Welcome to Gaia! ::

"I'm not sure why, but that surprises me," Earendil commented, finding what he was looking for. "I guess from all the adventures you told me about, I supposed you came here all the time ..."

He returned to Lin's side and sat down next to her, smiling gently as he cradled the wrapped item in his hands.

"But one desire I've had," he murmured, "is for the two of us to be together from now on, no matter where we are or where we go ..."

He set the wrapped item in her hands and waited for her to open it. Inside was a feather made of white gold, set in a littinum cage of ivy and leaves - little did he know that it was almost the same design as Lin had requested from Aranhil. It was on a thin littinum chain that would fit ever so comfortably around Lin's neck.

Earendil laughed and caught her in his arms, holding her tightly to himself.

"I'm afraid I had to break my mother's trust," he chuckled, pleased with her reaction. "After you left, I followed and spoke with your father. I wanted to do it in the way that would mean something to you."

He was feeling positively giddy, despite the fact that he had been quite certain that she would accept the gift.

"I love you so much," he murmured so softly it was nearly a whisper. "Please tell me that we will never have to be apart again, that we will be together for the rest of our lives ..."

Earendil followed Lin, a niggling suspicion growing in the back of his mind, and when she placed the bundle in his hands he couldn't help but smile as he unwrapped it carefully. When the silvery ivy cage came into his view, his smile grew wider, and when he had unwrapped it completely he couldn't help but chuckle.

"I think," he murmured, his eyes sparkling as he looked back at Lin, "this explains why I barely had to explain a thing to Aranhil."

He held the caged feather in one hand and with his other hand he reached out and pulled Lin to him again, holding her close as he leaned down to kiss her warmly.

Earendil chuckled and held Lin close. "That makes sense," he murmured softly. He couldn't bring himself to let her go, and he just continued to hold her to himself, taking joy out of that simple nearness.

He stroked her hair softly. He really didn't want to break the moment, but on the other hand, there were questions that he simply needed the answer to.

"So where do we go from here?" he asked her quietly, still holding her close. "Do you want to have a ceremony of some sort? Or is this enough for you?"

In her eyes, were they married or did they need more to make it official?

Earendil's smile only grew wider, and he squeezed Lin slightly, still holding her tightly to himself.

"I'm glad," he murmured, closing his eyes peacefully.

So this was how true happiness felt, he thought to himself. It was something he could definitely get used to. And the best part of it was, he didn't need anything to make him feel this way ... all he needed was Lin's presence.

"We're going to have a time convincing Miyuki it's time for her to have a room of her own," he realized suddenly, chuckling softly.

"Agreed," Earendil chuckled. "At least Miyuki will be happy to know that we're finally a real family, even in the eyes of those around us."

He kissed Lin once more before he let her go. "Come, we should talk to Haradhel about getting our rooms changed around," he smiled. "We're going to need a room with a bigger bed, I think."

Most of the beds were single beds; there were only a few rooms with double beds, and neither of them had one of those ones.

Earendil slipped his own promise feather around his neck, then took Lin's hand and squeezed it tightly.

"Let's go," he murmured, leading her towards the door.

He was smiling so widely, it was beginning to hurt a bit, but he couldn't help it. He and Lin were married. It was the one thing he had dreamed of for years ... and now it had finally happened.