The Forest of Adventures (#1 of The Knight Trilogy) by Katie M John

her hand, “Thanks Mum, that’d
be good and there are some things that it would be good to talk
about.” I smiled weakly at her, planning carefully what I would
say.
    “Good. Drink your tea and we’ll
get going.”
    *
    On the ride to the hospital Mum
seemed peaceful and it was nice to be close to her. I told her
about the conversation with the consultant and about the mysterious
lady visiting Sam. I was pleased that she would be with me this
evening.
    We arrived later than we’d
planned and with only half an hour of visiting time left and the
hospital was quieter than usual. Mum reached out and held my hand
like I was a small child again and it felt nice to be mothered. As
we approached Sam’s room, I was surprised to see that Mum was as
nervous about meeting the mystery woman as I was. It was with a
mixture of disappointment and relief that his bedside was
empty.
    “What do you think we should
do?” I asked her.
    “I don’t know Mina. Did the
doctor say that she came every evening?”
    “Without fail,” I nodded and
then remembered the one night she hadn’t and who I’d found in her
place.
    “Then we’ve just got to wait
and see. Move away from the door.”
    We sat ourselves behind it so
that we were out of sight. Time passed slowly. Eventually, we
resigned ourselves to the fact that she wasn’t going to show and
Mum left me to say a private goodbye to Sam.
    It was as I was bending down to
plant a kiss on his cheek, that the room suddenly filled with the
sweetest smell of honeyed wildflowers. It was the smell of summer
and seemed as if it had come in on the current of a breeze.
Tensing, I turned and looked straight into the face of one of the
prettiest women I’d ever seen. Instantly I knew that she was of
Blake’s world; nobody that beautiful could be truly real.
    Dressed in dark, slim jeans and
brown riding boots, she tried to pass herself off as any other
fashionable and attractive woman but there was something about her
that made you stop dead in your tracks. The green silk of her
blouse was the same green as her eyes and they were the colour of
dark pools. It was clear that she’d walked in not thinking anybody
else would be here and she didn’t seem happy at being caught. For a
brief moment a glimmer of panic flitted through her eyes and I was
immediately reminded of a woodland creature not used to the
presence of humans.
    “I’m sorry,” her soft voice
rang out. It was the voice of lullabies.
    “I didn’t think anybody else
would be here. Not at this time of the evening.”
    “No we were later than …” I
stopped, unsure of how to finish. How could I explain that we
intentionally set out to confront her?
    “I suppose it had to happen
sooner or later.” She took a deep sigh, steeling herself for a
difficult conversation, “You must be Mina; I’m Vivien, Blake’s
mother,” she smiled holding out her hand. “Boy, am I going to be in
so much trouble.” She let out a light laugh, indicating that she
would be easily forgiven. “He made me promise that I wouldn’t get
caught.”
    I liked her immediately.
    “Blake? Sorry I don’t
understand how …” I nodded my head, frustrated that my usually
reliable brain seemed to have lately taken a holiday.
    She didn’t answer immediately,
choosing her words carefully and when at last she did speak, it was
with the uncertainty that maybe she was betraying a trust.
    “Blake is very fond of you,
Mina, and he knows how dear to your heart this boy is. He worries
for you both.”
    “So why are you visiting Sam?”
I asked, still no clearer about the connection.
    “Sam is in a far away place.
It’s a terribly lonely place and it is easy to lose your way. I
come to try to convince him to turn around and come home to you but
it isn’t straightforward.”
    “Why? If it’s a matter of
choice then why won’t he listen to you? Why won’t he come home?” I
asked her urgently.
    “Sam…” she stopped, searched my
eyes deeply, “Mina, do you