Valkrist's Flight

This book was later published as "Emma's Story" in an online format and rebranded as the first book in the series.

Summary
"Introducing Valkrist--- a majestic winged steed who will help a farm girl discover that her dreams about magical horses might be more real than she ever imagined." "Grace a Valkrist, Emma va decouvrir le monde merveilleux des chevaux magiques." "Emma Roland, undici anni, cura con amore gli splendidi cavalli del maneggio dello zio Morgan, ma qualcuno trama nell'ombra... Per fortuna incontrerà Sara e la sua magica amica Bella, che le riveleranno il segreto della sua discendenza e manderanno in suo aiuto Valkrist, il cavallo alato."
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Plot
This section contains spoilers for the story.

In Valkrist's Flight, we meet Emma for the first time, living with her Uncle, Aunt, and cousin Colm on their horse ranch. This horse ranch once belonged to Emma's parents, but after their death, was taken over by her relatives. In this story, Emma lives in the hayloft above the stables, in order to be closer to the horses she loves so much. She also enjoys writing in her journal and taking care of the horses.

One morning, Emma wakes up to find herself being accused by her Uncle of letting Dowager, who is being stabled by Miss Bridget, out of the stables unsupervised. The horse is pregnant. Emma insists it wasn't her. Later, while cleaning out the stables, Emma meets the mysterious Sara, who says she is staying with Miss Bridget. The two become friends and Sara takes Emma to an abandoned horse track near the ranch, and Emma shares one of the poems she has been working on.

That night, Emma has a vivid dream of riding Mischief, her pony, near a magical sea. She wakes up, on her birthday, singing a song about flying, before being teased by Colm. He leaves, and Sara arrives, wearing pink costume-like dress, and gives Emma a birthday present of a journal called "The Ballad of Emma."

Sara and Emma spend time together throughout the entire summer, becoming very close, but near the end of summer when Emma returns home from a day with Sara, she grins that Dowager is about to give birth but something is wrong. Dowager struggles through the birth but passes away with her head in Emma's lap.

That night, Emma has another dream where a ghostly Dowager says goodbye to her colt, before disappearing into the Aurora Borealis with a herd of many horses. When she wakes, Miss Bridget is in the stables taking care of the newborn foal. She assures Emma she doesn't blame them for Dowager's death, and that she will board the foal at their ranch. However, the foal is not healthy, and it is unknown if it will survive.

That evening, Emma finds Colm and his friends trying to ride the horses. She realizes that Colm is the one who let Dowager out. Colm tells her not to tell, and Emma, conflicted, goes to write in her Ballad to think. She lights a candle in the hayloft, trying to write, before being ambushed by Colm who tries to take her Ballad, knocking over the candle in the process. The candle catches the barn on fire, and only with the help of the Stablehands are they able to save all of the horses. Colm blames Emma for the fire, and Emma, unable to speak to defend herself, is blamed for the fire and told to stay in the house and do chores to pay back the cost.

Emma again has a vivid dream, this time of being lost in a forest and surrounded by wolves before being rescued by a mysterious horse. She wakes to find her angry Aunt demanding she gets to work. As she works, she overhears her Aunt and Uncle say they will send her away to a boarding school where she can maybe heal from the depression they believe she has been in since her parents passed. Emma is distraught and runs outside to find her pony, and the other horses, have been sold to pay for the costs of the fire. Her Aunt again blames Emma for these problems, and Emma runs again through the wilderness before reaching a lake.

At the lake, she becomes lost in the fog before finding a white mare who calms her and helps her fall asleep. She wakes to find Sara and the horse. Sara informs her the horse is Bella, and that they are talking in the world between worlds. Sara also tells her of her Valkyrie heritage, and that it is time to claim that heritage in order to heal the foal. Sara tells her to travel to Hestheim on Valkrist. Valkrist arrives and together they fly to Hestheim. They find Sigga's dusty alcove in the fortress and meets the Valkyries. She tells them she is of the line of Sigga, but they ask for her Ballad, which she cannot provide as it was burned in the fire. They banish her from the fortress back to earth.

Emma is then found by Miss Bridget. She takes her back to her cottage and tells Emma was Sigga's handmaiden, and that she has been watching over Emma and her family for a long time. She gives Emma Sigga's Ballad, but it is locked with a key. Miss Bridget sings her a Ballad which gives her a vision of how to prove herself to the Valkyries. She takes an orchid from Miss Bridget's house and flies again with Valkrist to Hestheim.

Once in Hestheim, the angry Valkryries confront her for daring to return. However, Emma steps up to the alcove and places orchids in the area. The alcove recognizes her right as Sigga's heir and provides her with Sigga's shield. She raises the shield and proclaims her heritage. The valkyries believe her, but say she is too young at twelve to be a valkyrie, and that she must wait. Emma flies away with the shield, back to Miss Bridget. Emma prods the shield, finds the key, and opens the Ballad. She finds a letter from Sigga addressed to her with four lines that finish the poem she was working on. She returns to the ranch with the letter and Ballad. Her Uncle finds her and informs her he and her Aunt were worried about her and were sorry for their angry words. He also hands her the original Ballad, saying he found it. He also shares that Colm confessed to knocking over the candle and that they will not be sending her to boarding school.

Emma copies the poem completely into her Ballad, creating "With Wings I Can Fly." She reads it aloud, healing the foal, who then sprouts wings. She names him Wings in honor of the Ballad, and the story fades to black.

Bella
Bella appears in this book in visions to Emma alongside Sara.

Colm
In this book, Colm is described as snotty and annoying, even more so than other stories about him. He makes fun of Emma multiple times and gets her in trouble as well. Their usual playful, but familial, relationship is not present in this book. He even tries to burn her Ballad book, setting the barn on fire in the process and abandoning her inside. It eventually comes out that he was responsible, and he is punished by his parents.

Cynthia and Morgan Roland
Cynthia and Morgan are Emma's aunt and uncle, and Colm's parents. They took over the Day Mare Ranch after Emma's parent's deaths. Both are occasionally rude and unfair to Emma, but much of this is down to miscommunication and their own troubles with running the ranch, as well as their grief. They also often believe Colm over Emma, leading them to think the worst of her at times, until they learn the truth.

Dowager
In this book, Dowager belongs to Miss Bridget who is boarding her at Emma's family ranch. Dowager mysteriously falls pregnant in the story, but passes away when she gives birth to her foal, Wings, with her head in Emma's lap.

Dr. Dwyer
Dr. Dwyer is the veterinarian who is called to help Dowager give birth.

Emma
In Valkrist's flight, Emma's parents have recently passed and she is living with her aunt and uncle and cousin who are now taking over her parent's ranch. She is described as being lonely, with no friends. She learns of her Valkyrie heritage in the story, unlocks Sigga's Ballad, and writes a poem named "With Wings I can Fly" that heals Dowager's sick foal and gives him wings. Emma then names him Wings, and he becomes her Valkyrie steed.

Emma's Older Cousins
Emma's two older cousins are mentioned, but not named, in the story. It is stated they have both gone off to college.

Sara
Sara appears first in this book as a regular girl, and Miss Bridget's guest. She appears and disappears in Emma's life multiple times, and becomes Emma's friend. She gifts Emma a book entitled "The Ballad of Emma." The two spend the summer together. Sara then appears in a space between worlds in a vision to Emma, and reveals Emma's Valkryie lineage to her.

Ranch Horses
Mischief, Cookie, Dewdrop, Blinky, and Spaceship belong to Emma and her parents. They are taken care of by her Aunt and Uncle. Mischief is sold after the barn fire.

Miss Bridget
Miss Bridget is the owner of Dowager, and she was boarding her horse at Emma's ranch. She is described as short and plump, and middle-aged. Emma says she smells like cake and tea. She is often motherly with Emma, and treats her kindly. She is revealed later to be Sigga's handmaiden who was gifted a long life to watch over Emma's family.

Mr. and Mrs. Roland
Emma's deceased parents, both unnamed, are mentioned in passing in this book. It is noted that they used to run the Day Mare Ranch.

Valkrist
Sara sends Valkrist to Emma to fly her to the Valkyrie's fortress. He flies Emma through the galaxies on the Auroraborius.

The Valkyries
Sigga's sister Valkyries are mentioned in this book. The ask Emma to prove her heritage to claim her Valkyrie birthright. They are only described as living in the Valkyrie fortress.

Walt and Brian
Walt and Brian are described as the stable foreman and ranch hand respectively. Emma mentions that Walt can be gruff, but occasionally is kind to her. However, after her Uncle took over the ranch, Emma says he is always in a bad mood. Brian is described as more friendly.

Wings
Wings is Dowager's colt. His mother dies giving birth to him, and Emma then takes it on herself to take care of him and raise him. She heals him with her ballad, giving him wings and making him a Valkyrie steed.

Locations
A list of locations mentioned in this book are:
 * Day Mare Ranch (earth)
 * Hestheim, the Valkyrie Fortress above North of North
 * The Place Between the Worlds
 * Weeping Willow Lake (earth)

Gallery

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