The Exo Dream Emporium (Exo Imagines)

Lay |Sleeping Beauty|

Lay |Sleeping Beauty|

Dedicated to @afraidtofly

"Faith... Faith..." Echos of her name could be heard around her as Faith closed eyes fluttered open. What she saw was merely darkness. Like she was still asleep. But she could feel it, the ground under her palm, the air moving past her.

"W-who's there?" Faith asked uncertainly, eyes wandering about and agitation started rising in her. Not a speck of light was seen, all darkness.

"Faith..." Echos sounded around her once more, each time clearer than the last. She heard it, the sweet, melodic voice of a man, calling out to her. And suddenly, a spot of blurry light could be seen in front of her, each time clearer, and an image of a man was in front her.

Not an image.

But a real living man.

But before her blurry vision could clear out, she was plunged into a deep, deep hole.

*****

"My, Faith, are you alright?" Faith heard her father's voice beside her and she groaned in pain as she sat up straight on the wooden floor. Her night dress, drenched in her sweat, clung onto her body and tripped her. She gave up getting up, staring at her own bedpost that was above her head.

"You fell from your bed again, having nightmare again aren't you?" Her father laughed, crouching down beside her. Faith groaned and clung onto her father's offered arms and in a split second she was pulled up.

"Thank you so much, papa," Faith smiled. "It's not really a nightmare, it's a...mysterious dream, to be exact."

"You fell from your bed."

"Alright, so maybe it's a little scary in the end," Faith admitted. But then her nose picked up a wonderful scent. Her eyes widened in delight and turned to her father, "You cooked? You cooked!"

"Well, haven't cooked in a long time for my girl, especially, it's your birthday," he said smiling, wrinkles were showing on his face, but Faith thought he was the most handsome person on earth.

"Oh papa! Thank you!" Faith exclaimed, jumping onto his back, arms encircling his neck, "you are the best!"

"I doubt that you would say that when you have a husband in the future," he chuckled, making Faith pout.

"Bacon~" happy voices and joyous laughter filled the air, but this day was the day, he remembered, the day he would have to give Faith away.

*****

Being a woodcutter's daughter, Faith was enveloped into tons of works, to be exact, hard works. While her father was off into the woods to take on trees, she was left at home cooking, sweeping, mopping, doing housework that a girl should do.

It wasn't that Faith was complaining, it was just that she wanted to explore the outside world, too. Especially the woods, where tales of magical unicorns and fairies were made. She wanted to explore.

And today was the day, she was going to go woodcutting with her father.

"Remember, don't go too far off," her father had said when he set his tools down under a tree. A black, shining axe was in his hands as he prepared to take down another tree.

Faith could never dream of days like this, when she was disguised as a boy and brought into the woods, and neither had she dreamt of the woods. It was absolutely beautiful. Trees were swaying, patches of lights passed thought the foliage. Birds were chirping out to her, singing her a song...