The Forest Girl (Part of Chapter 2)

The girl has met a strange boy, who has told her of a journey that he must go on; and so they go without looking back.

Then, time swept over them like a dream, and below them the world escaped into a pool of silence and darkness. The mountains towered over the land as though they had once been royal palaces, with lairs and dungeons that went deep into hidden fortresses. Estraya took Godiva by her hand. Her eyes were both pale and cold. Moonlight became shadowy and dim. Estraya pointed to a mountain wrapped in cloud and a blizzard of snow. His eyes were cast upon it as though he had been taken in by its spell. Very dark and menacing were its corners"as dark as the grief of a wandering traveler who is lost and forbidden. The snow swirled out of the mountain caverns as though it had been released from a long punishment, and the wind was as cold as death.

They climbed near the top of that mountain, reaching a ledge with jagged stones beneath, and they could hear the loud frightening howl of wolves in the distance. Estraya knew this land by memory, and they were both on the verge of despair as they heard the wolves beginning to run straight for them. Furiously, the wind began to blow, and now hastily Estraya grabbed Godiva by her arm; but the poor girl was struggling to move, for fear had taken possession of her.

Out of brave compassion Estraya soon snapped his fingers. Light came suddenly into her eyes, and Godiva found herself climbing down a steep icy cliff: moving so fast that even the wind could not keep up with her. Like liquid gold, starlight helped them down the stone of the mountainside, and there was a great rush of cold buried in the deep impenetrable darkness. Then, Godiva ran with a thumping heart, for there was no cause for her to be less afraid, and she heard the wolves barreling through the center of a forest that they had just entered; and she could hear them growling in their throats.

Did the wolves only know where they were, then they would surely have been devoured. But Godiva went secretly into the mouth of a cavern, and was lying as silently as a stone. Estraya joined her behind some heavy rocks, and with a notion born of trickery he threw out some stones. The wolves snapped their teeth as the stones went in all directions, and their eyes burned furiously as though they were eager to eat flesh. But they could find nothing. Although they snarled, and made the poor boy and girl jump in their skin, they were soon like ghosts in the night, and vanished deep into the cold and dark wilderness.

  The cold grew in its bitterness as the wind blew without a sound, and the stars were as gold as wild honey. Estraya gazed out of the cavern doubtingly, for he did not trust the night’s silence and stillness. But he had hardly emerged out of the cavern’s shelter when he saw Godiva making a torch out of a stick and some dry bark. She was resourceful and clever, and knew that her efforts would keep them safe and warm. But now the wind rustled at their feet, and they could not guess how long the forest would be, for it seemed like an endless desert. Darkness can be a light in its own way, for it gives the heart its fire, and can burn as bright as any star. The snow was pale and turned the sky into a blanket of pearls and white diamonds, but the whisper of the night went untroubled for a while, for time seemed to be in a world apart.

 In the next moment, the sky rained darkness, and they could see their own breath in the frosty night air. The moon sparkled through some clouds, and they could see a hollow cavern lying nearby. It was covered in smooth patches of ice, and in its mouth it looked like a dim sea of darkness. They could hear the drum and rumble of something terrible within. Shrieks that could pierce the heart like an arrow, and hidden tunnels that were as mysterious as the black of night.

 Fear came over them like a wind, and snow fell through the bright web of moonlight. Their flakes were like crystals of silver, and the cold of their icy touch were like kisses of sweet innocence.

Estraya put his head into the black darkness. Moonlight streaked the rocks upon the solid entrance walls. Godiva followed as though her feet had been stuck in ten feet of snow. They came to a slender path, blocked by pillars of stone. Estraya said to creep silently, for he warned her that there were many foul monsters hiding in the darkness. It was colder inside the cavern than it was outside, for they could feel it in their bones. The cavern fell deeply as though it would go on forever. There was nothing more frightening than this unfamiliar silence. They were too scared even to talk, for in the distance they could hear a shrill cry as though a child had been weeping for its mother. Small wonder they walked on their toes, and stuck to the walls like wanted thieves.

In the next moment, Godiva raised her torch high. Bats on the ceiling began to fly out of dark holes, and disappeared into tunnels that could not be seen by the naked eye. Faith seemed to hang upon a thread, but they had to be utterly fearless if they were to climb the steps of this mysterious dungeon. The tunnels they walked by looked like giant vaults. It was as though people had once lived there, but that was before everything had crumbled into smoke and dust. 

Then they walked further up the dark stairway of ice and stone, and went across many bottomless and steep cliffs. They also clung to the strong mountainside as though they were afraid to die. In the distance, there was a great and deafening noise as though everything had burst into a fiery blaze. At this moment, the mountain began to shake without warning. Rocks began to fall, and in all directions there was destruction and a loud cry of mayhem. The cry was so loud that their ears began to hurt, and it was like a crash of thunder when lightning strikes the peak of a tall mountain.

  Not long afterwards, Estraya ran, keeping his head and shoulders as steady as a calm wind, as the crash of boulders echoed off of the rafters of the wide mountain tunnels. Behind him Godiva fell and stumbled as though she were stuck in a pool of quicksand; but she possessed a resilient heart, and was not to be defeated just yet. The cold clung to their faces, as the path ahead of them looked like a starless black sky. They suddenly stopped at a ledge. It reached a height where the only way down was to scale the hundred-foot cliff; and to fall would mean death. Rocks thudded behind them, and the boy wheeled his body to the frightening dark summit until his weary legs fell out from underneath him.

 What happened next was the consequence of quick thinking, for as the boulders tumbled dangerously close to them, it became evidently clear that their only means of escape was to leap across the dark overhanging cavern. At this moment, Estraya outstretched his left arm, leaning over the rocky ledge as far as his balance would allow. It may have been the end of him, but he had spectacular agility; and so he grabbed a rock positioned high along the icy ledge, and he held onto it for dear life.

 Godiva’s dark golden eyes grew pale orange like a fire. She heard the stirring of the rocks as they rolled down the steep mountain floor, and looked back in disbelief as she saw the mighty cavern roof collapse into smoke. The boulders cut like razors through the ice-glazed walls, and a cold piercing frost covered the darkness as though a winter’s dusk had settled in.

 Godiva went to the ledge of the cliff. Estraya straightened out his right arm. In agony, he hung over the mouth of the crater, and begged Godiva to jump. Courage took her at last, and Godiva threw herself over the pit, when suddenly Estraya clasped her hand. She would have fallen, except that the boy was mighty in both of the noble virtues of strength and courage, and he would not let her fall to ruin. There they huddled safely upon the other ledge, and heaved a sigh of thankful relief.

 Then, Estraya nursed his wounds, while Godiva folded her hands in her lap. All about them silence gathered like a dark grey cloud, and the air was colder than a tomb. How would they get back to the outside world, they thought for all of the tunnels had been strongly fortified.

Estraya walked over the long jagged summit of the ancient mountain cliff. He took Godiva’s torch and positioned it steadily over the wide ledge of the crater. The boy almost lost his footing it was so damp with melting ice, but he managed to balance the lower portions of his body.

Beneath him the icy mountain heights went deep. There did not seem to be any known end as to how far the dark isolation could reach. As he lowered the torch into the snow-frosted pit his eyes smoldered like fire, for there were steps joined to the gloomy stone face. They started at the high end of the ridge and went down until their eyes could not see anymore.

Reviews

[ffw1985]

I like this excerpt. You are very descriptive, which is great. It makes me feel like I am right there with the characters living it myself. My only complaint is that I am not reading it from the beginning, from chapter 1. But I don't have any criticism for you. What I have read is great. Keep up the good work.

[Andrew Elliott]

Well, thank you very much! Glad to hear you enjoyed it. I have a full chapter of my first book which you can also read. I'll take a look at yours.

[ffw1985]

You are very welcome. I will take a look at that first chapter. Thanks so much for looking at my mine. It is only a rough draft because I am trying to write the whole book as a rough draft and then revise, revise, revise. But, thanks for looking at it. Hope to get that review soon. Thanks so much.