The Swan of the Lake

Today, a battle took place.  A great battle, one for the ages or at least, that was how it would be described in the years to come.  But, this knight no longer revelled in the talk of honor and gallantry, for he knew that eventually there would be another day just like today with another great battle.  It was an inevitability just as the sun was sure to rise and fall and so on and so forth until the end of time, if time had an end.  A king's greed knew no bounds.  His only remaining comfort in this realm lay in the fact that this battle would be his last.

Propped up against an old, gnarled tree with thick grooved bark and dropping branches occasionally shedding leaves, pain flared once again from his abdomen as more warm, dark liquid seeped through his fingers that were futilely holding himself together.  Vision blurred and fading out, the knight took in what would be his final resting place.  The sun fell low above a crested hill that rolled down into the small lake that lay before him.  There was a soothing, peacefulness here.

Just as his head began to slowly droop due to its weight, movement still within his faltering vision caught his eye as something slender and bright glided across the surface of the lake in his direction.  It was a woman draped in silks.  A brilliant light followed her closely.  At first, he figured it to be a trick of the mind, but as she waltzed closer splashing him with a fine mist from the very edge of the lake, he wasn't so sure.  His pain dulled at her bright smile before surging back when the weather began to change.

Behind her loomed a dark cloud; an omen of death.  The winds began to whip up creating a hissing sound as it blew through nearby foliage.  Forgetful of his own state, the knight wanted to warn the woman.  He wanted to shout or reach up and point to what approached them, but his body failed to respond to his desperate pleas.  The bright light shimmering from the woman sparkled one last time before fading out as the night swallowed them.