Flash Fiction Fridays - Love's Garden part 1

Hi all! So this week I'm switching it up a bit. I was in the mood to write a cutesy love story. This is the first time in the history of everdom I've finished before the wee hours of the night. This all sort of came to me. I broke it into three pieces. Hope you like it :)

This week we had to use one of these locations for our prompt

Anain Fortress
Doeoak Crossing
Enandr Strait
Arokus Hill
Matran Bluff

Check out fellow FFF writers
Night Tempest, Elaina M. Roberts and Tempest Wolf


Love's Garden Part 1



The caretaker tended to a small bud that sprouted seasons ago but never grew more than a few inches above the dirt. Despite being older than many plants in his care, the tiny sprout still held the pale green color of immaturity. Kami took to watering the fields of flowering hearts who dominated his existence. The rows of florets seem to span an eternity though he could take a single row in seconds. He showered each one, his feet landing in the same prints he’d left moments ago only to move on to the next row. Physically his job was monotonous but he found constant joy in watching the hearts sprout forth clinging to each other.  Once a heart bloomed he knew that person had found their love. The hearts were never the same and it was his responsibility to ensure they grew strong and healthy. Nurturing each one that blossomed, he allowed their owners to share in the love of one another.

His job was a lonely one but he made friends with each unique heart imagining the characteristics that embodied it’s owner. Curiously he wondered which hearts were their other halves. They came with no names or associations only the pet names he given them. He knew only what he could tell from staring at the vibrant colored plants. Every now and then, as he watched them mature and grow, he wished the same for himself. He knew of passion from the other angels but hadn’t experienced anything like that for himself outside of his need to serve and guide. The sacrifice he made to tend this garden was well worth it. Forged from tears and love, he was given a choice to live out his purpose here nurturing the souls of his mortal sisters and brothers or choose his own destiny. He knew he was the only one who could care for the fragile hearts. The others were too harsh. They were full of light but spent far too much time in the trenches of good and evil for this delicate labor of love. This was his gift. He would bring joy to everything around him even if it meant nothing for himself. 

Finished his tending for the moment, Kami took a rest laying out in the recesses of the garden. He couldn't help but feel a little lonely amongst the consuming beauty. Most hearts that made it here grew into towering masses high enough to sprout from mortal ground and still paint the tips of heaven. Each one he gazed upon gave him a sense of fulfillment. Still there was a small void in his own heart they could not fill. He closed his eyes to nap before another came looking to harvest the few plants that withered making room for fresh blossoms. He always took it hard when another came to take the dead ones away sealing the dried flowers in books of their history. No one knew the painstaking love and care he put into every seedling leaving a piece of himself imbedded. Many days he sat by a wilted heart weeping for it’s loss. 

Rycah halted at the entrance as he reach the maze that made up Anain Fortress. The outer walls of the enormous angel made structure were boulders made up of liquid pearls adhering to each other. The self contained globules appeared to be nothing more than stilled water anyone could easily wade through. The peaks of the fortress spiked like tips of a crown resting on atop the hill’s head. Under the high sun, the watery stones glistened with golden leaves traversing the surface. The wall rippled under Rycah’s touch. Despite it’s serene appearance, he knew it was impenetrable. The fortress walls created a triangle. Each end devoted to it’s intangible leading lady. The power of will that shaped Destiny.  The inevitability that was Fate. Lastly the path that lead to Karma. While any angel had access, most didn’t have the ability to navigate the passages as nothing stayed in the same place. A person could walk miles and end up in the exact same spot. Only those who tended or guarded a treasure truly knew how vast this place was. The fortress housed the things most precious to Rycah’s creator. Things his children needed both mortal and immortal. One of which was Kami’s garden in the center of the protected plain. 

"Enjoying yourself little nymph" startled by the familiar voice, Kami scrambled to his knees tugging the modest gold tunic over his slender legs only to lose the shoulder. Rycah's presence sent chills through Kami’s body. Other's helped with harvesting but Rycah was his favorite. Taking in every inch as his eyes drifted upward. Rycah was beautiful to Kami in every sense of the word. His black boots laced up his calves. His thick thighs were incased in pants so tight Kami couldn’t imagine how me managed to move. A sheath crossed over his broad chest housing a well used sword wrinkled his crimson shirt. A few inches taller than Kami, his muscular body denoted that of a warrior. His auburn hair was cut close as he claimed it was easier to manage. His eyes gray with specks of light flutter through like flurries in a snow globe. Kami stared at the sword protruding behind his back. Rycah was always armed though it wasn't necessary here. In this place nothing grew but love. Following the path of Kami’s gaze, Rycah adjusted his sheath hiding the weapon completely behind him. Taking him by the shoulders Rycah gently lifted him to his feet. 

"Didn't mean to frighten you." embracing the smaller angel, he wrapped an arm around his waisted and the other at the nape of his neck fitting Kami to his chest. His tiny frame molded perfectly into Rycah. He took a whiff of the faint floral scent wafting off his luscious silver mane. Holding him tight, he relished the quick beating in Kami’s chest mimicking his own. The smooth tanned shoulder freed from his tunic mocked Rycah. He longed to feel the soft skin hidden under the fabric against his.   

“You didn’t scare me.” deep plum eyes looked up to Rycah. “I dozed off for a few minutes. I didn’t expect anyone so soon.” he smiled.

The innocence in his face only made him that much more beautiful to Rycah. Though he was several millennia old, he still held the sweetness of one of his young blossoms. Kami’s smile always turned Rycah to mush. Rycah was use to being in control. He’d become accustomed to the harsh realities of the moral world and battlefield where he'd spilled more than his fair share of blood. He was kind but dominated everything in his presence. That was his role to play in the greater good. Yet here he felt more like a lovesick boy than a warrior. Watching Kami’s rosy lips part as he spoke, Rycah couldn't help but wonder what they would feel like on his. What he would taste like. Kami had no idea the power he held over his larger counterpart. He inhaled deeply willing himself to release Kami before he gave the smaller man more than he bargained for.

“I figured I’d get started early and maybe have a little time to doze off in the fields like some of my fellow angels.” pinching Kami’s side eliciting a giggle. 

Kami loved how tactile Rycah was. Casting his gaze down to hide the heat in his cheeks, he often wondered why the attentions he received from the others never affected him in quite the same way. He cared for all of them but he was indifferent to their advances. With Rycah he longed for the touches they shared though he could never bring himself to say it to him out loud.

“There’s not much to harvest this time.”

“Oh?" Rycah asked looking around at the towering tree like masses that surrounded them. 

Rycah wasn’t surprised. He secretly watched day in and day out as the tiny angel knelt in the dirt coddling each plant under his care. He knew Kami didn’t just lead them to fleeting infatuation. He wanted them to find their other half. He poured every bit of fate his tiny yet powerful hands could muster into these hearts to make sure that happened. No one else could do what Kami could. No one loved as hard as he did. Rycah assumed the keeper even tended to his own heart somewhere in the vast vegetation though neither of them knew which. Rycah only knew from unbearable urge that built in his chest at the sight of Kami that he must be the one nurturing his heart. 

“My only problem seems to be this one.” Kami pointed to the little sprout. “It’s been trying for so long to grow but I don’t understand what’s wrong.” 

Noting the tiny flower not yet formed Rycah nodded. Kneeling down Rycah cupped his palms around the tiny plant though never touching it. 

“I remember you mentioning this one. This little guy has been here since I first started helping out.” Rycah recalled his visit to the garden for the first time. It seemed like a forever ago. He’d been to Anain Fortress more times than he could count but never bothered with the garden hidden deep in it’s core. He had no reason to. His job was to protect. He left it to others more qualified to love and guide. He probably would have never come here if not asked by his creator. The one time was all it took. Once he set eyes on Kami he never had to be asked again. 

Kami nodded kneeling beside him. “That’s when it first sprouted.” 

So many times Rycah prayed for Kami. The answer was always the same. Neither a yes or no. Kami’s heart belonged to whoever claimed it. He never understood but looking at this sad little bud he wondered if he’d found his answer. He knew if it didn’t grow soon it would be harvested or trampled by one of his less sensitive brethren to make room for something else. Something that wasn’t him. 

Looking at the intense concentration on Rycah’s face, Kami had never seen anyone else take such an interest in his plants. 

Rycah lifted his eyes smirking at Kami’s surprised expression. "I don't bring war everywhere I go." he laughed. 

"You've never brought anything but joy here." Kami could feel the flush in his cheeks again at his admission. 

“Good.” Rycah tapped Kami’s nose with the tip of his finger. “Get the shovel so I can dig this little guy out.” he ordered trying to keep his voice even as he contemplated his next move. 

Kami's wide eyes brimmed with tears staring at Rycah who pretended to ignore the pleading look tearing him to pieces. His shoulders slumped in defeat as he got up without a word to fetch the small hand shovel. 

“And a pot.” he heard Rycah call out. He returned with both handing them over to the kneeling giant. Rycah stuck the shovel into the dirt only to stop with a puzzled look. 

“What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know how to remove this without damaging it. I’m afraid this is not my strong suit.” handing the tools back to Kami.
Confused he took the tools from Rycah. What difference did it make if the plant was to be disposed of anyway? 

“You want the plant undamaged?” Kami asked in a curious tone.

“Yes. Please.” thrusting the pot forward.

Sitting the shovel aside, Kami dug in with his hands scooping a wide section. Bring up the tiny plant roots and all he placed it in the pot. 

“Here” the tears in Kami’s eyes finally spilling over.

Rycah raised his hands to caress the wet cheeks. “Please don’t cry. Perhaps something better will grow.”