Ginny woke up when she heard the horses pacing outside the tent. Trying to ignore the noise, the princess kept her eyes stubbornly closed; she felt perfectly warm and comfortable as she lay enveloped in her knight's arms. She snuggled closer into him, wishing to go back to sleep, willing the whole world to go away and leave them alone...

She heard him chuckle softly as he pressed his lips to her forehead, then said, "It's time to get up, Gwendolyn. It sounds like our friends are ready to leave, and we still need to dress for the journey."

Ginny sighed, opening her eyes finally, meeting his blue gaze.

"We should have slept under an elf-mound instead of this tent," she said, smiling at him. "They say that if a traveller finds one and sleeps within, time drifts on without him. And when he wakes up after a single night, years have passed in his world, and all his kinsfolk is gone... They may have forgotten about us..." She let her voice trail off, thinking that then, only then, they could stay together.

"First, you showed me the fairies, and now you talk about the elves?" he asked, teasing, his eyes twinkling with a smile, his voice dreamy. "Let's hope that we will find such an elf-mound in Aquae Sulis tonight. Then I wouldn't even need to pull the Excalibur from its stone."

She sighed. They could daydream as much as they wished, but until any of their dreams came true...

"Will you take me to my tent? I need to get changed and pack," she asked him, hoping to escape the questions Garreth was bound to flood her with if he saw her outside alone.

Ginny shivered when her knight left her side, missing his warmth and closeness. Sitting up, she pulled her shoes on quickly, then followed him outside. The morning after the rainy night was bright and sunny, but cold. Sir Lancelot accompanied her to her tent, holding her hand, and she tried to avoid Garreth's and the prince's questioning looks which she could feel piercing through her as they passed by them, exchanging greetings.

They can just think whatever they want, she mused, pulling on her gambeson and braiding her hair once she was hidden from the men's eyes in her tent; Garreth knew her well enough not to jump to conclusions and judge her, and Prince Arthur...

Well, the prince had just spent the night alone with her cousin, and from their fond, tender, exchanged looks and touches as they saddled the prince's horse together, which she had noticed as she walked by them before with Lancelot, and again now, as she set her packed bags outside the tent for Garreth to pick up before she continued on her way to the Lake's shore, they had enjoyed each other's company.

She didn't owe anything to the prince-- it was he who had asked her father for her hand in marriage, knowing well that he could never love her, not the way a husband should love his wife. For her, it was as if he had betrayed her even before they were married. She knew that he wasn't a bad man, but for her, marrying someone only to unite kingdoms was a wrong thing to do; such a union would only make them both unhappy. And it was not just the two of them anymore. Their wedding would make four people miserable.

Ginny kneeled on the grassy bank, dipping her hands into the cool water. The sun had risen a long time ago, but the countryside looked peaceful and sleepy still, as if it was enchanted. There was no wind to stir the tall reeds from slumber and disperse the translucent mists-- they were clinging to the surface of the Lake, covering the Holy Isle like a blanket, silent and unmoving.

As she leaned closer to the water's surface to wash her face, Ginny noticed the peregrine falcon in the undulating reflection. It was observing her curiously from its perch on a branch of a lone apple tree. She stood up and looked at it defiantly as she dried her face with her sleeve.

"Who are you? What do you want from us?" the princess muttered, then shook her head and walked back towards the camp when the falcon only twisted its head curiously, in a perfectly bird-like fashion. Now she was talking to birds...

Myrddin was so pleased with the turn of events that he would have revealed himself on the spot if only Guinevere had not given up so easily. Seeing her walk out of Arthur's tent before had made his day. The two were in love; even the blind would see that. He had never understood the fuss the Christians made about some things, and apparently Guinevere had enough of the Druid blood, and their faith in destiny within her to follow her heart, and make up her own mind about what was wrong and what was right... She and Arthur would be married in a month anyway, what did it matter that they spent a night under one tent, alone. Guinevere's father, the pious King Leodegrance, might see the things in a different light should he find out, but then, if he wanted her daughter chaperoned, he should have sent his court priest after them, instead of an old Druid wizard...

The blue-grey falcon spread his wings, screeching happily as he saw the four travellers mounting their horses. He watched them follow the old Roman road leading to Aquae Sulis. It wasn't far; they would reach the small Roman town by sunset even without his magical intervention, there was no need to help Garreth to make them drift through the mists today. If he left now, he would have just enough time to stop at Warwick for lunch before attending the audience with the two kings at Uther's castle... As if these four kids were not causing him enough headaches, there were the Saxons gathering on the northern shores of Caledonia again to think about, too.

The falcon did not follow them as they left the shores of the Lake and rode up the old Roman road. Soon, the cold morning became a pleasant day, and the road joined a burbling river, meandering along its bank, upstream, from the grass-covered meadows towards the steep hills they could see on the horizon.

The river was just one of the branches of her beloved Avon, the river in which she had bathed so often in Warwick, Ginny thought, wishing she could show Aunt Ealasaid's castle, and all her favourite places, to Sir Lancelot. She let one of her hands drop from the reins, smiling when her knight, riding closer to her than ever, captured it promptly in his. It was as if something happened between them last night, neither of them cared to hide their mutual feelings any longer, not from themselves, and not even from their two companions. But neither did they-- Ginny had noticed Garreth's and the prince's hands finding each other often as they rode in the distance in front of them. If only they all could follow their hea... But what was the point in dreaming?!

Ginny sighed as Sir Lancelot helped her off her horse when they reached a small copse of trees growing on the river bank, and their friends decided to stop for lunch.

"Why are you so sad, Gwendolyn?" he asked, pulling her into his arms, sounding sad himself.

"We will reach Tintagel tomorrow and then..." And then Garreth would take her back home, and she would spend a month in preparations for the wedding she didn't care about.

He sighed too, then said, "But we still have two nights. And tonight... " He seemed to hesitate, his eyes searching hers, before he whispered in her ear, "Your cousin told me that the hot water springs and pools are close to a small town. With at least one inn," he chuckled, looking towards the prince. "If they go to town, we could... bathe... together..."

His eyes bore into hers again as he said that, and she felt her cheeks flush with surprise... Shock... Excitement... Joy... She found herself nodding in agreement even as Garreth approached them.

"May I have a word with my cousin, Sir Lancelot?" he asked, his eyebrows drawing together into a frown as he observed them. "The lunch is ready if you wish to join Prince Arthur. We won't be long."

He dragged Ginny, still stunned by what she had agreed to, towards the trees.

"What happened? What's wrong?" Garreth asked her once they were out of the earshot of the two men. "You look... different."

Ginny shook her head, "That's what I could ask you. What do you want, Garreth? Let us eat so we can move on..."

"I... wanted to tell you that... it's not how it looks, not exactly. The Prince is promised to you, I..."

"Garreth, stop!" she said, cupping his face in the palms of her hands. "Do. Not. Worry. Stop overthinking it, will you? Even if I marry the prince, there will never be anything... romantic between us. He is yours, I don't care about him."

"What do you mean by 'if'?" he asked, shocked, trailing in her wake as she headed back towards their companions.

"I don't know, Garreth, I need to speak to my father..."

"But you must marry him to unite the kingdoms, for the welfare of the people, to make our armies fight the Saxons together!"

"I don't want to think about it now, please! Tonight I'm going to bathe with Sir Lancelot while you take your prince to the town."

"You... What? No, you won't. What would your father say if he found out, Guinevere?"

She stopped in her tracks, turning around to face him. "If my father thinks that I'm old enough to marry a man who likes you, then I think I'm old enough to bathe with the man who likes me!" Ginny whisper-shouted. She stomped her foot to underline her words before she continued walking away from him.

Seeing them approach, the prince said, "Sir Lancelot has just told me that there is a town near the springs, which you'll show me tonight, Sir Garreth."

Lancelot put his arm over Ginny's shoulders protectively, sensing her distress the moment she sat at his side.

He scowled at Garreth, who replied to his friend, "Don't you want to bathe in the hot water pools, Your Highness?"

"No," the prince replied without hesitation, "I'd prefer to visit the town."

"Well, it is a wise decision," Garreth, ignoring Sir Lancelot's scowl, looked in his cousin's eyes as he replied to the prince, "I think it might... snow tonight."

"What? Look at the sunshine! It is too warm, too early for the first snow." Prince Arthur laughed.

Ginny, knowing her cousin, did not share the man's optimism. If Garreth said it would snow... She looked at her knight, who kept frowning at her cousin. He seemed to share her opinion.

As they continued on their way towards the hills, the blue sky filled quickly with grey clouds, and the temperature dropped gradually. The moment the hoofbeats of their horses echoed off the stone walls of the houses built on the outskirts of the small town surrounded by hills, the first huge snowflakes, soft like feathers but as cold as ice, descended from the gloomy skies.