Chapter Text
Screams filled his ears whenever he managed to come up for air. William would struggle to take a breath in before the waves dragged him back down below, crushing him with an icey kindness. He could see the others, just as helpless as he. The ones who managed to stay afloat cried and shivered, clinging to any scrap piece from the boat they could find.
William was flailing his arms about, trying to get to the surface, to get air. But the air would escape him. He would try to reclaim it, only for his lungs to freeze with the water that filled them. He had been set. He was going to be king when his father died. The boat had been set for shore with him on board. The ship was down, beaten by the waves, but the boat remained afloat. Or at least, it had. He saw his half-sister in the water, and he went back. William would not let a member of his family die. But the others, oh the others, they had seen and climbed aboard.
William was swept further into the bay, taking him farther away from his people. He tried to swim back, back to the ship, back to his promised throne. He sank deeper, unable to gain any leverage against the bloodthirsty waves. They took and would take until everyone from the ship was drowned, and washed up to shore for the fishermen to find in the morning. Then, there were the rocks, all the way at the bottom with the silt. If the water didn’t fill you, or the cold didn’t bite you, the rocks would crush your skull.
William was freezing. He felt his head going numb, his lungs no longer trying. He could see the moon’s reflection off the water. It illuminated him in his glory, in his struggle. God, William thought, help me, oh lord. My gracious Almighty save me from this great peril and allow me to be your vessel.
A sharp pain in his temple let William know that God was not listening. The water beside him turned red, contrasting the dark blue around it. So, he had hit the rocks. William felt warmer now, at the bottom. He couldn’t see anyone around him, but they were just as powerless in this water as he was. No sight would help him.
The water engulfed him just then, flowing through his insides like it was always meant to be there. It laid him down to rest, next to the rocks and silt. It laid them all down at the bottom of the bay. Only the few that clung to scraps washed up on shore, remembered, and buried. The deep didn’t care for respect or position. It took and would take ship after ship until they learned their lesson. Let them wash up on shore for the horrified fishermen to find. Let the fathers weep for their sons. Let the kingdom fall.
It was as if Christ and his Saints were asleep.