Welcome to Gaia! ::

The king caught the slight movement of Lin's head, and he tilted his head forward slightly. "Lady Lin, what do you think of our land?" he asked her, singling her out seemingly suddenly.

Of course, he had a reason for asking her. Not only was she not from his land, but she wasn't even from this world, and being an entirely new race to him, he was curious to know what she thought.

"Have you seen rocs before then, in other places?" the king asked. "I had thought that they did not live in any other lands ... but then, we have not traveled much since we came to this island, and the world has changed since then ..."

he continued to watch Lin while he ate, eager to know more.

The king nodded and glanced at Kelirahc. "And you have one of these marks, then?" he asked.

Kelirahc fidgeted and looked at Leyenda, who translated for him. He nodded and replied, "The dragon is the mark of my family, and it is the mark that I have."

Leyenda translated it into common elvish for the king, who nodded. "Perhaps when the weather is warmer," he suggested, "you might show me how it works?"

Kelirahc nodded once more for the translation. "If you would like."

Celeb frowned. "Why are you only asking grown-ups questions?" he asked the king, leaning forward on the table so that he could shuffle on his chair and sit on his feet instead. "You haven't asked me anything yet!"

Arwen and Leyenda, who were sitting on either side of Celeb, tried to shush him as he spoke out, but the king just laughed. "What would you like to tell me about, then?" he asked the boy, his eyes sparkling brightly.

Celeb shrugged. "I don't know, but you're just talking to all the grown ups!"

Without skipping a beat, Celeb leaned forward and looked at the king. "Why aren't there any kids here?" he asked. "Leyenda and Kelirahc and Earendil and Lin were here before, a few times, and Haldia too but she didn't come with this time because she really doesn't like it here, but no one ever said they saw any kids and I haven't seen any kids either!"

Arwen was shaking her head incredulously, but the king didn't seem to mind either the question or the boy's tone.

"Fair enough," he nodded. "It is true that there are no children in the castle, and there have not been for hundreds of years. My wife died giving birth to our younger son, so I have had no more children, and of my three, only one is left. Aethos has not married, and so he has not had any children, and so there have been no children in the royal family since my daughter grew up. Our servants have been with us for centuries as well, and any of their children are grown and live in the city. There are many children in the city, it is true, but at the castle, there are none."

Celeb chewed his lip thoughtfully. That explained a lot, but still ... it would have been nice to have someone his own age to play with for once.

Celeb looked over at Lin. "Not bored when I'm with Haldia," he replied with a shrug. "There's nothing to do here."

"Celeb," Arwen admonished him, pulling him into her lap. "His Majesty is being very kind to us, don't be so rude!"

Roydon also appeared somewhat alarmed, but the king just smiled. He didn't understand what they said of course, but the tone was quite clear.

"It's all right," he assured Arwen, "honesty is always a virtue. Perhaps we can find something for him to do, what do you say, young prince?"

Celeb fidgeted out of Arwen's lap and back into his chair. "What kind of something?" he asked.

The king smiled gently. "Well, when my children were young, they always liked to train with my men," he chuckled, "but of course I'm not entirely sure you would enjoy that. Would you like to learn about the rocs, perhaps, or see our gallery?"

Celeb looked thoughtful. "Hmm ... can I hang out with Captain Striate?" he asked. "He seems to have a pretty neat job, and I like the roc."

The king smiled amusedly. "If your parents have no objections ..."

Arwen was hanging her head in her hands, and Roydon took it upon himself to answer, "If he's not going to be any trouble."

The king's smile grew wider. "The captain could always use a break, and he's probably the best Wing Rider I have. Most definitely the safest. If you've no objections then, I'm sure Celeb would enjoy spending time with him. And if you're going to be here long enough for Master Shiro to copy all of our archives, he is going to need something to keep him occupied."