Welcome to Gaia! ::

As Lin walked, the floor sloped gently upwards, and the stone hallway ended at a large stone door, which was slightly ajar. There was light on the other side of the door - torchlight, from several torches which hung on the walls around the room. From there, there was but one doorway, which led to another room, similar to the first: but in that room, there was a stone stairway which led up almost two floors' worth of steps to a longer, brightly lit hallway which spread in both directions.

The little girl still had her head on Lin's shoulder, and instead of helping her own, she had her eyes closed and seemed to be falling asleep.

At the top of the stairs, the corridor split into two directions: to the left was an enormous library, and to the right it continued on for quite a distance, with door on either side.

In the library, which was lit by sunshine that filtered in through a series of windows that circled the entire room, a teenaged girl was sitting at a desk, quill in hand. Thick, black curls tumbled around her shoulders and down her back, and her darkly tanned face was set in concentration. Just inside the door, a soldier stood guard, his face impassive.

When there was the knock at the door, the guard barely moved, though his eyes flickered towards it to be prepared for an intrusion of some sort. The girl at the desk however raised her eyes from her work and called out clearly, "Enter."

At her nod, the guard stopped towards the door and opened it. He blinked in surprise when he saw Lin, and when he saw the child in her arms, he was even more baffled. A stern look crossed his face, and he took a defensive stance.

"Who are you?" he demanded harshly. "And how did you get in here?"

The guard looked skeptical, and he was about to make a reply when the girl's voice cut in, "Winters ... I know that name."

She rose from her seat and came towards Lin, her movements graceful and purposeful. "And I see you have found Elia ... I thank you for that. Here, let me take her for you." And she held out her arms for the child that Lin was holding. As she took the child into her arms, she turned to the guard and spoke to him in a low tone, and a moment later the guard bowed his head and headed off down the hall.

The girl smiled at Lin. "She is not so fond of insects," she smiled warmly, switching suddenly to English. "But they are beautiful creatures." She bowed her head politely. "And now allow me to introduce myself ... I am Amora Aldrich, eldest daughter of King Estel and Queen Lothiriel Aldrich. And this one ..."

She smiled warmly and hugged the little girl. "This is my sister, Elia. Nana had been looking for her, I thank you for finding her."

Amora smiled and nodded, but a frown briefly flickered across her face. She had introduced herself and her sister - but who was this girl who had come out of nowhere? She wondered if she should feel annoyed at the girl's rudeness - but perhaps she simply didn't know better.

"And you are ... ?" she pressed gently, tilting her head slightly and smiling again.

Amora pursed her lips thoughtfully. "It's all right, don't worry," she murmured. "I only recognized your family name ... I ... remember someone else with the same family name ... it was a very long time ago."

Such a long time as she couldn't remember a name to go with the face ... though she did remember cat ears ... and a tail. She summoned an image of the person with her magic, and it appeared between them. "Him ..."

Amora smiled. "It was a long time ago ... I was very young." She tilted her head curiously. "I think I've seen you before, too ... I'm ... I can't quite ... remember where ... perhaps in a dream."

Her eyes narrowed slightly. "You know my parents, don't you?"