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Earendil cleared his throat cautiously. "Lin," he murmured, "why don't you chat with Halaleël for a bit? I just have to talk to Hurin about something for a minute ... if you don't mind, that is."

He looked at her, his eyes begging her to agree, as if there was something important that he had to say to his friend.

Relief flooded Earendil's eyes, and he turned to Hurin and directed him to the side of the room, where they began to speak to each other in low tones.

Halaleël looked at Lin emotionlessly, almost bored. "If you're going to talk to me," she said, looking down at her fingernails, "at least speak a language I can understand."

Unlike her father, she spoke only elvish - not that it would even occur to her to inform Lin politely. She shared her father's view of humans, though not for the same reasons.

"You should address the prince by his title," the girl replied coolly. "It shows him a great disrespect to do otherwise. Only those who are the closest with him are allowed to address him without his title. Is it not so where you come from?"

Personally, she had no desire to get to know Lin, and she was making no attempt to hide the fact.

Halaleel shook her head. "Prince Earendil never says anything, but he shouldn't have to," she lectured Lin. "He is prince, and he should not have to ask to be called so. It is his birthright, his station in life, and everyone must refer to him as such to show him the respect that he merits because of it."

To her this was simply common sense: she had no idea of course about Lin's upbringing or beliefs.

"At any rate," she added, flipping her hair over her shoulder and smiling coldly at Lin, "no matter how close you are to him, it doesn't matter. You're not his kind, and no matter what you do he will never look at you the way he looks at me."

And here her true thoughts came out, though she had only intended to warn Lin away.

Earendil looked up sharply as Lin stormed out of the shop, and he bit his tongue to keep from shouting after her. He should have known better than to leave her alone with Halaleel ...

He muttered a hasty apology to Hurin and ran towards the door, chasing after Lin so that he would catch her before she went too far away.

"Lin!" he called, running up behind her and putting one hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have left the two of you alone ..."

Earendil shook his head. "She's an awful girl," he murmured. "As good a man as her father is ... she truly is an awful girl. She can be kind when the situation demands, but for the most part ..."

He sighed and pulled Lin close for a light hug. "She's had her eye on me since she was old enough to start looking, and despite the fact that every single time she flirts I tell her to back off, she seems to have it in her head that someday she's going to be my princess. That was actually what I was talking to Hurin about ... taking control of his daughter so that she would start to behave as she ought. But I ought to have known better than to put you in a position like that, knowing her personality and having been questioned about my regards for you before."

Earendil smiled warmly at Lin. "At the palace, the rules are rather lax," he admitted, "but yes, you should refer to me by my title. But in town, with people other than family ... it's a must. I probably should have explained that, but I didn't think she would make such a fuss over it."

He chuckled softly. "Then again, perhaps it just makes things more fun ... after all, you are my dearest friend, and the fact that I don't make you call me by my title shows that to everyone who meets you. Perhaps it will help put her in her place."