When Two Worlds Split

Escape

"How much for a rental horse?" I asked the stable man.

"Two pence for a day. But, of course, a little lady like you shouldn't be doing the bargaining."  He replied, as he started to brush his hands over the stallion's white mane.

I narrowed my eyes. "Two pence... you couldn't even bother to bring it to one and a half?" 

He nodded his head back and forth. "No, no." 

I put my hands on my hips. No way was I paying that much for a rental horse. 

I turned. Looks as if I'll have to take one for myself. I shook my head and walked away from the stable, going across the street. I found myself waiting at a nearby pub until the sun had disappeared over the horizon. I would have to steal the horse, for myself. I turned to the direction of the stable. 

I stood up from the seat, leaving the cramped bar. I shook steadily, making my way through the muddy streets. I had never done anything like this before.  I approached the stable. The doors were locked shut.  Being a younger sister, I knew how to pick locks to get into my sister's room. I pulled my hairpin from my bun. My hair went toppling down into luxurious curls around my shoulders. I straightened the pin out, looking around nervously. No one would expect a 'little lady' like me, to be thieving from the stable worker.  

This is a crime, Peggy.

Stop what you're doing.

You're mad!

I unclicked the door, after struggling to unlock the stable doors. I quietly entered. There, was the white-maned, tall, stallion.

I approached the horse. It flared its nostrils at me and nodded it's head. 

"Shh, shh.." I held my hands up, slowly. 

Snapping my fingers and whistling brought the horse from it's stable, onto the moonlit grass. I made my way around the horse. It calmed down when it realized I wasn't a threat. I carefully hopped onto the back of the horse, tightening my grip around it's hair. I had learned to ride horseback when I was young, so this was easy. Until, I heard a door creak, as the horse began to make it's way from the stable farm. 

The farmhouse door was open. I barely saw the shadow of a man, holding up a lantern. He began to talk. 

"Anyone there?" He raised his lamp higher. I made a run for it.

Kicking the horse, it started to gallop. 

The man yelled. "Hey, get back here-"

But before I could hear anything else, the voice was drowned in the distance.

It felt like minutes. I escaped from my house, and stole a horse. This was madness.

Just this morning, I had been with my family, as a rich, young woman. Now, I was a little runaway, and a dirty theif.

Of course, like the lady I was, I would return the horse when I got back from visiting Lafayette.

If I got back.

Upstate New York quickly faded off into the horizon. It seemed like hours, I had been riding away on this poor horse. The stallion's eyes drooped, and it slowed. I patted it's mane, bringing it to the edge of the road. I had no rope to tie the horse to, but I trusted it. It was a nice, probably expensive, stallion.

Seeing the horse was thirsty, I searched for any water sources. I looked around, noticing a small, trickling stream in a nearby ditch. I whistled for the horse. It came over, and began to lower it's head to drink. 

I had felt myself begin to get tired, as well. I slumped down onto the tree next to the creek, and I fell into a daze. Just before I had fallen asleep, I noticed the horse had done the same thing, as well.