They started off slowly. Penelope took in the sights along the trail as a gentle breeze passed through, lightly fluffing her hair.
Penelope was quickly learning to understand why the Filmores enjoyed having horses so much. There was something freeing about riding. Although Derek was there, and Aubrey was trailing a ways behind, giving them their space while also making herself available should they need her assistance. Derek had told Penelope that Aubrey usually didn't accompany rides, but Derek had asked her beforehand to come along in case Penelope had needed a proverbial "crutch" to give her some encouragement or offer help if she needed it.
Penelope didn't mind. In fact, she appreciated the attentiveness that Aubrey gave to her job. She could tell that Aubrey really loved horses, and it made her want to learn more about them, too. As they got deep into the trees, the trail widened out and Penelope and Derek were riding side-by-side. "So what do you think" He asked her.
"I love it. I can't believe I was so scared to try this. Thank you."
"Wanna kick it up a notch?"
"Huh?"
"C'mon!" He exclaimed. With that, he gently kicked at Kyle's side and his walked turned into a trot. Derek looked at Penelope, his eyes daring her to pick up the pace, too.
Penelope remembered what Aubrey had shown her about speeding up, and she put Daisy to a trot, too. Her hair began to bounce up and down with Daisy's mane as the speed picked up, but Derek didn't stop there. With a loud "Hiya!" he took and Kyle took off down the trail.
"Uuuhhh. I don't think I'm ready for thaaaaAAAAHHH!".
What Aubrey forgot to tell her was that Daisy and Kyle were two peas in a pod. Wherever Kyle was, Daisy followed. So when Daisy thought she felt another kick from Penelope, she immediately took off in a gallop.
"Oh my God please don't kick me off, Miss Daisy!" Penelope said, finding herself in a sudden panic. "Okay, Pennie. Breathe. You got this. The horse has you. You've got me, right, Daisy? Oh, God please don't kill me!" she half cried.
Penelope caught sight of a low tree branch just in time to duck as Daisy sped forward. She completely forgot to pull back on the reigns. But as the trail cleared out a little more ahead, she remembered what her therapist had told her about calming herself down. How did she calm down when she was getting ready to die, though?
That was when Aubrey came to her side. She reached out for the reigns to slow the horse down.
"No! I gotta do this!" Penelope said, a sudden determination to not give up. "I can do it!" She closed her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath and letting it out.
"Ok, Miss Pennie. You got this! Just pick your butt off the saddle and use your legs to stabilize yourself. Keep your grip on the reigns and let Daisy take you. If she gets going too fast you just pull back and tell her 'woah!' Just like we practiced. I'm right here, k?"
"Thanks, Aubrey!"
With that, Penelope leaned forward and gave in. She gave in to Daisy. Gave her the trust she needed to get her to where she wanted to go. She gave into her fear. She gave into apprehensions. She gave in to her trauma. She gave in to everything that had been her life up to that point. And it felt. so. exhilirating.
"I can do this!" She told herself over and over as she leaned into Daisy, giving her the freedom she needed to give chase. Derek had already gotten far ahead of her, but she found that they were already beginning to gain on them. Pacing her breath. In. Out. In. Out.
The wind in her face. Hair flying. Hoofs thumping. Trees a blur as they breezed past. Before she knew it, she had caught up to Derek and they continued to run together, Daisy keeping at Kyle's side with ease, telling him that he could be the leader, but she would pass when Master said so. It was then that Penelope realized that she was still in control. She had always been in control, and Daisy had also trusted her to tell her what to do.
Eventually, they came to a clearing and slowed down. The trees opened up to a small lake which was surrounded by wildfires. Penelope could tell that people rarely came out this way, though the trail was worn. Her eyes turned to a small patch of grass that had a blanket laid out on it with a small basket of food.
Aubrey caught up on Moonbeam as Derek and Penelope dismounted. Aubrey took charge of the other two horses. "What did you think, Miss Pennie?" She enthusiastically inquired.
"That was so awesome! Scary, but awesome!"
"I'm glad to see you enjoying yourself. I'm gonna take these two right over yonder and leave you to your lunch. Boss, you just whistle when you're ready to go and we'll come on back around, y'hear?"
"Thank you, Aubrey. Oh, hold on. Theres some lunch for you here, too. One second."
Derek went over to the picnic basket and pulled out a small sack. "Mom made it special for you."
"Aww thanks, Derek!" She grinned as she peered at its contents. "Miss Lilly sure does know how to spoil a gal!" She took her lunch, and the horses, and disappeared down the trail from Derek and Penelope.
"Wow. How did you get all of this set up?" She asked in awe.
"I have my ways." Derek grinned.
He took Penelope by the hand and led her to the picnic blanket. Opening up the basket, he pulled out two large subs, some home made potato salad, a bag of chips, and couple of lemonades. "Now, they're not the Penelope Pizza special, but Mom still does a pretty good job.
"This is perfect. Thank you! Nobody has ever done anything like this for me before. I love it!"
She unwrapped her sandwich and took a bite. Lilly did indeed make a good sub. Not that they were all that difficult to make, but she still appreciated the time and love that went into making the meal. They had put forth all this effort to try and make her day as special as they could.
"There is something I wanted to talk to you about. Now, I want you to know that there is no pressure here. You can say no if you're not ready. But your dad asked if he could come over and celebrate your birthday with you."
Penelope looked to the sky as she pondered what that could mean. Did he want to talk to her about anything that happened? What would she say? She still loved him and wanted to be a part of her life. He wasn't the one who did this to her. She couldn't hate him for what Mary did. Could she? Derek was beginning to tell her not to worry about it, but her words stopped him. "I'm okay with it. But I don't want to talk about anything that happened. I don't want to think about…any of it today."
"I think that's fair and reasonable." Derek replied. "And very mature of you as well. I know that there is a lot of healing that needs to be done, and we don't have to address any of that today. I will make sure he understands." Derek smiled at her.
They turned back to their food, engaging in light conversation as they enjoyed one another's company. When they finished, Penelope found herself looking longingly at the lake. Part of her wanted to jump in, but she also wasn't about to jump in wearing her expensive clothes. Had she known what they were going to be doing, she would have worn something different. And perhaps brought a swimsuit. Next time.
As they got closer to wrapping things up, Derek pulled a little box out of his pocket. It had a small, blue ribbon tied to it. "I wanted to give you one of your presents a little early." He said. "Its nothing special, but I thought you might like it." He handed it to her.
Penelope pulled off the ribbon and pulled off the lid to the box. Inside was a tiny gold necklace, sporting a gorgeous heart shaped piece of alexandrite inside of an infinity loop that was half inset with tiny diamonds. Penelope pulled it out with delicate care as she looked at the piece of jewelry. "Wow. This is gorgeous! You didn't have to get me something this nice. Thank you!"
Derek gave her a warm smile in return. "May I?" he asked, extending his hand out to the necklace.
"Mmhmm." She handed the necklace over to him and turned around, pulling her hair out of the way so he could put it on her. It dangled down her neck just above where her shirt angled down to her chest. It complimented her perfectly. She smiled. "Its so pretty. Thank you!" She leaned in and hugged Derek, who wrapped his arms around her in return.
"Theres something else I wanted to ask you. Now that you're a legal adult." Derek said, as he pulled away from her.
"Hmm?"
"Will you be my girlfriend?"
Penelope stared at him, her eyes like that of a doe. She studied his expression for a moment. It was serious, yet carried a soft intensity that she couldn't describe. He was asking her to be his girlfriend, yet they had already kissed. She hadn't put any thought into the fact that he hadn't actually asked her. But she also didn't put any thought into her reply.
"Of course I will be." She said, pure joy washing over both of their faces as they did so. Derek pulled her back in, placing his lips on hers, and kissed her deeply and passionately.
And just like that, Cinderella and her Prince were destined to live happily ever after.