Man In The Water
The peaceful afternoon air was slightly windy. The skies were blue, with puffy white clouds floating in and out of view. The sun shined warmly, happily, onto the arge span of looming oaks and maples that lay under it. Deep inside these woods lay a large, silent lake in which a few reeds floated and ducks made their nests among their shores. Beyond these woods and over a hill lay a small village, with brick and stone houses, with slate roofs and quaint doors. People and people's families drifted between these houses, the ladies decked out in light summer dresses, the men in light and casual suits. The ladies happily conversed and gossiped with her fellow neighbors, as the men drank iced teas or rested on the porches of the houses. Children in small groups played in between these yards and on the streets. The happy sounds of children laughing and pleasant tones of the families mingled and danced with the sounds of the singing robins and mockingbirds.
Arthur Kirkland groaned at the hateful noises of the outside. Pulling the blanket closer over his head, he attempted once more to fall asleep. Arthur~ Wake up~ Arthur growled slightly as he swapped blindly toward the mint green bunny flying over his head. "Go away, Flying Mint Bunny, I am trying to sleep." he groaned. But it's already 10 in the morning, that's two hours more than you usually sleep in Arthur sighed and pulled the pillow over his head, to no avail. Do wake up, Arthur~ Arthur huffed, pulling the sheets off of him and sitting up, glaring halfheartedly at the smiling bunny that floated next to his head.
Arthur stretched, stood up and ran a hair through his golden hair as he glared at his sleepy reflection in the mirror, his dark eyebrows furrowing over his dazed green eyes. He had spent more time than usual last night at the town pub, drinking until he could no longer see the distasteful eyes of his neighbors glancing disapprovingly at his hunched figure over the bar. People didn't matter to him anymore since his little brother Alfred left him over 2 years ago to elope with a bad-mouthed brunette who happened to be visiting the area. When Arthur expressed his dislike for her, his normally adoring little brother retracted from him, marrying her in spite and defiance. Now he was all alone in the house made for two, with nothing but his so-called 'imaginary friends' and his alcohol to keep him at bay, earning him the label as the 'town drunk' or the 'unnatural one'. He didn't care. Arthur just didn't care anymore.
Arthur dragged on his suit, reputable even as an outcast, and after washing his face made himself a cup of tea. He sat on the chair that lay in front of the window, glancing outside from time to time at the welcoming scenery of outside, trying to avoid eye contact with people and turned away finally when one of them glared into his window. He sat up and walked to the door, pulling off his hat from the doorknob. Flying Mint Bunny flew circles curiously around him. Where are you going Arthur? "Out," he said resolutely, fixing the hat onto his messy, unruly hair. Flying Mint Bunny tilted its little head before smiling. You're going to that place, aren't you? Arthur nodded before ducking his head and stepping out the door into the shining sunlight of the unwelcoming society.
Whispers filled his ears as he swiftly walked down the pavement of the village, stares boring into every inch of him. Children scattered away from him as he came near, drawing close to their families and looking at his retreating figure, some expressions fearful, some curious, some disdainful like their parents. Arthur kept his head down, face shadowed under his hat as he tried his best to walk across the village while attracting the least attention as possible. Why don't you just walk the back alleyways, Arthur? No one will ever see you there. Arthur muttered stubbornly back. "Because I am a respectable gentleman and I have every right to-" It was at this moment when suddenly a ball rolled into his path, stopping him dead in his tracks.
The entire village bored their eyes into him as he leaned down and picked the ball up from his path. Arthur picked up the ball with his gloved hands before looking up to see to whom this ball belonged to. A small boy stood a few feet away from him, frozen in fear while his mother hissed for him to come inside the house. Slowly, carefully, Arthur made one step towards the little boy. The little boy suddenly flinched, staring at him with wide fearful eyes. Arthur stopped obligingly, as he held out the hand with the ball in it towards the small boy. At this point it was as if the entire village had stopped breathing. Even the mockingbirds stopped chirping.
Arthur tried his best to make his appearance more genial without moving a muscle, to make his bearing more friendly without the lift of a finger. He struggled to put a smile on his face as he held the ball out steadily to the unmoving little boy. Finally, the little boy suddenly put a foot towards him. The entire village bored their eyes onto the unbelievable scene in front of them as they watched the little boy quickly walk towards Arthur, grab the ball from his hand, and run back towards his mother, who clasped him into her arms tightly. Everybody let out a sigh of relief. The boy was safe.
Meanwhile, Arthur tucked down his hat farther to further shadow his face as he again began his quick journey to the other side of the village. Inside, though, his heart was pounding. That was the first unafraid human contact he'd had, other than the bartender, since Alfred left him. Flying Mint Bunny flew beside him, trying to keep up with Arthur's quick pace. Wow, I didn't think you could do it~ I'm impressed~ Arthur pouted and mumbled. "It wasn't that big of a deal, the ball rolled in front of me, there was nothing else i could've done." Flying Mint Bunny smiled. You could've just walked around it and have been on your way Arthur sighed at his friend's ignorance. "That's not how it works, Bunny, as a gentleman it was only obligation and manner to pick up the ball and hand it back to him." Flying Mint Bunny shook his head softly. Oh, we're here~
Arthur paused in front of the woods. The tall trees loomed over him, their foliage a palette of greens as the soft earth underneath it remained cool and shaded. Various sorts of vegetation grew in the midst of these woods, bringing spots of green and the occasional red of berries into the serene shaded forest. Arthur smiled softly as he removed his hat, tucking it under his arm as he made his way into the forest. His steps were less rushed here, he took time to admire the scene above and around him. Soft rays of sunshine broke through occasional breaks in the foliage of the canopy, the bright sunlight above it guarded from the underground and making the leaves shine vibrantly green. Birds chirped sweetly here, squirrels wandered and many creatures made their homes here, away from the village and the people. Arthur and Flying Mint Bunny both adored and respected nature in all of it's grandeur, so they often took their time when walking through here.
As they were walking, Flying Mint Bunny suddenly asked Arthur, you know that there' s a lake around here, don't you? Arthur shrugged, studying a flower that he had never noticed before, fingering their delicate lavender petals. Arthur! "Hm?" Arthur snapped out of his reverie. "Oh, I'm sorry Flying Mint Bunny, what did you say?" I asked you if you knew that there was a lake around here. Arthur nodded after thinking a moment. "Yes, but well-" Don't you wanna go see where it is? "Well-" Come on Arthur please?~ Arthur sighed. "Fine," he said "Let's go check it out." Quickly, he plucked the strange lavender flower and tucked it behind his ear before standing up and walking deeper into the forest.
The forest grew only more and more beautiful the deeper they went in, and more than once Arthur swore he saw a unicorn drifting in between the trees. It didn't surprise him. This was the perfect habitat for them and besides, he'd seen them before in worse places. He sighed quietly in the sheer beauty of the nature surrounding them. Suddenly Flying Mint Bunny paused, it's wings appearing to have been caught in some sort of net. I-I can't fly! It struggled until finally Flying Mint Bunny decided to give up and rest on a branch of a tree. Arthur reached out, looking and feeling for something that could be blocking his friend. He felt nothing, but in the sun's rays he thought he saw a blue twinkle, and as he looked closer he saw that it was some sort of blue, transparent thorn bush. He reached out and swiped his hand through it. It didn't go away, and he couldn't feel it at all. "How strange…" Arthur said. "A forcefield of some sort that blocks out mystical creatures…?" Flying Mint Bunny turned to Arthur stubbornly. Arthur, you have to go on without me. "What?! Me? Of course not, Flying Mint Bunny!" cried Arthur. But I am so very curious about that lake! Flying Mint Bunny cried, it's little wings flapping out of excitement. I've heard tales that one can hear a voice in the lake, one like a siren, that drowns people to their death, and I am so very curious of it! Flying Mint Bunny started flying in small circles out of excitement. Arthur hesitated. Please? Just go there and tell me all about it when you get back? Won't you please?~
"I can't believe I'm doing this," Arthur muttered quietly as he walked on alone through the fragrant maple trees. Finally he turned a bend and the sight that met him took his breath away. A clearing surrounded by young maple trees revealed a crystal clear blue lake that shone and glimmered with the sun's rays. A few birds chirped sweetly overhead, as reeds floated gracefully atop the water's surface. The lake was laced with fragrant lavender and vanilla flowers, and roses of every sort leaned gracefully with the young air shimmered with magic, and Arthur caught his breath as he saw a pure white unicorn reveal itself into the clearing to drink from the lake. Arthur stared at it, everything about it pure white from it's luminescent horn to it's hoofs, it's mane and tail flowing soft and gentle in the breeze as silk. He longed to touch it, but he couldn't make a single move. His eyes simply stared at the mythical creature as it finally lifted it's head and strode back gracefully into the forest.
When Arthur could move again, he strode carefully into the scene. Never before had he ever felt so much magical power in one place, it made him feel faint with potency. He lifted up his arm and removed the glove from his hand. Cupping his hand, he closed his eyes and concentrated. Not a moment later a shining green orb swirled in his palm, it's radiant warmth tickling his skin. His emerald green eyes widened. He had never been able to do that so instantaneously. Clenching his fists to extinguish the orb, he walked slowly on, taking in the fantastical scenery. What was it about this place that gave it so much magical power?
He walked to the water's surface, kneeling down among the lavender to study the clear, sweet water. The water was so still he could see his reflection clearer than any mirror, and he suddenly realized that the strange purple flower he had discovered earlier was still tucked behind his ear. Reaching up, he carefully took the strange flower into his palm. "Huh?" Arthur whispered quietly as he suddenly noticed that the magic in the air swirled thicker around the strange blossom, lifting it's delicate petals until it seemed in full bloom, slightly luminescent as the magic clung to it's petals. Arthur's eyes widened considerably. What was it about this flower?
As he tried to get a better hold on it to study it more closely, the flower suddenly slipped out of his palm, splashing into the water below. "Bloody hell," Arthur cursed at himself, and he was about to scoop the flower back into his palm before he realized that the water around the blossom began to swirl. He gasped slightly as the water began to glow, a small whirlpool around the delicate blossom, and suddenly it burst into a bright flash of light that compelled Arthur to turn his head away. When the light died down, Arthur looked again. The flower was gone.
Arthur let out a deep breath. What had just happened? He was about to stand up when he heard a smooth, suave voice. "Cherie?" Arthur jumped slightly in surprise, looking wildly around him for any sort of person. He saw nothing, only the surroundings that had first greeted him. "The water, mon amour." the mysterious voice said again. Arthur looked into the clear waters, which were once again still. But instead of seeing his reflection, he saw a man with wavy blond hair that reached his neck with a slight stubble on his chin, clear blue eyes that matched the water exactly, and wearing a deep blue cloak. Arthur screamed. "What the bloody hell?!" He backed away from the water quickly. "Wait, wait, mon ami, s'il vous plait!" the voice cried out. Arthur stopped backing away, his chest rising and falling quickly. Why was there a man in the water?!
"Desole, I didn't mean to startle you," the man said. Arthur noticed that the voice was slightly gurgley, as if he were speaking from underwater, but the man spoke clearly nonetheless. Arthur took a few steps closer to the water, glancing down at the reflection suspiciously. The man in the water looked back up at him, studying him for a few moments before clicking his tongue disappointedly. "And here I thought that I would be gracefully met by a beautiful princess, or even a witch, ah," the man said desolately, "un malheur ne vient jamais seul." "What are you talking about, you wanker?" Arthur cried, still confused about everything. "What's going on? Why is there a man in the water? Are you a ghost?" Arthur cried. He had never been able to see ghosts before, then again, there's a first for everything, right?
The man in the water chuckled, the sound similar to water flowing over pebbles in a creek. "Non, mon ami, my name is Francis Bonnnefoy," he said narcissistically, flipping his blonde hair. Arthur rolled his eyes. "I am not a ghost. I was a man once, with a beautiful wife and a child." Francis sighed sadly. Arthur raised one of his eyebrows but kneeled down to listen to the mysterious man's tale. Stranger things had occurred to him, anyhow. "Like I said," Francis said, "my life was one of a soldier. The village not so far from here is where my family and I used to live in relative peace, until the damned British came to take the land that was rightfully our French." Francis said vehemently. Arthur bristled. "I beg your pardon, I am British myself!" Arthur cried. Francis chuckled sardonically. "Then you tell me why they took land that was rightfully ours. I was forced from my life of peace and love to become a soldier. I was a lover, not a fighter, and I begged the militia not to take me in. However, they forced me in anyway, and I became one of the strongest and best known fighters on the field." Francis said solemnly. Arthur listened for the boasting or bragging tone that usually followed stories such as that, but heard none.
"As strong as I was on the battlefield, I tried to get along with my men. But they would have nothing of me, them knowing that I would've rather had stayed inside my little house than fight in the war. They saw me as a speculator and treated me as such." Francis said without a shred of remorse. Arthur felt a bit of empathy for him. So this man, Francis, was also shunned from his own people because he was different…why was he not bitter like Arthur was? "We were halfway to winning the war when suddenly I was suddenly shot in the chest. It did not kill me, but I had to return home to recover, leaving my men without their greatest weapon. Needless to say, the war went downhill from there." Francis said. Arthur listened to the man's story. "I recovered in time to fight in the last battle, but alas it was not enough and the French surrendered. We lost our land." Francis suddenly choked up slightly. "I went back home to tell my family…but when I arrived there, my house was on fire. One of my French soldiers, enraged and blaming me for the loss, had set fire to my house. My family," Francis choked. Arthur had a terrible feeling of foreboding. "My family…didn't make it out." Francis whispered, ducking his head to try and hide the tears sliding down his face.
Arthur sat stock-still. One of Francis' own men…his own kinsmen, as a matter of fact, had set fire to his home while his own family was still inside? "I can still hear them to this day," Francis whispered. "Jeane screaming…mon petite Matthew wailing inside. 'Papa! Papa!'" Francis buried his face in his hands and cried quietly. Arthur had the impulse to reach into the water and take this man into his arms and hold him closely, give him some solace and comfort from the hell that was his life. Francis looked up, his watery blue eyes meeting the tear-filled ones of Arthur and smiled slightly. He took a deep breath and resumed his story more calmly. "There I was…sitting on the ashes of what was once my home, when suddenly there came a strange little boy all wrapped up in a cloak. He walked toward me. 'You there,' he said in English, but it was in some strange accent. I tried to meet his face, but it was all cloaked in shadow. 'Follow me,' the little boy said, and he hurried off in the opposite direction of my house. I didn't have the energy to move from my spot, but I suddenly felt as if some force compelled me to, and so I followed him.
He led me to this place." Francis gestured around him. "Naturally, I was as stunned as you were. The little boy turned to me, looking up. I could see his face at last. His eyes were the strangest color of violet, and the bottom of his face was covered with a large scarf. He wore the most peculiar smile on his face, too. 'You miss your family, da?' the little boy said. My mind had been through too much in a day. I nodded. 'Please,' I begged him. 'I just don't want to live anymore. I don't want to live in this world anymore without them!' I cried. The boy merely smiled. It sent shivers down my spine. 'You'll see them eventually,' the little boy said. 'But for now, you need to do something.' It was then that he pushed me into the lake suddenly. As I tried to stand up, the waters seemed to hold me back. I couldn't breathe, and I knew that I was drowning. 'Why are you doing this?!' I cried to the little boy who was still standing on the surface. calmly smiling. 'I need to prevent something like this from happening again,' the little boy replied simply. It was then that I felt the water engulf my lungs, and I closed my eyes as I let the water overcome me."
"I awoke, I don't know how many hours later. All I know is that I awoke. But when I tried to stand up, I discovered that I could not. As hard as I tried to come out of the water, the water did not make even a single movement, not a single sign that I was underneath. I did not know what was happening. What did that little boy mean by he 'needed to prevent something like this from happening again'? I don't know." Francis sighed. Arthur listened for more of the story, but it appeared that Francis was done. "I…" Arthur sighed, running his hand through his messy blonde hair softly. "I don't know what to say," he said. Francis looked up at him and smiled gently. "You don't have to say anything….Arthur?" "Yes?" Arthur said, not even thinking about how Francis knew his name when he had never given it to him. "I would like to make you an offer," Francis said, looking into Arthur's eyes steadily. "Stay with me, mon ami."
Arthur's eyes widened considerably. "Stay with you?" he asked. "As in…" Francis nodded. "In the water, with me, please Arthur, I beg of you!" Francis suddenly cried in desperation. "B-But why!" Arthur sputtered. "We don't even know each other!" "You know me," Francis smiled and winked, and Arthur blushed. "And I would love to know you, mon ami." Arthur thought about it. Surely, nobody back at the village would miss him…but he would never again get to see Flying Mint Bunny…nobody would ever even bother looking for him. Nobody liked him there. "Why me?" Arthur asked finally. "Because," Francis said. "You are the first person I've ever seen since the day when that strange little boy put me in here. And I don't know when somebody else will come along. And I am so dreadfully lonely and confused in here that I greatly desire some companionship." Francis said. And quietly, he whispered. "And besides…vous êtes belle." Arthur didn't know what that meant, but he blushed slightly at the desperate tone that Francis said it in. "Francis…" Arthur said. Francis looked up at him hopefully. "I…I will stay with you." Francis's eyes widened, and he smiled so happily that Arthur's blush deepened. Francis spread open his arms wide, smiling joyfully. "Come to me, Arthur!" he cried happily. And Arthur spread his arms, diving into Francis' embrace. And the water slowly held him inside, pulling him in and filling his lungs. Arthur shut his eyes tightly, coughing and clutching Francis' cloak tightly in his hands. "Don't be afraid, mon amour," Francis said, and Arthur realized that he could hear his voice perfectly clearly now. "I'll be right here when you awake…"
Flying Mint Bunny flew impatiently near the tree branches, deep in thought. How am I going to tell him? it thought aloud. He really has no clue…I only know because of the talks that I heard from the villagers…I had to send him into that place so I could stall him so that I could have time to think about this! Flying Mint Bunny took a deep breath, shaking away the feeling. I'll just have to tell him later…when he comes back, I'll tell him about how the village plans to burn him at the stake tonight. He'll know what to do. Suddenly Flying Mint Bunny heard the cries of the villagers. "He went in here! I saw him go in there!" a small voice cried, and Flying Mint Bunny noticed that it came from the small boy who Arthur had given the ball back to earlier this morning. What was going on, Flying Mint Bunny wondered. It's small black eyes widened in horror as it saw that the villagers were holding flaming torches. Stop! Flying Mint Bunny cried as it flew around the villagers' heads. The villager's swatted away the annoying mosquitoes and fireflies as they held their burning torches to the sturdy oak trees. "Let the witch burn!" they cried out, throwing in their torches and lighting more. Flying Mint Bunny's eyes widened in horror. The small boy who Arthur had met this morning was dumping gasoline over his ball, and, throwing it into the growing forest fire, laughed innocently, as if this were all some giant game. "Burn the diseased!" they cried, watching the forest flames rise higher and higher, the fragrant maple and sturdy oaks devoured by the fire.
Meanwhile, a small boy with violet eyes stood cloaked in shadow, petting the unicorn gently, watching the fire emotionlessly. "It happened again, da…" he muttered quietly, leaning into the soft mane of the unicorn. The boy smiled, holding his scarf closer to him. "But it's all okay, isn't it Sunflower?" he said thoughtfully, petting the mane of his unicorn. "It's all okay, because even though the inevitable happened, they are okay. Nobody got hurt this time, da?" Smiling, he waved his hand. Flying Mint Bunny disappeared in a wisp of smoke. "They are free now, da…"
A/N: Hi! Had this random story idea in my head and decided to type it up ^^ Tell me what you think, R&R, and PLEASE ask me if you are confused about this story! I tried to explain what was going on best I could, but if you're confused just ask or make suggestions about how this could be better~ ^^ Thanks for reading!