There was a smile that crossed her face upon hearing what Rhiannon had said to her cat, bringing back memories of all the times she’d had to say similar. It was a common thing, for cats to demand your attention. And of course shirk you when you wanted theirs. It was equally pleasing to the welshwoman how quickly everyone in the house had followed Rhiannon’s que and began referring to gabriella as the girl’s mother. Even Dermod, whom gabriella had imagined would have had the hardest time with it. After all, Rhiannon was Tegan’s daughter. And yet, he seemed to accept the change just as quickly, by the time they’d returned home. Gabriella had never imagined what it would be like to have a child of her own, just assuming it wouldn’t be something she could ever hope to achieve. And yet here she was, with a young woman calling her mother. Realizing she was on the verge of crying again, Gabriella frantically looked down at the covered basket.
“I haven’t the faintest Idea.†she grinned at the girl as she came over to her. “I simply asked the elves to prepare for us a picnic lunch with the usual summertime accoutrements.†there was a mischievous grin on her face as she said this, as the snow was drifting down lightly outside. Holding out her free arm to Rhiannon, so she could join her as they walked. “Why don’t we let that one be a pleasant surprise. I’m sure they must think i’ve been spending too much time with Cliona, if i’m asking for a summer lunch in mid-winter, but if people can have their foolish christmas in july, why not we have a summer picnic in December.†she began to walk down the hall, towards the main stair but turned off and headed down an unused hallway, though there was evidence that people had passed through here more recently.
“There’s an easier way to get here of course, but secret passages are more fun. Cliona showed me this when she decided I needed an adventure, and I absolutely loved the place it ended up, so your father let me have the room for myself.†Gabriella pushed on a piece of moulding, then slid the panel aside so they could enter. This hall back here was clean, and lit with small candles inset into the wall every so often, which she lit with a flick of her new wand. She suspected that this was the first time Rhiannon was seeing that Gabriella had finally acquired a new wand of her own, instead of one of the old ones that Cliona kept finding for her, but she honestly couldn’t remember if she’d used it in front of her since the girl had been home. Winter break was passing far too quickly.
The arrowslits of course allowed glimpses of the room beyond. What once had been a dilapidated sitting room had been cleared to reveal the delicate tilework on the floor, and seemed to have been set up as some sort of potions and apothecary workshop, as well as containing a pleasant looking sitting area and shelves for all of Gabriella’s books on Herbology, potions, and other similar subjects. Despite her isolation, her family had continued to send her books, particularly her uncle, who knew what subjects interested her. But of course, the arrowslits didn’t allow a view of the main attraction.
Gabriella pushed the backside of one of the shelving units that contained various sizes and materials of mortars and pestles, before standing aside so Rhiannon could enter. There was no fourth wall, where the outer wall of the castle should be, instead, it opened up into a greenhouse, with a wide variety of herbs and flowers growing around the edges, neatly arranged, beyond the greenhouse, where there was a door to the outside, it was still flurrying, though bright, and here it was warm as the glass trapped the sun’s meager offerings. The center of the greenhouse looked grassy, but was actually moss, and there was one of Gabriella’s quilts laying out on the area, ready for them.
