War Horse

   The oak was an old one. It had fallen long ago, years before the girl's world fell apart. Its neighbors never gave up on it though. They continued to fight for their comrade until the very end. They sheltered the broken tree in their own branches to save it from the wrath of resting on the hard, unforgiving ground. Their attempt to rescue their friend could not last forever though; after years of being held by those surrounding it, the oak had finally reached the moment in time where it would cease to exist. Not even the strength of its friends could help it now. It would forever remain on the harsh forest floor, alone in its misery of never standing tall again.
   A girl in a dark cloak nudged her horse, Rio, to a stop beside the tree. She had the cloak's hood pulled up over her head to stay warm and to hide her pale face in the shadows so she wouldn't be recognized. The undergrowth around the tree served as a perfect shelter from the cold wind that blew from the northeast. "It's starting to get dark. I guess we can stop to rest here, bud. It's the best place we've seen all day."
   Rio was a tall, jet-black black stallion, and Hayden could trust him with anything. The pair had been traveling all day, with the merciless wind biting at them, stripping them of every last bit of warmth the best friends might've held on to. The fifteen year-old girl with no home and her powerful horse were running from some drunken soldiers who had tormented them at a tavern. Apparently, the massive war horse belonged to them, even though both Rio and his master very well knew that wasn't true. When Hayden tried to explain this, the men had gotten angry and attacked her. Lucky for the girl, her horse was close by and she quickly swung up onto his back and pushed him into a full-out run to escape from the soldiers who were already jumping onto their own mounts in pursuit.
   As they stopped, Rio let out a low warning rumble deep in his chest and angled his ears toward the trail behind them. Hayden froze, listening. She heard the shouting of men's voices. The soldiers had caught up with them. The girl signaled her horse to be quiet and motioned him farther back into the shadows so he couldn't be seen as clearly. Then she silently ducked down and blended into the bushes near to her. If someone was searching for her, all they would see was a dark mound that seemed to be another bush. As long as she didn't move, the men could look directly at her and not know she was there. Hayden slowly lifted the folds in her cloak and felt for the knife she held at her waist.