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River nodded. "All right. Come on, Amalirahc. And don't run ahead or we'll lose you and end up lost."

Amalirahc was already standing in the doorway, ready to lead the girls out, and at River's words a hurt expression crossed his face. "Why is everyone picking on me today?" he asked her. "I didn't even move!"

"Just like you keep reminding me I can't open doors without knocking and I can't do anything without first asking and making sure I'm not gonna get in trouble or something," Amalirahc shot back.

River winced. "Did something happen?"

Amalirahc was never usually this touchy.

River blinked, more surprised at how brief Miyuki kept her explanation rather than the fact that Amalirahc might interrupt the king and queen (which was what it sounded like). Her brow furrowed slightly, but she nodded slowly. "Okay," she said softly. "I'll leave it at that."

For now.

"Come on, Amalirahc, lead the way for us," she smiled gently at him, trying to show him that she wasn't upset with him.

Maeglin smiled at the group as they left before returning to the report she was writing.

River shook her head as they followed after Amalirahc (who was going much slower than usual, perhaps even a bit too slow now).

"No, when I left my room I ran into Maeglin almost right away," she replied. "Actually, it was kind of perfect. I needed someone ... older ... to talk to."

River shook her head. "Not like that. Someone young, like us, but not ... completely."

She was choosing her words very carefully, trying not to make what she wanted to say sound bad. She didn't want to insult her friend, after all.

"It's like ... well, Amalirahc is our friend, but because he's so much younger it's sometimes hard to talk to him," she tried to explain. "So ... I just needed someone a bit ... more mature to talk to."

River nodded soberly. "I don't want to talk to Grandmama and Grandpapa about it," she murmured. "My parents aren't here, or my sisters ... and I just ... need to be able to talk to someone close to my own age."

Her eyes were troubled, and rather than looking at Miyuki when she spoke to her, she kept her gaze on the floor just in front of her feet. If Amalirahc were not leading them, she might have been in danger of walking into something.

River exhaled slowly, trying to keep her patience.

"Forget it," she said softly, keeping her voice even. "It's not easy to explain to someone who hasn't been in this kind of situation before. I just ..."

She broke off, fighting down her rising emotions. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself again, then swallowed hard. "I'd rather not talk about it, if you don't mind." She thought quickly, trying to think of a more neutral topic of conversation for them. "So did you meet anyone else yet?" she tried, grasping at the first thought that entered her head.