"Right." Ed hesitates for a second. Still, talking or winged or otherwise, a horse is a horse, isn't it? So this can't be that weird, he tells himself several times as he awkwardly slings a leg over her back. And nobody's ever going to know. ...Unless a certain someone decides to raid his memory for it, but he's trying not to think about that.

Anyway, fortunately, he has something more important to concentrate on as the guards continue to patrol and the shadows across the lawn lengthen.

The moment they set foot behind the hedge, he leans down and hisses, "Now!"