I sat down in the garden, thinking. It was several weeks after my father had announced that he wanted to get remarried. I couldn't believe it. I was happy staying with him, and when he was gone, Allodia. Speaking of whom, I hadn't seen in a while. Father had been home for nearly two months now. I hadn't needed to see her. Perhaps she would know how to respond to this. I had to ask someone about this. I felt someone sit down beside me and immediately knew that it was Leo. I had been seeing him nearly every day here in the gardens. Although I hadn't told him of my father's desire to remarry, I often told him of my ideas and life in the town, while he told me of royal life. We had quickly become the best of friends.

"Judging by the fact that you are currently not mocking me or smiling gives me cause to wonder if something is not wrong," he said. I was still not facing him. I lowered my head.

"Did I do the right thing, Leo?" I asked. He looked confused.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Several weeks ago, my father told me that he wanted to get married again. I told him that I was happy with the way things were. I didn't understand why he would want to get married. I raised my voice, something that I shouldn't have done. Now we rarely talk. Did I do the right thing?" I asked.

"If you'll allow me to be blunt, I'm going to say no. Did you even for a second consider his happiness? You're growing up, and he knows that. He sounds like a very intelligent man, Mari. You can't stay with him forever. Did you consider that he might need a companion to grow old with? You're growing up, and he knows that. He can't go through life alone. He may just need help raising you," he retorted. I scoffed at his last teasing comment then lowered my head, ashamed. He was right.

"I did not. I was being so foolish and selfish, wanting to keep him to myself," I whispered. Leo turned my face towards him. I almost blushed. He smiled.

"You can talk to him tonight. Now, however, I have the perfect idea of how to get you out of your pity-party," he said, lifting me up and onto my feet. He grabbed my hand, and led me away from the gardens.

"Where are we going?" I asked. A surprise adventure always intrigued me, particularly when it was with my best friend. We were constantly exploring the gardens and places around the castle. There was always an interesting place to find.

"Well, you like exploring, right? Well, I figure this is your opportunity to actually explore the castle with me. Who knows what we might find!" he exclaimed. I smiled. Leo really did know how to cheer me up.

We ran around the castle walls to a hidden passage Leo knew to get in and out of the castle. Servants and slaves used to use it, but it was so old that it was practically forgotten. No one, that is, except the Prince and me. We found ourselves inside an unused stone room with a fireplace. The room was relatively small, and it looked as if the passage we came through was the only secret passage here. Leo opened the door that led to the castle halls, looking both ways.

"Come on, we can't let anyone see us. Technically, I'm supposed to be in my room, studying right now, not hiding out in the old areas of the castle with some girl," he warned. I nodded silently, chuckling at the humor he interspersed with his words. We had agreed long ago that if we were to be friends, his role as Prince wouldn't matter, nor would my place as a merchant's daughter. When we were together, we were equals. I followed him carefully as we went off to the older part of the castle. I could see the castle gently aging as we wound around the corridors. We stopped. This part of the castle had to have been here for several hundred years at least.

"Pick a door," offered Leo. I squinted, trying to decide which of the old doors to go through.

"Where's your favorite place to explore in here?" I asked. Leo shrugged.

"I haven't had much time to explore. This is new to both of us, although I thought some of the older stuff would be much more fun," he said.

"Okay. Well, any of these look good to me. Let's try that one," I said, pointing at a door to my left. Leo opened it, letting me go in first.

It looked like we had found ourselves in an old meeting hall. Decrepit wooden chairs sat around the center. I look around, imagining that it must have been a grand courtroom in the old days.

"What do you think happened in here, Leo? Why don't people use this room anymore?" I asked.

"I don't know. Perhaps they built a bigger courtroom, or maybe they just forgot about this one," he suggested. I nodded; those were both logical ideas.

"Maybe…a witch was put on trial here. Fairies, elves, and mermaids are all fine, but witches are nasty. Maybe they found her guilty, and she got very angry with them. She cursed them to never remember her, and forced them to forget this whole room where her case was held. She vowed to someday come back and take her revenge on the King that tried to kill her," I said, a dreamy look crossing my eyes. I couldn't help my active imagination. I felt that same surge of power that I occasionally felt when I wrote. I could just imagine the entire argument, the witch battling for her life, her words lashing out at the jurors. The witch was merciless. So was the judge, who was probably the king.

"Well, I suppose that's possible. Shall we continue exploring?" he asked. I nodded, and we walked out of the room. I took one last look back at the mysterious place. I wondered…

We walked around the castle, finding several new rooms, creating stories to go along with all of their uses as we usually did when we explored someplace new. Leo and I found our way back to the newer edge of the castle.

We suddenly heard voices coming around the corner. What if someone saw us? No doubt we'd be turned into the King and Queen, and then we'd both be in trouble, Leo for disobeying and me for trespassing.

"Quick, in here!" Leo whispered urgently. He threw the door open and I rushed inside, Leo right behind. I held the door open a crack just to see who it was.

It was the King and Queen.

"Honestly Guinevere, give the boy some freedom! Who knows, he might actually be having fun right now!" exclaimed the King.

"Victor, what if he has found himself some sort of…lady friend? He has to be kept inside the castle! I have no clue where he is half the time and the other half he seems completely distant from me!" replied the Queen shrilly. The King sighed.

"Leopold is only fourteen; he does not have a lover or whatever you call it! Perhaps if you gave the child some freedom every once in a while, he would not be so distant. He wants to see the world, explore the kingdom for himself. Face it, Guinevere: he is growing up. You cannot keep him like a child forever! When he returns, speak to him about it, but be gentle and kind. I know you love him, Guinevere, just give him some space. He needs a chance to be his own man." The Queen hugged the King.

"Oh Victor, I'm so afraid that we will lose him. I do love him; he is our only son." The two rulers walked away, talking. I smiled.

"See, Leo. Your parents do love you. You should talk to them more; they seem nice," I commented. Leo nodded, thoughtful.

"We'd better get going. Your father will miss you, as my parents have already stated about me. Talk to him about getting married, and I'll talk to my parents. Does that sound fair?" he asked.

"Certainly." We shook on it, and it felt odd to grasp his hand. Leo led me out of the castle and back to the garden, where we parted ways.