by Donna and Toni

Ceara Nuala O'Malley had never wanted for anything in her 17 years; she'd been born to a wealthy family, and her passion for horses had been discovered and indulged in early on. Her favorite mount was a beautiful Irish thoroughbred mare named Danu, after the mother of the Celtic gods; together, they had won many awards, much to her family's pride. She'd been an only child, and gone to an all girls school, but this didn't stop her from dreaming of the man who would come and sweep her off her feet someday, as all young girls do.

He'd be tall, since she herself was 5'7", and of course Irish or Irish American, as she was, and he'd have the most beautiful eyes, that a girl could get lost in for days on end. He'd also have a wonderful sense of humor, she told Danu, and they'd have children her parents would dote on for the rest of her days, just as they had on her. Danu, for her part, would always agree with her mistress, nodding her head and giving a soft whinny, just as if she understood exactly what was being said, and Ceara would laugh and give her some extra strokes with the curry brush.

Yes, life was just perfect for the young woman...nothing could possibly go wrong. She was thinking this very thought as she and Danu were out riding one day, her mind on her future life once again. As she looked around suddenly, she frowned as she thought to herself, *that's strange....I don't remember the park having this rustic a section to it. I must have gone off the main trail by mistake.*

She turned Danu and started heading back the way she came, but the longer she rode, the more she saw nothing at all familiar. She was about to get more than a little worried, when she saw a sign, in big block English letters, stating "Edan", with an arrow pointing that way. She thought to herself, *Hm, must be a ranger outpost or something. They'll be able to tell me where I am and how to get home*. Clucking to her mare, they picked up the pace just a little as she headed for Edan.

On her way there, she saw what looked to be like an old fashioned

English Estate, with paddocks filled with various farm animals, including quite a few horses. She frowned, knowing there was nothing like that around where she lived. If there had been, she would have found it a long time ago.

The horses in the paddocks all raced up to greet the newcomers, and it was then the teenager spotted the two riders off in the distance, herding a small bunch of mares and colts towards the estate. The man was riding a black horse, and the woman a dark, mahogany bay.

"Helloooo!" cried out the woman. "Open one of the empty pens for us!"

Despite the fact that Ceara had never even met these people, she dismounted and went to do as requested; one thing about horse people was that they always helped each other. She knew Danu would stay where she was left, so she didn't have to worry about her, and the girl watched as the new arrivals were driven into the large pen.

As the last horse dashed into the pen, Ceara quickly closed the gate. The two riders were dismounting themselves, and the teen found herself shaking hands with both of them. "I'm Charity Collins, by the way. And this is Samuel Grey. Welcome to Edan." As Ceara started to introduce herself, a startled look came over her face and she looked at the huge stallion standing patiently behind the woman. She knew that horse! She had seen him win some very important competitions on ESPN, and he and his rider were most likely going to be on the next Olympic team!

"Oh my God...." she whispered, "you're the Charity Collins who has been winning all the Combined Training Events lately, the one who was the country's brightest hope to take the gold at the next Olympics. What in the world are you doing here!" She looked at the older woman, wide eyed.

"Same thing you are," Charity said with a slight shrug of her shoulders. "Why or how, we don't know, but almost on a daily basis, people are being transported from the old world onto this new one. And as far as we can tell, it's a one way trip." She knew from personal experience the feeling of disorientation and loss that the young girl must be going through. "You have a very nice horse there. Do you ride a lot?" Charity asked, trying to dull the pain a little.

It had been the right thing to do to focus on Danu, and Ceara smiled, "Oh yes; I've been riding since I was very little. This is Danu, my best girl. Say hello, sweetie." Obliging her mistress, the horse whinnied, bobbing her head in greeting to the new humans. She was used to dealing with people, so this was no surprise to her. As long as Ceara was there, everything was fine, as far as she was concerned.

Then Charity's words hit her, and tears misted her eyes as she asked, "One way trip.....do you mean we can't go home? My parents will be worried about me, I'm the only one they have."

Knowing there were no words to say at that moment, Charity wrapped her arms around the pretty young redhead and held her tight while she cried, making little comforting noises. She exchanged glances with Sam who nodded, then left them alone for a while.

"Ceara," Charity said after awhile. "I know this is hard. But if you like, you can stay here with Sam and I. We can always use the help of someone else who knows horses. If you like, I can even teach you some dressage or something. I know it doesn't make up for the loss of your family, but we can be sisters of a sort. In this together!"

The young woman had always been mature for her age, and as her mind slowly accepted her situation, she nodded, wiping the tears from her eyes as she told her new friend, "Sure....I'm sure Danu and Bonaparte will be good friends too. You don't have to worry about her bloodlines, they're some of the finest in the country. At least she was able to be here with me, anyway." She turned and hugged her horse, and the mare softly whuffed and nuzzled her mistress' hair. She could sense she was unhappy, and knew it was her job to help cheer the young woman up.

"Let's get her settled then," Charity said kindly. "We will put her in the barn where she can flirt with the boys. Then we can get you into the room next to mine."

As they walked towards the barn, Charity's arm over her new friend's shoulders, she leaned over and whispered, "I don't suppose you have ever cooked with a wood stove?"

Ceara looked at her with big eyes and said that she burned water well.

"Oh well," Charity giggled. "We will learn together then!"