Yuliya Dukhkin' was very much the baby of the family. Everyone, except of course, her mother, who died, and her grandmother, a harsh and strict woman, love her and are over-protective of her.

If people were puzzles, Yuliya would be a rubix cube. She has many different sides to her personality. Sometimes she can be hyper and insane, bouncing rapidly while singing a song about llamas and running up and down halls. She doesn't like being asked, "Why?" about anything, but she is very good at guessing the reasons for why people do things. She is also extremely competitive and doesn't like being beaten at anything, unless it's something she doesn't care about, math, for instance. She is very, very stubborn and never admits when she is wrong. She is VERY secretive and never tells anyone anything other than what is necessary. she is very good at wearing a mask and pretending she has her life under control, even when she feels like shattering. Her temper is fiery and unpredictable. She readily and fiercely defends anything she loves, to the point of being foolhardy, and always believes that she is right about it. Horses are her greatest love, but she loves ALL animals with a passion, along with nature itself. She generally thinks that all humans are stupid and animals are superior. Although she does have those days, she is generally optimistic and is good at cheering people up, even though her happiest time is when she is alone with her animals. She is very independent, and just wants to be free.

Yuliya is fairly light in appearance, just in general. She had light skin, light hair, light eyes, and light limbs. Her limbs are long, and she has an overall willowy appearance.

While just being herself, not fighting and not riding horses, Yuliya wears a white, flowy, thin dress. It has sleeves that go out at the elbow. It is fitting, and then at the beginning of her thighs it stars flowing, and goes a little bit past halfway down her shin. With it, she wears a white cloak and silver slippers, if she wears shoes at all.



Then, she has an outfit for riding horses. She has brown, leathery riding pants that are between the tightness of jeans and jodfurs. She has tall, dull black boots. Then, she wears a dark silver sweater, and over this, a dark green corset-like vest. She wraps strips of black cloth around her hands.

Ukraine

(Everything except, "No one dares to fight them" in that first paragraph is fact.)

In the country now known as Ukraine, a group of fierce warriors roam. No one dares to fight them, for they are known all around the world for their horsemanship, their valor, tenacity and habit of always performing acts beyond the call of duty, and of always reaching for the impossible. The word itself, Cossacks, means in the Tartar language, “Freeman.” Before they were even called Cossacks, they were known as “the brave and strong people. “Where the Cossacks came from cannot be said with certainty, but, in any event, it [their State] existed prior to the Tartar invasion of 1223. These knights lived separately, without pledging allegiance to the Russians, the Poles or the Tartars.” At the head of their tribal units, similar to Scottish clans, was an elected leader called and Ataman or Hetman. They also elected others: the judge, the scribe, the lesser officials, and even the clergy. All leaders were known as the starshina. Executive powers were in the Ataman, who was the supreme commander in the fields. They did not have written laws, but the “Cossack Tradition,” which was common, unwritten law.

Low on the Dnieper River one tribe still exists, known as the Spirit Horse tribe. The Ataman was a strong warrior by the name of Vivek Dukhkin’. No one saw his wife, Chiye, very much, but she was the pride and joy of the tribe.

Vivek and Chiye were expected to have children, and they did. Their first was a handsome young boy whom they named Voyin, the Cossack word for warrior, who was born at exactly noon on the first day of spring. He was put near horses the second he was born, but he preferred to spend his time with plants and trees.

Four years later, a terrible storm came upon the tribe. It was harsh, and ripping. Thunder and lightning ravaged the ground. But nothing was stronger than the wind. It tore and it rushed and it sang. The horses of the tribe though, instead of fleeing, relished in it, enjoying it. Suddenly, the clouds broke, and the evening star shone through, showering the land in an unworldly light. At that moment, a second child was born. A daughter, who was given the name Yuliya.

However, instead of spending time with the child, they waited. Once she could walk by herself, her parents sent her away to her grandmother, Vivek’s mother, who demanded to have the child. Vivek, who did not want to be dishonored by his mother, obliged. The young girl, though young she was, was heartbroken to be torn away from her home. For Zyma was not of the Spirit Horse tribe.

Zyma treated Yuliya with no kindness, even when she couldn’t talk. Anytime she disobeyed her, she would hit her hard with a stick that had thorns on it. Though Yuliya often talked back, resulting in more pain, this eventually taught her to never show her true feelings. She had to do manual labor the moment she could understand what job she had to do. She had to do whatever Zyma asked of her, no matter how trying it was. And the worst part was, Yuliya was allowed no animal companion. For Cossacks build their lives around their horses, but Zyma’s one fear was of horses, and animals in general. Yuliya had already grown to love animals, even though her grandmother thought she was a weakling for it.

When Yuliya turned six, a most young age for the trials she had gone through, her grandmother started talking about how women were below men and that Yuliya would eventually have to do all the work for a future husband. Through this, Yuliya only vowed that she would never marry, and never love a man.

One year later, Yuliya could bear it no more and escaped while her grandmother ate her supper. The evening star led her home.

But when Yuliya came to the land of Spirit Horse, she learned of a great tragedy. Chiye Dukhkin’ had died, but that is all they would tell her. They didn’t tell her how. At that moment, Voyin, her elder brother, promised her that he would be her mother, and that he would never let anything bad happen to her. But her only comfort was that they had found out her mother’s mare, Moon Gem, was in foal to Celestial Night, her father’s stallion, and that she would be given the baby.

Yuliya then adopted her mother’s dog, Luna, a female husky who became most loyal to her. And also at this time, Yuliya befriended a boy of the clan, Okozir, who was a year older than her. His only family was his father, Soren, who was cruel to his son. So Okozir spent much time with Yuliya and her family.

Nine months later, a shining bay colt was born. Yuliya gave him the name of Arrow, for she believed he would be as fast as an arrow. Yuliya gentled him herself, and he grew so fast that he looked mature just two years later. Vivek deemed him worthy to ride, and Yuliya found a great joy in running over valleys on the back of her colt.

But one day, that very same year Arrow turned two, something to be regretted happened. Okozir and Yuliya decided to go out riding, a favorite pastime of theirs, for they loved to race across the plains. But, unexpectantly, a neighboring tribe attacked them. They shot a flaming arrow at Arrow. The colt screamed as he collided with the ground, Yuliya crushed under him. Okozir hopped off his mare and tried to help, but he couldn’t budge either of them. He regretted riding out so far and started the long journey back to the tribe to get help. Yuliya spent hours under the body of her greatest companion. It was the very first time she freely sobbed.

The first to reach her were Luna, and Apollo, her father’ black lab chow mix, a ferocious and aggressive guard dog. Yuliya knew they couldn’t help her escape by themselves, so she just grabbed onto the two.

Okozir finally came with a band of those who had responded. Among them was Voda, Vivek’s younger brother, a normally jolly and rambunctious young man. He had suddenly turned seriously and pulled Yuliya out single-handedly. Voyin soon came running, and was so angered he almost challenged Okozir to a duel for not being able to help Yuliya more, but Yuliya forbade it. From then on, Apollo always stayed within a twenty feet radius of Yuliya.

For a year, Yuliya was traumatized with horrible memories of her time under Arrow. Often she would scream during the night, and many tribe members began to fear her, calling her a Screamer. She would often disappear for hours on end, and come back calmed. No one knew where she went or what she did.

By the end of the year, another foal by Celestial Night and out of Moon Gem was born, a spirited black filly. To make up for the loss of her stallion, Vivek presented the filly to her, whom she named Black Jewel.

At this time, Yuliya also befriended another animal, an orphaned peregrine falcon. She took good care of him, and eventually named him Streak, for he when he went as fast as he could, he was only a streak in the sky.

For five years she has lived happily, with her harem of animal guardians. It was then that she heard about the school.

Yuliya jiggled her leg nervously, eyes scanning the dock. The ship was supposed to arrive today, and she just couldn’t wait. About a week before she had received a letter from her father, who said that he had rescued a horse from death, and since he didn’t have any use for the gelding, that he would be sending him to her. Yuliya smiled at her father’s understanding. She loved Black Jewel, her mare, but sometimes she just didn’t want to be ridden. It wasn’t that Yuliya was letting her “get away” with it. Oh yes, her father understood that.

“Some horses, even though they might accept a rider, never accept riding.” So true. Maybe she could actually ride this horse, on a regular basis. She could do the things people were suppose to do on horses. And with luck, Black Jewel might accept the intruder, but Yuliya doubted the last one. Black Jewel did not like change, not at all.

Then she saw it: a gleaming merchant ship named “The Last Dance.” Or maybe it just seemed gleaming to Yuliya because she knew her horse was aboard it. It was in full sail, and coming fast. Yuliya sat up from dangling her legs over the dock to receive the boat, Luna and Apollo by her side. Streak was enjoying a nice flight in the wide open space.

Within minutes it had stopped and was starting to bustle with action. Men were scrambling on the deck, fiddling with ropes and sails. Everything seemed to be moving, like a bustling factory of bees.

Before long, a long platform-like board was laid down and sailors began bringing things off the ship. Yuliya approached one of the men in a Midshipmen’s uniform.

“How long will it take them to get everything off?” she asked.

“Depends on the speed and strength of the workers…you’re not expecting something, are you?”

“Yes, yes I am.”

“Well don’t get your hopes up, we were attacked by pirates. They took a lot of our goods.” Yuliya’s stomach lurched. Surely pirates wouldn’t want an old fifteen-year-old gelding…would they?

Before she had a chance to ask him if any horses had been stolen, the man disappeared from sight. Yuliya stood for an anxious wait.

The men worked fast, like a well-trained assembly line. Everyone seemed to know exactly what they were doing and when to do it, and they managed it in an orderly manner. How badly had the attack affected these people? Yuliya hoped not too badly. They seemed like hard workers.

Then, out of the blue, Yuliya heard snorting. Not human snorting, but horse snorting. Had there been other horses being shipped? But then she saw a horse being led down the deck. A dark bay Thoroughbred, with a white star on his forehead and two white socks on his hind legs. His eyes were a gentle dark brown, and he was behaving like the gentleman he was named after, Mr. Darcy.

Yuliya couldn’t suppress her excitement but remained still so as not to frighten the horse. (Though she would learn later that she needn’t have worried, for Mr. Darcy was an extremely calm horse)

“Hello, Mr. Darcy.”

The horse suddenly stopped and pricked her ears, much to the annoyance of his holder, who was urging him on.

“Don’t be afraid. I’m the person that’s going to take care of you.” She saw Mr. Darcy’s muscles relax.

Leaving Mr. Darcy, Yuliya walked up the small board to get to a small desk.

“Excuse me? I would like to claim some of your cargo,” she put forward.

“Your name please.”

“Yuliya Venera Dusha Chasy Bihaty Povitria Pryroda Miasiats Svitanok Nebasnyy Dukhkin'.”

“Since no one other than she could have memorized that entire thing, I’m just going to assume that you are her,” he said. He started looking through his papers.

“You’re claim is for a fifteen-year-old dark bay thoroughbred gelding with a white star and two white socks named Mr. Darcy, by Netherfield and out of Jane Austen?”

“That is true.”

“You may proceed to take him under your care,” he said as he presented her with Mr. Darcy’s papers. Yuliya nodded in thanks and walked down again to where the horse was standing. He presented the handler with the papers, who then handed her the lead rope.

“So you are the one who spoke to me,” the horse said in her head.

“That is true. I hope you will be happy with me. I have four other ‘pets’. The black dog is Apollo, the Husky is Luna, the falcon that is now swooping down is Streak. And I also have another horse at home. A black Arabian mare named Black Jewel.” Yuliya stood to let the animals make their greetings. Apollo immediately established his dominance, and Mr. Darcy seemed to accept it.

The five started walking away from the ship.