A/N: A second update in a week! I did make major changes for chapter 7 to 10 so I will have to slow down there but I will try to keep posting these as I get them ready. The posting schedule is unknown.

I am really curious to read your guesses for Ginny's real identity after this chapter ... (You'll see).

Meg (megonagall410) is doing great beta work and got this chapter done so fast. Thank you!

"Gwyn," Ernest and Justin greeted Ginny as she passed them on her way to meet Regulus.

She raised a hand in greeting and continued her way. She smiled as she spotted Regulus waiting for her and she waved. He smiled in greeting. She wrapped him into a hug when she had closed the space. "Hi."

"Hi, Ginny."

She walked to the edge of the woods with him where they wouldn't be disturbed and took her helmet off.

"Let me look at you," Regulus said, his hands coming to either side of her face. "They're feeding you well."

She smiled, slapping his hands away. "Nothing beats royal food, you know that."

"Excuse me," Regulus said. "I fed you perfectly well."

She chuckled and sat down on a fallen-down tree trunk. Regulus sat down beside her.

"Lucretia likes me, she feeds me all the good things. Keeps them aside for when I come in later, so I won't be disturbed."

Regulus looked at her curiously.

"She just talks and talks by herself. I just need to give any sign I've heard her," Ginny explained.

"That's good to hear. It seems you are doing well," Regulus said.

"I am. Of course, there were some hiccups at first, but everyone seemed to have warmed up to me. To be able to stay in a castle like this... it's a luxury," she said, pointing at the castle behind her.

"It is." He nodded in agreement. "How has the King been to you? Any troubles there?"

"None at all. He is a really kind guy. You were right, he is lonely." She smiled. "He is genuinely a good King, I think and yet..."

"They try to kill him all the time," Regulus completed. "When I heard about the assassin in his bedroom, I did expect you on my doorstep within days actually."

Ginny frowned and then she realised. "He already knew then that I was a woman."

"How did that happen?" Regulus asked with concern. "Did something happen?"

"He ordered me to take my helmet off, and I can't disobey an order like that."

"He had no right—" Regulus started.

She patted his hand. "It's alright. He didn't want me to go, didn't look at me differently... He did look pretty surprised." She chuckled.

Regulus' face dropped. "You think that's funny, do you?"

"The fact that he knows and he doesn't care means this job is pretty secure and it's a good gig, don't you think?" She looked at a random tree. "We've been talking a lot. Ha- King Henry is pretty funny if you give him a minute. We have sort of become friends. He is the King of course, but he needs someone to talk to."

When she looked at Regulus again, he looked utterly baffled.

"So I can't make friends now?"

"I never should have put you here." He rubbed a hand across his chin as he shook his head. "You can't forget, he doesn't know who you really are."

"Do you think I am naive?" she shot back. She had expected this to be a happy meeting. She folded her arms. "I am perfectly safe here."

It stayed silent for a moment. Regulus looked at her. "Did he ask you to call him Harry?"

She looked down at her knees. "Yes, like I said we have become friends."

"Oh, I am seeing it now," Regulus said as if he had unravelled some mystery. "You are in love with the King, aren't you?"

Her cheeks burned as her head whipped back up. "How dare you!"

Regulus observed her. "You greet me, all smiles. Talk about how kind and funny he is..."

She bit her tongue, staring at him angrily. She knew he was right, she could no longer ignore the pleasant flutters in the pit of her stomach that her King caused. It had been increasing steadily over time.

"Will you deny it?" he asked carefully. "That you have feelings for him?"

She folded her arms and stared into the woods. "I didn't do it on purpose."

Regulus chuckled and she felt the urge to whack him over the head. He adjusted. "Sorry, but you always used that tone when I scolded you. It had been a while."

She looked at him.

"Ginny, you know my highest priority is keeping you safe," he told her as he patted her knee. "I don't want to see you hurt and that's bound to happen. He must marry royalty or nobility. You are a Knight, this can't happen."

"Who do you take me for?" she asked firmly. "I am not chasing after him. I am a Knight and that's all I am. I know that, you know that and he knows that. Good?"

"Do you want to come home? Find something else to do?" Regulus gently offered her.

She sighed. "No. I am fine here."

Regulus stood up. "Right. I do want to speak to the King before I leave."

Ginny shot off the trunk too and stood up. "Why?"

"Check in if he is satisfied with his Knight, it is my reputation on the line if you don't do your job well." He smiled at her.

"I have saved his life multiple times and he is still alive, I would hope he is," she shot back.

Ginny knocked on the door of Harry's office.

"Enter."

Ginny entered by herself and opened her visor. Harry was at his desk going over paperwork.

"Sir Regulus would like to have a word with you."

He put the papers aside. "I am sure that beats trading treaties. Bring him in."

"Great. Just one thing... Can you call me Gwyn in front of him? He would give me shit for letting you call me Ginny. He doesn't think it's proper," she asked. She knew Regulus would have a lot more to say about that.

"I wouldn't want you to get into trouble," he said with a smile. "Sure, Gwyn ."

She walked to the door and opened it for Regulus.

He strode in. "King Henry, I want to apologise for lying about her being a man. It is unforgivable." He stopped in front of Harry's desk and bowed his head.

Ginny took her helmet off, unbothered by the politics of the two men.

Harry stood up too. "Regulus. You never said she was a man. You did not lie."

Ginny looked at Regulus for his reaction.

"I know. I deliberately never mentioned the fact," he admitted.

Harry smiled. "Then there is no problem."

Regulus smiled too. "Good, I am glad to hear it."

Harry invited both to sit down. Ginny chose to stand instead. His eyes landed on her curiously, wondering why she hadn't obliged.

"Gwyn, please sit. I insist."

Now she sat down beside Regulus too. Harry relaxed into his chair.

"I just wanted to check in with you and see if you are happy with your Knight. If there are any complaints or comments, I am happy to hear."

Harry nodded and glanced at her before looking back at Regulus. Suddenly Ginny was worried about what he was going to say but she suspected he was smart enough not to mention any nightly chats. It would give the wrong impression.

"I am very happy with my Knight. I think we can say with certainty I'd be dead without her," Harry said.

Ginny cleared her throat. "That's not true."

Both men looked at her. She fell silent.

Harry's eyes locked with hers. "Gwyn. That guy would have stabbed me before I had the chance to even grab my sword. We have been over this before." His attention diverted to Regulus again. "Not sure if you train them to be humble, but she is annoyingly so."

"A Knight that brags gets killed," Regulus said coolly. "Some people just can't stand when you have more power than them. You should know that."

Harry's eyebrows raised. "Indeed, that is true."

"Any other comments?" Regulus asked.

"You trained an excellent Knight. She is very quick and focused. You definitely did not oversell her," Harry said honestly.

Ginny shifted uncomfortably on her chair. She stilled when Harry looked at her.

"I better hope you have no complaints about me?" he said with a smile.

Regulus' gaze landed on her, his eyes warning her not to overstep.

"It would be convenient if you were attacked less, but that's not really your fault," she shot back.

Harry chuckled. "I think we can all agree that would be more convenient."

Regulus cleared his throat. "Great, if everything is going well, I will not keep you any longer." He stood up and bowed. "King Henry."

Ginny stood up too and bowed her head.

"Oh, before I forget," Harry started and she looked up. "Romilda is coming for dinner. If you could stay in the neighbourhood."

"I'll be there," she confirmed. She bowed her head again and followed Regulus out of the room, putting her helmet back on the way.

"Do you want to go see Red?" she asked.

"Sure," he agreed, following her to the stables. "Who is Romilda?" he asked on the way there.

"Lady Romilda has shown a lot of interest in the King. She knows he needs to get married and so she hopes he'll get desperate at some point. It's just about the status for her." She caught Regulus' expression. "Harry can't stand her. He doesn't want to be impolite, but he draws the line at touching him. If I step in as Knight, it doesn't look so bad on him."

Regulus pursed his lips. "Right."

"I only step in because he asked me to, don't get any ideas," she clarified.

Regulus nodded but remained silent. Ginny opened her visor as they entered the stables.

She stopped by Prongs first. "This is Prongs. He has a lot of personality."

Regulus looked at the horse in shock. "Wow, he looks a lot like a horse we used to have... back at home."

"Prongs was a gift from King Sirius, Reg," she told him carefully. "So this may very well be their son."

"Oh," Regulus said. "Come on, Prongs."

"Don't bother, he won't come," Ginny said, continuing to the next stall.

Regulus gave up and followed her. Lightning immediately came up to her and she scratched his chin. "Hey, my handsome boy."

"King's horse?" Regulus asked.

"Yes, Lightning. Isn't he gorgeous?" she said, petting the horse as she looked at Regulus.

"That is a very nice-looking horse indeed," he agreed, reaching out to pet him.

"Red doesn't like that he is faster than her, but she does well in keeping up with him," she told him fondly.

"She does take after you," Regulus said with a laugh. "Where is she?"

Ginny pointed to the stall on the other side. "Over here."

Red was very happy to see Regulus again. He rubbed a hand against the side of her head. "How are you liking the Royal Quarters, Red?"

"They've gone to her head, I am afraid," Ginny said, leaning against the door to Red's stall. "She won't go for less now. She got a taste of luxury and now..." She gestured towards her horse.

"Good on you, Red," Regulus said.

When it was time to say goodbye, Ginny walked Regulus to the front of the castle.

"I won't be able to come by soon again, I believe. I only could come because Neville was back for a few days, and he very much wanted to join and visit you."

"Tell him I miss him." Ginny smiled.

"I will do that. Don't hesitate to write and my door remains open to you, always." Regulus gave her a tight hug.

"Thank you, I know." She hugged him back tightly.

"Be careful," he said as he met her eyes and she knew he was implying many things with that.

"Don't worry about me."

Ginny let both horses onto the field for a minute so they could wind down before they had to go back inside. She stood by the fence with Harry, her visor open since only Harry was in view.

"How are we on security for the ball?" Ginny asked, looking at him.

He was leaning against the fence, looking at nowhere in particular. "That's still some ways off, don't worry about it yet. I will make sure you can join the meeting with Alastor when we talk security."

"Alright." She looked at the horses and her eyes widened.

Lightning and Red were playing around on the field, chasing each other but when they caught up with each other, they'd rub their heads together. They bumped against each other and then took off running again.

Harry looked to see what she was seeing. They both kept silent for a moment. Red leaned into Lightning with her head softly.

"Am I seeing what I think I am seeing?" Harry asked in surprise.

"If you mean our horses liking each other a bit too much, then yes." She watched as Lightning tucked his head over Red and she groaned.

Harry scoffed. "What? Is my horse not good enough for you?"

This couldn't be happening; her horse couldn't be falling for the King's horse. She turned to Harry. "Oh no, such a handsome stallion, Red has good taste naturally." She was satisfied when his cheeks tinged pink. She looked at Red again. "I wonder how long that has been going on. They seem rather... chummy."

"They do spend a lot of time together, those two, almost as much as we do," he replied. "I guess we shouldn't be too surprised."

Ginny's stomach turned into a knot. She breathed out slowly. "At least they can keep each other company," she commented. "While we're off."

"I am pretty sure they don't mind," Harry replied, tilting his head as he looked at Lightning.

Lightning strutted about where Red could see him. Ginny let out a laugh at his antics.

"Dear gods, he is as bad with the ladies as I am," Harry muttered with a smile.

"If I ever see you prancing like that, I promise I will stop you," she told him in amusement.

He shook his head, biting back a grin. "If I embarrass myself that much, I give you permission to stab me."

"Mortally wound you or more like a poke?" she asked.

He looked back at her, his eyes sparkling. "I'll leave it up to your excellent judgement."

She smiled and pushed off the fence. "I'll go collect those two lovebirds before I need to see any more of ... that."

Ginny walked onto the field to collect them both. She reached Red first and took hold of her reins. "This is the most embarrassing shit you have pulled. What the hell am I supposed to do? You couldn't resist falling for the handsome dark-haired horse-boy?"

Lightning pushed against Ginny's back.

"Oh, I am not even talking to you, Lightning. Seducing my lovely girl over here. You are just as bad as your rider." She shot Lightning a look. She turned to Red again. "You better change your mind, Red. I can't have this right now. Choose any other horse, please ."

She sighed and took Lightning's reins too and led both horses off the field again. They were walking annoyingly close together, but she ignored it. Harry met her by the exit of the field.

"What were you telling Red?" he wondered out loud.

"Talking about boys, you wouldn't understand," she told him.

Harry grinned. "It did look like you were telling off my horse as well."

She scoffed. "Someone had to do it, you baby him too much."

"Please," he replied, frowning at her. "You are the one giving him ridiculous nicknames."

Harry took Lightning's reins from her and they walked to the stables together. They started a decent amount apart, but the horses kept seeking each other out. Ginny pulled on Red's reins and for a minute she followed but then she curved and walked back beside Lightning.

"Unbelievable," she muttered. She ended up beside Harry again.

"Leave them be," Harry commented. "I think it's cute."

They entered the stables and with some difficulty separated the horses and put them back in their respective stalls.

She closed the door of Red's stall and looked at Harry. "See, now if I ever leave, I will either need to leave my horse or break them up. Who am I to deny my horse romance?"

Harry's brows furrowed. "Where are you going?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. You will grow tired of me knighting about eventually and relieve me of my contract."

Harry winced. "I can't do that. I would have to choose to either break up our horses or make you leave your horse behind and I know how important she is to you." He folded his arms. "So you can thank the horses, you are not going anywhere."

"That is a piss-poor reason to keep a Knight around," she told him earnestly. She looked up at the horses and saw they were looking at each other from their stalls. She rolled her eyes at them. They were unstoppable.

His demeanour softened. "You are the best Knight I have met. To your credit, I am still alive, so you are fulfilling your assignment perfectly."

"Oh, that's why," she said, shaking her head dramatically. "I thought you just liked finally having someone to talk to that doesn't want to either marry you, kill you or needs your money."

He laughed before looking at her more seriously. "Would you want to take on another assignment?"

She answered honestly this time. "Not really. The whole non-talking bit gets old fast. Some assignments really suck. Some just want to win battle after battle, some are horrible human beings." She looked right at him. "When I heard I was about to work for a King, I got worried but ... you are alright." She smiled. "And they don't try to kill you as much as I expected... thankfully."

"I think they try often enough!"

Her eyes widened. "I didn't mean it like that!" she said in her defence, but he was mocking her and he chuckled when she reacted. She shook her head as she realised. "Go on ahead and go inside, I'll finish up with the horses."

Harry looked at Peter to go over to the next point.

"I put in some orders for the ball already. Anything else for that?" Peter asked.

"Yes, I was thinking perhaps making it a masquerade ball?" Harry told him carefully.

"I don't know, are we not concerned about security?" Peter asked.

Harry frowned. "Perhaps. I also think Gwyn may not be available for the ball. Please check with Alastor how many guards we can have available. If we have a sufficient amount, I'd still like to make it a masquerade."

Peter noted it down. "That's all for me."

"Great." Harry stood up to walk out with him.

"Where are you heading off to?" Peter asked when he noticed.

"The library," Harry told him.

"If you need a book, I am happy to ask a servant to retrieve it for you," Peter suggested as he held the door open for Harry to walk out first.

"Can't I just browse in my own library?" Harry asked.

Peter smiled. "Yes, of course." At the corner, he halted and bowed. "Have a nice day, Harry."

"You too, Peter," Harry said, walking off to the library.

Harry closed the door behind him and looked around the large room, filled to the ceiling with books. He was relieved he was alone. He was trying to find one specific book. He had seen it before but didn't know where it was located within the library. He walked to the centre of the room and stood there for a moment. The wooden floor creaked under his shoes as he walked to the right side.

His eyes slipped over the book titles. 'The History of Ignotia', 'The Kingdoms of the World', 'The Tale of the Three Brothers', '700 Years of Royal History'. He paused at that book, he used to hate it as a child, he found it tedious to read. Still, it wasn't what he was looking for. Then his eyes fell on the book he was looking for.

He grabbed it off the shelf and looked around, verifying he was still alone. He sat down at the nearest table and opened 'The Royal Line'. He flicked through the pages quickly until he found the chapter, 'The Royal Family of Harpia'. He bent over the page and started to read.