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The Windswept ChroniclesSeason One, Episode Eight: "The Best of Intentions"

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Welcome to the eighth episode of the Windswept Chronicles!
This episode occurs about three weeks after the conclusion of the seventh episode; May 2018.

Who's getting excited for this to continue?! Y'all have NO IDEA how long this one took me!

"This is so weird."

Stormy pulled up her shirt and stared at her silhouette in the full length mirror hanging on her wall. What had previously just looked (and felt) like bloating was now a definite and noticeable bump.

"You know the weird part is that you're eighteen and pregnant. You're like your own MTV show now." Brianna was laying on her cousin's bed, crunching away on a bag of chips and scrolling through her phone. "Hey, at least you're athletic, it'll keep you slimmer."

Stormy rolled her eyes. "I don't really care about that. I care about a healthy baby, now hand over those chips, I'm starving." She snatched the bag from Brianna and plopped down onto the bed beside her. "I have to help Blake with the group lesson this week since Nora decided to help Kodi with the thoroughbreds instead."

"Ooh, you get to work with juvie girl?"

"Yeah. She's not really that bad. She has an attitude, but she mostly just stays out of everyone's way."

"Still. That's gotta be annoying."

"It is, especially since all I want to do is train. I wish my mom hadn't brought her here. We have too much going on." Stormy felt her phone buzz and pulled it out of her pocket. She rolled her eyes at the message and tossed the bag of chips back at Brianna. "That's Blake. I guess they're getting ready to do the lesson. I'll see you later."

She ran down the stairs to find Jody sitting at the table with a familiar face. "Stormy!" the woman cried, jumping to her feet, arms outstretched to take the girl in a hug. "I feel like I haven't seen you in ages!"

"Hey Aunt Carrie," Stormy wheezed as her aunt pulled her tight. "It really hasn't been that long." She pulled away and glanced at the menagerie of baby-themed items covering the table. Magazines, photo clippings, ribbon and stickers and art supplies all piled up in a chaotic, pastel-colored mess. "What's going on?"

"Oh, not that much, just planning a baby shower for my very favorite niece!"

"I'm your only niece."

"And still my favorite!" Carrie chirped, picking up a magazine opened to a page of baby shower themes and shoving it towards Stormy. "Now, we need your opinion, mommy-to-be! Which one do you like best?"

"Um, I don't really know," the girl fumbled with the page of whimsical pastel photos. There were pink and blue cupcakes, ducks made from pale yellow towels, soft grey elephants marching around diaper cakes. "You guys pick. I'm not really- I don't care. I mean, we like blue. So I guess we could go with blue?"

"Blue it is!" Carrie took the magazine back and opened up a folder. "Here's everything I have with blue. Now, Stormy-" she turned back around to find that Stormy had slipped out the kitchen door.

The barn was almost as chaotic as the kitchen table with all the novices running around. The lesson horses were lined up in the aisle, most of them looking positively bored. Penny turned towards Stormy and nickered, and she walked up to the mare to stroke her nose. On her other side was Beau, and past him, Marvel and Pi. The students were buzzing around, carrying tack and grooming supplies.

Blake, leading her own mare Ellie, came up to Stormy. "I think we're almost ready. Do you mind helping me make sure everyone's girths are tightened? Sierra had a bit of an incident last week when she forgot that Penny likes to hold in air."

Stormy had to stifle a laugh at the thought of Jesse's prissy daughter falling off the back of a horse. "Yeah, fine, I'll help. Then I guess I'll grab Donnie and meet you in the arena." Blake nodded and tied Ellie to the station on the wall so she could help the rest of the students.

It seemed, to Stormy at least, to take ages for all of them to get into the arena. Once everyone was mounted up on their horses, Stormy sat on Donnie at one end of the arena, so that she and Blake could keep an eye on everyone at once.

"Today we're going to be working on seat and form," Blake called out, eliciting a collective groan from her students. "Proper seat is the foundation of riding. If you want to ride, you have to work at it. Each of you does have something to work on, because if you were perfect, we'd be moving on.

We're going to start with a warmup and then some work across ground poles. Everyone, let's get moving! Walking on the fence line, let's go."

Haphazardly the group directed their mounts towards the fence. It was a bit of a chore, given their combined limited experience, but luckily they were on a good group of horses. Only Beau seemed to be throwing a fit, and Stormy was able to line Donnie up beside him and direct him into line.

Finally they were actually moving. Everyone was in pretty high spirits, including Catherine. She only got to ride once a week, and after she overheard what Blake said about her she wasn't exactly a fan, but even after all of that she had to admit that riding Marvel was pretty cool. She'd heard a lot of sour things about the program from other kids...the stable staff were mean, riding time was limited, and the horses they were riding were gritty old nags without any life in them. Marvel was different. He was younger, Amilla had told her, but he was calm and took care of his rider. Catherine and Amilla had also become tentative friends, if only bonding over their shared enjoyment of Marvel; Amilla was the one who rode Marvel most other days, though she was putting much of her current time into gentling a mustang.

"Catherine, heels down, eyes up," Blake called to her. "That's better. Actually, that's a great reminder for everyone. Look at the ground, you'll end up there. Eyes on where you're going." After a few minutes, she had them line back up on the fence - an arduous task for the group, but they managed - while she and Stormy drug out the ground poles. "Stormy's going to show you proper form over ground poles. Notice how she sits, light and always in contact with Donnie."

Stormy got back on her mount and directed him over the ground poles. She had to admit she was finding it a little bit harder to stay balanced. Jody had said something about her center of gravity shifting. She didn't like it.

"All right, now let's go, one at a time. Hannah, you're up first."

Hannah was eager to drive Pi over the ground poles. She and the little mare were really starting to become a team, partly due to River's private lessons every day, and she really enjoyed riding with all her heart.

"Great job, Hannah. Catherine, you're up next."

Catherine couldn't help but feel a little bit of anxiety gnawing at her belly as she nudged Marvel forward. The one thing that the other kids had said about the stables they were hosted at, the one thing that was right, was that everyone was a judge. Constant eyes on you, always watching, always assessing. It was worst when she was riding. Blake was one thing, she was a manager - a sneaky, behind-your-back type, but a manager still. Catherine's anxiety came from Stormy watching her. The golden child of Windswept, who could do no wrong. She and her horse were standing next to Sierra and Penny, and Catherine could see Sierra lean over and whisper to Stormy. She just knew they were mocking her, but she decided that this time, she was going to be better than they were. She straightened herself up, forced her heels so far down her ankles hurt, and held the reins a little tighter, hoping they wouldn't see her hands shake.

"Hey."

Stormy glanced over at Sierra, who was leaning over at her. "What's up?"

"You know, Catherine's really doing a lot better," Sierra whispered. "You should have seen her last week. She was a mess. But she's doing everything Blake says and it's paying off."

Stormy laughed a little at the thought of Catherine fumbling, but she had to admit that she was improving. "Yeah, everyone's doing good. I'm glad to see my mom's little project is going well."

"So I hear you're having a baby shower," Sierra beamed at the older girl, not subtly changing the subject. "Can we come?"

Stormy nodded. "Yeah, sure. I don't know when exactly it is, but I'll make sure to let you know."

Sierra squealed in excitement. Now Catherine wasn't the only one with a little bit of anxiety balling up. Everyone else seemed to be so looking forward to this whole baby shower thing.

So why was the guest of honor the only one who didn't even want to be there?

Later that evening, River sat in Windswept's office, poring over the same old same old - financial statements, lesson planning, future show entry invitations, the everyday running and management of a busy eventing stable. She had Jody set up on Facetime to help keep her awake.

"Hey, have you heard anything from that giant douchebag of yours?"

River rolled her eyes. "No, Aiden disappeared shortly after you left for Italy and I haven't heard anything from him since. Stormy claims she hasn't either."

"Claims?"

"I don't know," River sighed. "I know she's a good girl, and I trust her. But I also know what a snake he is. He's going to do everything he can to try to win her over and he's...very convincing."

"I think you have to have a little more faith in Stormy," Jody said, rocking Elena back and forth in her arms. "All told, she's handling this very well, and she's got a lot to deal with right now. She's loyal, and you know Windswept is everything to her. There's no way in hell he's ever going to get her to leave her home, and I doubt she's even entertained the thought of keeping contact with him." (For the record, Jody was right about that.)

"Jody, I love you like a sister and I hear what you're saying. But you were never under that man's thumb. I probably wouldn't have had the strength to leave him if it weren't for Stormy."

"See, but now Stormy is in the same place you are. She's got a baby on the way, and maybe it doesn't seem like it, but if she's anything like you, I know she'll think about what's best for that child and leave him completely out of her life."

River shook her head. "It's not Stormy I'm worried about. Aiden is going to try anything and everything to get to her if only to hurt me. I'm worried about what that could mean for Stormy, or for the stables."

"What could he try to do, honestly?"

"I honestly don't know," River said, rubbing her forehead to rid herself of the headache coming on. "I just fear he'll find something. Anything. He could be grasping at straws and still manage to ruin everyone's life."

"There's nothing he can do." Jody was convincing, even if she wasn't convinced herself. "I'm sure of it."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." River gave her best friend a weak smile. Jody almost always knew exactly right.

But this time, she knew something Jody didn't.

Featured Characters:
Stormy Summers and Shipped Gold Standard
Catherine Bartlett and Captain America
Blake Davenport and LA Devotee
Sierra Miller and Penny For Luck
Cheyenne Miller and Pray for the Wicked
Hannah Rainview and Pirate Flag

References:
Donnie | Marvel | Ellie | Penny | Beau | Pi
(missing a couple - trying to find them)

Description

The Windswept ChroniclesSeason One, Episode Eight: "The Best of Intentions"

<< First || < Previous || Next > || Last >>

Welcome to the eighth episode of the Windswept Chronicles!
This episode occurs about three weeks after the conclusion of the seventh episode; May 2018.

Who's getting excited for this to continue?! Y'all have NO IDEA how long this one took me!

"This is so weird."

Stormy pulled up her shirt and stared at her silhouette in the full length mirror hanging on her wall. What had previously just looked (and felt) like bloating was now a definite and noticeable bump.

"You know the weird part is that you're eighteen and pregnant. You're like your own MTV show now." Brianna was laying on her cousin's bed, crunching away on a bag of chips and scrolling through her phone. "Hey, at least you're athletic, it'll keep you slimmer."

Stormy rolled her eyes. "I don't really care about that. I care about a healthy baby, now hand over those chips, I'm starving." She snatched the bag from Brianna and plopped down onto the bed beside her. "I have to help Blake with the group lesson this week since Nora decided to help Kodi with the thoroughbreds instead."

"Ooh, you get to work with juvie girl?"

"Yeah. She's not really that bad. She has an attitude, but she mostly just stays out of everyone's way."

"Still. That's gotta be annoying."

"It is, especially since all I want to do is train. I wish my mom hadn't brought her here. We have too much going on." Stormy felt her phone buzz and pulled it out of her pocket. She rolled her eyes at the message and tossed the bag of chips back at Brianna. "That's Blake. I guess they're getting ready to do the lesson. I'll see you later."

She ran down the stairs to find Jody sitting at the table with a familiar face. "Stormy!" the woman cried, jumping to her feet, arms outstretched to take the girl in a hug. "I feel like I haven't seen you in ages!"

"Hey Aunt Carrie," Stormy wheezed as her aunt pulled her tight. "It really hasn't been that long." She pulled away and glanced at the menagerie of baby-themed items covering the table. Magazines, photo clippings, ribbon and stickers and art supplies all piled up in a chaotic, pastel-colored mess. "What's going on?"

"Oh, not that much, just planning a baby shower for my very favorite niece!"

"I'm your only niece."

"And still my favorite!" Carrie chirped, picking up a magazine opened to a page of baby shower themes and shoving it towards Stormy. "Now, we need your opinion, mommy-to-be! Which one do you like best?"

"Um, I don't really know," the girl fumbled with the page of whimsical pastel photos. There were pink and blue cupcakes, ducks made from pale yellow towels, soft grey elephants marching around diaper cakes. "You guys pick. I'm not really- I don't care. I mean, we like blue. So I guess we could go with blue?"

"Blue it is!" Carrie took the magazine back and opened up a folder. "Here's everything I have with blue. Now, Stormy-" she turned back around to find that Stormy had slipped out the kitchen door.

The barn was almost as chaotic as the kitchen table with all the novices running around. The lesson horses were lined up in the aisle, most of them looking positively bored. Penny turned towards Stormy and nickered, and she walked up to the mare to stroke her nose. On her other side was Beau, and past him, Marvel and Pi. The students were buzzing around, carrying tack and grooming supplies.

Blake, leading her own mare Ellie, came up to Stormy. "I think we're almost ready. Do you mind helping me make sure everyone's girths are tightened? Sierra had a bit of an incident last week when she forgot that Penny likes to hold in air."

Stormy had to stifle a laugh at the thought of Jesse's prissy daughter falling off the back of a horse. "Yeah, fine, I'll help. Then I guess I'll grab Donnie and meet you in the arena." Blake nodded and tied Ellie to the station on the wall so she could help the rest of the students.

It seemed, to Stormy at least, to take ages for all of them to get into the arena. Once everyone was mounted up on their horses, Stormy sat on Donnie at one end of the arena, so that she and Blake could keep an eye on everyone at once.

"Today we're going to be working on seat and form," Blake called out, eliciting a collective groan from her students. "Proper seat is the foundation of riding. If you want to ride, you have to work at it. Each of you does have something to work on, because if you were perfect, we'd be moving on.

We're going to start with a warmup and then some work across ground poles. Everyone, let's get moving! Walking on the fence line, let's go."

Haphazardly the group directed their mounts towards the fence. It was a bit of a chore, given their combined limited experience, but luckily they were on a good group of horses. Only Beau seemed to be throwing a fit, and Stormy was able to line Donnie up beside him and direct him into line.

Finally they were actually moving. Everyone was in pretty high spirits, including Catherine. She only got to ride once a week, and after she overheard what Blake said about her she wasn't exactly a fan, but even after all of that she had to admit that riding Marvel was pretty cool. She'd heard a lot of sour things about the program from other kids...the stable staff were mean, riding time was limited, and the horses they were riding were gritty old nags without any life in them. Marvel was different. He was younger, Amilla had told her, but he was calm and took care of his rider. Catherine and Amilla had also become tentative friends, if only bonding over their shared enjoyment of Marvel; Amilla was the one who rode Marvel most other days, though she was putting much of her current time into gentling a mustang.

"Catherine, heels down, eyes up," Blake called to her. "That's better. Actually, that's a great reminder for everyone. Look at the ground, you'll end up there. Eyes on where you're going." After a few minutes, she had them line back up on the fence - an arduous task for the group, but they managed - while she and Stormy drug out the ground poles. "Stormy's going to show you proper form over ground poles. Notice how she sits, light and always in contact with Donnie."

Stormy got back on her mount and directed him over the ground poles. She had to admit she was finding it a little bit harder to stay balanced. Jody had said something about her center of gravity shifting. She didn't like it.

"All right, now let's go, one at a time. Hannah, you're up first."

Hannah was eager to drive Pi over the ground poles. She and the little mare were really starting to become a team, partly due to River's private lessons every day, and she really enjoyed riding with all her heart.

"Great job, Hannah. Catherine, you're up next."

Catherine couldn't help but feel a little bit of anxiety gnawing at her belly as she nudged Marvel forward. The one thing that the other kids had said about the stables they were hosted at, the one thing that was right, was that everyone was a judge. Constant eyes on you, always watching, always assessing. It was worst when she was riding. Blake was one thing, she was a manager - a sneaky, behind-your-back type, but a manager still. Catherine's anxiety came from Stormy watching her. The golden child of Windswept, who could do no wrong. She and her horse were standing next to Sierra and Penny, and Catherine could see Sierra lean over and whisper to Stormy. She just knew they were mocking her, but she decided that this time, she was going to be better than they were. She straightened herself up, forced her heels so far down her ankles hurt, and held the reins a little tighter, hoping they wouldn't see her hands shake.

"Hey."

Stormy glanced over at Sierra, who was leaning over at her. "What's up?"

"You know, Catherine's really doing a lot better," Sierra whispered. "You should have seen her last week. She was a mess. But she's doing everything Blake says and it's paying off."

Stormy laughed a little at the thought of Catherine fumbling, but she had to admit that she was improving. "Yeah, everyone's doing good. I'm glad to see my mom's little project is going well."

"So I hear you're having a baby shower," Sierra beamed at the older girl, not subtly changing the subject. "Can we come?"

Stormy nodded. "Yeah, sure. I don't know when exactly it is, but I'll make sure to let you know."

Sierra squealed in excitement. Now Catherine wasn't the only one with a little bit of anxiety balling up. Everyone else seemed to be so looking forward to this whole baby shower thing.

So why was the guest of honor the only one who didn't even want to be there?

Later that evening, River sat in Windswept's office, poring over the same old same old - financial statements, lesson planning, future show entry invitations, the everyday running and management of a busy eventing stable. She had Jody set up on Facetime to help keep her awake.

"Hey, have you heard anything from that giant douchebag of yours?"

River rolled her eyes. "No, Aiden disappeared shortly after you left for Italy and I haven't heard anything from him since. Stormy claims she hasn't either."

"Claims?"

"I don't know," River sighed. "I know she's a good girl, and I trust her. But I also know what a snake he is. He's going to do everything he can to try to win her over and he's...very convincing."

"I think you have to have a little more faith in Stormy," Jody said, rocking Elena back and forth in her arms. "All told, she's handling this very well, and she's got a lot to deal with right now. She's loyal, and you know Windswept is everything to her. There's no way in hell he's ever going to get her to leave her home, and I doubt she's even entertained the thought of keeping contact with him." (For the record, Jody was right about that.)

"Jody, I love you like a sister and I hear what you're saying. But you were never under that man's thumb. I probably wouldn't have had the strength to leave him if it weren't for Stormy."

"See, but now Stormy is in the same place you are. She's got a baby on the way, and maybe it doesn't seem like it, but if she's anything like you, I know she'll think about what's best for that child and leave him completely out of her life."

River shook her head. "It's not Stormy I'm worried about. Aiden is going to try anything and everything to get to her if only to hurt me. I'm worried about what that could mean for Stormy, or for the stables."

"What could he try to do, honestly?"

"I honestly don't know," River said, rubbing her forehead to rid herself of the headache coming on. "I just fear he'll find something. Anything. He could be grasping at straws and still manage to ruin everyone's life."

"There's nothing he can do." Jody was convincing, even if she wasn't convinced herself. "I'm sure of it."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." River gave her best friend a weak smile. Jody almost always knew exactly right.

But this time, she knew something Jody didn't.

Featured Characters:
Stormy Summers and Shipped Gold Standard
Catherine Bartlett and Captain America
Blake Davenport and LA Devotee
Sierra Miller and Penny For Luck
Cheyenne Miller and Pray for the Wicked
Hannah Rainview and Pirate Flag

References:
Donnie | Marvel | Ellie | Penny | Beau | Pi
(missing a couple - trying to find them)