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Two floors down, Earendil, Haldia, Aethos and Luk were all in a conference with Atalya, telling her of what had happened on the long and adventurous journey.

Aethos was speaking, and Earendil translating for Haldia, when there was a knock at the door. Atalya nodded at one of the guards that was standing by the door, and he opened the door wide and stepped back, giving Lin and Miyuki space to come in.

Earendil chuckled and lifted Miyuki to sit on his lap, then held his hand out for the bag.

"Thank you, Miyuki," he said warmly, his eyes sparkling brightly. "I take it you had a good time in the city, then?"

Atalya smiled at Lin. "It's all right," she replied graciously. "We have been sitting for a very long time, it's about time we took a break."

She rose and stretched a bit. "It must be mid-afternoon by now," she murmured. "How time flies ..."

"Ah, you spoke with my friend Haldir!" Earendil exclaimed cheerfully. "And how is he doing? I haven't seen him in several years, even before we went on our trip! Tell me, did you have a good visit with him?"

Atalya chuckled softly. "Especially when it is something as fascinating as this," she murmured. "So many surprises ... it is hard to believe that so much can exist out there, beyond what anyone here would ever have dreamed of ... and yet every time someone goes out there, something more is discovered ..."

Earendil blinked. "Something funny?" he asked curiously. "What could that have been about?"

Clearly he was going to have to ask Lin what had happened, and if she didn't know then he would have to go and ask his friend himself.


Atalya chuckled again. "I do not know how you manage it, Lin," she said in an amused tone of voice, "but it seems that one adventure after another seems to befall you without you looking for it."

Atalya laughed softly. "That is precisely my point," she agreed amiably. "Now, I understand you were searching for Earendil? If I could find Celeb, I would not need Earendil here any longer; do you know where he is?"

Earendil grinned at Miyuki. He didn't know what it was, but he suspected that if Haldir didn't want to tell Lin what it was, it just might have something to do with Halaleel - and if his friend was laughing about it, then it could only be a good thing.

Earendil smiled at Miyuki. "Never mind," he murmured. "Just ... something."

He slid her off his lap and stood up and stretched. "Ah, Ninako, do you mind if I take a bit of a break?" he asked. "It's been a long time since I've sat for this long."

Atalya smiled at her great-grandson. "Of course. If you see Celeb, would you ask him to come? If he does, then you don't need to return."

"Will do," Earendil grinned. He turned to Lin and Miyuki, holding out his hands to them. "Come on, let's see if we can't find that cousin of mine."

Earendil squeezed Lin's hand as they headed out of Atalya's study and into the hallway.

"So," he murmured. "Did you have a good morning? I can see you spent some money." He chuckled and eyed the bag of candy that Miyuki had brought for him.