The sun rose and spilled through the curtains of Yuuki Cunxin's bedroom.
She grimaced and pulled her blanket up higher a reaction to the crisp morning. It wasn't that she didn't like mornings – she loved them, but rather that she was much too comfortable and warm to get up and venture out into the beginnings of winter.
Outside she heard a sharp crack. Sitting up, the girl craned her neck to see out her window. Her father was standing in ring with a lunge-line in one hand and a long pole to which was attached a short strip of leather in the other.
A big thoroughbred was trotting in circles around him, its ears pricked in a causal, cocky manner.
The whip wasn't there to hurt the horse, but as an aid to train horses instead of breaking them.
Yuuki ran a hand through her hair and slid her feet onto the cold floor. Her room was so big that it never kept any warm air in it and she had left her electric blanket off and fireplace out.
Her bed, although a queen, was pushed against the far wall; beneath a window overlooked the paddocks of the Cunxin estate. A few meters to the foot of the bed was a bookcase, filled with classics and matching sets. The fireplace was in the centre of the wall opposite the door, complimented by a red couch that matched the mahogany of her wardrobe. It was homey, stylish and comfortable – even if it was cold.
Yuuki quickly changed and pulled on her riding boots before skipping down the marble stairs of the family mansion and disappearing out the back door.
Her father looked up as the wood closed with a thud and his daughter crunched her way across the gravel towards the stable.
"Morning Yuuki" he called in a monotone manner, his attention already back on the horse
"Morning dad" she yelled over her shoulder before sliding into the stable.
The lighting was crisp, first light, clear light. Yuuki loved it. She loved the morning once she was out of bed.
The stable was made up of two rows of stalls, a tack room and a loft above where the feed was kept.
The very end stall contained her pride and joy.
Zero was a very large warm blood gelding. A perfect jumper, a little flighty, a bit of a handful but all around an amazing horse.
The bay nickered a warm hello, his attention fully on his owner.
"Hey handsome" Yuuki whispered softly, putting a hand on his nose
The horse pulled away suddenly, his ears still pricked forward. Her hand was cold.
"Sorry boy" The girl blew the offending limbs and then ran them over his shoulder; feeling the animals warmth. She continued to talk to her horse as she groomed him, fed him and cleaned his stall.
The pair were champions together. Yuuki had been given him when she was ten, when she was thirteen they were national champions, at fifteen they were Asia champions and at sixteen they had been selected for the Beijing Olympic squad – taking out gold for the three day event.
The girl had been riding since she could walk and her horse had been bred from a line of gold winning stallions and mares.
Both had high-classed blood lines.
The Cunxin family owned a line of agricultural businesses and controlled the importation of produce overseas.
Even so, Yuuki preferred to tend her own horse. Riding was all she was good at. The only thing she could excel in. She had an older brother, so the business would go to him; she had never been good enough at math and management to be able to take over. Her academics were very average, her social skills very poor due to a quiet nature and her family ability almost non-existent. She lived with two men she was related to but did not love.
The only male she loved was Zero. And, as lame as that felt at times, she was never lonely. He could
never lie to her and would always keep a secret.
"Ready to go?" Yuuki pulled the girth tight around Zero. His ears flicked back for a second before he turned his head to look at his master.
It was ironic, her head just came above his shoulder and yet she ruled his every move. The horse used his nose as a weapon and shoved Yuuki as she put her foot in the stirrup, causing her to stumble.
The girl turned her annoyed gaze at him, the horse's crooked blaze making him look entirely innocent. "Whatever"
She sighed and lifted herself into the saddle and making her way into the lower paddock where her trainer would now be waiting.
Five days a week she trained two hours before school, two after. On weekends she competed or did more extensive sessions. She didn't have a social live to maintain and thus not being out wasn't much of an issue.
When Yuuki re-entered the house she found her brother and father sitting at the dining room table, waiting for her.
"Is everything okay?" she asked, her voice naturally quiet
"Yes Yuuki, everything's fine. Sit down" her brother said
The girl obeyed an expression of confusion on her face
"We think it's time you had a change" her father pushed an envelope across the table at her
Congratulations! It said You have been accepted into Ouran High School!
We are well aware of your abilities on the equestrian circuit and are offering you a place at the Ouran Academy on a sporting scholarship. We trust you will find our facilities to your liking, they are as well equipped as any Olympian would expect.
Yuuki didn't read on "What? I didn't..."
"We know you didn't apply, we did it for you" Mako, her brother finished
"Your brother and I were tired of your lacking in academics, Ouran offers excellent education and a very good riding program"
"I have a program" the girl protested "Here, I have a program"
Mako shook his head "Your homeschooled, you have no social live, your best friend is a horse"
"And I'm happy"
"Well" her father said coldly "we're not. You mother would have never allowed you to slip so far"
The Japanese way of life ensured that high class women, especially those born into powerful families, were all rounders. Good at everything. Yuuki was defiantly not that.
She felt betrayed.
They were sending her away because she had failed them; they hadn't even told her that they were disappointed.
"I'll work harder" she began "I'll get friends..."
"Where Yuuki? Home school?"
"Are...are you trying to get rid of me?"
Mako sighed "No. Yuuki. Please, just go to Ouran. You can board there and come home on the weekend. Zero will come with you. You can still compete in riding, except now you will have friends invited to the crowd. People will know you more than an Olympic celebrity in still motion; you will be their Olympic celebrity"
"I don't want to be a celebrity"
"Then don't tell anyone who you are. I'm sure no one on the equestrian team will know who you are." He said sarcastically "Except that your trainer will be with you ever two days, and everyone knows his fame in the horse world." her father said with a smug grin
Yuuki didn't like him. Not one bit. Maybe once she had, but after her mother had died he had changed. So her Mako.
"Okay" she decided. She didn't have to be social; she didn't have to do well. She just had to attend. She didn't want to please those she didn't love. The opportunity to ride for a private school was a good offer anyway.
"It wasn't something you could agree to Yuuki. You were going whether you liked it or not. You start Monday"
The girl stared across the table at the two men, her insides frozen for a second. There was no love in this room. Just acceptance and even that was fading fast.
She pushed her chair back and stood "I'll go pack then"
It was Saturday. How long had they hidden the news from her?
Ouran was a three hour drive away, it would take a morning to get there.
The girl pulled out her suitcase. The L and V logo across it displayed her wealth. Not just her family wealth, but hers personally from her sporting achievements.
Achievements that her father and brother didn't recognise. Her father only knew his own equestrian leisure and her brother detested animals all together.
Yuuki packed what she could that day and completed it the next.
Zero had his own bag that sat in the horse float. It contained all the things that he needed to stay warm as well as the riding gear that was tailored to his every dimension. Even the bit was custom made to sit comfortably in his mouth.
Yuuki found herself relieved the day she and Zero left. She had liked her home, it was like living alone; but she really would be at Ouran. It would be the same, only without the family that haunted her in an almost blaming manner.
Her father and brother said brief goodbyes and disappeared back into the house. A servant drove her and the float towards the school and she plugged herself into an iPod.
