Chapter 30
CHAPTER THIRTY
ALINA
After we finished our breakfast, Frid and I cleaned the dishes while Victor stayed in the kitchen watching us. Tynan left the house without saying much to anybody.
I looked out the window above the kitchen sink, for a moment seeing Tynan walking up the hill.
Every move he made hypnotized me, he was so unbelievably good looking that I could not comprehend why Frid never seemed interested.
She kept on talking about not going outside, still angry with Victor and his mere suggestion of trying on something feminine.
My hands lathered the plates almost mechanically.
I sighed and glanced up the hill. The crisp air, and the rays of sunlight that struggled to break free, created unrealistic patterns on the grass below, despite the thick fog that settled on the ground, spilling slowly into the valley.
I have never seen so many conflicting things all at once, but the result was breathtaking.
Just admiring the view soothed my soul in more ways than one, offering me the peace that I forgot I needed.
“It’s so beautiful here.” I sighed.
“Yes, this place is special,” Frid muttered.
“You don’t like it here?” I asked.
Victor shifted his gaze from me to Frid, leaning back on the counter. I could not remember him ever being so quiet.
“I guess. It’s just that we went through so much growing up here.” Frid went completely silent.
“How so?”
“We were punished a lot,” she explained.
“Punished?”
“Yes, for everything we did, or didn’t do.” Frid stopped, picking up another plate.
“Who punished you? Your parents?”
“Sometimes, but mostly it was our clan leader.” Frid dried another plate.
Victor looked down and I thought I understood something about the bond all of them had together. They went through something unsettling when they were children, and I desperately wanted to know what happened, but It was not my intention to force any confessions from them.
“I’m so sorry. It must be hard to be here,” I said.
“No, it’s alright. She’s gone now,”
“She? It was a woman?”
A loud sound by the front door announced a newcomer. Moments later, Sol entered the room.
“Sol, we thought you forgot about us.” Victor picked up an apple.
“I stayed with my aunt,” Sol crammed into the tiny kitchen.
“How is poor, old Mirtha?” Victor asked.
“She’s very sick. I don’t think she has long,” the giant man responded.
“I’m so sorry,” I offered, but the others did not do the same.
“She wanted to play cards and I stayed up half the night playing.” Solomon added.
Victor chuckled and even Frid had a thin smile playing on her lips.
“I really want to take a walk. Do you think it’s dangerous?” I lowered my voice talking to the girl beside me.
“No, why?”
“Well, I’m new to this place and I don’t know anyone here. I don’t know your traditions.” I bit my lip.
“It’s absolutely safe. I wish I could go with you, but I have to stay in the house.” Frid sighed.
“I can help you with –”
“No!” Frid lifted up her hand, silencing me.
By the way she pressed her lips together I knew that she would never yield. I nodded and returned to the last of the dishes.
When I took out a shawl from the bedroom closet, and was about to open the front door, Sol unexpectedly joined me.
As soon as I stepped on the slightly damp grass and inhaled the scent of fresh herbs and delicate wildflowers, my breathing slowed.
It felt like the thick air, full of traces of unbearably sweet purple coneflowers, clover, and orange poppy, spoke directly to me, as if this was the answer to all I have ever searched for.
The almost unbearable beauty wanted to tell me something I was not ready to hear.
As I walked I looked to the spot where the sun was slowly moving up, announcing that it was nearly midday.
“Aren’t you tired?” I asked after a long stretch of time passed in complete silence.
“Why?”
“You played cards half the night.” I glanced at Sol.
“I’ll sleep later.”
My eyes shifted to the mountains ahead and the next thought left my head because all I could see were the changing colors of the rocks contrasting with the intense green surrounding them.
We walked further without saying anything to each other. I appreciated Sol’s company, his quiet presence. I liked Frid, and I got used to Victor’s snarky remarks, but sometimes I needed peace and quiet.
My leather boots stepped on the soft, spongy soil making my progress up the hill extremely slow, but Sol pretended not to notice. He waited for me, and tried his best to match my steps.
I wanted to ask him about their childhood in Darragh, but I did not know how my prying would be received. I bit my lip, thinking hard about the best way to bring it up, until the words just spilled out of me, nearly on their own.
“Were you . . . abused when you were children?”
Sol looked at me for a long moment and I thought he was not going to answer.
“I did not think about it when I was young. But now . . . I think . . . yes . . . we were,” he said slowly.
“Who was your clan leader?” I asked.
“Lady Darragh.”
“A woman?”
“Yes. Tynan’s dad was nominally the leader, but his wife actually ruled the clan,” Sol continued.
“Tynan’s mother?” I stared at him.
Sol nodded, I looked down to my feet. That bit of information did not explain much, and yet I felt that pieces of the puzzle were coming together to form a larger picture.
“This is Mehra, the main city of the black clan.” Sol nodded toward the settlement ahead.
My eyes traveled to the endless outlines of small cottages situated on top of the hills that scattered all over the valley. I could see the beauty and danger of the peaks in the background. The view could have taken my breath away, but all I could think about was Tynan.
“This is nice,” I said almost absentmindedly.
Sol started to descend toward the valley and I followed him.
As we got closer, I saw more women wearing dresses similar to mine with corsets in contrasting colors and long cotton skirts.
Mature women had their hair braided and secured on top of their heads, often concealed by a scarf, while younger girls wore loose braids.
I shivered thinking that I got it all wrong when I pinned my hair up.
My eyes returned to the citizens who were busy working. Farmers delivered milk and eggs as they went from house to house with straw baskets. Women did laundry in their backyards while kids played nearby.
New and unsettling feelings invaded my mind and tinted every thought.
I was in love with this land, before knowing these people, before understanding their way of living.
The revelation coated my insides with warmth.
It got me thinking about Tynan, his dangerous, untamed beauty that was as captivating as the wild and alluring peaks.
This place made me understand him even better, if that was even possible.
Once again, I had a sense of the inevitable, unavoidable pull that pushed me toward the one man I truly wanted.
As if the choice was already made, as if I never had any.