The Maiden and The Four Waters

Walla halted to a stop as she looked at the various green plants around fangs of the river. The fangs of the rivers broke off starting wide than getting smaller just like the fangs of a snake.

It was the one part of the river that everyone usually strayed from fearing their boats would get stuck and fearing creatures that lingered at the tip of the fangs. The sounds seemed unnatural throughout the day, no one stayed long enough to figure out if it was nature sounds or truth of creatures.

Walla swallowed painfully as she took caution in her surroundings, her heart raced as she stayed still.

Her eyes darted around the open space.

Walla almost felt like a sitting duck, there was no wooden jetty or even spot safe enough to put a boat.

Tree branches poked over the water, almost touching the plants in the water.

Even Walla couldn’t remember a time she had ventured this far, now she started to understand why her village claimed they looked for her and she appeared out of nowhere, they didn’t look close enough around the fangs of the river.

Walla took caution as something in the water caught her eyes, she took caution in her footing as she stepped closer. She stopped as she noticed claws, she swallowed painfully as she stood still. Her breathing painfully escaped her dry lips.

She took caution in her stepping yet again as she moved closer trying to stay as quiet as possible.

Walla noticed a hand; she took notice of the claws and how natural they were shaped. She followed the hand down it’s arm, the way the arm was marked with scratches, she couldn’t see where the arm connected to the shoulder.

“It’s gone.” She heard a voice, a voice she recognised but not the voice she wanted to hear.

Walla lifted her gaze cautiously to the river as she noticed the king proudly standing on top of the water, the hem line of the skirt clung to the water.

“It almost killed Mariana, I had to kill it.”

Walla felt her heart race, she could feel panic fill her body “What was it?”

The king shrieked with violence, Walla coward as she covered her ears in pain. The king abruptly stopped shrieking; Walla took caution in moved her hands away from her ears.

“It lives in what you call the fangs, There is more like it. This one wanted to stray from its palace.” The king took notice of Walla’s injuries “Your lucky you survived, no one does.”

Walla wanted to feel thankful, but she couldn’t “My men, you said you took them.”

The king nodded.

“But this creature was taking them?”

The king looked down at the water plants before looking at Walla “The creature comes from an army, an army that we share with the creatures at the fangs. They take when we’re in danger, we keep the men for our amusement.”

Walla filled with confusion. She had been led to believe the king was taking her men to protect his town, he had made her believe that he was punishing her men for taking the four waters babies, but it was just a game to them, a game to all the water creatures.

Walla couldn’t understand, she thought she could. She had spent time trying to understand the king needing to protect his own, she had spent time trying to figure out how to keep her village safe, she had spent time being hated against because of one simple instruction she gave.

The king watched as Walla came to her frustration, he watched as she struggled with wanting to lash out or to run from him.

The king understood Walla was young, she was still learning her mistakes, she was trying to prove herself while fixing mistakes that weren’t her’s to fix.

“There’s worlds out there that you’ve yet to discover” The king began.

Walla curled her lip as anger burned inside of her.

The king could see her rage, he had no reason to fight her. It wouldn’t be fair for either of them. “There had never been time for you to just be a child. You’ve said yourself that your village see’s you as your father.” The king watched as anger conflicted with other emotions over Walla “A daughter with her father’s sins. A daughter whose never had the chance to be carefree as a child.” He watched as tears rolled down her cheeks “Mariana gave you the offer to join us, be carefree and safe with us.”

Walla wasn’t asking to be carefree; she was asking to be safe. Safe that seemed to fall on deaf ears by the king and his daughter.

Mariana had tricked Walla in believing the two were full of lust for one and other while the king tricked Walla into believing that she was just a woman with no voice to use.

“I loved your daughter, I loved the wonder she gave me, I loved the curiosity I had when I came down, but you ruined that. You gave an illusion, you lied to me. You’re not different to my father, you’re not different to the very man who claimed he was protecting our town instead he inflicted lies, violence and debt. You ran into the water because you knew no one could touch you and now I stand before you, not afraid like you thought I should be but instead…” Walla couldn’t find the word to use, she wasn’t just angry, she wasn’t just frustrated, she wasn’t just sad, and she certainly wasn’t scared. “Instead you treat Mariana just like my father treated me, not allowed to wonder outside of the walls designed to keep her safe, not allowed to let her imagination grow nor allow her to interact with others that aren’t of her kind, You stand” She refrained from saying float “in front of me, acting like you’re the bravest of them all. My father told me that four waters were vicious and vile creatures, yet Mariana isn’t. Only you are.” The more her emotions ran over her, the less she could feel her pain from her throat “You claimed you were in danger, instead of doing your own dirty work, you sent someone else to do it for you. You claim you sent a solider to save you but even armies cower from their king. Just like on land, there is men like you and there’ll always be men like you. Strip away their title, they become nothing more than common people, stuck in the mud just like everyone they pushed in.”

The king couldn’t take her words anymore, he shrieked with horror as he urged himself forward, his breath down Walla’s face, she looked up into his eyes.

“As you can see, I’m not scared.” Walla proudly admitted without a care in the world.