forbidden conquest

[S u N f r O s T ~]

ACTUALLY STARTED WRITING OCTOBER 27, 2012
FORBIDDEN TO FLY AND HENNA TURATH
LYNARA'S KINGDOM AND AMBER BLACK

The two firecracker grays were sprightly, energetic and monstrously talented. They made up the SOPS core group of champion three year olds. Every last horse of that crop had developed to be a fantastic racehorse, maturing greatly in their respective three year old seasons. Forbidden To Fly was the miler dirt horse nobody had seen winning the Juvenile over Instant Success. This year he had stormed to five wins already, absolutely dominating the dirt track at the Wire. He was fast and the colt loved winning. The only person capable of standing the colt's attitude was Henna Turath. Fly was loud and unfocused at the best of times; right now, he was actually dancing sideways and barely paying attention to the quiet cues Henna sent his way. Whereas Amber and Krystal would have lost patience with the colt, Henna merely smiled and stroked her colt's gray neck. Fly was a monster in disguise. He was the dirt colt nobody really knew about yet. But he had two wins to grade one and then there would be no choice but to recognize the son of Flying Colours and Forbidden Wings.

Lynara's Kingdom, on the other hand, was the explosively moody gray filly whom the world might have started to notice. After all, she had only been defeated twice this season so far, scoring six wins and grade two status with her latest effort. She had won the Wire Finish Cup Mile and was slated for the Monrovia Stakes next week. The daughter of With A Snap and Sophie Might had come from unimpressive bloodlines and a semi-lackluster season to explode this year as a true champion. She had started out by defeating Breeders Cup Classic winner Sunset Crusade and hadn't stopped there. She had discovered a taste for the turf and had more than reconciled her mediocre juvenile season by winning ten of twenty one career starts - nearly half of her races, ever. And she had her eyes set on going higher and really showing the world what was waiting for them. The only problem with Lynara was that her moodiness made her dangerous. Thus, Amber had not let anybody else ride her, and their partnership had developed from there. Amber enjoyed riding Lynara because she was a hurricane of unbridled speed. And that was what the workout was about today - unbridled speed.

Amber and Henna eventually broke off during their warm up. Lynara was feeling a tad nippy and Henna needed to do Fly's focusing exercises or else nothing would get done. So Amber carefully cantered Lynara out, letting the filly toss her head and snort her disgust at the slow pace while grinning and preparing for a wild ride of speed. Henna simply circled and turned Fly through an invisible agility course. The colt's ears began to flick back in response, and Henna felt a bit more contact on the bit. Grinning, she knew they were ready to bury Lynara. The filly might be a quick flyer, but she didn't have their turn of foot. It may be true that sometimes it was just Henna with the brain out there when she was riding Fly, but all she needed to do was channel the colt's energy until they were a gray bullet streaking down the dirt. Lynara would get into conflicts with Amber if the two disagreed during a race; in that respect, perhaps only Amber was truly able to ride the filly effectively. It required a gentle touch to get her to respond.

Lynara rounded the far curve, done with her mile warm up at the canter, just as Fly was deemed ready to go. Henna made eye contact with Amber and nodded. Amber smirked and, as she coasted by Henna, let Lynara go into the gallop she so desired. They were gone in a flash, and Henna cursed quietly as she wheeled Fly around and set him after them. They were racing seven furlongs, a determinedly neutral distance for both of them, and it would be a tough race to win for sure. The fact that Lynara had a head start made it more difficult. Thinking critically, Henna rated Fly's pace to be light and quick and hugged the rail as they raced through the first turn. In front of them, Amber was still smirking and a bit heady from leaving Fly in the dust. Lynara was churning the dirt and she didn't feel like she was stopping anytime soon, with plenty in reserve. They had no doubt carved a great lead. She carefully took hold of the gray thunderbolt underneath her, calmly bringing her in, moderating her pace. Lynara at first reacted with a violent toss of her head, but eventually settled under her calm hands.

They snapped through the quarter in some ridiculous fraction and Amber grinned as she felt Lynara rev the engines again underneath her. Behind them, Fly and Henna were calmly galloping along, though now Henna's hunting instincts were telling her to go. They had five furlongs and a seven length lead to decimate. She shook the reins and cooed once to Fly, who responded with his own nicker and lent wings to his feet. They began to fly after their goal and it had never felt so fantastic. They were absolutely chowing on the distance. Henna hoped they'd be able to slink right up to Lynara's side before Amber noticed but knew it was futile. They passed the half and had two lengths to go when Amber snatched a look under her elbow. She sent a wide smirk Henna's way and left the older woman cursing as Lynara was urged into an even faster pace. The filly was only too happy to respond. She had heard the hoofbeats and she refused to be overtaken.

Henna snarled. They were in the final two furlongs and curving around to the home stretch and she refused to be left behind. She let Fly go entirely. The gray colt stretched joyfully, and his eyes suddenly fixated on Lynara's tail with sudden focus. He didn't want to be defeated either, and in a rare display of focused pursuit his speed doubled. Legs flew, breathing rate increased and the world blurred into a myriad of color as Fly pursued the filly he now wanted to defeat. He drew up alongside within a furlong. Amber hissed and now she let Lynara loose. The gray filly pushed for more and briefly managed to gain some ground when Fly pushed for some more too. The fires burned between the two three year olds and Henna and Amber held on for dear life as the two waged war.

It was too close to call, but the racing beats of their hearts overshadowed all victory. An exhilarating ride by two champion racehorses, ending in a winning fashion. What more could be asked for?