The wind ruled Yorkshire on this night. The wind held all of Yorkshire, England in the palm of its hand.
It was to be the biggest storm of the year. The wind was whipping up into a fierce gale and the rain came down in heavy sheets,

On top of a homemade ladder, a lady did her best to repair her homemade horse shelter. She held on to the roof so tightly to keep from falling off that the metal and begun to dig into her hand and blood stained the woman's pants. She did not notice the pain for she was so numb from the cold she could barely hold the hammer.

This is punishment. Punishment for all the horrible things I have done... All the needy people I have ignored. And I deserve it.

After what seemed like a long, wet eternity, the meager horse shelter was finished and stable enough to last the night. The woman jumped down from the ladder and led her horse, a Friesian stallion, under the overhang. The black horse had only a blanket on; it was all his owner could afford. He looked at the woman he loved and nuzzled her shoulder as she began to pray into his neck.

Please, Great Herne. The Great Spirit of the Forest. Do not let my beautiful horse die!... I am kind to your fellow creatures...Do not let my love perish on this night! I will try harder! I will try to undo the horrible actions I have done! Please!

The woman took off her thin shawl and wrapped it around the horse's crested neck. She kissed the powerful creature as she ran back to her cottage 20ft away. As she opened the door, the small amount of warmth that had been living in the house left, leaving the rooster and two hens who were sitting by the oven to crowd closer to the heat source. They watched the shivering woman snatch all the blankets off her the plain mattress in the corner and dash back out into the cold, closing to door to allow the heat to build up again.

Sloshing through the mud to get to the Friesian, and trying to hide the sheets from the rain, the woman threw all her blankets over the equine, and tying them down with a worn surcingle. The horse was thankful for the added warmth, but he knew that these blankets were all his beloved owner had.

The brown-haired lady hugged the muscular horse. She wanted to sleep on his back all night to keep him warm. But her chickens needed her too. That was all that woman cared about - her horse and her 3 chickens.

Back in the house, the chickens clucked angrily as the friendly warmth took its leave again as the door opened. Stagsleap enter her tiny cottage, soaking wet and shivering uncontrollably. She knew she deserved to die, and die a horrible death at that, but where would her animals go?

She fell on the thin mattress lying like a dead animal in the corner, and curled up into a ball. The rooster and his harem came to sit next to her.

The beautiful birds cooed softly until Stagsleap fell asleep.