Riding On ~~:~~ A Free Rein Fanfiction || Completed

Chapter 1

Ann glanced upwards, her green eyes shimmering with the light of the sun that glittered between the leaves of the trees above her. The wind blew past her, dragging itself through her long blonde tendrils, and shaking the leaves as it drifted by. 

Her sneakers continued to pad lightly along the trail and Ann moved her face down to resume looking at where she was. A step came up and she gave a small leap from it and continued on her adventure. The girl let out a contented sigh, her eyes closing unintentionally from the sheer bliss, all the while, she was enjoying her surroundings; the skittering of the squirrels, the squawk of the blue jays, and.. her eyes opened and she saw a pair of cardinals. 

"Good morning," She greeted them with a smile, the female, her feathers more brown than her vibrant male counterpart, let out a chirp as if it were replying to her. Ann smiled, unable to hold back the joy that was now showing on her face. The duo hopped and fluttered from branch to branch as she human continued to walk down the man-made trail, following her, until they had more pressing bird matters to attend to and fluttered off towards their nest which was centered around the front of the trail. 

It was a bit longer before the daunting Texas heat had caused the blonde to sweat a bit too far past her comfort level, urging her to make her way back home. 

It wasn't long until Ann saw her apartment building. A sweet close-knit community, surrounded by low trenches, and hills, and the only green that can be found outside of East Texas. Even from her apartment building, if she listened closely, Ann could hear the gurgling of the stream nearby, and in the dead of night, Cricket Frogs and Texas Toads' calling from their secret refuge, and the gentle padding of wildlife ranging from white-tailed deer to Virginia opossums. 

She made her way up the two flights of stairs to her apartment and opened the door, the cool air-conditioned air hitting her, causing the welcoming feeling of goose flesh. 

"Ann, is that you?" her mother asked, from her back bedroom.

"No," She jested, "I am Brienne of Tarth," She mimicked one of her favorite characters from a show they watched together. 

Her mother came out, surprisingly not in pajamas for it being eleven in the morning. "Well, Brienne of Tarth," her mother continued the joke, "I request that you bathe."

"Of course, such events will happen," Ann couldn't help but smile, "But what do I owe for such a change," Ann's hands gestured to her mothers choice in current garb. 

"Tonight, we feast!" Her mother smiled and let out a laugh and the joke ended with the two of them laughing. "Your father and I want to take you to dinner." her mother spoke softly as she decreased the distance between her and her daughter to pet her head gently. "Especially since it is such a special day." Ann mirrored her mothers' smile as she felt the hand drift from her head to her cheek in a loving manner. "But you little missy, stink! Go clean up! We leave in a few hours" Her mother shooed her in the direction of her bathroom, smiling as her daughter laughed.

After she had stripped off her clothes and cleaned the sweat and dirt from her skin then she began to take care of her hair. Afterwards, Ann stared at herself in the mirror, studying herself; Her golden hair was long, extending to her waist, and her body type was average; she was no twig, but not overweight either. Her assets were coming along nicely in her youth, and as for her face, her blue eyes stood out against her pale skin, and she had a few light freckles scattered about, a strong nose, small chin, average lips, a forehead that was too small for the bangs she always wanted,  and eyebrows that were harder to shape than most. Her neck was long, shoulders broad, and collarbone prominent, her hips flared a bit, and her legs were long and sturdy, from years of track and tennis. Ann snickered to herself though, noticing that her skin had already started to burn from the morning sun, though the burn wouldn't be bad, nor troublesome.