I lied, I'm probably going to make this longer then just twenty chapters, because of two reasons: One, that's far too short for this book. Two, I have a lot more ideas for what I want to write. So... yay, you guys get more chapters!

I started whipping my head around frantically, trying to see if Duchess was still nearby. No sign of a tall, cremello Akhal-Teke mare. I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down. No use in panicking and getting nothing done. I gathered the aspects of the scene, noticing that both her halter and lead rope were gone, so she hadn't found a way to pull her halter off. Maybe she had undone the slipknot I had used to tie her, but I thought that it wasn't likely. Duchess had seemed pretty calm by the time I had untacked her and left her to watch the showjumping. Before I could start to make a plan on how to find her, or where she could be, Mike came walking up to the trailer.

Mike didn't seem to notice that Duchess wasn't there, and I finally noticed the man walking beside him. He looked maybe a few years older then Mike, and he had shiny black hair that had way too much gel in it. His eyes were a bright green, and he stuck out a hand for me to shake as both he and Mike reached me.

"You must be Kennedy, right?" the man asked as I took his hand and he gave it a firm shake.

"Kennedy, this is Mr. Andrews. He's here scouting for people to compete in the Kentucky Five-Star." Mike explained.

"Yes, that would be me." Mr. Andrews said. I got the impression that this man liked to talk. A lot. But for now I just smiled politely and nodded, not sure if I was meant to say something or not.

"So, Kennedy, I saw your showjumping round earlier." Mr. Andrews began, and I tried, unsuccessfully, not to wince. A scout for the Kentucky Five-Star saw my disastrous round? "You handled that mare exceptionally well, and I have a feeling you would've placed high had she not spooked."

A surprised expression came over my face, but I quickly refocused on what Mr. Andrews was saying, for he had continued. "...So, I've come to extend the possibility of an invitation for you to compete in the Kentucky Five-Star, provided that you meet the standards in the cross-county and dressage later." he finished, and both him and Mike looked at me expectantly.

My jaw dropped in shock. What?? There was no way that this guy was saying that if I did well enough in the cross-country and dressage, I could go to the Kentucky Five-Star. I struggled to find something to say. "Th-thanks!" I managed, still not quite over the shock. Competing in the three day event had always been my riding dream. One of the most prestigious horse events in the world, there were only six Five-star events in the world. The Burghley Horse Trials and the Badminton Horse Trials were both in England, while Adelaide was in Australia, with Luhmühlen in Germany. Stars of Pau was the sixth, and was held in France. I had seen the Burghley Horse Trials once, when my dad had been competing. I had been eight at the time, and I had wanted to compete in a Five-star ever since.

"Of course, provided that you do get in, you would have to ride Duchess." Mike reminded me, and I nodded absentmindedly. I had figured that, which left just one problem: Duchess was still missing. I guessed that Mike would probably find that information important.

"Yeah, so, um, about Duchess..." I trailed off, not wanting to finish, but when I saw Mike and Mr. Andrews looking at me expectantly, I hurriedly tried to cover up my hesitation. "She's missing."

"Missing? What? How?" Mike asked, a crease of confusion between his eyebrows.

"She's gone. When she freaked out during the showjumping, I led her back here and tied her. I went back to see the results, and just before you came over, I realized that she wasn't here." I said miserably.

"Kennedy, are you sure you tied her securely?" Mike questioned.

"Yes! I double-checked, like I always do." I answered.

"Okay... well, there's always a chance that she could've figured out the slipknot. Let's check around, ask people if they're seen her. At least she's recognizable. Don't worry, Kennedy. We'll find her before the cross-county starts, which is in... half an hour. Now, go start asking around!" Mike ordered, and I hurriedly walked off quickly towards another trailer, then turning and changing my course to head towards where Finnick was. I could definitely use some help.

"Finnick!" I called once I had reached his shiny, black, three-horse trailer.

"Hey there, Kennedy." Finnick answered, coming around. I noticed some hay lingered on his riding jacket's sleeves, and I figured that he must've been refilling Nightshade's hay net. "What's up?"

"More like what's missing." I answered, and Finnick looked confused, I explained further. "Duchess is missing, and Mike thinks that she figured out how to untie the slip knot. Have you seen her?"

Finnick reached up and tugged on his bronze hair. "No, I haven't seen any sign of a loose horse. Are you sure that someone from Pine Road Stables didn't, like, take her to their trailer or something, for some reason?" He suggested, even though it was a weak hope.

"No-but I wouldn't put it past Isabelle to turn her loose! Or take her, for that matter." I exclaimed. "Come on, let's check her trailer and see if she's there, or if Isabelle says anything."

"Let's?" Finnick questioned. Ugh, he was focusing on all the wrong things. "Yes, Finnick, you're coming. Now let's go," I said impatiently.

"Fine, fine, I'm coming." Finnick said, and I spun on my heel into the direction I knew Isabelle's trailer was parked. He had to jog a bit to catch up to me, and once he had, he shot another question at me. "What happens if she didn't see anything?" Finnick asked, and I sighed.

"Then we just have to keep asking around, and eventually find her with whatever hints we've gathered." I responded, not slowing my walk.

"Okay, if you say so." Finnick sounded skeptical, but I pretended to not have noticed. Internally, I was just as unsure as he was, especially since Duchess could be long gone by now. I was forced to show these worries out of my mind as we approached Isabelle's trailer, and I could see the brown-haired girl brushing the already-shiny coat of Lonru.

"Hey, Isabelle!" I called, causing her to turn towards me. I hadn't ever spoke to Isabelle before, but I had gotten the impression that she wasn't the easiest person.

"What do you want?" She demanded as we got closer.

"We were wondering if you had seen Duchess at all? She's disappeared and Mike thinks that she undid her slipknot." I answered, promising myself to try not and lose my temper with this girl.

"Oh, your little Akhal-Teke mare? I saw her, all right." Isabelle responded. When she didn't elaborate, I got exasperated. "Well, why didn't you catch her?" I asked.

"Because she wasn't just wandering around on her own." Isabelle answered. "She was being led. I thought that you knew," she added.

"That I knew? Who was leading her? Where is she?" I asked, starting to get really annoyed.

"I thought that you had asked her to bring Duchess somewhere for you. As for where she is now, I have no clue. I didn't know the girl."

"Know what girl? What did she look like?" I asked, finally snapping.

"Calm down. I don't know her, but she had short black hair with caramel highlights, and brown eyes. Looked about fourteen. She went over in that direction." Isabelle pointed, and my gaze followed.

"Okay, thanks, Isabelle!" I said, walking off briskly. Finnick hurriedly caught up to me. "You know what this means, right?" He asked me. I nodded grimly. I knew.

It meant that Duchess hadn't run away, or been set loose. No, something else entirely had happened. This girl, whoever she was, had stolen my horse.

And I was going to get her back, by whatever means necessary.

And there you are at last, chapter sixteen! I hope you enjoyed, and I'm sorry that it took so long! I ended up entirely rewriting the first four or five hundred words, and I definitely like this waaaayyy better. I hope that I can publish chapter seventeen soon! Anyways, our little horse thief is pictured up top. Nothing much to say here, so... bye?

Glorybringer1163