This is the fifth chapter of a six part story. I recommend reading all chapters, but if you want to read only this one, here is what happened so far:
For three years, Laura has suffered due to a mysterious pendant that suddenly appeared in the small town of Leskow. First her class mate Martin controlled her with the help of the pendant, and then her former math teacher Mr. Seger did the same. In the end, Martin returned. Eventually Laura always managed to free herself and now has the pendant in her possession. Though her plan was to destroy it, she now decides to use its power for herself.
~~~~~
The waves of Lake Leskow splash gently against the shore of the perfectly round, small island. The brightly green grass on the island and the long reeds growing around it sway in a gentle breeze. The island lies right in the middle of the lake. On it, its outlines set sharply against the evening sky, stands a castle. Its delicate towers stand tall, their roofs sparkling golden in the evening light. The castle gives an almost surreal quality to the idyllic picture of forest, water, and setting sun. Like a page torn from a book of fairy tales.
Not far from the castle, at the shore of the lake, lies the small town of Leskow. On this warm summer evening, everyone in the town seems to be taking a small break: People are looking up from their daily work, to enjoy this scene of peace and beauty. Their faces rapt, their mouths open, everyone displays an expression of breathless admiration. All have turned towards the castle, which is bathed in a golden glow as the sun slowly sinks down behind the trees.
Were a stranger to walk into Leskow this very evening, he would surely join the citizens in their admiration, all the while wondering how happy they must be to have a view like this one in front of their eyes, every day of their lives. The stranger would not be able to stop thinking about how wonderful life in a town like this must be. He would feel envy for all those people living in such a tidy and quiet place. He would be amazed at the peace of the little town. There are no arguments ever to be heard in Leskow, everyone is content. The people of Leskow love their little town, they love each other, and more than anything else, they love their queen.
And the queen loves her subject. She loves the little town that she rules over. Every evening she steps out of her castle, stands at the shore of her little island, and looks over the dark waters towards Leskow, to the simple houses standing opposite her majestic home, bathed in the same golden evening light. Her most trusted servants surround her; they never step away from her side. The lake lies calmly in front of her, the muddy waters tamed. To the queen, Lake Leskow is the beginning and the end of all: She was born from this lake.
***
From the moment that Laura stepped out of the waters of Lake Leskow, the locket's chain hanging around her neck, she knew what she had to do. She did not have to learn how to use the little piece of jewelry; it was, as if all the skills Martin and Mr. Seger had acquired through practice and hard work throughout the last three years, were transferred to her automatically. The young woman and the locket seemingly became one; they belonged together. There were no questions for Laura anymore. Her own future, the future of the world, and her own role in it: All of it was a path she could see clearly laid out in front of her. All she had to do was step onto that path. And now, that she
knew
, she was more than willing to do so.
Now, the power of the locket was hers alone, and anyone who had taken part in making her suffer during the last years would feel the consequences. Of course, her true enemies had been Martin and Mr. Seger, and they were both dead, and thus beyond even Laura's reach. Everyone else, however, was still there: All those people the two of them had used to torture and humiliate her again and again were still living their safe and happy lives in Leskow. They would have to suffer now. She would take revenge on them, on all those young men from school, who had been coming to the forest on Martin's orders. For the rest of the town's inhabitants, however, Laura was planning to be a gentle queen, strict when necessary, but fair and loving.
Though she was still naked, Laura held her head majestically high as she strode through the forest, towards Leskow. The closer she got to the small town, the more people she met. Some of them were taking afternoon walks in the forest; others lived in the outskirts of Leskow and were working in their gardens. The people stopped their walks and their work as they saw her coming. They bowed their heads respectfully. Not one of them remarked on her lack of clothes -- in fact, not one of them seemed to notice. Once Laura had passed them, they followed her at a certain distance, awaiting their queen's orders.
Finally, Laura stepped once again toward the shore of Lake Leskow, but not in the forest this time. As she stood on the meadow next to the school, the whole population of Leskow gathered in a half circle around her. Vaguely she remembered standing at this very place two years previously, gazing out over the water: She had awoken for a few moments back then, but now it seemed to her like a long forgotten dream. This had not been her; this had been a different Laura. Now she was queen.
With a benevolent smile on her face, the queen turned around to face her subjects. The crowd stirred and moments later a young woman stepped forward, falling onto her knees in front of Laura. She lifted up a long, cream colored dress, presenting it to her queen. Despite its simplicity, the dress was exquisite and clearly expensive. There was only one shop in Leskow that sold such dresses, and Laura had always wondered who in town could even afford to buy anything there. After all, throughout most of her life she would not even have been able to buy a T-shirt in that shop, and she was by no means from a poor family. Now, however, as queen, she clearly needed dresses befitting her status. A queen can't be naked in front of her subordinates.
As soon as she had thought that, the people of Leskow turned away respectfully, allowing their queen privacy, as she with some difficulty slipped into the dress. The dress was really quite different from the jeans and t-shirt Laura was used to wearing. As she allowed her the people to face her again, the crowd gasped and then broke out in cheers of pride: They had a beautiful queen. Laura let her gaze wander from face to face. She had an appropriate dress now. She would need servants, too. And a castle.
The queen turned to the lake. She lifted both hands, pointing their palms towards the dark waters, from which immediately bubbles started to rise; at first a few, then more and more, as if the whole lake was boiling. After a few moments, the outline of something big appeared under the water's surface. Something was slowly rising up from the lake's bottom, like a huge animal or a submarine. The crowd, however, did not seem surprised or scared. Instead they started cheering happily, as the playful little rooftop towers, the jutties and arched windows of a fairy tale castle slowly rose out of the water. After a few minutes, the whole building stood on an island in the middle of the lake.
The castle and the perfectly round island appeared to be illustrations in a fairy tale, but there they were, they were real. The waves of the lake splashed soothingly against the islands shoreline, as if they had been doing so since the beginning of time.
Now, all the queen had to do was find a way to get to her castle. The waters of the lake were one of the few things that did not obey Laura's will yet, she had to cross them somehow. It only took her a few moments to find a solution: Along with the whole population of the small town, the members of Leskow's Rowing and Sailing Club were also present at the lake. The queen called them forward and sent them to get their boats. She would choose the best boat. For now that would suffice as an appropriate means of transport. Two young men, former classmates of Laura, were to be her rowing staff. Laura vaguely remembered that those two had enjoyed more than one intimate encounter with her the year before last, due to Mr. Seger's twisted plans. Thus it was just appropriate they would now have to serve her, she deduced.
As all the most urgent matters had been attended to, the queen ordered the two of them to transport her across the water, to her castle. Her other subjects could continue with their daily lives for now. After all, the town had to be kept running. The queen wanted her people to be happy; she wanted them to live good and normal lives. Of course, there were exceptions: All those young men and women who had visited the upper grades of Leskow's school along with Laura, and graduated sometime in the last few years, could not join their fellow citizens anymore. They had to follow their queen to the island.
Gathered in a luxuriously decorated entry hall, they waited motionless and in silence, while their queen rested. Eventually, when she had gathered new strength, the returned to them to decide who of the young people would be her servant from now on. The ones upon which this honor befell clapped their hands in joy, before they quickly hurried out of sight to start with their various tasks right away. Mysteriously they knew at once what had to be done to make their queen happy, without that Laura herself was required to spend more than a fleeting thought on those tasks. Others were not so lucky: They were sent down to the castle's prison cells. There was no trouble caused, they went there quietly and without protest -- after thanking their queen for giving them a proper and just punishment.
***
"Ready... Steady... Go!"
On their queen's command, nine young men jumped into the cool water of Lake Leskow. Their fluid motion was synchronized so perfectly, they appeared to be one body and one mind. Looking at their masculine, muscular bodies, Laura unwillingly let her tongue wander over her lips. For a moment, she was surprised at herself. Should she not feel disgust at the sight of any man, after all that had been done to her? Her body seemed to think otherwise -- Laura felt a certain tingling sensation, a certain warmth in her groin, at the thought of the strong arms of one of them holding her.
Maybe she should order one of the contestants to her room this night? Which one? This wasn't an easy choice... The queen decided to let luck decide. After all, this was a new era, she explained in the speech she gave to her people at the festival site. Any explanation was superfluous, of course. The people of Leskow knew that the queen was right in everything she did. Still, it felt good to put her thoughts into words: This was a new era, it was thus appropriate to alter the rules of the diving competition a little bit. The winner of the big event of Leskow's "Castle Festival" should from now on receive a little more than just a victory kiss. Just the thought of it made her heart beat faster in anticipation.
Every now and then, the head of one of the young men appeared above the water's surface, so he could catch breath. However, all nine of them gave their best. They stayed under water as long as they possibly could; searching the ground of Lake Leskow for the small box Laura had dropped into the water from a boat, hours earlier. It was an honor to win this contest, and an honor to give your best for Leskow, and for Leskow's queen.
