Chapter Seven; Emergency measures
I stared at my reflection in the mirror; all this putting down by Fens was not helping my self esteem. I saw a plain girl, with wild red hair and warm brown eyes. Faint indents of worry lines decorate her forehead and she had a tartar nose littered with freckles. Her eyes were sad, but hopeful. I stood, smoothed my riding dress and headed for the stables.
When I got there, the prince was nowhere in sight. I saddled Archie and pulled myself up into the saddle. Trotting out of the stable, the wind whipped the strands of hair that had escaped from the ribbon around my face. Falling into the rhythm, I completed a lap of the courtyard. When I returned to the entrance of the stable, the prince came into view. He was perched comfortably on a Black stallion. The horse whinnied and scrapped his hoof along the ground eager to be off.
"You, showed" Said the prince "I thought you'd chicken out" I smirked, "I never turn down a challenge, especially if I'll win" He opened his mouth to reply, but I interrupted " I know the perfect place, a little track about a mile from here " With that I turned and cantered towards the forest. How dramatic.
The woods were dark, showered in twilight. Thin branches twisted up into the sky, gracefully dancing in the wind. The path was narrow, with just enough room for two horses. The foliage had created a wall at the edge, fronds lapped at the path. The 'clap, clap' of hooves sounded across the lane, echoing in the trees. I moved with the horse, as one. It had been a long time since I had felt this free.
Wind whistled past me as I leaned forward on Archie. The opening loomed up in front of me, a grey gash in the black forest. I galloped towards it, rejoicing in the freedom. We emerged from the woods, in front of us was a large field. It was a clearing of sorts in the forest; papa and I had discovered it whilst riding one day. It was about tree hundred metres long and about two hundred wide. It was perfect for racing. We had set up obstacles along the way, for the horses to jump or swerve.
I turned to the prince "That's the start and finish" I pointed to a lone oak tree. "We'll do a circuit of the field, do you want a practise?" I questioned. "No, I could beat you easily" He smirked. I scoffed, "I'll believe it when I see it." We trotted over to the tree, shooting dirty looks at each other. Gosh, he was annoying! Was it actually possible for a person to be this annoying, honestly what do they feed them in Fen? Argg.
We took are places next to the tree, I leaned down and whispered in archies ear, "Come on, let's thrash these losers." I patted him on his head and called over to Prince snooty pants, "Ready?" I asked. "I was born ready" He smirked. "On your marks... Set..." His horse and sped off. "HEY, that's not allowed!" I sighed angrily, kicked Archie gently and we sped off. We galloped towards the first obstacle; they had about 20 metres on us.
The first obstacle was easy; a giant log, Archie took it in his stride. I leaned even close to his neck; we were gaining. 10 metres to go. The second obstacle was a little harder; a fence that papa and Jared had built. Archie cleared it easily and we sped on. We were close enough now to see the hairs on the horse's tail. Together we raced towards a series of three hurdles, a few metres apart. Easy. Now we were neck and neck, Straining towards the corner. Now there was a flat, obstacle free fifty Metres to the finish. Dust clouds floated behind us, noisy pants filled the air. We galloped on. It was close, we pulled ahead, and they pulled ahead too. It was nearing the end. We were close. I urged Archie on, the wind whistled past us. Nearly there... We made a final dash to the finish. Suddenly they pulled ahead slightly. We whizzed past the finish, Damn that was awful!
I turned an exhausted Archie around and trotted over to the others, "I want a rematch, you cheated!" I demanded. "I didn't," He laughed, "You never said to leave on 'go'"
"I still want a rematch!" I exclaimed. "Another day, maybe; the horses are exhausted" He replied calmly. I groaned, but turned Archie around and we started to the path to the castle. I was fuming!
Longest chapter yet! Took a lot of hard work, so please review! Got the plan for the next few chappies in my head, its gonna be exciting!
Please Review, It's nice to know my time and effort is actually appriciated.
Chloe :)
