Field of Flowers

After spending the past two days organising and de-cluttering my whole apartment area, and getting rid of plenty of stuff, I moved around all my old travel journals. Since I always have different story scenes and whatnot scrambled through them amidst the day to day fun of my adventure, I thought it might be an opportunity to transcribe some of them to my master files if they hadn't been already.

So flipping through my journal from the Viva des Americas Part One trip in January/February 2011, I came across this small but important scene involving Allora and Dominic. It's super light-hearted and its one for Spring - since its Spring now! I hope you like it.

Allora caught the edge of her gown and ran through the grass laughing merily as she did so. The air caught her loosely bound hair and she felt free.

It was a pleasure to be out in the sunshine again; away from Maddy's hawk-eyed supervision, away from Sir Gabriel and her mother's ever-watchful attention. It seemed only now was life beginning to return to some of the normality, if you could call it that, that she had had before her abuduction to Hasah.

She turned in a spin and closed her eyes, taking in the sweet smell of the flowers in the meadow around her. The air was so fresh after the previous night's thunderstorm.

From behind, strong arms wrapped around her waist and a deep chuckle sounded beside her ear. She gasped, though she knew who it was already, and smiled before breaking away. Picking up her skirts she ran, laughing as she did so.

Far enough away, she came to the outbreak of the forest and ducked behind a tree out of sight of her pursuer. Unaware of where she'd gone, he ran right past her hiding spot and further into the dim of the woods.

Allora smiled, delighted by her duplicity, and crept out slowly to turn and double back in the direction from which she'd come. In the open air she found a soft patch of sunny yellow flowers and settled to the ground, feeling the warmth and crispness of the grass beneath her.

“Rawr!” A figure launched out of the trees nearby, pouncing on her and rolling with her well into the field of flowers. Allora let out a squeal of surprise and shoved him away, bolting to her feet only to have him grab her arm and tug her back down to land with a whump on his chest. She was eye to eye with his cheeky grin and flushed face.

“Tried to pull one on me, Ally?” He asked when she tried again to push him away and run.

“Let me go!” She ordered him in mock anger, her legs flailing, caught between his and her skirts.

“Hooking her leg with his, her captor rolled them over and over again, each of them fighting for dominance of the other. Soon she was caught, legs thoroughly tangled, arms over her head and out of breath.

“Now, now, Ally,” he smiled, handsome face almost as bright as the yellow flowers now tangled haphazardly through their hair. “Don't you want to play nice with me?”

“I don't play nice with people the likes of you!”

“Oh,” he put a hand to his heart and gave her his most pained expression. “You wound me, Princess.”

She couldn't help but laugh at how pathetic he managed to look, then leant up to softly kiss his nose. He instantly grinned and moved to press his lips to hers in retaliation.

Their play fighting now over, Allora's arms came up to gently wrap around his shoulders, holding on to him as he chastly kissed her mouth. When she moaned in frustration at his slow pace, he started to pull back slightly, fighting another smile. Allora tightened her grip to keep him in place.

Dominic resisted enough to pull back and gaze down at her in all seriousness. “I love you,” he said, eyes on hers.

In response she pushed herself up on her arms and took his face in her hands. She nodded, eyes still locked on his, and kissed him.

Instantly he melted and opened his mouth to her.

For the first time since she'd seen Dominic astride astride his horse riding into Messinia months ago, Allora finally allowed herself to admit that she truly loved him, too. And that she had all along. 

Sam xox