Bound for Eternity (Esdras x Alma)

1) The Beginning

Every story has a beginning, but each beginning is different. It all depends on the story and the author. This tale of love begins when a daring women, Nastassia, searches for refuge in what had appeared to be an abandoned den.

    She had been trying to escape from her abusive husband in Nemea, but wound up getting lost. Perhaps it's a good thing that I got lost. She tried to think positive to herself, but she was beginning to feel exhausted. Not only from the tiresome journey, but also from the added weight of being 9 months pregnant. With every step she took, she reconsidered her decision of escaping so soon. What if I were to go into labor at this very moment? She heard a few leaves crunch but brushed it off as her own. He could be near. Now terrified at the thought, she glanced at her surroundings and noticed an opening to a cave. Hopefully it's abandoned. Although she was still worried that he might appear at any moment, she wanted to take a break and enjoy a small moment of victory. This was the first time since their marriage that she felt truly happy, but she had to fend for herself and an unborn child. As Nastassia shuffled towards the cave, she placed a hand on her swollen stomach and rubbed it gently as if she was calming the child inside her. "We're finally free."

    The Nemean Lion had just returned from a hunt and preffered to rest inside it's den. His impenetrable fur gleamed under the sun and gave the appearance of a golden river with every step it took. The magnificent mane bounced freely through the air, and it's clever eyes were alert to any movement. As the lion walked soundlessly to it's cave, it detected an unfamiliar scent. He stopped suddenly in his tracks and sniffed the air again. The scent seemed familiar to a human male, but there was still a slight difference. Perhaps a female. The Nemean Lion was quite determined to find the source, especially since it was near his comfortable cave. The scent lead him to the entrance of his cave where he stood still, waiting for the human to make it's move. In the shadows lay a human figure, but it looked as if she carried an object on her stomach. Instead of attacking her as he would normally do, he decided to rest, especially after his fullfilling meal. As he laid onto the rock, the figure in the shadows began to move.

    Nastassia awoke expecting to hear yelling but found herself in unfamiliar place. She was surrounded by cold stone, and best of all, there was no sign of him. Nastassia remembered her escape and felt another moment of joy which came to an end as she saw yellow eyes staring at her. Her breathing quickened and the figure began to rise from the shadows and blocked the only visible escape, and hope, she had. As the sunlight poured in from the entrance, it revealed that she had taken refuge in a lions den. This lion was larger than average with a mane that rivaled the sun.

It let out a roar that echoed throughout the cave and exposed its teeth that contained some blood from its last meal. Her eyes widened as she realized her grave mistake by seeking shelter. Tears began forming into her eyes when she realized that this was the end for her, and her child who never had a beginning. Nastassia simply gave up and crawled to her knees. Fighting back would be hopeless, so she rest her hand onto her unborn child and began to sing a soft lullaby to it.

    The Nemean lion tilted its head in confusion. Most prey would begin whimpering or fighting by now. This human that lay before him just gave up, yet it sang out a lullaby. He closed his eyes and laid his head onto his paws. It was calming, and easily put him at ease. Soon the lion fell asleep as the world seemed to dissappear around him.

    Nastassia finished the lullaby and glanced at the lion. Instead of looming over her like a blanket of death, the large lion was trapped in a peaceful slumber. She creeped towards the exit without hesitation while the lion slept unaware of her escape. Until Nastassia was forced to hold onto the rocks for support. The baby had began kicking at the barrier that shielded it from the outside world. Nastassia was already feeling dizzy from the pain as she struggled to not scream in fear of awakening the enormous lion. The baby kicked once more, but with more force that cause Nastassia to fall to her knees as she let out a scream. She heard the lion roar from behind her but was unable to escape as it pounced onto her leg.

    An alarming noise had awoken the lion and his instincts kicked in. He leaped onto his feet and pounced towards the source of the noise. The creature began struggling underneath his paw until the lion let out a roar that shook the cave and bit into the creature's head. The creature, which he finally realized was the human from earlier, jerked one last time until she fell limply with her mangled head resting on his paw. Instead of feeling satisfied with his kill, the lion felt regretful of his immediate actions because it had realized that the package she carried with her was actually her unborn child. Carefully it carried the corpse to the entrance of the cave and let out a mournful call in hopes of capturing the attention of the gods and goddesses. He then proceeded to lay next to the corpse in hope tht something would happen. That maybe the woman or the child would have another chance at life.

That's the end of the first chapter. I hope you enjoyed it and I'll begin the second chapter soon. If you have any ideas, just leave them in the comments and thanks for reading.