A Mountain Kingdom Cries

Chapter 1 The Gathering

They had been hiking for the best part of two days and even though their feet were weary, they still had an endless stamina to reach their goal. They were close to half way now, still a few more camps to go.

Lydia Barrow, a bright young girl of sixteen stopped and took a deep breath in through her nose. A sweet scented air lay all around.

‘Hmmm. I love the smell of outdoors!’

She flicked her mid length golden brown hair and looked behind her. Her Brother Thomas, who was seventeen, walked up beside her.

‘I don’t know what you’re talking about. All I can smell is my own sweat, I need a shower. Maybe you do too!’

He was rather more blunt than Lydia ever was.

‘You always smell’ concluded Lydia triumphantly as she tried to wrestle her brother playfully, how dare he say that!

Finally when Thomas caught Lydia in a headlock, Lydia sighed and stopped struggling, it was no use trying to take down Thomas, but she always did it anyway. Then Chris, Thomas’s close friend walked up looking at the map, putting down his massive rucksack.

‘Hello! We wandered where you had got to!’ Thomas grinned from ear to ear, still with Lydia in a headlock.

‘Now now Tom, I’m sure Chris was just admiring the beautiful grass that grows on the side of the hill’ mocked Lydia, trying to look up at Chris. Chris, still panting heavily in the heat of the afternoon, looked down on the pair from behind his map and realised that they were both wearing the same mischievous grin.

‘Alright! I’m taking it easy, we are ahead of time and it is our holiday. Besides, I have the only map since Lydia’s has ripped. So you are relying on me!’

Lydia and Thomas Barrow were both dedicated hikers and lovers of the outdoors. They were quite childish towards each other, especially Lydia in her ways, but they knew how to have fun. They constantly teased each other but usually knew when to stop. Anything beyond that would be dangerous and you would really be asking for it!

They loved exploring new places and would not stay in one place for long (unless it was to sleep of course) and they grew up fighting imaginary beasts and legends as they were very fond of that sort of thing.

However their differences lay as Thomas liked the practical side of things, he was very clever but he also was respected and respectful as a natural leader. Lydia on the other hand was a very optimistic, creative person who could see alternatives to things or could invent things in her vivid imagination.

Christopher Dikes was quite different to the Barrows as he was quieter and understanding and just in his ways. He had near to jet black short hair and was the tallest of the group. He and his three cousins on his mother’s side (as he had no other cousins on his Father’s side) also loved the outdoors and so the Barrows’, the Dikes’ and the Keans’ would all usually stick together. They were very entertaining when they all got together and the six of them would form a group that the family was never able to control in the nicest possible way.

On this occasion, they had all finished school for the summer and to celebrate the ending of exams ( They were all similar ages you see ) they organised a six day camping trip with the ‘Young Hiker’s Organisation’ hiking across Dartmoor. Just to brush off the cobwebs. Chris’s cousins were to join the group that night at the dedicated place to camp and then join them on the rest of their walk.

Thomas eventually got tired of wrestling and released Lydia to sit on one of the rocks that imposed on the hill. Lydia, having been freed, went up higher to look at the view around. The endless lush green fields and stone grey quarries filled her with an uncontrollable excitement. She had a vivid imagination and would imagine adventures and scenarios from books and things. She walked around in circles on the soft springy grass to ease her feet from aching before she sat down and drank some slightly warmed water from her flat pack container. It was a swelteringly hot day.