Disguised In Lavender

Part 43

Twenty minutes later, Lauren and Ann were changed into tight jodhoppers and sleeveless vests. The sun was barely up but the freezing air woke both girls the minute the lobby doors swung open. Ann let out a string of curses under her breath that turned to smoke instantly, warming the air for a second. "You think something's wrong?" Lauren asked nervously, laying her chin on Ann's shoulder and hugging her from behind, waddling after her. "They can't disqualify you now so if something is wrong nothing can change." Ann assured gently, spreading out her hands to keep her balance, turning down the unpaved street to the stables. "Tanner must still be asleep." He usually slept in late, not as late as Zack but late enough that he wouldn't be up at seven in the morning. Ann nodded in agreement, looking around at the grazing horses let out in the paddocks. Something Lauren was relatively proud of, she smiled to herself, was that the trainer wasn't as afraid of the horses as she was before. Back in Winchester when it took a long amount of convincing for her to even step foot in Ducky's stall.

The stable were silent so early in the morning aside from the whinny of horses from either side to their outside friends. Lauren stood up straight, stepping up to each stall and reading the numbers to herself, greeting each one with a pat. Ducky's stall was 102 which was a few stalls in from the door Lauren and Ann entered through, closest to the hotel. "Ladies, right here." Mr. Terence's looming figure was framed in the piercing sunrays that illuminated the floating stars of barn dust. His thin figure looked somewhat menacing beside the pudgy judge, his grey hair combed back over his balding neck. Lauren offered her hand to him charismatically, hoping to gain points for her charm if he really was about to disqualify her. Ann kept a distance, arms crossed over her chest and eyes focused on the judges feet rather than his face. "Lauren Blaine, I'll be riding Midnight Trails in eventing." The judge didn't look too impressed by her speech, licking his chapped lips with an unamused smack.

Some judges were nice, Lauren swallowed and stepped back beside Ann, side eyeing her desperately. Ann rolled her eyes, much calmer before a judge than the rider would have thought she could be. "We inspected all of the horses last night, Ducky included." Mr. Terence cleared his throat, fiddling with the halter string over his shoulder anxiously. Lauren's heart sank, if Mr. Terence was fiddling with the halter string that was his tell for bad news. "He didn't qualify did he?" All of the worst things that could happen were happening, Lauren looked over at who pursed her lips and looked away. Sensing someone was talking about him, Ducky popped his head out of his stall and stretched his neck forward. Lauren stepped around the judge and Mr. Terence, hugging the gelding's long muzzle to her chest. "I'm the trainer, Ann Dellingway. Can we talk about this between us." She kept her voice low, glancing over at Lauren with sorrowful understanding, straightening up. The judge blinked in confusion, looking up at Mr. Terence who had no emotion to his drawn expression.

Hearing the clip of their boots fade and then vanish behind the smack of a light wooden door, Lauren let out the breath she'd been holding. Ducky tossed his head out of her grasp and blew a hot huff of dismay into her face, swishing his tail. "Sorry buddy. There's a lot riding on this competition you know." Lauren slowly unlocked the stall door, holding out a hand and pushing Ducky's curious muzzle back. "You know I have to win for Ann. She thinks I have a big future and I lied to her, last night I did." Kicking a pile of sawdust into a corner, Lauren sat with knees brought up to her chin, watching Ducky. He didn't seem all too interested aside from being sure he wouldn't step on the rider as he ate. "What am I going to do with my life?" A mindless glaze coated Lauren's fox-like eyes, lost in thought that only made her head spin. Ducky plodded over, his head hanging low in the scrapping, a curious prankster in his movements. Lauren looked up with a smile, pulling a treat from her pocket, watching the gelding's ear prick forward. It was a game of who would move first, Ducky was good at this game since he was cute.

Licking the treat from the rider's palm with vigor, Ducky proudly turned his back and faced the stall door. Ann's head appeared over the top, her curled blonde hair bobbing as if she had run down the corridor. Lauren stood instantly, elbowing Ducky aside and closing it behind her, keeping her hand on the lock nervously. "They found out he's blind in the one eye. He could be disqualified for failure to notify and unsafe riding conditions." Ann explained sternly, reaching towards Lauren's free hand and opening it into a fan subconsciously. "He isn't unsafe, I rode him almost every day and-" Ann squeezed Lauren's hand to stop her arguing, a small smile crossing her face that made her eyes sparkle. Lauren paused for a minute just to look at her girlfriend, even if she'd lied to her, they would win anyway. "Darling, I showed them everything you worked on. Mr. Terence had it on tape." The pause between explanations was driving the older girl mad, she slammed the lock shut. "And?" Ann grinned at the enthusiasm as Lauren grabbed her other hand and pulled them around her waist. "And we're still in." It took a minute for the words to sink in, Lauren's brain felt like thick mud that turned the ring bubbly. She looked Ann in the eye, noticing how tightly she held her hands, the look of desperate glee. "Oh my god, we're in!" She cried, bouncing on her toes, pulling the trainer in and kissing her with a hand on her jaw.