Nice Horse - Awae Shirbert One Shot

Horse Riding 101

"Well now, isn't she a beauty?" Matthew said as he admired from afar. Anne hummed softly in agreement as Jerry, beside her, nodded.

Summer heat beat down upon them. The already laborious task of farm work had become increasingly difficult under the intense glare of the sun, so Anne adorned a pair of slacks and joined the men outside to assist them in their duties.

The very idea almost caused Marilla to burn holes into Matthew's Sunday shirt, as she found herself distracted from her ironing with the task of challenging Anne's seemingly ludicrous ideas once again. Only, as usual, her attempts were futile.

Due to their stubborn natures, they had reached an inevitable stalemate, one in which Matthew was more than happy to intervene to grant Anne permission to join him. For in his eyes, any time spent with Anne was time well spent. With a defeated huff, Marilla gave one last lecture on why she deeply disagreed with the scandalous notion, before returning to her housekeeping.

"I assure you, Marilla, there is nothing scandalous about a woman wearing trousers," Anne said, not wanting to leave Marilla with the last word, "besides, Matthew and Jerry will be the only humans to see me, except you, of course."

Just as her shirt sleeves were now to her elbows, these said trousers were coated with a thick layer of mud and rolled up at the ankles.

"She was cheap, Mr. Cuthbert?" Jerry asked in his thick French accent.

"Very," was his simple response.

"I can hardly imagine why," Anne chimed in, her voice dreamy as she gazed at the creature, "her speckled coat is magnificent. And her mane, why it's extraordinary! Such rich, brunette locks." Anne continued to list the fine features of the horse until Jerry interrupted her flow of poetic compliments.

"There has to be something wrong with it," Jerry concluded, his eyes surveying the mare more cautiously.

"How could you say such a thing? You don't even know her, and you've already made up your mind." Anne jabbed her elbow into Jerry's side, causing him to twist away from her.

"You were as crazy as I thought you were," Jerry retorted, flinching away as he did so in anticipation of an attack.

"Well now, I don't see why else they would sell her for such a small price if there weren't," Matthew smiled meekly at the redhead in an attempt to prevent the argument from escalating. Anne softened her fiery gaze as she met the eyes of the kind man, before shooting one last scowl at the farmhand.

"It does seem to be quite reserved," Jerry pointed out. All eyes focused their attention on the mare across from them. Her dark hooves stomped impatiently on the dusty ground, itching to run free.

Anne smiled fondly as she empathised with the creature's need for adventure, believing it to be a sign of a potential bond. Her thoughts were once again interrupted by the males standing beside her, leaning against the rickety fence.

"They said she was trained up well, but she seems to be a bit of a feisty one, that's for sure and certain." Matthew turned to Anne with a glint in his eyes, "I suspect you two would get along just fine."

Anne scrunched her pointed nose and rolled her wide eyes good-naturedly, bumping her shoulder into his with a playful nudge. Despite his statement originally being nothing more than a tease, an idea lit his face up.

"Suppose I give you them riding lessons whilst training this one," he gestured to the grunting animal, "we'd be killing two birds with one stone."

Anne's face brightened at the thought, for she had been nagging the elderly siblings about learning to ride for a significant amount of time. Jerry, on the other hand, looked disconcerted at the very thought, somehow managing to speak before the enthusiastic redhead - much to her dismay.