The Forest of Adventures (#1 of The Knight Trilogy) (25 page)

*

I’d fallen deeply asleep and
when I woke it was almost noon and the day was glorious. After
showering and dressing, I stood in the sunlight watching the
diamonds flame, fascinated by the little prisms that they scattered
across the wall. I weighed up whether I should take it off and hide
it from Martha but now that the decision had been made to put it
on, it didn’t seem right to remove it. I determined to bluff it
out.

The house smelt of fresh coffee
and Mum had made a batch of homemade bread in the maker filling the
whole house with a comforting and domestic smell. The back door was
open letting in a sweet smelling breeze from the early roses around
the backdoor. Apart from Dusty who was sat licking his paws in
Mum’s chair, the house was empty. I poured a coffee from the pot
and made my way outside to where Josef was sat basking in the
sunshine.

“Well, who’s been a naughty
girl, sneaking home in the wee hours?” he smiled, his
conspiratorial teasing full of warmth.

“Ah. You weren’t asleep then?
Does Mum know?”

“Your secret’s safe. She was
sleeping like a baby.”

“How are you?” I asked gently,
not wanting to sound pushy.

“Take a seat dear girl.” He
patted the space next to him. “Let your Uncle Josef impart some
words of advice to you; Beware of men offering gifts of love.” The
sunlight hit the diamonds on my ring at that point sending out
shards of rainbows. “Ahh, alas it’s too late, I fear.” He chuckled
to himself and then patted me on the knee “Never mind, I’m sure Sam
is different.”

“It’s not Sam,” I whispered,
feeling a small sense of shame.

“Well, that is going to cause a
stir. Let me know when you plan to tell your mother. I’ll ensure
I’m out of the county.” He punctuated it with a gentle and private
chuckle.

“Josef, will you talk about
you? Will you tell me what’s happened?” I asked turning to face
him.

“Yes - what has happened? Well
dear girl, your big, fat old uncle has been revealed for the fool
he’s always been. Gerad, the love of my life, has taken everything;
every penny I owned, every piece of art I’d collected, the
priceless cellar collection, even granny’s hideously awful tea
service.”

“How? How has this
happened?”

“The bastard played me very
well indeed and to be fair I deserved it, I was love-struck. He
sent a removal van to my home and a team to pack all my things and
then it disappeared somewhere whilst crossing the channel; plate
changes and sign removal making them impossible to trace. I even
signed over my London flat to his sister so that she could advance
me the money to buy the flat in Versaille. He has no sister. And
so, here I am - gullible, stupid and penniless.” He finished with
an apologetic smile and nodded to the ring. “Anyway enough about
me, I think you’d better tell your Uncle Josef what you’ve been up
too.”

I told him about the first day
I met Blake and how I knew that it was love, the depth of love that
I’d never thought possible. I told him how I had felt about Sam and
how Blake and I did not betray him; that we waited for him to give
his blessing which he did. I told him that Blake was a good and
kind man and that he had proposed and I’d accepted.

I didn’t tell him that I had
fallen in love with a real life knight from a parallel existence
who’d been brought up by a Mermaid and who’d killed his brother two
days ago on the battlefield.

The front door banged
announcing Mum’s return from the supermarket.

“So when do I meet him?” he
asked cheerfully.

“Not for a while. He’s had to
leave the country for a while.”

“Oh - sounds complicated.” He
said suspiciously.

“Yes. It is.”

My mobile buzzed, alerting me
to a text message and giving me a convenient excuse to leave Josef
to his peace and to end our conversation.

2nite. Catch up. Missed you
xxx.

The text was from Daisy. It was
the last thing that I really wanted to do but I recognised an olive
branch when it was being offered and I knew that I’d need Daisy in
the coming long and lonely months.

GR8. C U at 8. Usual place?
xxx

I went into help Mum unload the
shopping from the car, mindful to pull my sleeve down over my left
hand.

“You want a hand with the
groceries?”

“Thanks, Sweetheart.” She
seemed softer than she had for months.

“Is it o.k if I go out
tonight?”

“Again? Can’t you have at least
one evening away from that wretched boy?” Her prickliness returned
swiftly on thought of Blake.

“Actually it’s Daisy, she wants
to meet up.” I said thrusting the text message in front of her
nose.

“In that case of course you can
go out. I’ve been worried about you neglecting your friends
lately.”

She caught sight of my
ring.

“Really, Mina, you girls have
no respect for tradition; don’t go sticking tacky costume jewellery
on your wedding finger, you’ll spoil future delights. Pass those
biscuits over.”

She continued packing tins of
beans and tomatoes into the cupboard without any further mention of
the ring; she’d been happy to dismiss it as a plaything and I was
happy for her to believe that.

“I phoned the hospital this
morning and Sam’s going to be discharged tomorrow morning. I
offered to collect him but he’s made other plans. I hope you’ve not
hurt him, Mina and I really hope that you’ve not given him over for
that show-off on that horse. Really – who does he think he is? I
hope you haven’t fallen for it. I credit you with more
intelligence.”

“Mum – please, give it a rest.
If you want to know, if you really want to know every detail then
know that Sam and I were over before Blake even arrived on the
scene. It wasn’t working. It wasn’t happening.”

“Give me strength - Please tell
me my seventeen year old daughter is not talking about an
inadequate sex life being the reason that she’s thrown away the
best man she could ever find.”

Mum slammed the jar of pesto
down with more force than she’d intended.

“Mum, please,” I appealed.

“No Mina – I’m not going to
allow a little bit of your embarrassment to get in the way of this
important mother to daughter conversation. If you are old enough to
be having wild sex then you’re old enough to discuss it sensibly
with your own mother. You’re not the first to discover it and I’m
not a nun.”

Mum was in full mother-flow, it
was useless to try and stop her. Josef, who had just been about to
come into the kitchen to refill his cup, stopped in mock horror and
threw his hands in the

air before scuttling back out
into the garden.

“Oh, Blake Beldevier may look
the part; there’s no denying he’s a very handsome boy, but so far
the only impression I have of that young man is that he’s reckless
and dangerous.

It’s thanks to him that my once
considerate, studious daughter has turned into a wild child of the
woods that roams around all day and sneaks home in the early hours
of the morning looking dishevelled. You’re not Lady Chatterley,
Mina, you’re an intelligent young woman who has her whole life
ahead of her and who is far too clever to be knocked up by a young
man who has far too high an opinion of himself.”

“He isn’t like that.”

“Of course he isn’t. Look, this
is not a rescue centre for daft relatives that decide to give away
their hearts and fortunes to any dashing young man that bats his
eyelashes at them. Sam is a good boy, an honest boy who will make a
good solid home. He loves you and you love him. If
‘it’
is
not working then maybe that is because you are both young and
inexperienced. Don’t throw Sam away over a cheap thrill.”

“Have you said everything you
needed to?”

“Mina, don’t take that tone
with me.”

“Sam and I were over before
Blake even arrived because no part of sex should feel like you are
sleeping with your own brother. And for your further information,
not that it is actually any of your business, I’m still a virgin
and I plan to be one until my wedding day.”

“Well I just hope that Blake is
as romantic as you in that respect.” She said hoping to end what
was fast becoming a full scale argument.

“I’m going for a walk and, no,
it isn’t to see Blake because as you will be oh so glad to hear,
Blake left for abroad this morning, and won’t be back for quite
some time.”

My statement ended with a sob
and my tears moved Martha into instant mother mode.

“Sweetheart, I’m sorry. I don’t
want to see you hurt. I don’t want to hurt you.”

She stretched out her arms. I
let her hold me, more for her benefit than mine. I needed to start
repairing the relationships that had been torn apart by the last
six months.

“I’m going for that walk now
but I’ll be back for afternoon tea,” I said pulling on my
wellies.

“Before you go, I found this
tied to the tree by the gate – it’s addressed to you.”

Martha handed me a small white
box tied with a black ribbon before leaving to go and get the rest
of the shopping.

Even before I opened it my
heart plunged in my chest and a wave of nausea hit me as a small,
warm damp patch seeped onto the palm of my hand. I lifted the lid,
certain in the knowledge that what I’d find would be
unpleasant.

The iron smell of blood filled
my nostrils as I looked down on a small bloodied heart removed from
some small creature, a rabbit, a bird or a cat - a cat! Panic rose.
A thick white calling card was enclosed, its edges feathered with
blood.

Imagine Blake’s face when he
opens his box to

reveal the heart of his very
own little pet.

L. x

“Dusty, Dusty, where are you?”
I called through the house.

“I thought you were going out.
What do you want Dusty for?” Martha asked, alerted by the tone of
anxiety in my voice.

“Oh, nothing. I just haven’t
seen him about.” I said, hiding the box from her view.

“He’s probably sulking in the
garden. You know how he gets when Josef is about.”

“Probably - I’ll look for him
out front.”

Even as I said it, I knew that
searching for Dusty would be useless because Lavinia had made her
first move in the revenge game. The threat was real and everything
told me that I was likely to loose.

I needed to speak with Vivien;
she’d know what to do. Without my bike there was only one option
and so I set out for Meadowlake on foot, almost running along the
track, eager to seek the protection of The Realm.

I burst out of the woods into
the clearing and stopped so hard that I almost took a fall.
Meadowlake was gone. The only remains were the ruins of an old
turret half covered in ivy. The lake was a dull brown colour,
choked with reeds. The flowers in the meadow had gone, save for a
few straggly-looking dandelions. Panic swelled in my chest. I
looked down at my ring finger, checking that everything had not
been some wild fantasy; some time-trick dream.

The ring was still there,
sparkling and living in the light. An instant understanding as to
why Vivien was so keen that I wore it came into my mind. She knew
that I would come here and that I would see nothing but ruins left
in the place of my life.

M
y dearest
Mina,

If you are reading this it is
because you have come to Meadowlake. I am deeply sorry that I did
not tell you this would happen. I can only imagine the pain that
this will cause you, but I hope that you will come to understand
the reason why things have to be this way; sometimes clinging on to
the past is not always best for the future.

Last night, I could not sleep
and I am not sure that I will ever have a peaceful night’s sleep
again. The things that I have done, the crimes that I have
committed fill me with horror. I am not who I was.

When we first met, I felt that
I could be a man worthy of your love; Things are different now.

The journey that I am about to
undertake is a dark and dangerous one. It is no worse than what I
deserve; a fitting punishment. I can not possibly imagine the kind
of man that it will require me to be. I have shown that I am weak
and I can only hope that the love I have for you will protect me
from the evil that will surround me.

I need you to know that every
declaration of love, every kiss, every touch has been a truth. My
love for you is as everlasting as time. It has no beginning, it
will have no end. I will always be yours but you are more than I
can ever hope to deserve.

Do not think of me badly. I
know that this will hurt but I hope the time is swift.

It is with the deepest, most
sorrowful regret that I am setting you free to live your life
without me.

My heart will always be
yours.

Blake x