He ducks his head and presses a kiss to her hair, smiling soft and fond. "That makes me very happy," he murmurs back.

As does her lifted mood. She's thrown herself into this visit, and now the tears and worries of the morning feel a lifetime away. Eager to show her everything the castle has to offer, he points out paintings and statues and tapestries, some of which depict stories even he has only the faintest knowledge of. "Look," he tells her, directing her attention to a tapestry showing a fair, beautiful woman sitting by a lake. "Queen Swanwhite, who ruled before the White Witch. They say she was so beautiful that if her face were reflected in a forest pool, the image of it remained there for a year and a day."