A Short Break Before the Entrance Exam [Part 1]

Time passed swiftly while Kate studied diligently under Ciel and Andrea's guidance. The Belle Family hired the best tutors in order to ensure that Kate would be able to pass the exams. Whenever the poor girl was on the verge of collapse, Stella would come to her rescue and switch with her.

Kate was a good student, but she was not very good at remembering things. This was why the tutors had a hard time teaching her. Even with the techniques that they had mastered over the years from teaching many students, this was the first time they felt that they were on the verge of giving up.

If not for Stella's timely appearance and her outstanding results in their mock exams, they would have already thrown in the towel and walked out of the door. It was not only Kate who was studying diligently for the exams. Chloe accompanied Kate in her lessons. The tutors were moved by her dedication and poured all their efforts in teaching her as well.

Days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months. Ciel looked at the calendar in his room and counted the remaining days before the entrance exam officially began.

"Fifteen more days," Ciel muttered as he looked at the sleeping Kate who had snuck into his bed during the night. The tutors had decided that there was nothing more that they could teach Kate and Chloe. They guaranteed that the two girls were more than ready and would be able to pass the test with flying colors.

Surprisingly, Kate didn't rely on Stella and got good grades on her final mock exams. Stella was very impressed by her performance and praised her to no end.

Ciel was just about to wake up the sleeping girl when he heard a knock on his door.

"Come in," Ciel said. He didn't need to ask who it was. The distinctive knock belonged to Heinz and it was the usual time where he visited his room to wake him up.

The door opened and Heinz walked in with a smile. "Good morning, young master."

"Good morning, Heinz," Ciel replied. "What is my schedule for today?"

Heinz opened the windows to let the sunlight enter the room, which made the girl lying on the bed hide under the sheets. She was like a little vampire who was afraid that she would turn into ash the moment sunlight hit her.

"You don't have anything planned today, young master," Heinz answered with a smile. "However, the young lady hiding under the sheets does."

The bundle of sheets stiffened when it heard Heinz's comment.

"Yesterday she accepted an invitation from young master Ethan to spend the day in their residence," Heinz explained. "The equestrian clothes that you ordered for her, young master, are also ready."

"How about Chloe and Claire's riding gear?" Ciel asked. When Kate told her that she started to learn horseback riding, he immediately asked their private tailor to make custom made clothes not only for Kate, but for Chloe and Claire as well.

"They're also prepared, young master," Heinz reassured Ciel.

These past few months were not spent on studying alone. They also took some time to go horseback riding as the girls' rewards for studying hard.

Kate, and Claire had become proficient in riding horses. Chloe, on the other hand, was not allowed to ride a horse alone. She was very content to ride on the same horse as her Big Brother whenever they went horseback riding.

"How long are you planning to stay there?" Ciel poked the girl under the sheets. "Don't you want to go horseback riding today?"

The bundle of sheets squirmed from Ciel's poking. "It's still too early…"

"It's already seven in the morning."

"Still too early!"

Ciel sighed and looked at the butler who had a wry smile on his face.

"We'll be ready in a few minutes. Please, go ahead and wake Chloe and Claire for the time being."

"As you wish, young master."

Heinz left the room and closed the door behind him. Ciel looked at the bundle of sheets and poked it repeatedly. "Still not coming out?"

"Muh-- you bully."

"Get up so we can have breakfast before we go."

Kate crawled out of the sheets and sat up. She raised her hands and stretched her body from side to side. She still felt sleepy, but she knew that time waited for no one. After bidding Ciel goodbye, she returned to her room to freshen up and changed her clothes.

-----

At the Kerr Residence…

"Lancelot I missed you," Kate hugged the neck of the black stallion who had become her official mount when she was in the Kerr Residence. Everyone in the residence, including Emily, was surprised when the proud stallion submitted in the hands of the teenage girl. They didn't know what trick she used to make the horse obedient to her.

In fact, it was not Kate who tamed Lancelot, but Stella. Kate's split personality gave the horse a quick punch in the gut when nobody was looking. Since then, whenever Stella was around, the stallion would act meek and obedient. When she was not around, Lancelot returned to his aloof and untouchable demeanor to the surprise of the Stable Master and his assistant.

"I still didn't know how you did it, but it certainly is impressive," Ethan commented from the side. He looked at Kate and Lancelot with complicated feelings. A girl, who only started to learn horseback riding a few months ago, was now an experienced rider. She even managed to tame the most unruly horse in their collection.

Ethan would be lying if he said that he wasn't envious of Kate's achievements. The horses he rode were very tame. They were not like Lancelot who was domineering and aloof. Although he still prefered to ride with Casper, Ethan wanted to prove to Kate that he was capable of taming a horse like Lancelot as well.

Ciel was gently pulling Dorothy's reins towards the Stable Master to be saddled. Dorothy was the horse Ciel chose to be his mount when he visited the Kerr's residence. Since Chloe was riding with him, the gentle mare was the perfect companion for the two of them.

Soon, all of their horses were saddled and were ready to go. They planned to visit Ethan's favorite spot and have a picnic there.

Heinz and some of the members of Lazarus were also on horseback. Arthur didn't want to take any chances and made sure that there were always men watching over them. Although they would be supervising the kids, they didn't plan to get in the way of their enjoyment. They only needed to keep them in their sights to ensure their safety.