Welcome to Gaia! ::

"That's true," Earendil mused thoughtfully. Then he grinned. "But you know what? If it serves only to irk her more, then it makes me happy. Petty, I know, and very un-princelike, but I can't help it. She drives me mad ... she truly does."

He coughed softly. "As to the lessons about interacting with people here ... it might be expedient," he had to admit, as much as he hated the thought. "It is after all a very different culture from your own, and it is very easy to offend people by saying the wrong thing - no matter how innocent - or even by making the wrong gesture."

"I can teach you," Earendil told Lin with a warm smile, "and I'm sure we could get Tinuviel to help us out. After all, she needs a break sometimes too."

Poor girl ... she needed a refreshing break from their parents. Sure, they bugged him to find a girlfriend, settle down and start a family - but they hounded Tinuviel even more. Understandable, since by law she was supposed to - though as long as she married before she became queen, Earendil didn't see the problem. Still, it had made her quite irritable.

Earendil ruffled Lin's hair affectionately. "I'm sure she would love it," he said again. "Just ... don't take offense if she gets a bit short with you, it's not you. Mother and Ada have been hounding her, and Ninako has been giving her more and more responsibilities, and Sir Valdemar's lessons with her are more intense ... she's very stressed at the present time."

He sighed, and a sad expression crossed his face. "She just needs the chance to be herself for once," he murmured, "and not be a princess. But no one lets her ..."

"We should," Earendil agreed, "but stealing Tinuviel away from the court, even for a few hours, is impossible. Besides, I think she's expecting a visitor this evening ... which granted will put her in an even fouler mood, but it also means that she will be less accessible than ever. Perhaps tomorrow we could try ..."

Earendil waved his hand dismissively. "Lord something-or-other from one of the western cities. I think she's met him before, doesn't care for him, but she really has no choice but to see him - and she'll have to continue seeing every Lord who's single until she finally chooses one and settles down."

He snorted. "For her sake, I hope she finds love somewhere before it has to go on much longer. And not with any of those Lords she has to keep seeing."

Earendil had to stop and think about that for a second.

"Well," he mused, "she's forty nine ... so ... I guess over thirty years ... and to tell you the truth, I really can't blame her for always being in a bad mood over it. The ones who come are spoiled, self-centered men who haven't an ounce of humility. They're not what she needs. But she can't refuse them until she makes a choice."

He rubbed his finger and thumb on his brow. "Maybe she should go traveling a bit, maybe she would find someone interesting and at least have a reason to tell those lords not to come all the time."

"Unfortunately," Earendil sighed, "the lords don't agree. They seem to think that the more they hound her, the better chance they'll have with her. I wish she would just tell them to jump off the mountain, but she's very strict about politeness, and she does everything according to protocol and propriety. So she puts up with them ... on the outside."

"Not generally," Earendil nodded. "Especially when they think that they're above everyone else. Even Tinuviel, as High Princess, heir to the throne ... I don't know how or why but they think they're better than she is. Which is why they keep coming, and why they don't treat her well. I don't know if it's just their personalities, or if it's because she's a woman, but ..."

He clenched his fists in frustration. "I just wish I could teach them a good lesson."