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Alassëa nodded slowly, though it was clear that she was growing nervous again. She didn't want to state exactly what she was feeling though, not in front of her father. She would have to explain to Miyuki later just why she was feeling the way she was.

Suddenly the door burst open again and a little golden blur shot across the room. A little girl launched herself into the magistrate's lap, squealing "Papaaaaaaa!" as she did so.

The force knocked Alassëa against the back of the couch, and her bird screeched and took flight, talons bared. Only a very quick and desperate whistle from Alassëa saved the little girl from being torn open the same way Earendil had been when they'd first met. The bird was clearly agitated, though, and even after it settled again on Alassëa's shoulder, it kept glaring at the little girl, clicking its beak in irritation.

A moment later, three more people entered the room: a tall and slender golden-haired woman carrying a younger girl child, and a boy, his hair a pale platinum, about Amalirahc's age, who carried himself in a rather dignified manner.

The woman stopped short when she saw all of the people in the room, and after a moment started slowly towards the magistrate again.

The magistrate calmed the excited girl in his lap and turned to the woman. "Kiara," he said softly, "please, take a seat."

There was no room left on the couch with her husband and Alassëa (something she noticed with annoyance), so Kiara sat with her younger child on a chair instead. Once she was sitting, Bryce began with introductions.

"Everyone," he said, "this is my wife, Kiara. She's holding our daughter, Elinor. This one here is our daughter, Lauren," he added, indicating the girl in his lap. Then he nodded at the boy who had come in with Kiara. "Our son, Levi."

Andarien waved cheerfully at them all, and Earendil and Aethos nodded their heads in acknowledgement before waiting for Bryce to introduce them to his family as well.

Bryce turned slightly on the couch and faced his wife. "Kiara, these are Prince Aethos of the Island Kingdom of Amon Darthir, Prince Earendil Aldrich of the Kingdom of the Southland Elves, his wife, Lin, their children, Miyuki and Andarien, and ..."

He turned away from his wife again and looked at Alassëa. "Alassëa ... the daughter I had thought dead for so many years ..."

His gaze and tone were both tender, something that his wife didn't miss. Her lips tightened slightly, and she looked at Alassëa scrutinizingly. For a long moment, she said nothing. The children were staring at her as well. Levi was looking at her steadily, his face expressionless, but Lauren, sitting in Bryce's lap, looked confused.

Alassëa had no idea what was going on, and the silence was making her uncomfortable. She reached out one hand towards her father, partially for comfort, and partially just to make sure he was still there. "Papa ..."

Lauren slapped her hand away. "My papa!" she cried, throwing her arms around her father's neck possessively.

Alassëa was so taken by surprise that she didn't know how to react. Aethos however stepped forward from where he had been sitting and put one hand on her shoulder comfortingly.

Lauren stuck her tongue out at Miyuki. "Not my sister!" she shot back.

"Half," Bryce said, putting one finger on Lauren's tongue so that she would put it back in her mouth. "Alassëa is your half sister."

Lauren blinked up at her father. "Half sister?" she repeated, confused. "Half sister, half brother?"

Alassëa half-choked, caught between disbelief and laughter. Bryce laughed aloud, and even Kiara cracked a smile at that. Elinor put one finger in her mouth, not understanding anything of what was going on, and Levi looked nearly as confused as Lauren.

"Well, what does it mean, then, Father?" he asked Bryce seriously. He at least hadn't thought it meant 'half sister and half brother', but he didn't know what it meant either.

Bryce smiled. "It means that she is my daughter, just as you are my son, and Lauren and Elinor are my daughters. I am her father, just as I am yours. But your mother is not her mother, and she is not your mother's daughter."

Lauren looked at her father doubtfully. "Did you do a bad thing, Papa?" she asked him doubtfully.

Bryce chuckled softly and stroked her hair gently. "No, Lauren. I was married before I met your mother, a long time ago. But she died."

"Oh." Lauren still looked doubtful, but she stopped asking questions. Instead, she looked over at Alassëa, her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

Earendil kept an eye on Miyuki - he knew she had a vindictive streak in her. It looked like Lin had her in check, though, and he watched the others again anxiously.

Alassëa leaned forward, reaching down to the floor in search of her staff. "Perhaps we should go," she said softly. She couldn't see the looks she was getting, of course, but she could sense the tension in the room. She didn't need to see to know what was going on. Her new family hadn't known about her - well, perhaps her step-mother, if anyone - and they weren't ready for her to join them.

Aethos reached down and picked up her staff for her, putting it into her hand. "Do you need time?" he asked her quietly.

Alassëa shook her head and stood up, gripping her staff tightly. "I'm fine," she assured him. "But they might need some time." She gestured with her staff in the direction of her family.

Bryce stood up quickly, putting Lauren on the floor. "Wait," he said, his brows furrowed slightly.

Alassëa turned to face her father, her expression sad. "I will wait, Papa," she told him softly. "But I don't think that the others were ready for this. Let them get used to the idea of my being alive, and then we'll see."

Bryce frowned slightly. "But-"

"We'll be in town for ... a while," Alassëa interrupted him, her free hand on her bird to keep it calm. "I will stay at the inn with the others."

"But-" her father tried again.

"No, Papa," Alassëa interrupted him again, her tone firm. "I've had time enough to prepare for this, and even you, I'm sure, must have had a doubt in the back of your mind that this might possibly happen someday, even if it was just a wish. But it's not fair to Kiara and the children. They had no warning, no hopes, and I have a feeling that the children at least had no idea I ever existed. They need time. Right now I'm intruding, and I can't come back until that's no longer the case."

Earendil caught Lin's glance, and he just shook his head slightly. He wasn't going to say anything. It wasn't his place. Yes, it was awkward, but he knew it couldn't be nearly as bad for them as it was for Alassëa. And it was her decision to make.

"Thank you for seeing us," Aethos said, bowing slightly to the magistrate. "We hope to see you again."

"Likewise," the magistrate bowed low in return. "I apologize for not receiving you all properly, but ..."

"You weren't prepared, and we gave you a bit of a shock?" Earendil supplied.

Bryce nodded, standing straight once more. His face was slightly pink, and he seemed somewhat flustered. "To put it plainly ... yes."

Alassëa slid her arm into Aethos's, and he started leading her towards the door. "I will wait to hear from you, Papa," she told him. "Until then, goodbye."

"Goodbye," Earendil repeated, picking up Andarien (who was very confused as to why people weren't happy that Alassëa got to see her ada again).

The tailor followed them out of the house. He could see the awkwardness of the situation, but it didn't bother him. He was old enough to have seen all sorts of awkward moments, reunions and other things, and he knew that the awkwardness would pass.

Eventually.

As they walked away, Alassëa grew more and more pale, her steps slower, until she suddenly fell to her knees, her staff clattering to the ground. She put her hands to her face, her hair spilling forward and hiding it.

Aethos knelt next to her quickly. He put one hand on her shoulder and with the other he brushed her hair away from her face. "Alassëa?" he asked anxiously. "Are you all right?"

Andarien was anxious as well. "Lessa fell!" he told his father, pointing at Alassëa.

Alassëa just shook her head, keeping her hands pressed to her face. "I can't do this," she said through her hands.

Aethos took her wrists gently and pulled her hands away from her face. "I think you can," he told her softly. "But if you don't want to, you don't have to."