Ciara's cottage looked just like something from a storybook. It was surrounded by wildflowers and white roses climbed the outer walls, twisting their way around the drain pipe. Ned stopped to admire it, looking between it and his new friend. It suited her very well. He was about to tell her so, when she tugged gently on his hand to guide him up to the door. The steps were a little steep for small legs, but he managed it in the end and tottered in through the entranceway into the little sitting room. It was nothing like his home. There were no grand staircases, no modern furniture, no great long corridors perfect for forwards rolls, but it was very cosy. Ned paused, looking back over his shoulder at Ciara for encouragement.

"Would you like me to take my shoes off?" he asked her, wiggling his toes inside his trainers. His nanny would want him to remember his manners. "You might have to help with laces though..." Ned added thoughtfully. He looked down at his feet. The bows on his shoes had been dutifully tied into a double knot to stop them from coming undone.

When he was told to make himself at home, Ned smiled and made his way to the sofa.

"Thank you," he said very carefully as he climbed onto it. He shuffled his bottom right to the back of the cushion, his legs sticking out in front of him, so the bottom of his feet protruded just a little over the edge.

"Do you have sprinkles?" Ned wondered, a little distractedly as he peered around the room. Ciara had so many interesting things scattered across the flat surfaces of her home. He didn't know what half of them even were. He crawled across the sofa to peer at the contents of the nearest table. There was a dagger with a worn handle, which was probably made from some kind of horn or antler, but the top and bottom had been capped with gold. Beside it was a picture frame containing a pencil drawing. One of the figures was obviously Ciara, and the other was a man; they were both smiling. Ned considered the man's face. He had a long nose, square jaw and a rather flat chin. He didn't look kind, particularly but he did look...comforting.

"Is this your husband?" Ned asked Ciara, turning to look back at her over his shoulder. He held up the picture so she could see what he was referring to. "He looks nice. And you look happy." Ned kept hold of the picture and sat down again, cradling it in his lap. "What happened to him?" he asked, a sad hollow kind of feeling stirring in his tummy, "was it something bad?" Ned bit his lip, wondering suddenly if he was being rude. The little boy turned his big grey eyes on his friend, "I'm sorry. Is that why you seem so sad?"