Valley Of Glamorgan (22 page)

Luke and Ben were the ones who let me
through the gate; I hadn’t spent much time with them but they were
really nice and seemed to always be happy. I wondered how it would
be to have a twin. Even though they looked so much alike I could,
somehow tell them apart. Maybe it was because one was almost always
wearing green, whilst the other wore blue; perhaps they did this on
purpose so help people could tell them apart.

I was just about to ask if the repetitive
color scheme was intentional, when I saw Thora walk out of the
Guardian’s meeting room. She stood glaring at me for what seemed
like several minutes, before flipping her hair then trotting off.
Sprinting quickly I went to catch up with her. My father had been
getting on at me to apologize so I figured now was my chance.
Besides I would rather say sorry when no-one else was around to
hear me; that way she wouldn’t get the satisfaction of having an
audience. “Hey!” I called after her, “Can you hold up a sec? I need
to tell you something.” She continued walking and just when I
figured that she had ignored me she stopped and turned to face
me.

Scowling at me Thora crossed her arms across
her chest. “Make it quick, I have places to be,” she said.

Despite wanting to make a snarky comment I
held my tongue. “I am sorry about the other night,” I called out,
trying not to look at the yellowing bruises surrounding her eyes or
the swollen nose lying between them.

Rolling her eyes she replied testily,” I am
sure that you are; now run off princess! You have done your good
deed for the day.”

I hated that I had to put up with her smart
mouth so between clenched teeth I asked her, “What is your problem
with me?”

She pointed to her face and yelled, “You hit
me in the face!” as if I had asked the densest question in the
world to ask.

“No!” I screeched, managing to stop her
before she walked off again. “You have been a total bitch to me
ever since I got here. Even before I knew who you were you have had
it in for me.”

She took a sharp step back, breaking the
distance between us and practically getting in my face. Holding my
hands behind my back, I reminded myself over and over again not to
hit her as she turned on me venomously.

“You make me sick,” she spat out nastily!
“Here you are, so new to everything here, and you get this entire
village,” she continued, extending her arms and pointing to
everything around us. “You’ve even got him!” Her voice had grown
deeper, and I could see by this point she was physically
shaking.

“So, this is all about Declan?” I asked,
surprised as if it wasn’t obvious already.

“You catch on quickly princess,” she said
impatiently, which was fast becoming her trade mark, or at least it
was when she spoke to me. Turning she started to walk away, calling
over her shoulder, “If it wasn’t for you, he would have been mine.
I was so close.” and it seemed as if she was saying it more to
herself than me. I stood feeling angrier than I had been the night
I had hit her. So, Thora wanted the one thing that meant the most
to me but there was no way in this whole world that I would let her
get anywhere near Declan. I didn’t care how many times I would have
to punch her to get it into her head; I would never let her take
him away from me. It felt horrible, I had only just found him and
already someone else wanted him. My hands shook in anger.

It was strange how the universe always had a
funny way when it came to affecting my life. One minute it would
give me something wonderful, and then next it would hold it over my
head; as if I was not allowed to have something without having to
fight for it every day. If I was honest I was growing tired,
mentally and physically, with the confusion that had become my
life. Determined not to give in I set my mind on one course. I only
had a week to prepare for Maggie’s party so for now that was all I
was going to allow myself to worry about.

Returning to the castle I made my way into
the living room, which was empty. Everyone had been busy lately. My
parents were tied up with legal matters; which were nothing really
to do with me and which, I was told, there was nothing for me to
worry about. At least every time I asked that was all they would
tell me. Willow had been keeping Maggie busy with healer training,
and Knoll had taken Declan’s place to help the guardians out. These
days I only seemed to see my family at breakfast, and occasionally
dinner time. Everyone was keeping busy so they usually skipped
lunch altogether; which was great because I hadn’t been hungry
lately.

Pulling the lavender folder out that held my
party plans, I sat down and picked up the new laptop that Eleanor
had given me. She had never said it but I guessed it was to help me
keep my mind off Declan. Recently I had managed to check up on my
friend Kate. Although I knew I couldn’t write to her or anyone else
from my old life, realizing if I did, the danger they could be put
in. No-one had actually said anything about not looking at
someone’s social profile, so I had decided to look at my dear best
friend’s profile. It looked as if I had not disappeared. She looked
so happy and I wondered if she even missed me at all; wondering
what they had told her as to why I was no longer around. I had
asked Knoll, during a rare lunch together one afternoon, but he had
said that they had just informed my school and people I knew that
my family and I had moved away and would never return. But that was
all he would say. It seemed as if they were being vague about
everything.

Closing the profile page I sighed and pulled
myself together, realizing I had to move on from my old life and
just accept my new one. Strangely I was growing to love the village
and most of the people in it. But, it was just hard to never to be
able to say goodbye to those I had known and love in my old life.
Also, I couldn’t help but miss my dog Banksey the most. Not having
grown up with a sister or brother, he had become my only friend
when we had first moved to our old house. I missed walking him and
I missed how he always cuddled up at the foot of my bed. I feared
more than anything that he had been put down. Trying to fight the
tears, the thought of losing him made my stomach knot and turn. He
had been more than just a dog to me and I hated that he had to be
punished because of Jack and Stephanie’s lies.

Grabbing everything I needed I headed
upstairs to my room; it felt strange sitting in the living room
alone. Once in my room I threw everything onto the bed then slipped
into a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt. Having done my venturing
for the day I decided to stay in for the rest of the evening. I
kept reminding myself that Declan would be home tomorrow. Yet,
tomorrow felt as if it was years away.

As I pulled up the few party ideas I had
written down on my laptop, I heard a loud crash down stairs.
Looking at the clock I saw it was only ten after three. No-one
would be home until five o’clock or later. Quickly jumping to my
feet but not knowing exactly what to do I hesitated. It was a long
shot that an outsider would have got into the castle, especially as
they would have to get through ten or more guards. I couldn’t help
remembering what Keenan had said at the guardian meeting on my
first day here; that there were people here who would hurt me the
first chance they got. When would there be a better chance other
than me being home alone?

Quietly I walked to the bedroom door and
turning the key I locked it before pressing my back against the
cold wood and sliding slowly down to the floor. Sitting there
shivering I suddenly decided I was tired of always being scared.
Besides it was only probably someone who had come home earlier than
planned, and besides I told myself, I was just allowing my active
mind to run riot. After a few minutes I made a decision, and
carefully opening the door I quietly made my way downstairs.
Following the noise I made my way to the kitchen. As I entered the
room my heart seemed to stop; it was unbelievable what or who I saw
standing before me.

Running the back of my hand across my eyes,
I needed to check if what I was seeing was really real; sadly it
was. Astounded I watched as a familiar figure turned towards me,
his teeth bared. “Hello, Mina-Bear, I was just about to make my way
to your room.” It was Jack and he stood there looking just the way
he had the day he had died. I wanted to run or even scream but I
was frozen. My lips refused to move, and my feet felt as if they
were made of concrete blocks. I just stared at Jack; my pretend
father. The one who, I had assisted Knoll, in burying! Here he was
standing in the kitchen, rummaging through the drawers until he
found what he was looking for, a large butcher knife.

The light from the kitchen shone on the
knife, and before I knew it he was standing in front of me; only
this time he didn’t looked like Jack, yet he still did! He seemed
almost transparent, and where I should have been able to see
through him I saw someone else. It was a man I had never seen
before. It was someone with dark hair and dark eyes that was
looking back at me through Jack’s familiar face. Just as I was
about to scream I found it was too late as he jabbed the knife into
my side before disappearing into thin air; as if he had never been
there at all. The only proof being was the knife protruding from my
right side.

At first it all felt too surreal. ‘Maybe I
had fallen asleep,’ I thought. The dreams along with the bad
feeling I had been experiencing were always so real. However when
the excruciating pain filled my body, and blood slowly began
flowing onto the cold marble floor where I was lying, it had become
too real. With an effort I tried to scream but as my life slowly
poured out of me I couldn’t find the strength and before I knew it
everything went black as I fell into a dark realm of
nothingness.

Maggie………

Maggie walked into the house, tired after a
long day of casting spells and learning herbs with Willow. She was
ready to have a warm cup of tea and relax so she headed directly to
the kitchen. As she made her way into the room she discovered
Carmina, her sister, who had returned home to them less than a
month ago, lying on the white marble floor. However, the marble
beneath her was no longer white; it was slowly changing to red.
Maggie stared in horror as her sister’s life flowed out of her
stiff body; she looked almost as pale as the marble floor. A large
knife was in her sister’s side.

Maggie’s body grew rigid; why was she here
unprotected? Then she remembered that Knoll had filled in for
Declan. She knew he would never forgive himself once he knew what
had happened. With Maggie’s healer training she could feel
Carmina’s heartbeat, without even touching her. Maggie knew she
didn’t have a lot of time; she had to get Willow, and fast! Running
as fast as her legs could carry her Maggie headed for Willow’s
cottage. Quickly she made her way to the gate, letting out the
compressed scream she hadn’t even known she was holding within.

Knoll and Keenan were the first to rush
forward. Maggie felt like throwing herself into Knoll’s arms and
never letting him go. She was a mess. Her hair had come loose as
she ran and there were tears streaming down her face, as she tried
to find the words to explain the gruesome scene that was lying on
the kitchen floor. Trying to pull herself together she kept
reminding herself that Carmina only had a window of time left
before even Willow couldn’t bring her back and so she opened her
mouth to speak. “Open the gate now,” she screeched, looking to Luke
who was standing behind Knoll, concern written over his face.
“Quick, Go! Get Willow. Now!” and without hesitation Luke sprinted
out of the gate to Willow’s cottage.

Maggie looked at Knoll who, like Ben looked
concerned; it broke her heart to tell him that he had failed
Carmina. “Someone has stabbed Mina,” she managed to get out as she
leaned over on the ground. She was crying even harder after the
words had escaped her mouth. Knoll stood frigid as her words
settled in, and Keenan ran into the booth giving the guardian’s
there strict orders. Then he called over the radio that they were
to get the King and Queen immediately! And to shut the village down
allowing no-one to get in or out!

Maggie stood and smoothed her hands down her
pants. She knew that she would have to be the rock for her parents,
who were now heading down the path looking more and more frantic
the closer they got to her. Eleanor threw her arms around Maggie
and then, holding her at arm’s length she wiped the tears from her
daughter’s eyes and calmly asked Maggie what was wrong. Maggie felt
her shoulders slump. Just as things had gotten back to normal, just
as she had begun to see her parents happy, now she would have to be
the one to break that peace and happiness she had been enjoying
seeing in them so much recently. Straightening her back and looking
into her parents loving eyes she took a deep breath and spoke.

“It’s Carmina! Someone has broken into the
castle and they have stabbed her,” announced Maggie in a desperate
voice.

Eleanor threw her hand up against her mouth
as tears started to run down across her face; she looked beautiful,
even when she was crying. Liam ran his hands threw his hair trying
to hold his composure; after all he was King and needed to act like
one. Gently he pulled his wife into his arms and held her as she
sobbed uncontrollably. In just one day their lives had been turned
upside down yet again. No one said anything as they waited for
Willow who was briskly making her way towards them. She didn’t even
need to ask what had happened as she asked Maggie to show her where
Carmina was. Then turning, they all made their way to the kitchen,
with the guardians in tow.

Willow……..

Willow tried to fight the tears that were
stinging at the corner of her eyes; she had just seen Carmina
earlier that day. If she hadn’t blown her off she might still have
been okay. Willow knew that she only had a small amount of time to
help the princess, so putting any personal feelings aside she
quickly went to work. Placing her hand on the knife Willow quickly
pulled it out as she did she instruct Knoll to hand her as many
towels as he could find, which he did quickly. Then he made his way
through the castle to grab as many handfuls of large towels as he
could. Next she told him how to hold the towels tightly against the
wound.