"I did!" Ned confirmed, looking up at Croe with a proud smile as she swung her legs out from under the covers. "If I pull out the socks and pants drawers I can reach. I'm getting taller." He fidgeted, tugging at the collar of his shirt. It didn't quite feel right.

But it certainly not the most important thing.

"We're going to find all sorts of things, aren't we?" he smiled, lifting his book up so that the open pages were facing her. He tapped at a picture of a large armoured bug with two large pincers.

"I hope we find one," he said, "it's a stag beetle, and they have armour and fight like knights!"

Struck by a sudden thought, Ned set the book down carefully on the floor and opened his bag. He rummaged inside for a moment and then produced a plastic cylinder with a dark green lid.

"This came with the book," he explained. "You put the bug inside it and if you look through the circle on the top it looks bigger." Ned hesitated. "But then you've got to let it go again. That part's important. It says so on page two."

Mama didn't need to stand on any drawers to reach her wardrobe. Ned watched her as she pulled out her adventuring outfit, and then turned his attention back to his book. He closed it reverently and set about rearranging the various toys he'd packed to help with their adventure. Carefully he slid the book in down the back, just like he'd seen Niñera do, and then fastened it closed again. He climbed to his feet and tucked Sir Hugs under his arm before making for the door.

Ned waited patiently until Mama was ready, and giggled when she dropped the hat onto his head. It dropped down over his eyes, without even a slit to see through! Still laughing, Ned slipped his finger under the brim and tilted it backwards, pretending he was drawing back his visor. He held up the bug magnifier for Croe to take.

"Do you have a favourite bug?" he asked, standing on tiptoe to reach the door handle again. Ned took Croe's free hand as they walked along the corridor, heading for the stairs. He bit his bottom lip, concentrating on taking each one at time, keeping a tight grip on the banister rail just in case. In the entrance hall he paused and looked up with a serious expression.

"What's your knight name, mama?" he wondered. "If we're going on an adventure then we all need name. Sir Hugs is Sir Hugs the Fearless, and I'm Sir Ned the White! So you're going to be...?" He gave her hand a squeeze, waiting expectantly, his pale eyes wide.