FicWad

I love this story. geat word choice and stuff. i judt dont know where to take it

**

Clanging reached his ears, like someone banging an empty pail against a brick wall. No, it was a concrete wall. And the pail wasn't empty, it was full of something. A liquid; water perhaps? No not just water, but soapy water. The sound was coming closer every time the pail hit the wall. But it wasn't only getting closer, it sounded like it was descending on him, like it was coming from the sky. Only there was no sky here just darkness.
The sound was actually coming from the other side of the room; coming out of the small slender stair case that led to his holding cell. The stairs were hidden by a large metal door. There was a small lock on the door but it was child’s play for any grown person to break. The door itself wasn't quite completely on the other side of his personal hell. No it was to his right, directly in the center of the right wall. The wall it's self was 15 feet. The wall it connected to, the one he faced, was 12 feet long connecting to the other 15 feet wall. He himself sat in a small nook, like a closet. To his left was short coffee table with a few dead candles on it.
He did not have to look up to see any of this; he already had it engraved into his mind. He also was slightly aware, though not pained, by the chains that held him. Each wrist had its own chain, allowing him to hang his arms at his side, but they were mounted to the same ring in the wall. His feet too had their own respective chains, mounted to a ring in the cold stone floor. But it was the collar and chain around his neck that he remembered the most. The chain attached to the metal collar was over 10 feet long. On the front of the collar was a large padlock. This lock, unlike the one on the door, was not easy to break. Though it was older than the one on the door, the only way to open it was if one had the right key. There were a few spikes on the inside on the collar, so if he moved his neck to much, they would slice his shoulders. But the lock only went to the chain. The band itself had no lock, no hinge, nothing could get it off. It seemed one with him, except that it was slightly loose around his thin neck.
He had chosen some time ago to sit in the same position so as to not to cause any further harm to himself. So he sat on his butt with his legs facing back on either side of his body. His bare feet pointed towards the small walls of the closet. His hands were behind his back, covered in burns and cuts. His black hair hung in his eyes, covering his face. The hair was long, being piled up in front of him as he sat hunched on the cold stone. If he stood it would come down to his backside. But he had no energy to move, let alone stand.
The clanging stopped as it reached the spot just outside the door. He didn't even bother to look up as the snap of the lock opening echoed through out the room. Light was thrown onto the dirty floor, but none was cast on him. A shadow of a person stood in the doorway; a small girl wearing purple shorts and a blue t-shirt with a purple flower on it.
In her left hand was a bucket full of soapy water while in her right was a rag. She surveyed the room; she couldn't be any older than 7. Her blue eyes seemed to glow in the darkness of the basement under long brown hair. She wore a determined look on her face; clearly not afraid of the darkness that surrounded her. Her eyes ran from the right than to her left.
At first they passed over the corpse in the corner but they snapped back as soon as her brain processed it. At first she just stared. Then she took a cautious step towards the lump. She sucked in a deep breath and took the few remaining steps to stand in front of the figure. This girl’s visit was inevitable; she came here every day and talked to him. He never replied and sometimes she just sat there and stared at him.

At first she just stood there. But after a few minutes she sunk down to squat on the ground. She tilted her head under the hanging mess of hair to try and see the face. But it was too dark. She leapt up and ran back up the stairs, leaving the pail and rag on the floor. When she came back she carried a pair of scissors, a large flashlight, a comb, a bottle of shampoo, and another bucket of water. She sat her newest possessions on the ground and surveyed her work. After another second of thought she ran back up the stairs only to return carrying a button up shirt, pants, socks, and shoes; all in men sizes. She placed these on the small coffee table along with the comb and scissors. She flipped on the flashlight, placing it on the ground after aiming it past the body, so as not to blind herself nor the man.
She picked up the bottle of shampoo; stepping forward to aim the bottle over the head. She said nothing as she dumped over half the bottle onto the greasy mess of black hair. She used her hands to cup water out of the nearest pail and dumped it on his head. She then began to lather the soap into the hair, often pouring water on it to make more suds. She washed from the top to the very bottom of his hair and he never moved. She dumped the whole pail on his head, rinsing out the soap. She ran back up stairs to return with another full pail of water; which she used to rinse out the ends of his hair.
She picked up the comb, and starting at the ends, she began to comb out the now clean strands of black hair. She started humming as she did so. The hum eventually turned into a hushed song in a soft beautiful voice
“And Lancelot, his head
Held high, Said,
“I'm tried for love of
Gwenevere….
My crime was love”

She started humming again. The man almost knew it by heart; she sang it every time she came. And after she hummed whatever she didn't know she came back with the last stanza of the song.

And Lancelot, his head
Held high, Said,
“I'll die in love with
Gwenevere….
I’d die for love….”

She trailed off when she finished combing. Now that his hair was out of his face, parted neatly on either side, she could see it clearly. He was pale and his face was slender. His mouth was closed in a hard line, neither frowning nor smiling. His eyes stared at the gray floor, not seeing anything. She was unable to see the color but could see that they were open. She placed her palm on his chest and smiled when he pushed out with a haggard breath.
She picked up the scissors and reached for his hair. She stopped and inspected his face; still no change. She started to cut the hair evenly with skilled hands even though she was very little. The hair had its own natural curl and once it was cut it hung to his shoulders, holding a slight wave. She inspected her work, smiling in the dim light. She reached for the dirty cloth around him that used to be shirt and still he didn't move. She tried to undo the buttons but they were so old that it ripped.
She ended up having to use the scissors to cut the shirt completely off, seeing how she had no way of getting it pass the chains on his wrists. Now he was bare chested and she could see all his wounds. She cringed back her blue eyes showing her worry. She said nothing as she reached forward to place her small hand on the nearest gash on his left shoulder. He winced slightly but showed no other signs of life.
The girl sighed and grabbed the soapy water. Without a pause she poured it over his back. He tensed up but never cried out as she stared scrubbing him with the rag. She dumped the rest of the shampoo on his back and kept sliding around on the wet floor, scrubbing his chest and even his under arms. She went for the bucket of water only to discover that it was empty. She frowned and ran back up stairs but didn't take the pail with her. She was gone for some time and the only thing he could hear was his own stressed breath.
After about 10 minutes she returned, this time she had a large towel and some sort of hose. She placed the towel on the small table and turned towards the man. He had not moved an inch since she had left. She pulled the hose, which disappeared up the stairs, towards the man. She eventually had it position directly over him. She winced as she pulled the trigger. The water leaked out as a soft mist but it was still powerful enough to rinse away the soap and dirt.
That’s when he moved. He arched his back, leaning closer to the ground. Then he snapped back up, putting his face directly in the water way. The girl didn't move; she just kept spraying. She now saw that his eyes were the color of blood, glowing red in the darkness. Pain was etched into his face as he groaned. She turned the water off and he hunched back over, head on the floor.
“I'm sorry Lancelot…”
Lancelot; that was the name she had given him. He was her knight, her best friend. He never asked to be her friend; he had never spoken to her. And yet she insisted on calling him by that ridiculous name. He had a name… he just couldn't think of it right now.
Her soft voice trailed off as she sat on the now wet floor. She put down the hose and started to twirl her hair around her finger. After about a minute she stood, heading for the door. She was gone for some time and when she returned there was a new sound that followed her. She returned carrying a large key ring with hundreds of keys jingling as she walked towards him. She knelt behind him and started shoving keys into the lock on his right wrist. Finally after about 5 tries the lock sprung open. There was a hiss like air being let out of a balloon as the lock fell to the ground. He didn't move as she unlocked the other wrist as well as his legs.
“There, I'm so sorry”
She stood and grabbed the towel off the table. She started patting him down as tears fell from her eyes. She kept mumbling about being sorry but it sounded more like whimpering. She got around to facing him, trying to dry off his neck. But as soon as the towel touched his neck his head angled up towards her. She froze, staring into his sad red eyes. Something about her blue eyes changed him. He suddenly wanted to make her happy. His hand slowly came to her face and he wiped away a tear with his index finger. He closed his eyes as he placed the tear on his tongue. He reopened his eyes after a moment and stared at her. He placed his hand on the side of her face and smiled a pained grin
“Why have you entered my Hell princess?”
His voice was a quavering purr.
“Why are you helping one of Satan's angels?”
“Because you're my best friend”
She smiled. The man smiled back, showing large white fangs. The girl was not bothered by them and instead of running she brought up her hand and touched his mouth. He closed his eyes and sighed as she did so.
“You are warm…princess”
He put his hand down and so did she. He straightened up, allowing her to dry his chest. She threw the towel onto the table and grabbed the light blue button up shirt. The man held out his arm, allowing her to put the shirt on him. He shifted his legs to sit with his legs out in front of him. He picked her up and set the girl in his lap so she was straddling his waist. She went to work buttoning up his shirt humming as she did so. Again came the song she sang earlier.
“And Lancelot, his head
Held high, Said,
“I'm tried for love of
Gwenevere….
My crime was love”
She hummed whatever part of the song she didn't know
“And Lancelot, his head
Held high, Said,
“I'll die in love with
Gwenevere….
I’d die for love….”
The man felt happy for the first time in years. He pushed a strand of hair out of the girl’s eyes trying to hum along with her. It had been so long since he had heard a human voice; a human heart.
The girl finished the buttons and looked him in the eyes. He smiled even larger
“How did you find me? You’ve been coming here for two years.”
“I heard you crying”
He nodded
“What is your name princess?”
The girl smiled
“Gwenevere Icarus Kingsley. But my dad calls me Gwen”
“The perfect name for a princess. My princess”
The man pet her hair some more. She lay against his chest and he wrapped his arms around her, absorbing her warmth and happiness.
**
The door creaked open, casting yellow light into the 15 by 12 room. Gwen was standing in the doorway smiling hugely. Lancelot slid up to his knees wearing all new clothes, all of which Gwen had brought him. The collar was still around his neck but he didn't mind. The chain was long enough that he could move about. The girl was only 7, but she wasn't afraid of anything except being abandoned. Lancelot knew that she had kept the chain on him so he wouldn’t leave.
“Good evening princess. What brings you to hell today?”
Gwen laughed her high pitch laugh, sounding like wind chimes
“Are you better?”
Lancelot grinned. His life was so much brighter now that Gwen came down and seen him every day. Now that he had gotten the courage to speak to her.
“Yes”
This was their standard greeting. Always the same never changing almost like it was password or an oath.
“I'm glad you're better”
The truth was, Lancelot was not better. If he was going to last down here any longer he was going to need substance. Not the bowels of cereal and sandwiches that Gwen brought him; he needed what his kind was created for.
“Me too. How is life upstairs?”
Gwen shut the door with a bang concealing them both in darkness. But to Lancelot it was fine, he could see like he was in daylight. A flashlight clicked on and light flooded the room again. Gwen was before him smiling
“Liam won't leave me alone”
“Ah…”
Liam, Lancelot knew, was the butler that ran the house acting as Gwen’s parental unit until her father decided to drop by and act like a parent. Liam did not approve of Gwen's visits. Naturally he had no idea of Lancelot's existence but still, he did not like the idea of a 7 year old being down in a dark basement for hours on end. But Gwen was his master, being the daughter of his employer and he had to do anything she said. So if she said to stay out of the basement then he stayed away from the basement.
“Liam called my daddy today. He canceled his visit”
Lancelot grunted. Though he had never met the man he hated him. He had a perfect daughter at home and he was out traveling trying to live the big life. Yeah he seemed nice but who could leave Gwenevere alone?
“He's not bad Lancelot! Honest. He's just trying to make me happy”
“If he wanted you to be happy he would be home with you right now. And then you wouldn’t have to be down in a dark basement with a monster”
Gwen sat down frowning
“But I like it down here…. You're my only friend Lancelot”
Lancelot lurched forward, dragging his chain as he went. He wrapped his arms around the small girl
“I know… I know. I'm sorry.”
He held her for awhile and he felt something twist in his stomach. This whole being nice was new to him. He had planned on killing the girl, draining her of her blood, and leaving his prison. But when he looked in those sad blue eyes he saw himself reflected back at him, and it scared him. He was once a man of evil, because nice people didn't get chained up for decades. He had laid waste to countless villages, murdering thousands! He was the most blood thirsty of them all. But then his rein of terror was shot down by a single man; the same man that had put this collar around his neck to tame him.
“Lancelot; are you ok?”
He pulled back and realized he had been squishing her.
“I'm sorry… I was just thinking about what I had done to get here”
“Tell me”
“I can't”
“Why not”
Gwen began to pout
“Because it's scary.”
“Nothing scares me”
Lancelot gave her a doubtful look
“Yeah right! Little girls are afraid of everything”
“Am not!”
Lancelot suddenly snatched the flashlight and flipped it off, closing his eyes as he did so. He chuckled as he waited for the scream but it never came. He put his hand out trying to find Gwen but she was suddenly gone. His eyes shot open as he flipped on the flashlight and sure enough she wasn't there
“Gwen…Gwen!”
Suddenly she leapt onto his back laughing as she did so
“Scared ya didn't I?”
Lancelot sighed but smiled. The thought of losing yet another person was too hard for him to bare.
“Yeah, you did”
Lancelot tilted his head towards the upstairs and Gwen fell silent.
“Liam is looking for you. He's about to go down the stairs.”
Gwen ran for the door.
“Wait you forgot the light”
She grinned
“You need it more than I do”
She opened the door, and slammed it shut. Lancelot sighed as he heard the lock slid home. He slid back into the nook, dragging his chain with him. He leaned against the wall and flicked off the light.
**
Gwen peeked her head around the corner keeping an eye out for Liam. She was about to make a run for it when Liam's old firm hand found the back of her t-shirt
“And where do you think you're going?”
Gwen grunted and clawed at the old hand
“I wanna go see Lancelot!! Let me go Liam!”
Liam sighed
“Is that your newest friend Miss Kingsley?”
“He’s not made up this time! I've done told you!”
Liam chuckled
“No one lives in the basement my dear. No one except monsters”
Gwen gave up on trying to get loose and crossed her arms, sticking out her lip.
“Now don’t do that Miss. I only want you to finish your homework before you go and play with your friend”
“Fine. Can I at least tell him to wait? He gets cranky if I don’t check in”
Liam sighed again, this was after all his favorite gesture other that scratching the back of his neck
“Yes, yes, but be quick”
Liam let go and Gwen was already gone. She flew down the stairs and unlocked the door with a small key. She stood in the doorway and whispered
“I'm sorry Lancelot I have a lot of homework that I have to do and I can't come see you right away. I'll be back later.”
She didn't wait for a reply as she left, slamming the door behind her. She ran back up the stairs and into the kitchen. After seating herself at the table she picked up her pencil and started scribbling away on the math paper before her. Deep below her feet Lancelot shifted. He had heard the girl’s message and he would wait patiently for her return. She always came. She had been coming for the past month and in a few days she would be 8. She was smart for a 7 year old, having to live with no parents or friends; she had to teach herself how to live.
Lancelot stood, stretching his legs. Though he had stood many times his knees were shaky and his legs were weak. He tried to take a few steps and almost fell. He had after all been sitting in this hole for the past 30 years without moving. It wasn’t good on his bones.
He limped towards the door and checked the handle; even though she had probably locked it back. To his surprise the door creaked open. Light shined in his eyes and he held his hand up to shield them. The stairs were carpeted and bright; lit up by the skylight above them. He heard soft music coming from the radio Liam always had playing. He closed his eyes and listened to the soft tune. It sounded like some sort of Japanese flute and it washed over him; soothing his soul.
He slid to the floor and listened; wanting the music to take him away to whatever magical world it was from. But soon the music died and he heard Liam’s heavy footsteps on the old wood floors. He opened his eyes as he slowly closed the door. Liam walked slowly down the stairs and Lancelot held his breath. Liam stopped right before the door and sighed while he scratched the back of his neck
“I don’t see what's so special about this basement. Personally it gives me the creeps. After all the journal of the pervious owner stated that his grandfather had locked away a great beast.”
Liam's hand rested on the door knob as he chuckled and Lancelot couldn't move for fear of alerting the old man of his presences. But before the door opened Lancelot heard the phone ring, Liam’s sigh, and the heavy steps back up the old stairs.
Lancelot let out a heavy breath and closed his eyes.
“That old man will be the death of me… If I could die”
Liam's booming voice reached him and he cracked the door to get a better listen.
“Yes sir… of course I know… yes the…. She's doing fine…. I don’t know anything about that….what on earth are you babbling about?”
The voice on the other line was rising to hysteria
“No sir, she knows nothing of what you do I assure you… you're what... canceling all your meetings? But why?”
Liam cut off as he listened to the panicked voice
“You found it? Are you sure it's the right book? Of course I know the dangers... I wouldn’t dream… I assure you she fine… doing her homework… no I don’t let her go outside alone… you want me to find what... what guardian? In the basement?”
The voice started speaking slower but it was still too distant for Lancelot’s aching ears to figure out. Maybe if he had more energy, all his powers would return and it would be all too easy to hear the voice on the other end.
“I don’t think that would… now you listen here sir. I don’t think it wise to entrust your daughter to the leaches…. I don’t care how many of them you know… and the Lycians are not much better…. She only 7... Yes I know the danger she's in… why not just give back the book sir... I don’t care how important it is…. Think of your daughter sir!”
Lancelot had heard enough to put it together. Whatever Gwen's father was into put her in danger and that made him mad.
“I know it's not just the supernatural….. I will take every precaution…. No sir… I... you want me to take her out of school… why not? Oh I see; she's not in any danger there”
Lancelot’s breath hitched. Supernatural? Is that what her father dealt with? Stuff and beings like him?
“That gang is sure to want it…. Why are you bringing it here….what's in the basement? What do you mean don’t let them get to close? Let who get to close to her?”
Lancelot licked his lips; utterly confused about the conversation
“Sir… I assure she’s save… we’re going to move? Sir? Sir?!”
The phone call suddenly ended and Lancelot heard a female’s voice informing Liam that the line had been disconnected.
“May God be with you sir”
**
No door opened nor were there any footsteps on the stairs, no Gwen. Something was wrong, she always came. There was dead silence above and he hated it. He wanted out, to go see if she was ok.
“Gwen?”
No answer. He slid over to the door, cracking it open
“Gwen?”
Still no answer. So he waited. The sky turned dark and still no one came to see him. What was going on? He opened the door fully and tried to walk up the stairs. The chain only allowed him to the first step.
“Gwen?”
Something was terribly wrong and he didn't care if Liam heard him.
“Gwen!”
Still no answer. He felt fear growing in his stomach
“No, no, no, no, no, no!! You can't have gone yet… please come back…. Please”
Suddenly the front door opened and Lancelot ducked back behind the door. Liam’s voice reached him
“I'm so sorry Gwenevere…. He was a good man, your father. He will be missed”
Lancelot slowly closed the door, sliding back as the footsteps drew closer
“Thank you Liam. I need to go tell Lancelot now”
Liam said nothing as she crept down the stairs. She pushed open the door to see Lancelot sitting before her. He was a sad ball of darkness just beyond the light of the door. She sat in front of him not bothering to close the door.
“I have bad news”
Lancelot just peeked up at her over his knees. Overjoyed she was ok but showing no emotion
“My dad got in an accident. He's…”
The first tear fell and was soon followed by hundreds
“Dead…”
She began to sob for the first time that whole day. Lancelot slid forward and wrapped his arms around her; letting her cry into his shoulder
“I'm sorry…”
Was the only thing he could say
**
Lancelot heard the light footsteps of Gwen heading for the stairs. He quickly slid forward out of the complete darkness and into the gray; thinking about all that had happened in the past three months. Gwen turned 8, her father had died, and Liam had spoken of some affairs that might have led to his death.
Then it clicked. Her father knew he was down here; the guardian in the basement; and he wasn’t supposed to get to close. He had to find a way to distance himself from her.
“Liam, I'm going to see Lancelot”
Gwen's small voice reached his ears like a sweet tune. There was no reply from Liam. Ever since the master had died he never questioned about Gwen's frequent basement goings. Perhaps he had figured out that the guardian was down there. Or maybe he didn't want to break her heart by taking away another person on her life.
Gwen ran down the stairs and swung open the door. Lancelot already had the flashlight she had left him some time ago flipped on and shining towards the door. She appeared smiling as she closed the door behind her.
“Gwen I have to tell you something”
She sat down in front of him
“What is it?”
Lancelot sucked in a breath; he didn't want to yank her heart out, gut this had to be done.
“Do you know why you found me Gwenevere?”
“So you could be my friend?”
“Well… sort of... You see you found me so I could protect you. I was charged with being your guardian. Your knight.”
Gwen nodded
“My friend”
“No. A friend is some one closer. As a knight I am charged with advising you and protecting you. So we can't get too close. Do you understand?”
No matter how much it hurt him he couldn't allow her to get too close. She looked as if she was about to cry. I'm sorry he wanted to say. I'm so sorry. Forgive me. But he couldn't say it.
“You mean you don’t want to be my friend?”
Her child like voice sent a chill down his spine
“You're getting older now. You're no longer just a princess, you're the queen now. That means more dangers. I will be your friend, but most importantly I need to protect you. Maybe when all this mayhem is dealt with, I can be your friend once more. But as for now your safety is what matters.”
“What mayhem?”
Lancelot sighed
“People will come for you now. I am the only one that can protect you from them. You have to understand, I can't be what you want me to be. I am your knight…. Do you know the proper relationship between a queen and her knights?”
Gwen nodded
“Then you can understand that…”
Gwen stood and wrapped her arms around him
“I understand. It would be breaking the laws set by everybody. It wouldn’t look right. So we’re going to have to settle for queen and knight relationship.”
She removed her arms and headed for the stairs. Lancelot could tell she was fighting tears.
“I'll be ok Lancelot. You'll see that I can be a good queen. The best queen. I won't fail”
As soon as the door closed both busted into tears
**
Gwen did not return for some time. Even Liam was starting to worry. But whenever he brought up the basement Gwenevere would just force a smile and say
“I'm queen now”
She seemed fine with the new space, growing as a child her age should; but Lancelot was drowning in despair. He had been cast back into his darkness and nightmares.
“Gwen…”
At that moment he was sunk down to the lifeless stone, face paler than usual. His hair was longer now; it was no longer its clean wavy self but a black oily mess. His clothes were dingy and he had long sense removed his shoes along with his socks.
“Gwen…”
His voice was a moan. He needed her and he was a fool if he thought he could distance himself from her. He couldn't move towards the door; he needed blood badly if he ever wanted to move again.
**
Screams; that’s all he heard. At first they were his memories from his murders but they soon echoed in his ears, causing his eyes to snap open. They were coming from upstairs. Lancelot arched up hearing his name he screamed like the chained beast he was
“GWEN!!!”
He lurched for the door yanking it open. Trying to run up the stairs he was held back by the chain.
“By God, Abraham let me go! Let me save her!!”
He yanked on the chain one more time and it snapped from the wall. He vanished; moving faster than the naked eye can possible hope to register and was standing before Gwen. The sight he saw rattled him down to his bones. Liam was sprawled over the floor in a puddle of his own blood kneeling over him was a creature all too familiar to Lancelot. Grabbing the chain around his neck, Lancelot used it like a laso around the creature’s neck. Yanking the vampire to him Lancelot used the momentum, letting the creature past him, and slam into a wall. He then grabbed it by the chains and without another thought he sank his teeth into the exposed flesh. He gripped the creature with both hands drinking deeply.
He drained the body dry, leaving a stain of blood on his mouth. Dropping the corpse Lancelot turned to Liam's body to see a woman. His eyes narrowed at the sound of her voice
“Oh dear. I never thought I'd see you again Jack.”
Jack? Was that his name before Lancelot? It didn't matter; he was Gwen’s knight now so he acquired a new name.