Silverstone: Perfection is Not Enough

Chapter 20

"Circle twenty metres right at E!" Bertie calls out from where she's standing, wrapped in a thick coat next to Rose and Tabitha, leaning against the outside of the fence of the outdoor school. The nights are getting darker, so I'm practising my dressage test, which Lucy gave me this morning, by the lampposts lining the arena. I haven't memorised it yet, I'm just going through it with Arrow while Bertoe reads it out. Once he starts to do it well like this, then I'll try memorising it. 

"Pace down to an extended trot back at H, and turn down centre line at C, halt at X, salute, bam, done." They all clap as Arrow makes a near-perfect square halt over X, and I reach down and hug him. 

This does result in him mildly shying, but I don't fall off. And it makes my friends laugh. As they've been standing still for half an hour straight, they're probably nearly frozen solid. 

"Are you done?" Bertie asks in surprise as I approach the gate in a relaxed walk. "You've only done it about five times."

"No point in over-doing it," I shrug. "Plus, I don't want Arrow to get bored."

"Bored Areow equals cranky Arrow," Rose nods. "And cranky Arrow equals scary, dangerous Arrow."

This makes us all laugh as we head back into the barn. 

"Hey, Jess," Tabitha starts, while I start to untack Arrow in his stall. "Can you meet us back in the dorm? We just need to sort something."

"Um, sure," I say, and they giggle and disappear, Rose throwing me a wink. 

"What's that all about, boy?" I whisper as I take a body brush and brush him down, his dark coat gleaming in the dim barn light. He snickers and nudges me, obviously looking for treats. 

"Okay, you greedy animal," I laugh, and feed him a polo mint from the nearly empty packet in my pocket.

What? I give him what he deserves. 

And maybe a little bit extra. 

After I've dumped the tack back in the tack room, and given Arrow one last pat, I walk back up to the house. It's dark now, and the night sky is clear and dotted with tiny little crystal stars, twinkling in the velvety darkness. The sheer stillness and quietness takes my breath away, and I stand there for a minute, just staring up at the heavenly ceiling. 

"It's nice, right?" A familiar voice reaches my ears, and I look over to the doorway of Valegro to see Liam standing there, looking at me. 

"Yeah," I reach him, and lean against the doorframe. "Why're you out?"

"Your friends came back a few minutes ago," he explains. "I figured I'd wait for you."

"Thanks," I grin, and I'm glad that the darkness masks my slight blush.

"It's fine," he glances up at the sky. "I was in the middle of a Halo battle with Adam." I recognise the name of his friend. 

"Were you winning?" 

"Obviously," he smirks. 

After a moment, I realise I'm still standing outside, so I pass him to get inside, and grin at him. "Thanks for waiting."

"See you," he waves, and goes back into the living room. 

Well, that was unexpected. But nice. Liam's the first guy I've ever considered to be a proper friend.

I pause for a moment outside my room, to see if I can hear anything out of the ordinary. The only sound coming from the room is hushed whispers, so I push open the door. Immediately, the hushed voices stop. 

"So, what's this 'thing' you need to tell me?" I joke, shoving my helmet into the messy wardrobe and pulling off my gloves. "Are you kicking me out? Cause the corridor floor isn't that comfy, do I'd appreciate it if you let me take the mattress."

"Hmm," Rose taps her chin. "That's pushing it a little. I guess you can take your duvet. But we need the mattress. I want to pretend I'm the princess from that weird pea fairy tale."

"Princess and the Pea?" Bertie suggests. Rose clicks her fingers.

"That's it!"

"Okay, Jess, seriously," Tabitha takes a deep breath. "Firstly, I'd like you to know that this was my idea, the other two just helped a little bit. And also, we've sorted everything with your mum and stuff. She said it's great, and she gave you signed permission, because the school has all these weird rules."

Dumbfounded, I nod. What on earth is Tabitha talking about?

"Hey, it was not just your idea!" Rose protests, and Bertie just playfully glares at Tabitha. "Sure, it's your house-"

"Rose!" Tabitha interrupts quickly. "Stop ruining it! You said I could tell her!"

Tabitha's house? She said she lives with her dad in his crumbling countryside mansion, like a sort of modern-day princess. She insists she's not in any way related to royalty.

But I don't believe her. 

"So, as Rose said," she glares at the person in question, who's shrugging helplessly. "Yes, my house."

"Your house...?" I ask weakly, totally and utterly confused. Her grin widens.

"Tabitha, just tell her!" Bertie throws one of her pillows at Tabitha. 

"Okay, okay, fine!" Tabitha squeals excitedly. "You, Bertie and Rose are all coming over to my house during the Christmas holidays!"

For a second, I'm completely shocked. "Aren't I spending it at home?"

"Your mum said you were, but just for the first week," Tabitha explains, looking worried. "Why? You do want to come, right?"

I decide to play it out, and bite my lip, looking sceptical. "I don't know..." Then, a grin breaks out over my face. "Oh my gosh!" I jump up and squeal, dancing around. "Holiday!" 

Tabitha sighs in relief. "You scared me, Jess!" She rolls her eyes. "And we can help you learn your dressage test and jumping course while we're there too."

"Plus, Tabitha's riding school and livery yard is a five minute walk down the road, and we can use their horses to ride in the grounds of her house!" Bertie informs me, joining me in my weird dancing-clappy routine. 

""Oh no," Rose gasps, looking shell-shocked, her hand over her mouth. We all come to a sudden stop.

"What?!"

"You know what this means," she glances up at us anxiously. We all wait with baited breath for her next sentence. 

"I have to get you guys Christmas presents!"

a/n: Hey guys! Sorry it's been so long, I discovered the world of Shadowhunters and The Mortal Instruments books. Let's just say, it's a dark, black void. But a very interesting, time-consuming one.   ;-) MALEC FOREVER!! 

Anyway, guys, we're on 2.8k. So, so, so close to 3k reads!! 

Don't worry, I'm not going to be one of those people that are like, 'so give me another two hundred reads and you get a chapter!' I always find that so annoying and mean. Just take this as another huge thank you for all your amazing reads, votes, and all your awesome comments. You're all amazing! 

Maddie xx