26 | COLORS OF THE WIND
LIKE everything else at Auradon Prep, the stables were large and far fancier than necessary. Honestly, the horses did not care whether the walls had pretty ribbons running the length of it.
The stables were on the West outer side of campus, the stables being the final building before the forests. Winter, who had pulled herself together, eagerly rushed past the workers of the stables. Horses nayed continuously as she passed by the many stalls, catching sight of the encryptions on the outside of some of the stalls.
Herbert — Horse to Chad Charming.
Winter passed by Herbert, careless tossing an apple toward the striking white horse. On her way to the stables, she had stopped by the dining hall and grabbed apples as treats for Stewart.
Herbert made a happy noise in response causing a smile to form over Winter's lips. Spinning around a stable boy carrying a large pile of saddles, Winter ducked under a light post.
Excitement flowed through Winter's veins as she caught sight of the familiar spotted horse. Many could not help but compare Stewart to having the coat of a reverse dalmatian with his white spots and dark base. The large percheron horse had a dark mane that fluttered across his eyes and a long thick tail which he was currently whipping back forth.
All four of Stewart's legs were feathered with white hair as well, something which only increased the horse's beauty by tenfold. A large grin split across Winter's face, a grin which had not made itself present since her time back at home. Seeing Stewart brought on the sense of Winter's true personality breaking through.
She was suddenly connected to the girl she was at home. The slightly mischievous and fun-spirited girl with the striking white hair.
The complete opposite of who she was here at Auradon.
Pausing a few feet away from the stall, Winter brought her right hand to her lips before whistling loudly earning Stewart's undivided attention. The horse shot up from where he was lazily eating hay, the mane flying out of his face briefly revealing a pair of dark eyes.
Stewart neighed loudly, the horse pacing around his stall at the sight of the girl who was practically his owner at this point. Winter giggled, walking up the stall, barely getting there before Stewart thrust his huge head into her palm.
It reminded Winter a lot of what her pet polar bear, Onika, would do. Except for Stewart much sweeter about it.
"Oh, hello buddy!" Winter cooed, pulling out another apple from her bag and gave it to Stewart who ate it on the spot.
Rubbing her hand down his neck, Winter hummed. She could tell Stewart was getting antsy, she was as well. She was ready to get out into the forest and explore with her horsey companion.
However, she was also going to have a pirate companion. Her smile fell at that. It was not that she disliked the thought of Harry coming, it was more about the fact that she would no doubt need to reel herself back. She could not go out there acting like the wild person she usually did with Harry Hook present.
She shook her head, grabbing a grackle bridle from where it was hanging just on the outside of Stewart's stall. Seeing as Winter had been raised around reindeer and generally rode them while in Arendelle, she had never really used a saddle.
Not only that, but Winter figured it would only add more unnecessary weight to Stewart, so she choice not to use a saddle. Opening the stall, Winter quickly put the grackle bridle on Stewart before leading him through the maze of stall blocks and out into the open.
On one side, there was the school campus and on the other nothing but open forests. Miles upon miles of lush green freedom. It sounded amazing to Winter.
Double-checking everything she would need was in her bag, she secured it to her waist before brushing a hand down Stewart's mane. She leaned against the gentle horse, being careful not to startle him as she waited for the arrival of the others.
She knew she could simply get on Stewart and take-off into the forest, but even she was not so mean as to just ditch everyone. Then again, just because Harry may or may not be joining her did not mean she had no intention of not exploring.
She may need to reel back on her personality, but she could most definitely still ride wild on Stewart's back. She simply had too, there was no way she would be able to stop herself.
Besides, there was a slight chance Harry may not even ride with her. Technically, Evie and Mal both knew how to ride horseback on their own, so they could take Uma and Harry. However, Winter also knew that Ben liked riding with Mal sat behind him, so it would no doubt fall for Evie to take Uma and Winter to take Harry.
Oh well, Harry was certainly in for a treat.
Winter hoped that he liked riding fast because she was not known to ride slow — Stewart may have had a gentle attitude, but when he ran — he moved. She suspected Harry would like riding fast as his normal persona was so tempestuous.
A breeze flew lightly threw the air causing Winter's hair to ruffle. She smiled at the greeting, sighing at the fact that the wind was so strong with her today.
"Hello, Gale," she greeted the wind with its official name.
Though, her dad just called it Wind half the time, claiming he liked that name far better.
The wind flew by her once more, its mystical hum of a voice that only Winter was able to hear giving its greeting.
"Yes, a ride today indeed, though I will have another companion apart from Stewart," Winter mindlessly babbled to the ever-curious wind, brushing through Stewart's mane with her fingers.
Stewart was grazing the grassy landscape, swinging his tail as he did so. Winter loved how peaceful it was on this side of campus as it was much less combusted and more open. Secretly, she yearned to take her boots off and prance around barefoot as she would do at home.
But she knew better than that.
Instead, she continued to rest against Stewart as the wind whispered to her in teasing tones about her interest in the pirate. Winter was unable to lie to the wind as both knew and saw everything: she only hoped that Gale would not start doing something to embarrass her while she was with Harry.
She may have been able to control the wind to a point, but at the end of the day, Gale still had a mind of its own.
Finally, after what seemed like ages, she saw a familiar group coming from the main part of campus to the outer parts where the stables were. Ben, Mal, and Evie were leading forward a curious-looking pirate duo.
Harry and Uma both gazed around in fascination as they had never been to this side of campus before. Even when they first came to help defeat Audrey, they had all went through the forest in the opposite direction from this area.
"It's funny really," Evie was talking, "Winter is like a totally different person out there. She's more loose and free..."
Harry's eyes rounded back to the daughter of the Evil Queen. Uma was staring at her in a questioning manner while Mal simply smirked.
"What do ye mean?" Harry was genuinely curious, for as long as he had known Winter — Harry had come to the conclusion that she was responsible, kind, and organized.
All in all, she was an orderly person with her life seemingly put together. The complete and utter opposite of the chaotic storm that made up Harry Hook. At one point, Harry would never dare think he could be attracted to such a person as Winter, but that was proven wrong the second he met her. He really was not sure what it was about her, but it was simply there, a tug which continued to pull him toward her alike to a magnet.
Harry supposed the saying "opposites attract" was not quite so far off.
"Well..." Mal said for Evie, "actually, I'm sure you guys will see for yourself..." this only made Harry more curious.
Even Uma had to admit this was an interesting bit of information.
From feet away, Winter was getting incredibly antsy. Why were they walking so slow?
Winter groaned, resting her head on the back of the spotted horse. She continued to stroke Stewart as she watched the five come closer.
Ben was the first to notice her, his eyes meeting her own before dragging over to the large horse. Ben smiled at the sight of Stewart, the King knowing just how much Winter loved that horse.
Ben and Winter may have not been the closest, but in the past few months — he alike to Evie, Mal, and Lonnie — had managed to work his way into her circle of friends. A circle that he was happy to say was expanding every day.
"Stewart is looking well," Ben called as he and the others made their way through the grass fields, getting closer to the stables with every step.
His voice caught the attention of the four VKs causing them to follow his gaze where they were met with the sight of Winter and a large spotted horse. Winter rose a brow at the King who was getting closer, smiling while looking toward Stewart.
"He is, isn't he..." Winter breathed as the wind flowed gently around her and toward the five approaching teens.
The sudden heavy breeze caused Ben to trip lightly and the other four to look around confused. Even Mal and Evie were not aware of Winter's abilities with the wind — the only reason Ben knew was that he was King and the King had all information regarding Winter within the files of royalty back at his castle.
"Gale!" Winter yelled in a scolding tone causing the wind to tone down its power. "Sorry, the wind is just excited today, last few days of summer, you know..." Winter awkwardly said a with nervous look.
She was never this open on campus, and perhaps it was just the feel of the woods, but she was feeling far more candid today than usual.
Mal and Evie looked at each other with expressions of surprise, Uma mirroring a similar look while Harry's jaw was hanging open. He was gazing at the girl in front of him in an entirely new light.
Winter blushed at the VKs looks — Harry's in particular.
"It is quite alright," Ben chuckled as the wind nudged him forward as though apologizing. "Any news from home?"
Seeing as Arendelle was so far from the capital and Ahtohallan was even further, when Winter was in Auradon she was considered to be the official messenger between the kingdoms. As she could deliver and receive messages through the wind, she was the one who got any urgent news from up North and delivered it to the King.
She was also usually the one to send the news to her father or mother through the wind if there was anything Auradon ever needed to inform Arendelle about urgently.
Of course, a phone would be ideal, but seeing as Arendelle was more behind on the times of technology there were only a few phones in the kingdom. With that, the Arendelle palace phone was rarely answered. Then again, Sitara and Soren had their own cellphones.
"No, everything is fine, Your Majesty..." Winter added the last part playfully causing Ben to roll his eyes.
He hated it when students or teachers referred to him by his official title.
"Call me by my name—" Ben did not get to finish his statement as Mal stepped in front of him.
"You can talk to the wind?" She exclaimed, speaking the thoughts of the four VKs out loud.
Winter blushed and scratched the back of her neck.
"Oh, did that never come up?" Winter nervously laughed.
"No," Evie scoffed, but there was a smile on her face, "that's so cool!"
Winter was now fidgeting with her fingers. She shook her head and pulled herself together, before turning back to Stewart. Harry was staring at her with a certain gleam in his eyes, taking a few steps forward.
Winter gave one hop — and with the assistance of the wind — she practically floated onto Stewart's back. Stewart was large and muscular, so Winter had no doubts that he would easily be able to carry both her and Harry.
Stewart did not even move as she landed on his back, the horse was far too gentle to truly care. She gave his reins a gentle tug causing the horse to stop grazing and look up toward the woodland. He gave a small whinny, swinging his tail as he began to step forward with the intention of darting off into a string into the forest.
That was how it usually happened at least.
"Duckling, I'm comin' with ya'," Harry did not even let the horse take a step before he was carefully moving forward.
Harry had never been around a horse before, so it was understandable that he was cautious of the animal. The only thing Harry knew for sure about horses was that they kicked, and with the size of those hooves — Harry did not want to chance it.
Though, now that Harry was looking at the hooves, he took note of the white feathering surrounding the bottoms of the horse's legs. He chuckled at the sight, finding that he quite liked the way this horse looked. It was the first horse he had ever seen and he had a sinking feeling that it was going to be his favorite horse.
"Woah," Winter stopped Stewart from moving any more, the horse obediently following her wishes.
Winter noted that Harry was wearing something different from normal. Instead of the usual chained up gear or red coat or even black best — Harry was wearing a plain long-sleeved black shirt. That along with a pair of dark jeans — jeans that were not tattered or patched, but normal and new-looking. They were full length, not rolled at the bottom as usual.
It was the shoes that really threw Winter off because they were not chained boots, they were fresh low-top converse.
It was then Winter had sneaking suspicion this outfit was Ben's. It was something that Winter never thought she would see Harry Hook wearing in a million years, but she was not complaining because he looked hot.
An image of a shirtless Harry made its way to the forefront of her mind and Winter was betting that Harry would look even better if he decided to take his shirt off right at that second.
She blushed at the thoughts, forcing herself to look away from Harry who quirked a brow at her sudden flushed nature. He did not even do or say anything yet, how was she possibly blushing?
Granted, Winter took note of how Harry was still wearing his normal dark eyeliner and his hair was still a wild mess. But it only added onto his looks.
God, what was happening to her? She needed serious help.
The wind breezed against her, forcing her to look back to Harry. Winter scowled as she heard the whispering voice of Gale telling her to pull herself together.
"What's the matter, duckling," Harry tilted his head teasingly, "can't get enough of me?"
Winter shook her head, swallowing and forcing herself to stay clear-minded.
"I am fine, now hop on, we have a long trek ahead of us..." Harry narrowed his eyes at her words, not expecting that.
"Wait, you aren't staying with us?" Uma asked as Winter shrugged.
"I normally go off by myself in the forest, I did not plan to do any different today," she explained as Harry looked to her with slight concern.
"I thought ye said when we first arrived here that the forests be easy teh get lost in and yer sittin' here tellin' me ye off by yourself?" Harry was crazy and normally heedless, but that did not mean he had a death wish or a want to get lost in miles of forest for the matter. "Now, lass, I don't know how I feel abou' tha',"
Harry was smart enough to realize that even as good as he was with directions and maps, he had grown up on the Isle. It would not take much for Harry or any of the new VKs to get lost out in the woods if any of them went too far.
Winter was getting tired of waiting, she could tell Stewart was as well. He probably had not had a good run in ages.
"Yeah, for you guys," Winter deadpanned, referring to the VKs, "I, on the other hand, am familiar with the forests, I will not get lost. Plus..." Winter started hesitantly, debating on if she should say this, "I have the wind on my side..." Gale breezed past everyone causing their hair to flutter, a silent reminder that it was there.
"But," Winter continued with a small mischievous smile that Harry had never seen from her. As much as he liked the way it looked on her and wished to see it more often, he did not like the tone her voice was taking. "...If you are scared, Harold, you can always ride with Evie, Ben, or Mal."
Her words sent Harry into a frenzy, the pirate clenching his jaw in irritation. Harry was a lot of things, but a coward was definitely not one of them. In fact, he really hated it when someone even so much as insinuated he was something akin to a coward.
Normally, he would hook anyone who dared speak to him as such. But seeing as this was Winter and he could not bear the thought of hurting her, he settled for the next best thing.
Making the brunette eat her words.
"I ain't no coward lass," Harry threw caution to the wind, bravely walking up to Stewart.
He paused, pondering how to get up onto him. Winter rolled her eyes, waving one of her hands causing the wind to rush up under Harry and easily plop him down behind the girl. Harry made a noise of surprise, looking around in disbelief when he realized the wind had just picked him up as though he were nothing.
It still came as a shock that magic was a thing as he had lived without it for so long on the Isle.
Uma snickered from her spot in between Evie and Mal — who were also snickering. Ben was the only one worried, knowing that Winter's rides could become havoc. Though, he knew Harry of all people would be able to handle it.
"Good, then the next part should not be a problem," Winter clicked her tongue while Harry frowned in confusion.
"What—?" Harry was cut off by Evie and Mal waving them bye.
"See you guys later!" Evie cheered as Uma waved goodbye to her first mate with a wink.
Harry gave Uma a frantic look as the horse moved slightly, Harry gulping. He may have not been a coward, but he had still never done anything quite like this. Immediately, his arms fastened against Winter's waist, the pirate unable to even appreciate the way she felt against him because of his ever-growing concern.
What the hell did "next" mean?
"Good luck, bro," Ben cringed as Harry's eyes widened at the King's tone.
Harry opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by his own yelp as Stewart shot forward. His grip tightened on Winter as she hollered in joy, Harry only yelling at the quick and rambunctious pace.
Winter felt Harry's muscular arms tighten around her, but she repressed the shiver. She also ignored the way the scar of his name on her waist tingled. Instead, she held onto the reigns tighter, allowing a large smile to grace her features.
"Yah!" She shouted in glee as they burst into the forest, the wind blowing in her face.
She heard Harry cursing like the pirate he was behind her — his grip remaining strong around. Trees past by in a blur, Stewart easily avoiding the lush green wildlife and leaping over overgrown roots.
To Winter this was all familiar, she had been in this part of the forest many times as it was not too far from the school. Harry, on the other hand, had never ventured anywhere like this. The Isle really did not have many forests, but the thickets it did have were made up of dead brush and wicked spooky trees. Not to mention the poisonous plants and toads.
After seconds, Harry stopped cursing, allowing his gaze to sweep around the greenery blurring by. Even he had to admit that this was giving him the best rush ever, even the motorcycle he had stolen from Jay a few months was nothing compared to this.
Winter's lips quirked as Harry's cursing turned into whoops of excitement. While his grip around her was still tight, it was obvious he was opening up more to rush. Stewart breathed heavily, his pace only increasing as time ticked by.
The further away they got from the school, the deeper they got into the forest — and the deeper they got, the greener it became. That was when Harry started noticing the first signs of animals. Deer, raccoons, foxes, rabbits, porcupines, and other animals raised their heads in the direction of the horse.
While Winter was no Sonny White when it came to animals, she certainly had her own way with them. Unlike Sonny or Snow White, she could not speak with them, but the animals did seem to naturally love her when she was around. She suspected it had something to do with her technically being an elemental spirit.
She briefly wondered if they would perhaps spot a unicorn.
As they went, Winter's personality became much bolder and brighter. The sound of Stewart's heavy paws thumping on the woodland ground became a tune to Harry and Winter as the minutes passed, the two perfectly content with the ride.
Both could not stop the uncanny atmosphere of freedom as they went.
Harry himself could not help but admire the sight of the large mountains covered by mist far off in the distance. He wondered how tall they were and how long it would take to climb. Along with that, he wondered what hidden secrets and treasures might be hiding on the journey up the large mountains.
Suddenly without warning, Winter let go of the reigns and held out her arms as though she were flying. She howled in glee, her voice echoing the miles of open forest. Harry gazed at her with surprise, not believing that it had been possible for him to adore her more than he already did.
However, Winter proved him wrong like always because she managed to make him cherish her even more than he already had. Yes, Winter Frost was definitely making Harry Hook fall in love with her.
He grinned, feeling as though they were chasing the wind with how they moved. Winter mindlessly tilted her head back, basking in the freedom. She froze when she realized she had tilted her head directly onto Harry's chest. Her eyes widened when Harry leaned his head over hers, a huge grin split over his face.
It was obvious that he enjoying this just as much as she was.
Rather than get flustered like usual and rush away, Winter stayed put and only released a loud laugh. Harry's heart fluttered at the change in actions from her normal nature, the pirate wishing she acted like this more often.
He would be joining her on more forest rides if this was the side of her he got to witness. Not to mention the beauty and thrill of everything around.
Harry's attention was taken from Winter's arresting warm eyes, his ears perking at the sound of heavy waterfall over Stewart's hooves. Winter watched as Harry's head snapped up, breaking their stare-off.
Hearing the sound of the waterfall, Winter hummed in excitement. She stayed with her head rested back against Harry's chest for a moment longer, hearing the pounding of his heart. She realized then how much she loved the feeling of being against him.
Pulling herself upright, Winter grabbed the reigns of Stewart once more, leaning forward so her chest was nearly resting against the large horse's neck. Harry looked down feeling the change in position, quirking a brow how far leaned Winter was.
"Get ready, Harry!" Harry looked at her in confusion, Winter now having to yell from how loud the sound of the water was. "Lean forward!"
Harry did not question her, instead choosing to lean forward so he was practically lying on top of her. His form engulfed her own, and yet Winter liked the heat wafting from his body. Harry himself was soothed at the nice chill coming from Winter.
Many said that they loved hugging warm things, and while that was true, Harry himself preferred to hug something chillier as it always brought him a sense of relief. Especially on a particularly hot day, something that was not so uncommon on the Isle and at Auradon.
Harry could not even count the number of times he had thrown the covers off him in sleep at Auradon Prep from how warm the night was. At this rate, he may need to force Winter to sleep in his bed with him at night so he would have his own personal cooler.
"Alright!" Winter called, seeing the edge of the mossy cliff waterfall coming into view. Stewart snorted, seeing this as well, the wind fluttering against Winter in a way as to reassure her that it was there.
Harry furrowed his brows, looking forward to see what Winter was staring at. His blue eyes lit up with panic as he recognized the edge of a cliff nearing. He murmured a curse holding onto Winter's waist tighter than he had the entire ride.
"Winter, wha' are ye doin'—?" Harry's accent had got much thicker with his panic, the teenage pirate being cut off by Winter's shout.
"HOLD ON!" She exclaimed as Stewart sped up rather than slow down.
Harry let out a loud scream as the horse launched itself from the cliff edge, the sight of a marvelous glimmering waterfall leading into a river far below them. Certainly, they would die if they fell that far down into water. Especially considering there was a thousand-pound horse with them.
"Gale!" Winter yelled, but her voice sounded anything but panicked, instead, it sounded as excited as she felt.
No matter how many times she made this jump, the rush would never get old.
As if on cue, an extremely heavy breeze flew up from the under them causing Stewart to gain an extreme amount of height in the air. Harry's panic turned to thrill in moments, the raven-haired teen whooping in glee.
They were flying.