FanStory.com - Concorde Valleyby davisr (Rhonda)

Background
Years after a fire took her parents lives and devastated her home, Echo worked at a small town newspaper. She's rescued from danger by her old friend, Theo, who takes her to Concorde Valley.

End of Last Chapter:

Echo grew uncharacteristically quiet as the horse took them down a wooded path. She couldn't help but wonder about Theo's shrouded warning. What was she going to learn he was concerned would frighten her, and, more importantly, was it going to? She decided to be as open minded as she could when she met the rest of his family. After all, if they had produced Theo, they couldn't be too bad, could they?

New Chapter:

Echo tried not to think about anything confusing or stressful as she let the hypnotic footfalls of the great stallion wash over her. She suspended fear of horses for the beauty of the experience. It was a technique learned in college while studying for exams and trying to get over the tragic fire that had taken her parents' lives.

As she rested against Theo, she was surprised to feel palpable energy flowing out of his body and enveloping her like a blanket. She had a similar experience when she put on his sweater in the woods outside Concorde Valley.

Subconsciously, she leaned into his warmth. He responded by giving her a tender squeeze. How could she know how much he relished this moment?

When it passed, Echo sat up as though shaking herself out of a dream. She absorbed the wonder of the woods surrounding them. After her night flight through miles of dense forest, she didn't know if she would ever want to see trees again. But here she was soaking in the atmosphere of a world so similar to her own that she felt at ease, yet different enough to excite her. Another mystery of Concorde Valley?

Great oak and evergreen sentinels loomed above, stimulating imagination. Were these behemoths guardians to this secret valley, or were they participants in the mystery of a place so remote no one but horses and the invited could visit?

She felt comfort from them and from the man who held her in his arms. Suddenly, she wasn't full of questions to ask, just an overwhelming sense of wonder; wonder that heals the body and soul.

"Where are we?" she asked.

"In the upper level of Concorde valley," Theo said. "From this area, we get most of the lumber and some of the metals we use in the city. There are some homes here, but most people live in the third level down, which is the residential district. It's all like one big spiral with plateaus at various points."

Echo raised her eyebrows. "You have mines here? I thought it was all natural and no pollution."

"We have a few, but mostly we trade for metals from the next village, called Karack. We're primarily agricultural with a few associated businesses."

"I see."

Theo nudged Nifty forward with his knees. He began a sort of slow descent down a well-worn path.

"It's all very organized," Theo explained. "Each level above, supports the one beneath. Take our second level, which harbors our factories. It is found directly above the residential area so that it's close enough to be easily accessible to workers, but situated to allow fumes produced to be carried out of the valley by air currents.

"The housing area is right above the fields and pastures for easy access to farming. The business district is found at the bottom. There are gardens interspersed between each level for aesthetics and air cleansing."

"Wow, someone spent a lot of time planning it out."

"Yes, they did," Theo said. "And we both know who that was."

"Your father."

"Yes, my father, long ago."

Echo nodded, and reached out to stroke Nifty's neck. "You know, this guy seems like a nice fellow. He almost makes me less scared of his kind."

Theo chuckled and gave her a tap on the back of her head with his forehead, the virtual kiss. Echo was delighted at how innocent the gesture was, yet how infinitely satisfying.

For a moment or two longer, the pair traveled in silence, each absorbed in their own thoughts, each watching the ground turn from loamy forest undergrowth to stone.

Ending the silence, they stopped on a crest overlooking the valley below. From this vantage point, Echo could see the tiers Theo had described. It looked like a storybook etching of a mythical village.

The levels were situated on plateaus connected by paths like the one they just traveled. Each was clearly defined and very characteristic for the functions Theo had described, the most distinctive sporting a colorful row of cottages.

"Where are the factories?" Echo asked. She looked around for the tell-tale signs of billowing smoke and acrid air.

Theo pointed to several adobe structures scattered around the tier directly beneath, and barely visible among flowering gardens. There was activity, people scurrying around pushing carts, animals wandering in and out with burdens on their able backs, and moving water wheels manned by men and women.

"Where's the smoke you were talking about?"

"We don't produce much. Our extractions are done without burning many hydrocarbons."

"What do you use for energy?"

"Mostly water and wind, all of which we have in abundance."

The next level down from the housing district, and forming the floor of the valley, was the businesses. They, like the rest of the buildings in the valley, were richly colored. The streets were teeming with horse drawn wagons and carriages. Even from where she sat above the valley, she could tell the city was clean and skillfully tended, almost as though it was a well kept garden itself.

"I don't know what to say." Echo sighed as her eyes continued to peruse the landscape. "This is beyond words, even for me. Is this really where you grew up?"

"Yes, ma'am," he replied. "At least when I wasn't in the woods looking out for a special friend."

"Why did you ever leave to come to my world?"

"At first my mission required me to leave," Theo explained, "and then later because you needed me."

Echo gasped, her head snapped around her eyes caught his. "And not just when you rescued me from the Specters. I knew it. You came off and on ever since the fire, didn't you?"

Theo returned her gaze, but didn't answer.

"I used to go to the edge of the forest when I was troubled and just talk to you. I would sit there for hours pretending you could hear. You were there, weren't you?"

Theo looked away. "To wander in your world is forbidden without express permission."

"But you did it. I know you did, and not just the one time when I was stood up for the dance. You were there each time."

When Theo looked back, there was a hint of tears in his eyes, turning emerald eyes to bright green. "Probably not every time."

"Thank you," Echo said, and then changed the subject. "Which one of those houses down there belongs to your family?"

"They don't live in the residential section," he answered. "Their home is here in the wooded zone. My father lived in a small cottage before he met my mother. After they married and started having kids, he built a huge addition. They have the most magnificent garden you can imagine behind it."

"Oh, I would love to see it, do you mind?"

"Of course not, my parents would be disappointed if I didn't take you on a tour. In fact, my mother says she fell in love with my father in that very garden."

"How romantic."

"Yes, it's a story they are most eager to tell. I'm sure you'll hear it several times."

"Stories are my line of business."

Theo laughed. "Then you'll love my family."

"Are you going to take me to their house now?" Echo asked.

"I think that's the best idea," he replied. "My family is dying to meet you, and you need better rest than what you had at the hospital. I'm sure you could use something to eat, too."

Theo urged Nifty back around and headed down a different path.

"This place is so unusual," Echo said, "There are some trees here I recognize, and others I don't."

"That's because the valley is isolated from the rest of the world. There will be many things you see here in the valley that you won't see anywhere else."

"Wow, it's like waking up in a different world."

"That's what I've been trying to tell you," Theo said.

"I get it now, so how far is it to your house?"

"My own isn't far from here, but I'm taking you to my parents'."

"Oh, you moved out?"

"I felt it was time, so I built a house a few years back. I've even started a garden with clippings from my father's. It has quite a ways to go before it rivals his, but at least I'm starting."

"What do you do for a living here?"

"I work part time as a soldier in my father's guard, but I also have a shop in the business district where I'm an artist."

"What kind of artwork do you do?"

"Oil paintings, mostly, although I also dabble in sculptures and carvings."

"What about toys? Do you ever make them like you did for me when I was little?"

"Occasionally," he replied, "but mostly for my siblings and niece."

"How many kids are there in your family?"

"Seven in all. My brother, Georgios, is the eldest by many years and lives on his own not too far from my house.

"I'm the oldest of my mother and father. Next in line is my sister, Rebecca. I told you about her when we first met. She's your age. Then there's Adam, who's twenty, Phillip seventeen, Helen ten, and then there's the baby, Hannah, who speaks a plethora of animal languages. She's seven going on 30."

Theo's eyes glowed with pride as he talked about his family. It wasn't that such an attitude made Echo jealous, but it did make her long for the sense of connection she saw in him. Her grandparents tried to be everything to her after her parent's tragic death, but it wasn't the same as what she saw in Theo's face.

"I remember you mentioning her," Echo said. "She sounds adorable, and I'm sure you enjoy them all."

"I do, but I'll gladly share them. Just don't blame me if they drive you crazy."

"Why would they?"

"They make it hard to find solitude."

"Solitude is overrated!"

"Hold that thought, because as soon as we round this curve, we'll be there."

"Oh, no," Echo unconsciously leaned against Theo again for support, "I'm nervous all of a sudden."

"Don't be, remember what I said, my family is friendly."

"Yeah, but they're all royalty."

"So's my father who was your physician, and, I might remind you, you're leaning against the Crowned Prince."

Echo turned around and looked him in the eyes. In them she saw ages of history and tenderness. She saw a young boy who had rescued an abandoned girl in the forest, a rookie cop who protected her from Specters, an agile guide who walked her through trees, and, mostly, she saw her Theo.

"Come, my dear. Time to face the music."

Echo gulped as Theo lifted her off the great stallian and set her on wobbly feet. She steadied herself, lifted her chin and headed down a garden path. She was ready.