14. Vacation (2)

Sir Ryan escorted December and her friends towards the paddock to show them the horses that they will be riding for later.

"Good afternoon sir Ryan! I did not expect for you to be here!" A girl's voice chirped from behind and they saw another group of people walking towards them.

Sir Ryan bowed at the group and greeted them. "Good afternoon Ms. Winston, will you be riding today?"

Ms. Winston smiled and nodded, "Yes. Me and my friends would like to see the sunset at the top of the hill today." Her eyes drifted to December and her friends. "And these are...?"

"Oh, they are Mr. Williams' guest. Ms. December is a relative of his," Sir Ryan vaguely answered.

"Hello, I'm Brianna Winston. Daughter of the Duke Winston. I've never seen you before?" Brianna silently scrutinized December since this is the first she saw her. As a socialite, she knew all the elites of her generation, thus she was quite shock to know that December is an elite.

"Uhm... I... just found out recently," December answered awkwardly and smiled politely.

Sensing the discomfort of the girl, Brianna did not delve deeper to the issue and decided to let it go.

"Well, we will be ahead of you, Ms. December, Sir Ryan."

Brianna nodded at them and lead her friends to the horses prepared for them.

When Brianna and her group left the paddock, Jean could not help but say, "Well that was awkward. I didn't think our tour guide's quite famous."

Sir Ryan just smiled politely.

"Okay, let's go learn some horse riding," December declared and walk to a brown horse.

For almost an hour, Sir Ryan taught the girls how to ride the horse. Eugene and Mark have learned riding a horse when they were young so they also assisted Sir Ryan in teaching the others. Maria have long left after having lunch since she doesn't want to spoil the fun of the younger generation.

After knowing the basics of riding a horse, they first make some run around the race course to make themselves more familiar in horse riding.

December was happy that she was able to learn something new. She couldn't wait to go to the hilltop and draw the sunset.

"I think I am already used to this. Shall we go now?" December said and the others agreed.

"Let's go!"

With sir Ryan leading them, they took the road towards the hilltop.

"This is so fun!" Jessa exclaimed and tried to make her horse run faster. "Let's have a race on who will reach the top first. I'll be going ahead of you guys!"

"Hey! Wait up!" Jean followed Jessa which made them chuckled.

When the two of them are already far off ahead, the rest of the group looked at each other and shrugged.

"Guess we'll have to follow them or we'll be left behind," Mark said and urge his horse to run ahead.

"Dang, they're cheating blatantly!" Audrey followed shortly and left December, Eugene and Sir Ryan behind.

December helplessly chuckled but did not make her horse run. She decided not to participate in the race for she is still not confident of her horse riding skills.

"Why don't you go on ahead too, Eugene? I'll be fine with sir Ryan," December said when she noticed that Eugene also did not join in the fun.

"Nah. I'd like to appreciate the beauty of this terrain."

December agreed since she's also fascinated to the nature that surrounds them. She really love the peace and quiet she get from the nature itself. Thus she took her time in capturing lots of photos on the way up. Eugene and sir Ryan flanked both of her sides as they quietly move along.

When they reach the top, they saw the rest of their friends and Brianna's group talking to each other.

"Oh, you're here! You sure took your time on your way up here huh?" Jean called December when she saw her coming.

December alighted her horse with the help of sir Ryan. "Thank you, sir. Well Jean, you know I can't pass the opportunity of taking some mementos of the place right?"

Jean shrugged and pulled her towards the group.

"While waiting for you, we were able to talk with Ms. Brianna and her friends. They told invited us to join them for dinner later."

Brianna smiled and said, "It is rare to see new faces here. It's refreshing to be able to meet new people."

December smiled. "I'll have to inform our guardian then. Thank you for the offer, Ms. Winston."

Brianna was satisfied with the behavior of December and her friends that is why she invited them to join her for dinner despite their differences in social status. She also did not really care about the social status since she's more open minded than her peers.

"Don't be so formal with me. You can just simply call me Brianna, please. So you're here to watch the sunset as well?" Brianna said as they look upon the horizon ahead on them.

"Yes. Me and my friends are always fond of sunsets," December answered and was fascinated with the changing color of the sky.

The sky was gradually painted with the pastel orange hue as the sun slowly sets. December's clear brown eyes sparkled and she capture the picturesque view of the sunset. She also plans to paint it when before going to sleep later back in the villa.

She and her friends took photos together with Brianna's group who were amicable to them with the sunset as the background and stayed at the top of the hill for a while.

"I suggest for us to go back before it gets too dark," Sir Ryan said and all of them agreed.

"Well, we will be waiting for you lot at the tavern near the beach. Sir Ryan will take you there I hope," Brianna said after they arrived at the horse paddocks and bid good bye to them.

December and her friends waved at them and they went back to the villa to freshen up their selves.

***

When they arrived at the tavern, they saw that Brianna and her group have already ordered the foods.

"I hope that all these are your liking," Brianna said when all of them sat down.

"Don't worry. Me and my friends are not really picky about food," December said with a grateful smile.

Brianna was quite relieve hearing that. They all talked to each other during the dinner and she found out that December have lost her memory.

"I am so sorry to hear that. But I think you are blessed as you have Madame Maria and your friends," Brianna said as they wait for the dessert to be served.

December smiled and nodded, "Yes. I guess I am really blessed to have them. So you guys are here for some business?"

"Yes. My brother is supposed to be here as well, but he still has some other things to do at our state that's is why I am the only one from our family to attend the meeting. But it also a good thing since now that we are done, I can have some fun here," Brianna winked which made Jean laugh.

"Oh yeah, you can come with us when we go hunt for boys," Jean teased and Brianna just laugh.

"Oh please... me and my friends already had enough of them spoiled brats here, however count us in if do so."

"Yeah, Bri's right. Only a handful of the elite guys are a real gentleman," Eveline, Brianna's cousin, said as she rolls her eyes playfully.

"Really? Well I like bad boys," Jean said and they all laugh together.

After eating the dessert and some more talking, they all agreed to spend the rest of the vacation together with Brianna's group. Exchanging contact numbers with them, they all called it a night.

When Brianna entered her room, she immediately called one of her people.

"Investigate December Lopez for me."