Prompt 313 - "Strange Fruit" - NoUseForASammie - Original Story
Title: Forbidden
Fandom: Original
Prompt: Number 313 - Poison Fruit
Warnings: None
Rating: Teen audiences for violence
Summary: Learn what truly happened to Adam and Eve the fateful night of the apple.
This was previously posted to the community Taming The Muse, but I wanted it on my own Journal, as well.
Adam looked to his right, where Eve stood, the wind roiling her brown hair about her face. How he loved this woman, he could never put in words. He was struck with the gratitude he felt for her as though she had just been bestowed upon him anew. He was so lonely in the days before she came. Adam gave a shudder at the memory of walking these grounds alone, taking in so much beauty of the land with out ever really appreciating it. But his creator, his father, gave him this companion who could be replaced with no other. If Eve were to be taken from the earth, he would never ask for anyone else to replace her. She was his beginning and would be his end.
Eve tilted her head and smiled at Adam. "What are you thinking about, love?"
Adam was struck with her musical voice and brought out of his reverie. "I was just admiring you."
"You seemed to be thinking of something that was much less pleasing. Your eyes defy you, love. You were thinking of, perhaps, something much darker." Eve's lips pulled up at the corners ever so slightly and her eyes studied his face.
"I was remembering this place with out you, Eve." Adam broke their eye contact and turned his face away, lest she see his memory in his face.
"Ah! Do not hide your expression from me, Adam. That you find your life was so abhorring in this paradise you enjoyed all to yourself before I came to you is more proof of your love than I will ever need." Eve's voice became much softer as she slid an arm around his waist. "You will never exist with out me again. Do not dwell on those times that you can not change, but think of what we now share together."
Adam smiled, his spirit lifted by Eve's encouragement. He returned her embrace and they left to find the cats. They were going to be late for their meal if they didn't hurry. Eve lead the way through the forest, dancing and weaving around the trees at an easy jog. Adam watched her dark hair fly behind her, swinging against the pale skin of her back as he trotted along behind her. In his belly, a desire started to kindle as he watched her lean muscles work, her legs powerful and graceful as she led them further under the canopy of green.
Adam sped up his pace and ran beside her. Eve looked at him from the corner of her eye, a mischievous smile beginning to spread across her face. Adam pressed his legs slightly harder and looked over his shoulder as he passed her. Eve quickly measured Adam, letting her eyes slide up and down his body once and lengthened her stride. She knew Adam's muscles to be stronger than hers and each step would carry him farther, but she couldn't resist accepting his challenge. She had elegance in her run and knowledge of the land around them that was unrivaled. These assets had proven, on more than one occasion, to best him.
They raced passed tree trunks covered in moss. Squirrels and rabbits bounded beside them for as long as they could keep up and ran in their wake when they fell behind. Adam's chest began to glisten with sweat and Eve took in great gasps of breath, but they did not stop. Adam was ahead by a few strides when he began a dash around a huge ancient redwood tree. Eve saw her final chance to win the race, being too close to their destination to simply outrun him. She headed straight for the tree Adam was getting half way around. She took one great leap and landed on a protruding root. She began to dance across the network of tree roots which Adam was forced to avoid. Her sure footing landed her on the other side of the tree as Adam finished rounding it and they were now in a dead sprint to the finish.
Adam laughed with joy as Eve landed beside him and pumped his arms and legs ever faster. Eve kept up at his side, determination the only thing keeping her pace fast enough to match Adam’s. They reached the forest clearing at the same foot fall and both fell in to the soft grass, panting and giggling.
"I have won the day Eve, and you shall be my prize!" Adam exclaimed.
"Oh, my poor love, you are very mistaken, for I have beaten you and you are to be my prize," Eve retorted.
They both laughed harder and lay in the grass until their breathing evened. Dark curls of hair were stuck to Eve's temples and Adam slid them back away from her face with a gentle caress. Eve smiled and wiped the sweat from Adam's brow with the tips of her fingers.
A low growl rumbled across the grass and Adam was pulled abruptly from Eve's arms. A ferocious sound filled the clearing as Adam tumbled back, the weight of screaming fur taking him many yards from where Eve squinted in to the sun to better see their attacker. A movement to her left set her neck hairs on end and she crouched, waiting for another onslaught.
Eve had only a fraction of a second to respond to the attack that came from behind her. She ducked and rolled to her right, away from whatever waited to her left. She spun around, her face set and eyes wide. The cat that had flown at her landed with a thump and stayed low to the ground, his large yellow eyes meeting her intent look. He relaxed his muscles. Eve did not move, waiting for the other cat she knew to be in the grass somewhere. She could feel herself being made prey, being hunted. The cat in front of her sat on his haunches, being large enough to reach up to her waist in the seated position. His brown fur laid down, smoothing over his body as his eyes cast a lazy look around him. Even though this cat became so subdued, Eve couldn't shake the feel of the other in the distance, beyond her detection. She did not move a muscle, staring at the one cat she could see, listening with her whole body for the other.
The sitting cat smiled and licked his lips. "It seems," the cat spoke in a purring voice, "we are at an impasse." He nodded his head once and another cat slipped through the grass and sat beside him. Eve straightened up and smiled at her friends.
Adam's deep laugh preceded him as he walked back up to Eve, a very large black feline walking beside him.
"The only way you can best me is to come at me unwares!" Adam exclaimed to the cat.
The cat's voice was just as deep as Adam's, but his feline accent rounded his vowels and elongated his words. "I could beat you anytime I wanted, human." He smiled at Eve and bumped his head in to her hand. "And how is my friend's wife?"
Eve laughed and knelt in front of the panther. "I am well, Hades." She turned to the other cats, both brown with white bellies and pointed black ears; mountain lions from the nearby hills just outside of the forest. "And you two? Artemis and Apollo? What do you mean by stalking me?" She said with a laugh.
"Well, apparently we have taught you too well how to hunt and stay alive, Eve," Artemis answered, stretching her front legs in front of her and standing.
"And what, in our forest, do you think would possibly harm Adam or I? Nothing hunts us, except you!" Eve answered playfully.
"There are still many things neither of you have come across, and some, I hope, you never will," Hades replied gravely. "But, to speak of such things is to bring them, so let's continue on to meet up with Zeus and Hera."
They all stood and walked across the clearing together. The sun was starting to lower in the sky, casting long shadows from the trees. They had just passed the tree line when they saw a set of glowing eyes before them.
The owner of the shining eyes stepped forward out of the darkness. A beautiful lioness surveyed the group. "Where have you been? Zeus has sent me to come find you all."
Hades smiled, his long incisors showing over his bottom lips. "We couldn't resist sneaking up on them. They seem so frail when they are so entranced in each other."
The group laughed, including Hera, who could not continue her angry facade. "Well, come along, we are hungry and anxious to eat."
They continued through the trees, passing through a creek and up a short incline. At the top of the small hill was a massive lion with a silky, long mane. When Adam and Eve approached further, they could see the milky whiteness of his eyes. Zeus was very old, and very blind. But it did not deter them from paying him the respect he was owed.
"So, what is it that took all the children so long this time?" Zeus rumbled as he sniffed at the recent catches of fresh meat that lay near his front paws. "I nearly started eating already."
Hades stepped forward and grunted, eying the meat with hunger now creeping in to his yellow eyes. "The lovers were making themselves too much of an easy prey. We couldn't help ourselves but stalk them."
Zeus laughed heartily at this others. "You two will be the death of each other! Always frolicking around in the forest with no one watching your backs!" He laughed harder still at this.
They strange group, cats and humans, settled down to the feast that lay before them. Eve pulled a recently death rabbit close to her and used her nails to begin skinning it. The warm blood dribbled down her hands and wrist and she caught the stream on her tongue. Adam watched the red blood flow down her pale skin, the contrast of such a rich color on her flesh arousing him anew. He cleared his throat, casting his desires aside, and grabbed his own favorite meal, a large piece of a deer.
They all ate in silence, watching the sun dip below the trees, casting them in to a summer twilight. The first few stars began to emerge in the sky through the green canopy above them. Eve laid back against the cool forest earth, her stomach full and thoroughly satisfied. Adam lay beside her, the cats finding various places to lay down their full bellies as well.
"I think it's Eve and Adam's turn to hunt next," Apollo mumbled as his eyes started to droop lazily. "Although, you brought in excellent choices of food, Hera."
Hera's mouth pulled up in to a cat smile and stretched out her front paws, her claws flexing in to the soft earth. "I couldn't have done it with out Zeus's excellent hearing."
"Well done, both of you," Hades added.
"Zeus, tell us more about our master. I wish to enjoy listening to your stories of him and the other benevolent creatures that live with him, these Angels," Adam coaxed. He was always anxious to hear about his father, for he had met him only once when Eve was brought to him. If not for the cats that lived in this place with them, Adam would know nothing about him.
Zeus closed his white eyes for a moment. He knew Adam's adoration for his father was endless and hopeless.
"Tonight I'll tell you about your father and what became of one of his friends." Zeus paused and everyone was silent, settling to hear the tale. "Lord has created many, many things with his magic. He made things that would blossom and he made some that would dance. He even created so many stars, that he lost track of a few of them." Apollo laughed heartily at this, for they all knew Apollo was the creator of the sun which often swallowed the lost stars. "But all the things he created, he created with such beauty and finesse, that we gods did not think it necessary to step in the way of such art." Apollo then sighed deeply, and Eve glanced at him briefly, knowing this story would not have a happy ending.
"One day," Zeus continued, "Lord made a being that he hoped would be somewhat of an equal to him. Someone he could create things together with. For Lord was a very lonely being. He looked in to the water of a still pond and using all the magic knowledge he had, he pulled out his image from the surface of the water. He had created another being just like him. He rejoiced and named his new friend Lucifer, after the twinkling morning star he saw in the sky above him."
"For a very, very long time, Lucifer followed Lord everywhere. He learned much from Lord, and they both continued so create many wonderful things. But Lucifer's creations seemed to have a darkness to them."
"We should have known then," Artemis mumbled quietly.
"Yes, it is true. I often wonder what would have happened if we had stopped Lucifer then. But I do not think Lord would have allowed it. He was very much in love with his favorite piece of magic." Zeus lowered his gaze in quiet contemplation of this.
"What happened then?" Eve whispered.
"Lucifer had created a ferocious beast. It had the physical body of an enormous man with hooved feet, the face of a bull, and giant horns. We all admired it. The strength in his monster was enormous and it must have cost Lucifer dearly to make it. He called it a demon."
"But the creature showed anger, hatred and blood lust. It killed one of Lord's angels, his beautiful winged singers. It ripped from her body her white wings, raped her and then ate her flesh. Lord showed Lucifer the body of his angel and begged him to destroy the demon. But just as Lord had shown such affinity to Lucifer, Lucifer adored his own creation. They fought for many hours, coming to blows many times and destroying much of what they had made. We gods could no longer interfere, for the fighting had escalated so much, that when my father, Kronos, attempted to intervene, he was killed and I was struck blind by the lightening that impaled him. My last memory of sight, was watching my father fall."
"What did Lord....my father. What did he do?" Adam breathed. He was so quiet, Eve doubted Zeus could hear him. When she opened her mouth to repeat the question, Zeus interrupted.
"He cast Lucifer away. He created a place where the new evil Lucifer had spawned would be trapped. Lucifer, with no more of his demons to fight for him, and seeing his dearest friend's disdain, left him then, to live with his minions."
"Lord was alone again. He did not dare create another one as his mirror, for he could see that in himself, evil could prevail. Instead, he created you, Adam. He made you as his image, and gave you everything in him that was good. But he forgot that in himself was also the intense desire to share that which is most enjoyed. So, when you were at your frailest, I went to Lord and begged him to make you a partner. He instantly obliged, and with your own flesh, he made you a partner that complimented you in every way. Eve, with all her beauty, was created to look like the angel the demon had destroyed, to remind Lord of why he could not create such kinds of life ever again."
"So, that is why we are the only ones." Eve stated, staring off in to the darkened woods.
"Yes," Zeus replied solemnly. "He fears his own inventions and he ended his endeavors in art with you, Eve. He has not created another single thing. But, we gods saw the good in you and have watched over you on his behalf. Besides, you two are the most entertaining things to happen to us in ages."
Apollo started snickering at this, which made Hera start giggling. It was infectious, and Artemis caught it as well. They all laughed, except Eve, who only smiled distantly. She was thinking very deeply of this man, this Lucifer. What sort of being could make things so evil?
"Why have you not told us this tale before, Zeus? Should we not know of the dangers around us?" Eve stated plainly as everyone quieted down.
"Do not be angry with me, Eve. Before there was no threat from Lucifer. But, recently, I have heard that he wishes to control not only his own creations, but he wants some of Lord's as well. He has become very bitter and very greedy in Hell."
"Then we should always be ready for him," Eve said.
Zeus said nothing more. Eve was a fierce, intuitive warrior. He did not fear much for her safety. But Adam, Lord's own image, was in mortal danger. Lucifer wanted Adam in his clutches and would stop at nothing to humiliate Lord by using Adam.
Hades began to snore loudly and slowly, everyone followed his example. The forest around them was silent except for the night time creatures moving about in the trees. Eve was last to drift off in to a light sleep, too distracted with Zeus's story to be comfortable. Her eyes opened every so often to look around for the danger Zeus had foretold. But there was nothing except for the raccoons and fireflies. Slowly, her body relaxed and she finally slept deeply.
Many hours later, when the forest was at it's darkest, Adam shook Eve awake gently. She opened one eye to see his dark mass kneeling over her. He placed a finger to his lips to indicate his need for her silence and slowly lifted her in to a sitting position. Eve shook the fuzziness from her head and looked around futilely. It was just too dark. Whatever did he wake her for?
Off in the distance, Eve could make out a light. It was blue and pulsing. Her brow furrowed in confusion. The light then turned green, then pink. She had never seen something so mesmerizing. She stood up beside Adam. He grabbed her hand, and started to make their way to the source of the light. They moved slowly, avoiding large trees that were hard to see in the night. Adam held on to Eve's hand firmly. Eve wondered if he was afraid, for his grip was very strong.
They came upon a valley, the light still transitioning through blue, green and pink. It was dazzling. Down in the valley, they saw a single, large tree in a field of swaying grass. It was glowing with it's own green light. Adam stepped forward first and led the way down towards the tree. Cautiously, they approached it. Eve felt uneasy. She had never seen such a thing before and she did not trust it. But Adam pressed onwards until they stood in the green glow of the tree. He reached to a low hanging branch above him and plucked a glistening red fruit from it. He smiled broadly and handed it to Eve.
"A gift for you, darling," he whispered.
Eve held the fruit for a moment, not sure how to react. She was becoming afraid of this place. But she trusted Adam. So she slid her lips over the apple and sunk her teeth in to it. It's juices spread in to her mouth and she swallowed. Adam watched in earnest.
I heaviness had laid on to her chest. Eve was slowly finding it difficult to take in a breath. Suddenly, she gasped and dropped the fruit. She started gulping at the air she could not draw in and coughing violently. She slipped to her knees and looked up at Adam through tears that started to stream down her cheeks. He looked down at her with hateful eyes. The apple was poison.
"You stupid, stupid girl. You would go anywhere he led you, like lamb to slaughter." His voice was high and filled with hate. Eve saw the difference now in the glowing light. This was not Adam. His body was slighter and he had scars on his arms. Who could have deceived her so? Realization dawned on her. This was the only other man who was made to look like Lord. His mirror. This was Lucifer.
Lucifer slipped a hand in to her hair and wrenched her head back so she looked in to his face. "You will die and leave Adam alone in this world. When he has no one to turn to, I will be there to console him." Eve could only shake her head in response. "A pity," Lucifer mumbled as she lost her strength and slumped against him. "You are so much like the beautiful angels I miss most dearly. It is sad that I must kill you."
A snapping of branches alerted Lucifer to someone approaching. He laid Eve gently down under the tree and stood to meet the intruder. Eve faintly heard her name being called. Adam! He had come to find her. Her mind struggled to warn him, to stop him from coming to the tree, but she could only watch.
Adam came in to view with Hades beside him. They were looking up at the tree and had not yet seen Eve lying helpless below.
"This is the aurora borealis. I'm sure of it, " Hades said to Adam as they nervously looked around. "This is one of Lucifer's inventions."
Eve was finding it hard to keep her eyes open as Adam finally spotted her. He rushed to her side and lifted her in to his lap. "Why does she sleep, Hades?"
Hades sniffed at the skin of her arm and his hair lifted on his back. "She is not sleeping, she is dying. She has been poisoned, Adam!"
Adam urgently lifted Eve's face to his own and looked in to her eyes. "Don't leave me, Eve. I can not exist with out you. Please, please. What has happened?"
Eve reveled in the feel of his warm palms on her cheeks. She knew it would be her last sensation. Her consciousness was slipping and she let her eyes slowly close. She sent her whole heart to Adam, but she knew he couldn't hear her fervent thoughts. She loved him, and it was the last thing she would feel.
Adam screamed in anguish as Eve closed her eyes and ceased to breathe. He held her tightly against himself. Hades prowled back and forth, agitated beyond his normal calm state. How had this happened? Where was Lucifer now?
As if hearing his name spoken in Hades' mind, Lucifer stepped from behind the tree, revealing himself at last. His face showed nothing but sorrow as he stepped closer to Adam.
"What fresh sorrow is this!" he exclaimed. "Our creator, our father has aloud this pain to exist in you, Adam," Lucifer declared.
Adam looked up at Lucifer in confusion. He knew instantly who this man was who so resembled himself. How could he show his face at such a time as this?
"What are you doing here, Lucifer? Do you have a hand in my wife's death?" Adam glared at him.
"Me!? Of course not! How could I harm such a delicate and beautiful creature?" Lucifer let a tear slide down his face. "I have come to help you mourn, Adam."
Hades stepped from the shadows where he was concealed. "You lie Lucifer! I can smell the poison on your hands!"
Lucifer hissed in anger and pulled away. "You still walk these lands, Hades?!" He began to move around the cat, backing towards a way out.
"He's not the only one," Artemis spoke as she stepped up behind Lucifer. Apollo was directly behind her.
Lucifer only sneered at them and started to side step a different way. But the exit he intended on was suddenly filled with a huge lion and a lioness at his side.
"Ah, Zeus." Lucifer's voice was becoming shaky as he realized he was trapped. The cats advanced on him on all sides of the tree. The changing light from above them made their eyes glow and one of them began to growl.
"No!" Adam shouted from the tree as he laid Eve gently down. Lucifer dropped his shoulders in relief. Adam would never allow him to be killed if he still wished for a companion.
"No," Adam spoke more calmly. "I will kill him."
Lucifer spun around to face him. Adam's eyes were indeed murderous. His fury was terrifying. Lucifer tried to run from the advancing man, but he was blocked by a screeching cat. Apollo swiped at Lucifer's calf, threatening him.
Adam through his fist in to Lucifer's face. The ruler of Hell fell to the ground and blood spattered on to the grass. Adam lifted a heel and stomped in his ribs. The breath was pressed out of Lucifer's lungs and bones shattered in his chest. Adam lifted a stone and repeatedly slammed it in to Lucifer's head. He continued even after Lucifer no longer attempted to shield himself. Adam struck him until he could no longer lift his own arms.
Hades laid a paw on Adam's shoulder. "He is very dead."
Adam felt no relief in Eve's murder avenged. He crawled to where her body still lay and cradled her head on his thigh. He leaned his head against the tree trunk and wept openly
A bright light suddenly shown above the tree and the aurora borealis was gone. Adam and the cats looked above them to watch a bright figure descend towards them. Landing lightly, the figure moved very slowly to where Adam sat against the poisoned tree. Adam could only stare at the man he so adored and barely knew.
"Hello, father," Adam spoke in a whisper.
"Oh, Adam. How could you have done such a monstrous thing?" Lord demanded in a quiet, strong voice.
Adam stared at the gold robes his father wore which was his source of the beautiful light that now bathed the valley. He could not force himself to look into Lord's eyes.
"He took her from me, Lord. He killed her." His tears began running down his face more fiercely.
"I never believed you capable of such hate," Lord spoke with only wonder. "I believed you to be the better of me."
Zeus stepped forward in to the golden light. "Lord, he hates because he loves. You can never seperate the two."
"Ah, Zeus. You who never abandoned my children like I have. You must have seen what a monster my son could be become," Lord turned an accusing glare on the lion.
"Lord, there is no love with out hate. If Adam was capable of one, then he could fulfill the acts of the other. Lucifer saw to that."
The cats all stepped forward. Artemis, Apollo, Hades, Hera, and Zeus formed a line in front of Adam and Eve, preventing Lord from harming them. "Do not punish him for what you did not think he was. Adam is his father's son," Hades pleaded.
Lord stood very still for many minutes, contemplating the gods that protected their friend. He finally stepped close to Zeus. "I will not harm him. Allow me to try to amend what I have done by leaving him when he was so young and in love. And then I will leave this place forever, never to look again on the violent scene I myself have spurred in to creation. I could not stand this heart ache another moment."
Zeus nodded his great maned head and stepped aside. Slowly, Lord moved to his son's side and sat beside him. "Please, Adam, let me help you this last time."
Adam's tears continued to fall as he opened his arms and allowed Lord to take Eve in his arms. Lord looked down on the angel face and laid his hand on her forehead. With a great sadness in his heart, he pressed in to her the life he vowed he would never give again. Her eyes opened under his touch and Eve looked up at Lord in wonder. She spoke not a word as Lord lifted her to sit beside Adam who wrapped his arms tightly around her waste.
"You are warm and alive!" he sobbed in to her shoulder.
Eve only nodded and returned his embrace.
"She will never be completely well, Adam." Lord spoke in a grave sadness. "The poison will always be with her. She will feel intense pains in her belly and she will bleed often."
Eve again nodded and looked again on Lord. "Thank you, for giving me back to him."
Lord stared at her for a moment. She did not thank him for her life. She thanked him for giving Adam relief again. She clearly did not fear for the loss of her own life, only for Adam's happiness. As he turned and watched Apollo's sun slowly rise over the tree above the valley, Lord wondered if the perfect creature he sought to create was the one he had now damned to a life of womanly pain.