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Kanis waved faintly at Donovan. Time in the Borderlands had made her a little less formal, but that didn't mean she was any less observant. And she could tell just by looking at Donovan that he was someone who could be very dangerous.

"Who are you?" she asked him softly.

Kanis blinked and repeated that softly. "Great-grandfather ..."

She frowned. "That's kind of long to say. Can I just call you Donovan, like Father does?"

She'd heard stories enough about him by this time, and she knew her father didn't call Donovan by his title, but by his name, and to her it was simply easier to continue to do so.

Kanis smiled shyly then. "Hello, Donovan. I'm Kanis," she murmured.

"Kanis is my sister!" Ruque beamed at Donovan. "Well, one of them. Aras is ..."

He trailed off and looked up at Niyana. "Where's Aras?" he asked.

Niyana reached down and petted her son's head gently. "In the kitchen with everyone else," she told him. "And you should get going there too. And you, Kanis, come on."

She motioned for Donovan to follow her and the children into the kitchen.

Aras had cheered up considerably in the past few weeks, and she smiled at Donovan as he came into the room with her mother, brother and sister.

"Hi, Donovan," she said happily.

He was the one person she remembered most clearly from her time in the Southland - because he was rather unforgettable.

Celebor turned in his seat and smiled warmly at his grandfather, then rose to his feet and came to meet him.

"Donovan," he said warmly, extending a hand for a shake. "Welcome back. Safe trip?"

In a chair on the far side of the table, Ruran sat, wearing thick and heavy clothes. With his brown hair and green eyes, he looked every bit like his father - but there was a coldness in his eyes that did not match his handsome looks, and he stared at Donovan emotionlessly.

Ruran scowled and looked away. "Don't talk to me, human," he muttered darkly, eyes narrowing angrily.

Without hesitating, Ulani, who was working just behind him at the counter, reached over and gave him a good hard whack. "Smarten up," she told him - and then she continued with her preparations as if nothing had happened.

Ruran whirled furiously in his chair and looked as if he was about to hit her back, but Celebor reached over just in time and grabbed his wrist so that he couldn't.

"Feel like eating today?" he asked, eyes narrow with anger.

Ruran glared up at his father, then turned back to the table and folding his arms, sulking.

"Inexplicably yes," Celebor replied, sitting next to Ruran so that he could keep an eye on him. "Though where he got his values from, I will never know."

As Niyana moved to sit next to Celebor, Ruran watched though narrow and angry eyes. His hatred was clear.

"So how many children this time, Donovan?" Ulrich asked, appearing suddenly from the cellar, a large pitcher in hand.

Donovan might have been surprised to learn that the evil eye was not directed at him, but at Niyana.

Ulrich nodded. "The groups are getting smaller," he commented, "though the number of slavers with them are getting bigger. Who knows? Perhaps we will soon wipe out the kidnappings altogether, and the final step will be to assault the dwarves where they live and rescue all of the children we missed on their way there."

Ulani and Ulrich exchanged a glance, and as Ulani brought all of the food to the table everyone else took their seats.

"We could be starting a whole new war," Ulani commented cautiously. "We must be careful in how we proceed."

"Perhaps it would be best to speak with King Eregon first," Ulrich said nervously. "He could perhaps supply men ... sure, we have a good number of fighters here, but not enough for an all out assault."