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"That doesn't make him any less mysterious," Earendil laughed. "The one called Caranthir, he is also a part of the ranch, but you would still say that he is mysterious, wouldn't you?"

They left the forest, and the ranch came into view. The ranch house rose on their left tall and magnificent, even as old as it was getting, and before them was the wide open space of the ranch yard. To the right was the barracks, and circling the yard were the other buildings.

There were elves milling about: Elberon, leading a horse from the stable to the paddock; some fighters heading inside, some fighters sparring; one was using the archery range on the far side of the house, and some were polishing the leather saddles.

On the porch of the house, a slender, blond haired woman was sitting, her back to the group. Her dress covered her from the shoulders down, and even her neck was covered with a scarf, even in the warmth of late summer. She was reading, and she seemed lost to the world around her.

Suddenly the front door of the house opened, and Ahren stepped out. He blinked at the group of visitors and tilted his head slightly.

"I know Lin, and Earendil," he said, pointing, "and you ..."

He gazed at Leyenda, and a slow smile spread over his face. "By the Valar ... a spitting image of my sister, if I do say so. You must be Leyenda."

Leyenda blushed and nodded. "And you are?"

Ahren laughed and came over to give her a hug. "Your uncle Ahren, your mother's older brother."

Ahren grinned at Lin. "Mother's in the kitchen, Father is out with the horses," he replied. He looked over the rest of the group. "But don't run off on me just yet," he laughed, "I want to know who all of these people are!"

Earendil chuckled. "Well, you know me, cousin."

"That I do," Ahren grinned. "It's been a long time."

Earendil introduced the rest of the group, then nodded at the girl, who was still reading her book. "Who is that?"

Ahren turned and smiled at the girl, then held up a finger to the group. He went over to talk to her, startling her slightly, but after a moment of conversation she closed her book and stood up, returning to the group with Ahren.

"This is Shiara," he introduced her. "Lin, I'm not sure if you met her or not, she had just arrived the last time you were here but she stayed almost exclusively indoors then."

Shiara stayed very close to Ahren's side and looked at everyone shyly.

Once introductions were done all around, Ahren motioned for everyone to come inside. He led Shiara along, holding her hand gently. The girl still hadn't spoken a word, though she continued to look at the newcomers curiously.

"Mother," Ahren called out once they were inside, "your granddaughter and her family are here."

"Eh?" Haradhel's voice came from the kitchen. "Bring them in, all of them!"

Ahren chuckled and motioned for everyone to come in. "By the way, Lin, Leyenda, you can let the kids down now. This is the most baby-proof house there is by this time."

Leyenda giggled. "I want to meet Grandmother, if I put Amalirahc down there's no telling which direction he'll go in."

"I'll join you after I say hello to Haradhel," Earendil grinned. "See you shortly."

And he headed off with all of the others to the dining room.

Ahren was content to let them all head off, and he and Shiara accompanied Lin to the playroom.

"I thought you might like to try talking together," he smiled at the two women as he and Shiara took a seat. "Shiara, do you remember Lin from when you first arrived here?"

Shiara looked at Lin, her blue eyes thoughtful. "Yes," she said softly. "Though I did not speak with you then." She blushed faintly. "I did not speak to anyone at that time."

Shiara smiled. "I have been here twelve years now, and each year I feel better," she murmured. "When I think back to what I was ... I am very grateful to Ahren, for putting up with me the way he has."

"One thing I never told you," Ahren grinned, "was that we were as afraid of you as you were of us when you first got here. Not in the same way, but we were afraid of making you worse than you already were."

"It doesn't surprise me," Shiara giggled. "It could easily have gone very wrong."

Ahren grinned at her, then turned to Lin. "So Lin, tell me ... Kelirahc and Haldia, where did you find them?" he asked curiously. "I've never heard of elves that look like that ... well, other than Arthael, though even she isn't that dark."

Ahren nodded thoughtfully. He didn't know a whole lot about the far distant history of the elves, but he couldn't rule anything out.

"Wait a second," he blinked. "The language hadn't changed ... from that far back ... so what language do they speak? Common Elvish, High Elven, or that language that Aragost used to speak when Sir Valdemar came here?"

Ahren was impressed. "And here I was under the impression that that language didn't exist anymore," he laughed. "And of course, you speak it now, right?" He grinned at her. "Of course you do. You could never meet a culture and not learn their language, that just isn't your way."

He leaned back in his chair and smiled. "At least you didn't bother learning the dwarven tongue," he murmured. "That would be a little pointless now."