The Basin of Living Water

Whatever forced him to stay made him follow her through the bowels of the underworld. A cold, hostile world, where he protected her from lost souls and vengeful spirits, who chased them down. Because nobody wanted them here. They didn't belong in this damp realm, where the smell of rot and death clung to their very being. Down, down through endless caverns, found at the edge of the world, where she had taken him and he followed like a loyal dog.

His sword had broken. His claws - sticky with the essence of the souls he had slain. 

"I hope this is worth it."

"It is. Just a bit more."

There. In the distance, surrounded by the jagged thorns he recognized too well, sat a silver basin. Its dim glow illuminated the surrounding darkness like a firefly in the night. Princess Rana halted for a moment, basking in the sight to remember every single detail. With a newfound spring in her step, she bounced toward it before he could stop her.

The ground rumbled.

Crash!

The ground sank, after an earthquake shattered the bedrock and sent it tumbling into a bottomless void. Krav lunged to grab her. 

Her scream hitched in her throat. She dangled off the edge, suspended only by his one arm, which held her in a death grip. Then, she looked up to him with something he had never seen before. Tears welled in her eyes. She begged without uttering a word. 

"Don't let go."

"Never."

Step by agonizing step, along the edges of the cavern, they made their way closer and closer to the basin. Yet, the more she gazed at it, the more her excitement drained from her expression. She ran, collapsing on her knees, as she grasped the silver basin. "No!" she shouted and her sharp voice lingered in the wide, bottomless cavern. 

"What's wrong?"

"It's empty! Look!"

She didn't lie. The basin had been drained of liquid and only droplets clung to the edges, a reminder of what once harbored inside. Small, delicate hands slammed into the edges, curses flowed freely from her lips. "It's completely drained! Vrag must have gotten here before us..."

"What do we do now? Did we come here for nothing?"

"No... let me think..."

The silence remained unbroken, until her fingers snapped with a revelation. 

"I can gather the droplets." Rana announced, relieving the lead weight from his heart. "But there is a catch you need to know about."

"There always is, isn't there?"

He watched her work in silence, scraping the walls of the basin for every tiny droplet that remained, after this disaster. Finally, she stood up and held out a tiny, narrow flask toward him. Her face held an inner conflict she didn't voice out yet. 

"I managed to gather a small dose, enough for one ritual. But now we have a choice to make."

"What is it?! Speak already."

"Either I drink it, you... or we use it as leverage against Vrag."

Ice encased his limbs and froze his expression into one of grim realization. He didn't speak for a long time. 

"It's your decision." Her invitation didn't convince him to speak. 

Perhaps he was the fool in the story, after all. When he thought he was the valiant knight, life proved he had been nothing more than a fool and a jester, a marionette, pushed in whatever direction he was told to go, all because his conscience was adamant on doing the right thing. To be the sacrifice for the greater good. He realized then how little his life mattered, even to himself, when he uttered the three words, which sealed his fate. 

"You have it."

Even the princess was surprised by how easily he had given up his chance at life.

"What?"

"You have a kingdom to rule. My life is particularly meaningless, compared to yours."

"Don't say that."

"You deserve to have a chance at normalcy for the sake of your throne and your subjects."

"But you have a family, no? The village and its survivors rely on you."

"It's nothing compared to what you could achieve."

"And what about Vrag?"

Krav's bitter scoff made her regret her question. 

"If I am to fight him, the only way I stand a chance at victory is in this form. So, I beg you. Take it and let's be over with this."

Silence settled, before their verdict decided the fate of the world. "Vrag comes to speak with me every fortnight." She spoke quietly. "I will poison his wine with this water, which will be already enchanted. You must wait in the shadows until the ritual is complete and strike."

"Are you sure?"

She answered with a heavy sigh. "Yes."

Perhaps she was not without a conscience after all. A flicker of humanity still lingered in that cruel heart of hers. Or the guilt from what she had done held her in a chokehold and she felt eager to relieve herself of the crime.