Valley Of Glamorgan (8 page)

“We are near the Valley of Glamorgan,”
stated Knoll; as if I was supposed to know where that was.

“Where is that?” I asked simply.

“I’m sorry Mina,” replied Knoll, “I had
forgotten that we haven’t covered that part. That is where our home
is; in the forests of Ireland, in a valley called Pond Hollow.”

I laughed, saying, “Well, call me crazy but
I think you may have gone a bit delirious from the lack of sleep.
Ireland can only be reached by plane!”

Knoll carried on as if he hadn’t noticed my
comment for which I was grateful, before responding, “We will not
be taking a plane Mina. We will go to the northwest forest located
directly in the Smokey Mountain and there we will enter through the
veil which will transfer us to Ireland.”

For a moment I wondered if I had heard him
correctly. Deciding that I must have, I looked at him and jokingly
said, “Wow, a veil, now why didn’t I think of that?” As for Knoll,
he just kept driving; neither confirming nor denying, whether he
had been joking.

Eventually we pulled onto a long, dirt road
that led us deeper and deeper into the mountains. Despite myself I
was finding it hard to contain my nervousness although I figured
that Knoll wouldn’t have gone to these lengths just to play a joke,
so he must be serious. Now I was really starting to question his
sanity.

When he finally stopped the truck Knoll
quickly hopped out. Stretching his arms and legs, it was the first
time, with the sun beating brightly down on him that I could see
the fatigue in his features, the sight of which made me feel
horrible for joking and being smart with him like I had been.
Getting out of the truck I stretched in the same way, allowing my
muscles to bend and twist, which made me feel much better than I
had anticipated. Knoll grabbed my bag from the truck and threw it
over his shoulder. I began objecting to the kind gesture, by saying
I could carry the bag, he wouldn’t allow it, dismissing my words
altogether, he motioned for me to follow him down the beaten
path.

Stopping briefly to adjust the backpack
strap that lay across his shoulder, Knoll said, “We must hurry
Mina; we have a limited time until the veil closes.” Nodding in
agreement, I was still finding it hard to believe that we were
hiking through the wilderness or that we were heading towards a
veil that would make my life so much more surreal.

I was finding myself trying to shake the
feeling of foreboding that was surrounding me as I continued
following Knoll in silence. Today he seemed different and I
wondered aimlessly as to why he would be that way. Stopping myself
from almost tripping over a fallen tree branch, I concentrated more
on my feet; I have always been clumsy. Knoll yelled back briefly
over his shoulder, making sure I was alright. After I told him I
was fine, we continued walking. His reactions only confirming my
earlier thoughts even more, that he seemed distracted. I made the
decision to investigate the matter when we stopped at the creek for
a quick snack, which was made up of two granola bars and two
bottles of water. It wasn’t my favorite meal, but it would have to
do I told my stomach when it growled unfavorably at the first bite
of the granola bar.

Knoll sat silently on a nearby rock staring
at the creek water as it slowly rolled away over the rocks. He
seemed to be in a world of his own today so I didn’t want to
interrupt his thoughts, but I needed to know why he was acting so
different. For some reason I couldn’t comprehend his behavior. It
made me feel nervous.

Eventually I cleared my throat, attempting
to draw his attention to me; looking up he smiled, “Sorry Mina. I
didn’t notice that you were standing there, what to you need?” he
asked absentmindedly.

“Well,” I started nervously, tracing a path
in the dirt with my pink tennis shoe. “I was wondering if you were
doing okay today, you seem…” I paused searching for a word that
described his weird mood change and then continued, “Sort of,
off..”

Slowly he shook his head in understanding
and said, “I might as well get this out in the open now. Soon we
will reach the veil, in about thirty minutes, at which time you
will find out anyway...”

I straightened my back, standing tall and
taking deep breathes of the fresh forest air. I was readying myself
for whatever Knoll was about to tell me; it didn’t seem as if it
would be good news. Nodding for him to go on, I was afraid that if
I said a word he would change his mind, and not tell me whatever it
was. By the look on his face I could tell he was debating with
himself as to whether it was a good idea or not. Finally standing
up he looked me directly in the eyes, “Mina, I have not been
completely honest; I have lied to you,” he said simply.

I was stunned by the ease of the words he
had just spoken. All I could manage to utter was, “But, you
promised that you would never lie to me!” There was more hurt
within those words than one could possibly grasp; I had trusted
him.

Shaking his head he had a look of pure
defeat, before continuing, “I know and I am sorry. It’s just that I
didn’t want you to change your mind about coming with me.” I
swallowed hard; I didn’t like where this was going but I pushed the
worry down the best I could as I waited for him to continue.

“Do you remember when I spoke of Maggie?” he
asked me. As if I could have forgotten him telling me I had a
sister so I simply nodded my head yes, as I didn’t at the moment
feel like I owed a liar more of a response. He waited a second and
then went on to tell me, “I told you that she has to marry a
guardian; I just didn’t tell you that the guardian she is marrying
is me.” He stood tall and rigid, patiently waiting for my
response.

With relief I chuckled and was just about to
double over, when I asked, “Is that it?”

He looked confused, so I went on to explain
my reaction. “Why would it be any of my business whom you
marry?”

His cheeks turned red as he began trying to
explain that he had thought I had accumulated some feelings for
him. He had even thought that if I knew about the marriage I would
have been hurt and would not have agreed to go with him. Having
denied his accusations, I found myself stopping a strange feeling
of pain in my heart.

‘Oh crap,’ I thought, to myself. Was it
true? Had I been falling for him? Then I thought back to the moment
in the van when I had first realized his beauty, and how he had
made me feel as if butterflies had filled my stomach. The way I
felt, when he told me that I was the most beautiful singer he had
ever heard. Reluctantly I knew that what he thought had some truth
in it. I was falling for him, and the pain was overbearing.
Managing to put a fake smile on I turned to face him. He had been
standing silently with a look of concern on his face.

“I am fine,” I announced clearly but I
wasn’t sure who I was trying to convince more; him or myself.

“I’m sorry I must have been mistaken then?”
Knoll responded; more as a question than a statement.

“Yes. You must have been,” I replied with
more conviction than I intended. “Let’s just go,” I announced.
Following which, Knoll turned and began to lead the way in silence;
not once looking back.

I felt like an idiot, and kept mentally
chastising myself for being so stupid to think that a man like
Knoll could possibly fall for a girl like me. Suddenly I had become
a heart-broken teenage girl, one who desperately needed a mother or
friend to confide in. The lack of which made it much more obvious
and painful to me.

We walked on and on, endlessly. I felt as if
the anger inside me could carry me to the end of the world and
back. Knoll called out several times for me to slow down and I
tried to keep most of my smart comments to myself, but despite that
one did manage to slip out and I snarled at him, “We have to hurry
and get you to your bride, guardian. Did you chose to marry her or
was the choice made for you, just like all the rest?” I had spit
the words out as if they were laced with venom and pain; not caring
how much they hurt him.

Suddenly Knoll grabbed my arm, “Mina that is
enough!” he growled between gritted teeth. “I am a grown man, and
will not be judged by a confused child! I chose Maggie as my bride
because she completes me. She is the love of my life!”

The way in which he had spoken made each
word sound as if there was such conviction wound tightly around
every letter. I wanted to turn around and leave, but I kept trying
to calm myself into thinking rationally. What was I doing? Behaving
like a petulant child. After all he had never given me any reason
to think he loved me. I mean, for heaven’s sakes, I had only spent
three days with him; although granted he had saved my life. Still
what was I thinking! Eventually I decided to put my foolish
feelings behind me and continue on the journey ahead of us without
further comment. With the roller coaster of emotions I was
experiencing just then I knew it was going to be a lot easier said
than done.

I was so enclosed in my own mind that I
jumped when Knoll finally stopped me at the entrance to a cave.
“Hey!” I exclaimed, “Can you give me a warning next time?”

Smiling he nodded and replied, “Yes ma’am.”
I just rolled my eyes and hated that it felt as if things would
never be the same between us again.

“We will go through the Veil here,” he
pointed to the entrance. Looking towards the cave I could see a
glimpse of shimmering, clear film that covered the whole entrance.
Suddenly I felt my hands begin to shake. Today I would meet my
mother and father. And I would also meet my sister; who, for some
stupid reason, I was angry towards since the moment Knoll had
admitted that he loved her.

The Guardian sensed my nervousness but
reassuringly said, “It will be okay Mina-Bear, just breathe.” Then
he continued, “In a few seconds you will be home, and safe with
people who have missed you dearly, and who have risked their lives
to find you.”

Knoll laughed, letting out a sigh as he
looked at me with what appeared to be sympathy before saying, “It
will be okay. I have arranged for just your immediate family to
meet us at the Veil on the other side. You can meet the rest of
village after you have had time to rest.” At least I was thankful
for that.

Stepping forward Knoll reached out his hand,
“We shall step in together Mina. You must hold tightly onto my hand
and for no reason should you let go!”

Grabbing his hand I gripped it tightly,
feeling a warm sensation spreading through my body from his touch,
and with one step we were cascading downward at a God awful speed.
There was darkness, twirling past me and I felt as if the granola
bar had made its way back up. I kept thinking, ‘Great, the first
thing my family will see is me throwing up!’

Landing with a hard thud I discovered I was
laid on soft plush grass. Looking around I couldn’t believe my
eyes. There was nothing but rolling hills, and bright green grass
spread all across and as far as the eye could see; it was simply
breath taking. Standing up from the ground I let go of Knolls’ hand
before brushing my pants off the best I could. Then I heard a small
noise and turned to see a woman and a man, with another younger
woman standing only a few feet from where we had landed. Looking
towards Knoll for reassurance that we had indeed landed in the
right spot, he gently nudged me forward, saying, “Carmina, this is
your family.” I found it odd that he had called me Carmina, and I
knew that things would probably always be formal between us from
here on out.

Slowly I began walking towards them, when
the woman ran to me. Throwing her arms around me she hugged me
tightly, lightly sobbing as she whispered softly into my ear, “Oh
Mina, you are finally home.”

Even though I wrapped my arms around her, it
felt strange doing so. My wish was that I could feel the same
happiness she did, but I just didn’t know what to say. For a start
I had no idea who these people were; I had no memories of them
what-so-ever. Finally the woman finally loosened her grip as the
man, stepping forward, instructed her to let me go.

“You have to let her breathe, Eleanor,” he
said, smiling at me with bright green eyes that reminded me of my
own. But Eleanor remained standing in front of me smiling. As I
looked at her I thought how beautiful she was, with long
strawberry-blonde hair, bright blue eyes and thin, cat like
features. Calling for the man to come closer she announced, “Liam,
our daughter is finally home!” and she looked up at him adoringly,
as tears began to fall down her porcelain colored cheeks.

Liam stepped forward and taking my small
hand in his large rough one, he held it gently as he smiled down at
me and said, “Yes indeed dear, she is.” Then he gave me a small hug
and welcomed me home. Liam was the exact opposite of my father, or
the man I had thought was my father. This man had dark red hair,
and was large and bulky. He looked like a person who could hold his
own in a fight.

Then Liam gestured for the woman who had run
past me into Knolls arms as we had arrived. I somehow guessed that
she was my sister, Maggie. She too was beautiful; like Eleanor, she
was slender and had blonde hair but bright green eyes like Liam.
Now I understood what Knoll had seen in her. I hated the knots I
felt forming in my stomach whilst watching him hold her in his
arms, whispering sweet nothings in her ear. After a few moments,
she turned from him and walked gracefully towards me, before
pulling me into an embrace, the same as Eleanor had.

“Hello, Carmina! It’s so great to have you
home,” she said with a brilliant smile. I couldn’t resist smiling
back and thanking her. If she was always this nice, I would have a
hard time keeping myself from being nice to her.

Liam and Eleanor quickly thanked Knoll for
my safe return home before we all made our way back to the village,
back to my proper home. I felt as if I had stepped out of reality
and into a fairy tale as my mother, father and sister led me to a
large, castle-like mansion. It had large, beautifully stained glass
windows that were housed in exquisitely carved, grey cobbled stone
that covered the whole building. I couldn’t help but stop and stare
in awe. It was so breath taking!