Valley Of Glamorgan (18 page)

After the fox had gone Taya brought me out
of my thoughts by letting out a rush of air that she had clearly
been holding in. Eirnan continued looking around; all the while
keeping a watchful eye until he was assured that the animal had
been the only intruder. Once Taya and I had him completely
convinced that we were okay, he led us into the warehouse which I
discovered housed about a dozen cars.

Choosing a set of keys from a bowl lying on
a plain white shelf Eirnan pointed to a black and sleek BMW M3. I
had never been a big car enthusiast but I knew a beautiful car when
I saw it, and as I looked around I was glad that he had picked that
one. Looking around I saw it was surrounded by other normal,
everyday family cars, such as a Toyota Camry and a Ford Focus. I am
sure they were all really good cars but perhaps not something a
teen princess would want to be caught out in whilst out cruising
town. Somehow I couldn’t help but smile at the thought, laughing to
myself at my inside joke. Also I felt I would never get used to
being a Princess; no matter how hard I tried.

Once we had all climbed into the car Eirnan
drove us away. We moved through the slippery valley hills before
turning onto a small hidden path that led to a winding gravel road.
That was when the thought hit me, “Why are we driving?” I asked,
“Why can’t we use the same portal that Knoll and I used to return
to the valley?” Despite myself I felt stupid by asking the
question, as if the answer was obvious. If it was then Taya and
Eirnan showed no signs of it being so.

“Well Mina,” Eirnan started to explain then
quickly stopping himself. “Is it alright if I call you Mina?” he
asked, ashamed at how unprofessional he was being.

Trying to stifle a laugh I simply told him
it was alright. “Regardless of what our places are in the castle,
in my eyes we are all people and therefore are all equal,” I
concluded.

Both Eirnan and Taya looked to me with looks
of utter surprise spread across their faces. They didn’t say
anything but I could tell that what I had said had them both lost
in their own thoughts. After a few moments Taya seemed to snap out
of it, responding to my previous question and said, “We can’t use
the portal because it takes a lot out of the healer that has to
open it.”

“Willow?” I said aloud; more to me than
anyone else, but they both shook their head in agreement.

Taya continued by explaining, “That is why
she is so young, yet appears to be old. Pacu magic is a wonderful
gift, but to the one who has its control, it can definitely be a
curse.”

Swallowing hard, I suddenly realized that my
sister Maggie would eventually take Willow’s place and that filled
me with more anxiety than I had ever expected. I really liked
Willow, she was a wonderful person, but she also lived by herself,
in a sad life by always mourning the man she had loved and lost.
That was something I didn’t want Maggie to become. For the first
time I wondered if my sister had really wanted to be a healer, or
if her fate had been decided upon at birth, as mine had. I made a
mental note to ask her someday; or at least when I worked up the
nerve that was.

We had been following the dirt path for
about forty minutes when we finally reached a small cobble stoned
town that looked as if it belonged in an old time magazine. There
was a small bread store on the corner, a fresh fruit and vegetable
market and a few shopping stores that had names even I couldn’t
pronounce.

Eirnan quickly found a parking spot,
parallel parking behind an old beaten-up truck. Then turning
towards us he said, “Ladies; it is a small town, but there are bad
people here just like any other place. Remember I will be with you
from here until we leave.” The idea of being baby sat all day long
was something I didn’t like. I had to accept that Eirnan was just
doing his job, so Taya and I reluctantly agreed to his rules as we
made our way to the first shop that housed clothes and other
miscellaneous items. I had a task at hand plus I needed to find the
most perfect gift for Declan, as well as finding lovely dresses for
Taya and myself.

After going through stacks of CDs of groups
I had never heard of, piles of lame greeting cards and tacky
looking stuffed toys, I eventually found the perfect gift. It was a
sterling silver band that had a carving of two white foxes nestled
together against a backdrop of a forest which circled the rest of
the band. Its beauty was breathtaking and the workmanship that had
gone into the simple ring was truly a piece of art. Although I
would have to buy a dress from another store, I was glad that I had
found such a beautiful gift. Yet the sense of irony I felt was
amazing by the very fact that I had just seen a white fox less than
an hour earlier. It felt as if the ring had been made just for him.
Strangely I had often heard stories of jewelry calling to people,
but had always thought it was a way for people not to feel too
guilty about their frivolous spending. Until now I couldn’t have
explained it, even if I wanted to but I understood that it now
didn’t matter how ludicrous it seemed as it was ideal.

Going to the front desk to purchase the ring
I was informed by the clerk that all the rings in their store came
with a free engraving. I pondered for what seemed like hours,
leafing through old sayings, as well as new ones in different
languages to find something that would be appropriate. Finally, I
came across, ‘A chuisle mo chroí.’ Its meaning in Gaelic was clear,
‘My pulse, my heart,’ and I thought, ‘how beautiful it sounded.’
With the way that Declan made me feel I knew the meaning was very
apt and ideal. Unbeknown to me, although I later discovered it, the
Pacu knew a wide variety of languages, so when I showed Taya the
ring she gasped and squealed with delight, exclaiming, “It’s
beautiful.”

Once the shop keeper had completed the
engraving he wrapped it in a beautiful, natural green, starched
paper and tied it with a light green ribbon to match. As we left
the store we headed to a shop across the street where Eirnan, Taya
and I enjoyed a cup of coffee, sitting at a small wooden coffee
table where we discussed mediocre things such as the weather and
scenery. As we sat there chatting it suddenly hit me that poor Taya
didn’t have a date for Declan’s party that night. “So Taya,” I
said, trying to sound as casual as possible, “Who are you going to
the party with tonight?”

Her face turned stark white and for a moment
she sat silent. Just as I was deciding whether to apologize or not
she replied, “I thought about going alone.” Her answer was quiet
and simple.

As I fumbled for words to make the
conversation less awkward, Eirnan spoke up. “There is nothing wrong
with being independent,” he announced a broad smile on his face as
he obviously tried to lighten the mood. “Anyway, I will be there
alone so maybe we can hang out together if you get too bored,” he
stated matter-of-factually. The suggestion must have pulled Taya
out of any depression she had been experiencing as she finally
agreed to meet up with him at some point; if she hadn’t found
anything else to do. I admit at being grateful for Eirnan's
interruption, yet I couldn’t help wonder if he had made the offer
for his benefit, Taya’s or rather mine.

Having finished our coffee we headed towards
another store that had a number of beautiful dresses in their
display window although they looked a little too fancy, so I
secretly hoped they would have something a bit simpler. Having
agreed to help Taya pick her dress first, this proved to be a
harder task than even I anticipated. Unfortunately she seemed to
have a limited choice due to her lovely curves, which made me want
to have a rant at the designers as I felt she deserved better
treatment than she was receiving. After trying on dozens of dresses
that my grandmother wouldn’t have been caught dead wearing, we
finally decided on a soft pink, floor length gown that had a
symmetrical neck line with a beautiful white shawl that wrapped
gracefully around her shoulders.

At one point I almost decided to go to
another store to purchase my dress because of the way the staff had
been snearing at Taya. She was a beautiful woman so why couldn’t
they open their eyes and look past their superficial mind set and
change their distorted views on what beauty was, I just couldn’t
understand. By the time it came to my dress I had it down to a
choice of three.

It was between a lavender one that hung just
above the knees, complete with a plunging neck line. I didn’t know
if I was comfortable with it or not. Then there was a black and
white cocktail dress which was covered in fine lace. However, the
one which caught my eye was a simple black gown, being floor
length. It would have looked plain if not for the amazing detail as
the dress had long sleeves and was covered with beautiful black
lace which cascaded down my slender arms, making me feel very
classy. The neckline was heart shaped and my bare skin showed just
beneath the over laid lace where the black satin should have sat.
It was modest, yet breathtaking at the same time. As soon as they
showed it to me, I knew immediately after trying it on that it was
the one for me.

As the day drew to a close we quickly made
our way back to the car, not realizing that we had spent so much
time in town. The time displayed on my watch showed that by the
time we got back we would only have a few hours in which to get
ready. Eirnan went well over the speed limit and we literally flew
down the dirt road, sending large amounts of gravel and dust up in
our path. Finally, we reached the warehouse and after Eirnan had
parked the car we all hastily walked in silence until we reached
the gate, where Keenan let us through. Taya and I quickly thanked
Eirnan for taking us out then we raced off to the castle and up the
stairs to my room.

Chapter
11

Taya was the first one to get ready. The
pink dress she had chosen looked just as amazing as it had when she
had first tried it on so we decided to tie her brown hair into a
twisted bun but left a few curled strands to fall around her face.
Carefully I put make-up lightly on her and finally she was ready.
As she stood in front of the bathroom mirror for a few moments she
seemed to stare at her reflection. Just as I was going to ask her
if she was okay she declared whimsically, “I wish I was as
beautiful as you.” She let out a small breathe and then shaking her
head she said, “Sorry, this is your night as well; let’s get you
ready.”

I could tell that her smile was forced and
so I felt a tug at my heart strings. She was so kind that I hated
to see her seemingly so down about herself. Whatever she thought
she had a simplistic beauty about her; perhaps not someone who
would be classed as a gorgeous woman but she was certainly far from
being an ugly one. Placing my hand on her shoulder I simply
replied, “But, Taya you are beautiful.” Looking at me she smiled
and I felt as if I had done a good job by reassuring her of her
worth and beauty.

Making the decision to do my make-up and
hair first as I didn’t want to mess-up the delicate lace of my
dress I started to get ready? Taya stood in the background claiming
how excited she was and how she couldn’t wait to see Declan open my
gift. Strangely enough I had butterflies in my stomach as I hated
how our relationship was a spectacle for the whole village to judge
and gossip about.

Having chosen to straighten my unruly curls
I let my hair flow flawlessly down my back. I wore a dark grey eye
shadow, which appeared almost black just along the bottom of my
eyelid. Then I used the black eye liner to give myself the
appearance of ‘cat’s eyes.’ I had seen a lot of girls back home do
their make-up like this, and whilst some of them had failed
horribly, others had managed to capture their eyes in a way that
made them look fierce and enticing; which was what I was hoping to
achieve. Staring at my reflection whilst going over the last few
details I wondered which category mine would fit into, however,
before I could ask Taya what she thought Maggie walked into the
room.

Standing at the bathroom door staring at me
Maggie declared, “Wow! You look hot!” As she said it Taya laughed
and stepping closer to get a better look at me she said, “Yeah you
are going to knock Declan on his ass.”

After laughing so hard I felt as if my
stomach hurt. Then I looked at Maggie, who was wearing a simple
pair of jeans and a purple t-shirt. “Are you not going tonight?” I
asked as I pointed to her clothes?

Maggie smiled and replied, “Yeah, but as
Willow is training me I will be wearing a robe not a dress.” I
couldn’t tell if she was happy about that or not; she just always
seemed indifferent about becoming a healer, and that made me worry
for her.

I wanted to ask her what she really wanted
to do with her life, but as of yet we hadn’t become that close and
at the moment I didn’t have the time to ask such a personal
question. Quickly picking up my dress I chose a pair of black wedge
heeled shoes that I hoped wouldn’t kill me. To be honest I had
never been the best when walking in heels; I would rather have gone
bare foot so I could feel the soft ground beneath my feet. With
Maggie’s help I slipped the dress on and stood looking at myself in
the mirror. She went on and on about how beautiful it was but I
told her laughingly that she was biased. Once I was ready Maggie
walked us out of the room and down the stairs. Instead of heading
to the large ball room where the party was being held, the same as
my welcoming party had been, Maggie headed outside and off to
Willow’s house, announcing over her shoulder that she would meet us
later.

After Maggie’s departure we headed towards
the party. I was thankful for Taya’s company; it felt much better
having her with me. Entering the ballroom we found a table close to
the stage. Music was playing, which we discovered was coming from
an iPod dock. It was a song I hadn’t heard before, but I found
myself enjoying the melody. Shortly after we had sat down a waiter
came to our table asking us what we would like to drink. Taya
surprised me when she ordered a glass of wine. Smiling at me she
leaning over and whispered in a quite tone, “If you order with
confidence they don’t question your age; besides drinking ages are
handled much differently here, compared to where you have lived.”
Never being much of a drinker I decided that bottled water would be
just fine for me, besides I would hate to be slurring my words when
I handed Declan his gift.