A Nomadic Encounter
"Amelia!"
Her heart froze when she heard his voice. Her ex-husband was true to his
word; he had come to check up on her.
"Hywel, quick, hide. I don't know what he'll do to you."
Hywel jumped out of bed and then realised that he had nothing to fear. "No
Amelia. Why should I?"
"But he'll kill you."
"Let's make him then."
Hywel got back into bed and kissed Amelia, waiting for her husband to
appear.
* * *
Amelia's ex-husband entered the mine and went straight to her bed chamber.
The sight before his eyes shook him totally.
"What's going on?" he yelled as he saw Amelia and Hywel in a loving embrace.
That wasn't part of his plan, he wanted to control Amelia again as he had
done in the past. "No, this cannot be. I had you shot." He spluttered.
"You may have tried to but all that those men were interested in was your
money. They soon scarpered once they knew the story."
"No way, they were paid upfront. They just had to remove you. That was all."
"I just told them the truth."
Amelia and Hywel chuckled before resuming their cuddle. Amelia's husband was
not amused. He snorted and walked out.
Amelia felt scared. "Hywel, do you realise what we have done? He is not
going to be pleased. Both our lives are now in danger."
"Who cares Amelia? I'll die a happy man." She thought briefly about the
consequences of being with Hywel or the alternative.
Amelia smiled. "I understand what you mean. I feel the same way."
"We do need to find a new home though. Go somewhere where he can not find
us. Gather up your belongings and we'll find somewhere else straight away."
They jumped to their feet, picked up their belongings and made their way to
the entrance of the mine.
"Careful, don't go rushing out. He may have laid a trap." Hywel warned her.
His eyes scanned their surroundings but he couldn't see anything. Everything
appeared normal but he wasn't sure.
Slowly they emerged from the mine. Hywel constantly checked for any signs of
danger. He was relieved when he saw none. Soon they were on their way to
their next location.
"Where are we going Hywel?"
"I'm not sure yet, I'll know when we find it though."
Amelia smiled and linked her arm through his. She had total confidence in
him and knew that he would guide her to safety.
In the distance he could see a large black dark mountain and immediately
sensed that this was where they should be heading. "Come on Amelia, this
way."
After walking for what seemed like several miles, Amelia felt exhausted. She
struggled to keep up with Hywel but it was obvious that she was finding it
difficult as the terrain had become steeper. Hywel heard her sharp intakes
of breath and her panting before deciding that they should rest for a while.
Amelia protested to start with but then realised that she really did need a
break. They sat down on the grass between the trees and rested their limbs.
Hywel started rummaging through his bag and to Amelia's surprise pulled out
a couple of bread rolls and a bottle of juice.
"I didn't see you get them. Where did you pick those up from?"
"Ah, a man has his means."
Amelia smiled; she knew that he wasn't going to tell her all his secrets
just yet.
After they had eaten the rolls and drank some juice, they rested for a while
longer, lying together in the shade from the trees.
"Come on Amelia, we best get going or we aren't going to reach the summit
before nightfall."
Amelia relunctantly rose to her feet.
* * *
As they finally reached the summit, darkness was setting in. Amelia wondered
where they were going to sleep as there didn't seem to be any caves in the
vicinity. There was a long circular ditch which she found and she wondered
if that would be good enough to sleep in.
"Hywel, where can we sleep?"
"I've thought of that Amelia. I have some tarpaulin in my bag. If we peg it
down one side of the ditch and then pull it across, we will have a shelter.
We'll just have to find the right location for it."
As they wandered around the ditch, they soon discovered that it wasn't a
complete circle. Maybe it had never been finished or perhaps there was
another reason for that.
"I guess this is the right location then Hywel."
"Seems like it doesn't it?"
Hywel immediately pulled the tarpaulin out of his bag and began pegging it
down on one side of the ditch. Once he had finished, he moved to the side
and promptly attached it to the bank, he finally went to the other side and
after pulling it out straight again, pegged it to the ground.
Amelia climbed down into the ditch and examined their shelter. "It's cosy
Hywel, no wind is coming in."
He chuckled before responding. "I should hope not. I've lived in these parts
for years. I know how to live on the land. We are going to need to eat
tonight though, if you can light a fire, I'll go and hunt. We can cook it
just a bit further up in the ditch."
Amelia nodded as Hywel disappeared into the darkness. She climbed out of the
ditch and started to search for the twigs and kindling. It didn't take long
and soon she had enough for a reasonable fire.
Hywel soon returned with a couple of rabbits which he skinned and gutted
before lighting the fire which Amelia had made.
"Not much to eat, but at least we won't starve." He muttered before throwing
the rabbits in the flames.
Amelia looked at him and smiled. "It will taste wonderful, even if they are
a bit charred."
Hywel was right. Their meal didn't take long to eat and it was over quite
quickly.
Amelia yawned, she suddenly felt very tired. "Oh sorry Hywel, but I feel it
has been a long day."
"You're right about that. Go on. Go and get some sleep in the shelter. Here
take my coat; you can use that as a blanket over you. Night love."
"Oh Hywel, I can't do that. I don't want you getting cold, come and cuddle
me instead."
Hywel smiled and took Amelia to their improvised shelter. He stroked her
face as she lay down, her head in his lap. She smiled before she dropped off
to sleep.
Hywel didn't sleep; he was still listening for any sign of trouble. He
wasn't totally sure that they hadn't been followed. He didn't think they had
been but one could never be sure.
To be continued...