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"Yes, she is, and she's got plenty of time ahead of her to learn," Pengolodh agreed.

Saria meanwhile was giving Long the tour of the places they were passing as they passed them.

"And this is where Papa gets his flowers sometimes when he wants to surprise Mama so that she's not mad at him," she told Long cheerfully, pointing out a small shop with an area that was made entirely of glass. "I like going in there with him because there are so many flowers in there and they're so pretty and it always smells good in there!"

She beamed up at Long, still skipping along ahead of him.

Saria's face lit up brightly.

"Evening primrose," she replied promptly, beaming. "It's really pretty! It's like a star, see?" She made the shape with her hands to show him. "A star with six legs ... and ... and it's a really bright purple, like brighter than my cousin Maeglin's dresses, and in the middle it's yellow like the moon! But they only grow if it rains so not very much, only maybe one or two times in a year or something, unless Firi'el grows some in her glass room, then there's some!"

Suddenly she pointed ahead of them. "Look! There's the sweet shop!" she exclaimed excitedly. "Come on! We're almost there!"

And off she ran, with as much energy as ever.

Alinda giggled softly from where she had been walking all along, right behind Long. "She's a child, do you need any other explanation?" she asked him with a warm smile.

It didn't even occur to her to comment on the fact that Saria had been born and raised in these temperatures, so the heat of course wouldn't bother her - she was as used to it as her daughter, and it meant nothing to her, either.

Alinda laughed again. "Indeed. Especially when it's only for special occasions."

They reached the shop, and Alinda held the door open for Long and the others. "After you," she smiled at them.

Saria was already inside the shop and had engaged the shopkeeper, a young pale-haired woman with brown eyes, in animated conversation. Saria was telling the young woman all about her new friends, and the woman couldn't help but giggle at her enthusiasm.

The shop was not a terribly large one, but it did have quite a variety of sweets. Most of them were hard candies, though there were some soft candies as well. Chocolate of course was nowhere in sight, though in the air of the shop, a hint of mint could be detected.

"Already the little diplomat," Pengolodh chuckled upon seeing his daughter interacting with the shopkeeper.

"Very true," Pengolodh agreed. "And she's very good at wrapping people around her little finger when she wants to."

He watched his daughter for a brief moment, then turned back to Daemon and Long. "If you would like something, help yourself," he told them warmly. "My treat. After all, Daemon, you've meant so much to my family."

And Saria seemed to have adopted Long for the day, in a manner of speaking.

"... and Daemon, he's the one with the things on his eyes, he knew my grandmama's papa for a long time and he even lived with him only he was stuck in a sword!" Saria was exclaiming to the young woman, her eyes bright with excitement. "And then he got strong and he got out of the sword and then he went home to his own family but now he's here to visit and he brought Long only he's not long he's tall but his name is Long because at their home Long means dragon ..."

Pengolodh's eyes sparkled as he watched his daughter. Sometimes he wondered if she ever felt the need to breathe - but she did like to share every detail of something she felt was interesting.

" ... but he's really nice, not like dragons or at least not like the dragons that I hear stories about because they always try to hurt people or something but Long doesn't do that because he's really nice and-"

"Saria," Pengolodh called out, interrupting her excited tirade, "you're off on a tangent again."

Saria giggled at her father, but she wasn't at all flustered. "Sorry, Papa."

The young shopkeeper laughed, clearly amused by the situation - or at least by the young princess. "Well, now that others have the chance to speak," she grinned, her eyes sparkling brightly, "can I do anything for your Highnesses?"

Saria clapped her hands together. "Yes! Something for my friends!" she exclaimed. "Long, what do you like? I like the Rainbow Rocks, over there, see? They're all different colours, just like a rainbow! I've never seen a real rainbow of course, but Grandmama shows me some sometimes with the Wishsong, and they're awful pretty and-"

"Saria ..." This time it was her mother who got her attention.

Saria giggled again. "Yes, Mama."