Chapter 6
Megan
I spent the night thinking about Sloan and did not get any sleep. I know that I must come to terms with the fact that he is engaged to another girl and continue my life. It is good that I still have not fallen in love with him; otherwise it would be harder for me. This initial shock and discomfort will wear off soon. I will make sure to occupy myself with interesting things and actions, and everything will fall in place soon.
I get up and get ready for the breakfast. When I go to get Elsie, she opens her door before I even knock.
'Good morning,' she says smiling. 'How did you sleep? I slept so well – my bed was so comfortable. It was neither too soft, nor too hard.'
'Really? I did not sleep at all, Elsie,' I say, as she closes her bedroom door, and we start walking down the corridor. 'I could not sleep.'
'I know. I knew you would not,' she says. 'You had many things to think about, I guess.'
I nod. As we walk to the dining-room, we meet Kam and Frasier, who are Sloan's cousins. They are walking happily and chatting about their favorite horses. Hearing our footsteps, they turn around and see us. Their faces light up.
'Good morning!' They say.
I and Elsie smile back at them.
'Good morning,' we reply. 'It is such a wonderful day,' I add, showing the sunlight that is pouring in through one of the windows of the corridor.
'It is,' Kam says. 'We were just talking about it. We are going to go and ride our horses after breakfast. Will you want to join us?'
I love horseback riding. I look at Elsie and see the same happy expression on her face, which is on my face, I am sure.
'Of course!' I say, my mood going up at once. Elsie claps her hands happily.
'I love horses,' she says. 'I am looking forward to it.'
We enter the dining-room, and there are many people there, as always. Sloan is also there. I notice that he is looking at me. The four of us sit together, and start eating.
'Sloan, we are taking your friends for horseback riding,' Frasier says to his cousin. 'I hope that you do not mind it.'
Sloan smiles and nods. 'Of course, go and have fun,' he says. 'Show the girls the beautiful lands around the castle.'
I wish he would also come with us, but he does not mention anything about him joining us. Perhaps he has important things to do, or he just does not want to join us because he is waiting for his fiancée. After she comes, perhaps then he will take her for horseback riding.
We finish breakfast and get ready to go to the stables.
'You know how to ride horses, do you?' Suddenly Frasier asks.
'Of course! We have known how to ride horses since childhood,' I reply. Elsie is equally excited.
We enter the stables and look around – it is a large place, with many horses. There are three times as many horses as we have at home. The horses look clean, beautiful, and happy.
'You can choose any horse except the ones in this row,' Kam says, pointing several horses in a row.
I choose a dark brown horse with beautiful hair, and Elsie picks out a light brown one.
'Excellent choice,' Frasier says, as he goes towards his own black horse. 'Those two are obedient and love girls.'
I and Elsie chuckle, as we take our horses out from the stables. We mount them and wait for Kam, who mounts his reddish-brown horse. We all are ready to go and explore the surroundings of the castle.
As my horse moves forward, and I feel the light breeze on my face, I start forgetting the sad moments that have happened during these two days. We all go in the same direction, along the meadows and valleys around the castle, but it seems to me that I am alone. My horse starts galloping, taking me away from everything, but most importantly, from my own thoughts that have been torturing me for the last couple of days.
The smell of flowers, the pleasant sunshine, the light breeze that is sweeping my hair behind my back, and the soothing sound of the horse's hooves make me relax and enjoy the morning more than anything else in the world. The nature is magnificent around the castle. There is green grass everywhere, and there are forests a bit far, but we do not go there, as we have decided to ride not fat from the castle.
The castle itself looks awesome from the outside – its towers and beautiful windows are breath-taking.
Elsie is having the time of her life. Her horse is galloping away, making her giggle as she takes pleasure in the ride. I am so thankful to Sloan's cousins who decided to cheer us up and have some fun. I am glad that they are in the castle. They seem to be good friends. I am sure that we will become good friends with them in near future.