Chapter 20

After their long swim, the two of them decided to head back to camp. They ate lunch together and made small talk. Raina found herself gravitating toward him the whole time.

"So now what would you like to do, Raina?" asked Leon. She paused to think it over a bit. There was so much she wanted to do with him but now that she could, her mind was blank. The horses gave out a few sounds as they ate the grass. A smile came to Raina's face.

"How bout a race??? We used to race all the time. Course I always kicked your ass, but who knows you might surprise me." Raina teased. A chuckle came from Leon.

"A race, huh? OK. I'm in." he answered. Raina had a big smile on her face now. "Uhhh oh. I know that look. My guess is you've concocted something in that big brain of yours."

"You could say that. In reality though, I just thought about the other summer's we raced against each other. And I've decided the rules." Raina said. She stared at Leon the clouds behind him began to contort and his voice calling her name seemed far away. Her vision went black. She slowly opened her eyes. The tent? Quickly she sat up. Her hand went to her head. It killed like no other. Then she noticed her clothes were different. These were the ones she had on the night of...

"Raina? You up?" a voice called out to her. Wait who's voice was that? It was not Leon. Luke??? Quickly she scrambled out of her tent. Everyone was there. Luke, Asher, Clarissa and...Ashley. But no Leon? The realization that she had been dreaming the whole time dawned on her. Luke placed his hand on Raina's shoulder, snapping her back to reality. Then she realized both Apollo and Artemis were missing.

"Where's Artemis and Apollo?" asked Raina pulling away from Luke. A sigh came from Luke. Her eyes now scanned the group. Asher looked worried along with Clarissa. Ashley stared down at her feet. "Where in the fuck are my horses?!"

"Apollo is fine, Leon has him...Art.." Luke began but was quickly cut off by Clarissa.

"Raina she didn't mean to..." she began as she gave a glance over to Ashley. Raina's face began to burn hot as she was overcome by annoyance and rage. Quickly she moved to where she was right in Ashley's face.

"What the fuck did you do?!" Raina yelled. Ashley didn't look up at first. "Ashley?!" Raina added. Ashley's eyes quickly met Raina's.

"How the fuck was I supposed to know that the bitch would be so temperamental?! I didn't see any harm in trying to take her out!" Ashley blurted out as she rubbed her arm.

"Yes, let's try to saddle and ride a fucking horse when you know nothing about it..." Luke said with a condescending tone. It made sense now to Raina.

Artemis was originally a wild horse, which were now sparse in the area due to being caught and tamed or sold. Raina had been the one to break her at only the age of 12 at that. The hands had found her roaming in the same area where they now camped. It was the reason why they originally began staying there. Artemis had been injured so the hands had chased her back towards the stables. There they fought her just to be able to treat her. The original plan was to help her heal and release her back out. It seemed to be the right thing to do since she had been injured due to a break in the fence where she had entangled her back right leg in the barb wire. They still could not figure out how she managed to get unattached to the fence or how her leg had not been more injured.

Artemis had proven time and time again that she was not pleased to be in a corral let alone having anyone come near her. Raina had watched the hands try multiple times to get close enough but failed. One night Raina was finishing her chores when she saw Artemis laying down. She had over heard her father saying that if they could not get Artemis to let them help then they would put her down to keep her from suffering more. Tears had ran down her face when she had made the decision to try herself to help the horse.

Raina had gathered everything she needed to treat the horse, at least all that she remembered the hands grabbing during their attempts. She had stood at the gate of the corral for awhile trying to gain the courage to approach the giant horse. She took a deep breath in as she climbed the fence. When she landed on the other side her eyes met Artemis's. The horse was breathing heavy and tried to stand.

"Shhh.. shhh. Don't move. I'm just trying to help." Raina said as she moved low and close to the horse. She pulled an apple out rolling it towards Artemis. Raina had hoped to distract her with eating, however the horse just kept staring at her. "Ooook. I guess apples aren't you're thing, but that's ok. I got these." she said as she pulled out some carrots while still inching forward. Artemis finally stood up this time. Raina still stayed low and kept moving. "Ohh. Well I hope you're just excited about the carrots." Raina's words were shakey this time. Stopping in front of the horse, Raina held the carrots up moving them so the horse could see. However Artemis seemed indifferent to the food. Raina could see the horse trying to shift her weight to keep pressure off her back leg. It was still light enough out that Raina could see the injury. The barbwire had pulled tighter around the leg. She could also see where it needed to be cut to get it off.

"Ok girl. Just take it easy..." Raina said as she dropped the carrots in front of Artemis. The horse lowered her head to smell them. Raina knew this was her chance and moved towards the leg. Artemis was not fooled though and turned her head towards Raina causing her to stop. Their eyes stayed locked on each other.

Now Raina had not noticed but the horse and the girl had gained an audience. The ranch hands all stared in quiet and awe. None of them had been able to get so close to the beast. John was the ranch foreman at this time. He made his way to the group of men.

"Now what are all you lazy ass..." John's voice trailed off when he caught site of what they were looking at. "Dear god. Why haven't any of you done anything to get her out of there?!" he yelled in a whisper tone. None of the men said anything until one of the native hands spoke.

"Girl is closer to the beast then any of us could. If she's able to help it, then our mistake can be let go. And this animal will no longer suffer nor have to die. Raina will also have a great friend during this hard time. They can help each other heal." He answered. John shook his head.

"You're mad! She's only 12! I'm going to get the boss. You keep your eyes on them! If something goes wrong, it better be your ass jumping into save her!" John yelled as he ran to the main house to get Raina's dad.

The girl and horse in the meantime we're still locked on each other. Raina could not help but notice the beauty in the horse's amber eyes. Finally the tension broke as Artemis shook her head and turned back to the carrots. Raina let out a breath of relief. It seemed at that moment the horses hunger took over as she began to eat. First Raina reached out to pet the horses thigh. Surprisingly this went smoothly. Probably due to her being so hungry Raina thought. Quickly she pulled out the wire cutters and took care of the easier cuts that she knew would not cause trouble. Then she was able to unwrap the loose wire. She took a deep breath and prepared to run. Raina closed her eyes for a second. There was not much time before the horse would no longer be distracted. And this cut was sure to hurt. No more time to think Raina thought as she quickly made the cut and bolted away from Artemis. The horse kicked its back legs in reaction. Raina had fell to the ground and barely missed her hooves. Quickly she scrambled to her feet and grabbed everything she could but it did not matter. The horse bolted to the other side of the corral. Raina sat there trying to catch her breath. The horse ran in circles for a minute then stopped. She dropped down. Raina knew that only half the job was done but would the horse let her get close again? Only one way to find out. The wound would need to be cleaned but she figured if she could at least get some ointment and bandage for tonight it would be better then the barbwire. She also had a pain med to give her by syringe but that would be at the end if she got that far.

"Ok girl just one more time." Raina said as she moved towards the horse. Artemis however seemed less agitated and a bit more calm. Her amber eyes stayed on Raina but she did not move even when she was close to her. Raina stretched her arm out and patted her stomach. Artemis turned her head away like she was telling Raina to go ahead. Quickly Raina applied the ointment and bandage.

The ranch hands stood still in shock and awe at what they had just witnessed. John came running back up to them with Raina's dad in tow. They both came to a halt as they watched Raina finish the wrapping then administer the pain meds which made Artemis jump up and run after. But there stood this 12 year old girl hair in the wind just hooting and hollering. Soon the whole group of men were hooting and hollering along with applause. Raina jumped at the sound as both John and her father joined in. A single tear ran down Raina's face. She had never recalled her dad ever being so pissed off but happy and proud at the same time. From then on the only one Artemis would allow to take care of her was Raina. She still wouldn't allow anyone by her. Once Artemis was healed they tried to let her go and Raina bawled but the horse had different plans. It kept coming back. The native hand had approached her father.

"The horse and your daughter are tied by the string of fate. You shouldn't keep the two apart. They both need each other." he told her father. And with that Artemis was aloud to come back. "What will you call her? Every horse deserves a good name." He asked Raina.

"Artemis." Raina answered. The native man laughed and patted her shoulder.

"You name her well." he said as he walked away. Raina smiled at his words and repeated the name under her breath. Then she smiled again. She then tried to ride her. Which it took awhile for Artemis to become comfortable with. Though she would allow the saddle, she preferred when Raina would ride bareback. Since then, Raina was still the only one aloud to do most things with her besides her father after some getting used to. Then eventually Luke, Leon, and Asher were somewhat aloud to be by.

However a complete stranger or even a hand trying to saddle her let alone ride was never permitted by Artemis. Raina snapped back to the present and moved an inch away from Ashley's face.

"If something happens to my horse I will make you suffer the same fate." Raina said as she quickly moved to the horse that Luke had came on.

"Raina?! Where are you going?!" yelled Asher. Luke followed her and hopped on Asher's horse.

"Well isn't that fucking obvious?" Luke asked. "We're going after Leon and Artemis." he added as he began to ride off. Raina looked at Ashley then to Clarissa and lastly Asher.

"Get this bitch and noisy ass contraption back to the fucking house. I'll deal with her later." Raina told Asher as she rode off catching up to Luke.