Chapter 5

Trina quickly got out of bed. She looked down and noticed she was still in her clothes. She shrugged and left her teddy bear on her bed and started packing up a bag. If she was going on a journey to find the Emerald of Law she’d need supplies: extra clothes, matches, a canteen of water, a hunting knife and a little bit of money. Trina turned and saw the bear lying on the bed. She contemplated taking it along too, but decided not to. She couldn’t bear to lose it. She quickly found a piece of paper and sat at her desk scribbling down a note for Serenity and Delfi. She explained where she was going and why. She told them that she loved them very much and would try to return alive. She laid the note next to her teddy bear before walking out of her room.

She sneaked to the kitchen and filled her pack with dry food so she’d have something to start off with. Trina grabbed her bow and quiver and slung it over her back and looked around. No way could she just leave out of the front door, Serenity and Delfi would hear. She thought for a moment, but felt a cool breeze. She quickly looked over at the window behind the table. Wasn’t that closed earlier? Trina decided not to question it and leaped out and into the bushes. She looked around. The air was cold and still. It was so quiet, not even the owls were out. Trina stood up and jogged off down the path careful to be aware of anyone else who was taking a midnight stroll. If anyone saw her, her whole expedition would be put to halt right here.

Trina nearly got to the edge of the forest when she heard shuffling behind her. She stopped and turned around to see nothing. Confused Trina turned back around and took one step in the forest. Another shuffle was heard. Trina quickly grabbed her bow, pulled an arrow back and turned around to see Daniel Friggins about an inch away from the tip of her arrow. He jumped back and fell on the ground. Trina sighed and gave him an annoyed look while lowering her bow. The prince wasn’t looking like himself. He wore combat boots with camouflage on. His hair wasn’t as tidy as usual and a wrap covered his nose. It seems Trina hit him harder than she anticipated.

“What are you doing here?” Trina hissed.

Daniel stood up and brushed himself off. “I heard about the emerald. I… I want to find it. Maybe then I’ll be noticed,” he said nervously. He still seemed to be scared by Trina almost shooting an arrow through his skull.

“Noticed? You’re always noticed you spoiled brat!”

“I don’t mean by the public,” Daniel said with sudden rage.

Trina was surprised by his sudden outburst. What had made him so mad? It didn’t really matter. “I really don’t have time for this. Go home Daniel. You are not trained to leave the village,” she said turning around.

She took another step but was stopped by Daniel who had side-stepped around her. He was now holding a sword up to her with a threatening look on his face.

“If you don’t let me pass, I will cut you into pieces then sweep you all the way to my father’s house,” he growled.

Trina narrowed her eyes. “How dare you threaten me,” he hissed.

Daniel was about to say something else, but voices could be heard from far off. They were coming this way too. Trina quickly, while Daniel was distracted knocked the sword out of his hand and leaped at him, knocking him into a nearby bush. Trina sat on Daniel watching what looked like a night time patrol coming by. Odd? The tribe didn’t usually have a night patrol. She watched them for a moment. She tried to hear what they said, but she was too far away. Soon they disappeared into another street.

Trina got off Daniel and started walking off. She didn’t really want to deal with that over confident prince. She continued for a little bit before she heard leaves crunching behind her. Trina stopped but didn’t turn around.

“I’m not playing anymore Daniel. You almost got me caught. You are not coming with me,” Trina said.

“Oh so you are leaving. I thought you were going on a midnight hunt,” Daniel commented.

Trina turned around and looked at him like he was stupid. “What do you think I’m doing out here? Listen, I’m going to find the Emerald and no way are you coming. You’re clumsy, incompetent, and frankly I don’t like you. So turn around and go back to your cushy life back at home.”

Daniel didn’t move. Trina just stared at him. He was just as stubborn as she was. He looked extremely determined too. Who was he trying to impress? Trina’s whole purpose of going, besides the fact that the Witch of Nature wants her to, is for the recognition. It sucks when you do so many great things and just get kicked down again. Trina saw a bit of this in Daniel. Who had been kicking him down? Maybe he could…

No, no, no. No way am I letting him come, Trina thought instantly. She couldn’t stand this guy. She couldn’t possibly let him tag along with her. A loud shrieking sound made Trina jump. She looked to see herself closer to Daniel. She shook her head and stepped away. He was chuckling at her. Trina scowled.

“Fine you can come. But don’t expect me to wait up for you or protect you. You’ve got to watch your own neck out here,” she said turning around.

For while they both walked through the forest until the sun began rising on the horizon. It really wasn’t until the sun started rising did Trina realize how tired she’d been. She looked at Daniel who was walking next to her now. He seemed fine. She sighed and continued walking. She would’ve preferred doing this alone, but even she had to admit it was nice having just the presence of someone next to her.

Trina must have been showing that she was tired because Daniel stopped and looked at her with a little bit of concern.

“Do you need to rest?” he asked.

Trina shook the sleep from her eyes. “No. Of course not. We need to keep moving,” she said.

“Moving where exactly? Where are we supposed to be going?” Daniel asked.

“How am I supposed to know? I’m sure you didn’t when you decided to leave too!” Trina said getting a bit annoyed.

Daniel said nothing. Trina did have a point. He shrugged. “Well come on then. If you’re not tired,” he said with annoyance.

Trina nodded and continued on. It had to be nearly nine in the morning before they stopped again. Trina’s stomach was grumbling a lot. She and Daniel sat next to a large tree. Its roots would have to do for seats for now. She pulled out some beef jerky and handed a piece to Daniel. He began munching on it with Trina.

“I’m surprised you’re giving me food,” he finally said.

Trina looked at him and shrugged. “You aren’t much help if you’re starving to death,” she commented. She finally finished off her jerky, but she wasn’t prepared for what Daniel had asked next.

“Could you teach me how to hunt?” he asked.

Trina looked at him in disbelief. Men and hunting? That wasn’t how things worked in the tribe. Most men feared the forest and didn’t care for hunting.

“I know it sounds crazy, but I’ve always wanted to learn and of course obviously I couldn’t since I’m a male living with the tribe. Please! I’d be so much more useful if I knew how,” he pleaded.

Trina could tell Daniel really wanted this. Also he was right. He would be a lot more useful if he could hunt as well. She sighed. “Alright, but don’t piss me off,” she said standing up.

Trina decided they’d just practice shooting for now. She’d teach him to shoot an animal later. She found a decently big tree to be their first target. She dropped her bag on the ground and pulled her bow off her back. She turned to Daniel who was watching like a little school boy being taught how to play kickball for the first time.

“Alright first thing is holding a bow. Now there are many ways to do so, but the most affective is holding your arm at full length, but don’t lock your elbow. Once you get that far, pull the string back to your cheek to the point where it’s almost touching your ear. That’s the standard position. Now you try. And don’t break my bow,” she said tossing her bow to Daniel just as he was standing.

He grabbed it and put the bow in his right hand and tried to pull the string but seemed to have difficulty at first, but finally figured out how to pull the string back. Trina paced around him observing him. She smiled devilishly and shoved him down.

“Ow what was that for!” Daniel shouted.

“That was you not doing it right. You were too shaky. You have to be confident; you are in control of the bow, not the other way around. Try again,” she said.

Daniel sighed and got himself steady before pulling the bow back again. He stood there with a serious look on his face staring at the tree. He clenched the bow tightly as Trina paced around him again. This time he was a little more prepared when she shoved him. Daniel only stumbled a little.

Trina shrugged. “Better but you gotta make sure you don’t even stumble. That throws off your whole stance which means you won’t shoot straight,” she said.

Daniel sighed, but continued to listen to Trina. They worked at that one position for what felt like hours. It was exhausting and frankly Daniel thought it was stupid. Trina shoved him one last time, but this time she fell backwards. She looked at him and smirked.

“Finally you decided to use those damn muscles of yours,” she commented.

“Does that mean we’re done with stances and I can finally shoot?” Daniel asked.

Trina nodded and yawned a little. Now she was really tired at this point. It was difficult for her to stay awake during the last part of the stance lesson. She nearly just gave up on him because she was so tired, but no one had ever given up on her, so no way would she have done it to him, no matter how annoying Daniel was.

Trina took her bow back and stood in the stance she had taught. “Alright shooting is simple. You pull the string back like you have been with the arrow in between your index and middle finger and just release,” she said while demonstrating. She let the arrow fly and it hit the tree right in the middle.

Looking at Daniel, Trina handed him the bow he seemed entranced by the arrow stuck in the tree. She chuckled, which was funny because laughing was something Trina never did.

“That’s nothing you know. I can shoot a tree that’s one hundred feet away,” she commented. Trina went over to the tree and pulled the arrow out carefully making sure not to break it. “Also make sure you take every arrow out carefully. I only have so many of these. And don’t be discouraged if you don’t hit the tree. It took me a while the first time-“

Daniel shot the arrow making Trina jump back away from the tree. She was about to yell at him, but she saw he hit exactly where she had hit. Her anger subsided and it turned into a competitive look.

“Not bad, royal brat. Let’s see if you can hit the tree from farther away,” she said getting up and pulling the arrow out.

Though Trina was surprised she didn’t let it show. Daniel did exceptionally well with shooting. He was an absolute natural; of course he was nowhere as good as Trina herself, but with more work he could get there if not right under her skill.

They finally stopped when the sun was setting. At this point Trina was about to drop from exhaustion. Daniel noticed this.

“Trina you need to sleep,” he commented.

She looked at him, eyes half open. She didn’t argue and let him lead her to the huge tree they’d first started at. Daniel piled leaves in a hole in between roots, for comfort. Trina laid down and fell asleep instantly. Usually she wouldn’t trust someone so easily to take a watch while she slept, but at this moment she was too tired to care.

It wasn’t till the middle of the night when the moon was high in the sky that Trina woke up. She sat up to see Daniel had a fire going and roasting what looked like a squirrel over the fire, though she couldn’t really tell since the animal was skinned. Trina got up and walked over to the fire to warm up.

“How did you catch that?” she asked.

Daniel pointed to the bow and quiver leaning against the tree. “It wasn’t that hard, I just did what you taught me,” he said.

Trina smiled and shrugged. “But what about the Irresistible? Most men are scared of them, and they are out at night,” she said.

Daniel shrugged. “I didn’t hear anything.”

Trina blinked and just shook it off. That didn’t seem right. Those stupid forest nymphs would not be able to resist Daniel. He was attractive, so why hadn’t they preyed on him? Daniel didn’t seem to notice Trina staring at him. He took the squirrel off and handed it to Trina.

“I couldn’t take this. It’s your kill Daniel,” she said.

“I ate one earlier, you eat this one. It’s probably better than hard jerky,” he said with a chuckle.

“Hey I work hard for that jerky,” Trina said with a chuckle as she took the squirrel on a stick. She munched on it and for a while everything was really quiet. Trina looked at Daniel. It was odd that she was actually being nice to him and in the course in a few hours too. It was as if his interest in shooting made something spark in her brain. He wasn’t honestly that bad of a guy, you know when he’s not around other girls.

Trina finished off her squirrel and watched the fire crackle. Even with its warmth she was still shivering. The emerald needed to be found or all the animals will leave the forest and the tribe will starve. She sighed and pulled her knees up to her chest and her head on them.

“You okay?” Daniel finally said. He was looking at Trina sympathetically.

Trina’s head shot up. “Yeah, perfectly fine,” she answered. Truth was Trina wasn’t fine. She had until June to find the emerald. It wasn’t really that far off either. Also what she had said to Serenity the night before was starting to affect her. Trina hadn’t meant to hurt her, but she was just upset. Then of course Trina leaves without a trace except a little note. She wondered what Delfi and Serenity were doing now. Searching for her? Or maybe just wallowing in sadness…

Daniel was about to say something else then a blood curdling scream was heard in the distance. He and Trina both shot up and looked at each other quickly before grabbing their weapons and running off into the forest toward the noise. Trina looked at Daniel running next to her. She honored his courage and bravery. Maybe they weren’t so different after all.

They stopped at the top of a hill. Both hid behind a tree. Trina peeked around to see members of her own tribe surrounded by the Irresistible. Trina looked in horror. Most the warriors were women, but the Irresistible usually never attacked women. She peered closer. The Irresistible were surrounding the warriors. The women warriors in the middle looked like they were trying restrain the men in the group who kept trying to break through to the Irresistible.

“Stand your ground! If these girls want to fight then we’ll give them a fight!”

Trina gasped when she heard the voice. That was Delfi. Without even thinking she leaped out from behind the tree and charged down the hill and began firing arrows. The Irresistible noticed Trina and all began to charge at her. Now that they were running at her, Trina counted five. Nothing she couldn’t handle. She shot the first two down and they dropped. She attempted to shoot the third, but it approached her too quickly. Up close the Irresistible were not as attractive as one thinks. They had ugly wrinkly faces with dark black beady eyes. They didn’t have actual hands or feet, they were more like the talons of an owl with sharp claws. Their hair was nappy and stringy, not mention they barely wore clothes, so they were running around with wrinkly bodies.

Trina fell back and watched as the ugly creature reared back its head. It screeched loudly, pinned her to the ground and glared into her eyes. She didn’t know much about the Irresistible but they were notorious for killing men, Trina never knew how. The Irresistible smiled devilishly. Its pointed teeth could now be visible. Of course that’s how they killed men. They ripped their throats out. Wait, they ripped their throats out! Trina thrashed to get away but the Irresistible’s sharp claws dug into her arms making them bleed. It got closer and Trina thought she was done for until it was knocked off of her. She sat up and saw Daniel wrestling the nymph to the ground.

Quickly getting up Trina pulled and an arrow back on her bow and killed the Irresistible without hitting Daniel. He pushed it off, but did not sit up. Trina noticed the other two creeping toward Daniel. She half expected him to get up, but he didn’t move. Something was wrong.

“No! Get away from him!” she shouted at the two nymphs.

They took no notice to Trina and kept moving. Not able to just stand there anymore, Trina charged over to Daniel. She wasn’t worried about her sister’s patrol anymore. She approached Daniel and found out why he hadn’t moved. The Irresistible had ripped a chuck of flesh out of his side. He lay there clutching it, but Daniel was very much conscious. Trina stood there and started firing arrows at the Irresistible, but they moved too quickly. Without noticing one tackled Trina to the ground and other grabbed Daniel.

“No! Take me! Leave him!” she shouted.

“No way. He’s ours now!” they hissed.

Trina lashed out. The Irresistible got about two inches from Trina’s face. She knocked her head into it and kneed it in the stomach. The Irresistible screeched in pain. Trina shot up and shot the Irresistible holding Daniel with an arrow. It collapsed to the ground with him. Trina ran forward and moved her off him and looked at the prince.

“Daniel. Can you hear me?” she asked.

His eyes were closed, but they fluttered open at the sound of his name. “Yeah. I’m fine you know,” he said.

Trina shook her head. “No you aren’t you idiot. Come on I got to get you out of here,” she said helping Daniel up. She supported his weight. But once they were both up the last Irresistible was already recovered. She screeched loudly. It echoed throughout the whole forest and was so loud it made Trina’s ears ring.

“Oh no,” Daniel breathed.

Trina looked at him.

“She’s calling for reinforcements. Trina you aren’t going to be able to handle them all. You only have three arrows left in your quiver,” he explained.

Trina hadn’t even realized. She turned quickly to look at her quiver. It was true. There was no way she’d be able to recover the rest of them either. Not with Daniel on her shoulder. Now what? There was no way they’d be able to fight off the Irresistible. Trina stretched to look over the hill. The patrol was already retreating in another direction so there was no way to get help from them.

“Trina you have to-“

“Thinking right now Daniel,” Trina interrupted. There had to be something they could do.

“Trina listen you have-“

“I am not leaving you here! They’ll kill you!” she shouted.

Daniel pulled himself off Trina and looked at her. There was sorrow in his eyes. Now that Trina thought about it, why wasn’t he affected by the Irresistible? But there was no time to ask him. She was more focused on the fact that he wanted her to leave him to his death.

“Listen, they won’t kill me right away. I’m the chief’s son for god’s sake,” he said.

Trina shook her head. “That doesn’t matter! Sooner or later you’re going to die!” she said.

Daniel touched Trina’s shoulder sympathetically. “That may be, but the forest needs you. I’m just going to slow you down now. Get away before they follow you and kill you too. It’s all up to you now Trina,” he said.

Trina was about to argue. But there was no point. The prince’s mind was made up. There was singing in the distance. Then Trina did something she usually didn’t do. She hugged Daniel.

“You’ve been a good student Daniel. If you survive… teach some people back home and tell them I will return with the jewel,” she said.

Daniel nodded. Now the singing turned to screeching as the Irresistible got ever closer.

“Go. Before they get here,” he said.

Trina nodded and turned to run. She stopped at the top of the slope and looked at Daniel. He was waving goodbye. Trina smirked and saluted him in response before taking off.

Her smirk quickly disappeared as the screeching filled the forest. It echoed off every tree as if every Irresistible in the forest was going to take the prince of the Tribe of Friggins captive. It was almost unbearable to listen to. Then Daniel’s screams of agony were placed in there too. Trina couldn’t take it. She covered her ears unable to handle the sounds. She kept running on though. She stopped at a very large, hollow tree, just large enough for her to squeeze into. Good thing too, because it was beginning to rain.

With the sounds of screaming and screeching all around, Trina crawled into the tree and sat with her knees pulled up her chest. Even with her covering her ears Trina could still hear everything: obviously the screeching and screaming, but also the wind howling through the bare nearly dead trees, the rain drumming on the tree above, animals scurrying around trying to get away from rain.

It was no wonder no one could stand being in the forest for too long. You’d go crazy out here. Trina sat there unsure of what to do. She closed her eyes and tried not to think of the sounds, but it only intensified the noise. She opened her eyes. She wanted to scream so badly, but knew that’d just give away her position. So Trina sat there, through the torment and pain.

 

After what seemed like forever all that could be heard was the rain. Trina released her hands from over her ears. Beads of sweat dotted her forehead. She’d tried so hard not to listen to the sounds, but just couldn’t. She laid her head on her knees, thinking of everything.

First off did her sister even see her come to her rescue? It didn’t seem like it. Once the Irresistible were away from them they took off like any forest warrior would. No warrior was trained well enough to handle the Irresistible. But still, Trina had killed four without any training at all.

Then she thought about that arrogant idiot Daniel. Well at first he was. Trina couldn’t stand the fact he was joining her on her quest and now she that’s what she wished the most. He was so brave. Now he was probably gone. It shocked her though. He was so different when he wasn’t in the village. Daniel seemed sort of like Trina out here in the forest. Like he was aspiring for something more, but what was it? Trina never got a chance to ask… and now she never would. There’s no way Daniel survived. From the noise there had to be at least fifty Irresistible that came after him.

Trina sighed. She rolled over and laid on her side watching the rain drip to the ground. At least now it was peaceful, but even with all this nature and everything being as peaceful as it was, it didn’t change the fact that Trina wouldn’t be getting any sleep tonight.

For a while Trina just stared at the forest outside, half expecting an Irresistible head to pop up in the hole in the tree, slowly, but surely her eyes began to droop and Trina found herself falling asleep. Not a peaceful sleep though… far from it.