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Earendil blinked. "Mine?" he repeated, his face flushing a bright shade of red. "Um ... well ... to tell you the truth ..."

"He doesn't have one," a friendly voice boomed from the direction of the counter. A man, tall and dark, with short hair and bright eyes, was just heading around the counter and coming towards Earendil and Lin, chuckling in amusement. "Prince Earendil doesn't have a favourite of anything, because if he did he would have to say that other things weren't as good. Isn't that right, my old friend?"

He grinned at Earendil and looped one arm around the prince's shoulders.

Earendil laughed, still blushing. "Can I help that you have the best sweets in the city?" he grinned. "Lin, this is my old friend, Hurin. Hurin, this is Lin, the friend I've told you so much about."

"Tut, my Lord," Hurin tsked, looking down at Lin. "You told me she was all grown up! She's nothing more than a child!"

Hurin caught sight of Lin's rounded ears, and his face darkened.

"Earendil," he said in a dark tone, looking over at his friend, his eyes losing their brightness.

Earendil stared right back at the man. "Her race is of no importance," he said firmly. "She is not of the humans of this world, and she is one of my dearest friends."

"Humans are humans," the sweetshop owner muttered in elvish. "There's not a good one among the lot of them."

Hurin glared down at Lin. That a human would be speaking the elven tongue ... it was unheard of to him. But the fact that she was even arguing with him ...

"Peace, Hurin," Earendil murmured, putting one hand on his friend's shoulder. "Lin, I'm also one of the ones who disagree with him, though I understand the point you're trying to make. Hurin, Lin's father is the one who established Haven, and Lin's brother is the one who saved my brother, Daeron, from the slave traders when he was young. Their family is good, better than some elven families."

Hurin still stared down at Lin, his expression unchanging. But he was thoughtful ... the slave traders ... was this girl really one of the ones responsible for the decline in abductions?

"She'll do it, too," Earendil told Hurin seriously. "She did the same for my father. He was just as stubborn as you are."

Hurin's eyes narrowed slightly. "Just what kind of human are you?" he asked Lin. "If you're not like the humans I know ... and Earendil is so protective of you ..."

Earendil had to bite his tongue to hold back a chuckle as he listened to Lin's ... rather interesting explanation.

"That makes no sense whatsoever," Hurin frowned at Lin.

Earendil chuckled. "Put simply ... she's from a different world, Hurin. Not a different land, but a different world altogether. She came here by magic, her family at times visits by magic ... their world is quite different from ours. Do not judge her by the standards of the humans of our world ... there is no similarity, save appearance alone."

"That still doesn't make much sense," Hurin said flatly.

Earendil smiled faintly. "It doesn't have to," he said softly. "But it's the truth, and that's all there is to it. Their world is strange to us, everything about it. But what I think is perhaps one of the most important aspects of it is ... all of the races, no matter what they are, live in harmony. Sure, there are small wars and the like, but nothing like what we have between us and the dwarfs every Age or two. I don't know which world is older, ours or theirs, but there is much that we can learn from them ... and we should."

He put both of his hands on Lin's shoulders and moved to stand behind her, still looking at his friend earnestly. "And you must begin here, and now ... with her. She is not of the people who killed your family, and you can't hold a grudge against an entire race because of what a few men did. That would be like me hating Lin because some humans abducted my brother. She has nothing to do with them, and had nothing to do with that incident. If you must, destroy those who destroyed your family ... but not those who are not at fault."

Hurin looked thoughtful, and his shoulders rose and fell in a silent sigh.

"I never could argue with you," he smiled weakly. He nodded down at Lin. "You're lucky to have a friend like him."

At long last, Hurin finally allowed himself a small smile, and he nodded at Lin once more. At least, he reflected, she was smart enough to realize the value of the prince's friendship.

He turned suddenly and nodded towards the girl at the counter. "And have you met my daughter, yet?" he asked Lin curiously.

Earendil coughed softly and moved closer to Hurin.

"You know," he murmured quietly, "I had forgotten on purpose ..."

Hurin chuckled, and there was a mischievous glint in his eye. "I know," he replied succinctly. "You forget, old friend, I know you quite well."

Earendil sighed. There was no getting around it now.

With a triumphant grin, Hurin ushered Lin towards the counter. "Lin," he said in an overly cheerful voice, changing to elvish now, "this is my daughter, Halaleël. Halaleël, Prince Earendil's friend, Lin."

The girl nodded politely, though her tone was somewhat cooler than before. "Hello," she said. "Pleasure to meet you." Though it was clear that it wasn't.