A/N: I am sorry for not posting sooner. Time got away from me and for some reason I just couldn't concentrate on this chapter. But I finished it and here it is. :)

Chapter Ten

I tried, but failed, to stifle a yawn and took a sip from the coffee mug I held in my hand. The coffee helped send a jolt of energy through my body, but I could still feel exhaustion pulling at my limbs. It was five-thirty in the morning and we were getting ready to drive to Southampton for a polo match. I was sitting on a tack box at the entrance of the barn, watching everybody else load up the horse van. I'd wanted to help, but once I loaded up the wrong polo wraps, Alfredo had told me to sit down and relax. I guess I hadn't gotten as much sleep as I thought.

Yesterday hadn't been an easy day by far. Kayla had come at ten o'clock, just like Alfredo said, one look and I knew I had to help her. She'd just looked so shattered and helpless and it just got worse when she was around her horse. Her horse was a beautiful bay, warm-blood mare named Cosmic Aura. She had the softest eyes I had ever seen and a temperament to match. It was obvious that the riding accident had been just that; an accident.

Kayla had been extremely receptive with anything I told her. I could tell she wanted to try everything, but her nerves kept holding her back. We had spent several hours hanging out by Aura's stall. I taught her t-touch, and about aromatherapy oils and rescue remedies. The session had been going well, that is, until Marissa had dropped by to add some of her own condescending two-sense in. Then, she informed me that she was taking Ferdinand to a different barn. I hadn't argued with her.

"Are you sure you don't want me to help?" I asked Alfredo when he emerged from the barn, leading Impala. The mare's red travel wraps stood out brightly in the predawn light.

"Yes, I am," Alfredo answered, stopping Impala in front of me. "We only have two more horses to load anyway."

"Alright," I sighed, taking another sip of my coffee. I watched as Alfredo loaded Impala into the trailer. When Alfredo came out, the stable manager came out of the barn leading a black gelding. A loud whinny came from inside followed by frantic banging.

"Who's left?" Alfredo asked Andy, gesturing to the noise.

"No one, that's Alcatraz." Andy said.

My heart instantly went out to the paint gelding. All he knew was that he was supposed to be going too. He didn't understand why no one was coming back for him. I set my mug down and jumped up.

"I can give Alcatraz some herbal remedies to keep him calm down," I suggested.

"Thanks, Amy," Alfredo smiled at me. "We'll wait for you."

I tried to ignore Andy's snide comment he'd muttered as I hurried into the barn. He hadn't exactly been thrilled when I'd arrived in England and he went out of his way to avoid me whenever he could. Alcatraz let out another loud whinny when he saw me and started banging his stall door. I slipped into the tack room to grab a few bottles of bach flower remedies, I kept a stash in here, and went back to the anxious gelding. Alcatraz was now pacing his stall frantically.

"I'm sorry, boy," I said as I approached the stall. "I wish you could go too, but you can't right now."

I leaned into the stall to squeeze a few drops of the remedy into the gelding's water bucket. Alcatraz ignored me and tried to see past me, down the aisle. I hope he'll, at least, drink some of the water, so that he can calm down and not be stressed all day. I started to do a little t-touch on the paint's neck. At first, it looked like it was starting to work until Alcatraz swung around and started pacing again. I didn't want to leave him like this, but I could hear Alfredo calling me. Sighing, I left Alcatraz to his pacing and went outside.

When I stepped outside, the rest of the polo team were piled into the two trucks and Alfredo was waiting for me by his car. "How's Alcatraz?" he asked when I approached.

I made a face. "Could be better," I said.

"He'll be fine," Alfredo assured me. He gave me a brief, but reassuring hug and then climbed into his car. As we pulled out onto the road behind the horse trailers, I could of sworn I heard Alcatraz's long, haunting whinny and my heart wrenched.

/X/

Twelve horses stampeded across the field, clumps of grass flying from beneath their hooves. Their riders swung wooden mallets or held them up by their shoulders. Alfredo's team was down by five points, but they were gaining quickly. My heart beat with excitement as I watched the riders gallop past. For being relatively new to the sport of polo, I caught on quickly and knew almost everything there was to know about the game.

"You're Alfredo's girlfriend, right?" came a voice from behind me.

I turned around and found a girl about my age, maybe a little older, standing before me. She had the same olive skin as Alfredo and raven-black hair. Her eyes were dark brown, almost black, and she had spoken with a slight British accent, meaning she hadn't lived in England her whole life. She wasn't dressed like the other country club guests; she wore jeans and a red polo shirt. I wondering if, maybe, she worked in the stables.

I nodded, "Amy."

"Olivia," the girl introduced herself, sticking her hand out. I took her hand and shook it politely.

"Do you work here?" I asked her.

"Yes, I do," Olivia answered. "I wanted to take a break, though, and come watch the match. I haven't seen Alfredo in years."

"Oh, you know Alfredo? He's never mentioned you," I said, genuinely surprised.

"Yeah, though, we haven't talked since he moved to the U.S. He and I had grown up together as kids in India, until he and his moved. Shortly after that, I moved to England." Olivia explained. "He doesn't know I'm here. I wanted to surprise him."

"Oh, that's...nice," I said hesitantly. "I was just going to check on the horses, do you want to come along?"

"No thanks, I'm going to stay here," Olivia replied, turning back to the polo field.

"Okay, I'll see you later then." I said. Olivia gave a small wave without taking her eyes off the field. I turned and started walking toward the stable area.

Alfredo had reserved six stalls at the end of the second barn, but only three were being occupied right now. A black gelding had his head over his stall door as he dozed. He barely flicked an ear as I approached. Raven is the laziest horse on the team, but get him out on the field and he became a different horse. In the next stall, a gray mare was finishing up some last bits of hay. Ice Queen is the smallest horse on the team, but she's a spitfire and she gets the job done. She pinned her ears at me as I passed. In the last stall, a dark bay mare watched me. Indigo, being twenty-four years old, had been recently retired until Alcatraz had gotten hurt. Alfredo had brought her back on, after going through every other option. At least, it was only for a little while.

"Hey, Indigo," I murmured when the mare walked up to the stall door. I stroked her soft muzzle. Indigo snorted softly and pressed her nose to my chest, inhaling deeply. I smiled. The old mare had a bit of a sweet tooth and she always knew when I had something for her.

"Alright, alright," I told her, digging in my pocket for a mint. "How do you know I always have something for you?" I unwrapped the mint and held it out to the mare. Indigo gobbled the mint up, glancing up at me through her lashes as she did.

"You've had a good life here, haven't you?" I found myself asking. Indigo snorted, searching for more mints. When she found none, she dropped her head to the ground. "Then, I will too." Indigo snorted, this time shaking her mane two times.