The Elites stared down at me as they appraised me. They were probably taking in my wind blown hair and flushed cheeks. Overall, not the best way to look when speaking to the council.

God stood up and I bowed my head in a sign of respect. "Mia, Guardian Angel of Truth." He greeted me solemnly.

In a clear voice which rang throughout the council I opened my mouth to speak, "My humblest greetings, God, the Guardian Angel of Power." He smiled and sat back down as he motioned for me to begin.

"Vlad, the demon of hatred, reques-demanded through the beacon that I meet him upon the hill of ashes in the human realm. He asked me to go alone and that I did, despite knowing the risk that there could've been more demons than him waiting to ambush me." I spoke.

A murmur rang throughout the hall but I ignored it. My past and history with Vlad was known to every Angel in this hall and I suspected that I was often the source of gossip because of it. I paid no attention to the other Elites and I continued.

"I met him atop the hill of Ashes and he was alone. There was no ambush and there was no trap. He offered something to me, on behalf of the demons. He claimed that his words were true as he offered me..." I hesitated, knowing the chaos the word would cause." He offered me-peace."

There was instantly an uproar, just as I had known there would be but I did not stop talking. I merely raised my voice and continued louder than before.

"He offered me peace and it was clear that he was not happy about it. He said something along the lines of: You cannot win, this battle is pointless. His instructions were to light the Beacon if we accepted the demon's offer of peace.

I fell quiet as every Angel began to make their opinion on the matter clear. I heard many words go around such as 'ridiculous', 'unbelievable' and 'outrageous'. I did not join in any of the conversations or discussions and instead glanced up at God who was silent in deep thought and concentration.

Suddenly he stood up and boomed, "Quiet!"

The council was suddenly as silent as the grave. I swear that I could have heard a pin drop. God turned to me and questioned me directly.

"Mia, you have had the most experience with Vlad. You also know when people are lying. Tell me - was he being truthful and honest with his offer?" he tries to enquire.

I hesitated before raising my head and meeting the gazes of several Angels. "I am sorry and ashamed to admit that I let my feelings get out of hand and I wasn't concentrating on whether or not he was being truthful. On one hand, due to his past, I would say that I do not believe him. But on the other hand, he knows I am the Angel of truth and he requested me personally. He could not have foreseen that I wouldn't be paying attention to his honesty so why would he lie if he knew I would be able to see straight through him?"

God nodded whilst one Angel called out, "Peace! This is outrageous. It is obviously a false offer. These are Demons we are talking about! Peace is a dirty word to them. It is not something they would ever consider. They would all rather fight to the death before offering peace to us and sparing our lives!" he countered.

I glared up at him. "And you know this for a fact, do you?" I asked with a voice that was frighteningly calm. "Since when have you gained so much knowledge on the minds of Demons? Have you talked to one recently?" I asked mockingly.

The Angel turned blue and glared at me. "You still defend Vlad, after all that he has done to you and to the Angels? He is a traitor. He is a liar. We cannot believe a word that he says." He shouted.

I opened my mouth to say something again but God silenced the room. "Quiet! No one will speak unless I give them permission."

All of the Angels sat down and I turned to him and watched his face, deep in thought.

"Normally, I would be inclined to go with the belief that he was lying." Started God. I nodded, thinking over what the other Angel had said. Was I defending Vlad? I wasn't sure.

"But- there is what you said to be considered. It is true, with your history that he was probably more willing to talk to you and you are right in saying that he knows you are the Angel of truth. This means that as you said, if he had been lying he would have expected you to see straight through him. It is highly unlikely that he would have forgotten this fact."

I nodded my head. I wanted to get out of here. I did not like involving myself with Angel politics. It was rather weary work.

God looked me straight in the eye. "It is really a pity that you weren't paying attention; it would have been useful to know whether or not he was being truthful."

I hung my head in embarrassment. I was ashamed of myself.

"But, even if we knew that he was being honest, I still don't believe we should accept his offer. This battle will end up taking place somehow and peace isn't going to be able to put a stop to it now." The God added.

He turned to Ashe, the Guardian Angel of tactics, who was seated at his right side. "What do you think of this, Ashe?"

Ashe stood up and turned to the many Angels gathered around him. "I believe that we should still fight." He said in a grave voice. He continued, "I agree with God when he says that peace isn't an option - even if their offer was genuine. But I do have an idea to be offered. I believe that we should pretend to accept their offer so that we can discover their intentions. It may give us information that will help us win this war."

I stayed silent. Ashe's idea made sense. I looked to God who seemed to be deliberating. He stood up and addressed me. "Mia, we will pretend to accept their offer and can you please meet with Vlad again to decipher his intentions?"

I nodded my head but before I could speak another word, an Angel screamed out, "You can't trust her! Her emotions will get the better of her again and she won't find anything out. If anything, they could walk away benefiting from this if you send her!"

I stiffened and glared furiously at him. God glared at him too. "Mia is not on trial here!" he shouted. The man flinched and sat down. "I believe that I said you could not speak unless I gave you permissions, correct?" God asked the Angel. The Angel merely nodded. "Then why did you speak?" Asked the God. The man looked embarrassed and spoke softly, "My apologies."

I rolled my eyes and God turned back to me. "Mia, I believe that I can trust you to stay focused and see what the demons are planning by talking to Vlad. Am I right in trusting you?"

I nodded and in a clear voice said "Yes. I vow, here before you, that I will stay focused and discover the Demon's true intentions."

God nodded. "I will send for you once we have communicated with the Demons through the Beacon." I agreed and God turned to address the whole Council. "Council is dismissed!" he called.

One by one, every Angel quickly left. I stood standing whilst I waited for everyone to leave. When I did leave, I was one of the last to do so. I flew over to the castle of Shangri-La and escaped to my quarters there.

I laid down on my bed and groaned. I should've been gotten in some fighting practice since a fight between the Angel Elites and the Demon Elites seemed inevitable but I didn't feel up to it.

Instead I closed my eyes and rested.

I woke up to a knock at the door. I opened it and Hades was waiting for me. "God calls for you, the demons have responded to our communications." he said urgently.

I quickly followed him. I hurried into the small but well protected room where the Beacon was located. God was already there, waiting for me.

"Mia." he greeted me as I sat in beside him. He dismissed Hades and the other guards and then it was only him and me present in the room.

"We sent a word to the demons that we wished to accept their offer of peace but that we were sending you to speak with Vlad to discuss the minor details. Vlad himself messaged back that they would meet you on the Hill of ashes again at the same time. He insisted that he would be alone but, it is hard to trust him."

I nodded as I stared into space. "What exactly would you like me to find out?" I asked.

"Try and discover why they wanted peace. See if the offer was genuine or not. If possible, try and discover something about their tactics for the upcoming battle." he explained.

I nodded and as I was leaving he grabbed my wrist and added, "Be careful. You are one of our strongest fighters. If you suspect danger, you leave - with or with out the information. Got it?"

I nodded and replied, "Got it." He smiled and turned away from me. I left the room and hurried back to my quarters. I hadn't got any sleep last night and since I had to meet him tonight again, it was wise that I get some sleep.

I took off my dress and put on a lighter one to sleep in. I put the old one in the basket for washing.

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I got passed the twigs, almost tripping in my way to get to the hill of ashes. That's when I heard his voice. I raised my head to see where he was. I was sure it was coming from above me. That's when I saw him appearing through the dense clouds. I got alarmed when I saw a knife in his hand. He was coming towards me, with full speed. I wasted no time in lifting my legs and moving away from him. He looked extremely furious. What had happeded to him?

I was running away from him as I saw him flying above me, trying to capture me. I was terrified and I couldn't get my wings to work. Desperate sobs started to break out of my chest as I ran until my legs hurt. I tripped and heard Vlad scream above me. I couldn't see where he was because there were trees in the way. I was alone in the dark and he was coming for me.

I cowered as I pulled my knees to my chest and sobbed pathetically. He came down through the trees and landed in front of me swiftly, causing my eyes to widen in horror. My dark Angel, was here, to kill me. He started to move towards me and I backed up against a tree and whimpered as he got closer. Terror gripped me and I screamed.

"Please Vlad, Don't hurt me!" I begged. He gave me a wicked smile as he kept coming closer to me, the knife in his hand, shining in the dark, as if it was mocking at me about how sharp it was.

"I need to hurt you, Mia. You won't come to me willingly so I need to force you to come to me." he spoke in his dark and dangerous.

He instantly leaped at me and wrapped his hands around my neck as I choked. "Will you come with me, Mia?" He asked sadistically. I shook my head and continued to sob as I tried to escape his grip.

"You loved me once Mia, come with me now, and we can be together again." he tightened his grip as I was trying to escape.

I shook my head as I carried on crying. "No, Vl-Vlad. No!" I whispered.

His eyes abruptly became red. He left his grip on my neck, giving me a jerk and kicked me in the stomach. I gasped as the air flew out of my lungs. "You know what is wrong with you Mia?" He screamed. I flinched as I tried to move away. He grabbed me by the arms and painfully brought me closer to him. He leaned his face towards me and whispered in my ear, "You never loved me. I loved you more than anything, but the second I changed, you abandoned me."

I flinched and sobbed harder. "No, No. I didn't abandon you. Please, Vlad. I still love you."

"Liar!" he screamed.

He harshly threw me against the tree and I felt blood run through my hair. I screamed from the pain he was causing me. He came up to me again and knelt beside me. He finally raised his knife and began running it softly along my body. It was soft enough that it did not cut my skin. I flinched as the knife came up to my throat.

"Goodbye Mia, maybe you will come to me in the next life." He said conversationally as he slit my throat mercilessly.

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Next update: 07/06/2017

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