Another Paradise | T Shelby

SIX - DANGEROUS

"Come on, Blair! Hurry!"

Charlie was running ahead of Blair through the grass, glancing back over his shoulder with bright laughter and a rosy glow in his cheeks.

The sun was shining and the air was warm, a late afternoon haze had began settle across the land, birds tweeting in the trees and a gentle breeze making the heat just about bearable.

It was a Friday afternoon and Blair had just finished up with Charlie's schooling for the day, promising him that she would take him out to the stables if he got all of his spelling correct. Of course, he did, heading straight to the mud room to pull on his boots without tidying his pencils away.

Blair cleaned up after him happily, straightening up the room ready for Monday morning before following the sound of Charlie rustling around in the pantry.

"What are you doing in here, Mister?" Blair said with a laugh, tickling the boy's sides as she pulled him away from the shelves.

"Sugar cubes for Dangerous, we have to take her some!"

"Alright," Blair said, unable to say no to him, "Go and tie your laces and I'll meet you by the back door, go on."

He did as he was told, leaving Blair to package up some sugar cubes and carrots before changing shoes herself and finding Charlie waiting for her by the back door, his hands and face pressed up against the glass.

She unlocked the door and he immediately set off running. Blair enjoyed being outdoors and was thrilled that Charles was just as keen to spend his free time playing outside until nightfall, happy to be surrounded by nature and fascinated by the navy night sky once the sun went down.

He was full of life, awakening a warm feeling in Blair that she hadn't felt since Jamie's passing. The world had seemed quiet since she became a widow, like there was constantly a looming, grey shadow over only her. Though now, with Charlie, Blair began to notice a break in those grey clouds.

"What's wrong?"

Blair furrowed her brows when Charlie stopped running, his feet rooted to the spot and his hands dangling by his side.

"Charlie?" Blair asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Where is she?" Charlie said, walking slowly towards the stables.

Blair followed him, her curiosity growing just as much as the child's at the whereabouts of the horse. Dangerous usually spent her time outside, being visible from the kitchen window almost every day.

A gut feeling told Blair that something was wrong, however not wanting to worry Charlie, she tried her best to reassure him.

"Maybe she's inside? You hold the sugar cubes while I go and check."

Blair handed him the bag, feeling her heart sink as Charlie's smile slowly faded to nothing. She didn't like seeing him frown, the emptiness behind his eyes reminding her all too much of the way his father once looked at her, resurfacing old pain.

The stable was empty when Blair peeked around the edge of the door, frowning when the expectation of seeing Dangerous wasn't met. The reigns that were usually hung up on the walls had gone, too, as well as a brown leather saddle.

She sighed, taking a moment to think about how to tell Charlie. Letting people down was the last thing Blair liked to do, even if it wasn't her fault, she hated making people feel bad, despite being as little as a messenger in a situation.

"She's not in there, is she?"

Opening her mouth to speak, Blair's eyes were drawn to a car racing down the gravel driveway in the distance.