# La Vaquera



## Tex1904 (Jul 12, 2013)

3:
Justice galloped around the pasture with Emily on her back. We renamed the ruined bay to Busted Justice. She was Emily's new show cow pony. Emily was back to her old self, but the night mares weren't scarce. It's been three weeks since I found her in the old town. Slick wasn't in jail yet, but the final trail was in a week. Emily had two horses now. Romily and Justice. Justice was still too week to carry a saddle, but Emily rode her bareback. The bay mare turned out beautifully. She had a shiny, lush coat, and full fluffy mane and tail. Her points gleamed. She had strong legs and sound hooves. I walked along the paddocks, humming to myself. I didn't notice my dad's stallion coming up to me. Shepherd's Hope nuzzled my arm. I jumped away. "Oh Shep! You startled me," I laughed. I fed him a mint out of my pocket. The grey was used by my dad for in hand showing. He was a well known Stud Sire in town. Lots of people had their mares covered by him and bought frozen semen. The Quarter horse took the mint and munched it happily. I walked on, more aware of my surroundings this time. I whistled to Hurricane and he came trotting up to me. I stroked his velvet neck and fed him three mints. He munched them and licked my hand. "Clown. I don't have more," I laughed. He gave me that 'who, me?' Look. I laughed and kissed his fore head. I walked to the house. I went inside and sat at the kitchen table. Gram came in from the vegetable garden. "Where is your daddy? And your mother?" She asked. "Mum's watching Emily and dad's out doing something," I sighed. "Oh. What's wrong pup?" She asked. "Well it's Emily..." I began. "Say no more," gram held her hand up. "You're worried right?" She asked. "No," I said. "Then what?" She asked, confused. "Well, it's just, I saved her life, and she hasn't even thanked me. Not once!" I said, frustrated. "Well dear. Maybe she didn't realize it yet. Just tell her," my gram said and went to her room. "How do I tell my sister that she has to thank me for saving her life?" I muttered. Right then Emily came inside. "Hey sis," she said. "Soda?" She asked. "No," I said. "No THANKS sis. Good manners," she said. "Well, you haven't had very good manners lately have you? You haven't thanked me once for saving your LIFE!" I shrieked. Emily just looked at me. "Well I don't know what to say," she uttered. "Maybe you are the rude one! Thanking you for saving my life! HMPH! Isn't me being here alive enough? Guess not!" She said and stuck her nose in the air. "UGH! You just don't get it, do you?" I yelled and stormed out. I ran, sobbing, to Hurricane. I called him and vaulted onto his back. Then I galloped, bareback, away. Everything was a blur. When I found myself, I was sobbing in a place I didn't know. I looked around. Hurricane was grazing on a little patch of grass nearby. I looked around. It was some sort of creek. I was laying against the wall at the back. The ground was bare and dusty. I had came in from a path off to my left. The path looked rather steep. "Stupid!" I said to myself. "How can you run away when there are kidnappers on the loose?" I shook my head. Hurricane lifted his head at the sound of my voice. "I can't believe Emily! She was so ignorant and selfish!" I said. "'I don't have to thank you, nah nah nah nah nah'," I mimicked Emily's voice. "I wish the world was fair. I just wish justice would be served, in the right way," I sighed. I vaulted onto Hurricane's back. I rode up the path and found myself in the creek, but at a higher point. I was looking down into the creek. There I sat. For about half an hour. Then I realized what I wanted. I wanted justice. Fair justice. I then decided to become a hero. For all too see, to serve justice in the right way. I had a horse, a trusty steed. And I had a bow and arrows, and I knew how to shoot them. Right then, right there, I decided to become La Vaquera, the cowgirl in Spanish. I was 17 now, old enough to become a hero, according to my book. After all, El Zorro, the fox, was a legend. And he became a hero when he was a young boy. "But what about a costume?" I asked. I thought about my wardrobe back home. Something came up. I had a sort of white gown. You could see through it, but I'll just wear something underneath. "Naw," I said. Then it hit me. Gram had told me how to make my own clothes, and I had a lot of leather. I bought it a few years ago to put over my saddle as a cover, and it turned out there was a lot more than I had thought. And to disguise my face, I would wear paint. I had lots of face paint back home. With that, I went home. With a whole new future
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Tex1904 (Jul 12, 2013)

4:
The next morning I got up early. I walked to Gram's room and nocked on the door. Gram always got up early, and I heard her moving around inside. "Gram?" I said softly. "Come in," she said. I opened the door and slipped inside. My gram was doing her hair. "Can you keep a secret?" I asked. "Of course!" She said. "I'm going to be a hero," I declared. My gram laughed. "Oh pup! That's sweet. But don't you think you're growing too old for that?" She asked. "Gram, I'm serious. I need your help to make a suit. With my leather," I said. My gram turned around and looked at me. She was serious now. "It's not safe to do such things! And you'll probably have to kill a few fellows too," she said. "I know! But I won't kill people and be as safe as possible,"I begged. "No! I don't want to be involved in this," my gram said. "Well then, I clearly wasted my time!" I said and got up. "Fine. I'll help you with the suit. That's all! But you have to design it first," my gram sighed. I smiled. "Thanks gram. I'm doing that today," I said and left. Instead of riding the rest of the day, I designed.
[email protected]+ 
"Gram, I finished my design," I said later. "Oh! Let me see," she said. I showed her the paper. I am a very good artist, so it was easy. On the paper was a girl with a bow in her one hand. In her other hand she held the reins that led to a pieblad gelding with some paint on his face, rump and shoulder. The girl was me, and the horse Hurricane. My suit was black, with a brown leather belt. It curved elegantly over my body. The shirt had long sleeves and a high neckline. It stopped just under my belly button, where the belt took over. The it was leather pants that sat snugly around my hips. There was extra layers of leather on the knees and but areas. Then it was my old black riding boots, that looked like military boots. It stopped a hand's breath under my knees. It was leather and had lacing up to the top. The suit was amazing, but my face was captivating. It was covered in paint. Red and black lines ran horizontally across my cheeks. They were wavy. Then yellow and light blue lines came out of the black and red lines they went vertically down to the corners of my mouth. They were straight. Red and yellow lines fanned across my fore head and flowed out of a black dot. They were straight. Then there was a blue line running from the black dot on my hairline straight down to my chin. A red line ran down from under my chin to my neckline of the shirt. "Wow sweetheart! This is beautiful!" My gram sighed. Next we studied the horse. He had identical lines to mine on his face. Around his eyes he had red circles. On his shoulders he had three lightning volts in yellow. Behind the volts there was a blue arrow. On his rump he had a red line starting just above his dock. It ran down to his knees on either sides. There were four of these lines. In red, blue, yellow and black. "Oh pup! This is wonderful!" Gram said. Emily came inside. "What you got there Lucia?" She asked. "Oh nothing," I said and darted up the stairs. "What was that about?" Smirked Emily. "I don't know," gram shrugged. "You do know Grams," Emily said. "I don't! Now shoo! Go play outside," my gram sighed. "I'm not leaving until you tell me what that was," emily said. She sat down. "It was just one of Lucia's designs," my gram said impatiently. "Why didn't she show me?" Asked Emily. "Maybe because she felt betrayed by you. After your behavior after the whole apologizing thing, I don't think you deserve to see," my gram scolded. I heard someone go outside. I went downstairs. Emily was still sitting at the table. "Hey. Why don't you show me the design?" She asked. "Oh it's just a simple yellow dreSs," I shrugged. "Show me," emily said. She was trying to sound nice, but she made it sound like a challenge. "No thanks, I'll pass. I have chores to do," I snapped. I ran outside. I finished all my chores earlier, so I went to the tack room. I searched for my leather and found it in an old tack trunk. So gram helped me make my suit. It sat tight, but not too tight.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Tex1904 (Jul 12, 2013)

5:
"Well, I want to move to San Pedro, that's about two hours' flight," I said to my dad. We were almost at the auction. My dad was taking the moving seriously, and I was too. "Well. I guess not. You can visit on vacation and stuff. But you need income," my dad said. "Yeah. I'll figure something out," I said. We live on the outskirts of San Antonio, far west. San Pedro is a small town in Mexico. Just over Texas' border. Besides San Antonio was near the border too. "Flights that short aren't expensive either," my dad said. "But what do you plan on doing?" My dad insisted. "Cattle farm. You know, like ours. But just Vaqueroes instead of cowboys," I said. My dad gave a short chuckle. We arrived at the auction and parked the truck. "Ok pup. Let's take a look," my dad said we waked to the pens the horses were divided in twelve pens. Each pen haD five horses, except for the kill pen. My dad got a catalog and we went to the first pen. We walked through all the pens. Three horses caught my eye. A Tall healthy four year old thoroughbred bay. A normal buckskin seven year old mare. And a black gelding, but he was seventeen, much too old. We stopped at the kill pen. My dad was taking notes on the two possibilities, number twenty three and forty seven. I leaned on the rails and gazed at the neglected horses. I felt a nuzzling at my arm. I looked into a dirty face. The mare's eyes looked sad and hungry. She was only a skeleton and covered in muck and filth. I gave her a carrot and she gobbled it up as if she would never see food again. She probably never will. I sighed. A truck with a four horse trailer pulled up at a pen with a single horse in it. "Well, looks like there's some late horses. Let's go check it out," my dad said. We leaned on the rails of the pen. A man led each horse out. The first was a cute little bay mustang. The second was a tall black yearling. The third was a stocky bay with a white face. The last horse caught my eye. It was a paint. It had a spectacular patch pattern. It was a mare. My dad must have noticed I liked her because he spoke up. "She has good confirmation. And she's six years old," my dad said. "She's the one," I said. "Alright. Let's go get a good seat in the tent," my dad said. The mare was number nine. She trotted into the ring after about twenty minutes. She flared her nostrils and gave a little buck. We got her for a surprisingly low price. The catalog said she was a thoroughbred crossed with a quarter horse. She was 16.6 hands high. I named her Esperanza, witch means "hope" in spanish. "So you can speak spanish?" My dad asked when I told him the name of my new mare. "Yes, I can," I said. "Well, that's good. You'll need it in Mexico," my dad said.
/)(/
When we got home, Emily was green with envy. She kept complaining she didn't have such special horses. "Well then Em. I'll sell Romily and Justice, then you can find a special horse. Hows that?" My dad snapped. "No! But can I have another horse?" She nagged. "No!" My dad yelled and stomped off. I giggled behind her back. Gram came up to me at the fence. We were at the farthest pasture, separate from the rest. My dad said I can move to San Pedro. All I needed to do is find a place to stay, then find a ranch. My dad was letting me pick three hundred head of cattle from our three thousand head. They would be shipped to my ranch in Mexico. My dad would pick one thousand head of cattle out of witch I could pick my three hundred. He was riding out tomorrow with the cowboys to round the cattle up. He would take about a week. In that week I had to calculate how many bulls, cows and calves I would want and need. "Well. I'm sure gonna miss you in Mexico," my gram sighed. "Yeah. But it's what I want," I assured her. " I can see the headlines now: La Vaquera and her paints," my gram laughed. I smiled. "Not bad," I giggled. We went inside.
((_-_))
After dinner I sat at the kitchen table with a notepad and pencil. I wrote a "300" at the top of the page. "Let's see. I need at least one hundred weaned calves," I mumbled. I wrote "100 weaned calves" under the big 300. "Then a bull for each thirty cows," I mumbled. I got a calculator from a drawer. After long calculations I figured it out. I would scrape three cows and three calves, then one of the bulls will have three less cows than the rest, but then the numbers would be even. I would pick 147 cows and their weaned calves and 6 bulls. Each of my herds would have 29 cows and a bull, except the one with three less cows. My dad came into the kitchen. "You should get ready for bed. And pack your bags. School starts tomorrow," my dad said. That was another thing. Dad was letting me go home school in Mexico for the last year. "Yeah. I forgot all about school," I said. My dad laughed. "Well pup. You sure didn't forget about Jordan," he teased. I blushed. Jordan was like an angel. I had a huge crush on him, so did Emily and every other girl in school. But Jordan only had eyes for me. We weren't a couple, but everybody knew he liked me. "Dad!" I softly punched him on the arm. He gave a chuckle. "Go shower," he said. I went upstairs and did as I was told.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Tex1904 (Jul 12, 2013)

6
The next morning my dad dropped us off near the bus stop. We walked to the bus stop. Jordan was already there. "Morning," he greeted. "Mornin'," I said. "So, guess what?" He asked me. "What?" I asked. "I'm moving to San Pedro. In Mexico," he said. Jordan was a year older than us. "Shut up! Me too," I shrieked. "You're kidding me!" He said. "Nope. Why are you moving there?" I asked. "I'm going to start a ranch. Well, rancho," he said. "No way! Texas cattle?" I asked. "Yep," he said. "Me too!" I laughed. "Hey, maybe we can share our ranch. And cattle," he suggested. "Of course!" I said. "I'm picking out 147 cows and calves and 6 bulls next week," I said. "I pick out 200. My dad says I have to start from scratch. I'm picking 100 cows and calves and four bulls," he said. His calculations didn't make sense, but I kept quiet. When we got to school, I noticed Emily hasn't spoken once since that morning. "Whats wrong?" I asked and raised an eyebrow. "Nothing," she snapped. We had different home rooms, so we split. I thought about Jordan the whole day. His golden blonde hair, his ice blue eyes, his tan skin and his full lips.....
_((-))_
"Well aint that a struck of luck," my dad chuckled. I just told him about Jordan. "Sure is," I giggled. "Well. I got to get moving pup. I'll see you in a few days," my dad said. He kissed my fore head and mounted. He was going to round up 1000 cattle for me to choose from. "Bye dad," I waved at the cowboys riding off.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Tex1904 (Jul 12, 2013)

7:
Four days later my dad and the cowboys were back. They had driven the 1000 cattle into a huge flat landscape fenced off specially for that purpose. I picked my animals. We separated the cattle from mine and drove them out. My cattle remained in the paddock. The yard was flooded with cattle, but they slowly made their way over the bridge and scattered over the ranch. "Thanks dad. You put a lot of effort into this," I said. I hugged my dad. "My pleasure pup," he said. "Have you found a place to live yet?" He asked. "I found a ranch as big as ours. It's about ten minutes out of town. It has a nice big ranch house and fenced camps. Just like I wanted," I said. "How much?" My dad asked. "Surprisingly, it's very cheap. And besides, me and Jordan are each paying half of the price," I said. My dad nodded. "Then buy it before someone else does," he said.
/;\
In three weeks everything was organized and planned. Hurricane and Jordan's black mare, Magic, were flying with us. Esperanza and Jordan's other three horses were being transported in a train with the cattle. We were driving to the airport. "I'm going to miss you so much," my mother sighed from the front seat. Magic gave a frustrated kick at the trailers door. "I know mom. But this is what I want," I said.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Tex1904 (Jul 12, 2013)

"I'm going to miss you so much," my mother sighed from the front seat. Magic gave a frustrated kick at the trailers door. "I know mom. But this is what I want," I said. "Oh I know," she sighed again. My gram patted my knee. I smiled up at her. She winked at me. "I'm going to breed Romily to Little Bit," Emily tried to but her way into the conversation. "Oh please Emily. Keep your mouth shut for once," my mother scolded. I giggled softly. I looked out the window and saw a plane rise into the air. It reminded me of three swans I once saw in the creek. We rode into the parking lot. We went inside, and it was enormous! We were all surprised by the size of the airport. Even though it was in such a small town. "Why would they need such a big airport for such a small town?" My dad asked. "Tourists," my mom boasted. That's true. San Antonio was a big tourist attraction because of the beautiful horses and landscapes. "Right," my dad mumbled. The rest was a blur. When I got myself again, I was standing in front of the gate where I would walk through to the plane. We all cried, even my dad had a few tears. We said our goodbyes. Jordan was waiting on the other side of the gates. His parents had dropped him off a while earlier. I walked through the gates. "Bye," I waved. Everybody waved back. I walked through the white halls and reached a huge cement platform. Jordan was standing next to me. "Here you are," he smiled. He took the backpack that I was taking along on the plane. He also held a backpack. "Let's go," he smiled. We walked to the plane. My dad had booked us first class tickets! We took our seats. The place was beautiful. It had red carpets and chairs. There was a huge TV in front and a Champagne stand next to one wall. I got the window seat. Jordan took my hand. "Well. This is it. We are going to Mexico," he said.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Tex1904 (Jul 12, 2013)

8:
San Pedro Airport was much smaller than San Antonio's. "Wow. This place is midget in comparison to ours," said Jordan. "I wasn't expecting a huge airport. It's a small town. And besides, Mexico City is the main attraction," I said. "Fine miss know it all," he laughed. I playfully punched his arm. We walked to where we were to collect our bags. "Ok. Hand over my backpack. You have your own bags to carry," I said. Jordan gave me my yellow backpack. "Ok. Let's get to our new home," Jordan smiled. He was bringing half of our new furniture. I was to shop for the other half. "I don't mind going into town, but I'm not your errand girl," I teased. "Don't worry. I don't roll that way," he smiled. We went outside and walked to a taxi. The man rolled down his window. He was about fifty, judging by his looks. He had a wrinkly face, burned brown by the sun. He had black hair streaked with gray. "Hola amigos!" He said. "Hola. San Pedro complacer (hello. San Pedro please)," I smiled. "You speak Spanish?" Asked Jordan. "I do," I smiled. We got in. I opened my backpack. Inside it was a note. "Bienvenidos a México. Mi nombre es Alejandro (Welcome to Mexico. My name is Alejandro)," said the driver. "Gracias amigo. (Thank you friend)," I said. The note read: Bienvenidos a México La Vaqeura. Espero que te llueven las riquezas y la sangre! (Welcome to Mexico La Vaquera. I hope you get showered with riches, and blood. I sucked in my breath. Who would do that? More important, how does the person know I'm La Vaquera? "¿Todo chica ¿no? (Are you alright girl?)," asked Alejandro. "Sí, gracias! (Yes, thank you)," I smiled. Jordan gave me a puzzled look. We arrived in San Pedro's centre ten minutes later. "Aquí tienes Chica. Tener una buena vida (here you are chica. Have a nice life)," smiled Alejandro. "Gracias," I said. We got out and got our bags. A donkey cart came up to us. "Hola Amigos. Need a ride?" The man asked. He had a tanned skin, black hair and kind eyes. "Sí Amigo. Gracias," I said. We put our bags on the back and sat on them. "Where to Chica?" The man asked. "Faith Ranch," I said. Jordan looked relieved when he could understand the talking. "What does Chica mean? And why do people keep calling you that?" He asked. "It means girl," I said. "Alright. Chica. I'll call you Chica," he teased.
9:
The ranch was everything I had hoped for. The ranch house looked like a miniature mansion. It was painted white and very big! Off to the left of the house was a huge barn, with at least thirty stalls. Outside it was painted red with a black roof. To the barns left was an joining paddock. At least five paddock were next to that one, and I could see some more behind the barn. There were camps as far as the eye could see. At least one hundred pens. Me and Jordan was to keep our herds in there. After all, we weren't breeding free range steaks, but Texas cattle. "Perfect," Jordan sighed. "Yeah," I smiled.
(:;:)
Jordan's furniture was delivered later that evening. There were two beds, a few couches, a TV, a kitchen table and chairs, some linen and silverware. "What are we eating tonight?" He asked. "I'll get us Mexican food," I said. "The horses aren't here yet," he said. I fetched my backpack. I took out Mexican take-away food I had gotten at the airport. "Yum," he said. We ate our food and moved the furniture. The couches were a dull, faded brown. "I'll buy some blankets to cover them," I said. I found a vase and put some roses in it. I had picked the roses a bit earlier, in the back yard. At about six o' clock the doorbell rang. I opened the door. A man in his mid twenties stood there. "Sus caballos y balas Chica (Your horses and bales Chica)," he said. "Gracias," I smiled. I ground tied the horses in the barn, put straw in two stables, and put the horses in. 
(( _-_))
The next morning I got up and wandered into the kitchen. The doorbell rang. I walked to the door and opened it. "Sus vacas y caballos se pierden aqu (your cows and horses are here miss)," the man said. "Esta temprana? (This early?)," I asked. The man nodded. "Espera un minuto (hold on a minute)," I smiled. "Jordan!" I yelled upstairs. I heard a sleepy answer. "The man with the cattle and horses are here!" I called. I heard a thump, then some swearing. I heard a drawer being pulled open and after two minutes Jordan came down. He was wearing a yellow shirt and jean breaches. He looked at my pajamas and I blushed. "Never mind," he laughed. He walked out and greeted the man. "Hola amigo," the man said. "Hola," Jordan said. "Maybe you should come along as a translator?" Jordan said. "Let me get dressed first," I said. I ran upstairs. I pulled on a white tank top and threw a light blue t-Shirt over that. I pulled on black breaches and my riding shoes. I ran downstairs. "Lets go," I said. 

At the end of the day we had lots of herds of cattle in the different barb wire camps. Me and Jordan were sitting on the porch. "The people like us. We got to stick together," Jordan began singing. I giggled. He glanced at me and gave me a devilish smile. I looked away. There was a swift commotion at the gate. I got up. "Be right back," I said. I walked to the gate. A girl was struggling with a stunning palomino. "Estúpido caballo del diablo! (Stupid devil horse!)" She shrieked. I ran to her. I grabbed the dangling lead rein and pulled down. The horse half-reared and came down. It looked at me with alien eyes. The were blue with a cat like pupil and lined with black. "¿Estás bien? (Are you alright)" I asked. "Sí. ¡gracias (Yes. Thank you)" the girl answered. "Mi nombre es Lucía (My name is Lucia)" I said. The girl looked about my age. She had black hair piled on top of her hair. She had a great figure, blue eyes and a pretty nose. She was wearing a leather top that only covered from the belly button up. She wore a colorful skirt that hung low on her hips and went down to under her knees. "Mi nombre es Angélica (My name is Angélica)," the girl said. I smiled. The girl thrust the lead rein into my hands. "Aquí tomar el caballo como regalo (Here. Take the horse as a gift)," she said. "No, no me puedo llevar a su caballo (No, no I can't take your horse)," I said and handed the rein back. "Por favor que tenemos el caballo para una canción y su caballo demonios (Please. We got this horse for a song, and it's the devil's horse)," she said. "Sí," I said. I took the horse's rein. "Gracias," I said. "No, gracias (No. Thank you)," the girl said. With that she turned and walked to her gate. My first neighbor!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Roadyy (Feb 9, 2013)

Needs some work on grammar, sentence structure and layout, but very good story so far. I think it will be a pretty good read. Thank you for posting.


----------

