Silverstone: Perfection is Not Enough

Chapter 26

Arrow's trot flows seamlessly, his mouth supple and on the bit, my hands soft and in control. As my shoulder goes back slightly to help with asking for a twenty metre circle, he automatically flexes inwards. Although he drifts a little, making the circle bigger than intended, his inside flexion is on point. 

In the corner, my left leg slides back to ask for canter, and the two-beat rhythm of the trot blends into a far smoother canter. As soon as he flings his head up, as he always does, I'm ready for him, softening my hands further, then gently pulling him back. 

Finally, we turn down the centre line, and his hooves flick out in front of him, his stride increasing into a beautiful extended trot. I halt, salute, and slump down in the saddle in exhaustion. 

"That was great, Jess!" Bertie shouts from the sidelines. If Arrow were any more awake, he'd probably shy at the loud noise, but all he can currently manage is a half-halted side step. 

"Just watch your circles," Tabitha comments. "He drifts a little bit."

"Well, I thought it was perfect," Liam, who decided to come along with Nat, shrugs. "I mean, how bad was he when you first started riding him? And now..."

"That's probably mostly down to Sydney, I suppose," I grin, reaching down to pat his neck. 

As I do, he suddenly lurches foward, tripping, as his front hooves slip out from under him. Quickly, I yank him back up so he doesn't fall, and jump off. 

"What was that all about?" Nat frowns. "Is he okay?"

Tabitha rushes over, biting her lip. She feels gently around his eyes, his mouth, under his mane. "Walk him round again."

I pull the reins over Arrow's head, and do as Tabitha says. For the first half of the round he walks normally enough, if a little sluggishly. But as we cross past C, he stumbles again, and I have to pull him back up. 

"Come on, Jess," Tabitha, suddenly worried, instructs. "I though he was just tired, but..."

"But what?" Rose questions, as she opens the gate for me. "What's wrong with him? He's probably just tired."

"Look," Tabitha purses her lips together. "Put him in his stable. I'm going to get Lucy." She checks under Arrow's mane one last time, and rushes off towards the dorm buildings, where Lucy will probably be right now. 

"So, he just... fell?" Bertie looks nervously at Arrow. 

I nod, stroking his neck softly. "He just tripped."

"Well, you have been working him for at least an hour and a half," Rose points out. "Maybe he's just exhausted." 

I nod. "Hopefully."

When we get to the barn, I do as Tabitha said, and untack him. He's sweating, but he doesn't want water. That's when I start worrying. 

I've been schooling him for over an hour. He probably should be sweating a little bit, but he also should want water. When I offer him his haynet, he turns his head away from that too. 

"Okay, something's wrong," Liam says. 

"You think?" I snap, biting my lip in anxiety. I sigh. "Wait, I'm sorry. I'm just worried." 

He nods. "It's fine, I know. If it's anything bad, at least we caught it pretty soon. Imagine if we'd just put him away and then you got a knock on your bedroom door in the middle of the night..."

I shudder. 

"Jess?" I turn, and see Lucy striding towards us, followed by Tabitha. "Is he okay?"

I shake me head. "He's not eating or drinking." 

She heads into the stable, checking, just as Tabitha did, around his eyes, mouth, his neck. "Has his feed been regular today?"

"Um, yes, I think so," I think back. "I mean, we just got back today, so the feed and hay and water was done by the stablehands."

"The water?" She snaps up, looking at me through widened eyes. "The water wasn't poured by you?"

I shake my head. "No."

She crouches by his water bucket, sniffing. Almost immediately, she retches back, coughing. 

"Are you okay?" Rose asks, helping her up. She nods. 

"I am," she looks at Arrow. "But he's not. And I think I know why."

•  •  •

"Arsenic poisoning," the vet announces, feeling down Arrow's tendons. "Just as you thought, Lucy." 

"It wasn't really me," Lucy answers tiredly. "It was Tabitha here who first considered it."

Tabitha shrugs. "I've read stuff on poisoning. He was limping and staggering."

The vet nods. "Common symptoms."

"Will he be okay?" I try to say, but my throat is so tight, it comes out as a whisper. Clearing my throat, I repeat the question. "Can you treat him?"

"Yes," the vet nods, and I slump against the wooden stable partition in relief. "You're lucky your friend noticed it so soon. If it had progressed, this hors may not have been so lucky."

"Thank you," I nods to the vet. He shrugs it off, already unpacking his bag. 

"Jess, may I speak to you for a second?" Lucy walks out the stable and down the barn, making it clear that it wasn't really a question. I bite my lip, and follow her. She stops by the tack room.

"Lucy, before you start, I don't think it was one of the stablehands," I blurt out. If anyone gets in trouble because of this, I'll feel so terrible.

She sighs. "Neither do I. But that arsenic didn't get into Arrow's water by itself. Someone must have put it there."

I shrug silently. She doesn't buy it. 

"Jess, do you know of anybody with a grudge against you?"

I'm about to shake my head, deny it, but then I think of Arrow. And then I realise that this is my fault, really. I could have told Lucy about Kennedy ages ago, but I didn't. And although I don't want to be a snitch, if it means that Arrow's going to get hurt, I'm not going to be quiet anymore. 

"Kennedy Blake," I mutter. "She hates me."

Lucy frowns. "Kennedy? She just seemed a little snobby to me. What gives you the impression she hates you?"

I laugh bitterly. "She's always sneering at me. Apparently, because I'm the scholarship person, I don't deserve to be here."

Lucy sighs. "I know this sounds unbelievable, Jess, but I know how you feel. In a school like Silverstone, there'll always be that one person."

I nod. "And, before the holidays, she said that some people didn't necessarily want me to pass these tests."

Lucy's eyebrows raise. "She threatened you?"

I shrug. "Looks like it."

"Well, I don't think I'll speak to her yet." At my disbelieved expression, Lucy quickly explains. "I'll wait until after the tests. If I accuse her now, without proof, she can easily deny it, and do something worse later. Just trust me with this, Jess."

Slowly, I nod. "Okay. I trust you."

And I do. But if anything else happens to Arrow, Kennedy had better watch her back. 

a/n: Oo, we have drama, ladies and the single gentleman that reads this book! ;-) Okay, literally, after I post one chapter, the views go up from 5.5k to 5.7k, in one night. That's ridiculous. Thank you so much, you awesome potatoes. 

Thoughts on the new cover?

🌮 <— I admit, I have never tried a taco. But I really want to.