Page Title

This is the story of a 12 year old girl and her amazing adventure.

Ruth Downs is an average twelve year old girl. She dislikes school and doesn't get on with certain pupils and since the arrival of her baby brother feels as if she is not appreciated and given enough attention by her parents. Her passion and distraction is horses, and she longs to have one of her own.

On her twelfth birthday her wishes fall upon the ears of the mythical Pegasus' and their leader, Jaspar, who takes her to their magical Realm and a meeting with the ultimate horse, Darius, the Horse King.

Once there, she learns about the true history of the Pegasus' and how their past is intertwined with that of Mankind. She learns that our past Kings and Queens used to be in the company of these majestic beasts until greed and corruption took over, and she discovers how a host of other mythical creatures such as Goblins, Elves and Fairies have and also do play a significant role in the whole story. She eventually learns from the Horse King how the mighty Pegasus became the modern day horse and that there is a reason why she specifically was chosen to meet him, and why she must soon face the decision of a life time- whether to stay with her new found friends forever, or never see them again.

Excerpts:

CHAPTER 1

"Ruth, please get up, I won't tell you again. You'll be late for school."

That's grown ups for you. Always moaning and complaining. It's almost as if you can't do anything right. Least I couldn't.

It was Monday morning again and the start of another week of school. All school days were unpleasant, but Mondays were definitely the worst. They marked the end of the freedom of the weekend.

"Ruth, did you hear me? Hurry up!" Mum shouted impatiently.

I staggered out of my bed to the bathroom. I had been up for about half an hour anyway reading my horse magazine. This was one of the few pleasures I had in life. That and Art lessons. I had always liked horses. They were my favourite animal. I longed to have one of my own and was always wishing for one.

I tried to get in the bathroom but Dad was in there brushing his teeth so I went downstairs.

"You're not even dressed!"

Mum was desperate. She was always flustered on school mornings but this morning she seemed particularly agitated. I wanted to explain that Dad was in the bathroom but realised it was pointless as she'd only moan at me for answering her back.

Fortunately, Jamie gargled or burped or something and this distracted her. Jamie was my so called 'cute' 9 month old baby brother. I didn't see what was so cute about him. Most of the time he stank, and he was always covered in food. I hated the thought that I was like that at one time too.

While Mum saw to him, I poured myself a bowl of cereal and took myself into the lounge to watch the cartoon channel.

"Not in there with food Ruth, how many times do I have to tell you!" Mum yelled from the kitchen.

How was it possible that Mum always knew where I was and what I was doing? I found this all a bit freaky. Annoyed, I stomped back in the kitchen and dumped my bowl of cereal on the table.

"Watch yourself young lady," Mum added, "you're getting too cheeky."

I'd had enough. Nothing I did was ok. I walked back up the stairs passing Dad as I went.

"Bye Dad." I mumbled as he flew past.

"Bye darling, see you later." He replied.

I quickly got dressed and joined Mum downstairs. She handed me my usual lunchbox full of things I really didn't like and told me to wait outside by the car.

Mum always drove too fast to school. This made me feel sick. And she always asked me to amuse Jamie in his car seat. But what do you say to a baby? I ended up making aeroplane noises and blowing raspberries at him. If this didn't work, I'd stuff a dummy in his mouth.

"Ruth, we're going to Grandma's on your birthday on Saturday."

Birthday. I had almost forgotten it was my birthday. I'd be 12 years old. Great. I'd be spending my twelfth birthday at Grandma's in the countryside. B-o-r-i-n-g.

Just how ridiculous can parents be. No cinema trip, or party at McDonalds, instead boring old Grandma's. She smelt funny too.

School was dead boring. I mean so boring you wouldn't believe it. Miss Hargreaves, my teacher, was not in a good mood. You could always tell when she was grumpy because she avoided eye contact with everyone. Instead, she'd yell orders and instructions to us from the safety of her desk. Everyone knew that it was pointless trying to approach her for anything when she was in these moods.

To begin with we had our usual Monday morning first lesson : 'My Weekend.' Every Monday, we had to write extensively about what we got up to over the weekend. In my case it was nothing exciting. It was never anything exciting. I did my homework, played a bit with Jamie, and watched TV when Mum wasn't looking. Then there was Mum's Saturday shopping trip into town which I was obliged to go along for, then some more TV. I'd have to tidy my bedroom and clear up any mess Jamie made. Oh and very occasionally if I was very lucky and if he wasn't too busy, Dad and I would do a jigsaw puzzle together on Sunday morning. Whoopee. Just how many times can you write about the same things over and over. I did try and embellish it all a little, but it was all still pretty boring stuff. The only time I ever did anything different at a weekend was when we went to visit Grandma. So at least I'd have something different to write about after next weekend.

Across the table from me sat Elizabeth Walmslow. She was always prim and proper, a real teacher's pet. She prided herself on the fact she was clever, and top of the class in most subjects, except Art, she couldn't draw for toffee.

She always had plenty to write about on Monday mornings. She spent her weekends at the Horse Club riding her very own horse. She talked endlessly to her friends explaining, how she went riding every weekend with her parents (very snooty people) and how her horse, 'Beauty', not exactly an original name, was the envy of her riding friends, a beautiful white 3/4 thoroughbred that she hoped she'd be able to ride in shows very soon. She had brought pictures of him into school when we were asked to do a short speech about our hobbies. I must say he was a beautiful horse. Not that I'd ever say that to her. I wouldn't say anything to her!

CHAPTER 6

"Did you know that in olden times Pegasus' and Man dwelt happily side by side on Earth?"

Jaspar asked the question almost innocently, as if there was a chance I might already know this. Of course I didn't and shook my head no instinctively.

"Yes. We were friends and mutually cooperated. We often flew Man wherever he wanted to go. In return, we were given the finest pastures and left to roam freely as we pleased. Glorious times," he stressed. "Glorious times. We were revered by your royalty and were often in the company of your past Kings and Queens. We were treated with the utmost respect. They would see to it that our every need was attended to and we in turn would provide companionship and an efficient and elegant means of transport."

As Jaspar spoke, I imagined Kings and Queens flying on these magnificent beasts, swooping over all before them.

"It was a very happy time."

Jaspar spoke as if he had witnessed all this firsthand, and joy filled his eyes.

"But Man became corrupted,"Jaspar said solemnly. "He became intoxicated by his own sense of power and lost the spirit of cooperation. Selfishness and the will to dominate took over. It happened so fast."