Heart of Flame – Chapter 1

Walking out of her family's old farmhouse, Amy Fleming rubbed her eyes tiredly. Another day of getting up at five to help Ty around the barn, school for hours, then home again to ride and stay up late with homework was beginning.

The sixteen year old's face brightened as she caught sight of Ty, her boyfriend, already hard at work mucking out stalls in the main barn at Heartland. His chestnut hair flopped over his face, hanging into emerald green eyes which sparkled as he saw Amy, long brown hair sticking up in all directions as normal. Ty wasn't sure how she'd managed to get hold of his favourite plaid shirt, but there it was, baggy and huge over her worn jeans and riding boots.

"Morning," she yawned, brushing hair out of her tired face. Ty smiled sympathetically, curving his arm around her waist. "Late night studying?"

Amy blushed. "Studying, yes, for school ... that could be debated."

Ty laughed softly. "You don't have to help all the horses here, Amy. I've got all day to look up more information if you need me to – just ask."

"Sure, Ty – you've got all day, what with all the horses to ride, stables to clean and all the hundred and one other jobs that pop up around here ..." Then his fingers lifted her chin up so her smoky grey eyes met his green ones.

"Let's not argue. Please." She smiled at him, forgetting everything that had to be done that morning, losing herself in Ty's eyes and touch as he gently lifted her chin and her mouth touched his. He kissed her softly, always careful. Breaking away a moment later, Amy sighed. "I'm sorry, Ty. I know it's frustrating, but I really have to get on with this so I can get to school."

His face was disappointed but he nodded understandingly. "Okay. You get started on the stalls in the next row." Amy picked up a pitchfork and started moving away.

"Oh ... in case I don't have time to say goodbye before you leave …" Ty spun her around quickly and kissed her again, before grinning and sauntering off. Amy touched her lips softly. You don't know just how much I love you, Ty Baldwin.

Shaking her head clear of all sentimental thoughts for the moment, Amy hurried to start cleaning the stalls.

Waving goodbye to Soraya and Matt, Amy hopped off the bus, feeling considerably more alive than she had that morning after a busy day at school. Planning to get out to the horses as soon as possibly, Amy ran up the drive to the house, into her room, where she got changed quickly and twisted her long hair into a plait.

"Amy!" Lou's voice rang through the house and Amy groaned. Please don't let this be another discussion about feed bills …

"Yeah, Lou?" She shouted down the stairs.

"Phone for you! Someone who wants to bring a horse to Heartland!" Amy felt a shiver of excitement as she always did when there was the prospect of a new horse. Luckily they had three stalls empty at the moment. Picking up the phone extension in her room, Amy spoke into it.

"Hello? This is Amy Fleming."

"Oh .. hello, Amy. I'm Lisa Fletcher; I'm a social worker for the state."

Why on earth is a social worker ringing me about a horse?

The woman sounded nervous, as if sensing Amy's doubt. "Er .. we have a girl in foster care at the moment. She used to do some sort of riding and has a horse that she won't – well, actually can't – sell. I believe his name is Flame. He's started acting insane, throwing anyone off him who tries to ride him, and he won't even react to the girl's presence. He doesn't seem to recognise her."

This was interesting. Amy hadn't heard of a case like this before.

"We need to sell the horse; no one wants to foster a child with an extra expense like that. But unfortunately no one will buy the damned thing – although that is understandable considering that no one can actually get on it. His owner saw you in some magazine and read about how you can heal horses. She's adamant that he's brought here."

"I'd like to meet this Flame, Ms Fletcher. I don't know if I could do anything with him, but I'd try my best."

The woman's voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. "Well, naturally I don't think you'd be able to do anything with him – he's completely crazy. But the girl is insistent and .. well, it will give you money and us a rest from our headache for a while."

Amy tried not to let her anger seep into her voice. "Don't condemn him, Ms Fletcher, before I've even looked at him. Some horses are just misunderstood and it takes a new person to see what's wrong with them."

"Yes, I'm sure you're right. If there's nothing you can do, we'll probably just have the horse put down, but would you mind taking him on for a while, a month or so at the most?"

Amy gritted her teeth. "That will be fine, Ms Fletcher. Where is the horse at the moment?"

"Er .. Montana. But we can get him trucked down straight away. Oh .. would you mind terribly if the girl came to stay with you as well, just for the duration of the horse's treatment?"

Amy was stunned. Wow. Just drop something like that in casually at the end of the conversation. Can we cope with a complete stranger living under our roof?

There was silence on both ends of the phone.

If we don't take him, he'll die. She could hear it in the woman's voice, a complete lack of sympathy for the horse or owner. And suddenly, Amy felt a surge of pity for a girl with no family to rely on, and a horse in pain and acting crazily. How bad can it be? Maybe she can help around Heartland.

Amy spoke decisively, and coldly. "That will be fine, Ms Fletcher. How soon will Flame and his owner arrive?"

"We can arrange to get them there by the day after tomorrow. Great, thankyou for taking them on. We'll see you soon!"

The woman hung up hurriedly, leaving Amy with a dial tone ringing in her ear. What have I gotten us into?

Just A Dancer, otherwise known as Katie, was an open medium dressage horse on the cusp of moving up to Advanced – but her one fear was holding her back.

Katie was terrified of men. Her owner, Rebecca Adams, was a prominent dressage rider and well known all over the US. Katie was one of her younger horses who she'd been bringing up through the levels of dressage. Rebecca didn't know exactly what had happened to the eight year old mare before she'd bought her, but it had left Katie with emotional scars that hadn't presented much of a problem before. Now, wanting to make sure Katie had the very best of training for the higher level movements, Rebecca had enlisted the help of a German trainer called Pieter Schafer. Hoping that Katie had forgotten about any fear of men that she'd had in the past, Rebecca had let Pieter ride the mare at her first session.

Katie had had minimal contact with men in her dressage career, and Pieter riding her had obviously brought back a lot of horrific memories. She'd bucked the man off, and he'd broken several of his ribs and sprained his arm. Thankfully, he hadn't blamed Rebecca – or the horse – but had suggested that she get some help for Katie before trying to progress further. Pieter had understood that Katie was scared, not naughty.

So the mare had arrived at Heartland a few days earlier, and this was Amy's first chance to work with her. She and Ty had decided that Amy would be the first to work with Katie, getting her adjusted to the new surroundings and learning about her personality. Only when she was really settled in and trusting Amy would Ty begin to work with them, and help the mare heal.

Still puzzling over the strange call from Lisa Fletcher, Amy tried to relax when she entered the main barn after mucking out some stalls, and began making her way towards Katie's stall. How on earth is Lou going to feel about having a strange girl staying with us for a whole month

Amy's older sister would definitely not be pleased, with all the preparations for her and Scott's wedding to think about as well. Well, I've already said yes. I couldn't let the horse go – Lou will just have to understand that.

Amy's worries flew out of her head as she saw Katie. The mare had a certain presence about her that only a dressage horse could have – a regal elegance in the way she daintily arched her neck, the curious, intelligent expression in her eyes. Katie was a jet black Hanoverian with a small white star on her forehead, and three white socks. Her near-hind leg was conspicuously black, giving her a slightly lopsided look.

Being from a show jumping family, Amy had never really ridden any dressage horses before. She'd seen Rebecca ride Katie at her barn, and she'd also had the chance to ride a Rebecca's Grand Prix schoolmaster, Regazonni, a few times. Rebecca had wanted Amy to get the feel of riding a highly trained dressage horse so she could keep up what Katie was used to when she was ridden. After riding Zonni in two lessons a week for the last five weeks with Rebecca, Amy was pretty sure she had an understanding of all the Grand Prix movements, but she was going to take it slow with Katie. She wasn't going to ride in their first few sessions, focusing instead on bonding with the mare and joining up.

Katie's ears pricked and her eyes brightened when Amy let herself into the stable. Amy rubbed her face softly and the horse leaned into her, asking for more. "You're just too smart, Katie. You're bored, aren't you?" Amy grabbed the purple rope hanging outside Katie's stable, and clipped it onto her halter. Then, opening the stable door, she led Katie out, the mare prancing excitedly at the end of the lead rope. "Calm down, silly girl ..." Amy spoke gently before clipping Katie into the cross-ties and checking her legs over to make sure she had no swelling there. She was relieved to see there was none, considering the amount of prancing Katie had been doing in her stall. "I think we'll have to let you out into a paddock today ... but will the pretty dressage queen want to get her hooves dirty?"

Unclipping the mare, Amy led Katie down the aisle and into the round pen, then letting her go. Katie stood there for a moment, dumbfounded at her new freedom, before taking off and performing a volley of high bucks and squeals, delighted to be out of the confinement of her stall. Amy chuckled quietly to see the way she was behaving – so different from the perfect dressage horse that obeyed Rebecca's every aid.

When Katie finally lost interest in her performance, Amy used the lead rope and her voice to drive her away, making the mare run and listen to Amy. She wanted Katie to understand that she was the herd leader now. Every time Katie showed signs of slowing, Amy flicked the end of the lead rope and she carried on running.

After a few minutes of continuous galloping, Katie was beginning to tire, patches of sweat appearing on her shiny black coat. She began showing signs of submission to Amy, her head lowering and making chewing motions with her jaw. When both of Katie's ears flicked back to listen, Amy knew that she has her.

Stopping all the motion, any noise that she was making, Amy turned her back on Katie. The hoofbeats slowed, until all Amy could hear was a soft padding on sand. Then, she almost laughed, feeling Katie's whiskery muzzle and hot, sweet horse breath on her face. She turned around slowly, rubbing Katie's star the way she had before. "Good girl," she murmured softly.

Then, she turned again and walked away, around the perimeter of the round pen. Katie didn't hesitate, following her "herd leader" immediately and imitating Amy's every move. When the girl began to run, Katie trotted to keep up with her but was careful never to overtake the leader. When Amy ran and hopped over a pole lying at the edge of the arena, Katie's dressage sense kicked in for a moment and she hesitated. Seeing Amy move further away, however, decided her, and she snorted loudly and hopped over the pole, taking care not to let any part of her touch it.

After fifteen minutes of this, Amy stopped in the middle of the round pen. Katie walked up to her and halted, her eyes different now – not full of pent up energy, but content and trusting. Amy moved closer and talked to her softly, running her hands over every part of the mare's body, making Katie put up with her. Finally decided she was done for the day, she stroked Katie's neck and clipped the lead rope back on. "Good girl. That was great, sweetie."

"It looked good." Both girl and horse looked up in surprise as Ty spoke from where he was leaning against the rail. Forgetting for a second, Amy tugged on the lead rope gently and began walking towards Ty.

Katie's head was high in the air, her telling her to run from danger. Her eyes were focused completely on Ty, watching every move he made. Amy realised something was wrong and stopped to turn back and look at the mare. "Ty, I don't think ..."

"Shhh ..." he murmured, outstretching his hand. Katie's nostrils widened and she snorted loudly. When Ty took a step towards her, it was too much. She pulled backwards, ripping the rope out of Amy's hand and jumping as she scared herself even more. Katie turned and galloped frantically, finding nowhere to escape as she just ran in circles around the pen. "Katie! Whoa, whoa, girl ..."

Ty looked shocked as he surveyed the frightened mare. "Amy, I think I'd better-"

"Just leave, Ty." Amy snapped, her voice filled with the frustration of having all her bonding work undone. Ty's face turned pale, but he moved quickly and quietly out of sight.

Katie gradually slowed, her sides moving in and out, breathing heavy and laboured. She shook as Amy stepped slowly towards her, fearing even the leader who she's trusted so completely a minute before. "It's okay, Katie ... I won't hurt you."

Her ear's pricked up as she took in Amy's gentle, soothing voice … and realised that maybe this girl wasn't going to hurt her. Amy stood quietly, a few centimetres away from Katie, giving the mare time to adjust to her presence again. Then, when she was no longer shaking, Amy moved to her face and began gently massaging circles, touching Katie with only the tips of her fingers.

It took twenty minutes of t-touch and soothing before Katie let Amy pick up the lead rope, and lead her quietly back to her stall. I don't think a paddock's the best option at the moment. Amy worried that the mare would protest at being left in the stable again, but she merely went to the manger and lipped at a mouthful of hay, too tired to stay alert but too wary to sleep. Amy sighed. Two steps forward … and it sure feels like about four steps back.

As she walked out of the barn, Amy looked at her watch and was surprised by how much time had passed since she'd left the house after talking to Lisa Fletcher. Three hours! No wonder it's getting dark, it's nearly seven!

As her eyes adjusted to the gloom outside the barn, Amy made out Ty, leaning against a fence, watching two of the permanent Heartland residents scratch each other. Though Sundance was only a pony, Sugarfoot was still having trouble reaching him – only being a mini!

Ty turned his head when he saw Amy walking towards him. His eyes were full of worry. "I'm sorry, Amy," he began. "I don't know why … it was a stupid thing to do …"

He held out his arms, and Amy moved into them gratefully. She turned so that they were facing the horses, and Ty rested his chin on her head, stoking her hair absent-mindedly with his free arm.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. There was nothing else to say.

Amy sighed. "It's okay, Ty. I know … sometimes we just forget. It happens to all of us. I don't blame you."

She smiled as she felt him kiss the top of her head softly. "I need you to promise me one thing, Ty."

"Anything."

"Help me with Katie. She can only get over her fear of men if she faces one."

"Of course."

Amy moved reluctantly out of his arms. "We should go in for dinner. It's getting late."

Ty agreed, taking her hand. Then they walked together back to the house.

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Kinda weird, I know .. I'm hoping that they're in character enough for you guys. Hope you like it! By the way, I don't actually own any of the Heartland books so if I get any of the stuff wrong – eg join up techniques – sorry!

Thanks to all my awesome reviewers, especially Steph! (Akers2)

Ais