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Description
It was strange having my cousin back on the farm, it had been years since I had last seen her. Maybe… 7 years?

Aria used to spend her summers on the farm learning everything about the english discipline, as back in Ireland she would run barrels and focus on everything western related. My father used to take us on rides, and my mother even gifted her a little pony named Django that awaited her return every year.
After my mother died, Aria spent only one more summer on the farm, and so, I lost both my mother and my best friend in less than a year. My father sold Django even though I tried to prevent it, and two days later, the money he had made from the sale had been lost on a midnight bet.

My aunt called often after mom's death, checking how everything was at home, I´d answer each call while dad was lying on the couch passed out from so much drinking, I knew that if anyone found out how we really lived, they would take us away from our home, and that frightened me, so I always excused my father, and learned to take care of myself, I was forced to grow up, I studied, and eventually learned to run the huge business that the farm proved to be, although I must admit, that came many years later.

Eventually, my aunt would only call for Christmas, and sometimes birthdays. Aria and I had no contact, and the truth was, even though I was so young, my schedule never allowed me to seek out for her.

That was until my father died

You see, the news of Dad's death was all over Canada in a matter of hours. Within days, some international newscasts mentioned the terrible accident that had taken the life of the renowned rider, trainer and loving family man.

It was 5 a.m. when a call disturbed my dreams, I let it ring, and soon the noise stopped. But it started again a few seconds later, intrigued, I answered, and Aria's all too familiar voice rang on the other end

"Dany?" her voice rang out

"Aria?" I said, now, out of breath.

Hours passed, we shared accomplishments

"Psychology? How crazy are you?" - I said with a smile.

"Hey, where did the respect go? -she said laughing

-Mocks

"So, are you still as short as I remember you?"

"Me? no, now I can reach the glasses without having to climb up on the countertops."

-A few tears

"I've practically been dealing with everything by myself since my mom died, I lost them both that day Aria"

"And Mia?"

"The less she knew about what was going on with dad the better, I didn't want to break the image she had of him"

"And you let her hate you for that?

"I don't want her to suffer like I did Aria"

By the end of the day, Aria and I had told each other everything we had missed over the years.

And so, our relationship was restored, now at a distance, but it was much better than not hearing from her at all.

Three years later, Aria had already graduated from college.

"I can't believe you're a psychologist."

"5 years down the drain, I hate it."

"C'mon, don't be like that, you can't hate it if you spent 5 years studying it"

"Mom forced me, apparently getting a degree in graphic design wasn't a career she thought was appropriate, and now, my life is more out of control than ever, I was thrown into the real world ready to work, but at something I hate"

- I hated to think she was in this situation, in a way I understood her frustration, maybe not all of it, but my dream was always to live the college life, to study and become as recognized and successful as my mom. But life took me by surprise and my dreams were put on hold.

"You´ve already accomplished what my aunt wanted, right?"

"What are you up to now?"

"What if you come to Canada?"

"To be your personal psychologist? No thanks, I have enough traumas already."

"Aria!"

"Okay, okay, go on."

"I'm offering you a job at the farm."

"The farm? You want me to be a psychologist for the horses?"

"Aria, I swear, one more interruption, and I´ll squeeze my hand through the phone and shut your mouth."

"Rawr."

"Come work at the farm, tell your mom you got a job here as a psychologist at a school or something, and study what you like. There's a thousand colleges here, and some are near the actual farm. You study and help with some of the horses."

"You know I would love that, but do you have any idea what a college costs? I don't have that kind of money"

"We do."

The silence that reigned the call was abysmal.

"Would you really do that?"

"Hey, one of us has to fulfill her dreams."
-------------

Present Day

"Wow, I go away for a few years, and you get this close to killing yourself" She closed her fingertips together

"Aria?"

"You already forgot I was coming, wow, but what a bad hostess you are, cousin" she said to me with a smile as she shook her head "By the way, you look terrible."

I laughed, "Thanks, this is a look that not just anyone can pull off"
I said looking down at my robe, I heard a giggle from Cole next to me, I bumped his shoulder with my elbow
"Come on! Don't laugh, I look great!"

He laughed "Sure, sure, Super cool" he emphasized the phrase and rolled his eyes.

-

A few days later I was discharged, and went home

"I'll be honest with you, I thought you´d burn down at least one building."

"Ouch, how little faith you have in us" Liam said to me with a hand on his chest.

I stayed on the couch as I watched Liam go in and out of the kitchen as he prepared something to eat. Even though I had insisted that I was fine and had to get back as soon as possible to help out at the farm, everyone objected to such a “bad idea"

To be honest, what I was most concerned about were the two events that were fast approaching
The Olympics and CCF1

I had to keep training with Pandor, and figure things out with Ares to avoid my death, although to be honest, I considered withdrawing from the event with Ares because I didn't think I could deal with so much in such a short time. Other than that, I had to finish up paperwork and leave several things arranged at the farm so I could be somewhat at ease while I was away.

I had talked it over with Liam, and asked him to stay at the farm while I was away at CCF1 and the Olympics. Despite not agreeing with me, I convinced him by saying he was the only person I trusted to take care of everything while I was gone.

Aria and Mia would go with me to CCF1, and then Cole and I would go to Tokyo together.

As for Cole, upon learning that I was discharged from the hospital, he went back to being this cold and obnoxious person he was when he had first arrived. It was so confusing, and truthfully, I missed the person I had bonded with at the hospital, but now, Cole was the least of my problems.

Aria had entered college, she had been studying for a few days, and you could tell how happy she was. At the farm, she helped with many of the horses, every day she rode different ones, but I could tell she was most excited when her name was next to Hidalgo or Hayden.
A week went by and I still wasn't allowed to get on a horse, I was going crazy, and considering that it was a week before we were to travel to Monaco, my nerves were sky high.
-

It was 10 o'clock at night, and the farm was already dark and silent, everyone was exhausted after the day, even more so now that they had to divide my chores between everyone.

One thing I was thankful for, was that Liam was a very heavy sleeper, so, I didn't worry as I crawled out of bed and headed for the door with the first thing I could find in my closet so I could change into some riding clothes.

I headed out of the house in the direction of the stables, where some horses were lying down, and others stood with their heads out of their stable´s window. At the end of the aisle I could see Ares stick his head out, I sighed, and walked over to him with the halter in hand.

Once I got him out of his stall, Ares looked around, perhaps confused at being out at night when nothing but crickets could be heard. I saddled him up and we headed for the indoor arena, as it was the farthest from the house. We entered and the lights came on immediately, blinding me for a moment.

"The only thing I ask of you, is that you don't kill me please, we have an important event coming up, and truth be told, I would like to arrive, alive, and second, not to make a fool of myself."

Ares walked calmly, his head down and his body relaxed, I let him walk for a while as I got used to being back on top of a horse. At times, I was still dizzy, but it was nothing I couldn't control by taking a minute.

Feeling comfortable, I tightened my legs and shortened my reins, asking Ares to trot, immediately, he tensed up, and let out a few kicks that made me lose my balance, I pulled on the reins trying to regain my balance and slowed down.

"You really really want to die, don´t you?"

A voice said to me from the entrance of the arena, I turned to see Cole standing there in pajama pants and a sweatshirt.

"Riding at night, on the farthest track from the house...hmm, sounds like a secret to me, what will your overprotective and very annoying boyfriend think about this?"

I rolled my eyes and sighed, I tried again to make Ares trot only to receive the same reaction from him

"You'll hurt yourself."

"And? What are you worried about?" I blurted out frustrated, I turned to see Cole staring at me with a frown on his face.

I sighed before turning to face the front

"Sorry, I need to do this."

I heard a sigh from him as he walked towards us.

"You do know you're going against everything the doctors told you, don't you?"

I nodded

"I can't give up that easily," I said with a small smile.

He walked until he was in front of Ares
"She's stubborn, I can see why you don't like her" he said as he grabbed both reins with his hand

"Get off"

He said to me with a cold tone, I held his gaze, but quickly gave up, admitting it wasn't a fight I could win.
I jumped off and turned to Cole, expecting him to escort me towards the stable, but instead of walking towards the entrance of the arena, he handed me Ares´ reins

"Your Helmet, give it to me."

I grabbed the reins, took off my helmet and handed it to him, letting my hair down as he adjusted the size of it.
In one nimble movement, Cole jumped on Ares and adjusted the stirrups, I watched him curiously as he took the reins and asked Ares to walk.

Once again, the horse showed that the problem was me. With Cole, he looked like a totally different horse.
I sighed, accepting that I would have to retire from the long awaited CCF1.

Cole stopped in front of me, and got off Ares, taking off the helmet, handing it to me.

"Get on."

I looked at him, dismayed

"Get on" he gestured to Ares with his head.

He grabbed Ares' reins and helped me up

"Wow, you´re such a small human being, seeing you on top of that horse, it's like seeing an ant next to an elephant."

I rolled my eyes as I adjusted my stirrups.

"So, the problem is with you, you just have to figure out why."

I sighed, and clasped my hands together, shortening my reins, and squeezing Ares' sides to get him to trot. He did so with difficulty and disdain, and soon after, Cole stopped me.

"You mean to tell me you've had this problem for months, and no one has ever told you to soften your hands and not pull so hard on the poor horse's mouth?"

I looked at him confused

He sighed
"From my point of view, I see a miserable horse with a piece of metal that's touching his brain from all the tugging."

I looked down at my hands, which were tense and sweaty from nerves, Cole held my hands and shifted them to loosen the reins.

"Keep them right there, don't move your hands, don't pull so hard on his mouth, and don't sit so far back in your saddle, he's a horse, not a mechanical bull. He's not like your other horses."

And, truth be told, it made sense, I was used to relying on the reins and a lot on the seat when it came to Pandor or Uri, even the young ones I rode similar, and they responded quite well. I would sit far back in the saddle trying to not turn the reins into my personal tug of war, and kept my hands steady, but maybe stiff, during training.

"Just...try it."

I nodded, and he gave me a small smile.
Ares walked calmly, and as usual, when asked for a trot, he tensed up.

"Relax your hands, come on, listen to me."

I did

I relaxed my hands, loosened the reins still keeping them short, but not tense. Immediately I felt Ares relax, his movements lengthened and I couldn't help but smile.

"Now, correct your seat, rise up a little more, and don't land at the furthest end of the saddle."

I turned to look at him, and he nodded his head.
I rose along with Ares' steps, letting myself fall gently, once again, I felt Ares' gait change, he lengthened and relaxed with each step he took, he dropped his head, and let out a snort

I smiled once more, turning my gaze to Cole who was now walking around the track in circles, following us

"You're going to the Olympics, and you couldn't tell your horse was so uncomfortable by how you rode him?"

I laughed and focused back on Ares, with each step his body relaxed a little more.

"Keep your contact steady, let him be guided by your legs, your voice, don't rely on the reins, let them go."

I turned my eyes quickly to him

"Let them go" he said to me

I frowned, and he looked at me with an arched eyebrow, as if telling me "come on, what are you waiting for".

I tied a knot at the end of the reins, and dropped them over Ares' withers, he raised his head in confusion, but quickly relaxed

"Focus on your seat, use your voice, use your legs, and lead him."

And so I did, without using my hands, Ares reacted to my voice, and understood my commands.

Happiness consumed me and I headed towards Cole with a smile covering my entire face

"If you had asked me for help sooner, you wouldn't have been so close to dying a few weeks ago" he told me, lifting the corner of his lips in an almost imperceptible smile

"I was terrified, thank you, thank you, thank you!" I said excitedly before pouncing on him, wrapping him in a hug around his waist. He tensed, and it took him a few seconds, but he wrapped his arms around me, hugging me back. Soon after, he placed his hands on my shoulders and pulled me away from him, staring into my eyes.

"Dany, your fears will only put you in danger, you have to learn to let them go."

Description
It was strange having my cousin back on the farm, it had been years since I had last seen her. Maybe… 7 years?

Aria used to spend her summers on the farm learning everything about the english discipline, as back in Ireland she would run barrels and focus on everything western related. My father used to take us on rides, and my mother even gifted her a little pony named Django that awaited her return every year.
After my mother died, Aria spent only one more summer on the farm, and so, I lost both my mother and my best friend in less than a year. My father sold Django even though I tried to prevent it, and two days later, the money he had made from the sale had been lost on a midnight bet.

My aunt called often after mom's death, checking how everything was at home, I´d answer each call while dad was lying on the couch passed out from so much drinking, I knew that if anyone found out how we really lived, they would take us away from our home, and that frightened me, so I always excused my father, and learned to take care of myself, I was forced to grow up, I studied, and eventually learned to run the huge business that the farm proved to be, although I must admit, that came many years later.

Eventually, my aunt would only call for Christmas, and sometimes birthdays. Aria and I had no contact, and the truth was, even though I was so young, my schedule never allowed me to seek out for her.

That was until my father died

You see, the news of Dad's death was all over Canada in a matter of hours. Within days, some international newscasts mentioned the terrible accident that had taken the life of the renowned rider, trainer and loving family man.

It was 5 a.m. when a call disturbed my dreams, I let it ring, and soon the noise stopped. But it started again a few seconds later, intrigued, I answered, and Aria's all too familiar voice rang on the other end

"Dany?" her voice rang out

"Aria?" I said, now, out of breath.

Hours passed, we shared accomplishments

"Psychology? How crazy are you?" - I said with a smile.

"Hey, where did the respect go? -she said laughing

-Mocks

"So, are you still as short as I remember you?"

"Me? no, now I can reach the glasses without having to climb up on the countertops."

-A few tears

"I've practically been dealing with everything by myself since my mom died, I lost them both that day Aria"

"And Mia?"

"The less she knew about what was going on with dad the better, I didn't want to break the image she had of him"

"And you let her hate you for that?

"I don't want her to suffer like I did Aria"

By the end of the day, Aria and I had told each other everything we had missed over the years.

And so, our relationship was restored, now at a distance, but it was much better than not hearing from her at all.

Three years later, Aria had already graduated from college.

"I can't believe you're a psychologist."

"5 years down the drain, I hate it."

"C'mon, don't be like that, you can't hate it if you spent 5 years studying it"

"Mom forced me, apparently getting a degree in graphic design wasn't a career she thought was appropriate, and now, my life is more out of control than ever, I was thrown into the real world ready to work, but at something I hate"

- I hated to think she was in this situation, in a way I understood her frustration, maybe not all of it, but my dream was always to live the college life, to study and become as recognized and successful as my mom. But life took me by surprise and my dreams were put on hold.

"You´ve already accomplished what my aunt wanted, right?"

"What are you up to now?"

"What if you come to Canada?"

"To be your personal psychologist? No thanks, I have enough traumas already."

"Aria!"

"Okay, okay, go on."

"I'm offering you a job at the farm."

"The farm? You want me to be a psychologist for the horses?"

"Aria, I swear, one more interruption, and I´ll squeeze my hand through the phone and shut your mouth."

"Rawr."

"Come work at the farm, tell your mom you got a job here as a psychologist at a school or something, and study what you like. There's a thousand colleges here, and some are near the actual farm. You study and help with some of the horses."

"You know I would love that, but do you have any idea what a college costs? I don't have that kind of money"

"We do."

The silence that reigned the call was abysmal.

"Would you really do that?"

"Hey, one of us has to fulfill her dreams."
-------------

Present Day

"Wow, I go away for a few years, and you get this close to killing yourself" She closed her fingertips together

"Aria?"

"You already forgot I was coming, wow, but what a bad hostess you are, cousin" she said to me with a smile as she shook her head "By the way, you look terrible."

I laughed, "Thanks, this is a look that not just anyone can pull off"
I said looking down at my robe, I heard a giggle from Cole next to me, I bumped his shoulder with my elbow
"Come on! Don't laugh, I look great!"

He laughed "Sure, sure, Super cool" he emphasized the phrase and rolled his eyes.

-

A few days later I was discharged, and went home

"I'll be honest with you, I thought you´d burn down at least one building."

"Ouch, how little faith you have in us" Liam said to me with a hand on his chest.

I stayed on the couch as I watched Liam go in and out of the kitchen as he prepared something to eat. Even though I had insisted that I was fine and had to get back as soon as possible to help out at the farm, everyone objected to such a “bad idea"

To be honest, what I was most concerned about were the two events that were fast approaching
The Olympics and CCF1

I had to keep training with Pandor, and figure things out with Ares to avoid my death, although to be honest, I considered withdrawing from the event with Ares because I didn't think I could deal with so much in such a short time. Other than that, I had to finish up paperwork and leave several things arranged at the farm so I could be somewhat at ease while I was away.

I had talked it over with Liam, and asked him to stay at the farm while I was away at CCF1 and the Olympics. Despite not agreeing with me, I convinced him by saying he was the only person I trusted to take care of everything while I was gone.

Aria and Mia would go with me to CCF1, and then Cole and I would go to Tokyo together.

As for Cole, upon learning that I was discharged from the hospital, he went back to being this cold and obnoxious person he was when he had first arrived. It was so confusing, and truthfully, I missed the person I had bonded with at the hospital, but now, Cole was the least of my problems.

Aria had entered college, she had been studying for a few days, and you could tell how happy she was. At the farm, she helped with many of the horses, every day she rode different ones, but I could tell she was most excited when her name was next to Hidalgo or Hayden.
A week went by and I still wasn't allowed to get on a horse, I was going crazy, and considering that it was a week before we were to travel to Monaco, my nerves were sky high.
-

It was 10 o'clock at night, and the farm was already dark and silent, everyone was exhausted after the day, even more so now that they had to divide my chores between everyone.

One thing I was thankful for, was that Liam was a very heavy sleeper, so, I didn't worry as I crawled out of bed and headed for the door with the first thing I could find in my closet so I could change into some riding clothes.

I headed out of the house in the direction of the stables, where some horses were lying down, and others stood with their heads out of their stable´s window. At the end of the aisle I could see Ares stick his head out, I sighed, and walked over to him with the halter in hand.

Once I got him out of his stall, Ares looked around, perhaps confused at being out at night when nothing but crickets could be heard. I saddled him up and we headed for the indoor arena, as it was the farthest from the house. We entered and the lights came on immediately, blinding me for a moment.

"The only thing I ask of you, is that you don't kill me please, we have an important event coming up, and truth be told, I would like to arrive, alive, and second, not to make a fool of myself."

Ares walked calmly, his head down and his body relaxed, I let him walk for a while as I got used to being back on top of a horse. At times, I was still dizzy, but it was nothing I couldn't control by taking a minute.

Feeling comfortable, I tightened my legs and shortened my reins, asking Ares to trot, immediately, he tensed up, and let out a few kicks that made me lose my balance, I pulled on the reins trying to regain my balance and slowed down.

"You really really want to die, don´t you?"

A voice said to me from the entrance of the arena, I turned to see Cole standing there in pajama pants and a sweatshirt.

"Riding at night, on the farthest track from the house...hmm, sounds like a secret to me, what will your overprotective and very annoying boyfriend think about this?"

I rolled my eyes and sighed, I tried again to make Ares trot only to receive the same reaction from him

"You'll hurt yourself."

"And? What are you worried about?" I blurted out frustrated, I turned to see Cole staring at me with a frown on his face.

I sighed before turning to face the front

"Sorry, I need to do this."

I heard a sigh from him as he walked towards us.

"You do know you're going against everything the doctors told you, don't you?"

I nodded

"I can't give up that easily," I said with a small smile.

He walked until he was in front of Ares
"She's stubborn, I can see why you don't like her" he said as he grabbed both reins with his hand

"Get off"

He said to me with a cold tone, I held his gaze, but quickly gave up, admitting it wasn't a fight I could win.
I jumped off and turned to Cole, expecting him to escort me towards the stable, but instead of walking towards the entrance of the arena, he handed me Ares´ reins

"Your Helmet, give it to me."

I grabbed the reins, took off my helmet and handed it to him, letting my hair down as he adjusted the size of it.
In one nimble movement, Cole jumped on Ares and adjusted the stirrups, I watched him curiously as he took the reins and asked Ares to walk.

Once again, the horse showed that the problem was me. With Cole, he looked like a totally different horse.
I sighed, accepting that I would have to retire from the long awaited CCF1.

Cole stopped in front of me, and got off Ares, taking off the helmet, handing it to me.

"Get on."

I looked at him, dismayed

"Get on" he gestured to Ares with his head.

He grabbed Ares' reins and helped me up

"Wow, you´re such a small human being, seeing you on top of that horse, it's like seeing an ant next to an elephant."

I rolled my eyes as I adjusted my stirrups.

"So, the problem is with you, you just have to figure out why."

I sighed, and clasped my hands together, shortening my reins, and squeezing Ares' sides to get him to trot. He did so with difficulty and disdain, and soon after, Cole stopped me.

"You mean to tell me you've had this problem for months, and no one has ever told you to soften your hands and not pull so hard on the poor horse's mouth?"

I looked at him confused

He sighed
"From my point of view, I see a miserable horse with a piece of metal that's touching his brain from all the tugging."

I looked down at my hands, which were tense and sweaty from nerves, Cole held my hands and shifted them to loosen the reins.

"Keep them right there, don't move your hands, don't pull so hard on his mouth, and don't sit so far back in your saddle, he's a horse, not a mechanical bull. He's not like your other horses."

And, truth be told, it made sense, I was used to relying on the reins and a lot on the seat when it came to Pandor or Uri, even the young ones I rode similar, and they responded quite well. I would sit far back in the saddle trying to not turn the reins into my personal tug of war, and kept my hands steady, but maybe stiff, during training.

"Just...try it."

I nodded, and he gave me a small smile.
Ares walked calmly, and as usual, when asked for a trot, he tensed up.

"Relax your hands, come on, listen to me."

I did

I relaxed my hands, loosened the reins still keeping them short, but not tense. Immediately I felt Ares relax, his movements lengthened and I couldn't help but smile.

"Now, correct your seat, rise up a little more, and don't land at the furthest end of the saddle."

I turned to look at him, and he nodded his head.
I rose along with Ares' steps, letting myself fall gently, once again, I felt Ares' gait change, he lengthened and relaxed with each step he took, he dropped his head, and let out a snort

I smiled once more, turning my gaze to Cole who was now walking around the track in circles, following us

"You're going to the Olympics, and you couldn't tell your horse was so uncomfortable by how you rode him?"

I laughed and focused back on Ares, with each step his body relaxed a little more.

"Keep your contact steady, let him be guided by your legs, your voice, don't rely on the reins, let them go."

I turned my eyes quickly to him

"Let them go" he said to me

I frowned, and he looked at me with an arched eyebrow, as if telling me "come on, what are you waiting for".

I tied a knot at the end of the reins, and dropped them over Ares' withers, he raised his head in confusion, but quickly relaxed

"Focus on your seat, use your voice, use your legs, and lead him."

And so I did, without using my hands, Ares reacted to my voice, and understood my commands.

Happiness consumed me and I headed towards Cole with a smile covering my entire face

"If you had asked me for help sooner, you wouldn't have been so close to dying a few weeks ago" he told me, lifting the corner of his lips in an almost imperceptible smile

"I was terrified, thank you, thank you, thank you!" I said excitedly before pouncing on him, wrapping him in a hug around his waist. He tensed, and it took him a few seconds, but he wrapped his arms around me, hugging me back. Soon after, he placed his hands on my shoulders and pulled me away from him, staring into my eyes.

"Dany, your fears will only put you in danger, you have to learn to let them go."