The Wonderful Adventures of Bea Andrews (EDITING, IN PROGRESS)

Chapter 7 redone

**Crude humor warning**

Margret strides through the trees and states, "No, I saw her come through the trees. We would have noticed if they were airborne in the enclosure." Her face is hard, and her eyes are cold. I shrink back a step and my blood drains from my face. "Bea is too smart to go flying without a rescue line. Isn't that right, Bea hun?" I nod frantically. I never thought about that... My eyes widen and the world begins to spin. I shake out my hands, and I glance over at Rosey. Her eyes are wide, and her round ears are pinned back against her head. Her wings fidget and her tail lashes. Vague conversation flows around me. "BEA!" I whip my head around, stumbling slightly in the process.

I state, staving off the quiver in my voice, "Yes, Margret?"

She replies, her legs devouring the distance between us, "Come along, we have River and Maggie back in the barn and it's time for lunch." I nod, and she grabs my upper arm with a jerk. I stumble slightly as I trail after her. I glance up at her face, which is still set in stone. However, her eyes are slightly glassy, and her face is a pale white colour. She partially drags me into the tack room and slams the door. She grabs the freshly polished combination from the rack and slams it down on the wooden polishing horse. She grabs a long length of leather from a pegboard. The leather has two large buckles on either end made of heavy, worn steel. She snaps, her eyes wide and frantic, "See this?" I nod, and she clips one end to a solid D ring on the combination. She grabs a leather harness of the wall and throws it at me. She attaches the other end of the strap to the harness. She snarls, poking me in the chest, "See this? You do this EVERYTIME. I will not have you falling to your death. If you're going to make bad choices, make them safely, you understand me?" I nod frantically, my heart thundering in my chest. She states, straightening up and the colour returning to her face, "Good. Good, good, good... good." She turns on her heel and walks out the tack room door. She calls, "Sausage and pierogies for lunch. It'll be done in fifteen minutes." I fall to my knees, holding the harness in my quivering hands. Rushed paw-falls barrel towards the tack stall.

Rosey calls, "BEA! BEA!" I stand up, and set the combination back onto the storage rack, then the harness and the rescue line. I could've died. Worse, I could have hurt someone else during my fall... I could have hurt Rosey... Tears fall as I stumble back to my knees. I stare up at Rosey, her wide gold eyes shining in the dim light of the barn. She sits, blinking at me with compassion and concern. She asks, lowering her head and gently catching my tears with her nose, "Hey, you, okay?" My heart stutters. Never again. I will never put this magnificent beast in danger again. Never.

***

I kick the arena dirt, watching Uncle Brady set up poles and obstacles around the space. I offered to help, but he said it was "too technical" and that I should "stretch and prepare for a lesson" before beginning to haul telephone polls and small houses around the arena like an Olympian. He heaves as he drags a small, town apartment across the soft sand. I stretch my arms behind my back and twist around my midsection for the tenth time. I stare at the ceiling, counting ceiling fans as I stretch my legs.

"BATTLE DRILL! Go grab Rosey and meet me back here in five minutes! Hurry!"

I yelp, scrambling up from my awkward half-splits position, "THIRTY-ONE, SIR!" I bolt out the door, my shoes insulating and propelling my feet forward. I turn my attention to the barn. I draw in fresh farm air, my legs pumping as I bolt down the wild grass lawn. As I draw in a strong breath to push myself faster, a red streak crosses my path and freezes. Helpless to the forces of physics, I slam chest first into another person. My head bounces and I'm launched backwards.

"CRAP!" I flail my arms, my body careening towards the ground. My ass burns as it slams into the ground with a WHAM, my head swimming. Several feet away, a guy in a similar flight suit is laying prone in the grass. My heart stops.

I scream, clambering towards him, "BRADY, HELP!" I reach his side and grab his shoulders. Pinch and shout, just pinch and... "HELLO, ARE YOU ALIVE? HELLO! HELLO!"

He bolts upright and screeches, "AAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Before I can process what's occurred, my brain crashes and I scream in unison, "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!" Margret and Brady come barrelling towards us, a med kit in Margret's arms.

Margret reaches us first, demanding, "What happened, who's hurt, who started it? Bea, are you hurt?"

The guy replies, pushing his long, brown hair from his pink face, "It's my fault, I thought I had enough time to get past her before she hit me. I didn't realize how fast she was... anyways, she hit me full speed and bodied me. It was quite impressive." Brady takes the medical kit and begins examining the poor guy.

Margret approaches me like an injured deer, and asks, "Bea, honey, are you okay? That must've been quite a hit." I nod, my head slightly swimming but improving. Margret grabs a metal tube... WHAT THE FRICK, OW! A bright-ass light blinds me and burns holes through my skull. I wince away. Margret sighs, turning off the flashlight, "No good, we got a concussion here."

Brady replies, nodding, "Same over here. Well, this wasn't how I intended to introduce you two, but... Bruno, meet my niece, Beatrice. Beatrice, meet Bruno, Dr. Jacob Johanns' son. You remember Dr. Johann, don't you?" I shake my head. A wave of pain crases through my head and I grab my head. Margret pushes me gently and I lay down. Brady replies, "Well, Dr. Johann is the Head of Exotic Veterinary Medicine at Lake View! You met him as a little girl. He came over with me before... well a long time ago." I blink up at him. He smiles at me and moves on to say something to Bruno. I glance over at him. His hair is long and luxurious, flowing in soft waves down his back. His facial hair is slightly patchy, and his eyebrows are dense and broad. He glances at me, his soft face drawn with concern.

Bruno mouths, his blue eyes wide with concern, "You good?" I shrug and he nods softly.

Margret announces, "The doctor says she wants to see both of you for head scans and observation. She says you might need to stay in the concussion protocol dorms for a few days. They're just dark rooms with really comfortable beds where you can rest. We'll resume lessons when you're both ready."

I ask, rolling my shoulders, "When we're both ready?"

Brady chirps, "Yep, you're classmates now! I was going to have you ride a lesson today, but I guess I'll just take Maggie over some ground exercises since the arena is set up already. Off you go, Margie will take y'all over to emerg, and we'll see you in a few days. I'll... I'll go call your fathers..." Brady cringes and walks off. Margret helps me to my feet and guides me towards the carriage.

I call to Rosey, "I got hurt, I'm okay, I'll be back in a few days..." Rosey lets out a mournful cry. My heart echoes her cry as the carriage door slams shut and Marg goes to get Bruno. Well, isn't this WUNDERBAR.