Story Of A Girl
Nayru: You want chapter, you get chapter, here's a chapter!
DISCLAIMER: Some of this stuff is mine. Most of it is not.
Chapter 18: The Horse Races! No Need For Spooks!
Rae brushed Cliffy, the horse proudly in the spring air. It was mid- April, and the world was green and covered in cherry blossoms. Police forces were all searching for Silas, and there had been no sign of him since that night in January. Mary and Gray had been married three weeks before. Elli and Andrew had been married two months before that, Ann and Rick were engaged. Popuri and Harris didn't seem to have any plans. The others were working in the fields, watering the cabbages, carrots, and turnips that grew. The chicken and Koibito were in a pen, and the calf, Kori, was in a separate pen. The day was young, and it was already beautiful.
And with a beautiful day comes...
"Gods, it's so hot!" Karen whined.
... a bright sun.
"Well, Karen, why don't you fan yourself?" Rae suggested politely, trying to mount Cliffy. She was completely unsuccessful- her eight-months- pregnant stomach got in the way. "I mean, I'm still working..."
"Rae, you're in shorts." Karen pointed out. Karen was wearing a pair of sweatpants and an extremely loose top. Rae had preferred a pair of loose overall shorts and a loose blouse.
"Well, if you were more confident about your legs..."
"How can I be more confident about them if I can't see them?!"
"Ask your husband!"
"Rae, you know he'll say yes to avoid me clobbering him." Karen giggled jokingly.
"Clobber him anyway, it's his fault." Rae shrugged, continuing to brush the horse.
"Good point." Karen laughed, eyeing Kai, was was weeding the garden. Kai laughed nervously, and got out of her line of sight. Cliff was hiding in the same place he'd chosen to hide.
"Lemme guess... she was looking at you again." Cliff muttered to Kai.
"Psycho wife." Kai chuckled. "Apparently, it's my fault she's sexier when it's the time of the month she can get pregnant. Now it's 24-7 PMS. Massive mood swings, inexplicable anger, and constant crying."
"You think you've got it bad? Rae's hormonal. Really hormonal. I swear to the Gods, if I get too close, she WILL pin me down and do naughty things to me. That's why I'm over here." Cliff snorted.
"Wait, but you like sex." Kai turned his head confusedly. Cliff smirked.
"When nobody else is watching, yes." Kai laughed. Just then, Karen grabbed Kai, crying.
"Are my legs ugly?" She whined.
"They're beautiful, love." Kai smiled nervously, comforting her. Cliff snickered. Just then, the Mayor arrived.
"Rae, where are you!" He called. Rae emerged from the stable and waved. She ran up to him. "Rae, tomorrow is the Horse Festival. I know you can't ride, but will you watch?"
"I can ride!" Rae insisted. The Mayor rose an eyebrow.
"Maybe Cliff should." Rae frowned.
"But I wanna ride..." She whined.
"But Rae, you can't even get on the horse." Karen sighed.
"Can so!" Rae forced herself up onto Cliffy's back, her stomach resting on his shoulders. The Mayor sighed reluctantly.
"Alright, I'll enter Cliffy. But for your sake, don't ride if you can't." The Mayor walked away. Rae nudged her heels into Cliffy's sides, and he trotted around slightly.
"I can ride..." Rae grinned.
"Rae, that's not good enough." Karen tried to pull her down.
"I can ride, I'm healthy!" Rae cried insistently.
"If you insist." Karen conceded, sinking into a chair, and starting to sniffle. Kai patted her shoulder, as Rae dismounted Cliffy and stormed off indignantly.
"She is headstrong." Cliff sighed, putting Cliffy back in the stable. "I just hope this isn't something that'll hurt her."
"Cliff, I'm begging you not to let her ride." Andrew spoke from behind Cliff. He'd stopped to listen. "It's really unhealthy. I'm telling you to stop her. She can barely walk, let alone ride a horse. Get up before her tomorrow, get to the tracks first." Cliff nodded.
"She'll do it, and this is all I can do to stop her."
Early the next morning, the alarm went off. It was 4 AM, and Cliff had set the alarm for himself. In his plan, he'd neglected to remember that he was immune to his alarm. Rae was not. She opened her eyes, stretched, stared at the clock, wondering why it was going off. Shrugging, she switched it off, dressed, and went outside. She saddled Cliffy, and rode into town.
Two hours later, Cliff woke up on his natural sleep pattern, and stared at the clock and the empty bed next to him. The way he expressed everything running through his mind at that second could be expressed in one word-
"Fuck."
Most of the younger people in town were at the track, as well as people from towns all around. Cliff met the rest of them at the track. Andrew stared at Cliff in horror.
"She didn't-!"
"She did." Cliff groaned. "She got up before I did."
"Damn it, Cliff, you moron!" Elli screamed at him. Ann whacked him across the head.
"Let's try and get her removed from the races." Kai suggested nervously.
"How about something that won't kill her pride as fast?" Cliff grumbled.
"We're not worried about killing her pride here. We're more worried about her killing herself." Andrew sighed, rubbing his temples.
"How about we just beg the Mayor to disqualify her on medical terms?"
"The first race is starting!" The Mayor announced. "In the first lane... Rae, the hometown racer!"
"Shit." The entire group gasped at once. The Mayor ran off a list of the other racers. Cliff could distinctly see Rae.
"For the gods' sake!" A few people whispered, gesturing towards her. "That girl can't ride!"
"Andrew, speak now, or feel my wrath." Karen snarled into Andrew's ear. Andrew laughed nervously, and ran up to the Mayor in the announcer's booth (which was also away from the psychotic Karen). He began to rapidly whisper into the Mayor's ear. Some of the crowd pointed at them, watching them confer. The Mayor shook his head. Andrew stomped his foot, and spoke slightly louder, so that people could hear him slightly.
"... you can't do this in sound mind-"
"Andrew, there's nothing I can do, it's not like I can cancel the race."
"Replace her, at least, don't let that woman..."
"I've told you, there's nothing I can do!"
"I am a DOCTOR, Mayor, and this girl is in no condition to do this-"
"Let the race begin!" The Mayor called over the loudspeaker. "Ready... and... race!"
"No!" Cliff cried.
"Go!" The Mayor announced.
"Yes!" Rae squealed, digging her heels into Cliffy's side. Andrew dashed up to the group. He felt five harsh glares, and glared right back at the five girls.
"He said it was too late. All we can do is cross our fingers." He growled, scowling slightly at the Mayor.
Rae was neck and neck with the horse in the third lane. She had no idea why anyone wanted to stop her from racing; she was doing fine. She dug a little deeper into Cliffy's side, urging him to go a little faster. The finish line was in sight, and she had to win, just to prove them, those who'd tried to stop her, wrong. The world seemed to be breathing down her neck, and her pulse raced faster, and she began to shiver. She felt like a thousand and one eyes were on her, and a flash of black in a bush on the side of the track caught her eye. She almost halted Cliffy at that second, but she disregarded it, fearless, desperate. It paid off for her, as she forced Cliffy to run faster, just a little faster. Finally, she pulled ahead of the other horses and past the finish line, and the crowd burst into cheers. She ran a little ahead of the other horses, and waved to the crowd from atop Cliffy. "Yah! That's right! Love me, world!" She laughed excitedly. Just then, a figure in all black leapt from the side of the ring, right in front of Cliffy.
That was perhaps the longest split second in Cliff's life, as Cliffy spooked at that man's sudden appearance, rearing into the air and tossing Rae off and five feet away. The figure crept away, as a few of the track assistants dashed onto the track.
"Rae!" He cried out, dashing towards her. The figure in black swung out, into Cliff's way.
"You won't!" The man hissed.
"Silas, get the hell out of my way!" Cliff screamed, pushing the figure in black, recognized now as Silas, to the ground. Harris made a grab for him, but Silas leapt up and ran off. Cliff didn't care, all that mattered at that second was Rae.
"Ah, ah, it hurts!" Rae was crying, clutching at her stomach.
"Someone get a doctor!" A track assistant called.
"I am a bloody doctor, you fool!" Andrew called back, running up to Rae. He took her pulse, and checked her breathing. "Let's get her out of here, get her home." Cliff grabbed Rae from the ground, clutching her to his chest. "Cliff, you idiot, put her down, you'll hurt her more." Cliff snarled angrily.
"I'm going to protect her. She's my wife, and I'm protecting her..."
"Cliff..." Rae begged. "Please, take me home..."
"People, clear the track, we have a minor disaster on our hands, the second race has been delayed!" The Mayor called over the loudspeaker.
"Like hell this is minor!" Andrew yelled at the Mayor. He turned to the track assistants. "This woman is in labor, take her to my hospital on the ranch. And call the Midwife in!" Cliff froze in his place, as a track assistant lead Cliffy away, and Rae was taken from his arms and away by four of them. The noise rolled in the back of his head, and he fell forward onto the dirt. He felt so cold and betrayed. Kai picked him up, and lead him away, but he was blinded by his tears, and he could no longer see where he was going.
Cliff paced back and forth by the door to a sectioned-off hospital room, biting his lip. Karen and Kai watched him.
"I think that the subject of the next chapter is already defined." Kai stated calmly.
"Kai, shut up." Cliff whimpered. "Don't make a sound, no sound that'll deter Andrew from saving Rae's life."
"Cliff, she'll be fine." Karen sighed.
"Sure, sure... we'll find out next time on Story of a Girl!" Kai grinned nervously.
"Shh!" Cliff urged, and continued pacing.
TO BE CONTINUED...
Nayru: Like it says. Get ready for what you've been waiting for next chapter!
Nayru: You want chapter, you get chapter, here's a chapter!
DISCLAIMER: Some of this stuff is mine. Most of it is not.
Chapter 18: The Horse Races! No Need For Spooks!
Rae brushed Cliffy, the horse proudly in the spring air. It was mid- April, and the world was green and covered in cherry blossoms. Police forces were all searching for Silas, and there had been no sign of him since that night in January. Mary and Gray had been married three weeks before. Elli and Andrew had been married two months before that, Ann and Rick were engaged. Popuri and Harris didn't seem to have any plans. The others were working in the fields, watering the cabbages, carrots, and turnips that grew. The chicken and Koibito were in a pen, and the calf, Kori, was in a separate pen. The day was young, and it was already beautiful.
And with a beautiful day comes...
"Gods, it's so hot!" Karen whined.
... a bright sun.
"Well, Karen, why don't you fan yourself?" Rae suggested politely, trying to mount Cliffy. She was completely unsuccessful- her eight-months- pregnant stomach got in the way. "I mean, I'm still working..."
"Rae, you're in shorts." Karen pointed out. Karen was wearing a pair of sweatpants and an extremely loose top. Rae had preferred a pair of loose overall shorts and a loose blouse.
"Well, if you were more confident about your legs..."
"How can I be more confident about them if I can't see them?!"
"Ask your husband!"
"Rae, you know he'll say yes to avoid me clobbering him." Karen giggled jokingly.
"Clobber him anyway, it's his fault." Rae shrugged, continuing to brush the horse.
"Good point." Karen laughed, eyeing Kai, was was weeding the garden. Kai laughed nervously, and got out of her line of sight. Cliff was hiding in the same place he'd chosen to hide.
"Lemme guess... she was looking at you again." Cliff muttered to Kai.
"Psycho wife." Kai chuckled. "Apparently, it's my fault she's sexier when it's the time of the month she can get pregnant. Now it's 24-7 PMS. Massive mood swings, inexplicable anger, and constant crying."
"You think you've got it bad? Rae's hormonal. Really hormonal. I swear to the Gods, if I get too close, she WILL pin me down and do naughty things to me. That's why I'm over here." Cliff snorted.
"Wait, but you like sex." Kai turned his head confusedly. Cliff smirked.
"When nobody else is watching, yes." Kai laughed. Just then, Karen grabbed Kai, crying.
"Are my legs ugly?" She whined.
"They're beautiful, love." Kai smiled nervously, comforting her. Cliff snickered. Just then, the Mayor arrived.
"Rae, where are you!" He called. Rae emerged from the stable and waved. She ran up to him. "Rae, tomorrow is the Horse Festival. I know you can't ride, but will you watch?"
"I can ride!" Rae insisted. The Mayor rose an eyebrow.
"Maybe Cliff should." Rae frowned.
"But I wanna ride..." She whined.
"But Rae, you can't even get on the horse." Karen sighed.
"Can so!" Rae forced herself up onto Cliffy's back, her stomach resting on his shoulders. The Mayor sighed reluctantly.
"Alright, I'll enter Cliffy. But for your sake, don't ride if you can't." The Mayor walked away. Rae nudged her heels into Cliffy's sides, and he trotted around slightly.
"I can ride..." Rae grinned.
"Rae, that's not good enough." Karen tried to pull her down.
"I can ride, I'm healthy!" Rae cried insistently.
"If you insist." Karen conceded, sinking into a chair, and starting to sniffle. Kai patted her shoulder, as Rae dismounted Cliffy and stormed off indignantly.
"She is headstrong." Cliff sighed, putting Cliffy back in the stable. "I just hope this isn't something that'll hurt her."
"Cliff, I'm begging you not to let her ride." Andrew spoke from behind Cliff. He'd stopped to listen. "It's really unhealthy. I'm telling you to stop her. She can barely walk, let alone ride a horse. Get up before her tomorrow, get to the tracks first." Cliff nodded.
"She'll do it, and this is all I can do to stop her."
Early the next morning, the alarm went off. It was 4 AM, and Cliff had set the alarm for himself. In his plan, he'd neglected to remember that he was immune to his alarm. Rae was not. She opened her eyes, stretched, stared at the clock, wondering why it was going off. Shrugging, she switched it off, dressed, and went outside. She saddled Cliffy, and rode into town.
Two hours later, Cliff woke up on his natural sleep pattern, and stared at the clock and the empty bed next to him. The way he expressed everything running through his mind at that second could be expressed in one word-
"Fuck."
Most of the younger people in town were at the track, as well as people from towns all around. Cliff met the rest of them at the track. Andrew stared at Cliff in horror.
"She didn't-!"
"She did." Cliff groaned. "She got up before I did."
"Damn it, Cliff, you moron!" Elli screamed at him. Ann whacked him across the head.
"Let's try and get her removed from the races." Kai suggested nervously.
"How about something that won't kill her pride as fast?" Cliff grumbled.
"We're not worried about killing her pride here. We're more worried about her killing herself." Andrew sighed, rubbing his temples.
"How about we just beg the Mayor to disqualify her on medical terms?"
"The first race is starting!" The Mayor announced. "In the first lane... Rae, the hometown racer!"
"Shit." The entire group gasped at once. The Mayor ran off a list of the other racers. Cliff could distinctly see Rae.
"For the gods' sake!" A few people whispered, gesturing towards her. "That girl can't ride!"
"Andrew, speak now, or feel my wrath." Karen snarled into Andrew's ear. Andrew laughed nervously, and ran up to the Mayor in the announcer's booth (which was also away from the psychotic Karen). He began to rapidly whisper into the Mayor's ear. Some of the crowd pointed at them, watching them confer. The Mayor shook his head. Andrew stomped his foot, and spoke slightly louder, so that people could hear him slightly.
"... you can't do this in sound mind-"
"Andrew, there's nothing I can do, it's not like I can cancel the race."
"Replace her, at least, don't let that woman..."
"I've told you, there's nothing I can do!"
"I am a DOCTOR, Mayor, and this girl is in no condition to do this-"
"Let the race begin!" The Mayor called over the loudspeaker. "Ready... and... race!"
"No!" Cliff cried.
"Go!" The Mayor announced.
"Yes!" Rae squealed, digging her heels into Cliffy's side. Andrew dashed up to the group. He felt five harsh glares, and glared right back at the five girls.
"He said it was too late. All we can do is cross our fingers." He growled, scowling slightly at the Mayor.
Rae was neck and neck with the horse in the third lane. She had no idea why anyone wanted to stop her from racing; she was doing fine. She dug a little deeper into Cliffy's side, urging him to go a little faster. The finish line was in sight, and she had to win, just to prove them, those who'd tried to stop her, wrong. The world seemed to be breathing down her neck, and her pulse raced faster, and she began to shiver. She felt like a thousand and one eyes were on her, and a flash of black in a bush on the side of the track caught her eye. She almost halted Cliffy at that second, but she disregarded it, fearless, desperate. It paid off for her, as she forced Cliffy to run faster, just a little faster. Finally, she pulled ahead of the other horses and past the finish line, and the crowd burst into cheers. She ran a little ahead of the other horses, and waved to the crowd from atop Cliffy. "Yah! That's right! Love me, world!" She laughed excitedly. Just then, a figure in all black leapt from the side of the ring, right in front of Cliffy.
That was perhaps the longest split second in Cliff's life, as Cliffy spooked at that man's sudden appearance, rearing into the air and tossing Rae off and five feet away. The figure crept away, as a few of the track assistants dashed onto the track.
"Rae!" He cried out, dashing towards her. The figure in black swung out, into Cliff's way.
"You won't!" The man hissed.
"Silas, get the hell out of my way!" Cliff screamed, pushing the figure in black, recognized now as Silas, to the ground. Harris made a grab for him, but Silas leapt up and ran off. Cliff didn't care, all that mattered at that second was Rae.
"Ah, ah, it hurts!" Rae was crying, clutching at her stomach.
"Someone get a doctor!" A track assistant called.
"I am a bloody doctor, you fool!" Andrew called back, running up to Rae. He took her pulse, and checked her breathing. "Let's get her out of here, get her home." Cliff grabbed Rae from the ground, clutching her to his chest. "Cliff, you idiot, put her down, you'll hurt her more." Cliff snarled angrily.
"I'm going to protect her. She's my wife, and I'm protecting her..."
"Cliff..." Rae begged. "Please, take me home..."
"People, clear the track, we have a minor disaster on our hands, the second race has been delayed!" The Mayor called over the loudspeaker.
"Like hell this is minor!" Andrew yelled at the Mayor. He turned to the track assistants. "This woman is in labor, take her to my hospital on the ranch. And call the Midwife in!" Cliff froze in his place, as a track assistant lead Cliffy away, and Rae was taken from his arms and away by four of them. The noise rolled in the back of his head, and he fell forward onto the dirt. He felt so cold and betrayed. Kai picked him up, and lead him away, but he was blinded by his tears, and he could no longer see where he was going.
Cliff paced back and forth by the door to a sectioned-off hospital room, biting his lip. Karen and Kai watched him.
"I think that the subject of the next chapter is already defined." Kai stated calmly.
"Kai, shut up." Cliff whimpered. "Don't make a sound, no sound that'll deter Andrew from saving Rae's life."
"Cliff, she'll be fine." Karen sighed.
"Sure, sure... we'll find out next time on Story of a Girl!" Kai grinned nervously.
"Shh!" Cliff urged, and continued pacing.
TO BE CONTINUED...
Nayru: Like it says. Get ready for what you've been waiting for next chapter!