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Even while Lin was lowering her fist, the door opened and Caranthir appeared, one finger to his lips. Without a word, he motioned for them to come in, holding the door open for them. Gone was his usual carefree expression, replaced instead with a serious and thoughtful look.

Earendil was confused. Even this man was nothing like Lin had described him ...

Caranthir's room had only the bare essentials in it: bed, neatly made, desk and chair, both bare, bookshelf with three books, and chest at the end of his bed where he kept all of his things.

"Sorry about that," he smiled faintly at them as he closed the door behind them. "Aerin has just fallen asleep, and I really don't want her to wake up again ... not yet."

Caranthir nodded. "And it is about time."

He eyed Lin tiredly and sighed. "So much has changed with your return, Lin," he murmured. "Nothing is as it was, nor will things be the same again." He thought for a moment, then added, with his usual playful smile, "Though I cannot say that it is of necessity a bad thing."

Earendil was confused. What on Arda was he talking about?

"I do not think there was any conscious decision behind it," Caranthir replied mysteriously. "In this case I do not think she was able to control her body's needs. And yes, the news about her home has changed many things for her."

He seemed agitated. He moved to the window and opened it, looking outside. And yet, despite his agitation, his seeming willingness to talk, he was as tight-lipped as ever, having not revealed any real information in his reply.

Earendil was slowly beginning to understand what Lin meant about him being mysterious.

Caranthir looked back at Lin, and a frown flashed across his face before disappearing as suddenly as it had come up. "Yes," he replied, finally answering a direct question. "As a matter of fact, there is something very wrong. I was not very impressed with Aerin's people the first time I was there, and now I am just plain furious with their king. He is toying with his daughter, using her in a way that neither she nor anyone else deserves. I'm quite sure he knew this and said nothing, but that's just how he is. Even if he claims that something might be for someone's benefit, he simply manipulates things so that he will get the end that he wants."

"Do not misunderstand me," Caranthir said, turning back to Lin. "There are many, many good people there. But the idea that they left this land because of the problem between the Light and Dark elves ... that was no solution, and that is all that I meant when I said that I was not impressed with them. It was not a solution to the problem, and if anything it only made the problem here worse. But as for her father ..."

He shook his head, and the anger returned to his face. "That Aerin is still here is her decision. She was the one who did not want to return. To send someone to speak with her, or send her news, would have been fine. She could have handled that without any difficulty. She would even have been glad of it. But his choice of who to send was very manipulative. If Striate and Rhea have had the blessing to find love together, then they are lucky. If she had fallen in love with any other man, anyone else of the Wing Riders, that man would not have been able to come with. The only reason that the king sent Striate, the only reason, is because he was the one who helped to raise and train Aerin, and Skyel is the roc with which Aerin learned to fly. It was because of the emotion invested in those two people by Aerin, and not by Rhea, that the king sent them particularly. Because only by seeing them, and not anyone else, could she be sent into enough emotional turmoil to consider returning. It was a play upon her heart, and one for which I cannot forgive him."

Earendil thought back to Aurin, the Captain of whom everyone had grown quite fond. "I can't see Aurin agreeing to anything like that," he frowned. "He's not that type of person ..."

"No," Caranthir agreed, "he is not. He is as innocent in this matter as any of you are. The blame for this can be placed solely on the shoulders of Aerennel. The fact that Striate has fallen in love with Rhea only facilitated the king's manipulation, and gave reason for him to send him without raising questions."

"That is something that I don't know," Caranthir replied simply. "All I know is that when she woke from her coma, the first thing she said - after asking where the dragon was - was, 'I cannot return.' I did not question her about it then, nor since. Nor will I."

He looked at Lin and Earendil suspiciously. "What was the king like when you were there?"

"And what were the people at the castle like?" Caranthir asked again. "Think of the difference when he was present and when he was absent."

It seemed that perhaps he had spent more time there than had first been realized. Clearly he knew what he was talking about, and was looking for Lin to realize something he had observed while he was there.