Alessia [Septer Series- Book 2] *Beta Version*

The Net

Chapter 9- The Net

"There he his!" Gabriel exclaimed pulling up to the driveway. Alessia squealed when she saw the horse in the trailer. They parked and got out of the car. Their parents and Harriet were all standing beside the owner who got out of the truck and walked over to them. They could see their dad handing him the money as he unloaded the horse from the trailer. 

"It's beautiful!" Harriet said looking as the now ex-owner walked it out of the trailer to the back of their house. It's head was dished face, since it was an Arabian, and it's nose was pink. His face was white and towards the back of his rear end he was a shade of black. His body was grey and shaded from white to black and his mane was white as snow. His tail held high and his feet stood tall. He looked so beautiful! 

When he reached the outside of the barn the man left as they looked at the horse. He was all theirs!

"Let's ride him!" Harriet yelled making the horse twitch.

"Look at him, he's jumpy. We need him to get used to us first and then we can ride him. In time," Gabriel stated holding the reins of the horse. 

"Well, can we at least name him?" Harriet said irritated. "He looks like a Max to me," Harriet said tapping her finger to her chin.

"Are you saying we should name him that because he was the name of the guy you liked back in our hometown?" Alessia said crossing her arms. Alessia could see her blushing and rolled her eyes. 

"I think a name like Winter best suits him," Gabriel said nodding his head.

"No, he isn't all winter. He's more of a dirty winter," Harriet said as the horse brayed.

"He doesn't like dirty winter. He isn't a stallion you know," Gabriel said narrowing his eyes.

"If he was I'm sure his foals would look just as good as him," Harriet spit back. Gabriel turned to Alessia.

"What do you think we could call him?" Gabriel asked her.

"I was thinking more like, Storm," she said shrugging her shoulders. The two of them looked at her then the horse. He seemed curious and was sniffing the ground and eating the grass. Then Harriet looked at Alessia.

"I like it," Harriet nodded.

"So do I. I think it suits him," Gabriel said walking him into the barn. He was a lovely horse. The prettiest thing Alessia had ever seen.

**********

Alessia was exploring the neighborhood, just looking around. She walked over to a part of the neighborhood that seemed to be engulfed in trees. No houses were around. It seemed to just be an empty field of massive trees. Alessia looked around going deeper into the clump of trees. It started getting darker the more she walked further. But she had a good sense of direction. She knew home was in the direction that the sun went down, which was west. Easy. She looked up at the tall trees getting lost in the mystery of how they grew so tall. She turned and there in front of her she spotted something odd looking. She went closer to find something was in one of the trees. It looked like some kind of a wood foundation. Then as she went closer she realized it was in fact a treehouse! It looked stable, in fact it looked almost brand new! It had leaves pushed on it's walls so it was harder to make out, but it still looked pretty cool. 

Sparked by amazement and curiosity, Alessia decided to try and get up to it. She searched it's trunk trying to find some kind of a ladder to get up in it. She looked around and found a ladder rolled up in the tree. She had to jump to get it down.

"Ugh! Why couldn't I be taller?" she groaned finally reaching the ladder and pulling it down. She smiled and started to climb up it. The ladder swung side to side adjusting to her weight. She reached the top and looked down. It was scary high! She swallowed and climbed up to the porch of the treehouse. She sat there breathing hard for a few moments. It was a climb alright. She turned around after catching her breath and stood to her feet. She slowly opened the treehouse door as it creaked, hurting her ears. 

When she came in she was amazed. There was a large window and a telescope towards the side. The floor was wooden and in some parts there was rugs. There was a lap and a beanbag and even food. What in the world?! She asked herself. It looked so cozy in there! A breezy went through the door and Alessia could smell the sweet smell of the wildflowers growing beneath the trees. She looked around more and sat on the bed. It was so comfy! She got up from the comfy bed and looked out the telescope. It seemed like the ultimate hiding spot! I wonder who made this? Alessia thought. Then she felt afraid. What if the person finds me snooping in here? She thought to herself walking towards the door. Then she stopped. Do I smell...food? She asked herself. She slowly turned around and walked towards the bags of chips. Man I'm hungry. And those chips look so good! She thought taking the bag in her hands. 

She took out a chip and put it in her mouth and then BOOM! It was a booby trap! Apparently the chips were connected to a string, and when she took a bite of the chip she pulled the bag an inch more and the floor opened under her! 

"Ahh!" she screamed falling into a net that dangled underneath the treehouse. "I knew I shouldn't had taken a bite of those chips!" she moaned chewing the chip in her mouth. The net swung back and forth as it still dangled about ten feet from the ground. She suddenly became scared. What if the owner of the treehouse wanted her to fall into the trap? She looked around paranoid then heard someone's footsteps. She tried turning around, but the net was stuck facing the same position. Then she felt the net getting lower and lower. She frozen. Literally, she couldn't move. Then the net stopped about two feet from the ground and she felt the net turning. Her eyes widened. She turned to face someone who caught her off guard and scared her.