The Angel Parthenope sat slipping on a rather fine glass of wine placing a with a book in her native language of French in her hands. She was staying out of the way as her two-host finished setting everything up. The books was rather old, almost as old as she was, it was actually a transcript of her trail for witchcraft by the English back when she was Joan of Arc.
The now angel leaned back a bit as she reread part of her statements to the judge which would find her guilt of witchcraft and sentence her to death. She grinned as she remembered the look on those same men faces when they finally arrived in heave after serving their time in hell for their sins only to find her waiting for them. She wasn’t even a human, she was an angel and married to the Archangel Michael.
Her smile grew even wider, she had actually meet Michael during the months she was imprisoned by the English. The Archangel had transformed himself into one of her guards and he had kept her from losing her maidenhood to those guards multiple times. He was kind and didn’t belittle her for being a women warrior which was unheard of even among her own Frenchmen yet alone her enemy in the English. She had started to fall in love with him then, but she knew she was about to die and didn’t allow herself to fully give into her feelings and he seamed to be fighting it as well.
Finally, two days before she was going to be burned alive, he came to her cell and with a wave of his hand caused the other guards to pass out. She had assumed witchcraft but then his image changed the Archangel Michael. Her smile widened as she remembered him getting down on one knee, extending his hand through the barred door and asking her to marry him.
She had said yes of course but she thought she would be his bride in heaven and would have to burn to get there. Instead of flesh copy of herself burned two days later as she walked through the holy waters leaving humanity behind and becoming an Angel.
She spun the wine in her glass, letting it air a bit. The wine was actually from earth, not one of the heavenly fields which grew in the spaces between the cities, it came from a winery on Earth which unknowingly by the current owners sat her family’s old farmland.
Something about that always felt right to Joan and having a glass always calmed her down and judging by what her husband had told her about events in Hell she wasn’t going to have much time to be calm in the near future.
“I can’t believe I am having drinks with Joan of Arc.” Said the former human Josh as he sat across from her at the table in the bar located in the “indoor” viewing area of Penemune place. Well, it was now Penemune’s and his place because within a few days they would be married.
“And once Dad and mom gets here you will be having drinks with King Jehovah and Queen Asherah.” Said Penemune as she sat down as well.
“Oh…sorry should I have called you Parthenope?” inquired Josh clearly concerned but that wasn’t to be unexpected, he had just become a member of Heaven and she remembered how long it took her to adapt.
“Joan is fine, I know that is what most people from earth know me as.” Explained Joan “And before you ask, just relax, you already have God’s favor and from what I heard Queen Asherah basically loves you already for protecting her daughter.”
“That is what I heard but I am still nerves.” admitted Josh as Penemune placed her hand on top of his. He smiled at her. They did really make a cute couple and seamed almost made for each other. “And I mean this is a whole lot to take in.”
“It is.” Confirmed Joan as she looked outward at the view before them. Maybe outwards was the wrong way to say it, it was an indoor balcony but given the fact that Penemune’s apartment which given their size was basically a mansion back on Earth was located at the top of the central doom of the Great Archives of heaven it was higher then almost everywhere else in Heaven. A light rain was falling outside, which amazed Josh that it was raining in heaven, but they had weather up here like everywhere else which was why they were inside.
Inside however had an amazing view of main hall of the Archives, with all the pure white marble inlay with gold and silver, giant statues marking every couple hundred feet with nearly floor to ceiling tall book shelves full of rich brown leather bond books. While Penemune’s sisters and brothers ruled whole cities in the name of their father, Penemune ruled over the single largest collection of knowledge and books in both heaven, hell and Earth.
“So tell me, is the court of Heaven as complex as the court of Hell seams to be?” inquired Josh
“People like to think Heaven and Hell are very different, that Angels and Demons are polar opposites.” Stated Joan “However what really is hard for people to understand is that they are practically the same.”
“Really.” Stated Josh
“Yes.” confirmed Joan, that was one thing that really took her a while to wrap her mind around. As a simple French peasant she always thought Heaven and Hell was like White and Black, totally different but they where far more alike.
In fact angels where just as perverted and dare she think hedonistic as any demon, they just did it behind closed doors.
She smiled a little to herself, she had come to Heaven Joan of Arc the maid hero of France, yet that very night after she transformed, she gave up her maidhood to Michael. Sure they where married 6 days later and now had three children together but that would have been unthinkable back when she was a human.
She looked at Penemune who was the picture perfect image of a nerdy shy angel but if she was like what she knew most angels was like Josh was in for one “hell” of a surprise when they got into the bedroom. Some of the adult toys she and Michael had in their closet would likely cause Lucifer to raise an eyebrow and Lilith to chuckle while she ask where they had gotten that stuff.
“How long does meetings of the council last?” inquired Josh
“Depends, this is an emergency meeting so it may take a while and Michael has a lot of things to report about what is going on in Hell.” Confirmed Penemune, she would normally be in those meetings. While not a member of the council in any meanful way as the Head Libriaran and keeper of the records her job is normally to record every word said at every council meeting for the records. That was why when Rev. Church has hit her unknowingly in her human form it had gotten God's anger along with most of Heaven. Penemune was a fixture of court and yet was always willing to help anyone who came to the Archives find a book or record they need. “The news that someone came close to assassinating Lucifer and nearly got his daughter in law will be of grave concern to the council and that it came from a weapon likely given to the Iron Knights by someone from Heaven will raise even more concern. It will take some time.”
“I am sure once they are done, they will head right here.” said Joan as she stood up and stretched a bit. She had once been a simple farmgirl in the fields of France with dirt on her face from working in the fields. Now she was a tall, even for a female angel with a nearly perfect beautiful face with impossibly blue eyes. She had kept the short brown hair tied back in a tight ponytail, that short hair had been one of the signs of witchcraft at her trail which was one of the reasons she kept it now. She wore a simple blue dress with a white belt but as always, she kept a weapon on her, in this case a small dagger. Most of the time it would have been her blue armor with fleur-de-lis of her native France across the chest plate in pure white diamond. That had been a gift from Michael, along with her sword, spear and shield.
Even among angels, she stood out, most angels had a single set of wings like Josh’s hawk like wings or two pairs of wings like Penemune’s pinkish wings. Rare was Michael’s wings, three beautiful set of pure snow white wings. She had four sets of wings, for a total of 8 wings and stranger still was that they were different colors. The top two where the richest brightest royal blue one could think of, while the next pair was pure snow white like Michael’s own. Then came another set of blue wings and then finally a set of pure white wings. In her armor it really made her stand out.
As if her standing up as a sign there was a knock at the door.
“That’s them.” Said Penemone as she rushed to the door as Josh, gulped. “Mom…Dad welcome.”
That is when God and his wife walked through the door.