Nacre's Promise

Chapter XVIII : Resistance

Barcelona, ​​1909.

Diego's disappearance had suddenly swept away all of Isabel's good resolutions. He was her soul mate; she couldn't bring herself to stand still when he was in danger. She had to find him and do everything to ensure that he was safe. Very worried, she could not stay longer in the comfort of the house when Diego needed help.

She had already been a guest of the Campos for too long and was very grateful to them. Thanks to their kindness and their care, she had now regained almost all her mobility. It was now incumbent on her to do everything possible to help Diego and, of course, it was to Ruiz that she turned to inform him of her decision.

As she could not waste time thanking her hosts, she decided to leave without further ado. From their previous conversations, Isabel had an idea of ​​where Diego might be hiding. She decided to join him as quickly as possible.

She therefore instructed her faithful friend Ruiz to explain her project to her masters, while asking them for the utmost discretion. After dressing in her masterpiece and accepting the bag full of food and medicine that Ruiz had prepared for her, she ran to Manuela Cortez to borrow Solindo.

It was too early and very reckless for her to get back on horseback when her scarring had just stabilized but she was determined. She should get back on horseback one day despite her old broken bones, so you might as well start today. Finding Diego was an emergency and she could not avoid it.

After an hour on horseback and numerous detours to sow potential pursuers, his destination was still a long way off. These precautions were essential because it was possible that the Campos house was still under surveillance since the escape.

Its objective was to join the headquarters of the resistance group of which Diego was part to inform them of his arrest and his flight. She thought he might be there already, provided he had the means to get there after his escape.

She rode an hour more in the direction of the hills and, sure that she had not been followed, she plunged into the woods and looked for the marked path that Diego had told her about.

The pain was growing more and more and her whole body was showing signs of fatigue, but she ignored it. It didn't take long for her to find the way. It was steep and dangerous, but Solindo was sure-footed. He led her safely to her goal. She had never been here, but Diego's description was accurate.

There was a gap in the rock, partially obscured by fairly abundant climbing vegetation, but just wide enough for a horse. It was more like the cave than a passage between two rocky masses. Sometimes there was a ceiling, sometimes it disappeared, revealing the sky and the vegetation. Holding Solindo by the reins so that he would follow her, she rushed into the narrow passage with a little apprehension. She followed this crevice for about ten minutes, before finding herself, completely in the open air, in a sort of deep valley surrounded by steep walls.

The place was beautiful. In front of her there opened a clearing whose greenery and luxuriance contrasted with the dryness of the landscape she had crossed. A sort of emerald lake lay almost in the center of the valley which must have measured only about 5,000 acres [1]  A precious stone in its rocky setting. In the background, we could see several troglodyte dwellings but she had no time to go there. As soon as she left the passage, she was immediately surrounded by four armed men who prevented her from going any further.

Isabel took a quick step back to press against Solindo, surprised by the appearance of this group of men who seemed to appear out of nowhere.

— Stop! Introduce yourself, young lady? You don't come to this valley by chance, so I'm waiting for you to explain to me what got you here, asked the one who obviously seemed to be the leader.