#vodyanoy!König

[itsagrimm]

He Who Comes from under the Water

Chapter 11 - The Dive

Monster!König X she/her afab Reader

CN: Mentions of possible death and injury, fear of water, nearly drowning, mentions of possibly getting hurt, inappropriate use of an axe, depression and bad mental health, on character is passively suicidal, cannibalism, fear of being alone, fear of separation from a loved one, lack of self-confidence, kissing, making out, partial nudity

Notes for better understanding at the bottom!

Beta-read by the equally afflicted @queenquazar. Unhinged writing and editing sessions in the dead of night wouldn't be the same without you.

6.0k words

Masterlist

Hope you enjoyed your summer as I have but now as it's getting colder, darker and most importantly weather outside, I am fairly sure updates will roll quicker now.

also I need to do more trips with my camera, I am running out of decent looking header photos.

I made a playlist for this series. Enjoy.

The fresh morning breeze caressed over your slowly warming up skin. Branches of trees danced a lazy rhythm and the late birds of summer sang their song. Ghost stood next to you, wrapped in his coat made of leaves and moss and sturdy solitude, as you both looked up to the window of your bedroom. König was in there, still asleep and out of your reach.

“Let’s try to wake up König one more time.”

Hope reared its head as you heard Ghost’s words.

But not too high.

“How?” You wondered out loud. “I am sorry that you feel stuck here with me, but König did not wake up last time you tried. Why should he now?”

“Maybe we need to try harder,” Ghost replied and grabbed Königs axe.

Your eyes widened.

“Hold on!” You tried to stop what was unfolding before you, only to witness Ghost grow in size, taller than the trees, taller than the house, and far away from your little human words.

“Enough, little brother,” Ghost groaned from high above you and you had to shield your ears from the loud thundering voice “It is time to wake up. I am tired of guarding your Bride in your stead.”

Birds took off, the earth shook and trees froze as in fear of the giant that was said to be their guardian.

Ghost straightened up and turned to the house.

“Hey!”

Like an animal on the hunt that got caught, Ghost froze and turned back, staring down at you with an oddly blank expression.

“What are you up to, Ghost?” You called, trying to ignore the little voice in your mind telling you that shutting up and quivering in fear before the giant was a smarter strategy to survive.

“Why the axe?” You squeaked as you tried not to squeak.

Ghost blinked, confused by this little being that was his future sister in law. Such a flimsy thing of flesh and bone, shouting at him from her place in the dirt. Ghost glanced at the axe, shaking his head.

“Right. I am sorry. I am not used to explaining myself but you have every right to ask,” Ghost admitted, and fell back into a shape more approachable to you, like a shadow growing smaller by the change of light.

“You can do it.” Ghost said. “Hit König with the axe to wake him up.”

You blinked, it was your turn to stare confused.

“He is just the Vodyanoy napping in water. Swinging an axe against him is like hitting the surface of a lake, stirring up a few waves but nothing else. He will be fine. And hopefully he will wake up from it.” Ghost explained and passed you the heavy axe before growing in size again.

You looked down onto the massive wood axe in your hands, the wooden handle old and used.

“Are you sure that will work, Ghost?” Uncertainty creeping up in your mind and voice, worry and frustration manifesting about your fiance’s wellbeing and actions.

“Have you ever heard of running water getting cut?” Ghost answered. “I am not saying König will like it, but it won’t harm him. Trust me.”

You swallowed, feeling uneasy. Hitting a human with an axe in their sleep was murder. Plain and simple. But, König was as much a human as you were a fish. His skin shifted and shaped as he pleased. He ruled the waters and even summoned them in his dreams after not sleeping for who knows how long, destroying your room. And his eyes…

“I understand this might be a lot to ask,” Ghost paused. “You will have to trust me on this one, Vodyanitza.”

His words danced through your mind like willow branches in the wind. If Ghost would have wanted to and this was ill-intentioned, he could have harmed König without bothering to talk and convince you of this plan. Maybe there was a point in trusting Ghost even if the thought of König getting hurt made you grow colder inside than the cooler morning breeze ever could.

You looked up to the giant and nodded.

“Let’s do this.”

“Hold on tight,” He stated and grabbed you to place onto the window sill to your bedroom. Like a leaf he tumbled into the room after you, turning himself small again and landing in the splashing water on your bedroom floor.

You cried out, first in surprise than dreadful fear from all the water suddenly around you as the heavy axe slipped out of your fingers and landed in the water, sinking down with a shallow ‘clunk’ against the wooden planks. 

“Ghost. I-” you eyed the water splashing around the room like a lively river. Or a dark river, a deep river, deep enough to drown. “I am afraid of water. I can’t get down from here. I can’t do it.”

Ghost made a sound that could have been a grumbled curse whispered by a tree before being hit by lightning.

“A Vodyaniza who fears the water,” He stated. “Sounds right like the mess my brother would cause. Alright, I’ll do it then.”

“Wait,” You looked at König as you tried to calm your nerves as you took deep calming breaths. He was still deep asleep. A mess of tangled unhuman limbs and scales and hair and skin in the waters of your flooded room. Panic and fear surged from all the water, but you forced those emotions in you aside as you tried to commit his sight to your memory, just in case something was to go wrong.

“Okay,” You finally agreed and nodded to Ghost.

This was it.

Ghost picked up the axe from the water and raised it high before swinging it down onto König.

The impact of the axe connecting with Königs head sounded like thunder rolling over you.

Loud and painful and final. 

Suddenly, like a storm, the water rose and reached high before you, waves building and crashing at your feet as you held onto the window frame for dear life while trying to see through the room filled with fine droplets of water and foamy waves.

A groan rang through your ear.

Königs voice - strained and painfully familiar.

Another groan as you heard a second hit from the axe through the wild waters before you … like…

…like a yawn before having to leave bed, yet still feeling tired.

“König?” You hoped aloud, your voice being drowned out by the rushing water and Ghost’s deep voice.

“Wakey-wakey, brother! Stop making your Bride wait for you!”

“Urgh.”

A massive wave crashed right next to the wall with your window, breaking the glass and causing the house to shake from the impact.

“Get up, little brother.” You could not see through all the splashing water before you, only hearing the sound of Ghost’s deep voice. “Stop being dramatic and flooding your girl’s room. It’s rude.”

A third axe hit thundered through the little space before you. More water rose and a wave finally hit you. You wailed as you tried to fight against the dreadful flood, with desperate fingers you reached for safety. Catching the clammy window frame, the sill, and finally just the thin fabric of the curtains until the pull of the retreating water consumed you and took you in to the deep waters.

The silence of being underwater was more unbearable for your mind than the loud crashing of waves and shattering sounds of the hitting axe above.

For a moment fear froze your body and you could not help but stare as you floated impossibly downwards at the sight of König, coiled up like a serpent snake and shifting scales reflecting the light. His eyes were closed except for a sliver of that beautiful blue peeking into the world as if the king of everything under the water was about to wake up. Bubbles of air fought their way out of your lungs and you felt panic as you watched the axe hitting König from above.

Would he be fine?

No blood came out of the wound that broke as the axe connected with Königs sleeping shape. You watched König being unharmed and lazily stretching his long limbs and body as you floated downwards, taken by a strong current in the impossibly deep waters of your bedroom.

Wait, would you be fine?

König did not notice any of it. Instead, his eyes only slightly fluttered, as if merely being tickled awake - lazy, unfocused blinking of blue eyes before sharpening up. Still sleepy, he looked around as if confused if he was still dreaming or awake. Finally, König locked eyes with you and smiled. It was a beautiful smile, toothy and life-savingly-relieving to see him coming back to his senses.

You did not smile back. The air bubbles in your mouth were too precious a cargo to smile for König, opting instead for an unhappy grimace and some waving motions that hopefully spelled out: ‘I don’t want to be here and need your help to get out’.

For a moment, a very long moment as you struggled, König blinked before the realisation kicked in. He was far away, so far away from you in the waters that he had dreamed up. Yet, unbelievably quick the serpent body moved and changed as König headed for you. With hands, not scaled claws anymore,  König reached out as he fought his way through a whole ocean between you and him as a last air bubble left your mouth. 

Your head was spinning and you started to lose sight as you felt hands on you that lifted you up and out of the water.

You coughed, ungraciously spitted out water as König tried wiping out hair and tangled clothes out of your face.

“Bride! Are you okay?”

You vomited water at his feet and chest while he held you like a cat that got rescued from the floods, close to his body and patting you like a little animal.

“She looks fine.” Ghost’s gravelly voice sounded through the air as you still tried to blink and see. “You better worry about this flood you caused.”

“Oh. Right.” You felt König shift and then the sound of water draining away as if someone  had pulled a plug.

You coughed again for good measure, still feeling weak and miserably wet. The cold was starting to set in as the rush of fear and panic started to run out.

Shivering, you tried wiping away the water from your face and opened your eyes.

Your bedroom was a mess. But not in the way your mother would have disapproved of but in a way she would have questioned whether or not it was still habitable. The water was gone, but the signs of the flood were catastrophically clear with nothing being dry, in pieces or not where it ought to be. Your bed was a pile of torn fabrics and splintered wood. The chest with your clothing, tipped over and empty, looked like a sad hungry animal no one had bothered to feed. And your few personal possessions, kept toys from your childhood, gifts from friends, clothes lying around the floor. Ghost was standing before you on something that might have been pieces of your wedding dress, leaning on the axe with the same skull-covered expression as always, yet appearing somewhat amused under it.

And König - he was holding you up to his chest, his hands still patting you helplessly as if that could help you. He looked human. Mostly. The hair was as messy as the first day you saw him, covering most of his face except for blue eyes burning through with worry.

“I-” you rasped despite the storm of emotions waging through you. “I was so worried about you, König.”

Another cough.

“But I have never been as angry as this before. What did you do with my room? And my wedding dress. Also-”

You felt like there was still some water in places of your body where none was supposed to be, wheezing and shaking your head from the uncomfortable feeling.

“-put me down. You are so cold and I feel like I am freezing in your arms.”

Guiltily, König put you down, mumbling something that could have been an apology while Ghost choked on something that could have been a laugh.

You paid no attention to them, concentrating on your weak legs to hold you and carry you to the torn pieces of your wedding dress. Ghost stepped aside and watched you with open curiosity as you held your dress in disbelief of how quickly your work had turned into rags.  Holding back tears, you let the fabric fall back down with a wet squelching sound and turned to the door. If you were lucky the hinges still worked and you could walk out on your own and warm you up again downstairs, away from the left battlefield that used to be your sanctuary.

You stumbled, reaching for the handle and opening the door only to face another cruel adversary.

The stairs.

There was no way you were able to make it down the steps without breaking your neck with how wobbly your legs felt and how ridiculously shaky your hands twitched.

You turned around, the pleading frustration in your eyes too visible for König not to step closer and peaking at the obstacle in your way.

He nodded while trying to control whatever emotions attempted to govern his face.

“Allow me, Bride.” He asked and lifted you up again before carrying you downstairs and into the kitchen, setting you down before the warm oven.

Ghost followed and started preparing tea and a hot stone before leaving the room as König returned with dry clothes for you, magically found somewhere in a part of the house that hadn’t been flooded. You looked at the pieces offered in his hands, only to see that it was a mix of mostly your fathers and brothers clothes from the storage. You did not care. They were dry and the village would judge you no matter what you wore. Might as well just do the best for yourself.

Unceremoniously, you stripped out of your dripping clothes. König held and steadied you where you needed it and grabbed the discarded pile of fabrics to put it up on the laundry line outside once you were done.

You stayed where you were, leaning close to the oven in the hopes of warming up quickly, and refusing to do anything before feeling less miserable.

Ghost was still a guest. And König was your fiance. A good hostess and bride would have started serving them the food that you had previously prepared.

A good hostess and bride would not have been dipped into a pool of dreamed up water in their own bedroom either. You thought bitterly before adding a relieving Fuck it.

Someone knocked at the door and you called them in.

Ghost reappear from the outside with a blanket of moss and leaves, wrapping it around you and placing you in the nearest chair to the oven before passing you a cup of the freshly brewed tea.

“Thank you,” You rattled through cold lips.

König returned with more wood for the oven and added a large log to feed the fire. You had shown him how to care for a fire, never expecting he would ever find a need for it. Both brothers hustled and moved around your little kitchen, hardly speaking and only every once in a while giving you worried glances as they made sure all work of a proper household would be done while you rested and warmed yourself. You closed your eyes, letting the feeling of being safe and cared for, seep in.

This day, even if it was slightly past midday, had punched all energy out of you while also confronting you with every possible emotion a human heart could feel. Waking up in the flood, alone and confused, next to your water serpent like fiance, meeting your future brother-in-law who thought you would die soon, nearly drowning once again while your fiance woke from the literally deepest nap possible in your now destroyed room. You sighed, not even bothering to bring order into your mind.

Instead, you gratefully thought how you finally weren’t alone even if it was scary at times to share your life with beings so different from you - König, Ghost, Farah, talking animals and murderous Rusalkis. Yes, this had been another moment where you could have been harmed. And mourning your room and things destroyed by the flood, was one of many things in the curled grey corners of your mind. There was still anger and confusion in you why it all had happened. But you weren’t alone anymore to face those things on your own. There were people around you now that noticed you and cared for your well-being. Clearly, not all of them to the same degree or out of the same motive. You understood that. But your lost room and wedding dress, your fears and secrets and longings felt more like a coherent song than a desperate cry for help when it wasn’t just your voice.

Someone touched you softly on the shoulder and you opened your eyes.

“Hey.” König stood before you with his blue watery eyes and wild hair.

Both brothers had paused their busy work and stood with their attention turned towards you.

“How are you feeling?” Ghost asked gravely from his far away spot at the door and reached for more tea for you with his long unhuman arms without moving.

You shivered, unsure if from the cold or from the odd reminder that neither of the men were human.

“Better,” You replied. “Thank you for giving me time to recover.”

Your eyes wandered to König, craving to hear his voice again and feel his warming eyes on you. He looked away, avoiding your gaze.

Your little heart dropped deeper than the waters in your room had been, fighting hard to soldier on.

You cleared your throat.

“Well,” you squeaked, your voice still feeling thin and fragily human as you addressed the giant men. “I am starving. This is not how a host normally does it in this house since all I did was sit and rest now. But how about we eat?”

The rabbit stew that you had made this morning smelled tempting and promising from its reheating spot in the oven and you heard your own stomach growl.

“Thank you for the invite, Vodyanitza,” Ghost declared, slightly bowing his head. “But we will have to do that another time.”

“Oh,” You huffed, slightly disappointed.

Ghost stilled, as if thinking before taking a deep breath.

“It has been lovely meeting you, my dear sister-in-law. It’s been a pleasure. Also- ” He paused. “I may have treated you rougher than necessary and I do apologise for that. If you ever need help, just send for me. I may not appear to be the most, let’s say, approachable. But I do hope that there is nothing but the best for you and I am looking forward to your wedding.”

“You are coming after all?” König finally spoke, surprise ringing in his voice as he turned to his brother.

Ghost nodded. “It’s not every day a brother of mine gets married. I need to make sure you don’t drown your own wedding guests.”

König forced a smile.

“Graves marries someone new every couple of years,” He interjected.

“Graves married and remarried so much, he hardly needs his elder brother to tell him how to plan a party. He knows what he is doing.”

Both brothers chuckled and you smiled at the sight, remembering your own brother.

“Before I go, dear sister, allow me to give you something.”

Ghost  reached into his coat. From the depths of his pockets he produced a huge leaf, rolled up into a package and bound together with a simple string.

“I suppose you have none yet, but a future queen should wear one. It would look good on your wedding day.”

You took the package from his hands and pressed it slightly, trying to guess what was inside.

“Thank you, Ghost. Why-“

“Open it.”

Obediently you opened the little knot holding the leaf together with slow, cold fingers and unrolling what was inside.

You gasped.

In your hands was a Kokoshnik, large and covered with fine embroidery and colourful stones of green and blue. It felt firm in your hands. And it wanted to be worn. Like a crown, proud and bright for a special day. At least one thing you would have for your wedding day.

You thought back a sob at the thought of your torn wedding dress, your fingers still holding the precious crown like an anchor.

“I am sure König will gladly help you put it on. But don’t lose it. I made it for you and there is no other like it. It will protect you when you walk in the forest.”

“I…”, you huffed, “…don’t know what to say. This is very beautiful. Thank you.”

Ghost just waved with his hand like it was nothing.

“Don’t say anything and just wear it to keep you safe. Do me that favour.”

You nodded, out of words.

“Well, I’ll be gone then. The forest calls me.” Ghost turned to the door and you started to get up to send him off. “Don’t you dare get up, sister. What’s the point of the Kokoshnik if you fall sick from the cold and exhaustion. No, stay right where you are.”

You fell back onto your spot, the moss blanket encasing you like a cocoon of earthly smell and warmth.

“Save travels then, Ghost.” You spoke. “Thank you again.”

“Don’t mention it.” He waved and stepped outside, followed by König.

You sat there, hearing them talk and laugh and wishing each other well without making much out of it.

Then, finally, Ghost was away.

The rest of your day was spent alone with your own thoughts. König, aside from making sure you ate and rested, hardly spoke to you. His distance confused you. It gave a feeling of newfound loneliness when you stared at the unfamiliar ceiling with the wrong knots in the wood and the wrong bedding around you as you leaned against the oven. Ghost’s reassurances just a couple of hours ago now felt like a lie. You were no queen. And there was no way for you to live long enough to ever learn how to be one for König that was good enough. No standing on a box or life saving spells could change that. The finality of your fate was devastatingly simple. You would drown and König, your beloved König, would find himself a better queen. Why else did he withdraw himself like that?

The mauling insecurities inside of you stopped you from asking.

Instead you listened to König rummaging upstairs while you dozed under your moss blanket, practised drawing letters in the ashes of your oven or thought about how you could fix your wedding dress. It was pointless but you had little else to do and so you continued like you had always done.

König had brought the dress out together with the rest of your wet belongings, hanging it up to dry in the sun. The liberating concentration kept you from your dark thoughts: you had watched the dress through the window, mentally placing one piece of rag over the other in the hopes of possibly having a saving idea as the rags swayed gently in the breeze. It had worked until the light grew low and the trees around the house in the garden had started to spawn more unpleasant shadows than welcome distractions.

You got up from your cosy spot and started preparing dinner. Still feeling weak, your legs carried you with a slight tremor as your whole body was plagued by a deep tiredness. It came from all those times not resting. It felt like all those tears not shed. It was a tiredness that wasn’t fixed by sleeping longer one night because it was deeper than the soreness in your muscles and bones. It was the dark abyss of water calling for you. But you could lie to yourself. Opting to go to bed and calling it a day in the hopes that tomorrow would be better. Sometimes, giving up was actually a smart thing.

You huffed, once again forced to consider the reality of your situation.

Going to bed? Where? Your bedroom was destroyed. And the other rooms in your house had been packed up and sealed when your family died. Back then it was too much to bear seeing their things and looking at the places they used to rest. Even now, under no condition were you ready or willing to disturb those rooms. The easiest for you would probably be to sleep here in the kitchen.

But what about König? Would he need to sleep too? Flood the rest of the house and destroy every last bit of habitable space as he took you out in your sleep? Or would he leave you tonight and watch as the human-monsters and monsters-monsters finally had their feast with you. The thought nearly entertained you. Maybe that was better than drowning and at least some poor Tschort would enjoy a bit of your precious meat.

You chuckled at your own morbid thoughts.

But it was not night yet, and maybe there was a bit of queenly pride inside of you yet as you decided to brace yourself for an overdue conversation with König, leaning against the kitchen counter for support.

You opted to make some food. Since it might be your last chance to enjoy a meal before you became a meal, you took your time. There was not much to be done for dinner: heating the left-over stew, cutting some bread made of acorn flour, setting the table. After you finished, you steeled yourself for the hardest part.

“König?” You called upstairs. “Would you like to eat dinner with me?”

You held your breath and waited as the rumbling from upstairs stopped.

“It’s fine if you are busy, but I am hungry and would love your company,” You coaxed.

Heavy steps sounded through the wooden house, causing the old stairs to creak under the weight of the Vodyanoy.

König emerged into the kitchen, bowing down slightly under the marginally too low ceiling and looking at you sheepishly.

“Are you sure, Bride?” He asked. “I haven’t finished repairing your room.”

You raised your eyebrows in surprise, too stunned to speak before you swallowed down a good chunk of your raging insecurities. 

“So that’s what you have been doing up there,” You finally said. “I did not know.”

König looked to the ground like he had been caught stealing goodies from the pantry. It was a look that made your knees weaker than even a day facing terrors could.

“I wanted to repair it. I wanted to apologise with more than words. It’s what good kings ought to do.” He explained looking immensely guilty.

Your breath hitched.

He cared?

You looked down, still thinking of your room and your ruined wedding dress. It did hurt you.

But there was hope because he cared. You nearly hated yourself how desperate you were from the affection of someone who you could never have.

“It’s fine,” You said, after a few moments of heavy silence as you fought the storm inside of you. “It’s fine for now. We will make it work and repair it together. It’s, ah, fine.”

He looked relieved as you looked up from your hands.

“I also want to apologise,” You continued. The words in your mouth felt relieving to spit out like bitter medicine. “I thought about this. I was really cross at you. Not entirely sure how much nicer I could have been considering the moment. But I don’t strive to talk to others like that, especially not my fiance. I just felt hurt and alone.”

He turned his head like the Heron when hunting little fish in the water.

“You have every right to be angry, dear,” König stated

“I...” You tried before stopping and starting anew. “That does not mean I am proud or okay with my words. Especially after Ghost explained to me that you probably overworked yourself on my behalf. I am not sure how to feel about that yet but it does not make me feel good. I don’t want you to suffer because of me. I feel so guilty. And like a burden.”

König stared at you.

“Dear,” He said softly. “I know you want to be good and kind. I know you are. But please give me your bad as well.”

You blinked at him.

“What?”

He raised his arms like a man at a loss of word, stumbling around the room until he turned back to you.

“Guess how I feel failing you over and over again when your reaction to me is kindness and surrender? I feel bad. The worst! Don’t do this to me. Be a burden. Be angry. Be the biggest inconvenient person wherever you go. Please be angry and demand better of me! I want all of you. Not just the nice parts.”

Your head was spinning. Was he…? Did he really…?

“I am not good enough!” König continued his tirade with a voice rising louder and louder like a tea kettle that had reached its boiling point. “I am who puts you in danger over and over again. I hardly protect you from the dangers of the world. I am a danger of the world. I am making a poor husband for you. But the reality is, I am not good enough to step away because I am selfish. So, how dare you make yourself feel any less than you are.”

His eyes gleamed with a madness you had never seen before in him as he lowered his voice with the last of his words. It was dangerous. A sign of warning that told you to step back and run as far away as you could like a good girl should.

But you were just invited to leave that behind you.

“I don't want you to leave either!” You hit back, squaring up to the challenge. “I just don’t want to feel like I am a constant problem. I am just a human! A peasant! And a bad one at that since I will likely starve next winter without help! I know nothing of how to be a queen! I nearly drown all the time! How can you not understand that I don’t feel like I am allowed to be a problem when my reality is that no one cares if I live or die!”

“Because you are wrong! I care.” König's eyes gleamed as he hissed his answer.

“Why?” You spit back, the fire in you burning and ready to torch any bridge behind without thinking.

“Because I love you.”

Königs words hung in the air, irretrievable and powerful enough to break whatever you two had.

You looked at him. His face was frozen in fear and panic. Like he had admitted to a crime he’d sworn to keep a secret.

He loved you. The thought raced through your mind, unsure where to be put and what to do with it now.

“I am sorry,” König said. “I understand. I will make sure you are okay as promised anyway and-”

“Please…” you managed to your own surprise.

“Please?” König asked with his eyes shining down at you.

You took a deep breath and all the courage in you that was left, “Please lean down so I can kiss you.”

König looked at you, too stunned maybe or unsure how to touch you without breaking this human body of yours, before finally kneeling down in one, not so smooth, motion. You stumbled forward, colliding into his chest and tangling in his arms before lifting your head and kissing him.

It was all teeth and desperation. König met your lips with a hunger matching yours, and an anger challenging your long hidden fury. He moaned and you wanted every bit of air you could get from him as you roamed his back and shoulders and arms and chest and neck, and at a certain point you got lost in him. You bit his lips and tasted blood. He snarled and pushed you back, catching your head before you could fall and hurt yourself. You stumbled and fell back anyway, taking him with you. The crash rumbled loudly as König caught himself on his arms, hovering above you before continuing where you had left off. His mouth was addicting, and willingly you answered his salty lips and tongue. A bit of revealed skin at his neck here, a tug at your shirt there. You scooted up feeling hot and needing that damn old shirt off your body because you were burning up with it. Instead of getting it off quickly you got yourself tangled in the large sleeves, nearly ready to just tear it off your body as you felt Königs hands pulling at the fabric and freeing you. The kiss of the cooling air on your skin made you still. For a moment you felt shy, making you cross your arms in instinct before your chest.

König looked at you from a position that was something between kneeling, sitting and lying before you, also half out of his clothes with his Rubacha hanging around his neck and head.

“Not sure why I feel like this is new, now.” You admitted. “You have seen me naked before.”

“That was a different nakedness,” König offered and finished getting the shirt off. “This is new.”

You nodded, understanding entirely what he meant, and continued to feel vulnerable. What were you supposed to do? You had no idea what you wanted now except being close to König.

“We don’t have to continue, my love.” Your fiance said.

You nodded again, reassured yet still utterly lost on what to do.

König scooted closer and slowly raised his hands, “Can I touch you? I just want to hold you.”

Instead of bothering with words or another creative and variety serving nod, you leaned into him. Königs warm hands caught you, pressed you closer to him and embraced you.

You hummed.

“Is this good?”

“Yeah, I am sorry-”

“No,” König shut down instantly. “No more ‘sorry’ for you tonight. Or ever. I really meant that.”

You knitted your eyebrows together in confusion.

“But what if I do something bad?” You countered as you enjoyed feeling close to König. “Shouldn’t I say sorry at some point?”

“To me? Always.” König grinned teasingly before growing serious. “The rest of the world, however, has a lot of apologising to do before you ever get back into a situation to be sorry for something, dear.”

“You just want me to be as bad as you are,” You teased back half-heartedly.

“Naturally.”

You stayed silent, not sure what to say or do except enjoying being safe and loved in Königs arms as you mindlessly explored his back and chest with your fingers, drawing little circles and charms into his wonderful skin.

“We should talk about the sleeping situation tonight.” You finally spoke, breaking the silent spell over you.

“Yeah.” König agreed. “I have an idea.”

Cultural Context Notes:

The theme of the unkillable giants as beings connected to nature can be found in the Edda, but it’s not the only place this theme is explored. It’s just the most clear one I thought of, and can be put into words as a place to maybe start researching if your are interested in that. The idea of hitting König as something akin to a giant to wake him up, comes from the tale of Thor and Skrímnir.

Generally, the idea of paralleling gods/godlike beings, humans and giants, escalated into a bit of a philosophical excursion at the kitchen table when I mentioned how the story is unfolding, leading to the question what exactly the difference between godlings, giants and humans is and if there even is one. In plenty of pre-Christian European tales, there aren’t boundaries between godlike beings and humans. If a human stays with a godlike being, they kind of tag along and don’t die like they would have had when staying with their fellow humans. Sometimes there is an explanation for it (godly ancestry, nectar or Idun’s apples, magical blessings), sometimes there isn’t (Thialfi and Röskva as Thor’s entourage, general trope of humans in service of or in marriage with a non-human being). 

Warming stones or using ceramics is an old practice when hot water bottles weren’t available.

There are several legends and myths associating the water or waters generally with snakes. Naturally, there is the saga of the Midgard snake, encompassing the world in Norse mythology. The theme of a great water snake or mermaid-like half-fish, half-human body encompassing the world also comes up in Greek mythology in the figure of Oceanos as the great river god and father of river gods. Since we don’t have plenty of sources about old Slavic beliefs, I am taking the liberty and filling some gaps here from geographically closer regions where we do have more sources on mythology.

Acorn is edible and can be made into a fine flour from which it is possible to bake bread. However, do not just make flour from acorns. It’s a huge process to disinfect and debitter acorns before grinding them into flour. There is a reason why nowadays most cultures opt for utilising cultivated crops like grains and legumes instead of using low yield giving nuts and seeds. (Also, we really need those acorns as food for wild animals and for reforestation!) Cultivation of plants is a huge game changer for human life quality and communal living. It’s really cool. But it does require more cooperative systems of labour since harvesting and processing plants like grain requires sharing of work, space to do it, and natural weather & ground conditions to grow. Plus the grain in itself needs to be cultivated first. And these amazing food sources can be exploited by having control over places in which one can grow certain high yielding crops which can trigger war and oppression. Most noticeably in the Central and Eastern European region, which is obviously what I write about a lot, this is the case with Ukraine. This now independent country has good climate and ground conditions, yielding great harvests of wheat grain and sunflower, leading to the region being dubbed the Granary of Europe. Ukraine was fought over not just today but also occupied in historical moments like WW2 by the Nazis or under the Russian Empire precisely to have access to these high yielding conditions. So, food and where food comes from, is an important angle to understand plenty of conflicts, imperial oppression and cultures. I invite you to read more about the history of grain, why Ukraine has a flag literally depicting a grain filed under the blue sky or maybe learning how to make bread yourself. To return to my point:  Bride lives in an area which has seasons. However, the climate is cooler with lots of swamps and waters around. The forest takes most of the shore space in her immediate vicinity. She has a garden in which she (tries to) grow buckwheat, a very climate-resistant pseudo grain. And technically she owns fields, but has no way to work them on her own due to the lack of manpower, possible lack of seeds, as well as timing issues for the sowing. But common grains like wheat require a warm and steady dry climate which is not the case here. Other grains like rye are historically common in Central and Eastern Europe, however one needs to plant them first and after the harvest it still requires labour to dry and deshell the rye first, a luxury that Bride does not have because she has been on her own for most of the year. So, to finish this long excursion on grains and flours - she uses acorn flour for bread because she was isolated and on her own. Also, agriculture is really cool and maybe you will think about the amount of labour, logistics, politics and historical development when biting into something flour based.

Vodyanitza is just the female version of Vodynoy

Rubacha is the name of the traditional linen shirt worn by historically both men and women but nowadays mostly associated with male clothing traditions. This shirt is often loosely fitted and bound at the hip with a belt. Having embroidery, especially red embroidery on a Rubacha is very common as red natural dye was widely available in the region. The embroidery and introduction of other colours is dependent on the exact time and place a Rubacha comes from. Even nowadays the Rubacha is part of plenty of Eastern European traditional dresses.

Quick reminder: a Tschort is a type of evil spirit.

Would you like to be tagged as well? send me a message.

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[cowyolks]

TAVISH’S FIC RECS

A collection of works that read like literature that I recommend to readers.

SERIES

He Who Comes from under the Water @itsagrimm

A stunningly diverse read that is simply unique and undeniably breathtaking. The series dives into Eastern European and Slavic culture and folklore, illustrating König to be a Vodyanoy. Along with the easy to read material, Grimm adds interesting research and citations at the end of every chapter. (König x AFAB! Reader)

Bleeding Blue @nsharks

A beautiful realistic series that takes place in a “zombie” apocalypse. The reader is found by Ghost and his daughter, Blue. Blue is such a well written original character, sometimes I catch myself reading other fics and I’m like “where’s Blue?” All the relationships and scenarios are so well thought out. Twix, as the reader is nicknamed, finds herself bonding with the two of them. This is such an excellent slow burn and a must read. (Simon “Ghost” Riley x AFAB! Reader)

Hold your Face Away from the Light @fr0ntier

My god how can this get steamier? Fr0ntier is such a talented gremlin. This two part series is a Cowboy/Western Au that illustrates Ghost as the embodiment of revenge. It’s so unique it’s hard to describe, but be prepared to cry, from tears to between your legs. (Simon “Ghost” Riley x AFAB! Reader)

The Little Things @halfmoth-halfman

This series is so unique because it is written in Soap’s point of view. I love this series so much because it’s little signs of affection that just make me swoon. I love how Mothie portrayed Ghost and how he subtly loves on the Reader. Excellent! (Simon “Ghost” Riley x AFAB! Reader)

ONE-SHOTS

Laughing Poets @halcyone-of-the-sea

God, anything that @halcyone-of-the-sea writes is pure gold. So make sure you check out their masterlist! But this fic captivated me because it’s so well written. Even the battle scenes make it feel like you’re there. The reader goes through so much pain and torture and you can really feel Keegan’s silent pain and anguish to save the reader. It’s absolutely amazing and full of little tweaks that make you squeal in fluffiness. (Keegan Russ x AFAB! Reader)

Everything that Lives is Gone to Waste @day0walker

Is there ever a bad time to talk to Elliot about stinky men? GOD, this fic is so hot it’ll make you evaporate, you can’t just put König in a ghillie suit and expect me not to simp. The way he’s described in this fic is just so fuckin’ hot. A superb read that gets you hot and bothered. (König x AFAB!Reader)

Foolish Antics and Antique Evenings @fr0ntier

Ring, Ring, Ring! This is by far the most beautiful written Soap fic in this entire app (in my humble opinion). It’s so lightheartedly steamy. The Spit Wizard once again nailed Soap’s personality to a T. He’s hilariously hot in this fic, stupidly so. I recommend to anyone in need of a hot pick-me-up. (John “Soap” MacTavish x AFAB! Reader)

Her Whole Entire John Price Masterlist @yeyinde

I knew I had to include Lev’s fics in my recommendations, but it was too hard to choose only one fic. She’s essentially the queen of all things Captain John Price. All of her works are steamy and read like poetry. I recommend Past and Pending and Underdressed. (Captain John Price x AFAB! Reader)

Woe to the Deer who is Courted by the Wolf @toshidou

One of the hottest things I ever read. I’m extremely inclined to reading vampire AUs. The fact that it is so predator/prey like is so gorgeous. I love the way König is written in this, details are superior and have you holding your breath the whole time. (Vampire! König x AFAB! Reader)

Truth or Dare @soapyghost

Talking about steamy hold-your-breath smut? This is it folks. An excellent one-shot that describes the readers horrible sex life, until Price comes along and fixes that. It’s refreshing to read him as such a mature partner, and as always gets me hot and bothered. (John Price x AFAB! Reader)

ART

No one ever recommends art blogs so I want to be one of the first.

@egg-ball stunning! Everything that they create is steamy and makes me go “wow!”

@timhex Gorgeous Art!

@appleciderp Always go to Apple’s blog for a good laugh at their many GhostSoap panels.

@bluegiragi all of their art is amazingly hot. I like how they illustrate König. And their recent works of all the boys as monsters…. Whew!

More to be added!

[itsagrimm]

Do we know when a new chapter for he who comes from the water will be?

I am finishing up the last lines so it should be done this or next week, depending on what @queenquazar as the best beta reader one could ask for, will say about this draft.

it took me longer than expected. sorry for the wait.

[itsagrimm]

Wanted to say that I love, love, love your vodyanoy König story all it’s world-building! It’s my favorite ongoing fic on CoD tumblr rn ;w;

I wanted to ask what König was ever like as a child, if vodyanoy even grow similarly to people just…taking more time? Do they just appear and learn as they go? I’m just curious at how “early” König may have differed from his current self. Either way, thank you so much and I look forward to the next installment! \owo/

thank you. that's quite an honour. 💕

in the stories i am familiar with there is no younger or even child Vodyanoy. They are all grown and often older men. I already de-aged Vodyanoy König bc I wasn't planning on working on age gap issues on top of all the other things in the series. Since time and ageing is undefined in the world of hwcfutw, I am going with the most soft magic approach possible: König was once a child. We don't know when and for how long. He was cute and i imagine him swimming races against the fishes. We also don't know how he came to be and if he has parents or caretakers. König is bound to the land and it's waters. Since the land and the waterways were always there, he too was always there.

Same goes for Leshy Ghost, Koschei Graves and Baba Yaga Farah.

[itsagrimm]

he forgot to brush his hair before sleeping.

[itsagrimm]

since i have several drafts and extensive notes on the he who comes from under the water AU about characters like ghost, price and soap but never any time to actually write out in full a little question:

would you be interested in short outlines?

bc it will take me forever to finish these otherwise

[itsagrimm]

Summary:

With all your family dead due to unfortunate circumstances and no one left who can keep the village from shunning you as a cursed girl, you find yourself contemplating your options without a husband until a husband presents himself to you.

Story ongoing! I just have very little time to write which is why the updates take so long

Masterlist:

The Promised Bride

A Caring Man

The Fish, the Fox and the Fairy Lights

Deep Waters

Family Visit

Safekeeping

The Knife

A Fishing Line of Memories

Of Moons and Monsters

Little Giants

The Dive

at some point, I promise: The Dowery

tbc

Art of Baba Yaga / Farah Karim by @the-running-elf

Art of Leshy / Simon Ghost Riley by @the-running-elf

Art of Vodyanoy / König by @the-running-elf

Memes by @the-running-elf

Vodyanoy König ABC

Artwork from hwcfutw by @f3liz33

Research Special general information about the story's meta text & references

special thanks for @queenquazar and @sandinthemachine for talking SO MUCH about folklore with me.

[itsagrimm]

He Who Comes from under the Water

Chapter 9 - Of Moons and Monsters

Monster!König X she/her afab Reader

CN mentions of death, mentions of murder, mentions of cannibalism, arranged marriage, disrespecting and displaying a corpse, ableist language, internalised toxic masculinity, creepy observers with no understanding of boundaries, warning for those who have issues with paranoia, König has issues and needs fairy tale therapy

Not sure how the phases of the moon work? Click here.

Notes for better understanding at the bottom!

Partly beta-read by the amazing @queenquazar. There are typos in there but I need to publish this asap before spiralling into another round of rewriting this for the 10th time. also, thank you so much for baring with me.

6.9k words

Masterlist

this is a hit or miss chapter. love it or hate it. i am ready to throw out my laptop bc this chapter was hard to write.

Oh and I made a playlist for this series. Enjoy.

As the King of Everything from Under the Water, König never grew tired.

As a man, König felt like he was grinding his bones into dust.

The never-ending work started to get to him, eternal weariness was wearing him down like a stone getting chipped away in the currents.

He yawned.

During the day König worked on the Half-Palace. The Half-Palace was getting close to being done, rising up into the sky as high up as it reached down low and deep into the waters. It was a marvel. But König was not done yet, working tirelessly to finish his new residence to finally marry and bring his fiancé home safely.

During the night König guarded his Bride. With his axe in his hands, he stalked her garden, carefully avoiding her strawberry patches and making sure no villager or malevolent creature harmed her. The rumours of a human maiden marrying the Vodyanoy had made its rounds, and König started to see more unusual unwelcome guests creeping in the shadows. Sometimes he found villagers too, boys who turned on their heels just at the sight of König’s giant frame, axe, and piercing deep blue, ever-seeing eyes. Not all the trespassers were clever enough to run away at the sight of him. Twice König used his axe and spilled blood. First time it was a Tschort trying to sneak through the kitchen window. The other time a Kikimora nearly made her way to the Bride’s window. König got to them both in time, killing the intruders with quick blows of his axe and hanging them up in the alder tree around the bride’s house for the night as a warning. The first time his bride cried out at the sight of it, the second time she did not cry anymore.

During the few moments in between when he walked at the lakes beach with her or closed his eyes for a moment, worry consumed any thought in König’s mind. His Bride was fragile. The creeping beings in the shadows wanted her blood, her tender flesh, her inheritance. There was danger everywhere and König started to feel on edge from being on the lookout all the time. In all his life he had experienced worries and insecurities. Now he had learned to fear - for her.

In those moments König wished he could just ignore all tradition and carry her to the half-finished Half-Palace before the wedding to keep her out of the hands of those that wanted to tear and bite and kill and devour her. But then he looked at his own hands - long clawed fingers that could wrap around her neck and break it like a twig or drag her down the deep waters until she was nothing but a lifeless body. The first time that realisation hit him, it had mortified König. He was a danger - just like all the others. And she was just a girl. A girl that managed to get tangled up with him. Baba Jaga’s words still hung over him, telling him he had to sacrifice something to keep his Bride safe. Something deep inside of him knew he had done it wrong, all of it so far. Her fear of water was testimony of it. And so he sacrificed everything for her. But one question remained.

Will it be enough?

Feeling tired and drained, König sighed and made another round to check for danger. For now, no one was there but the moon, rising over the gable of the Bride’s house.

Peaceful, calm, familiar.

König nodded in greeting to the silent lunar wanderer. At least the moon was not out for his Bride. For now.

Of course, the thin slice of the waxing crescent did not nod back.

It was the moon after all.

König let himself fall onto the grass again, leaning against her door and closed his eyes.

A moment, just a moment of rest.

Rest.

Rest.

Rest…

Sleep was alluring. It called to him like the Rusalkis called for him to return to just being in the water.

Just a little bit...

Just a bit closer…

No harm in it…

With a low “thud” the axe slipped out of his hands, waking König back up from his light short slumber.

König shook his head.

No! He had to stay up. Another Tschort could try to crawl in any moment or Ivar might wipe up the village into a frenzy and come for her. His Bride was so frail in comparison to him, a little maiden and nothing more. Just yesterday she cut herself with a kitchen knife. Or was it tomorrow? Does not matter! One day she would hurt herself again and he had to make sure that would not happen. He could take it, not sleeping and working every moment. His body will withstand. He was a king after all! He was her guardian, her fiancé and soon-to-be husband, her man.

And she was worthy of König to grind himself down as a payback for the life he had condemned her to and the pain he would cause her with his huge hands and sharp claws. Sleep and labour was a necessary sacrifice.

“You are an idiot.”

König looked up, searching for the source of those words.

“Oh, don’t look so surprised. You are an idiot and deep down you know it already.”

König got up from his spot, taking up his axe.

“Who is it! Come out! Show yourself!” The king called.

“I am not hiding myself. You just don’t see what is in plain sight like the fool that you are.”

Confused, König's head whipped around, searching for whoever was talking to him.

“Here, little king. Up!” The voice called. “You are not used to looking up when speaking, aren’t you?”

As told, König looked up while raising the axe in expectation to see a new threat, a new danger, a new assailant.

What he saw instead was the moon.

“Hello.”

 König blinked, not understanding how and why the thin lunar sickle was smiling down at him.

“Don’t look so surprised!” the moon scolded with a laughing tone. “You greeted me yourself.”

“How?” König asked, lowering the axe.

“You are asking me how I can speak?”

König considered the moon's words before smiling shyly like a kid getting caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

“Okay, that’s fair. You can speak just like I can.”

If the moon could nod it would have done so. Somehow König felt like far out in the interstellar realm of implausibility the moon indeed did nod at him.

“Why after millennia of not speaking to me you do now, moon? I greet you twice a day.”

“I grew to like you, little one. And I got bored watching you self-mortifying yourself. It was entertaining for a while until it became the most pointless thing I have witnessed in a long time.”

“What do you mean, Moon? I am not mortifying myself! How would you even know.”

The moon raised an eyebrow at König. Somehow it did that.

“Please. I have better eyes for that than you, little king. I do nothing else but watch and witness.”

Unconvinced, König crossed his arms.

“What do you know about me and my worries?” He countered.

“Only about half of it. I just see you at night.” The moon admitted. “Shame really. You doing everything else but talking to your fiancé is quite the sight.”

“What is there to talk about?” König replied. “Spare me. Everything is clear. She is just a nice girl who ended up engaged with me, so I have the duty to protect her.”

“Sure, little king. Then you would have no issue just crossing that doorstep of hers and telling her that. Sacrifice the facade and just take her to that Half-Palace of yours and be done with it. It’s all just formalities and traditions at this point. You are just concerned for her safety.”

“I am concerned for her safety.”

König gazed around the dark garden. There was the spot where Ivar had threatened his Bride. And the alder tree König had strung up those that had wanted to harm her. And the axe with which nowadays he did as much killing and fighting as he did building.

“That’s all?”

“That’s all.”

XXX

König looked at the Bride’s door. The familiar wooden frame she walked through every day. It would be easy to just open it and go in. Or knock? König felt like she would appreciate a knock before getting dragged out of her family home in the middle of the night in the name of her safety and his pragmatic marital claims.

Up in the night sky the thin moon sickle was grinning at the sight of the fool calling himself King, silent and expectant to watch something - anything - happen.

But it did not.

Not every night was calm and spent in solitude.

A bunch of laughing and giggling Rusalkis decided to join him and the occasionally appearing fox on his guard post. König looked around, seeing the half-moon rise above the horizon. It had been silent ever since that night a while back.

Of course, the Bride was still sleeping in her own house.

Of course, he had not even attempted to move her from it.

They were still unmarried.

It was tradition König told himself.

She would not want to be in the nearby finished castle with him anyway.

“Why so grim dear Vodyanoy?”

Startled, König spinned around, teeth barren and the axe in his hands.

“Easy.” A rusalka straying behind soothingly replied, her hands up.

König stilled.

“Oh it is you, Lada.” He said and lowered his axe, “I am sorry. I thought someone had crept up to me.”

Lada leaned forward. Her pretty eyes gazed up at him as she lowered her hands.

“You know, not everyone is out there to get you or the Devitsa, Vodyanoy. Take a rest. We can guard her in the meantime.”

“No.” He grumbled. “It’s nice that you are here to help, but she is my responsibility to carry. I brought this upon her.”

Curiously, she leaned forward.

“Oh, you do that a lot these days, König.” Her words splashing down her lips like a lively spring, unimpressed by the near display of violence moments before. “Always responsibility. Always offering yourself up like that makes a difference. Tell me, is this spectacle for you or her?”

“It’s not a spectacle.” König replied, moving back from her and crossing his arms before him.

Lada grinned.

“Alright. Sure. Good luck.” She declared and waved a goodbye at him before, jumping back like a firefly raving in zig zag over a pond's water. König watched Lada return to the other Rusalkis, giving a sharp, toothy and nearly careless smile to flirt with the Fox. They seemed so content with chatting in the moonlight. As if stalking and hunting intruders was a Rusalki past-time. Knowing the Rusalkis it probably was.

König suppressed a yawn, unwilling to admit Lada was right. He really needed to take a break. Soon, when he was married and the bride was safe. He would have given anything he had in him then. But until the wedding there was no point of even thinking about rest or the life leisure he had known before.

Was he really that busy all the time?

Unapproachable and lost in his own thoughts nowadays?

König remembered how much time he used to spend with the Rusalkis. Oh, he did. They had played, filling the air with splashed water, with laughter, with moans.

It felt so long ago.

He hadn’t even thought about it.

Would his marriage remove him forever from that part of his life?

He stilled as the realisation hit. It hurt. But only a little.

Thinking about the Bride's little human fingers that tangled his hair, asking him how his day was, telling him about hers pleased him. König had gotten used to the Bride in his life so quickly, he wanted more of it.

But enough to stop lust and satisfy his more carnal desires?

She…

You promised to guard her, protect her, make her your Queen. Nothing else. König reminded himself unhappily and looked up, searching for answers in the night sky.

There were none, only the looming moon.

It was as if the half-moon was watching him with mockery, observing König’s thoughts and temptations.

König grunted.

Fine, maybe she was charming in many ways. He had to admit that to himself. But maybe that was another sacrifice he had to make for the sake of her. König was sure they could find an arrangement at some point. There was little he promised nor expected from her outside of their marriage. But that was for a moment in the future when he had the right words for it.

Until then, his tasks were easy: No sleep, no leisure, no lust.

König tapped on the hilt of the axe. It’s been a couple of days since he had to use it as a weapon and the calm waiting was wearing him down nearly as much as thinking about his forbidden Bride - her clever remarks, her unrelenting will to life, her careful steps around water. If he asked her opinion about his sacrifices she would say something wise. She always seemed to do, giving him little knowing looks over tea cups, over the lake, over hot puffs of breath escaping her lips. And when she spoke her words rang in his ear like music. Melodic syllables falling from her mouth like raindrops and teaching him of the world.

Now the bride's words were siren songs to him.

He sat down into the grass and watched the house of the bride. There she was, sleeping her well earned rest. And he was outside where he belonged with his claws and flaws and desires. He looked up to the sky. Cold stars and the unmoving moon grinned down at him, silent and calm unlike his thoughts. König wondered if it was easier that way, just to watch and never to do. Just to witness but never to participate.

No wonder the moon is a judgy creep.

König frowned, wishing he did not feel drained, unsure and like he had made the wrong decision.

Let them see. I will do right by her - König promised to himself.

XXX

The night was pleasant but cold. It had rained and the now cleared sky and fresh breeze added to the unusually cold summer weather. König was sitting right under the ledge of the roof, watching drops of the previous rain roll down from the leaves and running into little pools of water. It was calming. And with humid weather like that he knew at least no villager would show up, giving him one thing less to worry about.

König heard her steps before he saw her step out into the night. He looked up.

“König.” She greeted with a blanket around her shoulders. “Would you mind company? The full moon is so bright, and the rain kept drumming against the roof. I cannot sleep.”

He nodded before suspiciously eyeing the massive, silent luminary above them.

Creep.

She settled next to him under the dry roof, facing the dark garden and treeline with him.

“Are you okay?”

Her words reached into him and laughed at his convictions. Just hearing her voice made something stir in him.

“There was so little time these past days and we hardly spoke.” She continued. ”Can I help with something?”

König shook his head before even thinking.

His burden, not hers.

“No, Bride. You cannot fight the monsters lying in wait. You can’t even lift my axe.”

The thought of her facing another Kikimora, a Tschort or an angered, disapproving Rusalka terrified him. She did not even have teeth to tear and bite.

“Is fighting the only way to help?”

He looked down at her, the little pretty thing that he spent the day admiring while working and the night desperately trying not to think about.

She pressed her thighs closer to her body for warmth.

Tangled limbs, desperate touches, heated kisses. He could warm her up.

Instead, he lifted his arm and silently invited her closer. No point in keeping her cold.

“Yes, it is but it is unpleasant work, my Bride. We will marry soon, and you will be safe in the Half-Palace. Do not worry yourself.”

She moved closer, pressing herself into his warm body. With a stern look more for himself than to others König commanded the last of the drops on the grass and from the dripping roof not to touch his shivering maiden.

Of course, she did not notice, only purring like a cat before the warming fire.

For a moment they stayed like that as if she was thinking about his words while König closed his eyes for a moment, indulging in it.

“What will happen with my family’s house? I am fond of this place.” She asked finally.

König sighed and opened his eyes.

“Whatever you want, Bride. It is yours and it always will be.” He chuckled grimly. “Maybe you want to stay here every once in a while, when you grow tired of my company.”

“Do you think you are an unpleasant presence to be around?”

“At times.” He admitted.

“I do not.”

“You are too kind.”

“I doubt that.”

There it was again, the banter. She met him exactly at his level, hitting him playfully where he would never expect it. There was a lightness in her words that made him nearly believe her. König could not help but grin to himself while pressing her slightly closer.

“Any idea about the sacrifice?” She asked while leaning into him to cover his massive frame with what was left of the blanket. A cute but pointless gesture.

“I have some ideas,” König resigned. “But there is no way to be sure it is working and I doubt you want to test it.”

She shivered.

“No.” Her voice was thin and frail, hitting him with guilt.

“I think I need to ask my brothers for help.” König continued. ”But I'm not sure that is wise. It could be dangerous.”

She nodded. “I suppose dealing with family can be like that sometimes.”

König stilled, thinking about her words and listening to the drumming sound of the rain.

“Hmm, I suppose you know a lot about that,” He hummed and paused before daring to speak again. “May I ask … are you angry at your family? For marrying you off to me?”

It was as if he was asking the bravest question of all.

She shifted around.

“Sometimes,” She admitted. “It’s hard because till this day I love my family. But to be fair, marrying me off to a stranger was just the last thing of a long line of things that weren’t as well thought through or kind as they might have told themselves. Who knows. They are dead now and I am here. Could be worse.”

He nodded, trying not to feel too much about her words. Marrying him was bearable. König hardly blamed her. Still, it hurt more than he had expected. Was that pain another sacrifice?

“Could be worse.” He repeated flatly.

“Well now you make it sound bad. That’s not what I meant.” She muzzled into him as if she truly wanted to be there.

König closed his eyes, reminding himself not to lie to himself. This was just a practical arrangement for her. For him.

He cleared his throat.

“So, what do you think we should do?” The Vodyanoy changed the subject. “One brother you already know of is Simon. We used to be close but something happened and since then he is like a ghost of himself, moody and withdrawn but capable of kind and terrible things at the same time. It’s hard to know with him. He never formally claimed his kingdom, but everybody knows not to cross the master of the forest, the Leshy.”

The forest turned silent as if knowing that König talked about its master.

“What are the things that make him dangerous to be around?” Her voice was so little in the woodland's silence, so brave to speak.

König swallowed, remembering his days with his brother. They were long gone, lost in a sea of blood.

“Simon taught me how to kill.”

The forest stayed silent, as if trying not to breathe like an animal of prey sensing a possible predator.

“Oh.” Brave like a single flame in the dark she whispered into the night, breaking the silence, and releasing the forest from the dark grip of its master.

“I have other brothers but the one who could help is the deathless one - Koschei, the master of bones and battlefields. Nowadays he goes by the name Graves.”

“Charming. Leaves little to the imagination why he could be dangerous.”

He grunted in agreement.

“That’s quite a family I am marrying into.” The bride paused. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised.”

“Scared?”

She shrugged.

“Only a fool would not fear a brother-in-law who is called deathless or for whom the forest dies down.”

Brave one.

“You do not have to marry me and into this family. You know that, right my Bride?” It felt right to say it and offer her a way out from the terror that was his presence.

She stared into the cold wet forest, unmoving and expressionless.

König wished he knew what she truly thought of right now.

“Do you not want me as your bride?” She asked finally with a flat voice.

Her lips singing the siren song. What does marriage even mean at this point? 

“I promised it, did I not?” He said instead.

She nodded, a stony expression on her face.

“So, we stick to it.”

“Aye.”

König felt tired. Like he had run out of words, keeping it short and safe instead of pouring out his heart and burdening her. If only he could rest, lay down next to her and close his eyes.

“You say Simon was here?” The Bride mused. “He was the one to point out the danger to me. If he knew how to get rid of it or wanted to help, he would have done it. But he did not. I don’t think we can count on him here. Which leaves…”

“Koschei.”

König felt the corners of his mouth drop down into a disapproving frown.

He knew she was right. Still…

“Maybe there is a safer, cleverer way to engage with him?” The Bride continued. “He is the Deathless. I am sure he might know something and maybe a simple letter or a messenger will be enough. What do you think?”

Still unhappy, König considered her idea. It was sound. Yet the mere thought of having to ask his brother for help and being in debt to him worried him more than he wanted to admit. Graves always had a thing for pretty girls. And for his Bride to draw the attention of Koschei the Deathless did not only feel like asking for disaster but evoked new fears in König.

What if Graves would like her and do as he had done with many girls before?

A new ugly thought roared its head up.

What if the Bride would prefer Graves over him?

“If i keep practising my writing I can write to him.” His dearest Bride added. “I could ask for his council as a bridal gift. What kind of man would refuse or violate that?”

König took a deep breath. He hated how right she was.

“I could work but-”

“Perfect. Let us do it soon.”

Her voice left him as little room to argue as there was left under the blanket between her and König.

“Fine.” He surrendered like driftwood to the currents.

Instead of pushing for more she just sighed herself, relaxing into him and staring into the dark.

She will just be my Queen. König thought to himself, surprised by his own possessiveness. As long as she is safe, it will be fine. No need to worry more than usual.

She was here, at his side and safe.

Nothing more than someone like him could expect or ask for.

He closed his eyes again to enjoy the feeling of the Bride so close to him before straightening up and concentrating on being on guard again.

She yawned, muzzling closer.

“I might fall asleep here.” She admitted. “Is that a problem?”

“Not at all, Bride.” König replied with a feeling he wasn’t familiar with, “I’ll be there.”

xxx

It felt ridiculous how much König loathed the thought of his Bride meeting Graves. He knew it was unfair, hating what his own insecurities and worries did to him. The Bride had suggested a plan and he was the one not sticking to it, that odd feeling in his stomach stopping him from teaching her how to write or write Graves himself. Instead, König could not help but make excuses.

It’s late…

I am busy right now…

Maybe tomorrow…

König told himself that his worries and reservations were justified. He was just cautious. It was Graves after all, the Deathless, the one called master of bones and battlegrounds. And the Bride was so fragile in comparison to all those monsters and men.

“Just talk to her, boy!” The moon nearly shouted down from its high place one night right before vanishing behind a cloud. 

König only shook his head.

The Bride was his responsibility and it was his duty to protect her from the world. That was his sacrifice. It had to be the answer. But then doubt whispered again to him.

Not good enough, Graves will be better for her.

A day passed, a night, another day. The Half-Palace was shaping up and König was dreading to be finished. He would bring her home then, far away from all those who were out for her blood.

But then she would be alone - with him.

Suddenly the axe was looking tiny in his hands, just a simple twig in clawed fingers made to rip and tear and drown.

He felt stuck - he was the reason for her troubles but also the key to her safety. He wanted to keep away but then how was he supposed to guard her? He wanted to marry her and be done with it. But what did marriage even mean for him? For her? Was it the delight in her presence he felt? The excitement of just talking to her? The secret longing to take her deep into the waters and embrace her with everything minor that he was, feeling her bare skin and tangled limbs and bubbles of air escaping her moaning lips and reminding him it would be the death of her.

Confusion dripped more into his tired and worn mind.

He was scared of himself and what he was capable of doing.

But no one could understand what he was anyway.

And so König kept it to himself.

That night he was alone. The Fox had gone home. He had young to play with tonight, he had said, and König had only nodded.

Yeah, yeah, sure, I understand.

Lada and all the other Rusalki left for some rest in the ponds, and rivers and lakes.

Deep down König knew that he needed some break as well.

But he was afraid of leaving the Bride alone or staying alone in the house with her. He was a danger too after all.

Defeated, he sat on his regular spot next to the door, gazing through the garden and hoping for nothing and something to happen at the same time.

The axe in his hand had started to rust a bit from all the blood it had spilled. A long time ago it had been a gift from his brother Simon, back when they were close.

“It does not have to be this painful, you know?”

König looked up, searching for the source of the voice. The garden with its tidy strawberry patches and attempts of growing buckwheat and sunflowers was as untrodden as it had been the last time he made his rounds. 

“Still up here, little king.”

König looked up and the thin crescent of the waning moon smiled down softly at him.

König leaned back against the wall of the house.

“What do you want, Moon? I am tired. I don’t need a lecture or getting shouted at again.”

The grand luminary of the night sky stayed silent. König wondered if that was all then and prepared to get up again for another patrol round.

“I am sorry. I should not have done that.”

The Vodyanoy blinked in surprise.

“Is the mighty Moon apologising? To me?”

“Don’t make this harder than it is, little king.”

König crossed his arms but nodded.

“Fine. Your apology is welcome. What do you want, Moon?”

“I just want peace between us. Of all your brothers and the old beings walking this earth I feel the closest you. The waters and I… There is some magic working between us and I felt responsible to say something but I overstepped. That is not how good-”, the moon paused, “Neighbours, let’s say neighbours are supposed to be.”

König huffed.

“You are a creepy neighbour, you know that?”

Moon in its interstellar ways giggled.

“I am the watcher in the night. What else did you expect?”

 “Maybe, but I don’t have to like it.”

The moon kept smiling.

“If you ever have children I will watch them and keep them safe just like I watch you and just like I watch your Bride.”

“I don’t trust that. And I doubt I will ever have children.”

“Who knows. That’s not up to me.”

They stayed silent.

Nervously, König grinded his teeth and considered what he had heard.

“You watch her too?”

“Yes.”

“Is she okay? Clearly all of this must get to her. And the arranged marriage…”

“Little King”, the moon whispered near softly, “Isn’t that something you should ask her yourself? Be brave. Talk to her.”

“You keep pushing me to talk to her!” König cried out in frustration. “Why? It wouldn't matter anyway! There is nothing to say. Our marriage is just a facade. I am the one most likely to harm her and there is nothing I could say or do to remedy that.”

The anger of the past months, bottled up and pushed down, made their way out of König. Like a hurt animal he howled his words up to the moon.

He jumped up. The axe was ready swinging in his hands, clawed and ready.

If he could, König would have picked a fight with whoever crossed his path just for the sake of it. But there was just the moon - cold and far away.

He screamed in anger.

“I do everything! And it’s not enough. I AM NOT ENOUGH!” König stalked around the grass and felt his anger dissipate with every step getting heavier and heavier. 

“I am not enough.” He repeated with finality and came to a halt. “And I never will be.”

It was silent. 

Conscious about his outbreak he looked around. Not a leaf dared to move around him. Ashamed he fell into the grass and covered his face.

“I am sorry. It was too much.” König mumbled as he tried to catch his breath and fight the tears. “I am not like that normally.”

“I know, König. It’s okay.”

The moon's words felt like the last push. König cried. He did not know why. Some of it he understood. But a lot were just tears he had to shed years, months, nights ago and now he did not know why he cried.

Heaving for air in between his sobs, König hears the moon's soft words. 

“Oh it’s okay, König. It’s fine, little king. It’s fine…”

He was the water and the water him. Köng’s tears flowed endlessly until he was done and only a tired void was left in him.

He looked up to the moon, staring down at him. The soft smiling crescent unchanging and familiar, surrounded by a countless number of stars shining down at him.

“I am sorry for … this.” König started.

“No.” the moon interrupted. “Don���t you dare to apologise for crying. I mean it. It’s okay. Next time, just leave the axe out of it, okay?”

König looked at the axe a bit off in the grass. He had let go of it at some point, feeling like failure again - even in his sadness he was intimidating.

Vodyanoy nodded.

“Listen König, may I say something?”

Another nod.

“You breaking down like that was inevitable. Don’t torture yourself like that. You don’t need to carry it all alone. And I guarantee your the Bride would be the first to listen to you.”

A tired smile made its way up to Königs lips. “There it is again - you want me to talk to her. But she is so fragile. She can never do what I can. What’s the point?”

“You build her up in your mind as mighty as that castle of yours. She is the most fragile, the most worthy, clever and beautiful - don’t deny it. I watched you yearn for her for too long. But she is just a person and not your dream of her. And all your sacrifices are great but the one that truly matters you did not give.”

“Which one?”

“Honesty - with her, with you. You two need to talk with one another instead of silently offering yourselves up. She is not as weak as you make her out to be. And you, little king, are not always strong. It’s painful to watch.”

Defeated but not yet passive, König tried to reason. “You don’t understand. Besides, what is there to talk about?”

“That you care about her maybe? And that you care so much, that’s close to twisting into a mindless adoration suffocating both of you. Let her be strong and be to you what you are for her instead of sheltering and keeping her away. She is an ocean worth discovering, not a cup of water that needs to be kept out of the sun to not evaporate.”

König looked down at his hands. The same claws as always.

“Don’t start that again, boy. Get up, knock at her door and ask if you can sleep there. And tomorrow you can talk.”

Slowly, König eyed her door.

Disturb her? Be a burden to the one he wants to keep all burdens away from?

“Be brave, little king.”

The moon was wrong. Nothing could be fixed with talking. But what if the moon was right?

The door drew him in like nothing before.

And he was so tired.

König got up, collected his axe and stepped forward.

Should he really do it? The moon stayed silent, waiting for König to walk to the door and knock.

He took a deep breath, wiped his hand over his face and stepped forward.

This was it. It felt like the bravest, hardest thing he had ever done.

He knocked.

Cultural context

Tschort (literal translation: devil) can be both a plural and singular. It can be translated as demon or devil. But that only captures the word in its Christian context and not its presence in mostly in pagan traditions in folk and fairy tales. It’s easiest to understand a tschort as a type of evil or at least ill-meaning supernatural male being.

A kikimora is a bad female house spirit known for haunting dreams or generally the household. I know her as an entity that drives humans insane by whispering, stealing eggs, spinning spider webs and confusing her targets but there are other tales about her in which she has other abilities. There are proposed links between the Kikimora and the ancient Greek Moiren, the Germanic Nornen, and obviously the old Slavic goddess Mokosh. Funnily enough in the game “The Witcher 3” the kikimora is a type of giant spider.

Erle / alder is a very important tree in central European folklore and especially German speaking folk. Alder trees are part of the birch tree family, making them very resistant trees. The alder grows on very humid soil, often appearing close to bodies of water or moorlands. Since moors were associated with the dead, alders were considered a bit spooky. Alder trees ‘bleed’ a reddish liquid when being cut, adding to their spooky association. There are several rites around alder and alder twigs. The Erlenkönig or Alder king is a very famous German poem about an elven king trying to seduce a sick child to come and live with him. A german – English translation can be found here https://www.ogn.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/bellcogo2015.pdf All in all the alder tree is just a cool spooky tree with plenty of pagan-Christian connotations around it.

There are a few stories about the moon and as far as I am concerned, they all coexist in a semi plausible way. In the 1964 soviet, kids’ movie ‘Морозко’ the sun does not rise out of kindness to give the protagonist time to finish her nightly chores. The man on the moon or the moon face is a story drawing from German speaking tradition that the moon is a single wanderer watching out for those that cannot sleep or work late at night. It’s a kind presence and there are lullabies for kids about the nice man on the moon guarding them. Also, the moon as the cause of ebb and flood would be of interest to a water being like the Vodyanoy even though many Slavic folk traditions come from landlocked places therefore not noticeably experiencing the tides. At last, the moon is a way of keeping track of time, not just for eastern or central Europeans.

The Rusalkas name is Lada. Lada is a name used till this day. The origin of it is interesting. There are conflicting theories about ‘Lada’ being a possible Slavic goddess of marriage, fertility, love, spring and much more. Since primary sources on beliefs before Christianity in eastern Europe are basically non-existent, I would be careful with set ideas about the goddess Lada. The word лада appears to have further linguistic roots and connotations in old eastern Slavic and modern spoken Slavic languages like significant other, fret, lover, maiden, husband, etc. However, my Russian is far from good enough to get into this and I also don’t speak any other languages from this region. So please be mindful of that. If someone feels like educating me here, I would be very interested in learning more.

Little reminder – Rusalkis are something akin to mermaids or nymphs. They are loaded in symbolism as being promiscuous but also connected with children and childbirth, playful but also dangerous as they kill and drown those who harm them, spinning and washing clothes but also leisure, very much alive but also connected to suicide by drowning. In the stories I am familiar with, Rusalkis can leave the water if they want to, however there are stories where they don’t. Since Rusalkis are a staple in a lot of eastern European folk traditions, there is no one set idea what the right Rusalka is.

Koschei / Коще́й in Russian is the recurring male bad person in at least Russian Slavic folklore. Koschei is also called the immortal or the deathless. The name Koschei translated literally can mean something along the lines as the one of bones. Supposedly he is unkillable because he keeps his soul or heart secured in a separate place than his body. Often that is an egg which is placed in other animals which are guarded. Stories about Koschei tend to place him as the antagonist or love rival. Koschei is supposed to be rich and likes gold. He tends to kidnap, enchant, or marry unwilling young beautiful women (which require rescue of course). He is a sorcerer. Often, he is named as head of a castle or larger hall which indicates a ruler position. This is stressed with many tales naming him tsar / царь / ‘king’. There are links between Koschei and the other classical bad girl in Slavic folklore – Baba Yaga. That is symbolised by helping each other or being related somehow. However, they rarely appear together.

Addition by 'Uroo7kuro0': "Кощей" can come not only from the word "кость"/"bone". Also perhaps he's the prototype of another god whose name is "Карачун"/"Karachun" who was in charge of the cold. Interesting fact in some fairy tales Koschei and Baba Yaga were equally negative characters, while in others Baba Yaga helped the main characters kill Koschei

Devitsa is a transliteration from the word ‘девица’. It’s not well translatable but means something along the lines of maiden, mistress, damsel, maid or lady. Here, it is used like an honour title but like all honour titles the word Devitsa can and is used ironically. Nowadays in spoken contexts 

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[itsagrimm]

Vodyanoy König ABC

From the series He who comes from under the water:

Animals

König likes them very much. Especially the frogs are his favourite due to their lovely singing voice. However the Fox and the Heron have grown on him too.

Baba Yaga

The one and only witch. Everyone else is but minor to her. She is dangerous and does as she pleases. She has no kingdom and knows no kings. Before her everyone is something between a nuisance and a mild entertainment.

Curses

Very simple but also very imprecise magic mostly done through word. Most curses happen accidentally when emotions run high. Most cruse attempts are ineffective. But some do work, wrecking massive havoc on the one cursed. Some curses just fly right back at the one who started the cursing. It is not required to be magically inclined to do an effective curse.

Dams

Those damn beavers keep building them, stopping the water from it's nice flow. König is not a fan. But at least they keep it minimal with the dams. Humans are worse.

Eyes

Don't look too long into a Vodyanoy's eyes. Otherwise there is a threat of drowning in them.

Floods

König was busy building the palace and keeping Bride alive so he had no time to cause one. But like floods that can change quicker than expected.

Grandfather

Old fishing companion and great source of stories about royal behaviour.

Hair

Always in the way! Glad the Bride knows how to braid hair. she is so wonderful, knowing all those fascinating practical human things and being so clever.

Ivar

A man from the village that keeps showing up and causing problems for Bride. One time he even tried to attack her. Ivar is the source of the rumor that Bride is cursed. For that alone König had contemplated visiting Ivar with his axe but held back so far to not endanger Bride by making her a revenge target for a feud.

Judgment

Lot's of judgment going on in Königs and Bride's life. König never cared much about other peoples opinions but he witnessed what the judgment of others did to Bride and now he thinks differently, paying much attention to rumours and whispers about himself and his future wife.

König

König is king of everything from under the water. He heard stories that kings require queens. So he is marrying to further his claim as king. And because it sounds fancy. Mostly it's fancy. Königin has quite ring to it and he used to think that the fancy ring was enough.

Love

A complicated topic for both König and the Bride. As far as they know their marriage will be a loveless one, both in the physical as in the psychological sense. Practically speaking König does know quite a bit about the lovemaking part yet very little about loving or being loved. Bride on the other hand never had the time or chance to experience much physical love, however she does know what it's like to be loved as a daughter, a sister, a friend. In very different ways they are very clueless.

Marriage

An older fisher once told him about the concept and then asked König to marry his granddaughter and take care of her.

Nudity

Clothes are to show off. A true Vodyanoy needs no clothes and only wears them bc the Bride or guests kept looking weird. König owns at least one fine coat. It's very drippy.

Owlet

They cry the death cry far too close to the Bride. She tries not to think about it for too much.

Palace

Since the Bride is human and cannot live under the water, König has taken it upon himself to build a palace he has named the Half-Palace. It's a beautiful building that if build on an island in the middle of a grand lake. The island is meant to be a garden for Bride once she moved there after their wedding. The Palace goes as high up as it goes down deep into the water so that bride can live in the Palace above the surface level while König can still reside under the water and reign over his underwater kingdom. The Palace required a lot of wood to be build.

Queen

One day König and Bride will marry, making her the Queen of everything from under the Water. It is unclear how she is supposed to reign over a kingdom she cannot enter.

Rain

More water. Big fan.

Siblings

A touchy subject as the family is in constant fight and turmoil. König and Simon used to be closer and spent much time as brothers but drifted apart. Graves is another brother with even less favourable memories for König.

Teacups

Great place to store things. Like souls and other miscellaneous things. You know, stuff.

Underwater

It scares the Bride. She nearly drowned a couple of times and since then she has done all her cleaning and washing in a bucket, carried into her kitchen by König.

Village

König has not wandered into the village. It's always so loud and busy. And now König has even less need to learn about those that harmed and shunned the Bride. Luckily the Bride's house is a bit off from the village with a grand garden around it.

Water

hmm, yes.

aXe (ahem)

A present from Ghost to König. Ghost likes to wander the forest and does not take likely to those who harm it and fell many trees. With this axe the trees fall swiftly and new tree shoots grow from the stumps. So Ghost bares the destruction with more tolerance than usual. However even König with his special axe does not dare to fell more trees than necessary. The axe has been used for fighting and killing as well.

You know..

...if you really read all that you must really like this series. Thank you very much for taking the time to read it. It means a lot to me.

Zauberei

Zauberei or magic is the things not understandable to humans like Bride. Which is surprising because humans do magic all the time. They stand in wonder of the beauty of the world. They love and hate. they create new things just from ideas springing out of their minds. König is always very impressed by these acts of magic.

[itsagrimm]

Research Special

I have been asked to share my notes and references to 'He Who Comes from under the Water'. So here is my ongoing list of myths, fables, tales, practices or customs i have referenced so far.

People from central & eastern Europe are explicitly invited to add, argue or disagree with stuff they are familiar with.

Disclaimer: While I enjoy many traditional stories & practices, this is not a trad life safe space. Regressive misanthropes, fascists, right wingers, racists, anti-feminists and science deniers be gone. Romanticism may be my personal escapism and access to some of my heritage, which I am willing to share with you. But this is not a white supremacists playground in fairy tale costume. You guys are always the evil in my stories. Stay away.

König is a Vodyanoy or водяно́й. It's a re-occurring character and entity in many eastern European and slavic stories. There is not one version of Vodyanoy. Depending on the region and story they are all slightly different with Western Slavs leaning to a more elegant (?) Vodník who might even pass as human, likes tobacco offerings and tea pots to keep souls in, while the eastern Slavs tend to have more stories of a wild king who fears nothing and "enslaves" aka drowns anyone who crosses his kingdom. What most of these stories share is that this very powerful entity, is playful and open to bargains or games. It's possible that many fairy tales and characters stem from old pagan gods and traditions which explain the amount of power and connection to the land. The name Vodyanoy is literally translatable as 'he who comes from under the water'.

The heron & the fox is a fable written by Aesop. I would also like to add that the fox is a re-occuring fable animal in may central & eastern European stories in which it is considered a clever animal. Also in at least Russian the fox often is considered female while the german stories tend to name the fox as male.

Curses and being cursed here in this context is a more central European witch hunt reference. The villager Ivar wants readers property and goes after her, claiming she is cursed and due to being a woman not allowed to own the land of her family. During Medieval times in central Europe many peasant women owned the land in the same way as men did, being bound to the same expectations of service and work. Not saying that peasant women in the central European Middle Ages had many personal liberties bc simply the concept of personal liberties and governance was a different one, but since they were expected to work the land in the same way as men did, it is odd to not allow the reader to work the land of her dead family. Claiming something as unprovable as being cursed, is at least in the historic context more a post medieval attempt to strategically disenfranchise the vulnerable female coded reader by playing up religious, mostly christian fears, to get her land. Witch hunts were not a massive phenomenon in Eastern Europe, but rather common Modern Times occurrences until the 18th century especially in german speaking regions where they noticeably affected disenfranchised groups like women*, the poor, the sick, jewish communities, migrants, ... This is in basically in any german history class book for school. But I can also recommend this or this.

The idea of marriages between human women and male animal/magical beings/gods/spirits/etc is very common theme appearing nearly everywhere on the globe. I concentrated on german tales about animal-human-marriages, especially tales from the Gebrüder Grimm Collection. The Gebrüder Grimm fairy tale collection is a collection of german tales from 1812. Unlike the Disney retellings of fairy tales this german collection is brütäl, meaning it never really got reworded much since the 18th century, mirroring what the brothers considered a fine and acceptable story to tell to kids. In the 18th century. As you can imagine that was very different to what we consider appropriate for kids now. Anyway, I did a closer reading on the german "Froschkönig", "Schneeweißchen & Rosenrot" and the "Eisenhans" tales. They include cursed swamp being, cursed bear and cursed frog. Especially in Froschkönig the princess is the vocal point of the story while being forced into a marriage with a frog. Also, the story has many sexual undertones and especially the early male psychologist carl jung had a blast writing about a young woman's sexuality, ignoring her lack of agency in the whole scenario (wtf carl.). Eisenhans is different for it is about a prince and is essentially the male, more action including version but it includes a dangerous but also somewhat helpful underwater being which drowns whoever comes to it. Finally "Schneeweißchen & Rosenrot" shows a bear as a protector for the then later brides. As you can guess I draw a lot of the psychological impacts especially from Froschkönig for the Reader perspective. Also, lot's of food references.

Female owlets cry ‘Kowitt!” which sounds like the german ‘komm mit’ / ‘come with me’. Therefore, it is said in German folklore that the owlets are birds of death wanting to take a soul with them or warning of the impending death of those who listen to it because it was heard so much around the dead and dying. Owlets and many other nightly birds of prey were hunted because of that in German speaking regions. The real reason for owlets crying around the dead is a different one: the lights of the wake for the dead drew the birds in at night.

Herbs might be something we consider magical now during an honestly odd revival of new age mysticism. But it likely wasn't magical per se in the same way for European central & eastern people in the undefined past. Of course there are stories and legend about magical herbs like the herb 'Moly' in the Odyssee. But the use of herbs just to flavour food can be found in the Edda the same way teas and foods are used to help with flavouring food, keeping healthy and curing sickness till this day without being magical. It's just practical to use what is at hand. Reader drinking a sage tea, which is a wild plant widely available basically everywhere is exactly that. If you want to try it, i recommend adding some honey. But please don't buy white sage just to make tea from it. That's wasteful considering the importance white sage has in other practices I am not familiar with when one can use Common Sage.

Because hair in whatever length or form is beautiful but requires work, many traditional hair styles for longer hair from the especially the eastern European region include ‘косы’ or braids/plaits. It's a very practical way of keeping your hair tidy and out of the way during a days work. Head coverings for female presenting people from the region also play an important role. The most known ones are head scarfs known as 'платки', they are beautiful scarfs with often flowery motives. Depending on the region of origin the patterns will be different. Платки used to be associated with being married and being older but not so much anymore as it can also be just worn as protection against the elements or as an accessory. Платки also play a role in various religious practices for both christian and muslims as well as cultural pride so I recommend doing serious research before just wearing this type of head covering just because you find it beautiful. I remember being called names for wearing this traditional dress so for someone just to take it and 'play' with it without learning more first, feels off to me. Another important head wear I plan on referencing is the 'кокошник' which is something like a crown or tiara worn by mostly married female presenting people. I remember seeing the кокошник drawn on basically all queens and princesses in my fairy tale books as a kid so you bet I will give reader one.

The swamp light's are another staple in many parts of the world where swamps exist. The German folklore know them as 'Irrlicht' or 'Sumpflicht' and consider them evil doers trying to lure wanderers into the dangerous swamps or just off the road. Slavic tales also associate the lights in the swamp with something bad. There is the entity of the 'боло́тник' who lives in the swamp and likes to lure people in by lighting up those fires, making animal noises and confusing wanderers by intoxicating them with gas from dangerous herbs. The боло́тник is not as common and I only read up on this creature as research for HWCFUTW since he does very similar things as the водяно́й and more stories are about him as the generally associated being ruling all types of waters.

At last:

Generally speaking I noticed a leaning in especially english speaking media to see everything slavic as culturally Russian, and everything German-speaking as from the whole of Germany. That is a dangerous simplification. If you want to learn and research more on your own about those regions and their traditions & stories i have to stress the importance of local culture and complex diversity in those regions.

Also, if you liked this I can do a follow up post about my references in my writing once I have introduced a bit more.

@thesinsoflust @kdkj122920 @die-prophetin @lillianastuff @1234ilikecowsthanyoumore

[itsagrimm]

hiii! I just read through your "He Who Comes from under the Water" serie with König and it's honestly amazing. I usually don't read x afab reader, esp not when it's fem! reader but i'm hooked. The slavic mytology was such a cool touch to the story. I'm not sure if this creature exists in slavic mythology but I know in Nordic mythology we've got a creature called Näcken. (a Nixie?) We mostly interpret it as a naked man playing on a fiddle, trying to lure people into the water (a stream/river)

from a second ask:

sorry the word limit cut me off (reminds me i'm rambling hehe..) but the story just reminded me how there's similarities in different mythologies.

🐸 🐸 🐸

thank you so much, I am glad you are having fun with hwcfutw.

When researching for the story I read about the Näcken too as a referenced entity /story so there probably are some links or similarities between the Vodyanoy and the Näcken. The similarities came up several times after all.

A lot of folklore from something roughly considered eastern Europe (whatever that may mean actually) have similar themes, stories, entities and concepts. of course there are local differences and it's not all the same. and especially now it's important to cherish those differences and credit the roots of where something comes from culturally. But it's nice to see that we are not that different from each other too.

i mean a naked musician luring me into the water? what could go wrong but sorry man, my babushka said i'm not allowed to talk to strangers from the water.

[itsagrimm]

So how see könig? Like to you what does he look like- does he look the same as we all know him or-?

Ha! The best editor @queenquazar keeps teasing and asking me this as well so I have my notes ready and prepared.

Monster König is a vodyanoy and since the stories and descriptions are so different from tale to tale I see him as a bit of a shapeshifter, unsteady like the water itself he is so connected to. Sometimes he looks like he just got out of the swamp with all the dirt and algae in his hair and beard. Sometimes he looks more clear and washed with his appearance elegant and regal.

Many tales describe the Vodyanoy as an older man hence the beard but I don't really see him as at least physically much older than the protagonist bc personally I don't like that.

And having at least shoulder-length hair is practical to be tied back or getting sexily tangled so I see him with longer hair.

The watery blue eyes are canon and I like the idea of his eyes also being like the bodies of waters he reigns under so they can change slightly going from a swampy green to deep blue like a lake in summer to something dark like water during a storm. I have blue eyes myself and I find the way blue eyes depicted as the pinnacle of beauty and described with the most flowery words without any further reasoning as absolutely hilarious sometimes, especially since many writers and creators pointed out how disturbing blue eyes can look. so yeah, we are embracing exactly that. 🌚 Also, there are tales describing the Vodyanoy eyes as fish like. That's not really my vibe but I plan on paying tribute to those special Vodyanoy eyes.

I don't really have any set image about his skin tbh since again - some variation in tales about that from it being green, blue, dark, light, having fish scales... He is an eldritch being and constantly changing is part of his core features as a being of and from water. It wouldn't be too out of the ordinary at this point to include changes of his skin as well when he changes his appearance. That honestly is probably the most normal thing about him.

In human form that artwork by hallot absolutely took over my mind and that's exactly how I picture König smile while wreaking Ivar with a few words.