Summary
Annika has big dreams, but she also has some major problems. She wants to become a Grand Prix Event rider and to one day go to the Olympics. But all the constant bullying from everyone at Morning Star Stables have kept those dreams at bay. But then she became betrothed to the eldest son whose family owns Arctic Wolf Farms and those dreams start to become a reality!
But if there's one thing that Annika has learned in her fourteen years is that some things never change. Just as her cousin had treated Annika badly, so too it seems will self-proclaimed Best Junior rider, Joanna Mason. But then their trainer makes a special announcement that will give Annika a chance to shine and to attend her dream school. But then her cousin arrives and soon trouble starts popping up that not only causes tension between Annika and everyone else, but also makes Annika begin to question her future as a rider!
Will she rise above and claim the prize? Or will she crash and fail?
Chapter One
Annika's POV:
"Alright girls, we'll be at the hotel in fifteen minutes! Pick up your trash! Put away your belongings! If you leave it behind after I lock up the van, you will just have to wait until tomorrow morning to get it!"
"Or just ask my cousin to get it for you since she'll be cleaning the van anyway."
Hearing Bridgette's voice shouting in the confines of the van was what woke me up at first and I was fine with that. I needed to get up anyway so that I could stretch and get my blood pumping and my limbs loose so that I had some energy flowing through me. But hearing my cousin volunteering me to play fetch for her and the other Princesses, I immediately felt the two familiar emotions that she always brings up in me. An almost unreal obedience to keep the peace, but a deep annoyance that she still thought of me as her slave.
But since this was my last week with my cousin and anyone with Morning Star Stables, I kept my mouth shut. The first part of my betrothal was about to be finished, but I needed to finish my job with my cousin first. Something I wish I didn't have to do.
I had been laying down in the backseat of the van to get some sleep and unfortunately at some point I had laid down with my face facing the back which meant that the buckle of the seat belt was digging into my rib cage. I slowly roll over onto my back and stretch out as far as I could, squeezing my eyes shut tight as my back arched. I let my body drop down and felt some satisfaction as my blood began flowing with adrenaline and my body felt more relaxed. I propped myself on one elbow and reach over to my backpack that sat on the floor where my water bottle was clipped to the top strap.
Unclipping my bottle, I checked my phone which had been on charge from my portable battery pack to check for any messages from either mom or from someone from Rose's family. I had two, one from Mom telling me that she's almost done with settling us in but that she has left my room for me to organize. (Thank you, Mom!) And one from Rose asking if I was still in Bridgette's van or, did she abandon me again at a rest stop.
I sighed as I took a big gulp from my water, it's refreshing cold liquid quenching my thirst and clearing my airways. Even though it had been three hours since I had last refilled the bottle with fresh water, the company who made it were geniuses when they thought of making the material keep the liquid either cold or hot for several hours.
I lay back and typed a quick message to Mom. Hey mom, that's cool! Don't work too hard though, you start your new job Monday don't forget. And can you at least make my bed? I'm gonna be beat when I get back.
I sent that message and, after making sure it was sent, I pulled up Rose's message. Hey Rose, no I'm still in the van. If they had made a pit stop, I wouldn't know, I fell asleep a couple of hours ago. I'll see you when you get back to the hotel.
I sent that message and lock my phone before putting it back into my backpack. I rub my eyes and sit up, swinging my legs over the edge of the seat. I could hear the other girls grumbling and talking to each other. They were either grumbling about having been interrupted or about boys, fashion . . . one girl was even going on about how she hoped that it would rain since her rival's pony hated to be ridden in the rain. And still another was going on about hoping to be seen by a boy—whose name I couldn't make out just yet—since he was hot.
I straighten my clothes and put my shoes back on, keeping silent since no one was going to speak to me. I blew out a breath as I leaned back against the seat. I didn't have to worry about packing my stuff or throwing away any trash since I kept my area clean. But from what I see in front of me, Bridgette should have given the Princesses more than just fifteen minutes to clean up their mess.
I drank deep from my bottle, draining it, before closing the lid and clipping it back to the strap. Then Sasha's voice caught my attention. Not because she was talking but because of the boy she was asking about.
"So, Victoria, will James be attending the show?"
I strained to hear Victoria's reply. James was the boy her parents had chosen to betroth her to; his father was a judge on the high circuit and, since her father was the state attorney general, they thought these two were the perfect match. From what I knew about James, he was a senior in high school who had big dreams of becoming a judge just like his father and had already been accepted into Harvard University. They had been betrothed to each other since February, but I haven't seen James yet which I found irritating since I had wanted to see what a betrothal would look like outside of mine.
I looked expectantly at Victoria to see if he was coming. But the look on her face quickly answered my question before she spoke. "No thank God. Says he's too busy studying for his exams to spend even a moment coming to watch me ride," she said, her voice dripping with bitterness. "And yet I have to attend his tennis match next Friday."
I heard Sasha make a sympathetic noise, but I couldn't keep my annoyance off my face, to which no one noticed. "That is so wrong! He should be supporting you!"
Victoria scoffed. "Exactly! But he says that horse riding is nothing but a bunch of nonsense and that I should be putting my energy into something more worthwhile!"
I sighed as Bridgette pulled the van into the parking lot of the hotel we will be staying in for the week. I could have interrupted their conversation and lectured them at length about what arranged marriages were about. How love was never really a key component—but that it could be possible depending on the couple themselves. And that often, betrothals ended because the parents have a disagreement.
I could tell them that, but I won't. Trying to explain to them how real-life works is like getting stepped on by a pony and expected to walk it off. Pointless and mentally painful.
I tuned back into their conversation, but it had moved from about James to about clothes. I sighed as I looked at the hotel where I would be staying for the duration of the show. The Piedmont Inn was a popular choice for me, mom, and the Matthews family since not only did it have everything we needed: being close to downtown Sarasota, a couple of grocery stores were also nearby. Panera Bread and a Starbucks were just up the road. But it also had rooms that had kitchenettes, free breakfast and free Wi-Fi.
I knew that since ray and Marta had paid for my stay—what with Mom not being able to attend—that I would be staying with their daughter, my best friend, Rose. Which I didn't mind, since Rose and I had been best friends since we were both seven, and Mom and I had come to try a few ponies that her family had for sale. We had left not with just one pony but two and a lifelong friendship with Rose and her family.
Bridgette parked the van in front of the hotel office, but she left the van running so that it stayed nice and cool inside. She turned to face us. "Stay here" was all she said before grabbing her purse and opening the drivers' side door.
A blast of hot and humid air blew into the van making the other girls yell in complaint, before she slammed the door shut, make the van move with the motion.
I shake my head at her actions. I've only been in Bridgette's lessons for the past month thanks to me riding Victoria's ponies, but from that first lesson I always felt a mixture of hatred and pity for the older woman. And not because she must teach a bunch of spoiled brats how to canter on the correct lead, but because how she came to be an instructor in the first place.
I watched as she opened the door to the office and walk through the opening, letting the door close behind her. That feeling of pity came up this time. She was an up and coming Grand Prix rider in Show Jumping and she had even been invited to try out for the Olympics! But just as she was competing in one of the qualifying shows, her horse tested positive for performance enhancers. According to the story, she was able to prove her innocence, but in the Equestrian world any slight rumor of abuse can break a rider's reputation forever.
I really hope the hotel didn't put the Princesses in the far area away from the office I prayed. Cause if these girls decide to follow Victoria's instructions of using me as their lapdog, I might be cleaning this van out for a while.
"Annika don't forget I expect Penny, Snow, and Juniper to be sold by the end of this week," Victoria said suddenly, breaking my thoughts.
"What?" I asked, confused because I hadn't thought she was going to say anything about the last of her string of medium ponies. "Are you nuts? That's not how it's legally done," I said, speaking from experience.
My cousin turned around in her seat to look at me with a raised eyebrow. "Really Annika? Legally? Isn't that a bit over dramatic?" she asked as if she had been selling ponies for years while I hadn't even attempted to sell even one pony.
"No, it's not over dramatic," I began but she decided that this conversation was over and turned back around. She said something to Sasha and they both began laughing. I didn't need to know what she said to know that it was about me. Why do they listen to Mom when she's selling their ponies, but they won't listen to me? And I've got a good reputation for selling ponies just as she has for selling horses!
"Damn it! She would be competing in this show!" Victoria exclaimed suddenly.
"What?! No way!" replied Sasha, looking at something on Victoria's phone.
I peeked over their shoulders to see what they were talking about. My cousin was looking at the official FEI website and had the Sarasota Classic page pulled up. They had updated their page recently because there was a list of riders and their equines who would be competing. Since it was listed in alphabetical order, I clearly saw that my cousin was looking at the list of riders whose last names started with the letter 'M'. Two names caught my attention immediately: Kyle Matthews, followed by Rose Matthews.
"Why does she always have to show up at the same show as I do? Doesn't she ever think about other people and that they want to win some classes?" asked Victoria.
I barely managed to stop myself from letting out a scoff. Like you ever think about anyone else before yourself! But I managed to make it sound like a cough so they wouldn't get "offended". I look toward the entrance to see if Bridgette was coming out of the hotel with the keys for the Princesses so that I can quickly clean out the van, check into my room, and settle myself in before Rose and her family came back.
At any other time, mom and I would be at the barn, settling our horses and my ponies into their stalls, or doing some light flatwork. And, if my uncle hadn't decided to wait until now to put the last of his daughter's ponies that she had outgrown up for sale, I would be helping her or else getting my ponies and Eclipse settled in their stalls. The only good thing was that he was going to pay me a commission for their sales, though I didn't know how I was going to take care of seven ponies and my mare, since I was expected to groom and care for all five of her ponies.
Before I had taken my nap, I had received a text from Rose telling me that Eclipse and my ponies were all settled in their stalls and that she had even stocked our room with snacks and drinks. But if I needed anything to please leave a note for them so this way they knew where I was if I was gone when they got back.
Another thing that I had done before taking my nap, was to make a schedule for the weekend so that I was organized. Though I still had a couple of flaws with it. I reached into my backpack and pulled out my notebook, opening it to the page I had last written on.
Saturday, May 03, 2008
Victoria's Ponies:
1). Make their morning feed; make sure Penny and Charity get their hoof and joint supplements.
2). Make morning hay; soak Moonstone and Juniper's hay for twenty minutes.
3). Dump and refill water buckets.
4). Muck out stalls; go to my barn.
My Ponies and Eclipse:
1). Make their morning grain; make sure that Blackie gets his stallion vitamins.
2). Make morning hay; soak Ginger's hay for twenty minutes.
3). Dump and refill water buckets.
4). Muck out stalls; go back to Victoria's ponies.
Victoria's Ponies:
1). Groom the ponies.
2). Saddle up Snow; do light flatwork.
3). Saddle up Juniper; do more flatwork to settle him down.
4). Saddle up Penny; do light flatwork and hose legs down afterward.
5). Saddle up Charity; do light flatwork.
6). Saddle up Moonstone; do light flatwork.
7). Do light muck out.
8). Check water buckets.
9). Clean tack; go back to my barn.
The sound of a car door opening and closing just a minute later interrupted my reading and I shook my head gently to clear my thoughts. When I could think clearly, I saw that Bridgette had returned and was passing out small brown manila envelopes that the hotel clerk had given her apparently. I recognized them and, out of habit, I waited for Victoria to hand me mine, but when she didn't reach back to give me one, I turned my attention to putting my notebook away so that I could grab my backpack as soon as I could leave the van.
"Now remember, breakfast is from 6:30 to 9; the password for the Wi-Fi is in those envelopes. Do NOT lose those keys since there is a twenty-dollar surcharge if you lose it! If you are going to the showgrounds tomorrow, you had better be here at the van at 10 o'clock sharp! I will not wait for you if you are late," she growled out putting her seat belt on and putting the van into drive. "And one last thing, remember you are representing Morning Star Stables this week, so behave! No parties. No drugs. No drinking. And no boys allowed in your rooms."
There were different responses from the other girls to her remark, but I stayed silent. I wasn't riding for Morning Star Stables, instead, I would be riding for Arctic Wolf Farms and, it's not like I could do drugs or even think about drinking alcohol, since my medication states VERY clearly that I cannot drink alcohol.
What I had to worry about was how I was going to get to the showgrounds to take care of seven ponies and my horse! I can't wait till I can learn to drive; this way I can drive anywhere I want to. I knew Rose and her family were early risers, but they didn't know about the arrangement I have with my cousin. And it's not exactly something I wanted to try to explain.
Bridgette didn't say anything more as she pulled away from the office and turned to head in the direction of their assigned rooms. As I feared, their rooms were on the other side of the hotel, which means that after I clean out the van, I had a good walk from this side back to the office with my stuff. Ugh! Thanks a lot whoever assigned these rooms!
As soon as Bridgette reached a good shady spot and parked the van backwards, I grabbed my backpack and slide across the seat so that I could get out as soon as possible.
Sasha was the first to pull open the van side door and the first to step out; but I didn't want to wait for my cousin—who treated every entrance and exit as if she were a famous celebrity—so I quickly moved out of my row, into my cousin's path, and I jumped off the side runner.
My cousin scoffed at me, but I didn't stay long enough to hear anything she had to say about my less then desirable exit. But I knew that I would have to pay for it later.
Thankfully Bridgette was in a no-nonsense attitude today so none of the girls tried to pull fast ones on her—and indirectly on me as well—so we got started right away.
"Okay girls I'm in no mood for argument about who's getting which of their luggage first so when I call your name come get your luggage and start heading upstairs!" she said inserting the key into the door lock and turned it. She pulled on the handle of one door and pulled it open while I did the same with the second door.
Expensive looking leather suitcases with monogrammed initials, accessory bags filled up the back, while garment bags hung on the backs of the doors. My duffel bag—the only one that looked as though it had been used a lot—sat on top and I reached up to grab it when Bridgette slapped my hand away.
"Wait your turn!" she snapped.
I hissed and pulled my hand back. "My bag's on top you're gonna need to remove it anyway," I said shaking my hand to get rid of the sting.
"You can wait!" she adds and tried to remove one suitcase from the pile.
I waited as she struggled, in no mood to help her after she slapped my hand.
She struggled only for two minutes before letting go of the suitcase and pulled my duffel bag off the top; but instead of handing it to me, she moved to throw it.
Only my quick reflex of grabbing the strap kept her from doing it.
"Told you so," I replied setting my duffel bag on the ground away from the parking lot. I went back and grabbed one of the piles of garment bags and began handing them out.
Soon everyone had their belongings and the Princesses left to go to their rooms after receiving all their luggage. Bridgette was the last to get her belongings and I couldn't help but hope that she would just leave and let me go. But I should have known better.
"Call me when you're done," she growled at me, carelessly tossing the keys to the van at me.
The toss was so bad that I almost didn't even catch the keys before they hit the ground—which would suck since they almost landed in a pile of what looked like oily water.
I shake my head as she kept walking and I turn my attention back to the van. A cursory look told me that there wasn't much to do but I didn't want to get my hopes up too high. I searched through the back area for any trash or items that might have rolled toward the back, before closing the back doors and locking them up. As I walked toward the front of the van to start there, I sent up prayers that I wouldn't have to try to return anything since no one had given me their room numbers.
Thankfully, nobody had left anything and all I had to do was gather the trash bags and toss them into the nearby dumpster. But as I was coming back, I saw somebody hovering near my belongings and, while I couldn't see them clearly, I quickened my pace. "Hey! What are you doing here?" I asked.
"I should be asking you the same thing," said the person turning to face me.
My stomach dropped as I realized that, even though there hadn't been much to do, the Matthews family had obviously been back for some time.
Otherwise Kyle wouldn't be standing in front of me looking none too pleased right now.
I swallowed hard and felt myself squirm under his gaze. I had known Kyle ever since I was five and he was six when Mom and I had gone to the Lakota Reservation for her father's funeral. But ever since we had been betrothed on my birthday in April, I didn't exactly know how I was supposed to behave around him. I know most guys wanted an obedient girlfriend, while some wanted one who was fiery and passionate.
He must have thought that I wasn't going to answer because he continued, "The last message you sent stated that you were almost at the hotel and we believe that means you're going to be checking in soon," he said. "So, you can imagine how worried we become when you don't show up, no call or text, nothing."
"We just got here," I said finally finding my voice.
"So why did you leave your stuff out and leave it?" he asked.
"W-W-Well I was cleaning out the van and making sure no one left anything behind," I replied.
"And why is that your job?" he asked.
His hard tone was not making me feel at ease and I couldn't help but wish he would change his tone.
When I didn't respond he spoke. "You're not their babysitter Annika," he said firmly before bending down to pick up my duffle bag and backpack. "Come on, let's get you checked in."
From his tone I fought down the urge to argue with him. I grabbed my garment bags and swing them around to hang over my shoulder.
"Where's Bridgette's room so we can give her back the keys?" he asked.
"I don't know, she always tells me to call her when I'm done but I never do," I replied.
"Why?" he asked confused.
I didn't really want to say why or to explain about her past since I'm pretty sure he already knew about it. So, I just shrug my shoulders.
He lets out a huff as if trying not to lose his patience with me. "Annika don't lie to me," he said, his voice low. "What are they "asking" you to do this week?"
I swallowed. "I'm to ride and groom my cousin's ponies this weekend, compete on the last of my cousin's medium string and to get them sold," I began, watching his reaction.
He looked as though I were speaking a foreign language—other than French, Spanish, or the Lakota dialect. "Wait a minute, you're taking care of not only Eclipse and your two ponies, but all five of your cousin's ponies?"
I must admit, it sounded crazy even to my own ears. But what can I say? I've been doing this ever since I was seven! "It's my job Kyle," I said and cringed at how weak it sounded. "Not to mention, I'm being paid to sell those three."
"That's your trainer's job, not yours," he said. "And I don't even know why Mariska would even agree to it!"
I felt my temper flare up at his insinuation that Mom hadn't tried to stop my uncle and his beliefs that I should help my cousin get to the Olympics. "Because even when she did try, my cousin and her parents still kept at it," I said. How the hell could he believe that Mom wouldn't try to put a stop to my uncle? I wondered.
He shakes his head and presses down on the lock button of the key mechanism. "Let's go," he said placing the keys in his back pocket and placed his hand on the small of my back.
I allowed him to lead me away from the van but inside I couldn't help but feel hot anger at how he so casually blamed Mom for not trying to put a stop to my uncle's treatment of me. It's not her fault that he believes that as his niece, I should be "honor bound" to help my cousin rise to the Olympics and put my dreams on hold I thought bitterly. And besides, at least I'm earning money from it.
But deep down inside I knew I should have figured that neither he nor his family would think the same way as me. They believe in equality for all their riders; no matter if the rider came from a wealthy family or the rider came from a poor family and had to work for their lessons, they were treated the same way. Someone like me would only help around the barn by doing afternoon chores after school or help throughout the day with whatever chore needed to be done.
Which means that I'll have more time in the saddle I thought optimistically as we rounded the corner.
"There you are!" Marta's voice interrupted my thoughts and I looked up in time for her to hug me.
"Oh!" I gasped at the sudden contact, but I quickly got over it and wrapped my arms around the older woman who was my future mother-in-law.
She stepped back, her right hand on my shoulder and her left hand lifting my chin with the crook of her finger. "We were so worried that she had left you behind at a rest stop or someplace and you couldn't get a hold of us," she said.
The concern in her voice melted all the anger I felt for Kyle's assumption of my mom and I suddenly realized that the only reason he was angry was because he and his family cared about me.
"I'm fine, I fell asleep during the trip so if they stopped at a rest stop, I wouldn't have known about it," I replied.
"Good, I'll let the others know and if I were you, I would call your mother, she was worried about you as well," she said.
I sighed. "Ugh did you have to call her?" I asked.
"Well of course! She's your mother and I wouldn't feel right about not keeping her up to date," she said.
"That reminds me, mom can I talk with you for a sec?" asked Kyle speaking up suddenly.
"Yes of course, Annika I already let the front desk know that you are with us so they will just need to activate your room key," she said as she turned to walk off to the side.
Kyle followed her leaving me to do what she told me to do.
I inhaled deeply before letting my breath out in a huff. I knew once she got wind of what I was expected to do this week I would have a better chance of persuading Lucifer to return to heaven then to win an argument with her. And the Matthews family had a bit more weight behind them than my uncle ever could.
As I thought that I noticed her look over at me—concern and shock clearly written on her face—before she spoke to Kyle, though I couldn't hear what was being said. I decided to wait to hear what she had to say though instead of going inside. Just to get it over with.
Once they were finished speaking, she came back over to me. "I suppose you already know what I'm going to say," she said.
"That I cannot take care of seven ponies and my mare because it will be too much," I asked, though it sounded more like a statement than a question.
"That's right," she said. "Ray will speak with your trainer and your uncle, though since I'm sure they have entered you in the Medium Hunter classes am I correct?" she asked.
I nod. "Yes, and from what I saw on the list, all of them are in the morning," I replied.
"Good," she said and turned to Kyle. "Make sure she gets into her room without incident," she adds and leaves us alone.
"Come on," said Kyle walking toward the door of the front office and pulled it open for me.
I hitched my garment bags higher and entered the office, feeling as though this conversation wasn't the end of my uncle's idea of "family". And that he would still expect me to care for his daughter's ponies.