As the other girls slept, Sophia decided to keep guard; they were all weak, after all.
A moon was far above their heads.
Despite that Elise had volunteered to be a guard together with Sophia.
To her, the young fallen Angel was acting weird. When speaking with her she kept fidgeting, playing with her hair and averting her gaze.
She couldn't let this girl feel so anxious around her; after all, she had offered them salvation. "Elise, what is wrong? Are you anxious about something?"
"I..." Elise gulped, her eyes shut and voice shaky.
"I AM IN LOVE WITH YOU, LADY SOPHIA! EVER SINCE I LAID MY EYES ON YOU, MY HEART COULDNT STOP LONGING FOR YOUR TOUCH!" She shouted loudly, finally confessing what she felt ever since she was saved by her.
Silence.
"Despite it being only less than a day, it doesn't change the fact that I love you!" Elise shouted, her blush covering her face.
Sophia stared at her in silence.
Why did a Fallen Angel confess to her so suddenly?
She was utterly confused.
She expected her to be scared and anxious, and instead, it was just a lovestruck girl.
Sophia moved her hand to her mouth before letting out a soft giggle.
"You should get to know someone more before you confess your love, Elise. What If I was tricking you like that child did?" Sophia approached before placing her hand on her head.
Elise's hands clasped around Sophia's hand.
"I am sure Lady Sophia would never do something like that!" Elise said with absolute certainty.
She knew if she rejected her that Elise would be heartbroken, and most likely a would push her further away from salvation.
Elise inhaled deeply before continuing, "I know I am not worthy of your love yet, but I want to spend time and get to know you more!"
'What would Father do...' Sophia wondered. She needed to handle this as Father would.
Sophia's expression stiffened at the words 'Unworthy of Love', Even demons could be shown love by Father. "Unworthy? No. You are worthy."
Sophia smiled warmly before wrapping her arms around the confused girl.
"I will let you learn more about me and Father. If you still feel the same, I will accept you." Sophia whispered in her ear, making Elise shudder.
Elise's wings fluttered; she couldn't believe it.
While Sophia hadn't accepted her fully just yet she had a chance.
She had a chance to learn more about her savior.
'I have a feeling I will fall even deeper... But still I am so happy!' She smiled, her anxiousness gone as she enjoyed the embrace.
Her wings moved up and down from sheer happiness as she giggled.
In a moment, she was let out of embrace.
"You should get some sleep, Elise. You must be tired." Sophia spoke with a warm smile plastered on her face.
"I think I will. I can sleep soundly now!" With a skip, Elise rushed to her makeshift cabin, her wings almost making her take off the ground from sheer excitement.
'How did someone like that even fall from grace?...' Sophia asked herself. Fallen were beings even more vile than demons themselves.
And yet this one did not show signs of treachery or evil in her eyes.
It did not matter, her mission was whatever Father had ordained. Her questions did not matter.
She stared at the stars as the night slowly passed.
***
The sun rose in the sky, its warming glow filling the sleeping girls with hope.
Sophia stood at the same spot, her eyes closed as she meditated.
"Lady Sophia! We are almost ready to depart for Rize!" Elise said chipperly as she rushed to Sophia.
Lara followed closely behind, her smirk evident as she leaned close to Elise.
"So, little Elise did it?" Elise whispered.
"Yep! And she didn't even reject me. She just said if I still like her when I learn more about her, she would return my feelings!" She spoke with so much happiness that someone could never think she was tortured merely a day earlier.
"Told you that it will be fine. So when is the wedding?" She teased.
Elise blushed heavily as her wings fluttered.
"Shut up!"
"Girls, stop fighting. We shall depart now," Sophia spoke calmly.
Elise let go of Lara's mouth and stood straight as Sophia spoke.
"Heh, you want to be her good girl, huh?" Siren made a snarky comment.
However, instead of the usual answer, Elise merely answered, "Yes..."
"WHAT? You are that down bad?" Lara couldn't help but hold in her laughter as they approached the carriage.
"Shut up! You don't get it." Elise retorted.
"Ok, ok, let's go to Rize. We need to somehow get our lives together." Lara gestured for both of them to get in the same carriage with Sophia.
Elise because she wished to be close to Sophia, and Lara because she enjoyed her new friend fumbling.
In less than a full daylight cycle, they would arrive at Rize, and from there, they could ask for help and report the destruction of their home.
Nobody knew what happened or why it happened. However, it wouldn't remain secret for long.
Sophia saw no merit in hiding it or even [Commanding] the girls to not report the destruction.
War against demons was inevitable.
Eventually, it would be known that it was the Angels that destroyed so many villages and cities.
Sophia knew the girls she rescued were all terrified of the future, despite most of them pushing it down or even hiding it under layers of humour.
Elise had decided that she would spend her ride cuddling up close to Sophia, clearly not understanding what getting to know her more meant at this stage.
"Sooo... Lady Sophia, how come you have white wings? It's not something I ever saw on a Harpy; its always Black, Brown, or maybe Gray. But never such beautiful and pure white, you also got no horns! Also you have more than one pair of wings!" Elise chattered on and on with her questions.
"I am not what you would call a Harpy, I am an Angel. More specifically a Virtue." Sophia explained.
"Angel? That sounds so cool! You are cool Lady Sophia! You must tell me more!" She spoke excitedly as they rode towards the Town of Rize.
Sophia merely smiled at Elise's antics, she did not mind her behavior.