Spreading the News

When they both headed to the breakfast room; which Caliope found out through Amra that it was not the same place where they had dinner, they met Wiltshire and Elaine smiling talking about old stories. "I am so happy to see you two up... everyone is outside, shall we join them?"

Caliope hugged Elaine and smiled "Good morning Elaine, Sir Wiltshire... we were hoping to get some breakfast first..."

Wiltshire seemed delighted with her cheerful mood "Good morning M'Lady... there is breakfast still on the table, most of it untouched, waiting for you..."

Amra nodded and thanked them, taking Caliope's hand. Wiltshire nodded at Amra and gave a step aside for Elaine to go first. Elaine kissed Caliope's cheek and they headed outside. The double sized gazebo was giving shelter to Maxwell and his crew "Good evening, it is a beautiful day, isn't it?" Pronab, who seemed to be immersed in a book, looked up and smiled "Good morning"

"Good morning, yes, as a matter of a fact, it is... a beautiful day." Amra replied as he took a chair and pulled Caliope on his lap, she blushed a little but enjoyed her seat "I hope you are all doing well?"

"There you go sweetie, there are fruits on the table, some coffee and milk, and you have to taste this bread and butter, with a twist of honey... it is delicious!" Elaine gestured a square table that had different plates with fruits, bread, milk, even some bacon and cheese. Amra looked curious at the table. She opted for the bread Elaine suggested, and as she spread butter on top of two pieces, she picked the honey and poured it evenly around. She gave it a bite, her eyes half closed and her cheeks blushed "This tastes amazingly!"

Amra smiled at her and she offered him to taste a piece, he gave it a bite as well and nodded, smiling at her. Maxwell watched the scene entertained. Elaine entwined her fingers over her knees as she leaned a little and spoke with enthusiasm "Have you thought about anything special you want for your wedding?"

Caliope took a sip of her fresh juice and nodded, letting the drink slide her throat first, then she replied "well, my family; you and Pronab, are here... the groom, here... My new friends made during our journey, well, some are here, I will have to invite the others? And I just need to call my best friend and invite her here... which reminds me I need to find my phone." For the first time she remembered that she hadn't take a look at her phone in days. Pronab was the one who replied to her "it is at the residence, charging, I will bring it to you."

He lifted from the chair and walked inside as the others continued their talk. Maxwell advised some ideas he had, adornments he kept on his storage building, and Elaine agreed that they should keep it simple. Caliope was smiling from ear to ear, realizing there was more to it than she thought at first "I am a little overwhelmed by so many details, I never was the kind of girl who dreamed with her perfect wedding, in fact, the word never crossed my mind..."

Elaine nodded as she laid back to her chair "that is understandable, so I would suggest we just stick to what things you like, and prepare the place with them... don't worry, we will go through the girly details later." she chuckled and winked at Caliope, who smiled and nodded as Amra caressed her hand. She looked at him and he was relaxed and happy, she remembered Elaine's words when she woke up the day before, and noticed how different Amra was when she was ok, when she was happy and without worries; he was relaxed and friendly, he smiled to her and everyone, a different person from the Arcane Angel he became when he had to save her or make justice. Pronab returned to them and threw Caliope her phone after a warning "catch it..."

She picked it up in time and chuckled, Pronab was back to his old playful behavior, and she was so happy to feel no more tension between them, at least for now. "Thank you... do you mind if I walk around while I try to explain my best friend, that I am getting married in less than a week?" she chuckled "if Sunday seems ok with you all... I need to make up a decent lie to tell her, at least until she gets here..."

Elaine sighed with a smile "of course darling..." and giggled a bit, it seemed almost like a mother's dream come true.

Maxwell pointed towards a side of the house "my gardens are to the left, and a communication tower is near, you will have best reception there." She beamed her head with a "thank you!" as she smiled at Amra and he nodded with a smile back, he kissed her softly and she walked slowly towards the left of the residence. As she approached the corner, she checked how many calls or messages were left; only 2 missing calls from her dear friend, and one text asking for her whereabouts. She dialed the international code and called her friend. As she turned around the residence, she gasped at the sight of Maxwell's garden, a field of flowers of all colors, symmetrically placed on squares, classified by their color. It took her a second or two to realize her friend was speaking to her on the phone.

"Caly? Baby are you ok?"

"Hiiiiii Nessa! Sorry, I just made a turn at this residence and found the most beautiful garden... you need to see this to believe it..."

"What garden? Where are you exactly?"

"I am traveling..." she smiled "just as you suggested... I am on a trip... and right now, at England... so I am close to you!"

"England?! What?! How?! Where?! Ok, you already told me England, but where exactly?!"

"So much has happened since you left... I am so happy!"

"I am glad to hear you are, are you planning to visit me?"

"Actually, I am kind of inviting you... to come visit me..."

"Is that so? Well, sure! I need to find my agenda, hold on... let me see... I know I put it here somewhere..." a sigh sounded on her end of the line "my new assistant is not being very helpful I tell you... hold on... 'Alo? Se, non e problema, ma voi necessitare il suo rapporto... si! Mi piace! Grazie... ciao!' sorry Caly, are you still there?"

Caliope chuckled "yes, I am..."

"Well, I can't find my agenda right now and my assistant is out for lunch, I can take note... but you should come visit me too... you know, since you are traveling... with whom by the way? Where are you staying?"

"It is a long story... one I plan to tell you in full details once you come... but the truth is, and please don't freak out... I am getting married..."

A loud noise was heard from Vanessa's side of the line, Caliope laughed and then immediately continued talking "hello? Are you still there?"

"Oh... my... God...! Caly?! Please... don't tell me is with... Rawer..."

Caliope frowned "Oh no! for heaven's sake... " she chuckled and sighed "for heaven's sake... is not him... his name is Amra, he is the son of the lady I was working for... and I am traveling with them right now, I just found this place that was so magical and perfect, I wanted to celebrate the wedding here, but I can't make it if you are not here...

"Aww sweetheart! Well, when is it? Next month?"

"Actually, is next weekend... Sunday will be ok for you? Can you take a week off?"

A short period of silence followed her question, and Caliope knew it was because the short time took her by surprise. She was still smiling but gave her a few more seconds to recover from the surprise.

"Are you pregnant?"

"What? No...! Vanessa! It hurts me you think of me like that!"

"I had to ask... such a sudden decision... how long have you been engaged?"

"A week and a half... almost..."

"Ok, what is going on? You never make such rush decisions... now I am worried... hold on... 'What? No, I am not hungry, I won't have lunch, bye' Ok... now you have to explain to me what is happening with you..."

"Nessa... I am the happiest girl on the planet... he is everything to me, his mother and best friend have become like family... as if we have known each other for all eternity... we are truly happy... and I want to share this special moment with you... please?"

"Ok... ok... I buy it for now... but as soon as I get there, I want the full story, and with all details... you got me?"

"I promise... I just hope you are ready for a roller-coaster ride..."

"I bet it will be! Oh God! My sweet soul sister is getting married! I am so happy for you!!!"

"Now THAT is the reaction I was looking for in the first place!"

"Well, passing the almost heart attack you gave me, yes... I am very happy for you... so ok, next Sunday, but I need to get there first to approve your dress and makeup... oh no, no one will touch that face but me, so I will do your makeup... and I need to buy myself a dress, hmmm good excuse to go shopping... and a bachelorette party!"

Caliope laughed, she realized how different and carefree was Vanessa and how much she missed her "Oh no, you can skip that! It would only be you, his mother and me!"

Vanessa and her both laughed on the phone, and after a while, they got quiet. It passed some seconds until one broke the silence.

"Are you really happy?"

"I am... so very, really, crazy happy... and I really want you to be here... on vacations this time, please?"

"I will try to be there by Friday at the latest, and we can have at least a night together to catch up and for you to tell me all... deal?"

"Deal... I will text you the exact address, we are on the residence of a friend of the family... you will love it here!"

"I look forward to it! Now I am hungry again, I guess after all I will make my assistant go buy me some lunch..."

"I already feel sorry for her!"

Vanessa laughed "you have no idea! Send me the address so my travel agent can book me a flight."

"I will... see you soon Nessa..."

"See you soon Caly..."

After they hang up, Caliope was smiling as she found herself in the middle of the colorful garden, with her phone pressed to her chest. The fact that her best and only friend was going to make it to her wedding, made her feel like it was going to be perfect. As she slowly walked through the garden on her way back to the others, she realized that her friend would be the only person not familiar to Angels and their reality in earth, and she knew this would become a problem if she did not ask first. Elaine broke her insight dialogue as she asked her "how did it go? Did she ask many questions?"

"Many is an understatement... she bombarded me with questions and I could only answer some, but she will come around before Friday, I need to send her the correct address for her to make plans."

Maxwell shook his head and chuckled "That won't be necessary, I will send someone to pick her up from the airport."

"Thank you General that is very kind of you..."

She smiled and sat next to Amra, who took her hand and kissed it softly, he was looking at her with tenderness 'Asks your questions now, is the best time for them to be asked...' he whispered in her mind. 'You mean... if I can tell Vanessa about you all? Do you mind if I do?'

Amra shook his head 'She is part of your life, she is your –soul sister- as she said... she deserves to know, they won't pretend much for more than a day, and it is not in their nature, especially in their own residence...' Caliope blushed 'you were hearing me while I was talking to her?' He offered her a guilty childish smile 'guilty? I can't let you walk away without knowing you are safe... and I was curious of your friend... forgive me?'

She smiled at him and leaned for a kiss, then Elaine handed her a glass of juice. She took the glass and drank it slowly, it felt fresh, a mix of fruits from the land surely. She took a deep breath and gave Amra a glare. 'Here goes nothing... I hope they say yes...' He chuckled 'oh, I have my way of convincing them if I have to.'

Caliope chuckled and worked hard on focusing. After a few minutes, she raised her voice to the others "Elaine, General... I have something to ask... I don't know much about your rules, I think that is quite obvious, but I wanted to know what are the rules for telling the truth about you all to humans... my friend will be here for more than a day, hopefully... and I don't believe you will all pretend to be normal for that long...."

Elaine was the first one to react, she tried to smile and make Caliope feel comfortable but she was being serious as well "oh... well... we are normal for most of the time, I guess... except every now and then..."

"Your friend won't be in any danger, if that is what you are afraid of..."

"No, I don't fear for her safety... I just... want to know how much information I can share with her... she is the only human I shared a bond with... she is like a sister to me, and I don't like lying to her..."

Maxwell and Elaine exchanged some looks, then they both turned to look at Amra who shrugged. Pronab chuckled "I don't think we have something to fear from her friend, that is, if she can keep appearances in front of other humans, for her own sake..."

Maxwell laid his back against the chair and nodded "I would like to hear what Amrafel thinks about this, he has been very quiet."

Caliope chuckled and smiled at Amra, he sighed and sat straight on the chair, looking at Maxwell directly "I am not used to talk much if I don't have anything important to add... I do not mind if she shares the information with her friend, she is part of her and I want her completely, soul sister included."

"Soul sister?"

Caliope chuckled "that is how she calls me, we are very close, even though she lives in a different country due to her job, we have always kept in touch and bonded as friends... we care about each other..."

Maxwell nodded again, this time smiling "interesting... all of this... I think that, as Pronab said, if she can keep appearances in front of others, respect our laws, she should be ok..." to what Elaine added "I agree... if she is going to come, she needs to know about us... I don't know her but, I trust Caliope will know how to handle the information to her."

"Thank you, all of you... I am so truly blessed... I couldn't be happier..."

She sighed and smiled, Amra put an arm around her and hugged her, as everyone smiled and shared the happiness of the moment. Hours later, Elaine had taken Caliope to the library and laid on a desk her personal computer, she was looking at different designs for her dress and wanted to share them. Caliope went through them and couldnt decide, as each was as beautiful as the next "It would help more if I knew what will be involved in the ceremony... that way I know the kind of dress I would like..."

"You are so curious about it... aren't you? it is ok... I will tell you this... most of the ceremony is just as any other wedding, it can be as personal as you like, or as impersonal... is up to you... but there is a part of the ceremony held in private, I will be there, so will be the Generals we invited, and a very unique moment will take place... the best way I can describe it to you is... your union will be blessed by our father... in a very special way..."

"Now I am nervous... and excited..."

"There is nothing to fear, my darling... you will see how wonderful it will be..."

"We are inviting other Generals?"

"I made this invitations, and I plan to invite the generals we have not introduced to you and Amra yet, there are only two more... and yes, we will invite those you have already met, it is the polite thing to do, but I wouldn't worry if I were you, the one you are thinking about won't come."

"I don't want to be watching out that day how Amra will feel about him, are you sure he won't come?"

"I am sure of it. Now tell me what you think of the wedding invitations? I made only three designs but I think we can make more if you do not like any of them."

Caliope took in her hands a handful of elegant cards made of thin silk paper, the writing was elegant, the design was exquisite, and their names together made her heart pace faster. The invitations were sophisticated and unique, so different from the ones she had seen all her life, but then again, they were different to everyone else. One design in particular drew her attention; at the top center their names, to the sides, Amra's wings. She smiled widely and looked at Elaine "Are these Amra's wings...?"

Elaine nodded "yes, I know, he told me you saw them... he doesn't remember the last time he spread his wings, it must have been eons... only intense emotions and feelings bring out our wings..."

"This is the one... I want this one to be our invitation... it could not be more perfect... thank you so much Elaine!"

She jumped to hug her and Elaine blushed, smiling almost guiltily.