A Day in the Kerr Residence [Part 2]

Ethan and Kate arrived at the stables of the Kerr Residence. It was the first time that Kate had seen horses in real life. Her eyes were sparkling as Ethan guided her inside the stable where the horses were kept.

Various horses of different colors stood or lazed around in their stalls. With a glance, Kate understood that the Kerr Family really cared for their horses.

The stable was clean and the horses were well groomed. Their coats were glossy, and their bodies looked strong. There was even a chestnut colored horse who poked out its head from its stall to look closely at her.

Kate fearlessly reached out to touch the side of its face. The horse didn't flinch from her actions and even rubbed its head along her hand. Clearly, this horse was very used to people and had a docile personality.

"Is this a girl or a boy?" Kate asked. She didn't know anything about horses so she decided to confirm her guess.

"It's a girl," Ethan replied with a smile.

"Does she have a name?"

"Dorothy, her name is Dorothy."

"Dorothy," Kate repeated. "It's a good name. Nice to meet you Dorothy."

The mare nudged her head against Kate's and the latter reached out her hands to hug the mare's head. "You're a very good girl!"

Dorothy closed her eyes and accepted the hug. The 'two girls' stayed in that position for half a minute before Kate reluctantly released her hold on Dorothy's neck.

"Don't worry. The next time you come back, you can come and visit her again," Ethan commented from the side.

"Really?" Kate happily replied. "Then, I'll see you soon, Dorothy."

Dorothy neighed softly to her words. It was as if she was saying "I'll be waiting."

Ethan looked at this from the side and was elated. He wanted to give Dorothy a big thumbs up for giving Kate a good first impression. He made a mental note to tell the stable master to ensure that she was well taken care off.

The boy had a feeling that perhaps the two would get along really well. After spending some time in Dorothy's stall, Ethan guided Kate in the farthest stall from the entrance of the stable.

The lighting was good enough and it didn't take long for Kate to see another horse. She could tell that this horse was very different from Dorothy. It had a long mane on its head and its black coat shone vividly in the light.

The horse looked at the two children as if challenging them to come closer. It was stomping its foot on the ground. The feral wildness in its eyes gave Kate a sense of danger. She had a feeling that the horse would go on a rampage if anyone dared to get close to its territory.

[Hoh! This is one interesting fella!] Stella exclaimed from inside the mindscape. [That stare of his is tempting me to give him a good beating. Ne~ Kate, can I punch him just once?]

'No. This novel doesn't allow animal cruelty.'

[Too bad then.]

Ethan gave a light cough unaware of the short discussion that happened in Kate's mindscape. They were standing a few meters away from the stallion's stall to ensure that no accident would happen to them. He wanted to show this horse to Kate because although it was untamed, it was still the finest horse in their collection.

"This stallion arrived a few days ago," Ethan explained. "As you can see, he has a bit of personality. The staff wasn't able to tame him. Of course, given time he will be more lenient towards people," Ethan hastily added when he saw the frown that appeared on Kate's pretty face.

"What is his name?"

"His name is Lancelot."

"Lancelot," Kate said the stallion's name as if she was tasting it. "Such a domineering name. Who gave him this name?"

"I did."

"Oh, your naming sense is not bad!"

"Thank you!" Ethan happily accepted Kate's praise. His smile almost reached his ears. He received praises from his parents and grandparents before, but hearing Kate praise him made his heart skip a beat. The poor boy was inching his way to the land of no return.

"You said you're going to teach me how to ride a horse," Kate said while looking at Lancelot. "Don't tell me you're going to let me ride this one?"

"Of course not!" Ethan replied in a heartbeat. "If we try to ride that one, he would kick us before we even get close to him. Until he is tamed, even I am not allowed to even get near him."

"Mmm, I see."

Ethan bravely held Kate's hand and half dragged her to another stall. In this stall, a white horse stood. It's mane was not as long as Lancelot's, but it still looked majestic. The white coat that covered its body was glossy and looked very smooth. Its intelligent eyes peered at the two children, observing their expressions.

"This one looks like a smart horse." Kate instinctively felt that the horse in front of her was very intelligent. "Somehow, he feels more like a human than a horse."

"Weird, you and grandma said exactly the same thing." Ethan was genuinely surprised with the way Kate described the horse in front of her. His grandma also said the same when the horse arrived at their residence.

When Emily was younger, she was a very capable equestrian. She would travel around the countryside riding on the back of a horse and spend days away from home. Even though her interest shifted to botany as she grew older, she was still a very good judge when it came to horses.

Emily was also the one who assigned this horse to become Ethan's personal mount whenever he intended to go horseback riding. She knew that her beloved grandson would be safe as long as he didn't do anything stupid that would surprise or frighten the horse on purpose.

"Let me guess his name ok?"

"Sure go ahead." Ethan smiled and leaned his back on the stall. He gestured for Kate to give it her best shot.

"His name is Snow White!"

"It's a boy," Ethan chuckled. "Try again."

"Whitey!"

"Not even close."

"Casper!"

"Eh? How did you know?" This time, Ethan wasn't able to hold back his surprise. He almost slid from the stall he was leaning on. It never crossed his mind that Kate would be able to guess the horse's name after trying a few times.

"Because he is white, and he is friendly," Kate said matter-of-factly. "There's no other name that's more fitting than Casper."

"Grandma, is that you?"

"You want me to hit you?!"

Ethan raised his hands in surrender. Although the boy was tempted to be hit by Kate, he was not a masochist. He hurriedly opened the stall and led Casper to the entrance of the stable. The stable master and his assistant worked together in saddling the horse.

After Casper was properly saddled, Ethan held the reins and guided him to the pen. Kate followed a few steps behind him with excitement. She was looking forward to her first horse riding lesson.