When The Rain Falls

Chapter Two

The girl and I locked eyes for a moment, her eyes widening upon having been spotted, but she didn't move. I stared at her, taking in the paleness of her face, the dark circles under her eyes, and the slight scrapes on her chin. Her dark hair hung around her face, most of the strands tangled together in large knots. The girl's dress was torn and dirty, but it looked like there was something other than mud on it. She looked scared.

"Master Nathaniel, control your horse!" Mr Cooper yelled, his voice cutting through the silence that had fallen over me the moment I had spotted the girl.

I pulled my eyes away from the girl and shook my head a little to regain my focus. I had been so focused on the girl in the trees that I hadn't even noticed Lightning getting a little too carried away with the canter. He had transitioned it into a gallop by himself and was haring around the grounds as though I wasn't even sitting on his back. Lightning always did as he was told, and I had to hope that this would be no different.

Relaxing my hands on the reins, I tugged on them slightly to signal to Lightning that we needed to stop or slow down. He didn't respond, and I was forced to pull just that little bit harder to get him to listen. Lightning shook his head, unhappy with my action, and twisted to the left.

The sudden movement from Lightning flung my body sideways and, with such a lax grip on the reins, I tipped right off the saddle. My body fell sideways, my feet slipping from the stirrups. I released the reins to make sure I wouldn't hurt Lightning's mouth and allowed myself to slip off the saddle and plunge to the floor. My right side hit the ground first, a brief flash of pain darting across my side and rib cage.

I sat up quickly, ignoring the pain, and turned to face the trees, but the girl was gone. She had disappeared just as quickly as she had appeared; with no sign that she had ever been there.

"Nate!" Alice called, climbing off Genesis and crossing the grounds. Mr Cooper jogged in the other direction to grab Lightning, who was still galloping. "Are you alright?"

"Fine, I think. My pride took the worst of the fall."

"Are you sure? You hit the ground rather hard."

I scrambled to my feet, pain flashing over my side and ribs before passing. Nothing appeared to be severely damaged. "Yes. No broken bones, no hidden injury, no doubt just a few bruises. This is not my first time falling from a horse."

"What on earth just happened, Master Nathaniel? I have never seen you lose focus like that before. Do you know how dangerous that could have been? Your horse should be your top priority, you know that."

"I'm sorry. I thought I saw someone in the trees."

Mr Cooper raised a quizzical eyebrow at me. "Who? A stable hand?"

"No, a girl."

"A girl?" Alice stared at me. "Are you sure you didn't hit your head?"

"I'm positive. There was a girl standing in the trees!"

"It was most likely an animal, and the light played a trick on your eyes." Mr Cooper handed me Lightning's reins, the horse a lot calmer than he had been moments before. "I think we shall call time on your participation in today's lesson, Master Nathaniel. Put your horse away and get some ice for your side; even you can't hide being in pain."

Mr Cooper handed me the reins, turned and walked back across the grounds towards Genesis, who hadn't moved since Alice dismounted. Alice stared at me for a few seconds, as though trying to figure out what to say, but when the words failed to come, she simply followed Mr Cooper across the grass to continue the lesson.

I sighed. Lightning nudged me with his nose, and I stroked him lightly. With Mr Cooper having given me my orders, minus the ice since the pain had subsided, I led Lightning across the grass and back towards the stables.