Life for Leah Bardale was set in stone. A God had taken an interest in the young woman. Her mahogany hair askew as she ran between the gardens of her dreams. Petals of oranges, pinks, and yellows followed her every which way. She never seemed to lose her breath as laughter bubbled in her chest.
A young man chased after her in his own fit of joy. For six years the couple would meet among the flowers that brought Leah peace of mind. Each time it started the same with her running and ended in him catching her. That had been their game. Cat and mouse.
"Stop taking your sweet time and get me already!" Leah whipped her head around, russet eyes met steele in a clash of terra and wind. Her feet continued to lead her past a patch of poppies — her favorite form of flora and the first she had received from any man.
"Am I not allowed to admire the view?" He asked, the corners of his lips lifted into a lazy smile. One that made him look like a piece of art. "You're distracting me."
Leah snorted but said nothing. She faced forward with her boots ( courtesy of the God ) pelting against the cobblestone path. She knew he would eventually wrap her in his arms as he did every night but she was impatient for his tender touch.
Just as it happened time and time again, the man with curly platinum hair encased her in his arms. He held her back against his chest, lips brushing the shell of her ear with a whisper, "got you." Gentle hands spun her around not a second later.
"And now promise to never let me go." Leah looked up at him hopefully. Her fingers digging into the fabric covering his forearms to keep him from pulling back — not that he would.
"Are you sure you want me to make that kind of promise?"
Leah nodded, "I want us to have forever."
"Then forever we shall be." He removed a hand from her hip to cup the reddening cheek. "I, Hypnos, God of Sleep, swear on the river Styx to love you, Leah Rosalind Bardale, forever."
But forever was a lie. He stuck true to his promise for the following year but as it happens, all good things came to an end.
Hypnos was supposed to be different than mortals, better than them. And yet he had left Leah to nurse a broken heart while carrying a gift she always dreamt of having. A daughter.
Leah Bardale as Described
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