Nora made herself a sandwich from what she found in the fridge and ate it while she moved around the cottage, brandishing a feather duster at a few remaining spiderwebs and dust motes hiding deep in a few nooks and shadowy corners.

The moment she was happy with the result and the house smelled, for once, of wood polish and window cleaner rather than the cinders in the fireplaces, she grabbed her handbag, an empty backpack and the car keys, and rushed down the hill, towards the castle and through the park lying beyond, to the parking lot.

"Hello Albert," she greeted her faithful Beetle as she climbed inside, threw her bags on the passenger seat and put her glasses on, then wiped the misty windscreen.

She drove out of the half full parking lot and eased Albert into the thin, Thursday afternoon traffic, reaching the closest supermarket in less than fifteen minutes.

Nora found all that she needed there, and bought enough food to last her for a week, as she expected busy days ahead. Once the shopping was in the car, she drove to the petrol station and then, without wasting any more time-- it was nearly five and getting dark fast-- she headed back home.

It was just after nine when Martin appeared on the porch.

"Come in," she opened the door for him before he could knock; the window of the spare room upstairs allowed her to get a glimpse of him coming up the hill while she finished getting dressed after the shower.

The sight of him approaching made her feel both excited and nervous-- the last time she saw him they were holding hands... What now, what would follow? What did he expect? What did she want? Nora hadn't been able to figure out one single answer throughout the whole afternoon, and now that she saw him again, her heart skipped a beat.

"I didn't know what to bring you, so..." he smiled as he entered, passing her a bottle of wine and a single white rose.

"I love white roses... How...?" She shook her head, giving up on guessing how he knew so many little things about her. Of course grandma could have told him... but why would he want to know, and remember, in the first place? "Thank you. How's the swan?" Nora asked, her eyebrows arched in surprise when she saw him removing his shoes and reaching into a box set next to her wood-basket, choosing a pair of guest slippers, as if he had done it hundreds of times before.

He followed her into the kitchen then, and she handed him a corkscrew, while she found a vase for the rose and filled it with water.

"I just moved him into the stables. He is fine, the wing will heal well, and hopefully fast." Martin said as the cork slid out of the bottle with a soft pop and he poured some wine into the glasses Nora had placed on the small dining table.

She motioned for him to sit down, then turned towards the oven, taking out a dish of lasagna, which filled the kitchen with the aroma of tomatoes and nutmeg. It was still warm.

"I thought you might skip dinner, so I waited for you... Do you like lasagna? Will you eat with me?"

"Thanks, Nora. You are right, I did not get anywhere near food since lunch." He smiled, making some of her tension disappear.

It was so easy to be around him, she loved his company... and yet she wasn't exactly sure how to act in his presence.

She smiled back and set the table for two while he went to wash his hands, then sat down opposite of him.

More than an hour and two glasses of wine later, she finally stopped thinking about every move she made, and sat listening to him on the sofa by the fireplace, perfectly warm, relaxed and happy, until he sighed after having checked his watch, and announced that he needed to go.

"Already?" the words were out before she could stop them, making her blush. "Of course you have to go. I... It was a nice evening. Thank you for coming."

She stood up and took their empty glasses, carrying them into the kitchen while he walked to the door and put his shoes and coat on.

He was ready to leave when she reached him. Suddenly, as she watched him run his hand through his hair she realised that he was as much at a loss of how to behave as she was.

Well, a kiss on the cheek when saying goodbye was allowed between friends, her wine-influenced mind insisted, and so she walked quite close to him, put her hands on his shoulders and pulled herself on tiptoes, then pressed her lips to his cheek briefly. Gosh he smelled good...

"I really enjoyed this evening. I guess we'll see each other around." Nora said in lieu of a goodbye, taking a couple of steps away from him.

"Will you come for dinner with me tomorrow night?" he asked quickly as if he was afraid that she would refuse again.

"Okay then," she agreed after a moment.

"I'll pick you up..."

"But there's no point for you coming all the way up the hill. I can meet you on the drawbridge... Oh, but it's Friday tomorrow. I promised my godmother I'd help her to set up her market stall in the square and she might keep me till late..."

"That's fine. I'll pick you up in the market and we'll walk from there, I'll book us a table somewhere. There are bound to be loads of people around with the Christmas market starting, and the themed tours and theatre performances to match the Christmas mood in the castle..." he mused.

"All right." Nora smiled at him as she accompanied him outside, feeling quite excited about knowing when she would meet him again.

They stepped on the porch just in time to see Snow White trotting up the hill, towards the cottage, her white mantle glowing in the moonlit night.

"Your guard is here, she must have missed you!" Nora laughed.

He sighed as he walked down the steps, shaking his head in disbelief. "I'm sure I closed them in well. However does she get out is beyond me."

Nora followed him down to caress the faithful, adventurous reindeer who just reached the porch, then watched them walk towards the castle until she started feeling cold.

The following morning Nora reached the drawbridge to meet Adele and her ward ten minutes early. She was pleased to see a huge smile on the boy's face as he saw her and ran to her over the bridge. "I knew you would read to me again. I finished that book but I want you to read it to me again, please."

"Hello, Daniel. First you have to go to school and then maybe we can read together after lunch?" Nora proposed.

The boy nodded and walked down the hill a few steps in front of the women, lost in his own world composed of colourful fallen leaves to pick up, frozen puddles to slide on and piles of old snow lining the edges of paths and pavements to jump into-- he did not miss one on the way to school, making Nora hope that his shoes were warm and waterproof.

"I spoke to his father about you, and Daniel told him that he knows you, when I mentioned your name..." Adele said.

"We've only met once, in Clelia's shop." Nora smiled.

"Anyway. I left your phone number with his father and he said he'll meet you over the weekend. There's no school on the weekends of course so the routine is different-- I usually babysit a night or two, but the father normally doesn't need help during the days. Well, you'll speak to him personally and see."

"All right. That sounds good. When do I start officially?"

"On Monday, please. I'm leaving on Sunday afternoon, so I can still babysit tonight... Oh and one last thing," Adele said as she took Daniel's hand in hers-- they reached the school and the confusion and commotion around them increased a hundredfold. "Let me introduce you to Daniel's teachers. You'll need to fill in a form, too, I suppose, I have a note from his father here..." She searched the pockets of her fuchsia coat after Daniel pulled her down by her scarf and kissed her on the cheek, reminded Nora to wait for him after school, then ran off across the schoolyard after his classmates.

"Gosh I'll miss him." Adele smiled wistfully as she steered Nora into one of the wings of the busy building to meet the teachers.