Valley Of Glamorgan (11 page)

“I love your dress, it fits you so well,” I
told her as she finished putting my hair up before making me stand
up to look in the mirror. She had done a wonderful job, having
taken my long unruly hair and put it up into a braided bun, with a
headband-braid lying across the top. “I hugged her warmly, being
careful not to mess up her dress or her hair.

Finally ready we both made our way down the
stairs, which wasn’t that easy a task due to the heels I was
wearing. At the bottom of the stairs I was met by Knoll and my
parents. Eleanor wore a very pretty long, black, lacy gown. She
also wore her hair in a side bun. Smiling she told me that she
thought I looked exceptional and Liam agreed as he quickly pulled
me into a hug.

“You look quite handsome yourself,” I said
to him; making him laugh. He wore a black suit, with a black tie.
It was simple but fit him perfectly.

Then I turned to look at Knoll. He looked
very handsome in his white suit and green vest and tie that matched
my dress! Taking my hands in his he gently pulled me into a light
hug. “You look lovely,” he said. I thanked him before quickly
stepping to the side in order to allow him and Maggie to admire one
another.

Then it was time to go and we began walking
to the large ballroom where my party was being held. Strangely I
couldn’t help but admire my little family. Knoll and Maggie were
nestled hip to hip and I admired that they could walk that close
together. Eleanor and Liam walked farther apart, but their hands
never left one another’s. It was a delightful scene to see.

Chapter 7

We stopped just outside the entrance to the
ballroom. Eleanor, Liam and Maggie continued inside. Knoll and I
remained outside the doors. We were to wait until they called for
us; standing in silence with both our wide eyes fixed on the large
wooden door. Butterflies filled my stomach and I could feel that
Knoll was nervous too. Then it was our turn and smiling at me he
gently placed his hand on the small of my back. “It will be okay,”
he reassured me as we walked into the room.

I was surprised by the number of people
inside; there seemed to be thousands. At least it seemed that there
was that many. In reality the number was more likely to be in the
hundreds. Everyone was sitting in chairs around elegant, wooden
carved tables but they were all looking at Knoll and me. As we
walked in everyone stood, bowed and then started clapping. Slowly I
could feel my face begin to redden. I hadn’t been expecting such an
overwhelming response to my presence and as such as I nearly
tripped over my own feet; my nerves not settling until we had taken
our seats. Unfortunately, I wasn’t very comfortable with the
seating arrangements as I found we were sat at a long table facing
all the other tables meaning I found myself staring into everyone’s
knowing-gaze. I was glad when Liam stood and took the attention
away from me.

“I want to welcome you all to our home, and
to the celebration of our youngest daughters return,” he said with
tear filled eyes before continuing with, “You all know the
devastation that our family has experienced since Carmina was taken
away. So you will understand how glad we are to have her home, and
we want to thank you all for your support and prayers throughout
those tough years.”

Standing up Knoll instructed me to follow
him as he walked towards my father. “At this time we will have the
guardian promise ceremony,” announced Liam as he handed the
microphone to Knoll.

Knoll got down on one knee, as if about to
propose to someone, and I couldn’t help but blush. Then taking my
hand in his he spoke into the microphone. “Carmina,” he began,
projecting his voice, “I vow my life to protect yours. I will not
let anyone hurt you ever again! If I shall fail you, I shall fail
my destiny in this world, and will take whatever punishment your
father deems necessary.” He looked at me with pride in his eyes
before asking, “Do you accept me as your protector?”

Wiping a tear from my face I tried to
project my voice just as he had. Calling out into the ballroom I
announced in a loud voice, “Yes! I do accept you as my guardian.”
Immediately everyone stood and began clapping. Shortly afterwards
they started making their way towards us, in order to shake our
hands and congratulate us. It was odd how much the event seemed
like a wedding ceremony. I was waiting for the band to start
playing, and the presents to arrive. But instead all we received
were headaches; or at least I did. There were so many people
speaking to me that their faces began to blur together. Although I
tried my best to remember all their names I knew it was probably
impossible.

Suddenly a lady with long, fiery red hair
and grey piercing eyes approached me. She walked with an elegance
holding her head high and wore a floor length silver dress with a
pair of black heels that made her look taller than anyone else in
the room. As she reached me she seemed to grasp my hand just a
little too hard as she started to shake it. Choosing to ignore her
attitude I was just about to introduce myself when she interrupted
me, telling me that her name was Thora; then she swiftly brushed
past me to speak to the group of people standing next to my
parents.

After she had passed by Knoll leaned down
and warned me, “Mina, be careful around that one. She is not good
company to keep.” Just as I was going to ask him to explain, we
were interrupted by a swarm of new people who had come to welcome
me home and offer me their well-wishes. As I smiled I wondered if
this ordeal was ever going to end or if I would have to stand here
and shake people’s hands all night.

In a lull I was about to go get myself a
drink but was stopped in my tracks when I saw Declan walk into the
room! Suddenly I felt butterflies filling my stomach, such as I had
never known before. It was as if the whole room had grown quiet,
and he was the only person that existed to me. As he approached
Declan took my hand and kissed it.

“It’s so great to see you again,” he
announced. His words were laced with a beautiful, rich Irish
accent. The sound flooded my thoughts, and it took me a moment to
pull myself together in order to think straight. I had to keep
telling myself, ‘Come on Mina speak!’

“It’s great to see you as well,” I said, in
what sounded to me a high pitched squeal. It felt as if I was a
babbling idiot, but the way he made me feel by simply kissing my
hand was so overwhelming.

Clearing his throat he asked me, “Would you
like to get out of here?” Looking at him I was surprised by his
question. Was it that obvious that I was getting tired of standing
and shaking people’s hands?

“Can I do that?” I asked, looking behind me
at Knoll; who seemed to be staring oddly at us.

“Mina, you can do as you please,” said
Declan simply. And so I left Knoll standing in the sea of people
while Declan led me outside. It felt like a long time before we
reached the walkway leading to the castle.

Once outside he asked me, “I hope this is
ok?” The moonlight shone down on him, illuminating his grey eyes.
The flecks of blue that resided there were mesmerizing. I thought
he had by far the most unique eyes I had ever seen and couldn’t
help but stare at his raw perfection.

“It’s beautiful out here,” I announced
looking up at the beautiful night sky. The stars were so bright
that they seemed to be scattered all over the night sky. “I don’t
think I have ever seen so many stars,” I said; trying to keep my
mind and eyes off Declan.

“I have lived here my whole life and I don’t
think I will ever get tired of the beauty of the night sky,” he
said. “And speaking of beauty,” he quipped, looking directly into
my eyes and giving me no other option but to look back into his, he
continued, “You look absolutely astounding tonight,” and then he
smiled. He was still looking at me, waiting for my response; one I
was still searching for. Everyone had told me how amazing I looked
tonight but, coming from him, it was as if he had reached into the
night sky and handed me a star. He had made me feel as if I was the
only girl in the universe; as if I actually was the princess
everyone told me I was. However, at this moment in time I didn’t
want to be their princess; only his and that thought scared the
hell out of me. We had only known each other for a short amount of
time. Not to mention that I was still too afraid to ever love or
trust someone again, especially after Stephanie and Jack had
betrayed me.

Declan obviously realized that I was
experiencing some turmoil within my thoughts because he suddenly
asked me if I was alright. “I am fine,” I quickly spat out; trying
to convince him that all was well.

He just looked at me, as if he could see
through the lie; then he put his hand on my arm. “I understand that
you have been through a lot. I just want you to know that we are
all glad to have you home safe,” he said in perfectly calm
tone.

“Thanks, that means a lot,” I said, through
a genuine smile. “I honestly don’t feel like I am at home though; I
feel like I’m in a movie or something. It’s just so hard to believe
that this is my life, it’s all so surreal and I motioned with my
hand at everything around me. Then I began telling him more than I
had told anyone since I had arrived at the castle.

“I haven’t told anyone how overwhelming all
this is for me because I didn’t want to make them worry. Everyone
was so happy that they had got their princess back, but what if
they don’t like who I am? To tell you the truth at this moment in
time I don’t know who I am anymore as my life has been turned
upside down.”

Declan stood silently listening to me
intently. I had somehow known before I started talking about all of
this that he wouldn’t judge me. It was such an odd thing. I felt
more connected to him standing here in this crazy new world than I
had with anyone my whole life; and that scared me more than
anything else that had happened.

“Mina,” he spoke in a gentle, soothing
voice; his words coming out almost in a purr. “No one expects you
to be perfect. We understand that you have been through hell, and
no one wants you to be anything other than whom or what you are.
But if you are still trying to find that person then that is okay
too. We are all family here and will support you, no matter what
difficulties you face.” Suddenly he pulled me into an unexpected
hug. “Know that I will always be here to listen to your problems,”
he whispered a few inches from my ear. And once again the
butterflies in my stomach started soaring. I didn’t know what else
to say other than thank you.

Slowly we made our way to a small bench. As
I sat down I felt relief at taking the weight off my stiff ankles.
I wasn’t accustomed to wearing high heels, and didn’t think that I
wanted to if it hurt your feet like this every time you wore them.
Taking my shoes off, I welcomed the cold concrete to my aching feet
as I tilted my head back and looked up at the beautiful night
sky.

Declan placed his arm casually around my
shoulders and looked up into the night sky as well. And there we
sat, in silence, enjoying the view and the embrace of each other’s
company. Declan was the first to speak, “I know that you have had a
great deal on your mind, and I hope that you don’t mind me asking,
but have you put any thought into what your animal will be?”

“Ah,” I said jokingly, “That seems to be
everyone’s favorite question. To be honest it’s all new to me so I
really haven’t had much time to think about it. If I have to choose
then I know that I want it to be something completely unique.”

He smiled a brilliant smile and laughed,
releasing a light chuckle from his chest, “I wouldn’t have expected
anything less, seeing how truly unique you are.” It seemed that
every time I thought he couldn’t surprise me anymore, he did.
Smiling back at him I thanked him once again as he had left me
nearly speechless by the simple statement. Shortly afterwards we
were interrupted by my father coming down the walkway.

Declan quickly withdrew his arm from around
my back then stood up. “Hello Sir,” he said. I could have sworn
that he seemed nervous, which was completely different from the
careless attitude he had used to address my father in earlier that
day.

“Hey,” I said; simply waving at him. I
didn’t know if I should have been nervous as well.

“You kids enjoying the beautiful night eh?”
he asked, a smile plastered on his face. However, I noticed that
his eyes hadn’t left Declan’s the entire time.

“Yeah,” I was the first to speak. “It’s very
pretty out here,” I said; trying to remove the tension in the
air.

Liam stood there looking at the night sky
until finally he said, “Mina we need you to come back inside and
meet a few more people.” I felt like refusing, and telling him that
I wouldn’t, but I knew that he was just trying to make me feel well
acquainted with the people who would be a major part of my new
life.

“Okay,” I said; trying to hide the annoyance
from my voice. Liam stood still, smiling but waiting for me.
Clearing my throat I felt that it was now or never to show him that
I liked being treated as a respected adult, not as a young girl;
even if he was my father. And so I continued, saying, “I will meet
you inside. I wish to finish my conversation with Declan first; if
that is okay?”

Liam quickly wiped the look of surprise from
his face, replacing it with a smile. “But of course that is okay
Mina Bear, it’s just so hard to share you this early,” he said with
a light chuckle. Then turning he began walking away, calling over
his shoulder that he would see me back inside.