Gwen would be five in a few weeks, and Art was mourning the toddler she used to be. She was so charming now, though — chatty and swiftly becoming more adept at her toy broomstick, and the mop of curls she had inherited from her mother were always escaping from her hair ribbons. He loved her so much, and he was savoring every last day of four —  so he intended on bringing her to the Winter Festival every day.

He was paying a few coins to the vendor in exchange for Gwen's gingerbread man, and then got side-tracked by speaking to a former teammate for a minute. Arthur turned around — Merlin help him if he had lost Gwenog at a holiday event again — only to see a familiar woman presenting her with another gingerbread man. Art's face twitched — he felt as if the wind had been swept out of him.

"Montgomery," he greeted, in a weak voice — because Ester was too intimate for a place like this.