His Defiant Amaryllis (Hinley Manor Book 2)

14: Trees and secrets

"A forest shares a history which each tree remembers, even after it has been felled."

-Phmillenia

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"Lydia?"

There it was again. Who could that be?

She looked around and realized she was on the floor. Alone.

"Lydia..." footsteps now. Echoing, getting closer. But where?

She forced herself to stand and found that she could do so with ease. What on earth happened? The wallpapers indicated that she was outside the library. How did she get here?

"Lydia? There you are."

She turned to see Damian walking towards her. His arms went around her. "Are you alright?"

"I..." what could she tell him? "I am, yes."

"You left the drawing room rather early. I feared you were faint."

She felt that he was genuinely concerned about her, it was evident in his eyes. She reached out to cup his face and forced a smile, "I was...but not anymore. Shall we return?"

He nodded and offered his arm.

As their footsteps echoed down the hall, a pair of eyes followed them from the shadows.

***

The next day Damian and Lydia took their usual route along the forest of pine. A servant followed not far behind. The morning fog covered the roads but they had both familiarized the path. Even the horses have known where to step and gallop over.

"There's a clearing up ahead," Damian said, "I shall ride out first. You can follow me."

She nodded and held tightly on the reins and watched as he dove into the fog. For the first few moments she could she his blue riding habit and the black horses' tail. She counted to ten and planned to follow but Damian disappeared.

Lydia blinked. Where had he gone? She looked around.

Has the fog darkened some more? Did she lose sight of him?

She swallowed. Her heart drummed against her chest. Panic rising.

Her ears caught the sound of hooves a few paces from her right. Getting louder it seem. She jerked up and pulled the horse to another direction. If Damian was coming back for her, she ought to move and prevent them from bumping into each other. But as soon as she did a nearby tree whipped its branch, hitting the animal on its hind. Her horse shrieked and burst into a gallop.

"Easy, easy girl. It was just a branch." She told the horse. But the horse continued to run wild. It was as if it could not hear her trembling voice. "You got hit by a branch, that was it. No need to fret." She said but it was all for naught.

Lydia bent down and kept her head low. There was no stopping the panic now. But she must protect her head, least she hit a low branch and knock herself off the horse.

For what seemed like ages, her horse finally slowed down. She looked up and realized it brought her deeper into the forest. The sun had risen but the trees shaded the surroundings which caused the shadows to remain everywhere. There was no beaten path to follow back home. The fog had lifted slightly but there was nothing but mud around her. She could not tell which way they came from.

She patted the horse and jumped off. After securing the reins on a nearby tree she decided to yell.

"Hello? Is there anyone out there?"

It echoed thrice before fading. She cupped her hands and summoned her voice, "Damian? Can you hear me?"

Nothing but birds and other forest creatures stirred.