Let Justice Be Done Ch. 68

"Father?" Raguel asked in an uncertain tone, as once more, he and his Father went into the Sea of Souls. "Are you...displeased with me?"

After the meeting with Queen Mab, Raguel and Viviane were able to leave without breaking Winter Court propriety.  

Immediately after arriving to Viviane's cottage, Raguel told her he would speak to his Father to seek guidance and see if there's a way to get out of Mab's deal, with both of them and their future children unharmed.

Raguel arrived in Heaven to find it very busy, with seemingly all the angels focused on training as if preparing for war. Well, more war. 

In the three months Raguel had been gone--which were two months in the Fae Realm--Heaven seemed changed to be more...strict and alarm, even though there were no attacks on the First Heaven by either the Devils or Fallen Angels. 

Thinking about it more, it makes sense that with the free time Heaven could now fortify itself. Raguel had thought. 

Finding the Creator was easy, as He seemed to have just finished his work, and was already ready to take Raguel for his next lesson. 

However even though God still smiled warming at His son, greeting him as he usually done, Raguel couldn't help but feel his Father may be disapproving of him in some manner. 

"Why do you think so, Raguel?" God patiently asked. "Have you done something you feel I would be displeased by?"

The sounded like the usual parental trap question, to start an interrogation. Yet the gentleness of God's voice was telling Raguel, it was an honest question, for him to think on. 

So Raguel actually took some time to think. What could he have done that God might disapprove of?

"Is it...because my intention to help those fae in the Snow World, not completely altruistic." Raguel took a guess. 

"Every decision someone takes is filled with a myriad of reasons, intentions and self-justification. Yours was to disrupt the Winter Queen's court to get a meeting faster due to your anger at her possible trying to involve or manipulate your children in fae court games." God said, to which Raguel looked away in shame. "Yet, when you were helping those fae, you were genuinely trying to help them, lessen their burdens and brighten up their day. You started out with a selfish intention, yet through your actions that intention turned genuine. Do you see my point?" God smiled, and Raguel felt his worries left.   

"Thoughts, intentions influences us and our actions. But our actions, our daily habits influences us and our thoughts and intentions too." Raguel said his eyes lighting up at the idea. "Because the body and spirit aren't separate." The idea connected to an older lesson he learned before. 

"Correct," God nodded. "Now back to my question. Do you think there is something you feel I would be displeased by?" 

"...I didn't consummate my marriage with Viviane?" Raguel joked with a sheepish smile. 

God raised an amused eyebrow and waited for His son to continue. 

Raguel looked down, knowing what the answer was. "I...forced my decision on those people in the Lake of Idleness." Quickly he looked up and continued. "But it was to save them! I didn't even stop them from not going there anymore. I just took them out of that place for a while, so they would have a chance to get better." Raguel tried to justify himself. "I looked into their souls. All of them, and in their heart of hearts, they all wished they weren't a slave to their lower instincts, to pleasure." 

"So you intended to help them for their sake, you weren't motivated by anything else?"

Raguel opened his mouth to say 'yes', only to find that he couldn't. That would be a lie. 

He searched his mind for what other reason he would have done what he did, and the first answer that came to mind revolted him. 

"Because..." Raguel frowned. "Because I was angry at Phaedria, for imprisoning me and Viviane at her palace till I listened to her prophecy. Because she likely had done this to Vivi before. Because she was giving Eleen bad advice and likely laughing at her when she made a fool of herself." He looked away in shame. "I...was angry." 

"And we come back to how our thoughts, our intentions influences our actions." God said. 

"But!" Raguel looked up, as though pleading that he was in someway right, and not completely acting out of anger and wounded pride. "But helping those people wasn't wrong!" 

"Raguel, son," God patted Raguel's head in a comforting manner. "At the end of today's lesson, I will give you one of the most important pieces of wisdom you will gain from me." He ruffled Raguel's hair for a bit. "What you need to know is that, you did not know how your actions will really impact those people. You simply had your vision of how to help and how things will look like, and then just tried to force that vision onto reality. And that..." God had a sad look. "That is how tragedies begin." 

"I..." Raguel felt near tears, as his actions and reasons were deconstructed before him. 

"Now only that, but your forced your decision on your brothers and sisters." God added. 

"But, but we're angels. We're suppose to help those who are misfortunate." Raguel found himself arguing. Out of momentum, out of just wanting one thing he did to have been right. 

"Yes, that is true." God nodded. "However, you should still have consulted your siblings. Talked with them. Yes, they would have agreed, but you still shouldn't have thrown the decision on them. Yes, you told Me." God said, undercutting Raguel's argument. "But you need to coordinate with your siblings more. To work with them, and get them to work with you. I wouldn't always be here after all." 

Raguel balled his fist, a part of him wanting to fight, feeling he was being condemned unfairly, yet a louder part was telling him, that he's Father was right. That he need to listen and be better in his actions. Raguel let out a sigh, unclenching his hand, feeling defeated. 

"Son," God placed a hand on Raguel's shoulder, making him look up to Him with teary eyes. "I am not condemning you. I am pointing out your mistakes because you need to learn from them." Then He smile, making Raguel's guilt start lifting form his chest. "But you should know you weren't wrong in wanting to help those people. Even in anger, you still tried to take a virtuous action. The important lesson here, is to know how anger poisons the well of good intentions."

Rgauel found himself smiling again, and quickly composed himself. 

"Yes, Father. I'll do better next time." Raguel said with renewed resolve. 

"That's all I can ask." God smiled. "Now about the real reason you sought me out." He gesture for His son to ask his request. 

"Yes," Raguel nodded with a serious look. "I...Father, what should I do? How do I protect my future children?" 

"You can't." Raguel flinched back as if struck. "To be more clear, I will not tell you what to do, as this is your life and I believe you should live it by yourself. Make your own decision, follow your own morals, make your own mistakes and learn from them." God said. Raguel made sure to listen, but felt...helpless and angry a bit at his Father. "I do this because you should use your own free will to determine the path of your life yourself. However..." Raguel looked up with hope. "I am still your Father, and I can't help but want to help you. Thus I will give you a hint."

"Thank you, Father!" Raguel said cheerfully.

"What Mab wants to do is to connect your firstborn's lifeforce to her Snow World, to her world made of her projected soul." Raguel nodded, glad to have what the Snow World is confirmed. "This would do two things. One, attach your child's life to her realm and herself, thus if she died so would your firstborn. However consequently your firstborn will be massively powerful. Easily as strong as a ten-winged angel at minimum, and will have a very strong lifeforce, such that killing them will be extremely difficult. Due to their quick healing factor if nothing else. However should your firstborn actually die, while their soul would move to the afterlife, the power they accumulated in life will be passed onto her."

"That bitch!" Raguel shouted, his aura flaring. Then he remembered where he was and in whose presence he was, and slapped his hands over his mouth. 

God chuckled. "I understand, son. Relax." Raguel nervously laughed and lowered his hands. His face felt so heated though. "There is a loophole that she hadn't considered though, or likely didn't account on it being something that should matter."

"And that is!?" Raguel asked, his voice rising from excitement. 

"Should your firstborn slay her, Mab would die without harm coming to your child. They will simply be reduced to a normal human lifespan, plus what they would have from having fairy and angel blood."

Raguel let out a sigh of relief. "So," he had trouble containing his smile. "So I just need to train them to be able to beat her, and then they would be free."

God gave Raguel a look that told him to think about what he's saying. "So you would make your child live for a singular purpose, as if they are a tool?"

"Of course not!" Raguel shouted, before quickly composing himself. "I mean, this would be for their sake." 

"To train them so that their goal in life is to kill a single being?" 

"That's not my intention!" Raguel argued, but felt he knew the answer here. 

"And we just spoke about how intentions can be led astray by the wrong emotion." God said, His conclusion was one Raguel felt he already knew. 

"Then...then what do I do? How do I protect them? Protect Viviane from worry and heartache?" Raguel said, feeling mentally tired for a bit. 

"You talk to them." God spoke with a kind smile, making Raguel focus on them once more. "You tell them the truth about their situation, and help them on their path. Talk with them and see how you can help them, by learning what they need."

His Father's words were wise and true. Yet, Raguel couldn't help but imagine such future other than a daunting task. 

"Couldn't..." Raguel frown, but his Father had always encouraged him and listened to him. He was sure that at least God would give him an answer to this query. "Couldn't you just...beat Mab yourself and fix all of this?"  

As soon as he said the world, Raguel felt shame in himself, acting like a whiny child that wants their Father to solve all their problems. 

"Raguel," God's kind tone ease his worry of being reprimanded for his overstepping, yet he still felt ashamed. "I think it's time we talked about that subject that's been avoided for a while now." Raguel tilted his head in confusion, yet his mind was slowly working out what his Father was talking about. "About the realization you had for a while now, that you first got in the Battle of Orkney." 

Raguel's eyes widened, and suddenly he felt his heart in his throat. 

God 'sat down' as if there was a floor. "Sit Raguel, sit." He gestured for him, and Raguel tried to do so, as there was no floor. 

Raguel found himself managing, and suspected God to have done something to the physics of this place to make that work. Now he felt seated, and the discussion felt more close somehow. 

"Go ahead, Raguel. Say it."

"F-Father, I..." The thought felt blasphemous. To say it out loud was...

"It's okay, son. This is part of today's lesson, that we need to have."

Raguel took a breath a few times. Then he closed his eyes and gathered his courage. 

He opened them to see the kind, accepting look of his Father, and used all his strength to push the words out. 

"Father, y-you're..." his mouth felt dry. He tried again. "You're not perfect, are you?"