The large, black mare reared in distress as the brunette boy approached her, her eyes crazed with a feral kind of fear that only wild animals held. Scowling the boy slowed his approach, letting the rope he carried in his tight, white-knuckled grip to sag a bit loosely, less offensively.
"There now, you hold still you…" He muttered in dismay as he squared his shoulders and held his head high in a dominating fashion. The mare backed against the crude wooden corral fence and reared up again, whinnying rebelliously. With a sigh the brunette steeled himself for his next move, knowing full well that this job wasn't going to be easy.
Lunging forward he tossed the rope toward the horse's neck, attempting to get some sort of control of the situation, or in his case, on the mare. However, she was having none of it and reared up a third time, this time catching the make shift lasso around her left foreleg. The brunette could only watch in horror as the beast struggled until the rope pulled tight and she took off in a gallop around the boy.
Or at least she would have, had he not been still firmly holding the rope.
"Aaaaah!" He was yanked off his feet by the beast with no effort at all, then dragged thoroughly through the mud behind her.
"Stop it you damn thing! Whoa, halt, STOP!" If he weren't currently being taken for a ride about the corral he would have cursed himself for taking on the job when he knew that he wasn't good enough yet, not even with tame horses. He was just an apprentice, how the hell did he ever think he could handle a wild monstrosity like this one?
Mercifully the horse stopped running in circles, coming to the realization that the pen was closed off on all sides. With a snort the mare nervously pawed at the soft mud beneath her. On the ground behind her, the apprentice horse trainer stood up, still gripping the rope stubbornly in one hand and trying in vain to brush the clinging dirt from his clothing with the other.
He was just about satisfactory when a dangerous glint shone in the black horse's eyes and she started to size up the section of the corral that closed off the pen on the opposite side. The area was lower down than most other spots in the fence and even had it been the correct height it was still rickety and poorly made. Finally looking back at the horse rather than his clothing, the boy followed her intent gaze to the fence.
"What are you-? No…no no.. NO!" The brunette screamed again in horror as the mare sped off, galloping at full speed directly towards the corral's fence. He knew what she was planning, he could see it in her determined eyes but he couldn't bring himself to let go of the damned rope around her ankle, his pride and his stubborn ways wouldn't let him.
Finally reaching the crude fence the mare leapt, barely clearing the obstacle due to the extra weight on her leg, and in the process she managed to bang the boy's ribs into the wooded fence, the pain excruciating and causing him to wince and cry out, especially as he heard and felt the sickening crack of the wood splintering under the force of the impact. Unable to hold any longer the boy released his iron grip on the rope and fell to a heap on the hard pressed dirt outside the corral. The mare galloped away in triumph into the looming forest that surrounded the villa, her exuberant whinnies echoing away into the dark trees as she escaped. In defeat, the boy looked up from the dirt and glared off after the horse, his indignant gaze met only by the leering darkness that surrounded the trees.
Slowly and painfully the boy stood, ribs still throbbing sharply where he had hit - and broken - his father's fence. About to return to the small cottage that belonged to his family, he was stopped short when he heard the click of a cane approaching behind him and he flinched from the sound, knowing full well who it was. Turning slowly around just as the sound halted abruptly, the boy met the shocked face of his father as he gazed at the mess that once was the left side of the corral.
For a moment the man only stared, his hair just a bit lighter than his sons, and his posture amazingly stiff for a crippled man. He was a war veteran and the scars that marred his ageing face and the limp that handicapped his left leg were proof enough of that fact, but it was his stern attitude that was the most convincing evidence of all.
The look of disbelieving surprise turned to cold anger as his golden eyes hardened and he turned to look at his older son in frigid disappointment. He stepped forward a bit, his limp seeming suddenly insignificant due to his looming presence. The boy tried to look strong, tried not to let his fear show but as the man neared he couldn't help but shy away slightly.
The brunette boy held a hand weakly against his injured side and he looked up defiantly into the eyes of his father, trying hard not to shake with fear.
"Lovino…" the man began in a low, warning tone and the boy, Lovino, instantly bowed his head in shame. "Lovino," he started again, the fact that he was gritting his teeth apparent in his voice, "where is the duke's mare?"
The question seemed so simple, so innocent as it flittered into the tense air, but Lovino knew that for him it spelled death. Swallowing down the lump that threatened to clog his throat and choke him, the boy looked up into his father's blazing golden eyes once more before replying.
"She's in the forest." His voice was ashamed and he knew in an instant that he was going to pay for the mistake he had made. Only a second later his father's cane clattered to the dirt and Lovino felt the calloused hand on his face. The assault was blinding, causing Lovino to momentarily see stars and flashing colors as he was knocked to the ground by the force. Tears welled up hot and stinging in his eyes before rolling down his cheeks and into the dust beneath him.
"Do you want your only brother to die in poverty like your mother did?! Do you want to be the sole cause of his suffering, the reason why he can never be more than he is now?! Do you want to KILL HIM?! DO YOU?! Why can't you do anything right, Lovino!" The words were harsh and there didn't seem to be an end to them in sight. Sullen drops fell from the boy's face as his father screamed, the sharp sting of the words undeterred by the frequency of such assaults. "I won't let you be the source of your brother's suffering!"
His father finally gave up yelling as he was racked with a fit of coughing that resulted in him gagging blood onto the ground to his left. Finally catching his breath, Lovino's father turned back to him, breathing shallowly as he bent to pick up his cane, before then using the stick to poke his son - who was still whimpering on the ground - roughly in the ribs. "Lovino," he said sternly, "you are going to repair that fence, but first you will find the duke's mare. She is very expensive and we are very close to buying your brother's education, so you CANNOT mess this up again. You will leave immediately and don't return home unless that horse is at your side, do you understand?"
The man stood there expectantly as his son caught his breath and looked up from the ground, his browned-gold eyes meeting the simmering, molten gold of his father's.
"Yes, father." He replied simply, his false pride and indignant demeanor resuming their places on the broken boys face.
D: Gosh the end of this was so depressing! p.q But I promise it will get better! Just you wait X3
Aaaanyway, this is a super-secret surprise for my older sister :D I would put her username but it's kind of pointless considering she is usually on my account instead of me XD So I don't even need to mention her in here for her to see it D: I hope you all like it!
And really… It will be less depressing soon XP
