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The angel stood out against the lush greenery of the Garden. His white robes and pale fluffy hair gave him the appearance of a small cloud that had gotten lost and floated down to earth to ask for directions. Even without his wings out the angel exuded grace and devotion. He had a kind face. A warm, sunny face that drew you in and lifted you up all at once. Out from that face, his eyes sparkled. Crawley had never seen such eyes before. They were a pale blue that rivaled the sky. Stunning. The demon moved without realizing, drawn closer by the angel’s allure.
There were really few things he missed about Heaven. The music was pretty but dull, the parties were just plain boring and no one had a good sense of humor. Hell wasn’t much better, but at least they had let him visit Earth. Crawley was, however, eternally grateful that out of all of the Heavenly host it was this Principality who had been assigned to work on God’s green earth. He had none of the brazen pomp the other angels Crawley knew possessed. No, this angel was gentle but bumbling. Confident with what he knew yet seemingly worrying about everything. How strange that the Almighty would create an anxious angel. Somehow it just served to make him more endearing.
He watched as the angel bent to smell a beautiful blue flower. Gingerly, he reached down to cup the blossom. His lips moved, and though Crawley was too far away to hear what the angel said the tenderness of the gesture pulled at him. The serpent slithered closer, captivated by the ethereal being before him. When the angel stood up and continued on his leisurely stroll the serpent followed.
Over streams, under trees, and through the flowers, their journey went. The angel stopped every so often to greet an animal or to whisper words of encouragement to new buds yet to bloom. With every interaction, the serpent felt that pull strengthen from a thread to a thick cord wrapped around his heart and tying him, no. Binding him to the soft Principality.
Thisss is sssilly, Crawley thought as he pursued the angel through the underbrush. I was sssent to tempt the humans, not ssstalk an angel. Hell wouldn’t approve of a demon following an angel. Not unless that demon intended on tricking the angel into doubting the Almighty and Falling. Crawley had no such intention. His angel was too perfect to lead into temptation. Besides, this one wasn’t like the others. This one didn’t go about with a fanfare or a shining weapon. He was subtle. Understated to a fault. The serpent appreciated it.
He trailed behind the angel until the latter came across the humans. Their faces shone with delight upon recognizing him. The three spoke with the ease of old friends finding each other again. The angel showed the humans how to find the best fruit. His lips were stained red with berry juice. The angel’s eyes fluttered closed in a kind of appreciative ecstasy at the taste. Crawley’s tongue flicked, catching the hint of the fruit’s fragrance on the air. If the angel’s reaction was anything to go by strawberries must be the most exquisite flavor in the world.
The serpent coiled under a large leaf, his yellow eyes flashing as he watched the angel laugh at something the man had said. He helped the woman weave together flowers into a circlet of blossoms which he placed on her head. She touched it wonderingly, childlike in her mannerisms. It was too bad, really, that Crawley had been sent here to show her the harsh way the world could be.
When a butterfly fluttered around their heads the angel stilled, his bright smile growing as the orange and black creature alighted on his hand. Instead of shooing the butterfly away, the angel simply offered it some strawberries. When it flew off again, the angel’s eyes followed it, tracing the pattern of its flight across the cerulean sky.
When night fell, Crawley saw that the angel had a sword. Flames licked up the metal greedily, illuminating the ground around the angel as he wandered through Eden once more. It was clear that he had a level of discomfort with the blade. Not apprehension of holding a weapon. No, the angel seemed accustomed to the weight of it and how to properly grip the handle. Perhaps it wasn’t the blade itself but what it represented that he struggled with. Swords are meant to defend, and while that clearly was his duty here, the flames were a bit much. The angel used it as a torch, lighting his way with the orange light. The flickering flames cast shadows on his face. Shadows that made him appear smaller, more human. Frightened, that was the word. What could possibly frighten an angel of the Lord?
Crawley had his answer. Gabriel appeared in the glade with a blinding light that stung the serpent’s eyes. He hissed with pain as he retreated further into the underbrush. In comparison to his angel, Gabriel seemed colder and crueler. His smile had none of the tender love Crawley’s angel did. Gabriel towered over the blond angel, his hands clasped behind his back in the stiff proper manner only an archangel could pull off.
Crawley’s angel, meanwhile, couldn’t stand still. His hands waved about as he spoke, which was a rather dangerous activity considering he was still holding the flaming sword aloft. Gabriel and the angel spoke for a little while, the conversation culminating in the archangel clapping a hand on the Principality’s shoulder. Crawley felt rage boil in his belly as he watched his angel flinch in response to the touch. How dare he frighten Crawley’s angel?
Gabriel vanished in an equally bright beam of light and the tension dropped away from the angel. Crawley had the strange urge to go up to the angel and console him. He dashed those thoughts away as soon as they crossed his mind. He had work to do. No dillydallying now. With a final look of longing, Crawley turned and went away. The first light of dawn was coloring the sky pale pinks and yellows. When the sun had made it zenith, Crawley would find the woman and whisper in her ear. After all, curiosity was a dangerous fruit. So shiny on the outside, but once consumed it left a bitter taste in the mouth.
I wonder what his name is? Crawley wondered as he turned his back on his angel. He never saw the tears glistening on his cheeks as he watched the sun rise on the last happy day in Eden. The angel knew what was to come. It was the Great Plan: every angel and demon knew it. No, the angel wept for the humans and the pain that was to come for them.
The serpent would later find out the angel’s name was Aziraphale when they met for the first time on the walls of the Garden just before the world’s first storm. They would work side by side for over six thousand years. Long after the Garden, Crowley would fall in love with him.