The Falls

My eyes opened to see the sparkling sand flicker all around me. it was a sight that made me think of tinker-bell. As my eyes began to focus on the silvery sand, my fingers couldn’t help but feel the cold sparkle. I began to think I was dreaming again, the sight of the shining sand was something so surreal, something I had never even thought of seeing. As my fingers dug into the sand once more, tiny flakes of glitter pulled away from my fingers, spiraling upward. I had to be dreaming, gravity seemed to be non-existent now. I sat up and leaned against the cold boulder, and watched as the now glittering air seemed to breathe itself. It was something so beautiful, something I could never describe. I felt peace; I felt warmth in the cold dark shadows. My eyes flicked to the crack above me, and met the shadow of another dark paw. My heart began to race once again; it was a feeling that meant I was still alive. The shadow soon disappeared from above me. I needed to move; I needed to get out of here. I stood, but as I did I began to notice the pain in my leg was gone, Curiosity over took me, I peeled the unwrapped scrap of dress that once lay upon my bleeding leg, but as I looked to my leg, I found nothing but dried blood, no wound, nothing but rusted red flakes.
Before I could ponder how long I’d slept, a shadow crept into the darkness. I turn my head to the opening, but found nothing. But yet, my heart told me something eerie was in the dark with me. I bend to the sand, and grasped the arrow and held it close to me. I slowly stood, and as I did the light from the opening turned into a wave of darkness. Metal began to clink together as the light began to surface once more. A warrior stood in front of me, I almost thought he did not see me in the darkness, until his word drew toward me.
“Put down the arrow.” His words direct, impersonal. The metal of his armor clicked again as he stood waiting for me to drop the potential weapon. I dropped the arrow in the sand; a wave of glittering dust clouded my vision as I did so. I could no longer see him, I hesitated for a moment, and all I could hear was my heart beat. It was the primal beat that made me defy him; I reached for the arrow once more, and lunged toward him in the blinding glitter. I didn’t know how or what to do next, but something inside me had the instinct to knock him out, and to this day I do not remember how I did it. I guess it was my heartbeat; it was something that I wanted to protect, no matter the cost. He fell to the ground in a wave of silver glitter, and truth be told I disarmed him, I took his shined sword, his silver-tipped arrows, and bow. I left him though with one arrow, just as I had in my hand when he fell.
I walked into the light, looking back to see him once more, full armor, with one single arrow. He will soon be behind me, with the single weapon I granted him, that would be enough for any good warrior. I set off in the daylight to journey back to the life I knew. But I was helpless; I didn’t know how I had gotten here, nor which way to turn. So I headed further into the rocks.
My fingers soon grow weak from the jagged edges of the rocks, and my feet still bloodied from the
run. But my leg had healed. I thought back to the wolf that licked my wound, could it have healed me? if so, where was the wolf now that I needed to escape from this strange land. My thoughts raced on and on, as I continued to climb through the rough terrain. The sword lay hidden behind my back buried in my hair, but as I climbed I could feel the cold steel rubbing along my spine. The arrows and bow wrapped around my shoulders and lay quietly on my back, just light enough for me to carry them, but heavy enough to push the sword against my skin more often than I wanted. Still I couldn’t complain, I had a real weapon now, something that would come in handy if I were to face those warriors again. I pulled myself up to a ledge, my shoulders strained from climbing, and my legs exhausted from pushing myself forward. I rolled myself to my back, and breathed deep. I could feel the wind hitting my soaked skin, it made me think I was cold, which was a welcomed surprise as I closed my eyes. As I concentrated on the shivers, my ears caught the sound of water. That sound alone was enough to make me move once more. It was distant, but I knew I would need water. I crawled to another ledge and lifted myself once more. I climbed fifteen feet higher, when I reached the top of the boulder. I walked toward the sweet sound, and as I reached the boulder’s end, my eyes greeted beautiful falls. I looked below me;
it was a straight shot downward into the water. I was watching the water crash into the pond below, it made my impulse to jump.
As I lowered my body to climb down, a voice from behind me boomed “Stop right there.” I knew the voice, the warrior I had disarmed. I turned to face him, this time his helmet at his side and the arrow pointing at me. “You have nowhere to go, just step off the ledge and come back to me.” I raised my eye brow at him, and followed my instinct, I stepped back ward, feeling the edge of the cliff on my bloody feet. I smiled at him, and held my breath. It seemed like a life time of falling, had I known how long it would take to reach the water, I wouldn’t have jumped. I closed my eyes, I wanted to feel the water, more than anything, but I didn’t. I opened my eyes to find rushing water hit my body. I was submerged in the cold water, and felt the metal of the sword drag me downward further into the deep pond. I felt the water rush into my nose, and pure power of the dive finally hit my feet. I pulled myself to the surface. I gasped at the air, welcoming it back into my lungs, and coughing up the water that had forced itself down my nose.
I looked up to the warrior; I smiled as I saw his face, shocked that I had come back to the surface. I swam to the edge of the lake, and pulled my body out of the water. And before I could look back to the cliff, all I heard was a large splash. The warrior had jumped in after me. But he did not surface. Everything grew silent. His armor would be dragging him down. As much as I wanted him to drown, I couldn’t let that happen. I stripped the sword, bow and arrows from my back, and dove back into the cold blue water. I swam to the bottom, where I saw him struggling with his armor. I rushed to him the fastest I could, and then reached his silver armor. I unhinged his shin guards, and shoulder plates. He kicked free from the bottom of the pond, but as he did, his intentions showed. He took my body in his arms, and dug the arrow into my stomach. I saw the ribbon of red surround my hands as I felt the heat escape. I kicked from him, and swam upward pain flooding my body. But before I could take in air, the warrior’s arm grasped my ankle and pulled my downward. I kicked and squirmed in the thick water. I freed myself from his grasp and kicked again to the surface. I pushed myself to the bank, and pulled my heavy body out of the water’s grasp. I quickly grabbed the bow and arrow and aimed it to the surface. as the warrior’s head took in his first breath of air I aimed between his eyes.
“Don’t move!” I screamed at him. He raised his hands in surrender. “If you were in my position, would you shoot?” I asked him.
“I would shoot to kill,” He said like the true warrior inside would say.
“You stay in the water until I say you can surface.” I said to him as I backed myself toward the sword. He nodded.
“If I stay in here, I will freeze to death,” He said.
“Oh well maybe then you’ll think twice to attack your rescuer.” I said to him as I reached to the sword and sheathed it back into my dress.
“You cannot blame a man for his given orders.”
“Actually, yes, I can.” I said to him as I aimed into the water, and shot an arrow into his leg. His scream echoed into the air, as he began to struggle to the edge of the pond. I ran from the water, placing the bow back on my shoulders. I gripped my stomach as the dress became dyed red. I couldn’t stop, I had to keep running. But as I ran, the light began to fall, and the cold swept across my skin. My head
began to float above me. My steps became more staggered, and soon my feet collapsed from under me. My vision blurred, but as it did I could still see the glittered landscape and the glittered dust that swarm around me. Soon the glitter faded, it faded because of a dark shadow. And then I felt warmth.