Several more steps and Alessandra found the hidden path between the thick but well maintained shrubs. She looked back, half expecting to see Lambert following her. When all she saw was an empty pathway, she sighed in relief and wasted no time to cross the border between visibility and invisibility. She reached down and gathered her skirt about her to keep it from catching on the plant stems. 

Hidden by trees arranged in a maze like configuration, she made her way to the center, her soft soled flat shoes making no sound on the granite floor. It was the same pair of shoes her aunt had told her not to wear. But it was because she felt most comfortable in them that she did, despite having a choice between several high heeled varieties. If her aunt only knew, she would most probably look at her with that exasperated look she always gave her whenever she did something the older woman thought silly. She chuckled at the thought. 

Several more steps and she was in the small clearing in the center of several trees in a circular configuration. Although she hadn't visited the spot for several years, she knew it well from memory. The moonlight shone on the old swing that hung on an old gnarled tree in the center of the glade. She laughed gleefully at the sight of it as it brought about so many fond memories. Playing in it with the Queen and the youngest royal child, Avril, being the majority of it. Comfortable in being alone, she again lifted up her skirt and almost ran to the wooden swing.

Upon closer inspection, she noted that the swing seat has been replaced by a shiny and smooth new slab of wood. Even the rope that secured the swing onto the huge tree branch looked fairly new and sturdy. She smiled widely, thankful that someone had the good sense of maintaining the area and the swing itself. She took hold of the rope, sat herself on the wooden seat and pushed off. She began giggling like a child as she felt the wind blow through her hair as she went higher and higher.