Welcome to Hickstead, home to both Seven Oak Stables, and Blue Acre - two rival stables. Both offer opportunities for their clients to reach the highest level of excellence. Each stable differs from the other, so choose wisely and never forget, loyalty is everything... Meanwhile as the stables battle it out, there's trouble brewing at the university. Be careful, if you don't pick a side you may get caught in the cross-fire...
This is an chilled out rpg with a super friendly and relaxed atmosphere! Remember to sign up with your characters full name in all caps and don't forget to do your claims! Thank you and Welcome, we've been established since 10th March 2009 but unfortunately have had to close guest view of our boards due to multiple sites ripping off our hard work, such a shame! Come chat to us in Discord before joining if you like!.
Cora wasn't generally one to dream, but this felt horrifically vivid and she absentmindedly wondered why her brain had given it to her. The screeching and grinding of metal, the bang of an impact. The heavy, cloying small of smoke, and the metallic tang of blood. She didn't understand it. Someone was with her but she couldn't figure out who. She didn't think it was Grey, though she thought he might be there somewhere, just out of her reach. She felt weird, like she was weighed down, unable to move. She didn't like it, and she began to struggle against that muffling, suffocating feeling, trying to surface. "Grey.." She tried to voice the word, in her dream the name echoed, no answer..
In the hospital bed, her lips parted as she struggled to wake from ordeal. She wanted to, but the pain medication made the world a haze as her dream began to fade. Her heart rate monitor picked up as she began to surface and panic set in - unsure why everything felt wrong. She wasn't at home, she could sense it, and she wasn't with Grey. Her fingers twitched as in her mind she thought of reaching out for him. "Grey..." This time her lips made the movement, though no sound. Her eyelids fluttered, and when she finally prised them apart she realised she was staring at a white tiled ceiling. Definitely not home. She tried again, for the one thing that would make her feel at home. "Grey." The word a whisper but at least verbal now.
Cora cringed slightly, despite the pain medication, everything hurt. Her head felt like it had been run over by a truck, her body felt stiff and unresponsive, her abdomen throbbing with each racing beat of her heart. Something in the background began to start beeping again. One of the monitors going off to alarm the nurses of her accelerated heart rate as she began to panic, confused and upset as her memory drew a blank.
( NOTE: More for me for later but injuries; laceration to her forehead and concussion, impaled wound to her lower abdomen, causing permanent damage to her womb, general cuts and bruises, bruised ribs from the seat belt )
When the phone had rung hours after that sickening call he'd had with Cora, he could finally put the pieces together when he was told she'd been in a serious crash and was in hospital. But just like that, it was another kick in the guts. His whole world had dropped out from under him just like that, and he didn't even remember the bike ride over to the hospital.
He'd had to sit for ages before he was allowed anywhere near her, and seeing her in such a state... He'd fallen into a seat by the bed and once the nurses were gone, he just cried quietly. He was afraid for her and just a smidge afraid for himself. He stayed put, eventually mustering energy at some points for the bathroom and to message his boss about not being available to work for a few days to some serious issues that had arisen and said nothing more.
He sat beside her, holding a hand and lightly ran his thumb over her knuckles, whispering sweet nothing to her, trying to distract himself from thinking too much about the injuries and what would follow on from here.
"Grey."
His head turned immediately to her, wondering if he'd actually heard her.
"I'm here Pigeon, I'm here," he said softly, "I thought I lost you."
As she began to wake properly, some sensations started to come back to her. Someone was holding her hand, the slightly rough brush of a thumb tracking over her knuckles. It was soothing, despite the worry over where she was and what was going on. Someone's voice murmured to her but she couldn't pick up the words, just that she knew the voice and it helped to settle her as she finally came to properly. She managed to turn her head toward Grey, needing to see him more than anything. She winced at the small movement, feeling as if someone had just cracked her over the head with a hammer.
"I'm here Pigeon, I'm here, I thought I lost you." His voice was a rock in the storm and she clung on to it, trying to close her fingers around his hand. She swallowed a couple of times to get her voice to work. "L-lost me?" She croaked, confused as to why he would think that. "Never lose me." She took a moment to swallow again, her mouth and throat dry. She didn't get why he would think he would lose her, she wasn't going anywhere and she'd never leave him. She frowned slightly, and then stopped herself, her head ached again at the small movement and she went to try to raise her free hand to touch her head. She didn't get very far. Her arms felt heavy, and as she moved the spare hand it tugged a needle. "Hurts." She didn't want to be pathetic, she was a strong person, but God everything hurt. "What.. happened... why am I ... here." Her memory was a blank. The last thing she remembered was getting ready to see Grey in the morning.
( NOTE: More for me for later but injuries; laceration to her forehead and concussion, impaled wound to her lower abdomen, causing permanent damage to her womb, general cuts and bruises, bruised ribs from the seat belt )
Her voice, how sore and broken it sounded, it stabbed him harder than he could've thought it. It only served to make him bow his head and try his best not to lose his shit again for the hundredth time already.
"I thought I had."
"Hurts."
"What.. happened... why am I ... here."
He looked at her and took a moment to clear his throat and figure out how to put it to her whilst she was not completely there.
His voice shook. "You're in the hospital Cora, you were in a pretty serious f- a real serious car." It took all his strength not to get angry and upset. "That's why you are hurting, even with all the stuff they are giving you. You were raced off into surgery at one point apparent before I got here..."
He cleared his throat, "I was beyond afraid Cora, beyond it. I was anxious I had to be taken out of the building. Every little movement I thought was going to be the moment I was going to be told you weren't with me anymore. I was on the phone with you when it happened... the noises."
He shuddered involuntarily, "Rhett will get his due from me soon enough..."
"I thought I had." Cora wanted to reach out and touch his face, to smooth the lines of worry, to ease his fear. She'd never felt like this about someone before, never known it was possible - to feel the way she did and still want to right everything in Grey's life before her own. "I'm ...sorry." She knew somewhere in her mind that it hadn't been her fault, but she didn't like that he felt that way. She wanted to make him feel better. She also wanted to know why she hurt so bad, what was wrong with her, why her head still swam even though she was laying down.
She met his gaze, giving a slow blink as she tried to focus on him properly. "You're in the hospital Cora, you were in a pretty serious f- a real serious car." Hospital made sense, the beeping, the bright white lights and the bare room, the lumpy mattress. She didn't remember an accident though. "That's why you are hurting, even with all the stuff they are giving you. You were raced off into surgery at one point apparent before I got here..." She tried to shake her head and then cringed, squeezing her eyes shut for a moment against the pain. "I don't...remember..." Not even a little bit. Not why she was in the car, not where she was going. "I was...driving?" She hadn't driven in a while, she didn't even had her own car. Who's car had she been driving.
"I was beyond afraid Cora, beyond it. I was anxious I had to be taken out of the building. Every little movement I thought was going to be the moment I was going to be told you weren't with me anymore. I was on the phone with you when it happened... the noises." She'd been on the phone to Grey. She swallowed again and tried to squeeze his hand, managing a slightly firmer attempt this time. The idea of hearing him in an accident made her feel sick, she hated that he had been on the other end. "I'm sor..ry." She couldn't stop apologising. "Please ...stay. Don't leave..." She didn't want him to go anywhere, even though he hadn't made a move to leave. Talk of leaving the hospital made her worry he would go. "What's wrong with..me." She tried to shift again but her body protested, a sharp pain at her abdomen brought a pathetic whimper from her lips.
When he shuddered, she tried to move her other hand to reach him. "Rhett will get his due from me soon enough..." Her brow furrowed. "What... why would you ..say that?"
( NOTE: More for me for later but injuries; laceration to her forehead and concussion, impaled wound to her lower abdomen, causing permanent damage to her womb, general cuts and bruises, bruised ribs from the seat belt )
He didn't like to hear her apologize to him for this. She wasn't in the wrong.
"I don't...remember... I was...driving?"
He shook his head, "No, no you weren't driving. Rhett was driving Cora. I heard you telling him to slow down."
"I'm sor..ry. Please ...stay. Don't leave..."
"I'm not going anywhere. The security staff will have to drag me out if I'm going anywhere," he said softly, brushing her knuckles again before he kissed them, "Hell better have the biggest army, cause nothing and no one is budging me unless you say to go."
"What's wrong with..me."
"I don't know. I mean, I can see the cuts and bruises, but that's all I can see. They won't tell me anything."
"What... why would you ..say that?"
"Because he did this to you," he said, biting back his anger. "You wouldn't be in this state if he'd just used his head..."
"What? Don't be sorry, this isn't your fault!" Cora managed a faint smile, though it felt like it took more effort than it should. "I don't want to.. worry you.." Which sounded silly, it happened naturally when people cared for each other, but she didn't like worrying him. She watched him shake his head, trying to work out which part it was too. "No, no you weren't driving. Rhett was driving Cora. I heard you telling him to slow down." Her brow furrowed again, ignoring the pain this time as she worked backwards on what she remembered, trying to figure it out. A flash of memory, of being at Rhett's house. "I... I just don't ...remember." She didn't like it, not being able to piece it together. "We were at his house.. I remember... talking about Dei... and my shoes.." She closed her eyes again against the tide of pain and let the memories slip away again.
"I'm not going anywhere. The security staff will have to drag me out if I'm going anywhere," She relaxed again at the sweet touch of his lips on her hand, her brow smoothing. "Hell better have the biggest army, cause nothing and no one is budging me unless you say to go.""I don't want you to go. Just stay with me." She knew why. There was only one person she wanted here, and he was right here. She knew it was love, she felt pretty sure that he felt the same way, even if it hadn't been spoken. "I don't know. I mean, I can see the cuts and bruises, but that's all I can see. They won't tell me anything." Cora tried to sound it out herself. Her head was a big source of concern - the pain, the lack of memory, the occasion change in her vision. And her stomach. Something was wrong there, and she didn't like it.
"Because he did this to you, You wouldn't be in this state if he'd just used his head..." She managed to shake her head again slightly, "He didn't.. do this to me." She tried to shift, feeling uncomfortable, and winced. "Accidents happen." They rarely happened to her, because of who she was, but it was bound to happen one day. She briefly though of her family, hoping to God they didn't know what had happened. She had put Grey as her contact because he was the one she wanted there if anything happened - like now - and also, so her parents didn't flip if something happened to her. "Is he okay?" She asked, at least knowing he was alive by the way Grey was talking.
The door opened and she turned her head carefully. A woman in a white coat - just like the movies. She picked up a clipboard as she came toward the bed, a kind smile on her face that instantly set Cora on edge. People only smiled like that when something was wrong and her hand tightened involuntarily on Grey's. "Hi there Cora, I'm glad to see you're awake. My name is Izzie, I'm your doctor." Cora managed a small nod, unable to stop herself looking wary. "Can I suggest that your friend wait outside whilst I speak to you about the accident and your injuries."
( NOTE: More for me for later but injuries; laceration to her forehead and concussion, impaled wound to her lower abdomen, causing permanent damage to her womb, general cuts and bruises, bruised ribs from the seat belt )
He shook his head, "I worry on the regular, so this is nothing overly new."
He smiled, trying to crack a joke and lighten things up a touch but he wasn't sure that that was a good enough joke to be fair. He needed to work on that.
"I... I just don't ...remember. We were at his house.. I remember... talking about Dei... and my shoes.."
He reached up with his free hand and gently caressed her cheek, "Don't strain to remember, ok? It might take a little bit to recover some memory, but let's not dwell on that right now."
"He didn't.. do this to me. Accidents happen. Is he okay?"
"He was behind the wheel of the car doing gods knows what," he muttered, "I would have at a guess he is, I saw the boy in the waiting room, but I haven't seen him nor asked. I wanted to be here."
"Hi there Cora, I'm glad to see you're awake. My name is Izzie, I'm your doctor." Cora managed a small nod, unable to stop herself looking wary. "Can I suggest that your friend wait outside whilst I speak to you about the accident and your injuries."
Grey looked up and his whole body language shifted in an instant, going from calm to hostile in the blink of an eye. He was not about to just leave her, he promised.
"Like hell am I leaving," he growled lowly, before looking back at Cora, "Unless you want me to, otherwise I am staying right put."
"I worry on the regular, so this is nothing overly new." She managed another small smile, but she still didn't want to worry about her. "I'm okay," She promised, and though she hurt, and though she didn't like being here, she was alive at least. "Nothing.. life altering..." She tried to joke back, even though she didn't know what was wrong, she could feel all her limbs and she could just about move them - that was a start. Her eyelids fluttered slightly at the touch of his hand on her cheek, managing to lean into it. "Don't strain to remember, ok? It might take a little bit to recover some memory, but let's not dwell on that right now."
"It might..help..if I remember.." Plus is was frustrating. She wanted to know what had happened, but he was right that it didn't matter that much. She knew it had been an accident, she knew Rhett wouldn't have hurt her. She didn't need to know what had happened really. "He was behind the wheel of the car doing gods knows what," Cora gave another small shake of her head. "He wouldn't.. do something on purpose." She didn't blame him, not even a little bit. "I would have at a guess he is, I saw the boy in the waiting room, but I haven't seen him nor asked. I wanted to be here." Cora managed a slight raise of her eyebrows in surprise. "He came..." She was glad for it, perhaps it would help them, and at least Rhett had someone with him. "I'm glad." And she meant it for both Dei and for Grey being with her.
She looked at Grey as the Doctor began to talk, and she felt panic begin to rise. Whatever was about to happen it didn't sound routine, and she didn't want to be alone. "Like hell am I leaving, Unless you want me to, otherwise I am staying right put." She shook her head more adamantly this time, ignoring the rattle of pain. "No, I don't want you to go anywhere." She tried to shift again, hearing her heart pick up on the monitor and trying to ignore it. "Please, tell me.. what's going on.. you can say anything, in front of my boyfriend." She steeled herself as the Doctor nodded and gave a tight smile.
"You have a moderately severe laceration to your forehead, and serious concussion, which may cause you to experience some memory loss at this moment, but the wound looks good and should heal with minimal scaring." Cora bit her lip. A scar? Her mother would hate that for the public image. "The most cause for concern was that you were impaled by a piece of metal in the accident. It pierced several of your internal organs, but we were able to remove all the fragments and repair most of the damage." Cora frowned. Most of... "Unfortunately, a fragment of metal caused some severe damage to your womb. We have done what we can to fix the damage, however we weren't able to repair it all." Cora cleared her throat as the words sunk in. "So... what are you.. saying?" She asked, her heart beginning to pound. "Due to the permanent damage, you may never be able to conceive a child."
( NOTE: More for me for later but injuries; laceration to her forehead and concussion, impaled wound to her lower abdomen, causing permanent damage to her womb, general cuts and bruises, bruised ribs from the seat belt )
"I'm okay," She promised, and though she hurt, and though she didn't like being here, she was alive at least. "Nothing.. life altering..."
"I would hope not. But even if it was, I'm here."
"It might..help..if I remember.."
"Maybe, but that's a later thing, we can piece it together when you're out of here."
"He wouldn't.. do something on purpose."
Grey made a face but let it be, deciding against getting into an argument with her over it.
"He came... I'm glad."
"No, I don't want you to go anywhere. Please, tell me.. what's going on.. you can say anything, in front of my boyfriend."
Grey couldn't help looking at her with softer eyes, the first true affirmation of what they were and it was under this circumstance. Gods he wished it were different.
"You have a moderately severe laceration to your forehead, and serious concussion, which may cause you to experience some memory loss at this moment, but the wound looks good and should heal with minimal scaring. The most cause for concern was that you were impaled by a piece of metal in the accident. It pierced several of your internal organs, but we were able to remove all the fragments and repair most of the damage. Unfortunately, a fragment of metal caused some severe damage to your womb. We have done what we can to fix the damage, however we weren't able to repair it all."
Grey listened to the doctor, feeling as thought one bad thing was being traded in for another bad thing that was worse than the last. Each little bit made his stomach roil in annoyance at Rhett, still certain he was the reason shit went down hill.
"So... what are you.. saying?"
"Due to the permanent damage, you may never be able to conceive a child."
That hit harder than he thought it might've, the glare coming to his face faster than he could blink. He had never thought to be a father in his life, but it was never off the cards with the right person and now this was being taken away. He felt more for Cora, he didn't know what she wanted on the front of children... He looked at her, his expression mellowed out. It was a lot to be told.
"I would hope not. But even if it was, I'm here. Maybe, but that's a later thing, we can piece it together when you're out of here." A faint smile, "Thank you," She said softly. She wanted him to hold her. Wanted to move over so that he could climb up onto the bed with her, so her head could rest on the comfort of his chest. She didn't think she could move very well at the moment, but she would try. She hadn't thought twice to call him her boyfriend, and she met his gaze with a sweet look of her own. She loved him. She needed to tell him she did, but now wasn't the time.
She tried to process what the Doctor was telling her. Her head throbbed, and she frowned, letting the words sink in. It didn't seem to make sense, and she had to sound the words out. "I.. can't have children..." The words didn't sound right and she let them sit there for a moment, swallowing hard as everything went silent for a moment - her head, her body, everything just went numb, as if she'd suddenly had someone turn an off switch instead her. In that moment she didn't think about what that would mean for everyone else, but what it meant for her. She hadn't decided on kids, for herself and not for all the other reasons. She had been so busy trying to find some freedom, she had never been sure she wanted them. But having that taken away.. the possibility snatched away... it hurt.
And then everything else came flooding in. Her family.. the implications of not being able to continue the line.. the disappointment of her mother... the shame... the news articles and speculations... the humiliation of it... Grey... the fact that if he stayed with her, he was shackling himself to a woman who could not bare him a child, could not make him a father...
She almost missed the Doctor's words, but somehow they filtered in. "It's not 100% that it will never happen, but the chances are low that you will be able to conceive. You can try but it may not happen. We will know more once the damage has had a proper chance to heal. We'd like to book you in for an appointment further down the line to monitor the damage." Vaguely, Cora nodded, and at some point the doctor left. She didn't know when. Everything still felt numb, but the dam that had hastily been made began to crumble, she could feel the panic beyond the wall, the only thing hanging on to her sanity was her training growing up - that ridiculous teaching of how to stay compose, poised and together in any circumstance. She finally looked at Grey, unable to figure out how to voice everything screaming in her head. "I'm...sorry." She knew he wouldn't like the words, but she couldn't help it. She felt like she'd just let him down. "I... this is ... quite a premature conversation I know but.. " She swallowed and cleared her throat. "I love you, and I thought one day... maybe... " Her words jumbled as her thoughts did. "I didn't know if I would but.. I am expected to, and maybe.. it would have been nice with you but.. I'm sorry." She let out some ridiculous half laugh. "I said.. not life.. altering." It wasn't funny, but the shock was still prevailing.
"It's not 100% that it will never happen, but the chances are low that you will be able to conceive. You can try but it may not happen. We will know more once the damage has had a proper chance to heal. We'd like to book you in for an appointment further down the line to monitor the damage."
Grey somehow kept his face set in stone, the glare and open distaste for the doctor radiating off him. The news was a shock to a future he'd never really though about. The fact the doctor was so calm about it only irritated him but he kept it together enough so he wasn't dragged out by the police for violent behavior.
"I'm...sorry."
That caused him to turn and look at her, his expression softened in confusion, "What- Cora-"
"I... this is ... quite a premature conversation I know but.. I love you, and I thought one day... maybe... I didn't know if I would but.. I am expected to, and maybe.. it would have been nice with you but.. I'm sorry. I said.. not life.. altering."
He listened to her, he had to - he knew enough to be kind and nice, and hearing her talk was always worth his time. But she was apologizing again for something that wasn't her fault! He knew that Rhett would get his dues ten times over, he ruined things.
"I love you too, from here to the far reaches of time," he said gently, "And no matter what, I am here. I know, I know - however, we'll have to work with what fate has given us. I'm going nowhere, ok?"
He didn't care if she thought he was bluffing, he meant it. He was not going to leave her.
She saw the confusion in his gaze, and she knew it seemed left field to have been the first thing she said, but it was just the first thing to come out of her mess of thoughts. "What- Cora-" He let her speak though, and she felt a strange wave of exhaustion come over her, unable to compete however with the current swirl of emotions. "I love you too, from here to the far reaches of time," That, coupled with his tone, helped more than he would know. She hadn't been sure he loved her, she knew that he came from a different life than her, and that things had kind of progressed naturally faster than she'd anticipated, but it felt right. "I am glad to hear that," She somehow managed a small smile.
"And no matter what, I am here. I know, I know - however, we'll have to work with what fate has given us. I'm going nowhere, ok?" Reality returned - and she swallowed hard as the numbness began to fade and things really hit home. She hoped he was being honest, she felt that he was but who was to say in years to come that he wouldn't resent her for what she gave him. "I don't know what I did... to deserve you." She said quietly. He might not have the highest self regard for himself, but he didn't see what Cora did - a good man, a respectful man, the kind that would do anything for her.
She didn't know when the tears came. She didn't remember them spilling over but her cheeks suddenly felt wet. It would take her time to get over this, she knew that just one sad day would not get her to accept what she'd just lost. For now, she couldn't feel the ache of her head, but she wanted to see what had been done to her. She shifted slightly, wincing but ignoring it, and went to grip the blanket as best she could, trying to push it down and then move the gown so she could see what they had done. She didn't know why, perhaps the calm had left and she was freaking out, but she wasn't in a flap about it, something in her just needed to see it - the proof that the doctor wasn't lying.
As if his heart wasn't already shredded, hearing those words was someone was walking on what remained and reducing the pieces more. He held her hand and shook his head.
"More like I don't know what I did to have someone like you in my life," he said gently, his tone soft, "But I feel like I was given something incredibly special with you Cora. I do."
He saw her moving about trying to move the covers but he didn't act on it or try to stop her. He couldn't imagine how she was feeling, or what she was thinking, but he couldn't bring himself to stop her. He knew that no matter how things went, he couldn't leave her now. He wasn't heartless, and whilst he was usually the sort to bite off heads of the romantics, he was far too in love with her to want to leave. Sure their future was uncertain, and that in itself was scary, but he had faced down the barrel of guns before and this was just another big scary double-barrel that he had to face with her.
"More like I don't know what I did to have someone like you in my life, But I feel like I was given something incredibly special with you Cora. I do." Her heart squeezed slightly. "I feel the same, I never.. expected to get this.. in my life." She bite her lip - she would have to tell him at some point. "I always... knew I would have my life.. arranged for me."
It took her a moment to manage it, but then she was finally staring at the offensive wound. It was bound in thick bandages, a little blood spotted the white and she wondered if that was meant to have happened. She touched the bandages and then she felt it. The sobs. It was all too much, too quick to take in. She pulled the covers back over herself, not wanting to see it anymore and instead, she reached out to Grey. "P-please, will you.. c-come here." She needed him to hold her, not matter if it hurt her to get there. She shifts slightly to make some room, already anticipating him saying yes as her fingers tried to clasp his hand and weakly pull toward her. The sobs were already coming, and they hurt, but she couldn't stop them.
