You Are My Encanto

Chapter Thirteen

Waterfalls, as far as you knew, were made of magic. They painted cliff sides with foamy water, and a delicately balanced array of vibrant, joyous blues and the soft scent of nature at its finest. You loved mornings spent sitting on the river bank, feet dangling in the water, watching the magic waterfall for hours on end.

This river could very well be your favorite place in the world. You spent more time out here than you did at home. You weren't quite sure what you were doing here now, though. The scenery felt off, somehow. Almost as though it existed on a different plane than you did. As if everything could collapse with the subtle breath of a whisper, carried on by the wind combing gently through your hair.

Through the wind and the crashing sounds of the waterfall crying from the top of the cliff, you could feel the water parting at your feet, the soft brush of moss beneath your fingertips, and damp, cool air breathing over your skin...but it just didn't feel real. It didn't feel like you were supposed to be here. It didn't feel as though you should be there.

You shifted to try and stand, but it was as though your ankles had suddenly been chained to the river below. No matter how much you struggled, or how hard you tried to break the surface of the water with your hands, there was no release. There was no chance for freedom. You were utterly, and hopelessly, trapped.

You snapped your head up at the sound of soft footsteps crunching on loose dirt and dewy grass, still struggling to break free of the river's icy grip on you. You clawed at the earth, yet you found no grip. The thin shimmer of dew on the moss around you remained undisturbed, and your hand passed through the gravel as though it were made of smoke. Familiar, dark tendrils of shadow surrounded your hand when you dipped it below the surface of the dirt, spreading outward as if desperate to cover more ground. You tugged hopelessly on the invisible chains around your ankles once more, whimpering when it failed to give.

The rustling of leaves redirected your attention to the other side of the river, and a small face appeared between the brush. A little girl, no more than perhaps 4, with matted h/c locks, sunken e/c eyes, and flushed s/c skin. Her feet were caked in mud and dirt, clothes torn and spotted with crimson stain. She looked to be wearing a necklace, with a simple ribbon chain and a shining silver locket. Only God could say what picture rested in that delicately engraved frame.

The girl looked around before revealing herself entirely, though she didn't seem to acknowledge you, or even see you. Behind her, you were shocked to see a slightly older boy, no older than maybe 12, looking as though he'd run through a thorn bush. His h/c hair was tangled and grown down to his shoulders, leaves tangled into some of the knotted masses. His e/c eyes were weary, and much older than the boy's body. He had a long, forming scar over his right eye, reaching from the center of his forehead to just above his jaw. He watched over the little girl the way a lion might look after its cub, and he held what looked to be a broadsword in his belt. His eyes scanned every inch of the river's clearing, his hand hovering around the hilt of the blade. His eyes passed over you several times, and your heart felt as though it would beat its way out of your chest at the way his hand twitched around the hilt. When he deemed the area clear of danger, his hands fell to the little girl, and he spoke a language you didn't quite understand, but felt as though you'd heard it a hundred times before. The girl nodded to the boy, and darted out to the river.

There were stones leading across this river between the two sides, and a trail of similar cobblestones formed a makeshift path out to a crooked, split tree with barren branches. Fish swam in the clear waters of the river, and the symphony of the waterfall in the background provided calming white noise. Calming indeed, if one wasn't physically trapped by it.

The boy sat down exhaustedly at the river bank, heaving out a weary sigh. The girl dipped her hands in and out of the water, and it was immensely difficult for you not to notice how murky the water turnt as she rinsed. Layers of dirt and grime washed right off, and dried blood caked on over old cuts were scraped off with a mossy rock nearby. She brought the water up to her arms, continuously scrubbing with the rock. She had to free her skin of the blood, which felt so warm and icky all the time, and it made her so sick to the point she couldn't sleep often at night.

You couldn't help but observe the boy as he watched the girl washing the grime from her skin, and soon began to do the same. The same amount of filth was washed clean, and he shook it all off to dry. He looked out at the waterfall, as though he could find answers in the foam.

The boy reverted his gaze out to the girl, and a ghost of a smile painted his face when he saw her talking to the lily flowers floating peacefully on the river's surface. The girl was young, so she couldn't possibly have known the flower wouldn't respond, but it was that sense of childhood innocence that both melted and broke his heart. His lips curled into a smile, but his eyes shone in agony.

"Y/n," he called, sending an icy cold spike down your spine. You watched in horror as the little girl shot up to her feet at the sound of the boy's feet, and she tilted her head as a nonverbal response, or acknowledgment. "Come here." Your mouth fell open at the sight of the little girl, practically skipping to get to the boy, with a smile on her face and a flower she'd stuck in her hair.

"Mika-el?"

When your struggling finally ceased, the coolness of the river had faded to an uncomfortable warmth, and you could feel the invisible chain vanish. You looked down at the murky waters, unable to scream at the sight of blood and dirt and dust and fog snaking its way over to you like a den of cobras. Wispy vines wrapped around your arms, clawing up to your neck. You couldn't open your mouth, and you felt as though you were falling.

Fading images of the river haunted your memory as you were dragged under the water, and you felt invisible chains once again pulling you down.

**A/N: Sorry for the weird, short chapter, but it will all make sense soon I swear! Plz keep reading, and leave lots of comments and likes! Love y'all!**