It took them more than an hour, but finally, her battalion of maids declared the princess presentable, ready to attend the dinner.
Bathed, forced into a green silk gown worthy of a queen, her long, russet mane restrained into braids and pinned around her head in a tight halo topped with a jewelled tiara, Ginny exited her chamber.
The moment she was sure that none of the servants she met in the corridor could see her, she slipped behind a painting hanging on the wall, vanishing into one of the secret passages that she and Garreth had discovered in the old castle. It would take her to the Great Hall faster, and she wouldn't have to greet and smile politely at everyone she met along the way.
Lighting one of the candles they kept ready for use by the door, Ginny, one hand protecting the tiny flame from the cold draft rushing through the passage, moved swiftly down the damp, sloping corridor. Reaching its end, the girl descended a dizzyingly tall flight of tightly spiralling stairs, the hem of her floor-length dress gathering dust and cobwebs as she moved on. She breathed in deeply-- the simple action rendered nearly impossible by the stiff and tight bodice of her gown-- enjoying the smell of damp, mildewed stone. To her, this was the scent of ancient tales and secrets, of adventures, of the humid soil of her forest... the fragrance of freedom.
Her aunt's voice was so loud that she could hear it the moment she hopped off the last few steps of the staircase, even through the thick wall. The countess did not sound happy, but, hearing her voicing her anger freely, Ginny knew that at least there were no visitors tonight.
Why was her aunt angry, though? Her curiosity piqued, Ginny ran along another stretch of the gloomy corridor towards a wall, dropping the candle when its flame went out. She pressed her hands to the wall in front of her for support and leaned on her tiptoes, peeking through a tiny crevice running among the stones. Ginny and her cousin had spent many evenings spying on the company gathered in the Great Hall from here.
But the girl wasn't lucky this time-- her tiara clattered to the floor before she could better understand her aunt's mood and prepare herself.
Garreth's laughter followed, letting her know that there was no point in hiding now.
Frowning, she picked up the tiara and pushed it back into her hair, then entered the Great Hall a few moments later from behind an enormous tapestry.
"Aunt Ealasaid," Ginny said, curtsying politely. Then, turning away from the queenly lady, she rolled her eyes at Garreth, who was trying hard to suppress his laughter.
"Will you stop scaring the living daylights out of me finally, and start using the corridors, as becomes a young lady your age, Ginny?" the countess called, hand pressed over her heart, her many rings reflecting the long rays of the setting sun brightening the hall.
"I'm sorry, Aunt Ealasaid," Ginny muttered, letting Garreth fill her cup with wine, while two servants brought trays laden with food for her to choose from. "Is it just the three of us tonight?" She raised her eyebrows at the absence of guests and the lack of servants.
Why did I even get changed? she mused, removing the tiara slipping down her hair again and placing it on the table next to her plate.
"Yes. I need to talk to you two," the countess said, all seriousness. "First you, young lady. You only have a week left before I'll have to send you back to your father. You need to... calm down, and start behaving properly. And to help you with that, I found you a quest, Garreth. You are leaving tomorrow. You and Ginny will be better off apart for a while."
"What?" Ginny and Garreth spoke at the same time.
The countess sighed. "I beg your pardon, that's what you should say when..."
"Mother, what do you mean by a quest?" Garreth asked, sounding rather excited. It would be his first occasion to prove himself as a knight.
"You are to accompany a very important guest, some marquis or earl, I can't remember, from Caledonia," Countess Ealasaid said, glancing quickly at Ginny whose eyes were glued to the windows, as she watched the sun setting beyond the forest, instead of eating, "visiting our country for a week. You know, take him around, show him the most beautiful places... In simpler terms, look after and entertain him during his visit."
"That's not a quest, Mother, that's a sightseeing tour!" Garreth complained, his excitement morphing into indignation.
"Well, you have to start somewhere, don't you, Garreth?" his mother replied crossly.
Maybe it wasn't the most knightly quest, but it sounded like fun, an adventure. Anything was better than spending a week, her last week of freedom, in Warwick Castle with her aunt, without Garreth, Ginny thought, turning back to them.
"Let me go with him," the princess said, making Garreth gape at her, while the countess, forgetting what she had told them before about speaking correctly, asked, "What?"
"Please, Aunt Ealasaid?" Ginny begged. "This is my last week... I can ride a horse as well as Garreth. I can use a sword and know enough about boys to easily pass for one... Let me go with Garreth, please, I won't be a trouble, I promise!"
"Ginny, you are crazy!" Garreth laughed. "Please let her come with me, Mother, it will be so much fun..."
The countess sat in pensive silence for a while, her eyes flicking between the two. She pitied Ginny, she knew well enough what marrying a man without love meant... Maybe... maybe this wasn't such a bad idea after all...
She sighed deeply. "You'll be the end of me, Ginny. Fine. You may go with him. You have one week, that's as long as I can cover for you. Seven days and not one more, then you'll take her straight to her father, Garreth," the countess added in a very serious tone, turning to her son. "You must give her some of your clothes and make sure that she looks and acts like a young man. She mustn't be discovered..."
"I love you, Aunt Ealasaid!" Ginny called, pushing her chair back with such force that it fell to the marble floor before either of the servants could catch it. She was on the other side of the table, hugging her aunt even before her son stood up and thanked her in a much more restrained manner.
"You must be careful..." the countess said, standing up too and walking with them out of the room. On second thought, it didn't look like a good idea at all...
"We will! We are old enough and responsible..." Garreth said, and Ginny added, "We will behave, we promise."
"All right, I trust you," Aunt Ealasaid said, lifting her hands in the air in surrender. "Go to bed early tonight; you are meeting the guest in Dudley Castle tomorrow morning. He's staying with Lord John right now. You must leave at sunrise and you need to pack. Just..."
She wanted to remind them to be careful, but as they reached the door of her chamber and the young people, looking so happy and excited, were impatient to run off and get ready for the adventure, she changed her mind.
Pulling Ginny in a tight embrace, she told her simply, "Have fun, girl."
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