Page 15 of The White Enchantress

When they notice I’m awake, a woman with sun-kissed skin and raven black hair whispers something to the other. The blonde-haired one then turns toward the trees, disappearing down a path that must lead to their camp.

“We have been awaiting your arrival,” the LARPer says, looking directly into my eyes.

“Oh, no…no. I’m not a part of this session. I don’t do fantasy role-play. Not my thing. It’s just that I got lost in the woods. My friends are out by the road waiting for me. Do you think you could help me?”

She responds with a simple, sad smile, saying nothing. I sit up and turn toward a lake; the lake I must have fallen into while stumbling through the mists. I notice I am still holding onto the metallic object I found in the lake, a sword. It emits a warm, white glow. When I let go of the handle, I feel a chill run down my spine and begin to shake. I quickly reach out to touch the sword again and am instantly warmed…interesting.

I say this aloud, not realizing it, and the robed woman behind me agrees. “Do you know the legend of Excalibur?”

“Ah, so this is an Arthurian live-action roleplay,” I say under my breath. “Yes, and this sword is meant for King Arthur. Isn’t he supposed to pull it out of a stone though?”

“The White Enchantress will decide who receives this powerful sword.”

“Okay, and who is this enchantress? Can she help me get home?”

“I am not certain. But the Lady of the Lake might be able to answer some of your questions. Let me take you to her.” The raven-haired woman offers her hand to help me out of the muck I am still sitting in.

I have no other choice but to play along, so I stand up, grabbing my bag and the sword. I follow the robed LARPer through the trees. She leads me toward the same path the other woman wentdown. We are both silent, saying nothing as we walk the few minutes it takes to get to where this Lady of the Lake is. The end of the path opens up into a large area where multiple stone buildings stand around a courtyard.

More women wearing the same dark robes are tending the vegetables and flowers in the garden, laundering dirty clothing, and walking in single file into what looks like an ancient church.This definitely isn’t a LARP, is my first thought after seeing all the well-kept stone structures.A cult?I get the feeling that something is very off. This place shouldn’t exist so close to civilization.

“What is this place?” I ask my escort.

She looks back at me dumbfounded as if I should know exactly where I am. “Why, Avalon, of course.”

“Oh yes, of course,” I say sarcastically.

I’m ushered into one of the larger buildings and directed up a flight of stairs to a cozy room with a small bed, a table with two chairs and a fireplace blasting with warmth. Laying the sword down on the table, I make my way over to the fire, hoping it will help dry my gown. I throw my bag onto the closest chair and fan out the skirt of my wedding dress.

When I do this, I notice a large tear on the train of my gown where it was caught under a rock.How did I get out of the lake?A question I’ve asked myself over and over again since waking up on that muddy lakeside shore. Neither of the other women were wet, so they hadn’t been the ones to rescue me.

“The Lady of the Lake will be here shortly. I’ve brought you some warm water and a robe to change into.” The same raven-haired woman walks back into my room and hands me a neatly folded pile of white fabric.

“Thank you, that’s very kind of you, um,” I hesitate, realizing I don’t know this woman’s name.

“Morgana,” she declares as if reading my thoughts. “Do you need help getting out of that gown?”

“Um, yes, otherwise I’d be dry as a bone before I got it off me. My name is Guinevere, by the way.” I don’t know why I give her my full name. I always introduce myself as Guin.

As Morgana unbuttons the back of my dress, I take a look around the room. There are no lamps, no light switches on the wall, no clocks, no phones, no outlets, no vents.What is this place?

“What a beautiful gown this is, so intricate, delicate. Is it a gown for a special occasion?”

“It’s my wedding dress.”

“You were getting married today?”

“I was running away from getting married today.”

Morgana squeezes my shoulder, an offer of comfort perhaps, then continues unbuttoning the back of my gown. “All done. If you wish to wash up before meeting the Lady of the Lake, there is a block of soap, ewer and basin of warm water on the table. I will check up on you within an hour. There should be a priestess outside your door if you need assistance before then.”

“Thank you, Morgana.”

As soon as she walks out, I run over to my bag, opening it to see if my phone survived my plunge into the lake. I always keep my phone in the back pocket of my leather backpack, which helped to keep it partially dry.Thank god for water-resistant technology. My phone is working fine, but my hopes immediately dwindle when I see an X on the service bar.Maybe they have WiFi?Nope, nothing. I open the window to lean out with my phone in my hand, trying to see if I can get a signal. Still nothing.

If this is some creepy pagan cult, I am done for. There is no way to escape from this small room. Even if I could fit through the window, how would I escape a cult? I walk over to the bowl of hot water, letting my dress fall to the floor and begin cleaning the mud from my body. Morgana also left me a brush. I work at the knots in my wild red hair, pulling out branches and other bits of foliage.

After I clean myself up, I walk over to the robe Morgana left for me. It is pure white with long flowy sleeves that cut to a point. There are no buttons or zippers. I slip the garment over my head and use the string dangling on the side to wrap the robe securely around my waist. I feel warmer but still naked without any undergarments protecting my lady bits.

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