Oct 6, 2024 21:44:01 GMT
Odette Lachapelle had tacked up her young Icelandic mare for a trail ride - the autumn leaves and crisp air made it all so delightful. Plus, she needed more trail mileage on Muse compared to her other two mares. When she had bought her from the sale yard, the gentleman who sold her said that Muse was spook proof and loved the outdoors, and while that seemed to be the case, Odette still felt like everything should be taken with a grain of salt. With their matching lavender outfits, the horse and rider left Seven Oaks stables for the trails now to both enjoy their morning and head towards Blue Arces to see her mother, who coached, trained, and stalled her horse there.
The young woman had finally been enjoying her life in Hickstead. She felt the freedom from being out from her mother's thumb with training, she was over all this nonsense drama with Charles Campbell, and perhaps, most importantly of all, she was over his daughter, Lydia Campbell. The heartbreak and betrayal had been brutal, and then it had been even more so (and confusing) running into Lydia again at Hickstead, only to have her ex-girlfriend disappear again without a trace nor a word. Granted, Odette thought to herself, Lydia had never been one for words. More importantly though, the young woman finally felt whole again to enjoy her life and to do as she saw fit with new friends, the barn, her horses, and her love life - what little there had been.
Scenery passed by as Muse stoutly carried her rider through the forest now, the fall leave crunching beneath her hooves, ears twirling about. The young mare was quite happy to be out of the barn and the rigious dressage training routines for something a bit more relaxed. Odette felt relaxed in the saddle as well. All was going well, until, well a fox darted out of no where. Muse yielded, pulling up in a half rear, startled. Even more so as the fox flushed out some phesants to the sky with all blur of wings and shrieking. A wing batted against Muse, and soon Odette, as she tried to calm her mare. But Muse just wiped about, before charging out. Odette pulled hard against the mare, only to realize too late that Muse had braced against the bit, making it utterly useless.
It had been a long time since Odette had been on a runaway horse. It had also been a long time since she felt these feelings of useless as it felt impossible to slow her mare down as they charged out forest now and into the meadow. The more steam that Muse seemed to pick up and ignore her ques and commands and even her voice, the more panic Odette started to feel as she argued with her strong mare. Tears stung her eyes, or perhaps that was the wind as she finally called out, hoping anyone was around, "HELP!"
There is only one happiness in this life, to love and be loved
