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Only a few paces behind the servant, another man entered the room: the magistrate himself. His white-blond hair was cut short, his clothes fancy but not as fancy as those at the palace. There was only a slight resemblance between him and Alassëa, a few facial features, and that was it. Still, there was a resemblance.

"Lord Bryce, magistrate of Andunin," the servant announced formally.

"Lessa's ada!" Andarien exclaimed excitedly, clapping his hands together.

The boy's words startled the magistrate, and he looked at him quizzically.

"Lessa?" he repeated. "I'm afraid-"

"Papa?" Alassëa interrupted him softly, her brows furrowing together. She recognized his voice from a long time ago, but part of her still wasn't quite willing to believe her memories. After such a long time, after all, it stood to reason that she might be misremembering, that the recognition might only be the result of her hopes rather than reality.

To the others, however, it was clear that the man was her father. They looked too much alike for him not to be.

The magistrate realized the same thing just then. "Alassëa?" he asked, staring at her.

The tailor was grinning from ear to ear. "After all this time, she's back," he said happily. "How long has she been gone?"

"Forty one years," Bryce answered softly, without even pausing to think about it. "Ten weeks and three days."

He kept staring at Alassëa, and he seemed afraid of her somehow.

The silence stretched on, with Alassëa looking more and more nervous as her father simply stared at her as if he couldn't believe what he saw.

"Oh, for Valar's sakes," the tailor blurted finally, his tone annoyed, "she's not going to vanish if you say something to her!" He was looking at the magistrate with what looked like an amused glare.

Andarien was confused. Alassëa was meeting her father again, shouldn't they both be happy? He looked from one to the other, trying to think of some way he could fix whatever it was that was wrong. He didn't know Bryce at all, and he didn't feel comfortable going to him. So helping Alassëa out was the only solution.

He let go of Lin's hand and ran over to Alassëa. He gripped her hand tightly and tugged her forward. "Come, Lessa! See your ada!" he beamed.

Alassëa smiled, but she was also biting her lip nervously.

"I would," she replied to Lin softly, "but he's not making any noise ... I don't know where he is ..."

"This way," Andarien told her, leading her across the room.

The magistrate was still staring at her, and when she was close enough he reached out and put one hand on hers. It startled her, and she jerked slightly in surprise.

"S-sorry," her father stuttered, his face pale, eyes wide, still staring at her. "I ... I just ... is it ... really my baby girl?"

"Yes, Papa," Alassëa murmured, smiling widely. "Not so little anymore, but it's me."

Without another word, Bryce pulled her into a hug and held her tightly.

Andarien ran back to his parents and grinned up at them proudly. He had been able to help!

After a moment, the magistrate let go of Alassëa and led her to the nearest couch so that they could sit together. He was still at a loss for words, and all that came out of his mouth was, "How ..." and "Where ..."

Once they were sitting, Alassëa set her staff on the floor and put both of her hands around her fathers'.

"Papa," she said softly, "I would like you to meet some people who are very dear to me. They found me in Tomaski Swamp and brought me back. Prince Aethos of the Island Kingdom of Amon Darthir ..."

Aethos bowed to the magistrate before he sat down again, and Alassëa kept talking.

"Prince Earendil Aldrich of the Southland, his wife Lin, and their children, Miyuki and Andarien."

Bryce looked around at all of them, blinking back tears. "I can never thank all of you enough," he choked.

Earendil smiled warmly at the man, bowing his head respectfully as well.

"You have every reason to be proud of your daughter, Lord Bryce," he told the man sincerely. "She survived nearly forty years in Tomaski Swamp on her own, something few sighted people would have had the ability to do."

"At the moment, I'm still in shock," the magistrate admitted, looking at his daughter again. "It's been so long ... I was convinced that she had to be dead, that there was no way she could have survived ..."

"At least now you are a family again," Aethos offered.

At that, Bryce blinked, brought back to reality. "Family ..." he repeated, almost in a whisper. He turned back to the servant who was still standing at the doorway. "Joachim, please send for my family. I think they should be here for this."

Alassëa was just as startled. "Siblings?" she echoed Miyuki's question. "But ... Mama ..."

Her father squeezed her hands as the servant headed out of the room. "I know," he said softly. "Your mother died when you were born. You look - so much like her ..."

Alassëa smiled softly when she heard that, but she still looked confused. "Then ..."

Bryce took a slow breath. "I remarried twelve years ago," he told her gently. "I have a new family. I- I thought you were gone ..."

Earendil frowned slightly. The man sounded like he was defending himself ... and he wasn't sure why, but it didn't sound good somehow.

Alassëa wasn't quire sure what to think, either. The idea of her father remarrying had never occurred to her. She supposed it was natural that he do so, but she just hadn't thought of it. It was a surprise to her.

Of course, just finding him so quickly had been a surprise to her as well.

"Alassëa?" her father said hesitantly, anxious at her lack of response.

Alassëa shook her head. "Sorry, Papa," she said softly. "I just ... wasn't expecting that, I suppose."