Morning came fast. I woke first; my face was covered by her wings' feathers. I lifted my head to look at her; she was as beautiful as ever. Her wings covered her body like a blanket. It made me smile looking at her; she is the only thing I have left. I walked out to the kitchen; the smell of blood still wandered the air. It reminded me, and my smile faded.
I promise, Mom, I thought as I started to prepare breakfast for us, not something fancy, just eggs and bread, but it is enough for now.
"What are you making, dear?" Ava's voice came from behind.
"Eggs and bread," I said as I turned and hugged her. "I am glad that you're feeling better."
"Thank you, dear," she said as she hugged me back, her wing wrapped me as well as always. Her head lay against my chest, her beautiful smile on her face; she was still warm. I guess she really took it badly, my poor wife.
"You really shouldn't get out of bed with a fever," I said as I kissed her forehead; she lifted her head and kissed me on the lips.
"You are my husband, kiss me for real, you dummy."
"Sure, my love," I replied as she released me, and I turned back to the kitchen.
"I will wait in bed, dear."
"I will be there in a few, love." Half an hour passed as I finished; I plated the eggs and bread and went to the bedroom.
"Finally," Ava's voice came from the bed, "what took you so long? It's just eggs and bread."
"Sorry, it took me time baking the bread," I said as my face turned red.
"I thought you left me or something," Ava said, crowing in the blanket and covering herself with her wings.
I moved one of the wings and lifted the blanket; her face was red and tears started to build in her eyes. "Now why would I leave a loving wife like you?" I said as I kissed her.
"Thank you."
"No, my love, thank you. Now eat the food, it's getting cold," I said, giving her the plate. We sat together on the bed and ate. "Sorry for the simple meal, my love."
"Don't apologize for making me food, dear," she said with a little laugh. "It is simple, but it is enough for me, because you made it for me," she said, placing her hand on my cheek.
"I don't deserve you, you know that," I said as my face turned red. We finished eating and got up to the kitchen. I smelled the blood again, and my smile disappeared. I placed the dishes in the sink, and suddenly Ava hugged me from behind.
"I am going out to find someone who would want the house, okay dear? Try to bear it a little more," she said. Her warmth was the thing that helped me bear it: the smallness, the despair, the pain. She was my light, my wife.
"Thank you, my love. I will do my best," I said. Tears started to rain from my face as I held her hand, refusing to release it.
"It's fine, I am here, dear. I will always be here for you," she said. Her words comforted me. I caught my breath and released her hand.
"Sorry, my love, I got a little too emotional," I said as I started to wash our plates.
"Can you stop apologizing for everything and stop thanking me? I am your wife; it is my job," she said as she changed into her normal clothes, a white dress. It made her look even more beautiful.
"I am out, dear," she said, walking out the door.
I was alone again with the smell of blood. There are seven houses in this world; one of them is my house, the house of Valor, with the church of the Everliving God. There is the house of Orion and the house of Vitalis; those two are with the church of the Everliving house. Naturally, it would mean that they are allies, but the moment one of them has the chance, they will betray to be more powerful, and the one thing similar about those three is that they all have only one city. It is more likely to be one of them. My bets are on the house of Orion; the youngest son is our age, and he wanted Ava for a long time. He even moved to this city to try and marry her, but she wanted only me for some reason. Jolt El Orion, I thought as I walked around the house. It would be the most logical answer, but it can also be one of the other well, not the house of Altan, the most powerful house. They have four houses, and all four churches support this house. If they could kill me and not suffer the consequence of my sister taking more power, there is the house Angus with two cities and with the church of unyielding power god. Aris showed his interest in Ava before. The other two can be as well, but less likely. They have three cities each: the house of Nova with the church of shining star goddess, and the house of Lux with the church of light and dark god. All have at least one of our age and with interest in Ava, and all will be in the Engelbert academy. If what Ava said is true and there is a way to become a Cherub, I should do it soon; the tests are in five months.
Few hours have passed. I waited for her in the living room. It is taking her a lot of time to come.I guess finding someone to buy something at a fair price in this area is hard to find, but still, I hope she's okay. I thought to myself, then the door opened. It was her.
"I'm back, dear," she said from the door. I missed her sweet voice, even if it was only a few hours.
"Welcome back, love," I said, walking to her. She looked better than in the morning.
"Dear, meet George, a merchant that wants to buy the house," Ava said as George got in.
"It is a nice house you have here, Seraph," he said, giving me his hand. He's looking for a handshake; most won't do that for a human. I shook his hand and gave him a little smile; he seemed pleased.
"So, George, give your price. You can look around as much as you like," I said, and George did. He made a few loops around the house before he came back to me with a little curve to his lips.
"It is a nice place for a house on the surface. I will give you three thousand coins for it," he said. I was in shock. It is a nice house for the surface; most houses like this are in the air for the mid to high Cherubs, I thought. Wait, three thousand? It's way too much. Is he mad?
"You have it," I said, giving him my hand to shake. He shook it; he was not kidding. Three thousand! I can buy a lot for her now, I thought, as I looked at Ava with a wide smile.
"So when can I get it?" he asked. "Because I have the money here." He gave me a bag full of coins.
"Less than an hour," I said, instantly grabbing Ava's hand and taking her to the bedroom. "Love, where did you find this man?"
"A friend told me about him," she said, smiling and starting to take the things she loved in the house. There were a lot of things; she had to go to her house multiple times before we got out of the house. It took more than an hour.
"Sorry, man, it took us way too long," I said to George.
"It's fine. I didn't think it would take you less than an hour to move any way," he said.
"If I may ask, what are you going to do with this place?"
"I will open a shop."
"Good luck with that," I said. Ava came back; she looked exhausted. "You alright, love?" I asked her.
"Yes, I hope that was the last one," she said, catching her breath.
"Well, I am the last one," I said, embarrassed. Then she lifted me and widened her wings and flew to her house.
"Have a nice life, you two," George said from the ground with a small giggle.
"You had to do it like that?" I asked, even more embarrassed than before.
"I'm more efficient, dear, and besides, you look cute like that," she said with a wide smile.
"Please don't say that," I asked. She laughed. We arrived at her house shortly after; it was bigger than what I had before.
"I am so exhausted, dear. Can you make us food today?" she asked, entering the house and crashing on the couch.
"Like every day," I asked, walking to her and kissing her, "sure, but after that I need to tell me how I can become a Cherub."
"Oh right, I forgot, sorry dear. I will after we eat, okay?"
"That's what I asked, love," I said, walking to the kitchen. I made a meat stew, a simple but good meal. The smell of the meat filled the room.
"You made a meat stew?" Ava asked from the couch, where she lay all this time. "I love your meat stew."
"I know, that is why I made it," I said, getting the table ready. "Come, the table is ready." She jumped up and set it with excitement. I prepared two plates, one small and one big. I gave Ava the big plate.
"Dear, why are you eating in small portions?" she asked, her smile disappearing from her face.
"I am just not that hungry, love."
"Don't lie to me," she burst out. "You give me more because you're worried about me. I will be fine, so worry about yourself as well."
I leaned forward for a kiss. "Sorry, but I was not lying, just hiding some of the truth. I am worried about you, but I am also not hungry after my mother died," I said after the kiss.
"Oh, sorry. I am just worried about you," she said, as her face turned red.
"It's alright," I said, patting her head, "now eat the food getting cold." We ate the food in a weird silence.
"Love, are you alright?" I asked.
"Yes, just a little ashamed. I didn't think you were still sad and angry about your mother," she said, looking away again.
"Love, it is alright. You don't need to be ashamed. You are the only thing that makes me happy now, so please look at me," I said, and she did. Her eyes looked like she was about to cry. "Don't cry, I love you," I said, wiping her eyes.
"Thank you, dear, I love you more," she said as she got up and went to the bedroom. It was weird. A minute later, she came out with a weird book in her hand. "Here," she said as she gave it to me.
"What is it, love?" I asked.
"Your father's notebook. In there, there is a way for you to be a Cherub," she said, a wide smile on her face.
My father's notebook.