Welcome to Gaia! ::

Aranhil grinned at Lin. "If she has the energy," he winked. "Obviously I've never been through the ordeal myself, but I have many new fathers coming here for celebration gifts and the like, and they're always exhausted and have stories of their wives to tell ..."

"Granted," Earendil pointed out, "she'll have it easier than most as a first-time mother ... with so many other children to help her out with the work and everything."

"True enough," Aranhil nodded. He turned back to Lin. "If you would extend an invitation to the prince and princess on my behalf, I would be most honoured," he smiled warmly at her. "I shall do what I can to come and visit them, myself, but with the shop to look after ..."

He gestured around him.

"Thank you," Aranhil smiled warmly at Lin, his dark eyes shining brightly.

Earendil leaned a bit closer to Aranhil. "Any more trouble since Lamthanc?" he asked quietly. "No one else has attempted to steal from you?"

Aranhil shook his head. "I still cannot believe that he is of your blood," he murmured. "How could one of the Aldrich family have become so tainted?"

Aranhil nodded sombrely at Lin. "Three of my best pieces," he murmured, "and not a shred of remorse. I don't understand how anyone could be like that ... I remember Prince Riordan when he was growing up, he was one of the proudest of the Aldrich children ... and the most well-behaved. To see him come to this, to see him raising his children like this ... it is as shocking as the theft itself."

"It was the first theft from elves, by elves, in over one hundred years," Earendil confided to Lin quietly. "By nature, we are a peace-loving race ... but there are a few bad ones in each race."

"I think he was," Aranhil said softly, sadly. "At the trial, when he told Her Majesty who he was ... he sounded triumphant, as if he wanted to ... I don't know, find a place for himself within the royal family, or else smear Her Majesty's name, her honour ..."

"I wasn't there," Earendil murmured, "but I heard the same."

"Well," Earendil murmured, "if his aim was to smirch the family name, then it made sense - his actions. Not that I agree with them in any way. He probably feels as if he and his father have been wronged somehow ..."

"But at least we don't have to worry about him anymore," Aranhil smiled faintly. "He has been dealt with fairly and justly. If anything, I think Her Majesty's honour has been increased with the incident, not decreased."

"I hope so," Earendil chuckled in agreement. "If it's not, I may have to pay my uncle an unwelcome visit - accompanied, of course, by several others."

"Don't be rash," Aranhil warned the prince. "I won't deny that Prince Riordan needs sorting out, but his sons are the ones causing the trouble so far, not him."

"But he's obviously the root cause," Earendil pointed out. He sighed. "Though I suppose that if we did do anything to him, no matter how just it is, his sons would only feel more wronged ..."

Aranhil nodded.

Earendil and Aranhil exchanged a glance, and then both men faced Lin and shrugged.

"If he doesn't take care of them, doesn't love them," Earendil pointed out, "why would they be so protective of him? Why would they do the things they do in an attempt to honour themselves, or dishonour Ninako? No one has seen him since he was rejected by the family ... who knows where he is, or what he's doing ... or how he treats his sons, or his mistresses."

The bell over the door tinkled, announcing a visitor, and Aranhil held out one hand to the two of them. "Customer," he murmured. "You might want to keep it down a bit." He smiled at them. "I'll be right back."

And he slid out from behind the counter to go greet his customer.