Welcome to Gaia! ::

The path to the left led to another turn, this one to the right, which led to the corner where the dark-haired woman was reading a book in the shade of a parasol. The path to the right led to a series of paths that, to someone who didn't know the area, might seem almost like a garden maze; and it was in these paths that the dark-haired man and the fair-haired woman were wandering.

The woman looked up from her book just in time to see Miyuki's tails vanish behind the hedges again, and she smiled softly to herself before returning to her book.

The young man and woman were just on the other side of the hedge Miyuki was walking past, and their voices carried through the hedge loud enough for others to hear.

"... I'll have to go soon," came the female voice. "Your father will be looking for you."

"I know," the male voice replied. "Though you should be aware that you don't have to leave. You're quite welcome to stay."

The young couple was walking hand in hand amongst the flowers, smiling at each other.

"You said that you have company coming today, some relatives," the young woman said to the man. "I couldn't intrude on that."

"It wouldn't be an intrusion," the man pointed out to her, putting one arm around her shoulders and drawing her close. "Someday soon, they'll be your relatives as well."

The couple reached the edge of the courtyard and turned around to continue their walk together.

"In the meantime, your father will be coming for you to do your training," the woman replied, a faint blush gracing her cheeks from the man's previous comment. "What would I do while I'm waiting for you?"

The man chuckled. "You could just spend some time with the family. I know Maeglin enjoys your company. She-"

He cut himself off when suddenly he spotted Miyuki, and he chuckled again. "And it seems our company is earlier than I expected." He waved to the kitsune. "Hello, Miyuki! Welcome back!"

The woman blinked at Miyuki, surprised by her presence, and with the movement her golden hair caught the sunlight, making it seem to shine.

The man laughed aloud at Miyuki's apology.

"I don't expect you to," he grinned. "You were a newborn the last time I saw you. I'm Egleriad. Maeglin and Lalwen are my sisters. And this is my fiancee, Kiara."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miyuki," the woman smiled warmly, giving the kitsune a short curtsey. "I have heard much about you and your family."

Egleriad smiled. "Not everyone is resting, but most of the others, yes. And how is your family? Your parents and your brother? Tired, I know, but I mean otherwise. Travel went well, I trust?"

"That's nice to have once in a while, isn't it?" Egleriad grinned. "Sometimes it's quite possible for things to be too exciting. At least, from what I know of some of the things that have happened. Not that I've been traveling myself before."

Kiara giggled. "Egleriad ..."

He chuckled softly. "I know. I should stop while I'm behind." He turned back to Miyuki. "So you're just exploring for the moment, eh? Anything you wanted to see in particular? I ha-"

"Egleriad!" came a deeper voice from somewhere over the hedges.

The prince rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. "... haven't much time," he finished with a rueful smile. "I have a training session to get to. But you're welcome to come with if you like, and watch, or if you'd prefer, perhaps Kiara would be willing to show you around a bit ..."