The grass was moving. Quicker and quicker beneath her. It seemed as though she was on a tredmill and it wasn't stopping anytime soon. The sounds of hoofs filled her ears, as her black horse, Pepe, galloped over the fields that surrounded her property. The next house wasn't for miles, which was good because then no one would was there to bother her. Oh she hated being bothered.
"Nicola, can you please slow down?"
Nicola turned around to look behind her. The stable boy, Luc, was slowly catching up to her on his golden mare. He looked kind of out of breath as he came over the hill.
"Why do you always go so fast?" Luc asked as she brought her horse to a slow so he could catch up with her.
"That's the fun part? Don't you see?" She laughed as she watched her best friend look at her with concern. Luc and his family had worked for the Dubois for centuries and were now considered more along the lines of 'family friends' then 'the help.' She had grown up with Luc by her side, helping with building forts out of the couches and sneaking out late for midnight horse rides. She knew him more then she knew herself at times it seemed.
"I know, but sometimes I think Louis gets tired of it." Luc sighed, patting his mare on the neck. The horse was a birthday gift from Nicola and her family, and it was his favorite thing in the world. Every morning he would get up and brush her hair and find her the best carrots from the cook. He really loved her.
Nicola stuck out her tongue and yelled "RACE YOU TO THE APPLE TREE" as she squeezed Pepe to go forwards. Her horse was one of her father's fastest, and it made Nicola happy that she could feel like she could fly at times. She laughed as Luc called out something and then raced after her. The gallops set into a perfect rhyme that matched their pounding hearts. They rode around the pond and the stone well, over the dirt road and towards the collection of trees in front of the estate. It was Nicola's favorite place on the property. It looked out onto the gate way so visitors could be watched before they entered and it was shady enough to hold a picnic in the summer time.
She clicked her tongue and Pepe stopped short, letting her jump off and touch the blooming apple tree in the front.
"I WIN!" She yelled as she burst into laughter. Luc wasn't far behind, but he had just dismounted his horse when Nicola sat down.
"Do you hear that?" he asked, looking at the main road that lead from the gate to the house. The entire forest went still. It seemed like every creature was listening. Nicola quietly crawled over to get a glimpse of the dirt road. There was a horse and buggy trotting down at a slow pace. The buggy was sliver and purple, looking extremely expensive for this part of town. The horse was also pure silver, which Nicola gasped at. It seemed to reflect the sunlight and could very well star in one of her fairytale novels.
Luc looked back at Nicola. They were both only 10 years old but sometimes he acted way older then he was.
"Let's go see?" He asked, swinging his leg up on to his mare. She grunted in approval.
Why would Mama and Papa be having a guest at this hour? Nicola wondered as she jumped back onto Pepe without another word. And furthermore, who was it?
Luc and Nicola rode down towards the carriage, and to their surprise, their coming didn't startle the silver horse, it barely looked their way.
She guided her horse to one side and tried to peer into the closed window'd carriage. Other then silk and velvet, Nicola could only make out the silhouette of a women. A women would was wearing a string of pearls around her neck.
This is very odd.