She felt the warmth on her face first and she smiled at the memories it recalled to the forefront of her mind. Esmeralda blinked her eyes and looked around carefully - things seemed so familiar, and yet she was willing to bet she had never actually been to wherever HERE was.
It reminded her a little bit of home before they'd been expelled. Not *their* home necessarily, but just HOME.
It was bright and clean and airy - noticeably so. There was no smell of gasoline; no tang of pollution; no stench of burning or mildew or garbage. There was only clean, and it made Esmeralda take a deep breath. She sighed in appreciation and took another look around, noting the green of the leaves on the trees and the scent of the flowers that covered the meadow she was currently ensconced in. She looked up and saw the blue of the sky and the puffiness of the white clouds that moved slowly across its surface, propelled by a gentle wind.
This wasn't home, however... at least not as far as she could tell. There were no other living beings from what she had observed - no animals, no Angels of any order and no Father. So where was HERE? And why was she here instead of home... or at least in the home she and Saphira had shared during their time as mortals on the human plane? Because she knew that was where she'd been - she distinctly remembered their life together there... her assignment. She even recalled Charisma and Brianna putting her to bed before she came... well, wherever here was. She wondered if she should be more concerned about where here was and how she'd found this place, and then decided to enjoy the respite for what it was. All too soon Esmeralda knew she'd have to return to the reality that was now hers... with Saphira dead and her left alone to finish a mission she no longer believed had any chance of succeeding.
Right here, right now, she could be the Esmeralda she had once been. She could be home again, an angel fully restored to her birthright and position waiting for Saphira to return from whatever errand she'd been sent on. She rolled from her side to her back, wincing a little at the brightness that momentarily blinded her but smiling again at the warmth that she could feel soaking into her bones. She felt like she hadn't been warm in so long.
Esmeralda spent some time simply watching the clouds, finding pictures and stories in the shapes that floated above her. It had been something she'd spent an endless amount of time doing in her other life when she was waiting for Saphira to return to her, and she enjoyed the opportunity to indulge herself again... even if it was only some sort of make-believe. Eventually, however, the warmth made her drowsy and she closed her eyes and turned to lay on her side. And when her reality shifted again, it was even better than the one she'd been in previously.
She felt Saphira surround her... in the most literal sense of the word - she felt the warmth of her body; the weight of her wings; the strength of her embrace. Esmeralda kept her eyes carefully closed, unwilling to lose this feeling again as she had when Amber had tried to offer her a semblance of comfort before. Esmeralda relished the sensations - unlike before, everything just felt right about this. Then she inhaled deeply... and froze.
The spicy scent that Esmeralda had always associated with Saphira filled her nostrils and she bit her bottom lip to keep from crying out... though whether it was in pain and frustration or relief and gratitude she couldn't have rightly said.
She didn't move; she didn't cry out. Instead Esmeralda squeezed her eyes shut tighter and simply concentrated on breathing. But she couldn't stop the shudders that traveled through her body and she felt the arms around her tighten in an effort to help stabilize her reaction.
After several long moments, Esmeralda felt the tremors slow and the warmth begin to radiate around her. It was only then that she heard the slow, steady pulse of a heartbeat and she couldn't stop the gasp that escaped her lips. And when the whisper of breath caressed her ears, Esmeralda couldn't stop the tears that slid down her face.
"Open your eyes for me, Es," Saphira commanded in a low tone. Esmeralda shook her head. "C'mon, baby... open those beautiful green eyes for me. I need to see them."
"No," she whispered. "If I open my eyes, the dream stops. And I don't want that to happen; I need this to be real."
"It is, Sweetheart. Trust me - open your eyes."
Again Esmeralda shook her head, biting her lip until she felt soft, warm fingers gently trace it. Then she couldn't halt her response.
Esmeralda released her lip from her teeth, sighing when Saphira continued her ministrations. Slowly, much slower than she would have allowed herself to believe possible, Esmeralda's eyes fluttered open.
At first there was nothing to see - she was still in the meadow with the flowers around her and the blue, cloud-studded sky above her. But she was turned on her side and behind her.... Behind her she could still feel Saphira's body tightly hugging her own. She could feel the calloused fingers tenderly tracing her swollen lip. But more convincing than either of those two sensations was the scent that surrounded her - one that she had only ever known to belong to Saphira.
Esmeralda took a deep breath. "Saphira?"
"Hello, love."
Esmeralda's eyes slammed shut again, not quite willing to believe her ears. Saphira sighed and gently lifted her body away from Esmeralda's just enough to roll Esmeralda onto her back. Saphira tucked her body into Esmeralda's letting one wing cover Esmeralda's body even as she started brushing light kisses up Esmeralda's neck. Only when Esmeralda's hands came up to her shoulders and pushed her away did Saphira cease her attentions and frown. This certainly wasn't the reunion she had pictured for them.
With her eyes still squeezed shut, Esmeralda took a shuddering breath. Saphira remained still, realizing her hasty actions had thrown Esmeralda's mind and body into something of a quandary. So she stayed quiet, allowing Esmeralda a chance to acclimate herself to the reality of this time and place.
"Saphira?" came the whispered word at long last.
"Yes, beloved?"
"Is it really you?" the sound tearing at Saphira's heart.
"Yes, beloved. Open your eyes for me. I promise... it'll be all right."
Esmeralda took one deep breath and then another, trying to get her thundering heartbeat under control. Saphira recognized the tactic and placed a hand over Esmeralda's heart. That touch made the tears well behind her eyelids and Esmeralda blinked rapidly to keep them from falling. When her vision finally cleared, the first thing she saw were deep blue eyes filled with love gazing back at her.
Immediately, she tucked her head into Saphira's neck and held on tightly. Saphira wrapped Esmeralda in her embrace, and for an endless time there was nothing but them.
After a while, Esmeralda looked up from the safest place she'd ever known and smiled into the blue eyes regarding her with honest, pure affection. "How...? Where...? Saphira...?"
Saphira's eyes never lost the love that shone from them, but with Esmeralda's words, they became tinged with sadness. "I'm sorry, love. I never expected... never thought...." She sighed and folded her wings back into her body before rolling over onto her back and bringing Esmeralda to lie on top of her.
"Saphira?"
Saphira sighed once more, deciding to try a different track. There were so many things she couldn't share with Esmeralda yet, but she couldn't bear the agony so plainly written on Esmeralda visage. "I'm not sure where HERE is either. It reminds me of our meadow back home and yet it's different."
"How did you find me if you don't know where here is?"
Saphira shrugged. "He allowed it. There is still work for you to do, Sweetheart. You can't mourn yourself to death."