Camp Charming

Dark Waters of Truth

Darkness surrounds my body like a blanket, but not a warm fuzzy one like on a Christmas morning. No, this is something dark, eerie, slimy almost. Something you feel in your nightmares or when you walk out of a muggy cave, a very lonely cave. This is a feeling I've known before, but yet, it seems so much worse. This is like a million shards of ice, jagged and sharp, cutting into me just enough to sting, but not deep enough that it would almost go numb from shock. No, this is what true pain feels like, and it is all over my body.

From the corner of my eye, the man from my dream stares up as if he were laying on his back looking at towards the sky. My hair floats into my vision and looks as if its caressing his skin, and he looks towards me. His hair floats up with his sinking body, and I feel the presence of the muggy bottom press against my back. Dust kicks up and floats around when a sudden burst of light comes from above. There, in front of me is like a movie playing out, but this is not like my dreams from before, this time, I see as the knight, the one whose ghostly figure has haunted me since I came back.

•*•*•

He gasped for air as the raging waters from the storm sucked him back down into the depths of the dark water. "Tina!" He screamed for the brief second he had been able to break the surface. His eyes were wide open searching in the water for her, but the dark clouds above left no light from the sun. with every flash of lighting, the image of the branch slamming into her and knocking her in replays in his head. His heart banged in his chest as he surfaced again spitting out the water from his lungs and screaming for her. The salty tears from his eyes mixed with the fresh water of the lake as he cried out. "Please God!" Another wave. His normally strong body was that of a delicate feather just going with the wind, but he wouldn't give up. He fought against the current, pushed back as much as he could, but to no avail, it just pushed back harder. One final current, and his head slammed into a rock from the hillside, and he only met darkness.

His body felt light and airy, like a huge weight had been lifted off of him, and he couldn't remember if he was alive or dead. Mumbled noise in the background, that they were talking and his head was under water. Water... He remembered the water, his princess falling into the waves helplessly when it should have been him. Brokenness filled his soul, and that weight began to come back heavier than before, the noises became louder until he heard one perfectly clear.

"Wake him up!" The water that soaked his body and woke him was not nearly as cold as that thundering voice. His eyes opened and his breath caught in his throat as he looked at the King. His hands trembeled and he bowed his head low to the ground.

"I have failed you Sire." His voice is hoarse, and you can hear just how upset he is. His lips tremble as tears well up in his eyes. "The storm, it blew a branch and she pushed me out of the way." Tears begin to mix with the puddle of water in the floor. "When it hit her she.. she fell from the cliff and-and.... It should have been me." He croaks out, his voice is a sob.

"The storm did it?" The king mocks as he too has tears streaming down his face. "My precious daughter is probably dead because of you! And you are blaming the storm?!"

     "Your majesty, you are absolutely right. It is my fault that it happened." The knight sobs as he plants his face into the ground. "I should have pushed her away from the edge when the storm happened."

     "WHAT STORM! NO STORM WAS THERE!"

     "I-it was by the lake your majesty." He mumbles, his brow furrowing as he tries to think.

     "Do you know what happens to liars?" He asks and the knight receives a swift blow into the back from the king's septer. Biting his lip, he tries not to yelp in pain as two guard grab him and pull him up. The king's face is red with rage. "You have killed my child, the Princess of this kingdom. You are charged with treason and sentenced to death." With that he nods to the guards who take him away.

     The visions flash, images of him in a cell, of his skin beginning to sag, his hair growing long flood by until two guards take him. They practically carry him out of the cell and up the stairs from the dungeon, for his lack of eating has depleted his muscles. Soon, he is greeted by sunlight, bright burning sunlight, his eyes scream in pain, but he simply stares ahead, unable to have the energy to even blink. They walk and walk, until they come to the path he never wished to walk again, the path where the princess had fallen.

     His eyes watered, and he felt his body quiver, but he almost passed out just from shedding a tear. As they rounded the corner, people of the kingdom were lining the area, they were screaming and spitting at him. At the very front, of the mass, closest to the edge, the king stood, holding a knife in his hand, as he stared cooly down at the knight. Once reaching the front, the guards throw him in the ground, while the king silences the crowd.

     "1 year ago today, my daughter left because we were invaded. I did not know that I would never see her again." Voices rise at anger, and some throw rocks, hitting the knight. "I believed her to be safe, but I was wrong." The kings eyes cut to him and one of the guard sends a kick into his side, the knight could hear bones breaking. "Today, the previously know Sir Kenny Adam's has been charged with treason for killing the Princess." Scream of joy for the charge ring out. "He will be executed the same way he has lied to say she died: by being tossed into the lake." With that, guards begin tying the knight's hands and feet with rope. Once secured the king nods and they pull up his body. "The knight, as I have said, lied to me, so, in order so he may never lie again," he wields the knife and a guard rips open his mouth while another pulls the tongue. "We shall take his voice away!" Cheers ring out, but they becoming quiet as soon as the tongue is cut out. He doesn't try to get away, his energy is too far gone, tears just continue to pour down his cheeks, and now mix with the blood from his mouth. "Any last words?" The king mocks and the crowd laughs as he gives the final nod. Two guards lift him, and hold him on the edge. The king, his eyes are like death, and darkness feels like it is looming over his face, like he is possessed. His gently pushes against the knights chest and, his body falls backwards.

     The airy feeling coming back, like he is floating. The cliff from above seems to grow more distant in slow motion until he feels his body hit the water, and everything goes white.

•*•*•

     My head comes from the water, arms wrapped around me, air rapidly filling my lungs. Coughing, the sunlight causes zigzag patterns against the darkness of my closed eyes. I feel various hands lifting me to the pier and through my coughing and sputtering, I hear various voices.

     "What did you do to her?"

     "I didn't do anything! She just jumped in!"

     "You must have insulted her."

     "I don't think I did."

     "You totally did Leo."

     "I bet it was Dean!"

     "Why me?"

     "You are her boyfriend after all!"

     "You guys stop it." I cough and wipe my face so I can open my eyes. The sunlight burns as I look straight ahead at all of them. "Let's just go back to the cabins everyone. Okay?" When I look I Dean, I try my best to convey how much I need to go.

     "You heard her guys." He says immediately and I look over to Leo, who is drenched.

     "Did you jump in?" I ask as the people begin to disperse and Leo and I stand. He only nods. Once everyone has cleared out he leans in to whisper.

     "Did you find out the reason why you are hear?" He asks and as we walk down the pier, I glance back to see the ghostly figure of the knight, his mouth bleeding, his eyes sad and lonely.

     "Yes, I think I did."

•*•*•

Thank you are for reading. Long time no see.