The Pearl of Avalon

Arthur and I leaned over the edge of the well. The faint image of a woman’s face looked back at us. She was beautiful, in a ghostly way. Her skin seemed like a powdery, blueish color. Very pale. Her hair was white. Her eyes a sparkling, sky blue.

Her pale lips parted slightly into a smile, “It is a miracle that you are awake, Arthur,” she said. “A true miracle, after all this time.” She fixed her gaze on me. After a slight pause, “It was you, who brought him back?”

“Well, sort of, I guess.” I hesitated, “It was kind of an accident.”

“I am grateful for your accident,” she said, “and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.” That sounded strange coming from a reflection of a head.

Arthur leaned over further to get a closer look. He didn’t have eyeballs, and I wondered how he could even see. “Lady, can you tell us what is going on here? If this is Avalon, then why is it not flourishing? It is nothing like what I have heard.”

Nimue sighed, “that is a long story.”

“Are you the Lady of the Lake,” I asked, not able to control my curiosity. Surprise, surprise.

“Some call me that, yes.”

“Some call you Vivian too, right?” I added.

“Vivian? She is one of the Sisters. My appearance scared many people, so she would leave Avalon to do any business that needed to be done.”

“Okay.” That somewhat summed it up for me. Next question, “Why are you in the well?”

“That will be part of my story.”

I then thought of one last question, “Do you know how to get me home?”

“I do. We would need the pearl for that,” she replied.

“The pearl?” Arthur asked.

“Please,” Nimue said in her enchanting voice. “Let me tell you what has happened .”

Arthur and I glanced at each other and sat on the well’s edge, “Go on”, I urged her.

“It all started the day you were killed, Arthur,” Nimue began. “Your Knight, Sir Bedivere, brought you to the water's edge and I came for you in my boat. Your sister, Morgana, had joined the Sisters of Avalon after her husband had been killed. But that, you should already know.”

“I remember the day she left, yes,” he said. I could hear from his voice that that was a painful memory.

Nimue continued, “she knew better, but still insisted on bringing her son, Modred, to Avalon as well.” I could see the water image shaking her head, “Both Merlin and I tried to talk her out of it, but she was so stubborn. Finally, Merlin said she could as long she kept him in the crypt beneath his home in the Golden Mountains. You, Arthur, were placed in the crypt beneath the Temple of Avalon. The opposite side of the island. This side.”

“So he was dead also,” Arthur remarked.

“Yes. You and he collided. Excalibur pierced him, as his sword pierced you.” Nimue’s voice became edgy, “Both of you rested for years before Galahad found the Holy Grail. It was rumored to grant healing to those who drank from it, and life to those who were moistened by its contents,” she nodded her head towards Arthur, who in turn nodded his head in agreement.

She continued, “we were nervous about it. Camelot was falling fast since your death, and having the Grail within reach of enemies was disturbing. Merlin and I pleaded with Galahad to take it away. But he did not. He wanted to place it in the protection of one the Christian churches. We believed it would still have been retrievable by the enemy as long as it remained, and there seemed to be no way we could convince him of that and to take it back to where he had found it.”

Nimue sighed, “Merlin and I discussed it over and over. We decided that if it could not be hidden there safely, we would take it to Avalon. It was quite a surprise to Galahad when we made that suggestion. The Holy Grail was a strong Christian artifact, and we follow the Pagan ways. He did, however, agree as he wanted it kept safe.”

I knew what she was talking about. I had read many books about the one God moving in to take over the others. Christianity was rising then. I nodded my head to show I understood.

She turned her attention to Arthur, “We made a place for it in your crypt, and swore we would never use it unless no other choice could be found. Unfortunately,” her face grew sad, “Morgana remained stubborn. She took the Grail to the Golden Mountain crypt and used its power to raise her son. She should have known better. His heart was not pure. I took the Grail and put it back in your crypt, this time hiding it in the wall. It wasn’t long before Mordred realized his new strength and severely wounded his mother. He then came looking for the Grail. He also wanted Excalibur. I took the sword and hid it beneath the rocks in the pond.”

“That’s where I found the sword,” I chimed in.

“I wanted to revive you, Arthur. I knew that was the moment the Grail needed to be used. For good reason. I knew you would have a chance of defeating him. But I could not get to you. Modred had broken into the temple and found the small chapel holding the pearl. He removed it from its pedestal, causing Avalon to fall. The pearl is the life source of Avalon and everything on it. I am made of water.” She explained, “ When he took the pearl, he took my life source. I was fading. I needed to find water before I faded completely. This well was the closest body of water I could get to.”

“So,” I said sliding off the well wall and standing straight, “If this pearl gets put back in place, everything will go back to normal? And I could go home?” I so wanted to get back to leading my normal, boring life. Strange wish, huh?

“Yes,” Nimue said, in a whisper.

This seemed to be a good a time to get some things cleared up! “Answer a few questions for me?”

“I will try,” she replied.

“I witnessed a ship pass right through this island. How?”

“Avalon appears as a mist to the rest of the world.”

“Mist? So why can I see it? What am I doing here, standing on the island?”

“Because you believe.”

“What?” I wasn’t expecting a questionable answer! “What does that mean?”

“What do you believe?” Nimue asked.

“How the heck should I know! You’re the one who told me I believed. But in what? I don’t know what I believe! I don’t know what to believe anymore! Everything I’ve believed in or not believed in seems to be crisscrossing in my mind right now!” Wasn’t that the truth. My entire life has turned upside down and inside out over the past few days, I didn’t know if I was coming or going. I was agitated, “I’m sorry if I’m snappy, but the only things I believe right now are that I’m hurt, I’m tired, and I’m starving. I’m in a place that is not even supposed to exist, and I don’t have a sweet clue who I am anymore!” Where did that come from? Was I really doubting myself now? I paused and wiped tears from my face. “I’m so confused. I’m scared.”

Arthur placed his hand on my shoulder, very gently. “It will be alright, milady,” he whispered, then turned his attention to Nimue, “I will search for this pearl.”

Nimue’s enchanting voice echoed up from the deep well, “Go to Merlin’s cave. I am more than certain that will be its location. The island is very large. Distance would not be an issue if the magic still existed here, but now, it may take a few days to walk there.”

I was going too! “How do we get there?” I think, in the state of mind I was in, that question shocked Arthur because his head turned in a snap towards me. I smiled weakly.

“Head towards the sacred circle,” aka mini Stonehenge, I’m assuming, “and go around the pond. Head straight through the enchanted forest.” Nimue’s voice lowered, “It should not be difficult to see the mountains, as the trees are all dead. You will need to climb up over a smaller mountain. After that, there is a valley. Be careful,” she warned, “The dragons live there. They used to be known as the Golden Dragons of Avalon, our protectors. But when Modred took the pearl, they turned black and evil. All that was once good has now since turned evil, or has died.” I could hear tears in her voice, “Once you make it across the dragon valley, go up the Golden Mountain. The entrance to Merlin’s cave should be half way up. If my temple were still standing, the entrance to that would be a direct line to the cave entrance. The mountains are much higher, however.”

“Is the mountains made of gold? Is that why it's called the Golden Mountains?” No matter how upset I was, my curiosity always took a hold over me, and I needed answers.

“There is gold dust in the rock, yes. And in the morning, when the sun rises, the mountains shimmer.” I could hear from her voice that she was smiling. You could always tell when a person smiled by the way the voice went. I could imagine what she described was a beautiful sight. A memory like that would make me smile too.

I wiped the remaining tears from my eyes and looked at Arthur, “Let’s go. The faster we find that pearl, the faster I can go home.” I leaned over and looked at Nimue, “You can get me home, right?” Or at least back to England, anyway. I want to get back to the world I know.

“The sacred circle is the doorway,” she said and smiled weakly. Mini Stonehenge. Large Stonehenge. Yeah, I could see how that connected. “Or my boat.” She added.

No boats! “The circle, please! I would prefer to stay out of boats for a while,” I said.

I held the Grail up, “Should I leave this here with you?”

“Yes, you may. It will be safe down here.”

I let the cup fall into the well, distorting Nimue’s image for a few seconds. “Okay then,” I said turning my attention back to Arthur. It was then that I noticed clear white mush in his eye sockets. His eyeballs were forming. Finally.

He looked up at the clear, blue sky. “I see no sign of dragons.”

“That’s a good thing,” I said, looking up quickly as he turned his attention back to me. I hated being caught staring.

A quick farewell and good luck wishes from Nimue, and we were off. We climbed up the hill over the somewhat hidden entrance to the pearl chapel and made our way to the temple ruins. At least that way we could get our bearings and know which way to head. I was feeling a little light headed. My stomach was still empty and hurting. If I make it through this it will be a miracle. I started to wonder if Arthur had a stomach yet. And if he did, was he hungry? I know I usually am after I wake up.

He pointed down at the pond. “I think we should walk to the right of it. There are fewer rocks to trip over if we need need to run.” He was referring to the fact that we might be chased by dragons.

I agreed by nodding my head quickly. I was going to speak, but a wave of nausea hit me and I figured I might puke. Not a good thing to do on an empty stomach. The feeling passed as we walked down the hill towards the pond. The thought of the dragons made me miss my sword. Well, I knew it wasn’t my sword exactly, but I did feel a little safer when I was holding on to it. I voiced my thought, “I’d really like to have a sword of my own in case we see a dragon.” In case? Wrong words there! “I’m not that good with a sword, but at least I’d have some protection.”

Arthur just glanced at me, and I started to feel bad, “It’s not that I don’t trust you,” I said, “Don’t get me wrong!” I had no doubt that he’d protect me.

“I took no offense, milady,” he said as we stopped at the edge of the pond. He bent down to the water and splashed some water over his face, making sure most of the water went over his eyes. “I do apologize, milady. My eyes are very dry.”

“No apologies necessary. You haven’t got any eyelids.” I once stared so long without blinking, my eyes dried out a tad, so I could only imagine how dry his eyes were! “Why don’t you soak the ends of your cape? Then you can moisten your eyes whenever you need to.”

“That is a wonderful idea! Thank you!” He dipped the end of his cape in the water and stood up, fighting the urge to ring it out. I could tell that by the way he was holding it. Natural reflex when something gets soaked. “I will dip the ends in again when we reach the other side of the pond. To be sure it is good and wet for the journey.”

I just smiled as I bent down to take a sip of the water. It wasn’t as cool as the spring in the crypt, but it was refreshing, none the less. I just hoped that water was enough to sustain me. The pain in my stomach did ease slightly.

The walk around the pond proved to take a little longer than we had anticipated. When we made it all the way around I stopped to look back towards the temple ruins, then walked a little further so that it was directly in front of me. Straight line. I turned to face the dead trees behind me, “I guess we could enter here?” I turned back as Arthur was re-wetting his cape, “She did say the cave would be right in line with the temple. Right? I think I’m directly in line where the door should be.”

“Yes,” he said, wetting his eyes, “But staying totally straight is not really necessary. This is an island. As long as we make it to the other side, we will find it.”

I had never really thought of it that way, but I knew he was right. “True,” I said.

“But, I think she wanted us to take the straight path, as it would take much longer if we followed the coastline. And, the shelter of the tree branches would offer more protection if a dragon decided to come upon us. ”

“Very true!” A straight line is a straight forward direction. Not having to go straight was Arthur’s way, I think, of easing my mind. His way of telling me that we won’t get lost.

He seemed to be a very patient man. I would love to have known him during his era. What was it like to live in the middle ages? Maybe I would ask him, I thought, as I bent to get another drink of water.

Arthur was studying the dead trees. “I would have loved to see this place in full bloom,” he said, still dabbing at his eyes with the wet cape.

“How much do you know of Avalon,” I asked as we entered the leafless forest. It didn’t look very “enchanted.”

“Not much,” he confessed, as he held back branches for me, “Only stories I heard Merlin tell. I used to think it was only a story. Only the last few years....um... of my prior life...” he was searching for the right words here, “did I start believing in it fully.”

“Was he a real wizard?” I asked, to keep the conversation going.

“He could perform tricks and illusions. He was a great man. A wise man. He was my adviser and a great friend.”

Perfect chance the ask my main question! “I’d really like to hear about your time,” I said. Okay, it was more of a statement than a question, but it served the purpose. “I’d like to hear about Camelot. The real story. Not very many people could say they heard it straight from King Arthur, himself.” Not that I would be believed that I had heard it from him.

He smiled. His facial muscles tightened around his teeth, so I guess it was a smile, “I would be happy to tell you, milady. I have been on many quests during my life, and I always found that sharing stories with my knights helped make the journeys more joyful.”

I decided then to tell him a bit about my era. After he told his story first, of course. The sharing of stories would be a great idea. It would certainly keep my mind occupied. I could focus on that instead of all the scratches I was getting from those damn branches! I certainly didn’t think I was going to have much clothes or skin left after this trek! Arthur was lucky to have mail on.

Arthur had maybe a few words out when we stopped short. A roar had sounded and we could see a shadow passing over us, “Damn dragons!” Arthur said in a whispering tone, “Stay low and keep moving. The trees are too close together for it to dive in at us.”

I hunched over and walked a little closer to him. The dragon kept circling. We were both looking up at our predator more than we were looking straight and got taken by surprise when we stepped out into a small clearing. “Oh shit!” I said, then clasped my hand over my mouth, realizing I had spoken a little too loud.

Arthur gave me a push backward, “Get back in the trees.”

I did as I was told. When I looked up again, I noticed the dragon had disappeared. Panic time! “Where did it go?” Was it down among the trees with us?

“Do not move,” Arthur said, patting his eyes with his cape again, “I do not think it has gone too far.” He joined me back behind the tree line. “We should stay under cover of trees and go around the clearing.”

Just as he said that the dragon reappeared. It sent a stream of fire towards us. Arthur grabbed me and we rolled out of harm's way. “are you alright, milady?” he asked.

“I think so, for now," I replied, just realizing we had rolled back out into the clearing!

“We have to move, fast!” he said, grabbing my hand. We ran back into the trees and made our way around the clearing. His hand felt damp. The muscle covered bone felt almost like raw meat being squeezed. I shook that thought out of my head. He was my only protection right now, and whether he was just a muscle covered skeleton or not, I felt safer the closer I was to him.

Well, I have to say, luck was certainly on our side. But not good luck. If a prize was given out for streaks of bad luck, I’m sure I would win. We came to another clearing, slightly larger than the first one. And, because we were running, we had dashed out into it quite a few feet before attempting to stop. My first instinct would have been to turn tails, so to speak, and go right back into the trees. But, of course, that lovely, little dragon landed just between us and the treeline, letting out a low roar.

We kept running forward. I thought about going to the side, and getting in the tree shelter there, but there was just as much distance on either side of us as it was in front. And, no doubt the dragon would just jump in front of us again.

The dragon had taken to the sky again, this time with claws full of rocks. He let one go every few seconds. Maybe half seconds. They came pretty fast. After it would run out, it would dive just close enough to us to make us stumble a bit, grab another batch of rocks, and take off again. It was toying with us now! One rock hit me square on the shoulder. That will be a bruise! I lost my balance at the impact, but Arthur managed to keep me running forward. He was a very strong man.

The next batch of rocks had one with Arthur’s name on it. This time is was me who tugged him back to his balance. We had nearly made it to the treeline, when, once again we got stopped by the dragon. It roared, grabbed more rocks, and jumped up. We took off running. The trees were close now! Something hit my head. I saw a rock hit the ground the same time I did. Everything got blurry. Then, total blackness.