Welcome to Gaia! ::

There was a guard outside a door just ahead of them, and when he saw Lin and Amora approaching he smiled and bowed his head respectfully.

"Whom shall I summon for you, Princess?" he asked, smiling warmly at the girl.

"Sir Gilead," Amora replied, smiling back. "We're going to the city."

The man bowed his head again, then disappeared into the room, leaving Amora and Lin alone.

The man was gone only a very short time, and when he returned he was not alone.

"Princess Amora," the newcomer smiled warmly at her, bowing deeply.

"Sir Gilead," Amora smiled. "And this is Lin Winters, a friend of my parents. She is visiting us for a while."

The guard bowed deeply to Lin. "It is an honour to meet a friend of my Lord and Lady," he said solemnly. "I pray that your stay is a pleasant one."

Sir Gilead smiled brightly at Lin, then bowed once more to Amora. "And it is to the city that you wish to go then?" he asked with a smile. "Are you ready to leave?"

Amora nodded. "We're ready," she agreed. She turned to Lin. "Come on, it's not a terribly long walk ... but we do have just the afternoon, at least for today. We'd best make use of what time we have."

Amora brushed some hair from her face. "Well, there are two ways I can think to do this," she suggested. "Either go straight to the center of the city and wander slowly back, looking where we like on the way, or else we can wander slowly there and see everything, and then hurry back when we reach there. It's up to you, how you want to go."

She smiled and led the three of them towards a set of stairs.

"Good plan," Amora beamed. "Then you can take note of the places you want to spend more time looking at on the way back."

It was down the stairs, through a corridor, another set of stairs, and then a wide, open hall, and then through the large doors of the palace, and the three of them were on the path to the outer gates. The city was almost directly beyond the gates, and even as they stepped outside, the sounds of the city could be heard clearly in the desert air.

Amora paid no attention the heat. She was used to it, after all. It was the hottest part of the day, perhaps not the best time for visiting the city, but it would not get much cooler until after dark, when the city went to sleep. Still, she made sure that they kept a moderate pace, almost a leisurely walk, so that they wouldn't overexert themselves.

"How long have you known my parents?" she asked curiously as they walked, her brown eyes bright as she looked at Lin. "I mean, I know for a long time, but ... how long?"

"Ah," Amora murmured softly. "I see ... a very long time then. And yet ..."

She eyed Lin thoughtfully. "That has to have been at least forty years ago ... and you don't look a day over sixteen or eighteen."

Amora shook her head. "It just doesn't make any sense," she frowned. "Why would time pass differently in your world than it does in ours? Don't you have days and nights and hours and minutes like we do? Or is a year just a much longer period of time in your world?"