Hello! First off, thank you for reading! It means a lot. This is my first story, so I'm a newbie here :) Please review! Tell me if you like it/hate it. If you like it that's great, and if you hate it that's OK too. I'm going to need a driving force here 'cause I write really slow :) I apologize in advance for any grammatical errors. I don't have a Beta yet. Anyways, hope you enjoy the first chapter.
All characters belong to Cassandra Clare. Except for the ones I make up that is ;)
The sun rose over the far pasture and fiery rays of sunlight burst through her windows. The alarm trilled, signaling that it was five in the morning. Clary awoke with a start and flung her hand over to the nightstand, effectively cutting off the annoying buzz. Sitting up, she squeezed her eyes shut and pinched the bridge of her nose in an effort to dispel the pain that pulsed there. She stayed like that for nearly ten minutes but, no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't make the flashes of her worst nightmares leave her vision.
She swung her legs over the edge of the bed and picked up the bottle of painkillers from her nightstand. Walking over to the bathroom, she took a sip from the tap and swallowed a few of the pills. She looked up and caught a glimpse of her reflection. Her auburn hair looked like a bird had nested there. Chunks of frizzy, red curls stuck up in weird places and little tendrils were stuck to the base of her neck from sweat. Her eyes had dark circles beneath them, which were only made more visible by her pale skin. Her green eyes looked tired and lackluster. She splashed some cold water on her face, willing herself to not look so much like a zombie. Turning back to her bedroom, she dressed quickly in jeans and a t-shirt, used her fingers to comb through her hair as best as she could, and pulled it into a ponytail.
She walked across the hallway and into the kitchen where she found her aunt, Amatis, and her uncle, Luke, sitting across from one another sipping on their coffees. Luke was looking over the scheduling for the day, and Amatis was looking particularly forlorn while shuffling through a large pile of bills.
"Hey," Clary said in greeting. Amatis looked up and gave her a tired smile. Luke mumbled a hello, obviously focused on what he was doing.
"Did you sleep well, honey?" Amatis asked, pushing aside the papers. She took another tentative sip of coffee and grimaced when the bitter liquid burned her tongue.
"Yeah, it was OK," she lied smoothly, walking over to the refrigerator and pulling out two large red apples. She didn't bother whining about her nightmares since they had so much more on their minds. Her aunt and uncle worried enough as it was. "I'm gonna go and see Michael, I'm sure he's already waiting for me," she continued.
Michael Wayland was the stables horse trainer. He and Clary had been working together with Caspian, who was Morningstar's best chance at winning their next race on Monday, since the farm really needed a top racehorse to win the purse. The growing number of bills on the table could attest to that. The last race with a substantial purse that they had won had been over a year ago.
Clary hurried toward the door juggling the two apples and a water bottle in her hands. Just as she was about to step out the door, Luke called her back inside.
"Clary, wait," Luke said. Clary turned back into the kitchen with her hand still on the doorknob. Luke pushed aside the schedule and stood to face her.
He cleared his throat. "We're hiring another farmhand." Puzzlement washed over her features. Luke was the one that handled the hiring and firing of hands, not Clary. She wondered if he wanted an opinion. It wouldn't be the first time.
"So…" she hedged.
"Well, let's just say he's not from the best of backgrounds, but," he said seeing her expression, "we're gonna give him a chance here."
"What do you mean not from the best of backgrounds?"
"He was in a juvenile detention center."
"What?" she gasped, "then why the hell are you letting him come here? What did he do?"
"Now, just calm down," he hesitated, "he had quite a few assault charges but he's done his time and when I went over there to talk to Lionel, he introduced me to him. The boy really needed a job so I offered him one," he said reasonably. "It's better than having him back out on the streets," he added in an undertone.
"Assault?" Clary's blood went cold. The kid should stay in jail, or rot in it for that matter, she thought. How could they even afford to hire another worker? They had to let go five workers recently.
"Yes, and that's why I wanted to tell you," he said gently.
"How can we even afford to have another worker?"
Luke sighed. "He offered to work for free...that is, if we gave him a place to stay."
Clary couldn't believe it. She just stared at him.
"So, he's gonna stay in the spare cabin," he continued, looking harassed.
"I can't believe you would let a felon come to live here," she said. He's probably going assault one of the other workers, she thought.
Amatis cut in quietly. "Look, Clary we know this is hard for you considering what happened with your-"
Clary narrowed her eyes. "Don't," she cut her off with what was close to a hiss, "talk about that." Turning on the heel of her boot she slammed the door shut behind her as she ran towards the stables leaving her aunt and uncle with shocked looks on their faces. She couldn't deal with them anymore right now, she needed to think. The crisp morning air bit at her skin as she ran across the yard towards the rising sun. Gravel crunched beneath her boots while she crossed the driveway and finally entered the barn.
She took a deep breath, using the familiar smell to calm her. The barn was large but cozy; the weathered wood walls looked homey and nothing like the pristine pine slats at the Willow Springs Center down the road. A few horses nickered when they heard her walk in. Clary made her way over to Caspian's stall. He heard her approaching and lifted his head from the water bucket. Pushing aside the stall door, she left only the rubber divider between them. She reached out, and sank her fingers into his mane. Somehow, his presence made her feel like she could forget about everything and just be with someone who she could talk to and not feel like they were trying to be cautious around her. As if she were so breakable that if someone said one wrong thing it would shatter her.
Ever since her mother was killed people acted this way. At first she thought they were being sympathetic and trying to let her get over the loss. But, as she came to realize, they really pitied her. They pitied the young, intelligent girl whose mother was murdered by a psychopath. They pitied her because her father had died in a car crash before she was even born. But Clary didn't want pity. She wanted to be treated normal for once. She wanted to forget what happened in her past. She didn't want people whispering about her in small groups at school, and she didn't want the eyes that bore into the back of her skull when she walked through the hallways. All of those looks practically screamed, her mother was murdered.
Here, with Cas, she could just be. He didn't make her feel like she was a fluffed up pillow. If only she could find a human that would do the same. She held out an apple and Caspian took a large bite, juice dripping out of his mouth. Clary just nibbled at the skin of her own. She was so lost in thought she didn't hear the soft footsteps behind her.
"Got something on your mind?" said a voice.
Clary jumped and spun around. Michael stood with his hands in his pockets, studying her. He wore his usual jeans and a worn sweatshirt. Weirdly, he always knew when something was bothering her. She lied anyways.
"Oh, um, no I'm fine." She could tell he knew she was lying so she looked at the floor instead of his eyes. Thankfully, he didn't push it.
"Well," he said, stepping forward to give Cas a pat on the neck, "we'd better get started with him. I was thinking we'd let him have the reins, see what he can do."
"Sure, sounds good."
Michael nodded and left to go to the tack room for a saddle and bridle.
Clary turned and got a halter off the rack, pulling it up over Caspian's nose and buckling it around his jaw. She led him out and into the large hallway, his hooves clacking on the cement. She tied him to the cross ties and went down the hall to get a brush. Brushing a horse was methodical and was always comforting for her. She let the bristles run smoothly over his sleek black coat.
"I think were gonna be getting a new guest around here," she whispered. Cas turned his ears in her direction. "Yeah, I know, I'm not gonna let him near your stall, I know how you like it cleaned." He nudged her shoulder with his nose and she giggled.
Michael returned with the equipment and helped her put it on him. Once she cinched the girth and gave Cas another pat, she led him out and into the growing sunlight.
It was in the mornings when Clary could truly be thankful for being here. It was so beautiful at this time of the day. The newborn sunlight was just reaching the tops of the trees and the coolness of the night was still there. The horizon was a watercolor painting of reds and oranges. Rays of sunlight filtered through the tall oak trees and landed on the hard-packed dirt walkway. Dew still coated the grass and horses off in the distant pastures munched greedily on it since it was a delicacy they could only enjoy in the early morning. The woods beyond chirped with the sounds of songbirds. But, what she probably liked most of all was the quiet. Sure, there were a few whinnies and pounding of hooves resonating through the barn, but it was calming. Only the mornings were like this since the help came to work around six and made a bunch of noise.
"Remember to keep him close to the rail on the third turn, he doesn't like it but that's what's really gonna cut his time."
Again, Michael's voice broke her reverie. "Yeah, I know," Clary replied as he opened the gate and they stepped out onto the track. She needed to focus on this since race day was only a week away. This was a big race, and there were going to be a lot of big shots that were all vying to be first and win the fifteen thousand dollar purse.
"And your gonna blow them all away," she whispered to Cas as she scratched him on the white strip of hair between his eyes.
Clary turned and checked the girth one more time before putting on her helmet and getting a leg up from Michael. She easily swung her right leg over the saddle. Once she was settled she shortened the reins a bit, moving her hands up his neck. Caspian's ears pricked forward and he knew he was going to run.
Michael shut the gate behind him and went to stand near the white fence that ran around the track. He had his stopwatch in his hand.
"OK Clary," he called. Clary got into position and lifted off the saddle. She looked at the long track ahead of them, and took a deep breath, blowing it out while Caspian danced in excitement. She held him reined in and waited for Michael to call out.
"Go!" Michael said as he clicked the stopwatch. Clary didn't even have to urge Caspian on. He took off like a rocket as soon as Clary gave him rein. His hooves pounded against the earth as his strides grew longer on the first stretch. He easily stayed close to the rail on the first and second turn; he was glued to it. Clary evened him out as they galloped up the long stretch, and nearing the third turn, Clary steered him closer to the rail making sure to not pull back and he responded without losing any speed. After the last turn, Clary gave him a nudge with her boot while she clicked her tongue and squeezed with her calves. His hooves practically gobbled up the last furlong.
Michael clicked the stopwatch again as they passed, marveling at the time. Clary slowed Caspian down to a canter and then to a trot and went once around the track before coming to a stop before Michael.
"Oh my God! He was amazing wasn't he? What was his time?" Clary said breathlessly and patted Caspian's sweaty neck.
"Yeah, a minute forty six. He shaved off almost two seconds from his last time," he smiled. Caspian snorted.
"Wow! You know what? I think he's gonna win. I mean, that's better than Saratoga's times at Willow Springs!"
"Let's hope he wins, there's still a lot more competition that he's up against," he said taking the reins from Clary as she hopped off.
"Good job buddy!" Clary exulted before leaning down and kissing Caspian's nose. She turned to Michael.
"So do we have a jockey yet?" She asked, piqued. This was a sensitive subject for her. Cas was her baby, she had helped deliver him the day he was born. She only wanted the best for him, and since she couldn't be riding him without her jockey's license, she always wanted to know who was going to.
"We hired John Newman yesterday; he was the best out of the jockeys we could afford. Not that he's bad, not at all, we just got a good deal. He's gonna come over around one to take a look at him."
"That's good," Clary said smiling. She turned toward the gate as Michael opened it, leading Cas out. When they reached the barn, Michael left to go tell Luke and Amatis the good news. Meanwhile, Clary decided to give Caspian a bath and led him to the washroom. Once she tied him up and wet him down with the hose, she took the huge bottle of Mane 'N Tail shampoo from the shelf and squeezed a big glob onto a brush. She soaped him up and rinsed him off, getting splashed as he shook his mane.
When she finished she led him back into his stall. She got a pitchfork and cleaned and talked with him. Mucking stalls definitely wasn't her favorite thing to do at the barn, but it had to be done so she'd rather talk to a friend while she did it. She mostly talked about nonsense, and how good his times were, and how Cas was going to beat all their asses on Monday. When she finished, she said goodbye with a last pat and exited the stall. She started on the basic chores around the barn, cleaning tack, mucking stalls, working horses, and giving out hay. She was thankful that there were a lot of other people around to help. If she had been alone trying to do all the work, she'd never get it done.
By eleven-thirty she'd finished her work and headed to the house. All the workers were there tending to the twenty-one horses that called Morningstar home. Some were being walked after an exercise and some were being transported in trailers. She said hello to many of the hands as she walked by, stopping to talk to a few of them about Caspian's time and the new jockey. The workers at Morningstar were like an extension of the family. It was difficult to let go of them when they had to cut back on their spending. She was friends with many of the men even though they all had a good thirty years on her at least. She wondered how the new delinquent was going to fit in.
As she was crossing the yard she heard the crunch of tires on gravel and turned. She saw her uncle's black truck making its way up the long driveway. Speak of the devil, she thought. She hoped he wasn't part of some gang. She continued toward the house as the truck grew nearer and crunched to a stop. She heard the doors open and slam shut behind her as she walked. She did not want to talk to this kid. At all. There was no reason for her to speak with him. He was just a disgusting jail bird that was lucky to be here. She had almost made it to the door.
"Clary!" Luke called. Clary sighed. She contemplated ignoring him but decided against it considering Luke would just find another way to introduce him to her. She stopped and took a deep breath before she turned to greet the newest addition to Morningstar Farms.
Cliffy :)
Any thoughts? Questions?
