Ginny woke up as the first streaks of daylight made their way into her room, through the glass of the mullioned window, sneaking beyond the curtains of her bed.

Her thoughts rushed to the tapestry hanging on the wall immediately, as if she had not stopped thinking about it the whole night, and it had become a part of her dream about hidden doors and secret passages leading to Arthur.

She got up and reached for her still unpacked saddlebags, which lay at the foot of her bed, thinking how they both needed a day off from life, alone together, before he left. Searching through the bags, the princess pulled out the comfortable clothes she used to wear in Avalon-- the long, wide skirt and a matching shirt dyed in the hues of the meadows and the forest surrounding the castle-- and got dressed quickly.

She was ready-- her thick, russet hair restrained to a braid falling over her left shoulder, her right hand caressing the smooth hilt of the Excalibur tied to her belt, its crimson jewels glowing softly in the grey, still shy light of the oncoming day-- when Arwen walked in, yawning and still clad only in her night dress, woken up by the noise Ginny was making.

"My lady... why are you up so early... and these clothes are not suitable... they make you look like a peasant girl. And why would you need to carry that heavy thing around?" she demanded, pointing to the Sword half-hidden in the folds of Ginny's skirt.

"Arwen, you know me too well to ask such questions. I'm just going down into the kitchens to have breakfast."

"But we are not at home here, my lady. I thought..."

"I was always more at home here than in my father's castle, you know that, don't you?" Ginny told her. "Now go back to bed and don't worry."

The princess scanned her chamber quickly to find something for the old nurse to do later, to keep her busy the whole day.... She walked to her bags again and pulled out her blue gown.

"Would you mend it for me, please? I rather like it, but..." she said, shaking the dress out in an attempt to make it look less pitiful.

She felt a little guilty when she saw the silent reprimand in Arwen's eyes as she took it from her with one hand, the other covering her mouth.
The gown looked crumpled and wilted, lifeless like the dry rose from Tintagel.

"My lady, how..." the nurse asked, her voice laced with shock and reproach.

"Well, it was too uncomfortable to wear while travelling on horseback, and there wasn't much space in the bags. But I'm sure you'll fix it, right?"

Arwen, frowning at Ginny, nodded silently. Pressing the gown to her chest, she marched towards her room, closing the door behind her this time, taking Ginny's feeling of guilt with her.

The moment the door closed between them, Ginny was on the other side of the chamber, smiling, inspecting the ancient tapestry.

It was heavy and a little dusty, but once she peeled it off the wall and pushed her way beyond, she found a narrow door nearly the same colour as the surrounding stone wall. It did not have a latch or a handle and did not move one inch when she pushed it with her hand. But when she laid her shoulder against its surface, followed by the weight of her whole body, it gave way slowly, reluctantly at first, creacking loudly, and then, suddenly, it jumped from her all at once, making her stumble, giggling, into Arthur's room.

He sat up on his bed, startled awake, and looked at her in surprise, his blue eyes still unfocused by sleep.

Ginny ran over to him, giggling. "Come on, hurry up, if we are fast enough, we will be out before anyone notices that we're gone. There are so many things I want to show you!"

She reached his bed and pulled his blankets off, blushing furiously when she found him naked underneath.

Arthur laughed at seeing her embarrassment. He rose to his feet and pulled her close, kissing her, rendering her speechless and making her blush deepen, before he reached for his clothes which one of the countess' servants laid out on a chair by his bed for him the night before.

Ginny crossed the room to the window and looked at the world outside, only just stirring to life, to give him some privacy while he got dressed.

She was... amazing, so beautiful, surprising, unpredictable... Arthur mused, watching her standing in the window, her back to him, as he pulled his clothes on. She was still so young and lively, a ray of sunshine, a breath of fresh air in his life made up of  battles, decisions, and worries. It was as if she had not aged one day in Avalon, remaining the playful, untroubled girl he met in Lord John's castle more than a year ago... A year that had felt like a decade to him; all the responsibilities he was forced to assume after his father's death made him feel... old. And he was only a king of one of the small kingdoms yet, it would become worse after the wedding, his duties would multiply greatly when, thanks to that Sword she had pulled from its stone, he would be crowned as the High King of the whole Britain...

But he would have her at his side, and they would manage anything together, he decided, throwing all worries away, at least for this one day.

He reached her by the window silently, surprising her, wrapping his arm around her waist from behind, pulling her into him as close as possible.  He kissed her on the side of her neck, his lips brushing her earlobe, feeling her melt into him.

He cursed Morgaine and her High Priestess silently for the promise they had been forced to give them, and were afraid to break; for the infinite three weeks still left until Beltane when they would be finally married. The priestesses of Avalon and their ancient rituals and traditions... The new Christian religion suddenly seemed very straightforward and uncomplicated in comparison.

"Let us go," Ginny whispered finally, not quite trusting her voice, taking Arthur by the hand.

She pulled him to the door of his chamber and into the gloomy corridor, towards another barely visible door situated in the wall opposite and into the perfect darkness reigning beyond it. It was broken suddenly, just as he was about to protest, by a flickering flame of a candle she magicked out from somewhere, and she led him down a tightly spiralling staircase, the silence around them broken only by their breathing and an occasional giggle as their clothes and hair gathered layers of dust belonging to centuries past, and equally ancient spiderwebs, until they reached another door, a couple of floors lower.

This one led to the riverbank-- the castle's wall from which they emerged was so close to the water's edge that Arthur would have fallen in had she not steadied him, pulling him to her. He took a deep breath, his lungs filling with the fresh air and the mist rising from the water, replacing the stale air of the secret passage.

"What now?" he asked, smiling down at her.

"First, I'll show you the village, then the woods. Shall we swim over, or would you prefer walking over the bridge?" she asked, smiling back, shivering slightly in the coldness of the early morning.

He laughed, not doubting for one moment that she would swim, should he choose that option. "Let us walk over the bridge now; it's quite cold. We can swim back later, if you want to."

They spent the entire day in the village and the forest, making Arthur's faithful knights worry when they noticed their beloved king's absence. But Aunt Ealasaid and Garreth knew Ginny well enough, and managed to keep them all from setting out to search for them until dinner, when they both suddenly appeared in the Great Hall from behind a tapestry, hand in hand, Ginny's braid dripping water, Arthur's damp hair in a wild disarray.

Luckily, no guests apart from Arthur's Company were expected and so the young couple was allowed to attend the dinner unchanged and unwashed, sunburnt, happy, and so obviously in love that it was difficult to look at them without blushing.

Later that night, it was Arthur who found his way to her room soon after she laid down, unable to fall asleep without her at his side.

"I can't stay any longer, Ginny," Arthur said, sighing. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer when she laid her head on his chest, feeling too happy to worry about what Arwen would say should she find him in her bed. "A messenger from the camp arrived while we were out; I must leave tomorrow."

She only nodded, too sleepy and comfortable to think about it now. It was to be expected; she knew that he would leave, but he would be back in three weeks and then...

Her thoughts trailed off, morphing into first dreams.