched tightly against the branch on which he sat.
"I hear that God summoned you to his presence recently," Jibril said, trying not to sound too curious.
He smiled as he studied her, faint and chill -- Jibril did her best to meet his eyes steadily -- and then his mouth twisted wryly. "Rumors are the penalty of fame. Yes, I was summoned."
"And?"
Lucifel turned away. "And I will have to think closely about what I learned, as well as... other things."
Something in his voice, nearly hidden in his habitual cloak of indifference, caught Jibril's attention. If she didn't know better, she'd swear Lucifel was interested in someone -- but surely not. If he had ever felt any emotions beyond well-concealed anger and contempt, she would... she would confess undying love to his brother, that's what she'd do.
"Jibril?" Lucifel was looking at her again, his gray eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"What do you think of love?" she asked abruptly. They played this game sometimes, tossing philosophy back and forth, fighting with words since she had no skill with swords and Lucifel only noticed other people when they offered a challenge. If she could drain some of his aggression now, he would be less likely to hurt Michael when he went home. And there was something thrilling about being the focus of Lucifel's attention.
He was silent for a long moment, and then he said, slowly, "God has proclaimed love among angels a sin -- we must care equally for all, and specially for none. And yet, he made us capable of particular love, while dispassionate love hardly seems worthy of the name 'love' at all." He tilted his head. "What do you suppose Michael feels for me?"
Jibril shrugged, mimicking his indifference. "Awe. Jealousy. Hatred. Love."
"And does God punish Michael for that?"
"Michael punishes himself," Jibril said dryly. She changed her approach. "Lucifel. What did God say to you, and who else did you see in Atziluth?"
Lucifel leapt down from the tree, his four wings snapping open and sweeping forward to wrap Jibril in a cloak of pitch-black feathers. "You're too clever for your own good, guardian of water. What God told me will remain my secret for now, but as for the other... What do you know of Alexiel?"
Jibril took a steadying breath, all too conscious of his power and the sword at his side, but determined not to show fear before Michael's unpredictable brother. "She's Rosiel's twin, her title is Organic Angel, she has three wings, and she lives in the Garden of Eden and speaks to no one. I saw her once when I was very young, a few years before you and Michael were brought out of Atziluth. Her hair was dark, and she seemed sad." She looked up and caught Lucifel's eyes. "What is she like?"
"When I left God's presence," Lucifel said, his expression gone distant again, "I flew over the garden and saw her eating fruit. I thought to kill her, as repayment for God's orders, but she snatched my sword from my hand. She could have killed me in a heartbeat. Instead, she let me live. She's a tempered blade, lightning made flesh, and yet she wears her hair long and loose, and something in her eyes is so full of despair..." He shuddered. "Heaven is rotten. Heaven has been rotting since its creation, and nobody is willing to face the truth."
Jibril touched Lucifel's arm, lightly, trying to draw him back. "What did God tell you, Lucifel?" She was afraid of the answer.
"Michael is not the dark enemy," Lucifel said, his voice hard and ice-cold. "I am. God made me to be evil, so that humans and angels will have a perfect example of both their eternal choices. I am to be lawless, and base, and incapable of love by either definition. I am to lead a rebellion against God, fight Michael, and be cast down into hell." His wings tightened around Jibril, and his power sang dangerously through the air, electric against her skin; she gasped.
"I would fight anyway, knowing that he planned this, that he created heaven to be corrupt and gave us laws we cannot follow -- but he wants me to fight. How can I rebel when rebellion only follows his plan?"
Abruptly, Lucifel seemed to realize the magnitude of what he had confessed, and he seized Jibril's hands. "Tell no one." The consequences of disobedience were implicit in his voice and eyes, and she knew he would have no trouble destroying her if she fought.
"I'll keep silent," Jibril promised.
Lucifel studied her, and then nodded. "Good. Will you join me?"
She hesitated -- God was the creator, all-knowing, benevolent, but this plan, to tear away Lucifel's free will on a whim...
"I can't," Jibril said. "I have responsibilities here, and--"
"--and it might be useful for a rebel to have a friend among the high angels," Lucifel finished for her. "Besides, someone will have to keep Michael in line once I'm gone. Baal will be no use at all -- the fool is infatuated with me -- but if you, Raphael, and Uriel work together, you can stop him from doing anything too rash." He smiled at her, that chill, faint twitch of his lips that seemed as close as he could come to affection. "Perhaps this is part of God's plan as well, but even so, even if I'm doomed before I start, I swear that I'll pull him down from his throne and kill him someday."
Jibril shivered.
"Afraid, Jibril? The world won't end with God's death. He wouldn't take such pains binding us if he had nothing to fear." Lucifel pulled in his wings; the sudden rush of sunlight blinded Jibril for a moment. "Until I find a way to reach him, though, I'll settle for dramatic gestures. If he wants a rebellion and a battle, I'll give him one, but set to my own script. And then I think I'll open his doors and let his prisoners free. Alexiel has no reason to love him, after all."
Lucifel smiled, and this time Jibril saw a spark of warmth in his pale, ice-gray eyes before he flew away -- warmth, where there should have been nothing but anger and pride.
If God intended Lucifel to be incapable of love, then perhaps his plan was not as perfect a trap as he thought.
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End