A/N I went to a friend's house today and borrowed their internet connection. So here's an early update. Please enjoy Chapter 7 Sultan's pain

Scarlet ran as fast as she could in the direction that Sultan had told her with a gnawing fear that Sultan would not survive the fight, and that Bedouin would come after her. As she ran into the desert, she saw large rocks and thought that they would make a good place to rest and catch her breath. She picked a place that would give her the perfect place to see who was coming.

She made up her mind than and there that if Bedouin came she would have just enough time and distance to run in the direction that Sultan had indicated and pray that she found her way back to the palace on her own. If Sultan came she would run down to him just to prove to herself that he was safe. It seemed like an hour before she heard the answer to the questions in her mind on the wind. His neighs sounded weak as if he were completely exhausted, but it was definitely Sultan's voice that she heard echoing through the night calling to her.

She pricked her ears in the direction that she had come from and watched as the light gray stallion came over the top of the sand dunes, then promptly collapsed and rolled down the steep dune and remained motionless on his side. Scarlet, screamed and ran toward where her brave hero had fallen. "Sultan, please don't leave me alone out here," she cried as she slid to a halt at his side. He was covered in blood and nasty bite marks and gashes, there was even a small round hole on his left hindquarter oozing blood. Scarlet walked around him watching carefully to see if he were still alive.

"Sorry, Ahmar Warda, I'm just so tired," nickered Sultan weakly.

"You're hurt pretty badly can you get up," asked Scarlet hoping to get him into the shelter of the rocks and out of the open? Sultan didn't speak; he raised his head and struggled to get back to his feet. He swayed dangerously like a newly born foal, and Scarlet stood closely to him allowing him to lean against her for support. "There's a small spring where I was hiding, if you can make it there it would be the perfect place for you to rest yourself," she said as she helped him to move slowly forward.

Once they made it back to her hiding place Sultan's shaky legs gave out from under him and he moaned when he hit the ground. Scarlet stepped over to the small spring and gathered a large mouth full of water letting it drip from her mouth to each and every exposed wound that Sultan wasn't laying on that was within her reach. Sultan mumbled in his exhaustion induced sleep as she tenderly licked his wounds clean with the care of a mother attending to her foal. Once she was satisfied with her nursing she laid down beside him and arched her head over his neck protectively.

The next morning She awoke to find that Sultan was laying in the shallows of the spring attempting to clean the wounds on the other side of his body. "Let me help you," said Scarlet as she walked into the spring and started splashing him with the cool refreshing water.

"That feels so much better now thank you, Ahmar Warda," said Sultan as he slowly and shakily got back to his feet and moved back to the soft sand to settle himself in the shade. "I know that you want to get back to your owner, but," began Sultan.

"But, nothing, Sultan, you are not strong enough to take me back, and I won't make it through the desert without you. Rest for now. I'll bring you something to eat," she said as she found a dried up palm leaf and dragged it around pulling up the plants that she knew was good for eating and dropping it onto the leaf, so that she could take it to Sultan.

"Are you certain that this is your first time in the desert," asked Sultan as he watched her pulling the large rapidly filling palm leaf around on the ground? Scarlet dragged the leaf over to him and nudged it closer so that he didn't have to stretch for it.

"My mother was desert born and bred. I may have been born in the United states, but my mother taught me several helpful things," said Scarlet as she turned to wander over to another patch of eatable greenery.

"Ahmar Warda, there's more than enough on this leaf for both of us. Please eat with me," asked Sultan not wishing to be too far from Scarlet.

"Are you sure," asked Scarlet as she turned to meet his gaze? "Don't make me get up," he said tossing his head. Scarlet walked over and lowered her head to eat with Sultan.

~(_)~Meanwhile back at the Palace~(_)~

The horseland team was in the stable yard preparing their horses for the performance. Sarah walked outside just wanting to sit alone in Scarlet's stall, but was stopped by her friends who had saddled the light grey mare and pushed Sarah to get into the saddle. "We've worked so hard for this. You have to ride with us, it's too late to change the routine now,' said Bailey as he rode up on Aztec.

"You guys, Ashya doesn't know the routine, like Scarlet does," protested Sarah wanting to be anywhere but on another horse.

"Just try out some of the moves here and now, if she can't do them than you don't have to ride with us," said Will as he placed a firm hand on her shoulder from the other side.

"You guys aren't going to leave me alone until I do this are you," asked Sarah with a frown on her face?

"Not a chance," said Zoey and Cloe in unison.

To her shock she found that everything that she asked Ashya to do for her, she did it as easily and as effortlessly as if she had been riding her all of her life. "You are a good girl," she whispered as she followed the others as they rode to the arena where the show was to take place. As she looked into the crowd, she noticed that Abdulla was smiling brilliantly at her, and the fact that she was riding Ashya. The performance went off wonderfully and Sarah spent the rest of the day with Ashya, giving her the love and attention that she wished that she could give to Scarlet.

A/N Thanks as always for reading. I hope that the early update was enjoyed by all who have read it, please feel free to leave a review if you'd like. Chapter 8 Going Home will be up next.