As Victoria departed Ewan realized that she may need his help in order to remain blameless for what was most certainly going to happen next. In her rage there was a good chance Victoria might do something that both of them would regret. Shaking his head in resignation Ewan pulled aside one of his servants, Alec, and spoke to him in a hushed tone.<br/><br/>“I need you to do me a favor. Leave the castle and go into town. There is a pub called the Green Dragon in the square. The owner’s name is Barrett – tell him his old friend from the Capitol needs a favor. Don’t be any more specific than that.” As he spoke Ewan he took out his coin purse and untied the string. After quickly taking count of its contents he handed the purse to Alec with a few more cryptic words of explanation. “Give him this and tell him to be outside the main gate when the hour strikes eleven,” he said in a low voice. “Now go – and tell no one of this task.”<br/><br/>As Alec hurried away Ewan took another long pull of his wine. The prince shook his head as he thought about what another one of Victoria’s children would need to endure at the hands of their mother.<br/><br/>“Another sacrifice at the altar of power,” he said absent-mindedly to no one in particular. He then returned to the party by chatting up the couple to his right as if nothing was going on.<br/><br/><br/><div><hr style="height:2px; width:100%; border:0; color: gray;background:gray;"/></div><br/><br/>Simon, as the apprentice gardener, did not have a cot in the chamber over the south gate as did the other, more senior caretakers. Instead he slept in a makeshift hammock inside the gardening shed near the frog pond and gardens. The shed was also fairly close to the hedge maze where Katherine and he occasionally met for a stolen kiss. Still thinking about her, Simon was wide awake in his hammock when Eugenia quietly knocked on his door.<br/><br/>Within minutes, note in hand, Simon made his way to the spot where the two of them had first kissed. His heart racing, his clothes disheveled and hair somewhat out of place, he sat on the stone bench and looked up at the stars with the boundless optimism of a teenager in love.<br/><br/>He crossed his arms against the cool night breeze and thanked God for his amazing luck. Eventually Katherine’s mother would see how in love they were and how wonderful of a person he was.  Given time and a chance to prove himself, Victoria might very well come around and accept him begrudgingly as a son-in-law.  Or so he tried to convince himself.<br/><br/><br/><div><hr style="height:2px; width:100%; border:0; color: gray;background:gray;"/></div><br/><br/>The tavern was a raucous place even at that late hour. Alec was able to find the barkeep right away and passed along his message and the purse, still not exactly sure what he was purchasing. Barrett looked him up and down for a moment, studying the coat of arms of Prince Ewan which was emblazoned on Alec's tunic. The barkeep knew exactly what was being asked and who was doing the asking. He sighed and nodded his head.<br/><br/>“Eleven it is,” he said simply. “Now go, return to your master.”<br/><br/>Once Alec had departed the establishment Barrett took a casual walk to the darkest corner of his tavern, where the darkest variety of his customers could be found.