"Once, long ago, the swamp was not called Matope. It had no one name, for there were many kimeti that inhabited parts of it and each grouping had its own name. One such name referred to a group where the most brave of kimeti ruled over all from a great cave of white stone. His name was Will Lead To Peace1 and this grouping was called Nothing Crooked Reigns Here2.

A great wielder of magick stood beside Will Lead To Peace. He was adviser and friend. A kimeti that was revered for his wisdom and his foresight. And damned, in silence, for he was rumored to have been born by a sinful union. He was Wisened Mind Foolish Heart3.

On the outskirts of Nothing Crooked Reigns Here, lived a beautiful filly--one that had been hounded and sought after from birth. It was this that made her relish her home. For unlike most kimeti she lived in a clear lake where the surface was perfect stillness while the waters raged underneath. No one but the damsels of the lake, blessed by The Lady of the Lake herself, could enter. She was called Wild Waters Beneath Calm Surface4.

Surface was imbued with magick and yet she struggled to use it to her full potential. She left her watery home to find counsel, a teacher that could help her become great and powerful. She found Nothing Crooked Reigns Here, more importantly she found Wisened.

The old fellow was instantly entranced by the beautiful filly before him. He was a male and she a female, he felt there could be no one else for him--no one else for her. And he consented to be her teacher. At heart, Wisened was a good kimeti, but the instant attraction he felt for his student began to twist his thoughts. He wanted her, he deserved her. After all, he was teaching her all that he knew and he should have something in return for that.

Surface did not agree and did not want Wisened's attention. She left Nothing Crooked Reigns Here. In her wake, she left only the possibility that she may return. He chose not to follow having foreseen that she would return to the cave of white stone, to him. The filly returned to the home she had always known and sunk to the bottom where the Lady of the Lake and her surrogate sisters resided.

It was a few seasons later that Surface returned to Nothing Crooked Reigns Here. She was no longer a filly, instead a doe of extraordinary beauty stood before Wisened. He instantly made advances and though unwelcome, she reciprocated. It had been a long time of living beneath the lake that she had had time to think over it all. And she had decided, she was not someone to be used. She was not someone that could be another's. However the best way of going about this, the only way to protect herself was to pretend and lie until she was more powerful than any buck that dared pursue her.

She preyed easily on Wisened, learning his magick and memorizing his prophecies, allowing him that which he wanted under one condition. He must promise that he would never use his magick on her, especially to force her to be with him as he wished. And that promise was made by the wise buck that had such a foolish heart.

However it soon came to be that Surface was stronger than Wisened, much more than she let on. She no longer needed his teachings. And though she regretted that such drastic measures be taken, she knew that he would never leave her be as long as he or she lived. She thought his lust for her was overwhelming never knowing that deep inside Wisened loved her.

She convinced him to come with her one moonlit night in the still of autumn. He had foreseen what was to happen but his love for Surface burned fierce and he followed. She led him deep into the woods, far past Nothing Crooked Reigns Here and stopped in front of a large thorn bush. She stood back as he inspected it for he had never seen one so large. And as he stood there, she whispered under her breath the words which he knew were coming.

Wisened turned to look at her, a sad look on his handsome face, "I had hoped I was wrong but as I am not, I think you should know. I love you, Surface."

She watched, visibly unmoved though the heart within her beat frantically at those words, as the great wizard was pulled into the thorn bush to be imprisoned. She had thought forcing him to live with the uncomfortable pain of thorns would show him how he made her feel with his unwanted advances and attention. Now she saw that she was forcing him to live with a broken heart, held fast to be confronted by that knowledge forever.

And she regretted.

And she grew angry.

And she whispered a spell that would take the knowledge of those three words from her mind.

She turned from the bush, unmoved by words that she did not remember, and went back to Nothing Crooked Reigns Here. Lead would need a new adviser, one skilled in magick more so than Wisened. And it would be her power alone that would make Nothing Crooked Reigns Here and Lead's reign strong. She would be free of unwanted ties as she demonstrated a doe did not need a buck as much as a buck needed a doe."

Notes:
1 Will Lead To Peace - King Arthur; called Lead after notation
2 Nothing Crooked Reigns Here - Camelot; Crooked is the Celtic translation for Cam
3 Wisened Mind Foolish Heart - Merlin; called Wisened after notation
4 Wild Waters Beneath Calm Surface - Nimue; called Surface after notation