Title: Eden and Fountains
Rating: T for Teen
Author: Magical Little Corner and XxXHeartbrokenTearsXxX
Summery: She died on his battlefield, and he died of a broken heart. When they meet each other over 200 years later, will their flame of love turn into a burning inferno or requit to smoldering ashes?
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Roses, lilies, orchids, cherry blossoms, apple blossoms, grape vines, sunflowers, tall hedges, and ever-green grass lined the five ancient marble pathways to the center fountain, which was full but never overflowing. She stood near the edge, admiring the large carp that swam in its depths beneath the lily pads and flowers. Oh, how she wished she could just melt into the water forever and forget all of her worries. She couldn't though.
She had duties.
But she also had hundreds to care for, and even more that depended on her. She hid her fear and worries behind her green eyes, not wanting others to think she was weak or didn't deserve what she had in front of her. She had been like this for centuries, even before she had died pretending she was a soldier in General George Washington's army in the spring of 1775. She had lost so much then, and she had loved so much then. But now, the immortal being standing in near the fountain tried to not remember her only true love- Adrian Matthews.
He befriended her during the war; they were about the same age. She- 18, he- 19. The image of his 5 foot 9 inch, brunette haired, blue-eyed body crept into her brain, and silent tears fell down her cheek.
Flashback
"You're a what?" He said, panicking in his trench. They were side by side, entrusting each other with each other's lives; that if one of them died, he'd go tell their families and friends.
"I'm a girl, Adrian." She replied, taking a looking deeply into his beautiful blue eyes.
Cannons blew up around them, rock and dirt hitting their blue uniforms and old guns. The cries of dying and wounded soldiers pounded in both of their ears, the desperate cries of horses joining the noise. Shots of rifles splintered the air; the smell of gunpowder, blood, decaying flesh, and other things seeped into their noses, threatening a permanent existence there forever.
"No, you can't be. I mean, after all of the-"
"Yes, I am."
"No, you aren't. Your name is Benjamin James Johnson, you were born on July 13, 1756, you live in Williamsburg, Virginia, your mother's name is Sarah and your father's is Peter-"
"Adrian! My real name is Heaven Marie Lawrence; I was born on May 1, 1758, I live in Williamsburg, Virginia, my mother's name is Sarah and my father's is Peter."
"You lied to me…" Realization hit him heard, and his expression changed from anger and frustration to- well, angrier and fearful.
"I'm sorry, I'm so, so, very sorry, Adrian. I didn't mean to become friends with you, I didn't mean to fall in love with you, and I didn't-" Guilt was filling her heart for telling him so many lies, just to protect her true identity.
"You what?" His voice was shaky, and yet there was still confidence behind it.
"I…I love you." She stuttered, tears pouring down her dirty cheeks. A loud shot was fired, and it hit her hard in the stomach.
"HEAVEN!" Adrian cried out. She looked to her stomach, seeing the blood spew from it. She caught the disgusting sight of her innards; her breath was short and small. The sounds around her becoming quieter; everything was moving so slowly.
He rolled her over on her back, the blood gushing onto the hard ground. Heaven didn't cry out, she just blinked slowly and looked at him.
"Adrian, I'm so sorry for everything. Please, please tell Mother and Father that I love them and that they were right," blood started dripping from the corner of her gasping mouth, "I did die in the battlefield. The most mundane of all places." Laughing small and dryly, she smiled; she knew what was going on next. The next time she closed her eyes would be it, and she wanted to see his face, his beautiful face before she slipped away…
"Heaven, you're not going to die. I won't let you. Don't say those things, you'll live. You'll survive, a-a-and you'll get married to a gentleman, and have beautiful children with him, and grow old and not die here, but surrounded by those who love you the most." Tears poured down his face, landing on the blood-stained indigo and white of her uniform. He made no effort in whipping his away, but dried the blood from the corner of her mouth with the cuff of his sleeve.
"Good-bye, Adrian." She croaked grasping his hand hard and then closing her eyes.
"NO! DO NOT SAY THAT! MEDIC! MEDIC!! MEDIC!!!"
Her hand went limp, as the rest of her body.
Heaven Marie Lawrence, age 18, had departed this cruel world.
End Flashback
The tears were stronger now, staining her cheeks. Absentmindedly, she touched her stomach where the musket had hit her. There was no scar, no indication that she was even in the battlefield. Of course, Heaven had been in many battlefields, but never again a soldier. The memories were painful to remember, and she did not care to share them with her fellow beings.
Pull yourself together, Heaven…She thought, looking up and whipping away the trails of tears from her face. She wondered where Adrian was, and what became of his life after she died.
Did he get married? Did he have children? Did he make it out of the war? Did he die in it? What did he do after she died?
"Is there a Miss Heaven Lawrence here?"
She turned to the voice, a little upset that her thoughts were interrupted by another. That upset-ness left immediately when she saw who it was.
"No, she's not here." Heaven replied, tears forming in her green eyes. She pulled her a short lock of copper hair out of her face and behind her ears, taking in the full form of the being in front of her. She hadn't lied to him; it wasn't her who was standing in the garden. It was someone else, someone who had regretfully moved on from the world she knew to Utopia, where she became who she was today.
He was 5 foot 9 inches tall, brunette haired, blue-eyed, and wearing khaki breeches, a black tee-shirt, and his great black-feathered wings folded gracefully behind his back.
"Do you know where I can find her?"
"No, I don't. I'm sorry."
--
"…I'm sorry."
The words sounded familiar to Adrian, like he had heard them before. Sure, he had heard the words before, but not in the tone the angel in front of him had used. The angel's 'I'm sorry' sounded so familiar…he remembered.
Flashback
"You're a what?" He said, panicking in his trench. They were side by side, entrusting each other with each other's lives; that if one of them died, he'd go tell their families and friends.
"I'm a girl, Adrian." She – HE - replied, looking into his blue eyes.
Cannons blew up around them, rock and dirt hitting their blue uniforms and old guns. The cries of dying and wounded soldiers pounded in both of their ears, the desperate cries of horses joining the noise. Shots of rifles splintered the air; the smell of gunpowder, blood, decaying flesh, and other things seeped into their noses, threatening a permanent existence there forever.
"No, you can't be. I mean, after all of the-" He replied disbelievingly. Ben could NOT be a girl, no girl could take what their regiment had been through, no matter how brave and confidence she was.
"Yes, I am." She- HE said firmly, a hint of anger tinting her-HIS- voice.
"No, you aren't. Your name is Benjamin James Johnson, you were born on July 13, 1756, you live in Williamsburg, Virginia, your mother's name is Sarah and your father's is Peter-"
"Adrian! My real name is Heaven Marie Lawrence; I was born on May 1, 1758, I live in Williamsburg, Virginia, my mother's name is Sarah and my father's is Peter."
"You lied to me…" Realization hit him heard, and his expression changed from anger and frustration to- well, angrier and fearful.
"I'm sorry, I'm so, so, very sorry, Adrian. I didn't mean to become friends with you, I didn't mean to fall in love with you, and I didn't-" Anger and the feeling he was betrayed was filling his heart for letting her tell him so many lies, just to protect her true identity. But, had he heard correctly- 'I didn't mean to fall in love with you…"
"You what?" His voice was shaky, and backed it up with confidence.
"I…I love you." She stuttered, tears pouring down her dirty cheeks. A loud shot was fired, and it hit her hard in the stomach.
"HEAVEN!" Adrian cried out. He looked to her stomach, seeing the blood spew from it, like it would never end. The disgusting sight of her innards met his stare; her breath was short and small, and weak. The world seemed to start moving in slow motion as Adrian rolled her over, watch the sight of burgundy leak unceremoniously onto the ground. The lady didn't cry out, but slowly blinked her green eyes and looked into his face.
"Adrian, I'm so sorry for everything. Please, please tell Mother and Father that I love them and that they were right," blood started dripping from the corner of her gasping mouth, "I did die in the battlefield. The most mundane of all places." Laughing small and dryly, she smiled; he knew what was going on next. The next time she closed her eyes would be it, and the thought of such a wonderful, kind, intelligent, beautiful, desirable…Stop thinking indecently, Adrian James Matthews.
"Heaven, you're not going to die. I won't let you. Don't say those things, you'll live. You'll survive, a-a-and you'll get married to a gentleman, and have beautiful children with him, and grow old and not die here, but surrounded by those who love you the most." Tears poured down his face, landing on the blood-stained indigo and white of her uniform. He made no effort in whipping his away, but dried the blood and tears from the corner of her mouth and cheeks with the cuff of his sleeve.
"Good-bye, Adrian." She croaked grasping his hand hard and then closing her eyes.
"NO! DO NOT SAY THAT! MEDIC! MEDIC!! MEDIC!!!"
Her hand went limp, as the rest of her body.
She was gone. Forever. Never again to greet everyone in the morning with a welcoming smile and a good cup of coffee.
"Heaven…I love you…" The tears coming from his face seemed like they'd never end.
"Matthews! Shoot the redcoat! Johnson is gone!" Adrian looked up from the corpse of his lover, raised his ancient rifle, and shot the redcoat angrily.
That, redcoat, is for Heaven.
End Flashback
"Heaven…" His voice was quiet, barely audible.
"What?" She replied. Adrian looked at her face; tears pouring down it like they had 232 years ago. He had hated to see her cry, it was unbearable. Her green eyes were of such a shade that it hurt to look at them, but he continued to do so.
"Finally, I found you…"
"No, you didn't find me, Adrian. You found just another angel in Eden. Nothing more, nothing less."
Adrian advanced to her and tilted her chin to look him in the eye. "Heaven, I need to talk to you."
"No, no you don't."
"Yes, I do, Heaven. I have been looking for you for over 230 years…"
She turned away from his face and walked to another part of the fountain. "Adrian, what happened after…after I died?"
"I did what I promised; I went to your family and friends and told them you died on the battlefield. About a year later, I died."
"How did you die?" She wasn't looking at him, but at his reflection in the crystal clear water of the fountain.
"I was in a robbery and was caught in the crossfire." She was taunting him; walking around like she was, the way her copper hair fell around her shoulders, the way her beautiful green eyes were so emotionless…but Adrian new better, because she did have emotions.
Love was an emotion, and she had told him that she loved him. He told her he loved her too, but when he decided to tell her, it was to late…she had departed from this life…had left him dead, but he walked and talked to others….
"Was it…painful?" She looked up towards him, pausing for one reason or another.
"No, no, it wasn't. Was yours?"
"I can't remember much about it, actually, Adrian. I remember feeling everything going slower and quieter…and," she blushed, probably the first time since she died, "I remember that you cried for a medic, and that, if I recall correctly, you said that 'you'll survive, a-a-and you'll get married to a gentleman, and have beautiful children, and grow old with him and not die here, but surrounded by those who love you the most.'"
"Yes…I do remember saying that. You would've been a wonderful mother and a good wife to someone."
"Well, I suppose that you were right; I basically did become a mother."
She saw his expression change dramatically (much to Adrian's displeasure), his features turned paler, and…disappointed. "Oh…how many children?"
"I helped take care of all the little children in Purgatory…they need it the most. They were my children, I suppose, because I didn't have any of my own."
In one way or another, Adrian felt happy that she didn't bring any children into this world. He didn't know why, but he just did. He remembered what he was thinking about her when she died…she was that, and so much more to him.
"Adrian, where have you been the past 231 years?"
"I see you've kept count, Heaven."
"That's beside the point."
"Honestly?"
"Honestly."
"Short or long?"
"What?"
"Do you want to hear the chopped up version, or the ENTIRE thing which could take days to even explain?"
"Chopped one, please."
"I've been looking for you, because I love you still."
She had let her walls down, and a wave of shock appeared on her pretty features. Her mouth gapped like she was going to say something, but a sound did not come out. "What?"
"I love you, Heaven. I've been loving you for the past 233 years. I thought I was mad at first, falling for a man, but when you told me you were a girl…everything came into place." Again, he walked over to Heaven, took her face within his large hands and kissed her lips.
--
Oh. My. Goodness. Her mouth was melted with is, and it was so warm and soft and pleasurable. His great wings exploded from his back and wrapped themselves around them. "Sorry." He mumbled, folding his wings back behind him.
"No, don't be ashamed of your wings. I think they're beautiful." She smiled, letting her wings unfold and entwine them with his. Since Adrian had broken the kiss, the angels' foreheads seemed to mesh together, because if their lips weren't together, their foreheads were.
He smiled and kissed her again….
Because he could.
And because the lovers had sacrificed so much just too even love…
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Author's Note: I practically CRIED when I reread this story. Heaven and Adrian really love each other… (sniffs) please review!