Chapter 7: Black Beauty (II).

Chapter 7: Black Beauty (II).

Everyone in the estate were already grabbing seats to watch the new challenger at the farm wrestle on one of their best horses- the untamable black beauty, Spirit.

"Hah…" (Rowan) who just took off her leather shoes, began chasing after the horse barefooted running in circles as she tried getting back on Spirit's back.

"Come on!" She manages to headlock the horse by jumping really high but once again she falls over to the round with a loud thud.

Thud!

"Ngh!" Her back being covered with dust, and Rowan's back became stiff, her eyes went wide when she realized that the horse she was chasing was preparing for a defensive attack.

"Neigh!" (Spirit) raises his hooves, planning to push it down onto Rowan's chest.

"...!" (Rowan) immediately knew what was going to happen so she rolled out immediately before she could be trampled.

Thud! Thud!

The sounds of hooves trampled the ground, creating a cloud of dust. The people watching gasped as they didn't know whether to help or not.

"Rowan!" (Miss Charlie) looks around looking worried and angry. "Get out of the pen!"

"I'm fine, Miss Charlie, you don't have to worry about me!" The red-haired girl assured her but the young lady of the house wasn't having it.

Rowan was about to pounce on Spirit once more, she spread her arms and tried once more but it failed, having found herself back on the ground.

The horse was relentless, it was not willing to have anyone ride her that day.

"..." (Rowan) stands up, but felt something was wrong with her back shoulder. She didn't have time to check what was wrong so she left it alone.

Miss Charlie almost went inside the pen herself to fetch the girl, she ushered the other servant to stop watching and help. "Get the ropes, we're going to hold down Spirit for a bit."

"Ah yes, milady." They took their lassos, holding it in their hand and threw it accurately to catch Spirit. "We got him!"

"...!" The horse panicked seeing the lassos were around his neck, it tossed and turned.

The young lady of the house seeing this chance advises Rowan to get out of there as soon as she can. "Get out of the pen!"

Rowan hears her cry, but it looked like she had other plans.

"But I almost had him-!" She tries reasoning with the brunette girl who only scolds her further for being so oblivious to her surroundings.

"I already gave you a chance to prove yourself but you're not ready for this horse! Your back is bleeding!" (Miss Charlie) yells.

"My… back is bleeding?"

Rowan reaches for her back, her fingers held onto something liquid and it smelled like iron.

She retracts her hand back and sees fresh blood. "Why is it bleeding I didn't feel anything-"

"Your back fell into a sharp rock that must've pierced through the clothes! Get out of there so we can treat you properly!"

"Ah…" (Rowan) hearing her angry yelling suddenly remembered her sister that always scolded her for not taking care of her body and health.

She wanted to continue taming Spirit but she also didn't want to anger the owner of the estate. "I'll get out of the pen now."

Rowan Bonheur gave up for the first time, because knowing when to leave the fight is a good quality for a soldier. She didn't forget to pick up the shoes that she gently put down before and left the pen, closing the door of the fence.

"Hah…!"

Miss Charlie ran over to the entrance of the pen, looking at Spirit before at Rowan who's condition looked fine with dirt all over her clothes, she had no injuries other than the wound on her back.

"..." (Rowan) stood there a little disappointed with herself, because she believed that she's capable of taming a wild horse.

Miss Charlie sees the expression on her face but for now her priority is patching up the wound on her back. "We should get you treated, as soon as possible. We should stop the bleeding first, clean your wound and then you can take a shower in my estate."

"Right." She replies, after the adrenaline rush was over the wound on her back only started to hurt. Rowan tried her best to show that she wasn't in any pain, "..."

"I… um… I know that look, you're disappointed I know but we gave you several fair warnings that this horse is almost impossible to tame." (Miss Charlie) bites her lip, consoling Rowan. "It gave one of my servants a broken back, it's a relief that you only got a cut on the back and nothing else."

The red-haired girl lowers her head, understanding that maybe this horse wasn't for her at all. "Mm, thank you for worrying about me, Miss Charlie."

Miss Charlie places a hand on her chest, nodding. "Please follow me, we'll get you patched up and ready for your entrance exams."

…

The servants watched as the young lady and her guest were on their way back into the estate. Their walk back was a quiet one, the red haired girl had nothing to say.

"Call on our family doctor, tell her it's an emergency." (Miss Charlie) orders one of her servants, who nods in understanding for she was one of the people who watched the commotion in the open pen.

"Yes, my lady." The servant immediately rushes to find the Green's family doctor as Miss Charlie sighs a breath of relief.

"Rowan, you should let our family doctor take a look at your back. Do not fret, we have two doctors and I summoned our female family doctor to patch you up." (Miss Charlie) tells Rowan who felt guilty that she's even going to lengths to call on a family doctor for her sake.

She couldn't help but nervously play with her hands as she apologizes for the trouble she's caused. "I am sorry for the trouble."

The young lady sees her nervousness, she moves forward placing a hand on her nervous ones and calming her down. "Don't worry, I enjoyed seeing you try and tame such a wild one but I don't think Spirit bonded with you very much. You should think of getting a regular horse instead."

"..." (Rowan) calms down, no longer being nervous.

"If you don't mind me asking, why are you interested in Spirit so much?"

"Oh… umm… I just sort of realized his history was similar to mine and I wanted to help. I know what it's like…" She didn't bother continuing, because it seemed clear from the uncomfortable look in her eyes that it wasn't a good experience.

Miss Charlie's eyes widened realizing what she meant. "So you've also been-! I see you are very kind."

"But just like humans, horses are the same when it comes to trauma. It's hard to forget your body remembers the pain and Spirit has been through a lot, I don't think he's ready for a new owner so soon." She explains as softly as possible to the red-haired girl and Rowan understands what she means.

"One of my servants will lead you, I'll tell daddy what happened today. We'll get you a new horse for you to take at the military academy."

"Thank you."

"You're very much welcome."

Clack!

As the young lady left her alone, she waited in her room for the doctor to patch her shoulder up. Rowan held her wounded shoulder, not being able to sit still. She stood near the room's windows where she could see the whole field of the estate, the lines of stables and the open pen where she was just moments before.

"..." (Rowan) watches from a distance where the workers were pulling Spirit with a rope, it looked tired as the horse sat on the ground.

"You're just like me." She mutters to herself, taking a seat by the sofa as she observes the horse looking alone and lost.

Rowan sighs, holding her hair. It's only the first day of her being here, she shouldn't be too stressed about it and there are other horse options for her to choose.

She really just wants that one.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

The sound of the door knocking loudly snapped her back to reality, the doctor who had been called out by the servant arrived only ten minutes after she sat down. Her pink hair was a little bit messy, the doctor's glasses hid the dark circles under her eyes and she spoke in an unfamiliar accent.

"Excuse-moi, Lady Bonheur. I'm Dr. Lisette Medicien, I've been summoned by our Lady Charlotte to check up on your wound?" The young female doctor asks her, she seemed right about her age but she's already an experienced person in her medical field.

Rowan stands up from her seat, feeling a little weak to answer the doctor and just opens the door for her instead.

The doctor was startled but she wasn't expecting someone like her looking dashing in formal dirty clothes. "Oh my- you are very tall." She stares up at her and then down, comparing their height difference being amazed at how huge their gap was to one another.

"Good evening, miss." (Rowan) greets the doctor lowering her head as she welcomes her inside her room. "Please… um get inside."

The doctor pardons herself as she gets inside the room. "Oui, good evening to you as well, chéri. Now I heard about what you did and might I say that was rather reckless."

"But then again welcome to Rosewood village home to many of the knuckleheads who like riding horses." She continues, looking around the room for a proper place to sit.

"Um… you like horses, don't you?" The doctor was a rather talkative lady as she sat Rowan down, asking her if she could take some of her clothes off. "I heard a few details on where you got hurt. You'll be needing to take your jacket off, si cela ne te dérange pas."

Rowan blinks for a moment not understanding the last part before following the said instructions by the doctor. Her heart was relieved that it was a female doctor that was going to check up on her shoulder. "..."

She takes off her jacket and her blouse, revealing her well built and toned body with the only thing being left in her upper part was her bandaged chest.

"You're… ahem a very well built and healthy patient." The doctor ignores every eye candy that she's seen and professionally focused on the task at hand. "I'll get you all patched up now, don't you worry."

"Mm." (Rowan) didn't move an inch as she showed her back. Dr. Lisette lays out her medical case where everything was neatly aligned, she cleans the skin surrounding it before disinfecting with alcohol.

The atmosphere was quiet, calm yet awkward.

"I'll put some alcohol on it now."

"Ngh."

Rowan bites her lip, only feeling the alcohol running through her wound having a similar pain as an ant's bite but more long lasting. "Ça ira. What I mean is you'll be fine chéri, you'll just need a bit of rest."

The red-haired girl nods, getting curious about what language she was speaking. Dr. Lisette was just getting ready to bandage her back but she suddenly sees her patient's eyes looking so earnest and honest. "The way you speak… it's really lovely to hear."

"Quoi?! Vous devez plaisanter en flirtant avec un médecin comme ça!" The doctor covered half of her face for suddenly being complimented by this rare creature, usually when she would talk in inglis many would laugh at her accent for not pronouncing things properly.

"What language is that?"

"Oh well, you know, we're from the south side of the world and the language is frunc. I came here because I was hired as the new family doctor because the old one had to retire, c'est la vie." (Dr. Lisette) chuckles, before banding the wound as the final touch. "You know when you get hurt, please don't repeat the same mistake again. I know there's a rumor around that the way to that horse's heart is by taming it the old fashioned way."

"Ah… yes, that is what Miss Charlie said."

Dr. Lisette hums continuing on, "Riding on its back making it submit to you, follow your orders. I'm just a doctor, my opinions may differ from the rest of the workers at times but I think what Spirit needs is a friend that he can trust."

Rowan's ears perked hearing that word. "A friend."

The doctor repeats happily, neatly tying everything and making sure the bandages wouldn't fall out easily. "Mm, a friend. I'm sure with all Spirit has experienced, don't you think having to relieve the same things all over again is tiring for him?"

Her words made Rowan think, flashing back to her past years where she's often been abused secretly by her father as a form of 'parenting discipline' and had no one to tell that to.

"..." Her resolve to change after being indebted to the crown princess, helping people in need- those people became her supporters, it made her think that there was more to her life after all.

"You might want to have a different approach the next time you want to try again. And there we go, we finished patching your back. Make sure this stays dry and clean, don't move around too much." She made sure to take notes and her patient was more than happy to listen.

"Thank you, doctor." (Rowan) was thankful for the talk.

"You can go ahead and rest yourself. I'll tell our young lady that her guest has been treated." (Dr. Lisette) takes something out of her pocket, giving it to Rowan. "For being a wonderful patient, bonne fille."

It was a lollipop.