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Taking his cue from Miyuki, Earendil switched to the Common Tongue.

"Sounds busy enough," he grinned. "And I have to admit, I had been curious about how the castle was supplied with water. Clearly they aren't lacking, in any case."

He was interrupted by the arrival of Lothiriel and Estel, who entered from the back of the room. Everyone rose to show respect to the rulers, and as soon as the two were seated the others sat down again as well.

"Welcome, everyone," Estel said warmly, smiling at everyone. "Our apologies for not being available earlier today. I hope you weren't too inconvenienced."

Earendil took it upon himself to answer for the group.

"Thank you, we were all well taken care of," he replied just as warmly. "I think I can speak for everyone when I say so."

"Good." The king raised one hand, and servants appeared bearing trays of food, which they brought to everyone.

"Ada, who is that?" Andarien asked, tugging on Earendil's sleeve and pointing at the king and queen.

Earendil looked where his son was pointing, then looked down at the boy. "That's King Estel and Queen Lothiriel," he explained. "They're our cousins, and this is their land."

At Andarien's blank look, he repeated the information in Common Elvish, and then again in the Common Tongue. Then he looked at Miyuki. "You wouldn't remember them, either," he realized, not knowing that she had met the queen that afternoon. "You were just a baby the last time we were here."

"Oh, so you've already met her," Earendil said, surprised and pleased. But then her second comment sunk in. "Er ... good natured about it? What were the circumstances of your meeting?"

He wasn't sure he wanted to ask, but he had a feeling it might be a good idea for him to know.

"Ah," Earendil smiled, relaxing when he heard that that was all it was. "Well, we are cousins, so I suppose if it's not a formal setting then that shouldn't matter too much. Besides, Lothiriel is a practical woman. She wouldn't hold something like that against someone unless it was done on purpose, as a snub."

he was fond of Lothiriel. He had never known her to be anything other than an intelligent woman, and there was a reason she and her husband had been asked to become king and queen, and why after so many years, the people still loved them so well.

"So where did you meet her?" he asked curiously.

"Ah," Earendil nodded soberly. "That explains why they couldn't greet us themselves. And why they still look tired. Trials can be exhausting. Some worse than others, of course, but even the best of them can take longer than necessary."

He looked up at the king and queen, who were chatting with Daeron while Iorlas listened in.

"I hope it's actually over," Earendil frowned. "They can go for days, sometimes ... even months."

He looked down at her. "Why do you say you think it took a long time?"

"Amalirahc?" Earendil was surprised by that. "How does he know? If they didn't get out until later ..."

His brow furrowed with worry upon the realization of what that meant. "He interrupted the trial?"

Earendil looked worried. "It doesn't help that his mother has been so sick lately ... she hasn't been able to guide him much, and Kelirahc has been fussing over her so he hasn't been able to do much with him, either."

He smiled sadly at Miyuki. "I think that for the moment it's up to the rest of us to help him with how things go. To teach him."