Lancelot sat in the ancient throne, forcing himself to remain still as it lit up again, bathing him in gentle blue light.
Before him appeared his mother, or at least a visage of her made of water and bubbles, as beautiful, impossible, and untouchable as the woman herself.
Just seeing her was enough to banish much of his mental and emotional anguish, to make the world bearable again.He'd missed her so much, even when he hadn't remembered who he truly was.However much he loved the land, his life in Camelot, the friends who were his family, he was a child of the deep waters before all else, and a boy who had dearly missed the woman who had done and given so much to a boy the world had thrown away."Mother."
My treasure.You continue to be brave and true.At great cost, though, and I worry for you.
"I'm resting now, thankfully.I miss you, Mother.I don't even know where you are in this lifetime.How sad is that.I worry every day I may never leave this pocket universe, and so will never be able to see you again."
I am the very water itself, beloved.You are with me always, and I am always with you.There is comfort in a body you can see and touch, it is true, but do not forget what you are and have.
"You're right, of course.Thank you.Are you safe and well?Water now is…"
Mortals will never stamp me out.Worry not for me.My soul rests where humans cannot reach, and my heart beats where humans will never tread.My worry is for you, and this terrible fight with a man who destroys everything for ultimately petty grievances.He has drunk deep of the shadows.Have utmost care.
"I will."
The visage reached out to cup his cheek the way she had so many times when he was a child, whenever he went home to visit her for too-brief moments.Though it was water and not skin, it felt as warm and comforting as every other time.She was right, as always, in that he did not need her flesh-and-blood form to know she was always there.
Remember who and what you are.You are humble, my son, which is a good thing to be.But do not forget where you come from, who you are, what you are, and all that means.It matters, and will matter more before your fight ends.
"I will, Mother.I am sorry you must come and remind me of these small things.
Do not be.You are young, and facing great challenges, and that is what I am for.You are the most precious thing to me in this world, in all worlds, and I will always be here for you.I love you, above and beyond all else.You are mine.Do not let others make you forget that.
"I could never forget the woman who saved me and loved me and gave me a life like no other.I love you, Mother."
And I love you, my son.Now rest.Nothing will trouble you this night.
A soft kiss was pressed to his brow, warmer and firmer than water had any right being, and he drifted off to sleep with a smile, still sitting there on the throne glowing softly in the dark depths.
Offensive
"We're going to have to make camp," Lancelot said with a sigh."I'd hoped we'd make it to the fortress but—"
An anguished, terrified scream cut through the afternoon, sending birds and smaller critters scattering.Lancelot shared a look with Galehaut then kicked his horse into a gallop, racing down the road and then across a field of scraggly wheat—
To a large pond, where a trio of women and two men stood at the shore, while another man grappled with something in the water—and then was yanked down out of sight.The women screamed again.
Lancelot threw himself off his horse, shucking armor and clothes as quickly as he could, assisted by the pages who immediately came rushing to his side.The second everything cumbersome was gone, he dove into the water.It was cool, but not cold, murky from the recent flurry of activity, and reeked of kelpie.
He swam faster, deeper, though thankfully this pond was not terribly deep.The kelpie screamed as it saw him, immediately abandoning its prey when it recognized a threat it would not best.
Leaving it for the moment, Lancelot grabbed up the man and swam for the surface.Breaking the water, he heaved them toward shore."Gale!"
"I have him," Galehaut said, heaving the man up like he weighed nothing.
"I'm going to deal with the kelpie," he said, painfully aware how garbled his words were with a mouth full of teeth not meant for human speech.His scales and thicker hair, always filled with kelp and other bits of whatever water he entered.His long claws and webbed hands and feet.
He dove back beneath the water, sinking into his element, and went kelpie hunting.It had retreated to its lair, but it was young, inexperienced—shown in how it had attacked a whole group in broad daylight, hunger overcoming common sense—and so it didn't take much effort for Lancelot to surge in, sever the tendons of its legs, then drag it out to tear open its throat.Bitter kelpie blood flooded the pond, but he ignored it, focused only on rending it to pieces.
It was grisly work, tearing a kelpie limb from limb, removing the head and splitting the massive body in half.But it would make easier work for the fishes and other creatures, and serve as a warning to other kelpie who might try to make the pond their home.
When he was finally finished, he swam to waters that hadn't yet been overtaken by the mess to rinse off as best he could before finally surfacing.
He shouldn't be anxious.It was stupid to be so.He wasn't ashamed of who and what he was—but he had also never been so hopelessly in love, and Galehaut had not yet seen him like this, his truest form.Though his closest friends had never been troubled, many others had been, and some people had ceased speaking with him entirely.There would always be whispers about his monstrous nature.
Breaching the surface, he swam toward the shore and then waded the rest of the way in.Strangely, no one else was around.Only Galehaut stood on the shore as evening settled in."There you are, pretty thing."
