Lucy in Avalon // Lindensea 3

III

There was hardly a bit of light in the sky when Bernard came in to say goodbye to Lucy. He leaned over to kiss her good morning, and she giggled softly, feeling his moustache tickle her face.

"Goodbye, Lucy dear. I hope you have a nice time, but remember it's only for a fortnight. Don't forget to write to your mothers, they'll be worried about you until they get a letter."

Bernard slipped her a warm bun slathered in sweet butter he'd taken from the breakfast table, and left. He wondered uneasily if he was doing the right thing leaving Lucy all alone here, with only her nurse. He'd never felt comfortable with this particular aspect of royal life, which hadn't been necessary in his own case, and wondered if it was becoming a little too old-fashioned. Bernard hoped Lucy would send him a letter or postcard during her visit, otherwise he would fret over her.

Bernard knew he'd feel better once he could be with Pip again. He never felt truly himself when he wasn't with his husband, and after twenty years of marriage, being apart from him for even a few days felt wrong, as if a limb was missing. He told himself he would be back with Pip that night, which would make another day on the road easier to endure.

Lucy nibbled her early breakfast in bed. She didn't think she could get back to sleep now, as she'd slept so well. She listened to the sound of the carriage starting off, the wheels crunching on the gravelled drive. She thought about her brother Bernard, about to laboriously make his way back to Everwick for his holiday with Pip and Clarissa, and hoped he would be safe from bandits.

Nurse was snoring in her tiny adjoining room, the door between always left open so she could hear if Lucy needed anything in the night. Lucy quietly pushed the door closed without letting it click quite shut, and got dressed. She put on a simple pale blue cotton dress and sandals, covered with a little knitted jacket that Nurse had made for her.

She tiptoed around the stone halls and passageways until she came to the bustling kitchens, where the servants were already hard at work. Nobody paid her any attention, until Lucy timidly asked a sturdy matron, "Please, may I go outside to explore?"

"Can't think why not," was the reply. "I suppose you're the little princess who came last night?"

Lucy nodded, and was told to skip through the door in front of her. "It's only gardens, you can't get into any trouble there," the woman said comfortably.

Whatever Bernard had said, security at Castle Avalon was definitely more lax than at Camden Palace, Lucy thought. In her own palace, there were guards on every outer door, and they didn't ever let little girls leave without a grown up.

Outside she saw kitchen gardens with neat rows of summer vegetables, and lovely orchards full of the apple trees which gave the castle its name. About half a mile away were gardens filled with rose bushes and flowers, much wilder and sweeter looking than the carefully clipped blooms at Camden Palace.

But Lucy had no intention of tamely wandering the gardens looking at flowers covered in dew. She had come out for adventure. She ran around a pebbled path until she came to a wicket gate, pushed it open, and there she was – right out in the wilderness!

At least, there was a lot of lawn with statues and fountains, and a row of elms on one side, but she kept going until she was triumphantly walking through what she told herself was a wild forest. Lucy didn't have enough knowledge of forests to realise that she was walking on soft greensward, and that the trees had been carefully planted at intervals to allow just enough light and air to circulate. She kept walking downhill to the lake, thinking that she was the bravest girl there ever was, to have sought out such an adventure.

The sun was coming up now, really properly coming up, and tinting the lake a glorious golden sheen. It was certainly magic, Lucy thought. It was a fairy lake, and if she stayed very, very quiet, she was sure that she would see one of the fair folk, or perhaps even a mermaid.

She stood as still as one of the lawn statues, refusing to take her eyes away from the lake until she had seen something magical. Slowly, a scene began to form in front of her, and she was able to watch it unfold before her eyes ...