Winter in the East (Closed: Nuridia and Tomia)

[Nuridia]

As Kira and Marie served the food, Aurelia answered John's question. "Well I was doing some research into it, Asteria even used to have a fairy tutor." "I don't know yet but I was looking, Asteria would probably want to know about them when she gets older." "I just need some way to get into the fairy world."

[Tomia]

John thanked Kira and Marie for the food and listened to Aurelia as he started to eat. "Ya, I'm sure Asteria will want to know who they are once she's old enough to understand the situation. You know she and Eric aren't that different. Eric says he doesn't really care who his birth parents are but I can tell he secretly wants to know. It's nice of you to have looked for her. Maybe I can help you look again. I wonder what happened to them. I mean there must be some reason they abandoned Asteria. I mean why would you just leave a sweet little girl like her?"

[Nuridia]

"Thanks, that would be wonderful for you to help look." Aurelia told her boyfriend. "I'm sure Asteria will want to know where she comes from even though she'll always love us." Asteria was sitting in a toddler's chair at the table next to Aurelia, playing with a top. Uriel heard the conversation going on between John and Aurelia about Asteria's birth family. "You said Asteria was half fairy right?" she asked. Aurelia nodded. "Yeah." "Well, fairies have a custom called changelings." "A changeling is a fairy child that's switched with a human one at birth, preferably with a human infant that has died so that the human parents won't know of the death of the child, raising the fairy as their own so that the fairy can be raised in the human world." "There are many reasons for this, but nobody knows really why." "Asteria's only half." Aurelia pointed out. "And I actually have a book of the fairy world, the text magically changes according to current events like a news station so it has every event that ever happened." "I'm sure you can find something about Asteria's parents there." Uriel said. "It's up in my study, and you all know where that is."

[Tomia]

John smiled at Aurelia. "Of course angel, no need to thank me. There isn't anything I wouldn't do for Asteria or you." John thought about the second part of what she said. He wasn't really sure what his relationship was with Asteria. He knew he loved her, and he certainly acted like her father, but was he? He wasn't really sure but he didn't want to rush anything. He listens to Uriel talk about fairies, he didn't know nearly as much about them as Aurelia and her family seemed to. "That'd be great Uriel thanks." He turned to Aurelia. "Do you want to look at it before we leave to see your brother sweetie?"

[Nuridia]

Aurelia smiled. "I'd like that." "Thanks uncle Uriel, Asteria deserves to know." "I'm going to go get Salma and Eric, they're going to want dinner." Aurelia went upstairs and knocked on Uriel's door. "Guys, dinner's ready!" "Hurry up before my dad and uncles eat it all, and you know they will!"

[Tomia]

John nodded and followed Aurelia upstairs. He smiled at her comment to Salma and Eric and walked with her to find Uriel's book in his study. As they walked a thought came to his mind. "Hey Aurelia, what do you think Asteria's name might have been before oh found her?"
Eric had been asleep when he jumped up and stirred at Aurelia's words through the door. He looked over to his side at Salma who was still asleep. He smiled and gently woke her. "Hey sweetie wake up, Aurelia says it's time for dinner. See, resting wasn't so bad was it?" He asked kissing her. "Thank you for doing it for me, I'm very grateful. I won't bug you about it again." He told her as he got up to go downstairs.

[Nuridia]

Salma kissed Eric since she was just waking up and didn't feel like talking. She smiled at him and they walked downstairs together. Meanwhile, Aurelia and John went upstairs as the two reached the door to Uriel's study. "I honestly don't know what her name was before Asteria, maybe we'll figure it out." "But Asteria's the only name she knows." "Her middle name is Diana." When they opened it, it was like a huge library. In Uriel's study nearly all the walls were lined from floor to ceiling with books.

[Tomia]

Eric smiled when Salma kissed him. He could tell she wasn't in the mood to talk so he simply held her hand as they walked downstairs. He was much more happy than he had been earlier. He and Salma weren't fighting anymore and she had rested and seemed to be feeling better. The arrived downstairs and greeted everyone. Eric realized he was hungry and grabbed a plate for himself and a plate for Salma, thanking Kira for cooking.
John nodded to Aurelia and walked with her to Uriel's study. He walked in with her and was amazed. "Wow, this place is unbelievable. It's huge, how are we going to find the book we're looking for?"

[Nuridia]

Kira smiled as Salma and Eric grabbed their plates and started eating. Salma thanked Kira and Eric before she ate. "Wow, this is a lot of food Kira." "It must've been hard work." Salma said. Kira laughed. "Oh dear, I'm used to cooking for six people." "Now that I have an empty house I haven't gotten out of the habit so I have leftovers for a few weeks." "You must really miss them, Raphael and the others." Salma said. "Oh trust me, I do." Kira replied. "They're my sons, my boys, my babies." "We were so close, we did everything together." "But also I'm proud of them for being men and making something of their lives they makes them happy." "Raphael's a doctor and has a lovely wife and a growing family, Uriel's a judge, Mike's in the army and Gabriel runs a messaging service." "A mother couldn't ask for more." "And I have a new grandchild on the way, between Raphael, Marie and Aurelia that baby girl's going to be gorgeous." Meanwhile in the study, Aurelia looked at all the books and smiled at John's reaction. She went up to Uriel's desk with the laptop sitting there. "You type in the name or subject of the book, and it appears on the desk." "Handy seeing as my uncle has every book ever written." Aurelia said. "This is only the first floor, this study has levels it's so huge."

[Tomia]

Eric smiled at Salma and sat down with her to eat. He turned to Kira. "Ya this certainly is a lot of food. But I can imagine Raphael and his brothers ate a lot. You should definitely be proud of your sons. I mean Raphael has helped me more times than I can count. They're great guys, or angels." He smiled at her comment about the baby girl. "Ya I'm sure she'll be beautiful, considering her gene pool."
John was shocked to hear this was just the first floor. "Wow, that's incredible." He was thankful and the computer and sat down at it. "So any idea what this book is called?" He asked typing in Fairies to see what would come up.

[Nuridia]

"Yeah, I am proud of all of them." "I haven't seen my grandson since his murder, but Azrael has finally found his soul." "I know it for a fact, I've confirmed it because I went to see Azrael one day and Alex is there and his physical body is ready so he'll finally be able to go back to his mother, father and sisters." "Raphael and Marie will be so happy to have their son back." Kira was getting emotional herself. Meanwhile, Aurelia saw John type in fairies and many books appeared on the table. Aurelia looked through the pile and found the one she believed was it. "A Guide to the Fairy World, History, Notable Fairies, Current and Past Events." "I think this is it." When she picked it, the rest of the books disappeared.

"Well let's look through it and see what we find." Aurelia opened the book and flipped through it. "Past Events." "Scandal caused in fairy world when a human consort is taken by Banrion Brenna." "Two years ago: portal to the fairy world is opened and a changeling is delivered, rumor has it it's a child of the Banrion and the human man." "Well Banrion is an Irish title." "Irish is the language of the fairies and Banrion means Queen." Aurelia was a little surprised. "Monarchs of the Fairy World." Aurelia flipped through the pages and there were beautiful photos of the fairy kings and queens down to the current ones. "Okay, so the current ruler is Fairy Queen Brenna, daughter of Titania and Oberon." Aurelia got to the photo of the current queen and her eyes widened. "John, look at this!" she whispered to her boyfriend. The photo of the queen was clear as day, she looked like an older version of Asteria. Same hair, eyes, smile and everything.

[Tomia]

"Really? You have?" Eric said to Kira surprised. "That's great! Aurelia and her parents will be so happy. I can't believe we're actually going to meet Alex. We've heard so much about him. It's like meeting a celebrity."
John saw Aurelia pick up the book and read over her shoulder. He listened to Aurelia and was shocked when she showed him the picture of the fairy queen. It was like he was looking at Asteria grown up. "Wow, you think... You think that's Asteria's mother?" It certainly looked like it, but John didn't want to believe it. Would this mean they would lose Asteria? Would her mother want her back?

[Nuridia]

Kira smiled. "I know." "They'll finally be a family again, after Alex was killed it ripped a hole in this family you know?" "Raphael hurt because his family hurt, he lost his son and he couldn't save his son, he tried to heal Alex but the wound was so bad even my son couldn't treat it." "He's blamed himself ever since." In the study, Aurelia thought about John's words and looked at the photo of the queen. "She could possibly be Asteria's birth mom, I mean they look way too alike for it to be just a coincidence." Aurelia felt a little bit of a pang in her heart at maybe losing her daughter. Asteria was a princess, of the fairy world. But she wondered the queen would leave her. "I wonder why she would leave Asteria, don't monarchs need their heirs?" "But what if she wasn't left?" Aurelia flipped through the book and read a section on changelings. "Changelings can also be fairy children stolen from the cradle by other fairies and placed on earth, the fairy parent looks frantically but often can't find the stolen baby."

[Tomia]

Eric nodded Kira. "I know, he always seemed really upset whenever Alex was brought up. I'm glad he won't have to be upset anyone, they'll finally be reunited."
John could tell Aurelia was thinking the same thing he was. He took her hand. "Hey, don't worry. It'll be okay. If this woman is really Asteria's mother, well I'm sure she'll understand. We have to do what's best for Asteria. She loves you too much, she won't want to be separated from you, I know it." He felt bad that Asteria might have been stolen from her parents, still she couldn't leave Aurleia, it would break both their hearts.

[Nuridia]

Aurelia nodded. "I hope so." "I always called Asteria my little princess, but I never thought she was actually born one." "Doesn't matter what happens, she'll always be my little girl and nobody will take her away from me." Raphael and his brothers had finished, Marie asked for a second helping because the baby in her womb ate quite a lot." Raphael chuckled as his wife had her dinner and kissed her on the cheek before turning and offering to help his mother and brothers do the dishes.

[Tomia]

John nodded firmly at Aurelia's words, reassured by the confidence in her voice. "You're right. No one will take her from you. We won't let them." He gave a small smile at her comment about Asteria being a princess. "Ya, no wonder she always loves to play dress up with Salma. We should probably start heading back downstairs. We don't want Asteria and the others to worry. Hey, do you think Uriel would let us take this book back to earth?"
Eric and Sam had finished their meals and helped Raphael and his family clean up. "Wow, Kira really is a great cook." He said to Salma. "I guess it kind of runs in the family huh?"

[Nuridia]

Aurelia nodded and headed back downstairs with John. Meanwhile, Kira and the others were cleaning, Marie helped after she finished her dinner and they thanked Salma and Eric for their help. "Runs in the family?" Salma asked. "Raphael told us one time he couldn't cook at all."

[Tomia]

John walked back downstairs with Aurelia into the kitchen, the book they were looking at in his arm. When they got to the kitchen he turned to Uriel. "Thanks for your help Uriel. I think we found what we were looking for. Do you think we could take this book back to Earth?" John knew that had to find out more about Asteria's real parents now, especially if she was kidnapped. However a part of him didn't want to. He didn't want to lose her. John was very protective of the people he loved, and always feared losing them. He decided to push it from his mind. He turned to Raphael "I guess we should get going to see Alex right? All you guys have certainly waited Lon enough to see him."
"Ya Raphael said he was a bad cook. I was talking about Aurelia. I mean she's one of the best cooks I've ever met. She must get it from Kira is what I meant."

[Nuridia]

"Oh, I see that." Salma nodded to Eric. Uriel heard John's question and was a little surprised but not so much. He knew that they needed to know more about Asteria's birth parents. The child deserved to know even though she had a perfectly good mother in Aurelia. "Sure, you can borrow the book so long as it is returned to me undamaged." Uriel said, flexing his black wings before folding them again. Meanwhile, Raphael and Marie looked up at the mention of their son's name. "Yes, let's go see him." Marie said, standing up. Raphael went over to go help his wife and Marie held his hand. "I'm a bit nervous, we haven't seen Alex in so long." "An eternity, and then last time we saw him was...not pleasant." Raphael could hardly speak, he was overcome with emotion as his wife was. He simply nodded, wasn't able to see his son in three years and now getting to hug him again. Aurelia was going to see her twin brother and find out about Asteria's parents, it was all overwhelming.

[Tomia]

John nodded to Uriel. "Of course, we'll bring it back in perfect condition I promise you, and thank you we appreciate it." He turned to Marie and Raphael who looked nervous about seeing their son again. "Don't worry you guys, I'm sure everything will go fine. Alex's is probably just as excited to see you as you guys are to see him." John turned to Aurelia who seemed to be overwhelmed by everything. He didn't blame her, between getting her brother back and finding out about Asteria's birth parents she had a lot on her plate. He took her hand to let her know he was there for her and helped Asteria out of her seat. "Well, I guess we should get going then."

[Nuridia]

"We should go, I want to see my brother as soon as possible." Aurelia said, standing up. Her parents stood with her and followed her outside,a long with her uncles. A transport wheel popped up and Uriel spun it, it lined up with black jewels, taking them to Sheol, world of the dead. Instead of being transported in a white light, the ground opened beneath the group and they all fell through, ending up in an underground cave that was very dimply lit, it was nearly dark. A wide river flowed in front of them, nearly taking up the whole cave instead of the platform they were standing on. "This is like the river to Hades, this one leads to the gates of Sheol but you'll have to row yourself." Raphael said, pointing to a boat on the far side of the river.

[Tomia]

John nodded and stopped up with Aurelia and walked out with he and her family outside, with Eric and Sam following. John noticed another wheel pop up, however this one was black. When Uriel spun it the ground seemed to disappear. John was surprised when they arrived next a large river, in a dimly lit cave. John nodded to Raphael. The place did seem similar to Hades. "Alright, let's go to it then. Is the river safe to swim in? Because we might not all fit in that row boat, but I may have another way to get us there."

[Nuridia]

Raphael spoke. "The boat will increase in size to fit passengers, Azrael installed the spell to save money on boats." "Actually quite a handy piece of magic I believe." "Yes, the river is safe to swim in if you're dead already." "It's filled with souls and if you touch the water your soul will be drawn from your body." "Let's go, I want to see our little boy." Marie told Raphael, holding his hand as they knew they would need to support each other and Aurelia during this. Aurelia went over to her parents and the family all hugged before heading to where the boat was, motioning for the others to follow them. "Hey Salma, how about some light?" Asteria asked, not knowing of Salma's close call that morning. "Well she already overheated from using her powers too much, doing it again so soon wouldn't be wise." Raphael told his granddaughter.

[Tomia]

"Oh alright" John said to Raphael. He figured that was probably a better solution than his. Especially since John didn't plan on being dead anytime soon. He followed Raphael and the others toward the boat. Eric heard Asteria's question and was glad when Raphael responded to her. He knew Asteria's question was innocent and she didn't mean any harm, but Eric definitely didn't want Salma to use her powers at the moment. John, Eric, and Sam got into the boat with the others. John got into the middle and volunteered to row for them, as he figured Raphael and his brothers would be too distracted by the prospect of seeing Alex. Once everyone was inside the boat John began rowing down the river toward the gate.

[Nuridia]

Raphael and the rest of the groups told in silence as John rowed the boat down the eerie river. Finally after a long winding way, they had stopped at huge golden gates blocking the entrance. Giant gray and black feathered vultures with red eyes guarded the entrance way. They looked poised to attack but they recognized the other archangels. They explained what the others were doing there and the vultures stood down. One of them flew inside the gates and then came back out, stopping in front of the boat. "We've been allowed in, the vulture will guide us to Azrael." Uriel said.