Outsider

This is a short story that I wrote for a Creative Writing Club.

                The frozen waterfall stood proud and menacing; its crystallized currents baring formidable teeth to deter unwanted passer-byes. The white blanket of thick snow twinkled invitingly; hiding the deep crevices and pits that could swallow a man whole. The slightest of winds moaned and howled through the massive icicles, mimicking the sounds of vengeful nightmares. All of these things served as natural guardians to the precious secrets that lay behind the waterfall; and no one, even if they knew what they were looking for, had been able to get past these defenses… until today.

*             *             *

                Trinity Freedman struggled through the deep, grasping sheet of snow that stretched out before her in a seemingly never ending blanket. Her teeth chattered and rattled her skull as she desperately clawed at the threadbare wind-breaker that hung in tatters on her shoulders.

                She cursed the dirty rat that had conned her into putting her life savings into phony investments. She cursed the bank for repossessing her house and furniture. She cursed the drunk driver that had taken her parents away before they could have helped her.

                She sighed and her breath came out as a thick cloud of steam before it dissipated into the frigid air. If she was honest with herself, it wasn’t anyone’s fault but her own. If she had looked more closely into the situation, if she had consulted with experts, she wouldn’t be in her current mess. She would have friends that still talked to her. She would still be attending college… she would still have a fiancé.

                A bitter wind picked up from out of nowhere and eddies of snow swirled around Trinity as she stood lost in thought. Thinking about Rick and all of her shallow friends dug up unwanted emotions. She trudged on, wiping away her tears before they could freeze on her cheeks. Did they think she wanted to be a homeless vagrant? Did they think that she had meant to completely ruin herself? Couldn’t they have just been understanding and tried to help her out, instead of completely shunning her?

                Rick’s last words to her resurfaced in her mind “Let me have my ring back, Trinity. It was my grandmother’s and I don’t want you pawning it off when you get desperate.” He had then driven off in his red Ferrari and she had never seen him again.

                Those words stung more than the wind that whipped her red hair in her face. She had actually agreed to marry that jerk? That was probably the only good thing about the whole incident; she had just barely escaped a more-than-likely disastrous marriage. Her feelings for him, once deep and passionate, had now run cold. Trinity scoffed somewhat at the irony of that thought. It wasn’t just her feelings that had run cold; it was everything else too.

                Trinity was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn’t pay attention to where she was going. She had been walking dangerously close to a steep ledge, and her foot slipped on a patch of ice, and she fell over the edge. She clawed and grasped frantically at whatever she could find as she slid down, but everything was frozen solid or dead and brittle.

                Is this how it’s going to end?  She asked herself desperately as rocks and dead plants zoomed past her Am I going to die all alone in this dead wasteland?!  Despite herself, she did have to admit that it had a dramatic ring to it. Trinity could see the bottom racing up to meet her and she threw her hands up in front of her face in a feeble attempt to protect herself.

                Luckily, though she didn’t realize it at the time, a small rock jutted out from the wall and caught her feet just right. She flipped over and flew just far enough to avoid being crushed by the jagged rocks at the bottom of the cliff and landed on her stomach in a large, soft snow drift.

                Trinity quickly sat up and gasped as the ice crystals stung her face. She brushed them off as fast as she could and rubbed her face to get some warmth back into it. She peeked out from behind her fingers with widened eyes.

                “I’m alive?” She asked incredulously. She felt her face, arms, hands, fingers, legs, and torso to make sure everything was present and accounted for. “I’m alive!” She shrieked with relief.  She bent down and kissed the snow. She had never been so happy to see such a big drift of the powdery stuff sent from heaven. Just at that moment the wind picked up again and threw a handful of the snow right in her face. She brushed it off again.

                “Thanks!” She yelled sarcastically to the wind. 

Trinity took in her surroundings, and her eyes widened in wonder. A gigantic, completely frozen waterfall shone in the sunlight that was now peeking through the clouds. As if in a trance she got up and walked towards it, her eyes never wavering from it. She passed within mere inches of all the crevices and sink-holes that were covered by the snow, and she was so enthralled by the wondrous sight before her that the banshee-like wind didn’t even faze her.

She finally came to the base and looked up at the icicles in awe. They were at least as big around as her waist, and they were probably twice as long as she was tall. Nothing stirred as she stared at the massive natural monument with something close to reverence. A light breeze stirred, and it took Trinity a minute to realize that it was warm.

How on earth could there be any warmth around here? Trinity wondered. She poked around curiously and found a space just big enough to fit through in between two low-hanging icicles. That seemed to be where the warmth was coming from. Trinity didn’t even attempt to conjecture why there was warmth coming out of that opening; all she knew was that she was cold and wet and miserable and that anyplace that was warm was good enough for her.

She wriggled her way in between the icicles and found herself in a large cave. It was damp and warm inside, and there was a peaceful silence that was disturbed only by the steady fall of water droplets. The musky smell of animals inside was surprisingly comforting to her; it meant that life could survive in this place. A warm current of air brushed past her, and her curiosity became peaked. She waited for another gust and then turned in the direction it had come from. She wasn’t entirely sure, but she thought she could see a small pin-prick of light coming from that direction.  She shrugged her shoulders; she had nothing else to do. She started for that light.

As Trinity walked, the light gradually got bigger and bigger, and the gusts of wind became more frequent. When she was about fifty-feet away, Trinity realized that the light she was seeing was sunlight, and not the muted, cold sunlight that comes with every winter, but it was warm, vibrant sunlight that could only be found in the summer time.  She walked through a natural entryway that had been hewn into the cave wall by erosion, and found herself on a ledge overlooking a lush, beautiful valley. Rolling green hills were dotted with bright splotches of wild-flowers. Sapphire-blue ponds and lakes glistened in the golden sunlight, and powdery-white clouds lazily traveled across an azure sky.  A medieval  city rested on the pinnacle of the largest hill, and in the very center the turrets of a beautiful castle soared into the heavens.

“How is this possible?” Trinity asked herself. Just then the ledge rumbled under her feet, and she could feel it sinking down the mountain. “Really?!” She shrieked before the thin ledge completely gave way and tumbled down the mountain side, taking her with it. Close to the bottom, she managed to grab onto a tree-limb and watched as the rocks rolled down the mountain side. She was lucky. The rocks had banged her up pretty good, but as far as she could tell nothing was broken.

She tried to pull herself up onto a more stout branch, but then the bough she was holding onto began to creak “Seriously?! What is up with this?!”

The tree branch snapped and she crashed through the underlying limbs. All Trinity was waiting for was the impact that broke all of her bones, but it never came. Fortunately for her a young man had been walking under that tree at that precise moment. He had been minding his own business, walking along admiring the natural beauty of the forest, when, much to his surprise, an incredibly disheveled girl fell into his arms.

His head reeled back and he looked at her as if she were some strange alien.

“Ummm… hello?” He said somewhat awkwardly. “Where exactly did you come from?”

Trinity just sat there in his arms in stunned silence for a moment. She had survived… again?

She was so occupied that she didn’t really have time to think about what she was saying. “I came from outside the waterfall.”

The young man blanched. He had heard about the Outsiders; and all that he had learned was that they were trouble. The only thing was, this girl didn’t strike him as dangerous. Sure, she had fallen from the sky, but he could tell that somewhere under all that grime she was very beautiful, and she didn’t act as if she were trying to harm anybody. Of course, those were just his observations from about thirty seconds knowing this girl.

He placed her down carefully and then backed up a few paces. “Are you all right?” He asked tentatively.

“I’ll live, hopefully.” Was Trinity’s reply as she rubbed her head sourly; she had hit it pretty hard on the way down.

The young man wasn’t entirely sure what that was supposed to mean, but he let it slide. “If you’re an Outsider, how did you manage to get here?”

Trinity stood up and arched her back. It cracked a few times and Trinity sighed. “A newly found propensity for falling.” She said.

“What?” This girl was not making any sense at all.

Trinity waved her hand dismissively. “It’s a long storeee…” She trailed off. She had just turned to look at her rescuer and her eyes widened. He was incredibly handsome; he had slightly untamed dark hair and beautiful storm-grey eyes. His physique was strong and well-toned, but not excessively. He was well tanned and had a kind, thoughtful face; although at the moment it seemed very perplexed. 

Something she noticed was that he was exceptionally good-looking, but he either didn’t seem to notice or didn’t care. That was a trait that Rick did not possess. He was handsome and he knew it. He had flaunted it everywhere they had gone together, and now that she thought about it in hind-sight, it drove her crazy. This man, however, appeared more handsome to her because of his apparent humbleness about his looks, even though if judged only on appearance, the two men would be almost identical in attractiveness.

Trinity realized she was staring and reddened slightly. She cleared her throat and stuck out her hand “Hi. I’m Trinity.”

The young man eyed her hand like it was a poisonous serpent, but then tentatively extended his own hand. He took hers and shook it stiffly “I’m Alex.” He said with a faint English accent.

Trinity’s heart melted. She had always had a soft spot for guys with foreign accents.

Alex quickly retrieved his hand and backed away another pace. Trinity cocked her head in confusion. “What’s the matter? I won’t bite.” She said with a small laugh.

Alex laughed nervously but stayed where he was. He still wasn’t entirely sure what to think of this girl.

Trinity huffed exasperatedly “Look, would you mind telling me what the deal is? With the way you act it’s almost as if you’ve never seen a girl before… You have seen girls before, right?”

Alex rolled his eyes. “Of course I’ve seen girls before! Just never an Outsider.”

“And what, may I ask, is an “Outsider”?” Trinity asked, making air quotes.

“Well, you are. You said so yourself.”

“What?”

“You said that you came from outside the waterfall. That makes you an Outsider.”

Trinity just stared at Alex with a raised eyebrow. “You have got to be joking. Did I accidentally walk in on some Narnia movie set or something?”

“Excuse me?”

There was a rustling in the bushes behind Alex and a small, cloaked man rose up from the undergrowth and aimed a cross-bow right in between Alex’s shoulder blades.

“Oh look,” Trinity said without an ounce of surprise; still convinced she was on a movie set “Creepy assassin dude with a cross-bow. Check.”

                “What?!” Alex cried. He spun around just as the assassin pulled the trigger. The arrow shaft whistled as it flew and slammed into Alex’s bicep. Alex cried out and pain and fell to the ground, clutching his wounded arm as blood seeped through his fingers.

                Trinity’s eyes widened; that was real blood. The archer was cocking another arrow in his bow, and Trinity knew she had to do something. She picked up the only weapon she could find, a thick branch that she had broken from her fall, and hurled at the man’s head. He looked up just before it clobbered him in the face and he went down for the count.

                Trinity rushed over to Alex “Are you alright?” She asked urgently.

                “Oh, sure. I just have an arrow protruding from my arm.” He replied sarcastically as he grimaced in pain.

                “I am so sorry. I didn’t think any of this was real.” Trinity apologized.

                “Well, now what do you think?”

                “I don’t know how, but all of this is definitely real.”

                “Good, now that that’s all straightened out, would you mind taking this very real arrow out of my arm?”

                Trinity turned a pale shade of green “You want me to…? Now?! Can’t we just wait for a doctor?”

                “Trinity, do you want to help me or not?” Alex asked forcibly.

                Trinity sighed “All right. Here it goes.” She grabbed the arrow shaft and closed her eyes, yanking it out with one swift jerk.

                Alex grunted and clenched his teeth as tears of pain swam in his vision. He fought them back and told Trinity “Alright, now rip the bottom of my shirt and tie it around the wound; not too tightly, but just enough to stop the flow of blood.”

                “I was never good at First-Aid.” Trinity complained as she ripped the hem of his shirt. She wrapped it around his arm and tied it with a double knot at the end.  “How’s that?”

                “Fine. Could you help me up please?”

                Trinity was amazed that he could be so calm and collected at a time like this. “Are you sure you can stand?” She asked.

                “It’s my arm that’s hurt, not my leg. I’ll be fine.” He assured her.

                “Okay.” She carefully helped him to his feet and made sure that he was stable before letting go.

                The make-shift bandage was already starting to be soaked through with blood. Alex rubbed it and said “We need to get to the castle. The queen should hear about this.”

                “The queen? You have a…?” She trailed off again as Alex glared at her. She would just have to accept most of these insignificant details without explanation.  

                “How long will it take us to get there?” She asked instead

                Alex looked grateful that she had caught on. “Normally an hour at the most, but with what just happened, I wouldn’t feel safe traveling on the main roads. We’ll have to take the forest trails, and we probably won’t get to town until night-fall, if we’re lucky.”

                Trinity studied Alex’s face closely. She could tell that he had lost some color, and small beads of sweat were forming on his forehead.

                “Are you sure you’re okay to travel?” She asked worriedly.

                “I’m fine.” He replied deliberately, walking away into the forest. Trinity hurried after him, not wanting to be left alone in this strange place.

                They walked in silence for a few minutes, and Trinity could hear Alex’s breath becoming labored. She could tell that he was touchy about his arm and she didn’t want to pester him about it, so she decided to try and take his mind off it for a while.

                “So, Alex, tell me about yourself.” She began.

                “Maybe later.” He replied shortly. “I’m kind of occupied at the moment.”

                “Okay.” Trinity mouthed, lapsing into silence again. Since she had nothing better to do, she began studying the forest as they traveled through it. Large, regal oaks towered above the slender trunks of aspen trees. Soft green grass covered the forest floor, and white daisy’s dotted the sea of green. Golden sunlight filtered through the trees and dappled the forest floor, and small spots of fiery oranges and yellows in the trees’ leaves foreshadowed the coming of autumn. The rich, earthy scent of the forest brought peace to her mind; reminding her of her child-hood home. Trinity suddenly felt an overpowering sense of home-sickness. She missed her home and her family and the familiarity of her home-town.

                Deeper and deeper Trinity and Alex forged into the forest. Trinity was beginning to get the feeling that they were never going to get out, when she began noticing familiar things by their path. The knarled trunk of an ancient oak tree; the aspen tree that split in two; the patch of daisy’s that reached almost up to her chest. They were going in circles!

                “We’re lost, aren’t we?” She finally blurted out.

                Alex paused in his step. “No.” He retorted, but the uncertainty in his voice was obvious.

                “That’s it!” Trinity snapped, throwing up her hands “Sit down. We are not moving from this spot until you get some rest and figure out exactly where we are!”

                Alex was taken aback by her forcefulness and timidly shrunk down to the nearest log. Trinity slumped down next to him and held her head in her hands. “Why?” She asked tiredly “Why do these things happen to me? Have I done something so horribly wrong to do deserve this?”

                Alex noticed her distress and wondered at it. Outsiders supposedly only felt emotions like hate and anger. Trinity seemed so… human. She didn’t seem much different than him at all. His heart went out to her and he put his good arm around her shoulder.

                “It sounds to me like you have had a pretty tough time lately.” He said kindly.

                “You have no idea.”

                “Why don’t you tell me about it?”

                Trinity took a big breath and spilled her whole life’s story to him. Alex listened quietly and attentively, and his arm remained around her shoulder the whole time. Trinity could feel all of her bundled up emotions draining away, and she felt comfortable and safe sitting there next to Alex. She cried here and there, and Alex remained next to her, being her rock and support. She breathed in his ‘woodsy’ scent that mingled with the sickeningly sweet odor of his blood. His breath skimmed across the back of her neck and sent goose-bumps up her arms. When she finished her tale she sniffled and wiped her eyes.

                “Ugh, I’m sorry. I’m not usually like this.” She said apologetically. “Thanks for listening, though. It really helped.” She looked up into his gray eyes and smiled. He smiled in return. “Well,” she said finally “Now that you know all of my darkest secrets, why don’t you tell me about yourself? We’re not going anywhere.”

                Alex shrugged his shoulders “If you insist. My full name is Alexander, and my parents died when I was very young. My aunt took me in, and I’ve been raised by her ever since.”

                Trinity was fully disappointed by this lack of information “Is that it?” She asked bluntly.

                Alex laughed “You’re a stickler for details, aren’t you?”

                “Yeah, pretty much. Now give me all the juicy ones.” She put her elbows on her knees and rested her head on her palms, looking up at him with rapt attention.

                Alex laughed again “There’s not much to tell… except for the fact that I’m the prince of this valley.”

                “What?!” Trinity shrieked. She slugged him in the shoulder. “Not much to tell, my foot!”

                “Oww!” Alex whined “That was my bad arm!”

                Trinity instantly softened. “I’m sorry.” She said repentantly.

                Alex grinned “Just kidding.”

                “Oh you…” Trinity cocked her fist. Her stomach grumbled and she huffed in exasperation as she lowered her fist. “I’m going to go look for some food. I’m starving. Stay here and bang on the log three times every five minutes so that I can find you again, okay?”

                Alex let out an exaggerated sigh. “Fine. I have to do everything.”

                “You’re lucky you’re hurt, or else I’d clobber you right now.” Trinity warned. She disappeared into the trees.

Trinity wandered around aimlessly for what seemed like hours, searching for a berry bush or at least an edible root. She was not having any luck though. This forest had seemed to grow completely for looks and not for resources. She didn’t even catch a glimpse of any animals during her wanderings.

She had just decided to give up and go back when she heard human voices not far from where she was. She followed them, hoping that they would have some food and be able to help her and Alex out of the forest.  They were getting louder and louder, and she knew she was getting close, but something made her hold back. She stopped behind a tree and listened.

“What do you mean ‘you didn’t get him’?” A harsh female voice asked.

“Like I said, I didn’t get him. There was a girl with him that saw me. She warned him and he turned around before I could get him in the heart. Before I could try for another shot, she threw a branch at me and knocked me out cold.”

Trinity had to stifle a gasp. She would bet anything in the world that that was the assassin she and Alex had confronted earlier. She peeked around her tree to confirm her guess.

She was right. The disgruntled archer was sitting on a stump with a large goose-egg on his forehead. He was talking with an extremely elegant woman in flowing iridescent purple robes. She had long, raven-black tresses that hung down her back in silky cascades, and her skin was like white porcelain. Her facial features were perfect in every way, and her eyes were deep pools of crystal blue.

“Have you seen this girl before?” The woman asked.

“Never.” The man replied “I have my suspicions though, that she was an Outsider.”

“What?!” The woman shrieked. “If the prince is traveling with an Outsider, than that means…” The woman never got to finish her sentence. The assassin had just turned his head slightly and saw Trinity standing in the shadows.

“There she is!” He cried. He pulled a knife out of his cloak and threw it at her.

Trinity ducked behind the tree and heard the dull thunk as the dagger imbedded itself in the thick wood. She gulped as she thought of what that would’ve done to her head. She sprinted away just as the man went to grab her. He cursed and pursued her as she wound her way through the trees; screaming Alex’s name. Arrows whistled past her as the man finally managed to load his cross-bow.

“Alex!” She screamed again.

“Trinity?!”

Trinity veered off in the direction of his voice. He had stood up and his body was tensed and ready for trouble. “Trinity, what’s wrong?” He asked urgently.

Trinity shook her head as she grabbed his hand “No time to explain. Just RUN!”

She dragged him along with her as she pounded through the forest. She could hear the assassin crashing through the undergrowth after them, and she put on another burst of speed.

Miraculously, she and Alex broke through the tree-line and had a clear view of the castle and city.

“Come on!” She yelled. Just then the assassin exploded from the trees and came pounding towards them. Alex’s eyes widened and, before she could protest, he picked Trinity up and threw her over his shoulders. He tore down the hill-side at top-speed, the assassin slowly catching up to them. They finally reached the city limits and pedestrians yelled angrily at them as they were almost bowled over.  Alex never once stopped, but threw apologies over his shoulders by the second.

Alex didn’t even slow down as the castle gates came into view. The guards were caught unawares as he barreled towards them. They began lowering the tall, cruel spears that they held in their hands.

“Open the gates!” Alex shouted “Quickly!” He glanced back and the assassin was still hot on their tail.

The guards stood down “Prince Alex, what…?”

“Don’t ask questions! Just open the gates!” The guards saluted and had just barely raised the gates when Alex ran under. “Close them! Close them!” He called over his shoulder as he ran up the castle steps. The guards looked at each other in befuddlement; but shrugged their shoulders. They had decided long ago that they would never understand royalty. The gate had just slammed closed when the assassin ran up. He crashed into the metal bars and fell with a cloud of dust; his eyes crossed dazedly.

As soon as they were safely within the castle, Alex gently put Trinity down and bent over as he gasped for breath.

“That…” Trinity said with widened eyes “That was…”

Alex looked up at her. Stupendous? He thought Heroic? Daring?

“That was the most stupid thing I have ever seen in my life!” Trinity finally managed to say.

“What?!” Alex asked indignantly.

“How dare you throw me over your shoulder like that! I slowed you down! You could’ve been killed! You’re the prince! I’m just a nobody. How do you think I would’ve felt if you had died?”

Alex just shook his head and leaned down and kissed her. Trinity stiffened in surprise; her arms hanging limply by her sides. What was he doing? What…? Trinity just pushed those thoughts away and relished the moment. Her hands traveled up Alex’s back and entangled themselves in his hair as his strong arms wrapped around her waist. Trinity was in total bliss. All of her home-sickness had fled; replaced by a sense of belonging here, in Alex’s arms. She had never felt this way before, and never wanted the moment to end.

 Someone cleared their throat behind them.

“Alex, am I interrupting something?” A female asked.

“Oh! Aunt Perennial!” Alex said, spinning around and blushing furiously.

Trinity gasped. If this woman was Alex’s Aunt, then he was in grave danger. The woman studied them with piercing blue eyes, her black hair framing her face. Her iridescent purple robes accented her perfect figure. Just by the way the woman stood, the way she observed Trinity, showed that she knew exactly who she was.

Trinity froze in terror, not knowing what to do. The elegant woman standing in front of them was the woman she had seen conversing with the assassin in the woods; plotting to take Alex’s life.

Author's Note

I procrastinated doing this until almost the last minute, so I know it's not my very best work. It was fun doing it, though, so I'd like to see what you think. :) Please, do not hesitate to call out any problems you see or things I could've done better; but at the same time, I'd also like to hear about what you liked so that I can do it again in other works. I hope you enjoy it. :)

Award(s):

Wonderful Writing: "Fiction contest" contest

Reviews

[A. L. Allen]

Ahhhhh!!! I had no idea that I accidentally switched names! Thanks for pointing that out.
Would you mind pointing out to me what you viewed as a cliche? I most likely meant to use some, but I was just wondering what your opinion of a cliche was. :)

Thanks for reviewing!

[Writingfox]

I loved this! I want to know more. Please write more! Only thing is you used a few cliches and called Trinity Kennedy. I am sure her name has significance. I wish you would develop that!

[SwagMaster]

I LOVED IT!!! I need you to finish it; now!! It's a fantabulous story, full of everything an exciting story needs. More, please!!