Chapter 3: Rayne.

I rise with the dawn, the same as every morning and head to the stables to begin my chores for the day. I love my job, working on this ranch raising horses to one day serve the country on behalf of the Royal Family is extremely rewarding. We breed them to enter the Royal Cavalry, but many farms rely on horse labour as well, so we breed the larger ones for that too.

The one other responsibility we have is capturing the wild mustangs for the Royal ‘coming of age’ ceremony when a Prince or Princess turns 18 or when an existing Royal horse dies, and they require a replacement. It is up to us to break in the replacement horse and make sure it is suitably trained to perform the required duties when delivered to the owner.

It has been a few years since a mustang was last brought in to be broken, so for now, we just focus on our foals. There is a mare in the stables now who is close to giving birth, so I have been visiting her every spare moment I have, to check on her health and make sure everything is going well.

I begin by letting the other horses out into the paddock to roam, then get to work mucking out their stalls. I lay down fresh bedding hay and then fill their feeders before I calmly approach the back stall where she is being kept. I don’t wish to spook her, so I keep my movements slow and predictable.

“Good Morning, Misty, how are you doing today?”

She chuffs in response and swishes her tail; she seems calm and in good health. She is standing towards the back of the stall facing the window.

“Would you like to go for a short walk outside?”

Her ears twitch in response to my question and she turns to look at me, before walking over to the gate where I am standing. I raise my hand and stroke her neck gently, she leans into my touch and closes her eyes, enjoying it. I slip her bridle over her nose and once it is secure, I open her gate then lead her out.

“There you go, a nice bit of morning sun and a little stretch of your legs.”

We walk a short circuit around the yard and then I lead her back inside. I secure her outside her stall, then I go in to clean it out. I put extra bedding in here so that she has a soft place to lay once she goes into labour and once her feeder is full, I lead her back in and secure the gate.

I bump into Matt outside, and smile, he is new and still getting used to how we do things here.

“G’morning Rayne. Done with the stalls already?”

“Hello Matt, yes all sorted. I even took Misty for a little walk to give her some exercise.”

He looks surprised.

“Wow, you did all of that yourself without any help. Now I feel guilty that I wasn’t here.”

“Don’t worry, it was my turn and besides, I enjoy it. Just don’t let Tobias find out. Okay?”

I wink at him and smile, causing him to blush a little.

“Hmm, yeah, okay thankyou Rayne.”

I slap him on the back of his left shoulder and hold him close.

“Tell you what, how would you like to watch me doing some training in the paddock? Lightning could do with a few extra lessons on the high jumping course.”

“Sure okay.”

He smiles widely, and we walk over to where the riding gear is stored. Once I have my gear on, I go to the paddock and call Lightning over. He is a young colt, only about 2 years old and still a little feisty but he is a talented jumper, so I take him to the jumping field every chance I get.

His grey coat shines in the morning sun but you can always tell him apart from other grey horses because he has a black mane, and the contrast is striking. His hazel eyes meet mine as he approaches the fence and I hold up his bridle to show him we are training today. He stands close and patiently while I fit it on and then Matt helps me lift the saddle onto his back.

I mount Lightning and walk him out of the group paddock and over to the jumps. Matt lets us in and then goes to sit on the fence to watch. 

I love riding, horses are such intelligent creatures, and they learn new skills quickly. But they have a few of their own tricks too and a deep instinct to protect, which I admire. I have always believed that they understand us on our level and as such, I don’t use whips when I train. Simple pressure with my heel to encourage them to jump when the obstacle approaches is all the person on the back needs to do. I’ve seen people fully kick the horse to get it to move and it pains me to see it.

To me, that just shows that the owner and the horse are not connected properly and therefore the owner is oblivious to how unhappy their horse is. Unfortunately, I am unable to change anything that those people do, as they are upper class and I am a lowly ranch hand, invisible to most people.

Except for him.

I catch myself thinking of the one person who always treated me as his equal and I am surprised at myself. I haven’t thought about him for years, not since he was sent to the Royal Academy where all the nobles are taught the skills to one day rule.

I try to shake these thoughts off by focusing on Lightning, but the more I try, the more thoughts of the past invade my mind.

***Flashback***

Rayne age 8

“Mummy! Mummy! Is it true? Is the Queen really coming here today?”

I jump around my mummy excitedly as she tries her best to complete her cleaning duties.

“Yes Rayne, they are coming to stay for a few weeks and while they are here, they will be taking a look at the health of the horses.”

“They? Who else is coming?”

“The youngest prince is going to be visiting too. Now please dear, go on outside and play, so I can finish working before they arrive.”

She pushes me gently toward the door and I run through the big house ducking past other people before I finally pass through the front doors. I am so excited, it is the first time the Queen has come here to stay, and she is even bringing one of her sons with her.

I wonder if he will want to play with me.

There aren’t any other kids on the ranch my age, so I am often left alone. When I am really bored, I go to watch the horses, but maybe now I will have a friend to explore with.

I play near the front of the big house for a long time, then finally I see the carriage in the distance. I jump up and run inside calling out.

“They are here! I can see them down the drive!”

The adults panic and rush to finish their jobs, before lining up outside the front doors to wait. My mummy scoops me into her arms and carries me out with her before setting me at her feet. I stand straight and tall because I want to make my mummy proud, and I want the Queen and Prince to like me too.

The carriage stops, and the driver walks to the door to let the Queen out. She is beautiful, her long black hair is clipped back so that it doesn’t blow about in the wind and her brown eyes are kind yet firm, as she addresses everyone around me.

“What a lovely sight, to see you all here to greet us. I am looking forward to spending a relaxing time here.”

We all bow low to her and she turns to the carriage.

“Come along Lance. Time to go inside.”

I peek up and see a skinny boy with black hair that matches his mummy, but his eyes are much darker, almost black and I cannot look away. I feel drawn in and I don’t know why. But as I stare at him, I realize that he is shy, he doesn’t want to leave the carriage. Finally, he takes the Queen's hand, and he clings to her skirts as they walk inside.

“Mummy, why is the Prince so shy?”

I ask her after the Queen and her servants are gone.

“I don’t know sweetie. But since he is your age, maybe if he sees how confident you are, he will start to feel the same. Just promise me you won’t talk to him unless he speaks to you first. Understand?”

I nod then smile and decide to make sure to show him just how fun the ranch can be.