A/N

Yes, I know I really, really shouldn't be starting yet another Stephaim fanfic when all the others aren't even close to done, but I was just watching my favorite movie EVER that I haven't seen in years: Spirit, Stallion of the Cimarron by Dreamworks. AND THEN I GOT HIT WITH A LIGHTNING BOLT OF INSPIRATION! Thus, this thing got created.

Full Summary is here, 'cause I know it's not going to actually fit.

She used to love horses, but that was back before the accident. Now, Stevie Rae can't even look at a horse without thinking of that terrible, terrible night. She can't help but remember the storm, the rain, the thunder, the lightning, the fire—the blood. She can't help but relive the closed-casket funeral, and how her mother's trampled body was laid in the ground.

But now the Northern Pacific Railway is reaching all new territories, and the workers are wary and seek protection from the hostile natives. Stevie Rae's father, General Johnson, took the job out on the military base out in what will come to be called the Old West, but back then, everything was all brand-new and unbroken. When Stevie Rae moved out there, she expected to be able to escape the prejudice of society and maybe even the depression that had been haunting her since her mother's death. Unfortunately, that is not the case, and in the great, wide open plains and under the never-ending sky, she finds one great big jail cell. Stevie Rae wants nothing more than what she is slowly learning she may never be able to have: her freedom.

But, what happens when an unbreakable mustang, a native "hostile", and some hope are thrown into the mix? Will she finally break free of the chains of death, conquer an old fear, or let love heal her broken heart? Is it even possible for one girl, a native boy she really shouldn't trust, and a wild stallion to learn the secrets of the land before war and hatred tear it apart?

Okay, hopefully you now have a better sense of where I'm going with this one, and I'm hoping you'll read on.

Disclaimer: I do not own HON or the characters from the series, like Stevie Rae, Rephaim, or Dallas. Some of the OCs are inspired by characters from Spirit, Stallion of the Cimarron by Dreamworks, and the wild horse that will play a part in this is completely and totally inspired by Spirit himself. Basically, I don't own anything here, except maybe my writing style and a little bit of the plot.

~Smiley

Chapter One

Momma would have loved this, Stevie Rae thought as they arrived at the military base. Well, her mother would have hated why they came here and where they were going to be staying, but it was outside the tall, solid, wooden walls of the military base that her mother would have loved to see. The wide-open space, the endless sky, the fresh, clean air—Stevie Rae wished her mother could've seen it.

But, that's just the thing. Stevie Rae wished that her mother could've seen it; she wished that she was there to see it; she wished that she hadn't died so that she maybe could've been with her daughter and her husband when they moved out here; she wished her mother never got caught in that damn storm that night—

Enough, Stevie Rae told herself sternly. If you have another panic attack, Daddy's gonna just go insane and he's not gonna buy the whole blaming-the-heat excuse again…

"Stevie Rae," her father barked, jerking her away from her thoughts. "It's time to go inside." He said the words like he was commanding one of his soldiers. He said everything like a military command now: cold, heartless, robotic, intimidating…

"Now, Stevie Rae," he said, and she told herself like she had several times before that once a little more time went by and his heart healed a little bit, he'd go back to sounding and acting like her father again. She had been telling herself that for four months now, and she was losing hope that the frosty defenses he had put up after his wife's death and the ice in his cold blue eyes would ever melt.

She was losing hope in a lot of things.

But, maybe this won't be too bad, she told herself as she followed her father through the humongous gates of the military base. I mean, look at all the land and the great big sky and the—

Bang! The four soldiers finally managed to shut the huge wooden gates. They were at least fifty feet tall, and the actually walls were at least sixty. Stevie Rae realized with a start that there were no green plains in the base, nor was she able to see the limitlessness of the sky above her. This stupid base was just a speck in the Great Plains, and she was just a speck inside the military base. There was no freedom here. There was no hope. She had been a fool to think that otherwise was a remote possibility.

Suddenly, Stevie Rae had the urge to scream and cry and grab her daddy's hand, but she quickly suppressed it. Not only would it not be a great impression to give everybody on her first day, but her father would probably not appreciate it or have the least bit of sympathy. So she tried to hold herself together, at least until she was alone.

It was then that another realization hit her. She didn't notice it until she actually looked in front of her, instead of gawking at the gates, willing them to reopen. And what she did see filled her with sheer terror.

No. Please, no, she prayed. Marching in front of her were lines of hundreds, no, thousands of horses, manes cut short and branded with the two letters that represented their country: U and S.

She used to love horses. Really, she did. But ever since one trampled her mother, she hasn't been able to look at them the same way. Maybe it wasn't the horse's fault, but her mind couldn't help but associate them with the funeral and her mother's absence and her father's cold, icy eyes.

She resisted the urge to break down crying and followed her father to the cabin that had been designated as theirs. There was a boy waiting for them on the porch, and he jumped to his feet when he spotted her father.

"Dallas!" Her father greeted, as warmly as he could when his heart and his voice and his eyes were frozen over. The two shook hands, and Stevie Rae waited on the steps patiently.

It was then that they turned to her. "Stevie Rae," her father said, "this is Dallas."

"It's a pleasure to finally meet ya, ma'am," Dallas said, taking her hand and kissing it before she could even pull it away.

"It's nice to meet you too," she said politely, but looked at her father questioningly.

Her father sighed. "Stevie Rae, Dallas has been assigned to be your...body guard, of sorts," he said emotionlessly. "He will be protecting you."

"Daddy, I don't need a—"

"Nonsense," her father interrupted. "We simply can't have you getting into scraps with the horses or getting into other kinds of trouble. You will also not be leaving this base. You have no idea how ruthless these savage natives can be."

"They're hostile," Dallas agreed.

"But, Daddy—" Stevie Rae started.

"Silence! You are not to go outside these walls, do you understand?"

His tone left no room for argument. "Yes, Daddy," she said, turning away so she didn't have to look at him, this man who had somehow replaced her father. But at least if she turned her head, he couldn't possibly see her tears.

"Good. Now, your bedroom is on the second floor—"

That was all she needed to hear. Pushing past Dallas and her father, Stevie Rae practically ran into the unfamiliar house, barely finding her room, with all her stuff already unpacked and waiting for her, before she started sobbing and collapsed onto her bed.

Her father might as well have saved his breath and told her that there was no more hope, no love, no freedom…

And in her comfortable and foreign jail cell, Stevie Rae cried herself to sleep.

A/N

So, how'd I do? Please let me know! And leaving that in a review would be much appreciated!

~Smiley