"Gabriel? Gabriel, where are you?" Castiel called out to the seemingly empty tower. When no answer came, Castiel sighed.

"Oh well, I guess I'm just going to have to eat Gabriel's fish all by myself." An annoyed sound emanated from the orange clay pot sitting on the floor next to the couch. Castiel smiled and lifted the pot, spilling its contents onto the couch. A small tabby cat looked up at Castiel, its unusually golden eyes full of indignation.

"Gotcha." Castiel smirked. Gabriel growled.

"Now, now." Castiel wagged a finger at the cat. "I found you fair and square. I didn't make you make noise."

Gabriel gave Castiel a look, and straightened himself, slinking off the couch to enjoy the bowl of fish that Castiel had set out. Castiel chuckled and ran a hand through Gabriel's ginger fur. "Fine. You can pick the next game."
Gabriel scurried over to the window and began jumping up and down, trying to reach the ledge, fish clearly all but forgotten.
Castiel laughed and picked Gabriel up, setting him on the window ledge. Castiel placed his elbows on the sill next to the over-excited cat and leant on his palms, looking out.

"If only-" and then he stopped. No use dreaming. He wasn't going anywhere any time soon. Not with-

"Castiel? Rope, please!"

"Coming, Mother!" Castiel called, fake cheerily. He shook his head vigorously before sending down a rope attached to a pulley that hung next to the window. He couldn't waste time with those useless thoughts. Not with his parents around.
He felt a sharp tug on the rope and began to pull it back up. The motions were familiar to him by now. Castiel remembered when he was little and could barely lift the rope. Immediately he winced at the accompanying memory of the yelling match that followed. Well, a one way match at any rate. And the slap that ended it.
Two strenuous minute later, mother was sweeping into the tower, already complaining.

"Castiel, didn't you do anything while I was gone? Honestly, you are absolutely useless." Mother's words cut through Castiel skin like sharp nails, dragging down his arms, leaving trails of ripped skin and seeping blood behind them. But Castiel could heal those types of scars in a second, the type that Father made. Mother's, on the other hand, refused to heal.

"Your father will be back soon." Mother said as she flopped onto the couch. Castiel rushed to sleep the footstool under Mother's waiting, elevates feet. Mother smiles indulgently at him as she relaxes his feet, and Castiel glows.

"I am absolutely exhausted. I feel like I've gained 75 year. Castiel, would you mind healing me?"

"Of course, Mother." Castile knelt dutifully on the floor next to Mother and clasped her right hand between his.

"Heal." He whispered.
Castiel had been healing both his parents for as long as he could remember. It made them younger, clearing up the grey in their hair and the bags underneath their eyes. Castiel healed himself too, though he hated doing it. It didn't feel natural. But he couldn't very well continue helping his parents when his bruised arms ached every time he lifted them.

Castiel often wondered whether this was normal. Were everyone's parents like this? Did anyone ever die; from age, from sickness? That's the way it seemed from Castiel's books. But he didn't dare tell his parents-they would hurt him, or worse, they might take the books away.

On the top-most part of Castiel's family's tower there was a library. Castiel's parents never ventured up there, claiming that reading was a pointless and a waste of time. But they let Castiel read, because they said it kept him out of trouble. And, as Castiel had overheard from whispered conversations through cracks in between thin doorways, it kept him inside the tower. But that wasn't completely true.

Any time his parents asked what he was reading, he would talk about some cookbook or gardening manual. In truth, Castiel wiled away his hours in between pages of fantasy novels and fairy tales. Every day after he finished cleaning he relaxed on his cushion under the highest window of the tower, and with Gabriel curled up next to him, he escaped into the realms of his fictional books.

In these books, children had families- not just parents, but sibling and friends too. They went to school to learn, and when they came home, their parents were there with dinner on the table and plentiful hugs. Unless they were step-mothers, of course. Sometimes people died in the stories. No one lived in castles, or was healed any time they felt tired. But that, Castiel often mused, made him special. Didn't it? He was like one of the princesses, hiding away in a hidden castle, waiting for a prince to come save him. In his case though, the dragons keeping him in his castle were parents, whom he loved. And they loved him too- Mother always told him so. Castiel blinked to disperse the treacherous thoughts. He must not such things while healing he shuddered at the thought of what happened the last time he did. That was a memory that was more painful that any other he'd ever received.

When the healing was finished, Mother ran her fingers through long, newly blackened, curly hair. "Thank you, Castiel."

"You're welcome" Castiel said. "Mother, I had a question-"

"Really, Castiel? You know how you feel about your questions. This isn't about the 'other world', is it?"

"Of course not." Castiel mumbled.

"You're mumbling again." Mother said sharply.

"I said, Of course not.

"Wonderful." Mother beamed. "But I'm still rather tired from my journey. Maybe ask later." Castiel nodded stiffly, but he knew better. To Mother, later meant never. He should never have bothered. He was never going to be allowed to go to the 'other world' as Mother called it.

"Castiel? Where are you?" A voice rumbled from outside the window.

"Ooh, he's here!" Mother trilled she rose and smoothed out her skirts. "Well, go on, help your father, you useless lump."

Castiel hurried over to the window and repeated the procedure, but slightly, almost imperceptibly, slower. Obviously his father had caught dinner.

"Lilith darling! How are you?" Father brushed pass Castiel, pushing him and causing Castiel to stumble slightly. His father noticed that he bumped into something and looked to check what it was.

"Oh, Castiel." His father sneered. "A bit slow today, hmm?"

Castiel flinched, but his father just laughed. "Calm down, you runty wimp. Go prepare dinner." Father dropped a baby dear that he had slung over his shoulder roughly onto the floor. Castiel nearly winced again, but this time he caught himself. It was bad enough that his father killed the animals cruelly. In addition, Father always threw the bodies around like, well, like lumps of meat. But Castiel stayed silent, knowing better than to speak his mind. Castiel lifted the doe in his arms carefully, walking to the door to the stairs at the back of the main room, heading towards the kitchen downstairs.

"Welcome home, dear." Mother said as Castiel walked away. "How was your journey?"

"Tiring." The springs of the old sofa groaning and they bounced up and down. That would be his father sitting down. Then, the springs groaning gently-Mother sitting down beside Father.

"I'm so sorry, Metatron. Should I call Castiel?"

"No, Lily, it's fine." Castiel slipped out of the room quietly, Gabriel padding along behind him. It was a relief to get out of the room-the longer he stayed in there, the more likely it was that Father would lose his temper about something or another wand would start looking for his favorite punching bag.

Castiel and Gabriel continued down the winding stairs of the tower until they reached the kitchen, second to the library, Castiel probably spent most of his time here. Neither of his parents ever bothered venturing down here, making it the safest place in the house. Castiel laughed bitterly to himself at the thought. His mother was always saying how he had to stay in the tower, to protect himself from the world and the people in it who would abuse Castiel and use his power. According to her, this tower was the safest place in earth. Ha!

But there was no point in all that now. There wasn't much Castiel could do, least of all while his parents were home. This train of thought would bring him nothing but misery. Castiel walked over to a clean counter and carefully laid the doe on it.

"Come on, Gabe, if we do this quickly then we can go have some more fun."

So this is chapter 1. Let me know what you guys think! New chapters will hopefully be posted every weekday, and are about 1,000 words each. Just by the way. So see you guys tomorrow. Next chapter-Dean!

Also, side notes:
Side note 1: You know you've been watching Supernatural when you think that the devil is too cute to play an abusive father and you have to give the part to an angel. Just something to think about
Side note 2: Cas does not have miles long hair here. It would be kinda weird, at least in my mind. I'll discuss the weird healing mojo thing later. Just be patient, k?