Lilly opened her eyes and blinked as the bright sunlight hit her face. She groaned and pulled the covers over her head, then she sat up. Wait a minute, she thought. Lilly jumped out of bed and yanked the curtains back to reveal a clear blue sky. Her chest swelled with excitement. She ran downstairs, not bothering to change. Artemis was already at the table eating.
“Well, good morning,” he said as she raced around the corner.
“It’s---outside---snow---” She couldn’t seem to get the words out.
“Your absolutely right. It isn’t snowing outside. Now, wasn’t there something I was supposed to do when it stopped snowing?” He placed his hand on his chin and pretended to think hard. Lilly squealed and raced around the table, wrapping her arms around his neck.
“Thank you!” she said and raced back upstairs. Artemis sat there, a bit stunned by the force of the hug. Lilly quickly changed and ran a brush through her hair. She pulled in back into a long ponytail and made it into a fishtail braid. She sprinted back out of her room and took the stairs two at a time. Artemis was waiting by the front door. She kidded to a halt, almost running into him.
“Ready?” he asked. She raised her eyebrows at him. They walked out side and Lilly skipped towards the stables causing the powdery snow to explode in puffs around her. Lilly reached the fence to the field. She had a little trouble climbing over it and almost fell head first into the snow.
“Look out!” Someone yelled. Lilly looked up to see a Appaloosa (here is a link to a picture link). Here eyes widened and she froze in fear.
“Lilly!” she heard Artemis shout from behind her. Lilly closed her eyes and stuck her arm out in front of her, her palm facing the horse. She braced herself for the impact and when it never came, she slowly opened her eyes to see the horse standing in front of her. It pawed the ground and snorted. She slowly reached forward to touch his nose, but before she could, he trotted away.
“Are you alright, Lilly?” Artemis said in between pants. He placed his hands on his knees and breathed deeply. Lilly didn’t respond, Her eyes followed the graceful strides of the horse and he cantered around the field.
“His name is Bandit.” Artemis explained, standing up. “I got him at a horse show for cheap. He never listens to anyone or lets them ride him.” He sighed and walked forward. Lilly shook her head and followed.
Lilly spent the rest of the day in the barn, feeding and petting the horses. Artemis sat by the entrance, just watching.
“Do you know how to ride?” he asked suddenly. Lilly looked up from the carrot she was feeding an American Painted horse named Chip.
“No,” she admitted. “I just love horses, they’re so majestic.” She rubbed Chip’s nose.
“Then, why don’t we find you a teacher.” Artemis said. “Come on, it’s getting late. We need to head back to the house.” When they got back to the house, Lilly trudged slowly up to her room and quickly changed. She collapsed onto her bed, face down in her pillow.
“Best day ever,” she muttered and slowly drifted off to sleep.

Two days later, Lilly awoke the next morning to the sound of her name being called. She sat up and rubbed her eyes, adjusting them to the light.
“Lilly,” Artemis called.
“Yes?” Her voice still heavy with sleep.
“Please come down, there is someone I want you to meet.”
“Coming.” She slowly got out of bed and shuffled over to the bathroom. She brushed her hair and teeth. She then got dressed and walked out the door. She was too busy pulling on her jacket as she went down the stairs to look at her guest. When she got down to the bottom, she smiled and looked up. A pair of green eyes met hers. Her smile disappeared and her eyes gleamed menacingly.
“Lilly,” Artemis said, completely oblivious to the daggers she was shooting across the room. “I would like you to meet your knew horseback riding teacher.”
Lilly stomped across the room, right up in the blonde haired boys face. Her arm curled back and punched the boy right in the gut. He doubled over, the wind knock out of him. She placed her foot on his head and pushed him back towards the door. She took a step forward in order to continue beating the boy, when Artemis grabbed her from arms.
“What is wrong with you, Lilly?” He said, his voice filled with disapproval.
“I want him gone now!” she demanded. The boy slowly started to recover from the blow to the abdomen and got to his knees. He glanced up at the infuriated girl, his eyes filled with fear.
“Why?” Artemis asked, completely and utterly confused for one of the first times in his life.
“Because, this boy is a lying, no good, son of a…” she couldn’t bring herself to say the word, but everyone knew what she meant. “He is a jerk.” Lilly whipped around to face Artemis. “Artemis, let me introduce you to Tyler. This is the boy who stole my money and left me in the snow!” Artemis’s mouth dropped open a little. Lilly turned around again. The door was standing open and Tyler was sprinting to his car.
“Yeah you better run, you filthily little prick!” Lilly shouted from the doorway. She grabbed her jacket off the rack and quickly pulled on her snow boots, which were sitting by the door.
“I’m going to visit the horses.” She said, curtly and left before anyone could stop her.