Valley Of Glamorgan (19 page)

Not knowing how they celebrated birthdays
here I was curious so spent my time looking around a lot. Perhaps
it was going to be different than a regular party, especially as on
your actual birthday you would possibly be spending it alone and
maybe in pain. The room was getting more and more packed. Finally,
I saw my parents make their way into the room, looking as much in
love after all of their years together. My father smiled down at my
mother, as if she was truly the only woman he could see and the
sight made my heart grow warm as I realized I hadn’t felt this
happy in such a long time. Slowly they made their way to our table
and not long after Taya’s parents also joined us. Rose told Taya
and myself that we both looked beautiful.

Looking round for Knoll, who I hadn’t seen
in a while, was linked arm in arm with Maggie, and standing next to
Willow in the corner of the room. I thought the two women looked a
bit ridiculous in the heavy, red robes draped across them. Suddenly
I wondered why they were wearing the robes when the actual animal
ritual wouldn’t take place for two more days, or so I had thought.
But, as Liam informed me, they were going to do it after the party
because Willow had mixed her days up, and tonight would be the only
night the moon would be full and at its highest. Suddenly I felt
bad for Declan; he wouldn’t even have a whole night to celebrate
his birthday.

Not long afterwards Declan walked into the
room. He was wearing black dress slacks with a grey button-up dress
shirt and a black tie hanging from his neck. Although dressed
simply he still managed to knock the very breath from my chest.
Walking in behind him were his mother and sister, both of whom were
dressed in beautiful ball gowns; both black, and silver, matching
Declan’s clothes. They both looked beautiful but I only had eyes
for him. Stopping, he began scanning the room, as if looking for
someone, and when his eyes settled on me I couldn’t fight the wide
smile that quickly spread across my face. My heart began to beat
faster as he stood looking at me and me at him. Eventually his
mother must have cleared her throat and pushed him forward as
everyone around the room began chuckling and muttering; which made
me feel embarrassed that our private moment had been witnessed by
them all. Taya smiled at me and giggled. My father looked at me as
if he wanted to say something but was stopped by Willow turning the
music off and heading towards the microphone.

“Greetings everyone,” her raspy voice echoed
around the room. “I welcome all of you here tonight to celebrate
another one of our young embarking on their animal journey. Let
this night be a reminder to all of us what a gift we have residing
inside of us, and to make sure Declan has a wonderful night.” Then
she called my father up onto the stage which was something I hadn’t
been expecting. As he made his way everyone stood and waited until
he motioned for them to sit.

Taking the microphone from Willow, Liam
said, “We all know Declan is a remarkable man. He has taken on the
responsibility for his own, and worked harder than many men I have
ever seen.” Pausing he looked at Declan then continued, “And so
Declan, tonight may you have a good time, and forget about the
sadness and burden that has been laid upon you. We are all so proud
of you.” As he finished speaking everyone stood and clapped as my
father left the stage. As I looked to Declan it seemed as if he
wasn’t enjoying himself, in fact he looked saddened by my father’s
words and I wondered if that had been the best thing for Liam to
have said to him; especially on a night of celebration.

With the music back on people started to
dance and Liam and Eleanor excused themselves, and took to the
dance floor. As I watched them dance I was happy that they had each
other unlike poor Willow, who would always have a burden in her
heart. My thoughts were cut short when Eirnan approached our
table.

“Good evening, ladies,” he said, making a
light bow. He wore a nice pair of jeans and a white button-up shirt
under a blue blazer; he looked quite handsome. Taya must have
thought so too as she suddenly had a way about her after he had
approached the table; sitting up straighter and smoothing her dress
out. Eirnan stood for a moment as if unsure of himself, before
surprising me by asking Taya if she would like to dance, extending
his hand like a gentleman before leading her onto the dance floor.
I was left sitting with Rose and Kevin; they had decided to eat
before heading onto the dance floor. Between bites of food they
both beamed over at Taya as she danced with Eirnan; her mother
swearing she could see the start of a light glow around them.
Kevin, however, assured her it was just her bad eye sight plus the
fact that she wanted Taya to find someone so very badly.

Looking at Taya and Eirnan, I agreed as sure
enough they were both laughing and as they danced I thought they
looked amazing together. Taya’s simple beauty suddenly turned into
something remarkable as she appeared to glow, causing other couples
dancing near them to stop and stare for just a moment. But, in the
heat of the moment neither Taya nor Eirnan noticed anything. The
sight of the couple made me wonder if that was the way I looked
when I was near Declan. My heart jumped at the thought of his name,
as I longed to have his arms around me. In a way I hated it that he
hadn’t even asked me to dance, so I got up and made my way to where
he was sitting with his mom and sister.

“Hello,” I said as I arrived at their table.
For some reason I felt more nervous than I thought I would, as well
as feeling stupid standing there. If he had wanted to dance with me
then surely he would have asked me.

Finally his mother broke the silence,
“Hello, Carmina you look amazing!”

I looked at her, saying, “Thank you.” Then I
looked at Declan, asking, “I was just wondering if you would like
to dance?” Waiting for his answer it seemed he smirked as he stood
up.

“I thought you would never ask,” he
responded laughingly as he led me onto the dance floor. I realized
that his laughter filled me with so much joy that it was the one
sound I wanted to hear forever. As he placed one hand in mine and
his other against the small of my back the sensation sent chills
all over my body. Leaning towards me he whispered softly into my
ear, “You are so beautiful. That dress is perfect on you and you
are the best birthday present I could ever ask for.”

Looking into his stormy eyes I searched my
mind for something to say in response to one of the sweetest things
I could ever have hoped to hear. I wanted to pull him into a heated
kiss but was aware that everyone’s eyes were on us.

“I got you something for your birthday,” I
whispered; again just loud enough so only he could hear.

“You shouldn’t have,” he told me, seeming
reluctant to let me go as I led him to the table to give him his
gift. Holding the present tightly he motioned for us to step
outside and I was glad that he would be able to open his gift in
private as I hadn’t really liked the idea of everyone being a part
of such a private moment.

As soon as we got outside he pulled me into
a tight hug and I wrapped my arms tightly around him, enjoying the
moment for as long as I could. But I couldn’t fight the excitement
of wanting him to see the ring. As he ripped open the paper I
watched him, biting my bottom lip in anticipation of his reaction.
Finally he held the ring in his hand, twirling it around so he
could see the intricate design carved on it. After reading the
inscription inside the ring he looked at me intensely for a moment
before saying, “It’s perfect. I love it.” Then grabbing my hand he
lightly caressed my face before pulling me into an embrace and
giving me a deep and meaningful kiss that held so much passion in
it that I let out a small moan.

Quickly pulling away, I was for a moment
ashamed of the sound that had escaped my lips, but Declan just
looked at me, his eyes filled with a hunger I couldn’t describe. I
could tell by the way his hand was trembling that it was taking him
a moment to pull himself together and regain his full composure.
Then he kissed me softly once more. “I have to tell you something,”
he finally said, “I know that it has only been a short while and to
most people it may be too soon to say this.” As he hesitated he
kissed me once more; then looking into my eyes he announced with
conviction, “Carmina, I love you.”

My knees went weak, and warmth that I had
never felt before started spreading through my body. I radiated
with happiness as he bent down and whispered softly, “I love you;
my pulse, my heart.” I was surprised that the saying on the ring
had been so true for him as well as for me. When he spoke the words
out loud it seemed as if my heart had been yearning to hear them. A
small tear escaped my eye, it was all so wonderfully overwhelming
and it seemed that I had lost so much, in order to gain much more.
Declan wiped the tear from my face before suggesting we had better
return to the ballroom. We both knew we had been very lucky to have
gained these few moments alone. Soon someone would come looking for
us, and sure enough Willow was on her way to do just that.

After we had returned to the ballroom Willow
led Declan to a group of people, motioning for me to take a seat. I
hated leaving his warm embrace, but knew we would always have the
memories of those few precious moments we had just briefly shared.
Willow walked across the room with Maggie trailing behind her and,
even though I had now grown to like Willow, for some reason I found
myself becoming angry with her. My sister wasn’t her assistant or a
lap-dog, she was a person and I realized that if Willow didn’t
start treating Maggie better I would feel inclined to step in and
say something.

The room began to quieten down as everyone
made their way back to their seats from the dance floor. Taya was
the first to reach our table. She had a smile spread across her
face and as she looked at me she whispered, “He is so wonderful.
Who would have thought all this time he was right in front of me?”
I couldn’t help but feel joyous for her; she deserved to be
happy.

As we waited for the others to reach our
table, Taya again leaned over and said, “I want the goods about you
and Declan,” then smiling she bumped her leg playfully against
mine. I was glad that I had someone to share the experience with,
because it felt as if I couldn’t contain the happiness I felt
within me. Finally my parents reached the table and settled down in
their seats along with Taya parents; all were laughing,
happily.

Looking around the room I realized that
everyone was having a wonderful night, except for a commotion
taking place in the corner of the room. Thora was stood yelling
something at Eirnan, whilst he just stood there taking all her
anger. Then she raised her hand and slapped him hard. Suddenly I
knew I couldn’t sit there and allow that to happen so rising I
quickly dashed across the space between us. Walking in large
strides I arrived by her side just as she was about to strike him
again. Reaching out I grabbed her wrist, forcing her to turn
towards me. Stepping directly in front of Eirnan, who appeared to
be speechless at my actions, I looked her directly in the face and,
not knowing where the anger came from, I spoke. “Do not touch him,”
I roared; the sound making everyone turn and look at us, their eyes
full of surprise. But I couldn’t care less as I had grown tired of
Thora’s attitude and I certainly wasn’t going to allow her to treat
anyone else with disrespect, just because she wanted to. Thora
looked at me with her usual look of disgust spread across her face.
“How dare you?” she started to say, just as my mother joined
us.

Saying nothing my mother glared at Thora for
a moment, then just as she was about to speak again she used quite
a different tone saying, “I am sorry Majesty. I do not know what
came over me.”

Eleanor looked fierce, and when she spoke it
was with such conviction. “Why did you hit him?” she asked, looking
at Eirnan who still stood directly behind me.

Before answering Thora looked at me and then
smiling a wild grin she answered, “Because he was dancing with that
cow over there.” And I saw she was pointing directly at Taya. Then
she went on to say, “I simply cannot allow my guardian to keep such
company.” That was all it took.

By this time I had taken so much of Thora’s
crap. Ever since I had arrived at the village she, for some reason,
had deliberately singled out, not just me but also the people I
cared most about. Enough was enough; and before I could stop myself
or think of the consequences, I hit her straight in the face. It
wasn’t one of those girly punches or one of those slaps across the
face. Oh no, it was a full of force punch right on her nose.
Suddenly blood started to pour out of it. In fact it looked a lot
worse than it really was; but still she screeched in pain, as if I
had shot her.

My mother turned on me, trying to hide what
looked like a smile. “Go to your seat!” she instructed me before
turning back to help Thora.

Suddenly Thora yelled out, “This isn’t the
end of it!”

As mother started to lead Thora out of the
room she looked at her with a fierceness I had not seen before and
severely said, “You would dare threaten my daughter; in front of
me?”

Realizing her error Thora quickly began
apologizing but my mother threw her hand up, “No Thora. Do not
speak; you should do your best to heed your own words. That is your
princess you are speaking to, and if I ever catch you saying so
much as a wrong word about her again, I will banish you from the
castle! Forever!” Everyone gasped with shock and as soon as the two
women were out of the room they began chattering amongst themselves
about what they had just witnessed.

Slowly I made my way back to the table,
holding my hand which was now sore. My father was sat quiet but a
moment later he voiced his displeasure by saying, “You will not
behave like that again; is that clear?” Shaking my head I was
surprised that the sweet man I had known since I had gotten here
had, in a manner struck out against me. He went on to inform me
that before the night was over I was to get up on the stage,
explain my action and apologize for behaving in such a manner.
Despite that his attitude at that moment, made me want to hit him
too.