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!.
White trainers stepped off of the bus in the new hell hole she would be calling home. The brunette would never be caught dead on public transport but desperate times called for desperate measures. After upheaving the family from Germany to a tiny town in England, her mother had shipped her straight off to rehab. Yes she may have overdosed, made a fool out of herself then collapsed. .but she didn’t have a problem – she was spiked. Francesca knew her limits when it came to alcohol and drugs; she knew what she could take with what and what drugs to never mix.
She had lasted a little under two weeks at rehab. After kicking off didn’t work, she played the long game, going along with all the mandatory shit they expected patients to do until she seized her opportunity and escaped this morning. She had spent most of the day trying to figure out how to get to the damn town. Her mother had taken her phone and debit/credit cards away before sending her to the facility which left her with no money to take a taxi. She had fortunately found twenty euros in her coat pocket and upon playing dumb with the bus driver and pretending there was a language barrier, he had reluctantly taken the money and given her change in the right currency.
Francesca was definitely not ready to find the location of their new house and face the impending wrath of her mother – who no doubt would know by now that she had checked herself out so she walked through the high street of the town of Hickstead until she came across the club which just so happened to be open. Smiling, the girl headed inside and went straight over to the bar, taking a seat as she took off her coat, placing it on her lap. ”I’ll have a vodka tonic please.”
Griffin didn’t know what brought him here in the first place. Maybe it was some gut feeling? Either way, he was here now. His last final was coming up and he would soon be free of the chains of schooling, and the wretched spotlight of co-captain.
He was feeling exhausted, keeping up the image of a snobby rich kid. Griffin hated it, playing someone he didn’t want to be. It didn’t feel normal to him, and he didn’t know why he had kept it up. Fitting in was more important than his parent's view of him, wasn’t it?
Griffin walked up to the bar and sat a few seats away from another patron. His eyes glanced over to her profile and the recognition was dangerously immediate. Shit. Griffin had already run into Archie a few days ago. Maybe it was better if it was the cousins? It wasn’t like Griffin would run into Lara in Hickstead. That was his absolute nightmare.
Playing it cool, he just sat there – wondering if Francesca would call him out first. “I’ll have a mule please.” It wasn’t too busy so the drink was manageable he hoped. Something simple wasn’t in his wheelhouse.
Francesca removed her black gucci sunglasses and placed them down on the bar in front of her whilst crossing one leg over the other. Her eyes roamed over the brunette behind the bar as she got to work making her drink, half smirking as she was caught and winked at in return. Maybe this tiny town wouldn't be so bad. She heard somebody walk past behind her and glanced over as the male sat down, not paying him much attention until she heard him speak. “I’ll have a mule please.” A voice she hadn't heard in a long time but one she would recognise anywhere. She half smirked, picking up her things to move to the seat next to him. "Abend Alexi." she greeted, her hand wrapping around the glass that was placed down in front of her. "Thanks. .he's paying." She smiled, watching as the other woman got to work on her cousins drink. She took a sip of her drink, savouring the taste for a moment before turning slightly in her chair to face the male. "So this is where you disappeared to. . so you weren't kidnapped then cuz?" She asked, half smirking at the stupid rumour his parents believed.
So, she did remember. Griffin smiled, and just accepted that he would be footing her bill as well. It was very much of her, making him wonder how much she had changed. Griffin wasn’t the only one with quite the public situation. While the younger Wagner siblings had less of a flight risk, it was evident they had been relocated. Griffin still managed to know the news about his family, despite not talking.
“Is that what they still believe?” he snorted. “I’d rather wish they thought I was dead, so they would stop looking.” Griffin looked at his cousin and could tell she most likely escaped someplace too. But he wasn’t about to judge the other black sheep of the family. What a sorry lot they were. Two wealthy so-called disappointments.
“I guess I could ask the same for you, as well. I hear your siblings were dragged quite far, too.”
She kept her body angled towards her cousin, making it clear that she would be trying to make conversation whether he was in the mood to or not. It had been a long time since she had seen him and she was keen to get the gossip. “Is that what they still believe?” She smirked at his response and shrugged her shoulders half-heartedly. ”Believe, I doubt it but still spinning that story to the public, very much so.” Her aunt and uncle probably thought their beloved son had been kidnapped at first but with their power and resources, she very much doubted they still did but still kept the story going to save face with the public. It wouldn’t be a good look if it was public knowledge the future prince had done a runner.
She didn’t blame him though; she’d turned her own life into a car crash to avoid the responsibilities of her own family legacy. If they’d thrown an arranged marriage on top of that, she probably would have run away too. “I’d rather wish they thought I was dead, so they would stop looking.” She took another drink of her vodka and gave him a sympathetic look. ”Well you could always fake it, buy a death certificate or something” She suggested. “I guess I could ask the same for you, as well. I hear your siblings were dragged quite far, too.” She gave a roll of her eyes and half huffed in annoyance. ”My mother’s over reacting as usual. Trying to avoid people talking by moving the three of us here, out of the wealthy public eye.” She snorted. Her mother was clearly forgetting how well known her daughter was and moving to a small town in another country would not keep her name out of the press.
“Possibly, but then I’d have to pay off more to make sure the story looked legit.” He was better off laying as low as he could. Griffin sipped his drink and sighed. “Yeah? It’s like they forget that we’ve been seen almost everywhere.” Granted, Griffin hadn’t exactly been as publicized in the recent eye as Francesca. He had managed to stay out of the Uk news for a bit though.
“How are your siblings handling it?” When was the last time he had seen his cousins? It had been a moment, that’s for sure. He was afraid of running across his aunt now, knowing that she was in the area. That was a bit frightening, now. His world now had a hairline fracture in it. “And how are you doing? Other than so-called running away.”
“Possibly, but then I’d have to pay off more to make sure the story looked legit.” She half smirked and gave a light shrug of her shoulders. ”Fair enough.” She responded, taking another sip of her drink. “Yeah? It’s like they forget that we’ve been seen almost everywhere.”She snorted and nodded in agreement. ”I know right. . Mother clearly thinks the rest of the world don’t have access to social media or magazines.” She said, rolling her eyes. “How are your siblings handling it?” She let out a long sigh and pressed her lips into a grim line. ”I haven’t seen them since we left but I imagine they currently hate me more than usual.” She guessed. She wasn’t ready to face them yet either. “And how are you doing? Other than so-called running away.” She supressed a laugh and looked at her cousin. ”Well if you didn’t see from the news, I apparently overdosed, made a show of the family and was shipped off to rehab, where I’ve just escaped from after two weeks of hell.” She smiled. ”I was spiked but nobody believes me.” She said bitterly before finishing her drink.
He frowned. “Well, I guess we better work on our new fake IDs huh?” Griffin knew that probably wouldn’t make anything better. But it seemed like a light enough joke. People did it all the time, joking about their woes. Granted, what happened to both was more than just a singular woe.
“Yeah, that’s terrible.” He briefly remembered the news. Mainly the video he had seen someone share over Instagram. Not a lot got to him, mainly because he wanted to ignore it. But Francesca was family. The other black sheep. “I believe you,” he said. "An overdosed person wouldn't be moving the way you were. Your lips weren't blue, either." The video was enough for him, but anything with rich people – it was always some taboo thing. “God forbid either of us get in a car wreck. The headlines would be…Crash: Drugs or alcohol? Since you know, us having a regular accident at 10 AM sounds too boring.”
“Well, I guess we better work on our new fake IDs huh?” She half smirked and tipped her glass to him. "Sounds like a plan. . I know a great plastic surgeon too." She joked. It was true, the family plastic surgeon could work wonders. She knew deep down that changing their names and appearance wouldn't make their problems disappear. She took another long sip of her drink whilst crossing one knee over the other. “I believe you, an overdosed person wouldn't be moving the way you were. Your lips weren't blue, either." She wasn't surprised her cousin had seen the video that had circulated social media. Her parents had tried to scrub it from the internet but there were still the odd copy floating about and probably always would. Never living it down.
She gave Alexi a soft smile and reached over to squeeze his arm gently. A rare sincere moment from the brunette. "Thank you Alexi, that means a lot." And it did. She appreciated those words. The words she craved her family would say but never would. “God forbid either of us get in a car wreck. The headlines would be…Crash: Drugs or alcohol? Since you know, us having a regular accident at 10 AM sounds too boring.” Francesca let out a little laugh and shook her head. "The media do love to spin a story. . god my mother would probably die of shock this time." Hell there was still a chance the woman would when Frankie turned up at the house unexpected. "This quaint little town is where you've been all this time then?" She asked, curious about her cousins new life.
“Hmm? Oh, yeah. I like it. I’m still under the care of the maid I was raised under. There was plenty of scandal around it, I’m sure. But the quaintness of it all has been refreshing. No massive parties. No kissing ass.” It made him wonder if he was a so-called commoner in his past life. His current life was so lovely and being a royal never seemed to be the right thing. Granted, there were a few times he had to check himself.
“And what brings you, and possibly your family to the area?” Griffin inquired. What would his aunt and uncle need to be here for? Sure, England had some areas of expansion, per se – but it could also be a media thing. Going into hiding as well, but he didn’t want to assume. For all he knew, Frankie could be by herself – cast onto an Island like some exiled Napoleon.
“Hmm? Oh, yeah. I like it. I’m still under the care of the maid I was raised under. There was plenty of scandal around it, I’m sure. But the quaintness of it all has been refreshing. No massive parties. No kissing ass.” She huffed a laugh and held a hand to her heart in mock shock. "No parties? How will I cope." She was joking. .kind of. “And what brings you, and possibly your family to the area?” She shrugged her shoulders. "Mother dragged us here after the 'overdose' debacle. I have no idea why she chose this town though and I don't care enough to ask, I'll be out of here as soon as the media stops trying to find me." She figured her mother had chosen the town since it was small enough to keep a low profile and close enough to a reputable rehab centre - not that she stayed long enough to find out.
