Day 1
"Hurricane Clover has devastated Charleston, South Carolina. So far, there have been one hundred reported deaths, and many more are still missing. Residents are urged not to return."
Ugh. Nineteen-year-old Tracey Freeburg hated Air Traffic News in the morning. Since the hurricane, he had been stuck in Greenville, South Carolina with Makenna Delling for three weeks.
Every week was the same. Tracey would get up each morning and go for a flight or swim around the county. He then would return to Makenna's aunt's house to sleep. She was looking over her, her family, and him until it was safe to return to Charleston.
That week, though, was different. Makenna, her parents, her aunt, and her brother were visiting family in North Carolina. Tracey would've gone, but he had already signed up to be a helper for a five-day horse camp at Grove Station Farms. It was located in Piedmont, about a twenty-minute drive from Greenville.
While out flying, Tracey took frequent trips to Grove. He did that for two reasons: one, it helped him get his mind off his adopted parents, who were among the many missing in Charleston, and two, he felt there was something magical about the farm. He had shown such skill with horses that the owner, Mrs. Connie, asked for his help that week. Now, Tracey had never ridden, but he gained his knowledge about horses from Merlin, who, at one point, was a horse trainer. Tracey was also from a world filled with unicorns, Pegasus, and alicorns.
Tracey couldn't help but feel like the farm was holding an alicorn hostage. As the claxton prince of Atlantica, it was his duty to look after the magical beings of the Magic World.
There was Tracey now. He was on his way to Grove Station Farms for his first day of camp. He had been watching the news from a magical hologram, which was connected to both the Human and Magic Worlds.
Tracey was flying and hoping to hear the great news that Emilee and Jesse had been found, but so far, nothing. He feared that the worst had happened. He didn't want to be alone, but maybe he was. His mother was dead, and he had no idea where his father was. Emilee and Jesse stayed in Charleston for the storm, but sent Tracey to Greenville with Makenna to keep him safe.
Tracey was a very handsome young man (the thanks went to his claxton genes). He had long, black hair and golden-brown eyes. Currently, he was a merfairy. As a merfairy, his hair grew shorter. He wore a black turtleneck that looked a little like a sweater and a long, gold-trimmed vest. His pants and boots were black. On the backs of his boots were green and purple fins. He also wore long, arm-length gloves. His wings were large and shaped like a mash between costate shells and flower petals. The tips of his wings were purple. Whenever he flew, he left a trail of green and purple fairy dust behind.
Since it was only 7:30 in the morning, the country was quiet. Not many people were driving on Piedmont Highway. Many had gone out of town for vacation.
The barn was just off the highway. If Tracey saw a car, he would quickly disappear and reappear somewhere else. It was his inner ninja talking.
There it was: Grove Station Farms. Tracey finally made it. It was in a wide-open space in Piedmont. There was a gravel driveway that led to the farm's gate. Behind it was the barn itself. The gravel parking lot was across from it. Further down the farm, under a small canopy, were a group of picnic tables and the pony ring. They were on top of a hill. At the bottom of it was the large outdoor ring, where most lessons took place. Right across from the parking lot and up another hill was the farm's petting zoo. Almost everything in the area overlooked the pasture and paddock.
It looked like that day would be a great day for the children to learn to ride. There was hardly a cloud in the sky. The air was warm, but Tracey knew it would heat up later.
He was the first one there. Mrs. Connie told him that if he arrived early, he would have to wait outside the gate until the worker arrived. Sure, he could fly over it, but he was trying to blend in. Also, Tracey learned the hard way from Merlin about what happened if he didn't follow the rules. At the same time, he could not let the campers, workers, and helpers know his true identity and why he was helping in the first place—to free an imprisoned alicorn.
He landed on the gravel behind the gate and transformed back into a human. A green and purple light washed over him, and it wasn't long until his wings disappeared from his back.
When the light finally faded, Tracey wore something that looked a little more human-like: a green tank top with a white shirt over it, brown pants, and short, brown boots. Finally, he wore a green wristwatch on his left wrist.
Camp didn't officially start until 9:00 am, but helpers had to be there by 8:00 to feed and groom the horses. The worker that week was a college-aged girl named Mary Alice. She was supposedly a little older than Tracey. There were going to be a total of four helpers and nine children.
Tracey arrived at the farm around 7:45, so he took the time to chat with one of the local birds—a barn swallow. That was not unusual because he had a best tern friend named Gina back at Makenna's aunt's house. Tracey rescued her from a broken wing when he was ten, and they had been friends ever since.
The swallow landed on the gate, and Tracey asked, "Hey, have you, by any chance, seen an alicorn here? They look a little bit like this." He lifted his hands and created a green and purple image of an alicorn. It looked like a mix between a Pegasus and a unicorn. It had wings and a horn on its forehead.
The swallow studied the picture for a few minutes. It then opened its wings and lifted off the gate, flying away from Tracey.
"Thanks!" he called. "Make sure you keep me up to date on what you find!"
Fifteen minutes later, a car pulled into the farm's driveway. It was a silver Jeep that looked brand new. Tracey immediately guessed that that was Mary Alice. He lifted his hand and gave her a quick, sloppy wave.
Sure enough, sitting in the Jeep was a college-aged girl. She had curly, dirty-blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail and blue eyes. She wore a simple T-shirt, riding pants, and boots.
At the sight of Tracey waiting by the gate, she turned on a weirded-out face. She stopped her car and rolled down her window, calling to him. "Yo! Are you Tracey?"
"I am!" Tracey called back. He turned on a brave face and slowly approached the driver's side of Mary Alice's car.
One look at him, and she blushed. Yo! She remembered Mrs. Connie mentioning that one of the helpers that week would be a boy, but she never mentioned he was that handsome!
Mary Alice blushed. She even started to sweat. She fanned herself with her hand as she tried to find her words. This was the first thing she said: "Are you single?" Then her face turned an even brighter shade of red. "I mean, how did you get here?"
Tracey immediately came up with an excuse. "Oh. My friend dropped me off."
"How long have you been alone? You must have a chill! Let me unlock the gate, and then we can get you warmed up. Here, take this!"
"Oh, I'm fine." But Tracey spoke too soon.
Mary Alice reached behind her seat. She dug out a blanket from the floorboard and chucked it into Tracey's arms. "No! You're not catching a cold! Not under my watch!" she said.
It was Tracey's turn to look weirded out. He stared at the blanket, even as Mary Alice pulled up to the gate. She opened her door and stepped onto the driveway. However, she paid no attention to the gate. She just backed up to it and stared at the hot boy standing before her.
"Um, are you okay?" asked Tracey.
"I'm great!" Mary Alice spat out.
"Then why aren't you opening the gate?"
"I'll get there eventually!" And Mary Alice did. She opened the gate before climbing back into her car to park it.
Tracey followed her in. He tossed the blanket over his shoulder so it wouldn't mess up his lunch. It was in a paper bag. Already, he could smell the horses. He wondered if alicorns smelled any different—perhaps a little more magical?
While he waited for Mary Alice to park and open the barn's side door, he sat on a bench before it. Once again, he created the image of the alicorn. He quickly put it away, though, when another car pulled into the parking lot.
It was another helper. Her name was Stacie, and she was fourteen years old. Her mom pulled up beside Mary Alice's Jeep to let her out, because Stacie and Mary Alice were good friends.
Stacie was a tall girl who had long, brown hair and brown eyes. She wore a Grove Station Farms T-shirt, jeans, and riding boots. There were a few bracelets on both her right and left wrists. The second she was out of the car, she hurried to Mary Alice and threw her arms around her.
Tracey watched the friends with a smile. He had to admit, he didn't mind being around a bunch of girls that week, as long as he freed the alicorn.
Where Mary Alice and Stacie were, they let go, but Mary Alice was literally crying. "I can't do it, Stacie!"
"What are you talking about, Mary Alice? They're only nine kids."
"It's not the kids! It's the fact that the boy helper is even hotter than Chris Hemsworth!"
Stacie laughed. "Oh, come on, Mary Alice. He can't be that hot."
"Really? Well, take a look for yourself, and tell me what you think!"
Stacie did. She was lucky because Tracey was coming over to introduce himself. Unfortunately, just as Mary Alice did, she froze. The image of the barn and farm vanished. She didn't pay attention to the horses whinnying from the pasture. All she saw was Tracey.
He shivered, but still gave Stacie a quick wave. "Hi. I'm Tracey. And you are?"
"Stacie," Stacie squealed.
"Stacie. Nice to meet you. So um, are we going to head into the barn or not?"
"Sure," said Stacie. With that, she and Mary Alice stumbled toward the barn. On their way there, Stacie whispered to Mary Alice, "Are you kidding me?"
"Told ya," said Mary Alice. She unlocked the barn's side door, opening it for her helpers. Before long, Stacie, Tracey, and she were inside.
To the right of the kids was the barn's office. There were also rows of stalls that stretched to the back.
Tracey took the time to read the names off each stall: Haddie, Bullet, Chance, Maddie, Gus, Muffin, Chuck, Balto, Tia, Rain, Monkey, Kit, Cowboy, April, and Baze. Fifteen horses to feed and groom.
Out of those fifteen, one of them was the alicorn.