Red Grove Academy

“Please, listen to me. I am going to explain everything, but you mustn’t interrupt.”

The class sat forward, their ears and minds eager for an explanation of everything.

Mr. Roman took a deep breath, and launched into his story.

“Most of you may or may not be religious. Whether or not you are, the story I am about to tell you is true. My full name is Gabriel Roman, and I am an archangel. Centuries upon centuries ago, a war broke out. Lucifer, the angel that God favored, turned against him. God banished him, casting him out of our heaven. On his way down, Lucifer grabbed a third of the angels, taking them with him.

“He landed on Earth, furious that God had cast him out. He took the angels, and made himself his own heaven, a fiery pit where he could plan his rising again. The innocent angels were tainted, becoming demons, working for Lucifer.

“God was upset that this had happened. He hadn’t meant for Lucifer to steal the angels. He called me to him, and appointed me the head of the guard. I became Gabriel, the archangel of war. You must understand, God does not wish to bestow war on us, he merely wishes to defend us. He left me to consort with the three wisest angels, a group of sisters who called themselves merely The Three. We began thinking of ways to stop Lucifer in what he was doing. The only thing we could think of was stopping him with force.

“That was how this school came to be. The date was 1708, if I remember correctly. I opened the school, hoping to attract talented students like yourselves. It worked, all too well. I tried to hold the students together for the fight, but they were stubborn, lost children, focusing more on who was best than what was ahead of us. I suppose I have myself to blame for not telling them just what was going on. With no other choice, we had to fight Lucifer; me, my students, and the three.

“It was on that fateful day that the first of the three was slain. Julia was killed by Lucifer himself, forever gone. We could do nothing about it, and it devastated us all. Kallissandra and Luciana wouldn’t speak for days, weeks. But, we had to pull together, for Lucifer wouldn’t wait around forever.

“As immortals, time is something quite small for us. A hundred years to us is like a few days for you. We knew we didn’t have long until Lucifer would rise again. For centuries we trained students, trained ourselves, but Lucifer didn’t show himself for a long time. It was 1923 that I closed the school, seeing no use for it anymore.

“50 years ago, I got word that Lucifer was slowly gaining power again. I quickly opened the school again. We trained students, each decade passing us with no sign of him. Until now. Julia has given me word that he has risen again, and that he’s going to attack us when we least expect it. We must be ready for it, students. We can’t allow Lucifer to win.”

Mr. Roman’s story came to an end, and every child in the class was staring up at him, their eyes wide with disbelief.

“Mother says angels don’t exist.” Kalliope spoke up, her chin raised defiantly. Mr. Roman smiled softly, and shook his head.

“Angels exist, my dear. They’re right here in front of you.” He said, motioning towards Lucie and Kallie. He nodded to each of them, and every student’s eyes were trained on them, widened.

Kallie and Lucie nodded, and took in a breath, closing their eyes. They began glowing softly, and just like the night before, their wings folded out gently, soft and white. Everyone gasped, staring. The twins opened their eyes, and looked above the heads of their classmates.

“Mr. Roman, are you trying to tell us that we’re supposed to be fighting against demons?” Marcie asked quietly, breaking the silence. Mr. Roman nodded gravely, and everyone began exchanging worried, scared, or upset glances.

“You see why it is important that we must stick together. If not, there is a chance that all of us will not return from this fight.” Mr. Roman added, looking over the class.