Royal Academy Diaries II

Champion ⚜ Ch. 10

The next day was intensely stressful. Before she even left the hotel, Laora was worried sick. If she didn't win, her future was decided.

On her way downstairs, she bumped into Luisa. "Oh there you are, I was just coming to look for y-" she trailed off, seeing her expression. "Laora, what's wrong?"

She looked away. "I didn't want to tell you this, but I guess I can't hide it anymore." Taking a deep breath, she said, "My family is in deep debt. There's only a few of us, but my aunt especially bit off more than she could chew. Now our debtor, a man named Drake Horvath, he either wants the winner's money from this competition, or... me."

Luisa furrowed her brow. "What do you mean?"

Her voice shook. "If I lose today, he'll either force me to work for him, or to marry him. That's the only way he'll see the debt repaid. And I've looked. He knows enough loopholes that he can legally do it."

Putting her hands on her shoulders, Luisa just processed this for a moment. "Wow... No wonder you're upset. Laora, thank you for telling me. Now come on, breathe. I've seen you ride, you can do this. Believe that you can."

She nodded, trying to believe the lie. Looking into her blue eyes, she took a breath. "Okay. Let's go."

She took her hand as they walked to the event grounds, trying to comfort her. And to her surprise, it sort of worked. Laora smiled at her as they reached the stables. "Well, dressage will be over before the jumping begins, so I guess I'll go get my horse ready."

She nodded. "Good luck. I'll see you afterwards."

She left her and went to go to her horse. When she got to the stall, someone was already there, brushing its mane. "Drake?"

He looked up and smiled. "Ah, my Laora. Are you ready for today?"

She tensed and braced herself on the stall door. "Yes."

Seeing her apprehension, he chuckled. He put down the brush and walked over to her. "I'll see you after." Running his hand along her face, he kissed her cheek.

Laora shuddered the moment he started walking away. She had to win.

When it was time, she led her horse out to the arena where the dressage competition was going on. She watched as the rider before her was doing their routine. While they were in sync with the music, there was something forced about the performance. It was less like a dance and more like a training exercise. She patted her horse's neck and hoped they could do better.

The song ended, and Laora mounted. They entered the arena and waited for the music. She took a deep, steadying breath and tried to focus. Her song began, and she led her horse through a series of complex moves, hoping the difficulty might impress the judges. It was a clean run, and when the song ended, she was actually feeling confident. The scores wouldn't be announced for another several minutes, and she waited off the side, anxious.

"And for Countess Laora Hoffman and Black Velvet, a score of 95.5"

She let out a breath. That was good. But would it be good enough? They might have made one mistake too many...

Pacing, she waited anxiously for the other riders to go through their sets. There were good scores. 94's, another 95. She wasn't sure if anyone had scored higher than her previously. There was no way of knowing until the end.

As she waited, Luisa found her and came over. "How'd it go?"

"Alright. We'll see if it was good enough soon." She took her trembling hand and held it tightly. "When is your run?"

"Not until near the end. I'm number 63. I'll wait here." She smiled at her.

It was another half hour before the judges stood. "Thank you for participating in the International Dressage Competition. We are pleased to announce the winners: In third place with 93.5 points..."

Laora suddenly felt like she had to sit down. "Luisa..."

She leaned close. "It's okay, breathe. Listen, you're not in third. Here's second."

"In second place with 95 points: Quinton Priest and Devil's Advocate. And in first place with 95.5 points: Countess Laora Hoffman and Black Velvet."

She gasped. "Did they just say..."

"Yes! You did it!" Luisa, in her excitement, picked Laora up and spun her around. Setting her down, she kissed her cheek.

Laora couldn't help but note how different it was with her. She hugged her tightly, tears slipping down her cheeks. "I'm free."

She held her for as long as she wanted. "Yes. You don't have to put up walls to keep him or anyone else out anymore."

Laora kissed her cheek and smiled. "What was that you said about winning?"

She rolled her eyes and wiped away her tears. "Maybe being a champion is working out nicely for you."

Laora laughed and hugged her tightly again. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go get my most important trophy yet."

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Thank you for reading and voting on the eighteenth installment of the Royal Academy Diaries series!
Keep reading to find out the true nature of an ambassador from a despised and feared group.