Prelude: The Lake
The waters beneath were a shocking sheet of ebony. She could not see herself-there was no reflection. A black expanse which consumed light, leaving nothing in its absence. Her fingers stretched outward, her eyes transfixed by the anomaly spreading before her.
The tip of her finger disappeared beneath the water's surface, though no ripples were created by the sudden intrusion. The water was cold, but not unbearable. Her fingers stretched onward until her hand was fully submerged. It simply disappeared, as if her hand had been severed at the wrist.
She retracted it, observing the water's effects on her hand. There were none; the liquid on her hand was clear, though it dripped from her skin and turned to black on its journey downward. The droplets returned to the sheet of black they had originated from, though they did not disturb it's glass-like surface. How peculiar.
Her eyes were wide, brows drawn as she leaned over the side of her small boat. It was stuck in suspension, never moving unless she were to force it herself. Again she placed her hand within the water, dragging it in a meaningless pattern in an attempt to disturb the perpetually smooth surface. She could not.
The girl was enticed by the liquid, so very consumed by it that she sunk her arms deeper and deeper within the blackened waters until she toppled headfirst into it. Her body was swallowed whole by the lake, her feet disappearing beyond the surface without a trace. Her eyes were open in surprise, and the water below the surface seemed to be less opaque. She could see her hands, the tiny bubbles which formed when she moved them this way and that. The surface above remained as glass; the bubbles never reached it.
The water was cold and grey. She looked up towards the surface, met only with black, whereas the lake beneath was lighter, clearer. Or perhaps she was wrong; perhaps the surface was lighter and the bottom darker. That certainly made more sense. She may have gotten the two mixed up, considering she had entered the water upside down to begin with.
Though she was holding her breath, she didn't feel any urgency to breathe. There was no rush. It vaguely registered that she had never been able to hold her breath this long.
She began swimming towards the clear waters, watching the liquid around her become a fading gradient. Her hands were outstretched towards the light, which only seemed to become more radiant. Though before her fingers could meet the pale gray waters, a hand clasped around her wrist and tugged her away. She was jogged from her reverie.
Her head turned, emerald eyes falling upon the face of a man. Crimson eyes and striking white hair, his head shaking from side to side in warning. Her brows furrowed, asking an unspoken question as she turned again to look at the light. Light was a good thing, was it not?
"You can't come any closer..." He spoke, and she was surprised to hear his voice so clearly and without obstruction. "Go back to the surface, you should never have come here."
"But why?" She asked, discovering that she, too, could speak, and could breathe down here. What was this lake if clearly is was not composed of water? What was this calm, lulling feeling that was making her drowsy; tranquil?
"It's not safe for you here." He urged, swimming away from the light with her in tow. He was dragging her towards the surface, back into the darkness, ignoring any protests she might have had. The water was smooth, easy to maneuver within, and so he toted her a decent ways up before she retaliated.
"But why are you here?" She challenged, tugging her arm free of his hold. He met her gaze evenly as she crossed her arms over her chest. They hung there in suspension, in the sea of grey, challenging one another. "Who are you?"
"That doesn't matter." He snapped, and it was evident that he was becoming impatient. He glared at her with scorching eyes, full of burning coals. His lips were drawn, baring jagged teeth which resembled those of a shark. "You must leave! Go! And don't come back here!"
She hesitated, pondering his words for a few short moments before deciding to heed his warning. Her lips were positioned in a pout, eyebrows furrowed in frustration before she begrudgingly uncrossed her arms. He seemed rather adamant, and his urgency was beginning to make her anxious. Her head slowly came to nod, her gaze shifting back up towards the seemingly endless layer of darkness. She swam towards it, her head breaking through the glass and into the open air.
The sun was setting. It had been rising when she dove into the lake. Her boat was missing, vanished. She could only see black surrounding her, stretching on for what seemed like miles.
"It's not safe for you here."
A/N: Just gonna... Plop this here. Please let me know if this is something that interests you and that you'd like to see more of.