The stables weren't a far walk from the house and we got there quickly. I was so excited I was practically bouncing. I hadn't ridden in a long time.
"After you, milady," Reese said gesturing for me to go inside and bowing slightly. I laughed.
"Why thank you, good sir," I replied curtsying slightly then following him inside. There were four horses, two on each wall in separate compartments. They were all beautiful, but I felt an immediate attachment to a grey horse in the back and in a daze I walked towards her.
Her grey coat was shiny and smooth. I stroked her dark mane, burying my fingers in her soft hair. Reese soon came up behind me.
"Her name's Mercury," he said, "she doesn't usually respond well to strangers, she can be difficult," he added, cautiously watching the two of us. I had no idea what he was talking about, she was a sweetie pie. She nickered softly as if she heard my thoughts. I brought the apple out of my bag and fed it to her.
"Oh, please can I ride her," I begged looking at him with my best puppy dog eyes. He looked between the two of us and shook his head before reluctantly morphing his head shake into a nod.
It didn't take long to get two horses tacked up. Reese rode a male chestnut colored horse named... Chestnut. Original.
It felt so good holding the reigns. Reese kept telling me to slow down but I didn't care, neither did Mercury. She was speed and sound and strength as we rode together, Reese struggling to keep up. The world was a blur of different hues of green.
Eventually, we let up and slowed to a canter.
"Who taught you to ride?" he asked slightly out of breath.
"I took lessons when I was younger, my dad loved it," I said and my heart clenched from mentioning him. Reese must have noticed and he didn't question me further.
After a while, I noticed we were heading for the forest and I paused.
"Ehrm, we're heading for the forest." I stated. If he hadn't noticed, I wasn't really an 'into the woods' sort of girl.
"Yeah, problem?" he asked giving me a side look. I was not about to let him see me sweat so I said, "none, none at all," and we continued.
The forest was dense, each tree hugged me tightly. It was a tangled mess of leaves and branches that blocked the rays of the sun which was still high in the sky. The trail we rode on was old and worn and wet from rain, add the pebbles and it was a challenge to even stay upright.
I soon began to doubt whether Reese knew what he was even doing and regretted following him anywhere. If we got lost and died in these woods, I would have to kill him.
Luckily, before I decided to turn Mercury right around we reached a small clearing in the dense forest.
My heart leaped. I was not a nature girl, but it was so surreal, so perfect.
There was a small lake which glimmered with rainbows crafted by the suns rays. The grass seemed impossibly green and each dew drop on the grass shone too. One tree had branches that hung low enough to create a sort of seat.
We tied the horses to a tree near the lake and then we both straddled a thick tree branch and sat in silence for a minute, taking it all in.
"This is my favourite place in Colarado, in the world really. It's so peaceful... away," he said quietly after a long while. Almost like he was talking to himself.
Away from everything, that's what I needed right now.
"Have you lived here your whole life?" I asked curiously.
YOU ARE READING
𝐮𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐥
Tiểu Thuyết Chung#4 in highschool 💗 Ayanna Jackson had a fairytale life. She lived in a rich estate in new jersey and ruled her private high school, Weston, alongside her best friend Charlotte and Max for as long as she could remember. Then without warning her who...
