Week 10 Storytelling: One Simple Question

The Lady of the Lake from Order White Moon

            King Arthur did not simply become a king by being a brilliant leader. He also did so by being an excellent listener. He and his knights of the round table worked every day to push the boundary lines further and further to widen Camelot’s territory.

It was a difficult task, and some of the men felt burdened by such work. So every night they went home and drank until they passed out. They liked to say they drank to the success of King Arthur and Camelot, but King Arthur knew they drank for far more vain reasons. He couldn’t exactly fire his knights though; that made him a bad king. So instead, he simply kept his ears and eyes open for any moments when he saw potential danger too trying for his knights or whenever his knights seemed too burdened by their tasks for the day.

            Today was an important day. Today, King Arthur and his knights were going to push their territory farther than they’d ever gone before. They had a lot of ground to cover and had to make in past the entirety of a lake so as to claim it wholly for Camelot.

It was the only day to make the trek for Merlin predicted a terrible storm in the air, which meant that today would be the only clear and beautiful day. King Arthur knew from looking at his knights that today was not a good day.  He wanted to listen to what he knew to be true, but his knights swore that they were well and good for the trip. They set out for the lake at dawn.

            It was to be a two-day trip. They travelled all day and reached the lake. It was a gorgeous lake. It glistened with the setting sun and sparkled like sapphires. It was a truly tantalizing sight that made even the most hydrated man thirsty, and that it did. All of King Arthur’s knights felt their mouths go dry like the Sahara desert. King Arthur decided to go and look for wood for a fire and told his men not to drink from the lake, but to wait for his to return.

            King Arthur never liked to take his knights with him for mere firewood searches. He may be a king, but he is not weak. So he ventured out and left his knights by the lake with worn bodies, dry mouths, and a desire for something they couldn’t have until they returned home from their journeys. When King Arthur left, however, the knights learned that they were not alone by the lake.

            The lake had powers unknown to anyone. The lake made the knights more and more thirsty while King Arthur was away. This was because in the lake lived a lady with great and amazing powers. She knew King Arthur from his younger years, and knew that he needed her assistance even though he did not quite know it yet. She made the knights thirsty and then spoke to them in their minds. Though they could not see the lady of the lake, they heard her enchanting voice echo through their thoughts.

            “Answer my questions and drink from my waters,” she said. “Simply drink from my waters alone, and die instantly.”

            The knights were already so thirsty and exhausted from their travels that they could not bear such petty games. All of the men went to the shore of the waters and drank to their hearts content. Sadly, they all died instantly right as King Arthur exits the forest with his armful of firewood.

            He ran to the lake to try and rescue his knights, but it was already too late. And so, the lady of the lake gave King Arthur the same words as she gave to his knights. King Arthur knew looking around that his knights did not listen to him or the lady of the lake. He knew that this time he would listen to his mind, unlike how he did not that morning when he saw his worn knights.

            “Ask away, m’lady,” he responded to her statement.

            “One simple question is all I ask,” she said. “Who am I to you?”

            “Why, m’lady, what a simple question. You are the lady of the lake who gave to me my sword Excalibur and a sour warning that someone close to me would be my undoing. I could never forget you or your warning,” he said.

            “To listen and to remember are all that I ever ask. You may drink from my waters, King Arthur.”

            “And my knights? They may not listen, but they are loyal and true.”

            “I only wish to help you, for one day not all of your knights will fit under that definition. Are you certain that you wish for me to awaken them.”

            “M’lady, I head your warning and say that whatever may come shall come whether I wish it or not.”

            “Then sadly this will not be the last time we meet, but your wish is my command.”

            The lady of the lake’s voice faded from King Arthur’s mind and the knights slowly awoke from their deathly slumber. King Arthur drank from the water, but all he tasted was bitter from the warning still fresh on his mind. One of his knights was not going to loyal one day. King Arthur dreaded the day he would find out who.

THE END.

Author’s Note: The story I chose to retell was the voice in the lake. I mashed it up with King Arthur and his knights of the round table. It only seemed right. I’ve always been a huge fan of King Arthur’s stories and when I read this story in the Mahabharata I just knew that this story was the way to go. The Pandavas went to a lake and the lake told them if they drink without answering her questions they’ll die. All but one failed this test, and I knew that this guy was my King Arthur.

Narayan, R. K. (1978). The Mahabharata.