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Andarien nodded, his violet eyes serious.

"I'll remember," he promised solemnly.

Earendil smiled at him. "Good. Now come, I think dinner is over, and we still have quite a bit of time before the sun goes down." He looked over at Lin. "What shall we do?"

"That sounds good to me," Earendil agreed. "We should probably make sure Andarien doesn't get to bed too late, though. I know it's light late here, and he did take a nap, but he does need his sleep."

Not to mention, tomorrow they would have their first opportunity to talk with the king and queen, and see the city.

Earendil chuckled at that. "Well, he is young," he pointed out. "There's hope."

The young could sleep any time, it seemed.

He pushed his chair back and held out one hand to Lin. "Shall we head out, then?" he asked, smiling warmly at her.

It took them a few minutes to find the courtyard, but once they found it they were able to enjoy the peace for quite a while before it was time to put the children to bed. Then Earendil and Lin had some time to themselves before they themselves turned in for the night.

The following morning, the family of four headed to the city to show the children around (since Earendil and Lin both already knew the city already, they couldn't quite classify it as exploring) with Daeron and Iorlas tagging along with them. Andarien was pleased as punch: it wasn't often that Uncle Daeron (Ada-tol as the children referred to him) spent time with them.

Earendil looked to Lin thoughtfully. "Well ... I suppose we really ought to pay Rayna and Reuven a visit. I'm not sure whether they'll have heard yet that their niece has had children of her own ..."

And then there were shops where people had met Lin and Earendil before, who they might like to say hello to.

"Do you have any ideas?" he asked Daeron and Iorlas, looking over at the two.

Andarien was holding his uncle's hand as they walked, and he grinned up at them. "Bakery!" he exclaimed.

Daeron laughed and squeezed Andarien's hand. "We just had breakfast," he reminded the boy, grinning. "Save it for later, when you're actually hungry." He reached down and poked the boy's still-chubby tummy. "See? You don't need more food just yet!"

Andarien squealed and yanked his hand out of his uncle's, putting both his hands on his stomach where his uncle had poked him. "That tickles!" he exclaimed, reverting to Common Elvish, which was still the only language he was really comfortable with.

Even Iorlas had to giggle at him, though it seemed as though her attention was elsewhere at the moment. She was staring down the street, though at what was anyone's guess.

"Hm?" Iorlas blinked and turned her head quickly to look at Miyuki. She blinked again. "Sorry?"

"You must really be lost in thought," Daeron teased her, smiling at her. "She asked where you would like to go. Was there something down that street that you'd like to see?"

Iorlas blushed faintly. "Well ... more like someone ... but ... I think I must have been mistaken." She shook her head, though it was clear that whoever she thought she had seen was still on her mind. "Perhaps ... the carpenter's?"

As they started off, Daeron gave Iorlas a curious look.

"What?" she asked him, though the light blush on her cheeks belied her knowledge of what he was wondering about.

"I thought you hadn't been here before," he told her.

She shook her head. "I know. I haven't. I just saw someone I thought I recognized from somewhere else." After a pause, she added, "I still don't know if it was her, but I doubt it."

Daeron shrugged. "If you say so." But he was still curious.