⚠️TW⚠️: none I think
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Lizzie's pov:
Mr. Miller offered to give us a tour of the barn while we waited which we enthusiastically agreed to. He showed us everything, and we chatted a bit while we walked. I asked him some questions about the girl, which he happily answered.
I don't know what it was about her, she was so polite but she also seemed nervous for some reason. She was also incredible at riding, maybe she could teach me something?
Mr. Miller told us a lot about her. I learned that her name was Nova, she was 16 years old and that she had been working here for many years. Nova. Such a beautiful name. He then rambled on about how much of a prodigy she was and how many international competitions she had competed in.
Then he mentioned that she was an orphan, which took me by surprise. He said that she lived at an orphanage in Greenwich and that her parents had died when she was young. As soon as he said that, a thought came to my mind.
Robbie and I had been trying to have children for a long time, but it just hadn't worked out for us. Before I could think any more, Nova approached us and at the same time snapped me out of my trance.
"I'm done now, Luna is in her stable just having some hay, I'll turn her out when I'm done with the lesson", she informed Mr. Miller. "Great, she'll be riding Billy, I have to go run some errands, you can just start the lesson without me. You're definitely qualified enough for that, I trust you", he said.
"Cool, Billy... he should be good and not cause too much trouble", Nova joked which made Mr. Miller laugh. Clearly an inside joke they had. "Right sorry, do you wanna come catch Billy?" She asked me.
"Yeah sure, that'd be great", I smiled. She said bye to Mr. Miller before leading us to one of the stables and grabbing a headcollar. She handed it to me and informed me that it was Billy's.
We then started walking over towards the fields. "So, have you ever ridden before", Nova asked me. "I haven't, I've been around horses but never on one, Mary-Kate here rides so I've kind of just tagged along to the barn with her", I explained and she nodded.
"Wait, you ride?" She asked Mary-Kate. "I do", MK smiled. "Cool, what discipline do you do?" Nova asked, suddenly a lot more talkative as she had something to talk about. "I'm a showjumper, I'm assuming you do eventing since this is an eventing yard", MK said.
"Yeah, I do eventing, I hope my jumping was ok, I could see you guys watching", Nova mumbled the last part, suddenly a bit self-conscious. "Don't worry, your jumping was amazing, I was impressed", MK reassured her which made Nova blush a little bit.
"Thanks, we're here though, that's Billy over there", she gestured towards a bay (brown) horse a couple of yards away. "Aww he's cute", MK said and I agreed, he was. "Do you want to catch him or should I do it miss- sorry, Lizzie", Nova corrected herself.
"Umm, could you maybe do it", I answered. I didn't really know how to put on a headcollar, MK had never taught me. "Of course, do you want to come with me, I could show you how to put on a headcollar, it's not too hard", she reassured me.
"Ok sure", I said and she opened the gate so that we could get in. She showed me how to catch Billy and I got to lead him over to the barn. We put him in the crossties and Nova went to go find his grooming brushes.
"She's cute", MK said as soon as she was out of earshot. "She is, I really like her", I answered with a soft smile on my face. "I saw your face you know, when he said that she's an orphan, I think I know you well enough to know what you want, you want to adopt her right?" MK asked me.
"I do, she's so sweet, she deserves a home and Robbie also said that he was open to the idea of adopting", I told her. "Well, I completely support you if that's what you decide to do, just maybe give it some time and let her get used to you, she seems a bit shy and unsure of new people", MK said, and I had to agree with that.
Nova eventually came back with a grooming kit, and she showed me how to use all of the brushes I didn't already know how to use. She would always make sure that I was comfortable with what we were doing, and she always complimented me when I did something right.
We then moved on to tacking up, which she also showed me how to do. Before we put the bridle on, she told me to put on my helmet so that I was all ready to go. Nova then showed me how to put the bridle on, honestly, it was kind of confusing, but I eventually got it on properly.
"There you go, good job, I'll be honest, not a lot of people manage to get it on their first time here, I usually end up doing it, so congrats", she smiled.
I then led Billy out to the arena where I would be riding. "Okay, so now we just have to measure the stirrups and check his girth and then we'll be all good to go", she smiled. She then told me that your stirrups should roughly be the length from your fingertips to your armpit, but that everyone has different preferences.
After doing that, Nova asked me if I was okay with getting on Billy, so which I was a little hesitant but I said yes nonetheless. Nova went and grabbed the mounting block so that I could mount Billy.
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Well, looks like Lizzie is having some thoughts already, will they become reality?
I'm terrible at creating suspension so anyway, how are you and what do you think of the book so far? If you have any ideas, questions or feedback, don't hesitate to send me a message or comment :)
If you ever need someone to talk to, I'm here and my pm's are always open <3
Remember to stay safe and take care of yourselves
Love, Frida (The author) xx