Avril managed to excuse herself from the boys and then used a guard as both deterrent and information source. 
It took him only a little time to pass her the information, and soon her was in the gardens, though she moved without speed, checking with guards for the direction and, because she had no wish for anyone to follow, looked behind her often.
It took her a while to find Alessandra, even though once she started to understand which way she'd headed, it wasn't hard to know where she was going.
Avril and Alessandra hadn't been there for sometime, but sometimes Avril went there on her own. There wasn't many places that Avril could go and be left, mainly, alone. Stephen could vanish and, unless he had gone to his room, it was nearly always impossible to locate him if he didn't want to be. Edward was easy to find, between his hunting parties and his many friends being around most of the time.
Avril, just sometimes, liked to be alone. 
She paused in the opening which exposed her friend swinging with an innocent delight, which brought a smile to Avril's lips, and she said nothing for a time, just enjoying her friend's clear thrill.
"Remember how we used to always come here when we were younger?" she finally said, by way of announcing herself, a playful smile on her face.