The Gypsy Princess - Tessa Shelby

Chapter 1

"Tessa, wake up"

What?

I felt someone trying to shake me awake

"Tessa"

Huh?

"Tess!"

I woke up and looked at the person who very rudely interrupted my slumber

It was John

"John, what the hell?" I sat up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes

John sighed

"Are you forgetting something Tessa?" John crossed his arms and looked at me sternly

He was actually being serious so I must've done something I shouldn't have

"The fuck-?" I ask, being interrupted with a tired yawn "what the fuck are you on about John?"

"Tommy said you were supposed to be at the races!"

My eyebrow cocked up before I look at the clock

"Shit!" I grabbed my robe and put it on quickly

"Told you" John said smugly, a stupid smirk on his face

I threw a pillow at him

"Get out!"

John quickly leaves before he gets another pillow thrown at him

Idiot

The cheeky sod was right though, I was supposed to be at the races

I grabbed a black strapless top, a mini black leather skirt and a black leather jacket

I'm sure you're wondering: "why so much black?"

No I'm not a goth girl

Blood doesn't show on black

Anyway, back to the story

I took a quick look at myself in the mirror and grabbed my heel boots and put them on

"Looking good Shelby" I said to myself before jumping up and leaving

"Morning Tess"

"Morning Pol"

I rush past Polly to the door that leads to the stables and grab my saddle and reins

"Good morning Tessa" Esme says sweetly

"Morning Esme" I smile

I turn open the door to a stall and see my horse, a gorgeous black clydesdale stallion.

"Hey Loki" I chuckle and stroke his muzzle, placing a gentle kiss on his nose

Loki nudges me with his muzzle

"Tess, your father will be waiting for you!"

I turn to look in the direction in which Esme called me "I know Esme!"

I turn back to look at Loki and places the reins over his muzzle, gently sliding the saddle onto his back and getting on him

"Come on boy, let's go" I click my tongue against my teeth and Loki starts trotting out of the stable towards the races where my uncles, Arthur and John, my cousin, Micheal, my mother, Grace, and my father, Tommy, were waiting for me

My mum's the first one to spot me

"Tessa!" My mum calls out to me, our dog Bella, a doberman, barks at the sight of me

"Hey mum" I run and hug my mum before crouching down to Bella's level and scratch under her chin and behind her ear "hello Bella!" I kiss her snout

"You can talk to her normally you know" Micheal says, referring to how I immediately put on a baby voice when talking to Bella

I roll my eyes at Micheal

"Shut it Gray" I barked, an obvious tone of displeasure at the sight of him "unless you want a matching black eye"

Micheal got punched by a lady he slept with's "cousin"

It was obviously her pip, dickhead

"Heel Tess, heel" Arthur teases

I step back

"Keep that vile thing away from me" I spat at Micheal's feet

I've hated Michael since we were kids, I've always had a bad feeling about him

He's a twat

"Tess" my mum comes up and cups my face with her hands, kissing my forehead "we've talked about you picking fights with family"

"Family?" I laugh slightly and cross my arms, glaring at Micheal "he's my dad's auntie's son, not my family"

My mum chuckles, she's used to my ferocious antics "that's still family, as much as I agree with you that he is a foul vermin"

I smile at her

I turn to look at my father, stood smoking a cigarette, his cold icy blue eyes staring daggers through me

Mum notices his cold stare

"Go easy on her Tommy"

I swallow before walking over

"So, why were you late?" He says, raising an eyebrow

"Slept in"

"Good, I'm glad it's just that and not something else, it's not like you to be late"

I didn't really clock what he meant by that, still, I didn't question it

"I guess so"

"Oy! Tess!"

I groan as someone calls my name

"What?!" I yell back, turning to see it's John "what do you want?"

John runs to me and my dad

"Tommy which horse is s'posed to be racing?"

Tommy looks at John slightly confused

"My horse"

"Which is that? What's it look like?"

"Grace's secret, a appaloosa mare, she's grey, white mane"

"Who's is the black one?"

I chime into the conversation

"Black one? Clydesdale, stallion?"

John nods

"Shit that's mine!"

"Well they've taken that one to get ready for the race"

I sprint to Grace's Secret and jump on her

"Why didn't ya warn us girl?"

Grace's Secret canters to where Loki's being taken

"Hey! Hey wait up!"

A quite tall, blonde guy a little older than me is taking my horse to prepare for the races

"Hey! Blondie!"

I quickly jump off Grace's Secret, gripping her reins and leading her towards the man

He turns around

"Sir, that's-.."