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Earendil laughed heartily. "Well, as much as I appreciate the offer," he grinned, "I'll let her take care of the matter herself, until the day she either gets rid of them herself or asks for help. As much as I would love to pull the 'worried big brother' card, I'm afraid that she's beyond old enough to take care of herself. Shades, her training was as thorough as mine!"

Which meant that if she so desired, she would be more than able to take care of the men who treated her so badly.

Earendil chuckled. "Well, if you want to ask Tinuviel, I'm all for it," he winked. "As to what next ... if you're up for returning to the sweetshop, I'll let you talk to Hurin this time. You've given me a fabulous reason to tell off Halaleel, something I've been wanting to do for ages. It's up to you."

He would have to talk to Halaleel at some point anyways, because what she had done was not only rude, but dishonouring both to herselg and to her father, and if repeated in the future could get her into trouble with the law.

Earendil grinned and clapped Lin's shoulder. "Good for you," he said proudly. "You really are the friend that I can be very proud of."

He held his arm out to escort her properly. "Now come, let's show Halaleel what a real lady is like."

"Perhaps you are," Earendil conceded, "but in this case you've every right to be offended, and she had no reason to say what she did. I wouldn't have blamed you if it had come to blows, though I do admit her father likely wouldn't have welcomed you back in the shop ... however, insults such as she dealt you are often fought over. Not in stores, but in proper duels. I've no doubt that if it came to that, she's the one that would regret it. As she ought."

Never had his dislike for Halaleel been so pronounced, but facts were facts: she was a horrible girl, and nothing would ever change that.

Earendil chuckled softly. "Yours is a different world, Lin. For you to allow her to insult you like that and not defend yourself, to allow her to have the last word ... is defeat. It is allowing her to win. It is showing her that what she says about you is true. You would not be starting a fight by challenging her. You would be upholding your honour - and in this case, mine as well."

He paused. "What do you think of when you think of duels?" he asked curiously. "I think it might be slightly different from what we think of ..."

Earendil nodded. "It is a fight," he agreed, "but always hand to hand, so that there's no unfair advantage. They're overseen by an outside party so to make sure that there's no cheating, and they also call when the fight is over and a winner is clear. That way it never gets out of hand, but the person whose honour was insulted can make it clear that their name is not to be dishonoured. If necessary, they can choose someone else to fight in their name - but the person who insulted them must fight for themselves ... which is why most people would never dare to treat you as she did."

He shook his head sadly. "Especially if you're the honoured guest of the prince."

They reached the sweetshop once more, and he held the door open for her. "After you," he smiled, bowing to her.

The shop was almost as they had left it, save that Hurin was once more no longer in sight. Earendil didn't blame the man: he had of course given no indications that he would be returning. And to tell the truth, it didn't much matter - this time, it was for Halaleel that he had come.

Though it would have been a little easier if Hurin had been there to take over the counter for her. On the bright side, there were at least no customers in the shop at the moment.

Halaleel's eyes narrowed slightly when she saw Lin enter the shop, and this time she did not call out a greeting - but her eyes grew wide with surprise when she saw Earendil escorting her, and she smiled brightly at him.

"Welcome back, my Lord," she said in an overly sweet voice. "Tell me, is there anything that I can do for you?"