Champions Until the End

Chapter Ten

And here you are! pLoT tWiSt hErE. Enjoy!

        Around fifteen or so minutes later, Parker and Finnick came back, acting like they were best friends. I thought this was odd, but figured it was fine so long as they got along. They hadn't told me what had happened, but I managed to figure out that Finnick had won, as I was expecting. What I wanted to see, though, was a showjumping competition between the two. Maybe I'd invite Parker to showjump with us later. He'd have to take care of that new horse first, though. I wondered who the new horse would be. What was it's name? Was it a mare, stallion, or gelding? What breed? What coat? I didn't necessarily care, of course, but I was curious

        There was still around half an hour to kill before the new horse arrived, so that was probably around forty-five minutes until Parker was free. So, that meant being alone with Finnick for that long. And that meant disaster. Chaos. Destruction. I seriously have no idea where that boy gets his crazy ideas from.

        "Kennedy!" Finnick's voice interrupted my perfectly peaceful place up in my tree. "So I was thinking-" I abruptly cut him off with a "No."

        "But you haven't even heard my idea yet!" he protested.

        "It's still a no. I know how your 'ideas' normally go." I argued.

        "But this time it's brilliant!"

        "Still a no. First of all, your ideas are not 'brilliant'. And you say that they are every single time. They never are."

        "But what about the time that I-" I cut him off again, this time far more effectively, because I shoved him straight out of the tree. It was only a ten-foot drop from where we were sitting. Not that much, right? Besides, I had fallen from it before, and I was perfectly fine. Except if you count that bruise that I got, but that's not important. Ahem, anyways, as I was saying, never trust Finnick's ideas. You'll end up with poison ivy or something.

        "Ow!" Finnick exclaimed. "You didn't have to do that!" There wasn't any real anger in his voice, though, so I feigned indifference.

        "No, but I desperately wanted to. So therefore, I did it. Really, it's simple logic. You should know this by now, Finnick."

        "You still gave me a bloody nose!" he said. Oops. I looked down through the branches to see red streaming from his nose. Blergh. I gagged, turning my head away. I wasn't squeamish, exactly, but that didn't mean I liked the sight of blood. Anyways, Finnick could deal with it. The bleeding would stop soon.

        I was right. Around a minute later, Finnick was fine. See? I told him he would be! Or thought it, at least. Never mind that. "So, Finnick, how'd you do at the latest show?" I asked him, grinning. He had climbed back up a tree and was sitting on a branch beside me now.

        "Me and Nightshade cleaned out the ribbons box." he replied. "It was a small show, though. Just something to keep him show-ready. The showjumping was amazing. I mean, cross-country is all well and good, and I can tolerate dressage, but the showjumping ring is one of my favorite places." Finnick had that look on his face that he got whenever he talked about Nightshade or showjumping, or really anything that made him happy. Which was Nightshade and showjumping. I opened my mouth to respond when I noticed Finnick wasn't on his branch anymore.

         "Finnick?" I said, looking around to see if this was another of his jokes. I got that prickly feeling of being watched. I froze, willing myself to not react. Stay still stay still stay still, went my brain as I waited for Finnick to jumpscare me from behind. I figured I might as well turn the joke back on him, and turn around without jumping, and therefore make it fail. But when I turned around, Finnick wasn't there, so that's when I actually started to get nervous. "Finnick?" I repeated, getting unsettled. I began to turn around, then I heard his voice say "Boo." and I screamed and fell straight out of the tree.

        Laughter interrupted my furious stream of murderous thoughts, and I looked up to see Finnick clinging to a branch to dear life as he laughed. I put every ounce of anger I could into my glare, but at this point Finnick's eyes were closed, but they flew open as he tried to stop laughing. "Your face!" he sputtered. "That was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my life!"

        "Oh, very funny," I said sarcastically as he climbed down, composing himself as I heard the sound of a car coming up the driveway. I turned my attention towards the sound, with Finnick doing the same beside me. A shiny black truck pulled in, towing a sleek black trailer behind it. I wondered briefly what this could be, before I remembered the new horse that was coming. I stepped over to the fence, hopping up on it and sitting down to watch as Mike came out and started talking to the driver, while Parker and Charlie came out of the barn, heading towards the trailer.

        I watched eagerly as the two boys unbolted the ramp, lowering it carefully before disappearing inside. Charlie came out with a glossy cremello Akhal-Teke mare, and my jaw dropped at the elegance of the stunning horse. There must've been two horses on the truck, because after Charlie led the cremello away, Parker appeared at the mouth of the trailer, appearing to be murmuring something to the horse, who was still in the trailer. I heard squealing, and the horse flashed out a leg in a strike, and Parker jumped back to avoid getting his leg hit. "Easy, girl." he murmured, reaching a hand out to stroke the horse.

        "Someone's being difficult," I commented to Finnick, who nodded in response. Suddenly the lead rope got yanked out of Parker's hands, and the horse, who was a brown and white pinto with a dark mane and tail, barged past him, bolting out of the trailer and skidding as it came to a sharp stop and raised its head, looking around. Upon seeing the mare, I vaulted off the fence and ran toward her. Hearing my footsteps, she turned towards me just as I reached her, and I flung my arms around her neck, not bothering to hold in my tears. The mare bent her head around me in a hug of her own, nickering. I knew this horse, and I whispered her name over and over into her mane, promising I would never let her go again.

        It was Lady.

Y'know what? I'm just gonna be barricading myself in my room now.... you shall hear no more from me until the next chapter... I gotta go hide... Bye!

Oh, almost forgot.

Glorybringer1163

NOW I'm hiding.