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Earendil nodded. "Sounds like a plan," he agreed. He changed their course accordingly, and headed towards the gate of the city proper. He thought back to the last time they had been in the city: women and children only, sparsely populated ... generally cheerful, though looking back he realized how lonely the people had been.

Earendil looked around. There were men milling about with the women, there were older male children around as well, and many of the women were holding young infants, or were being followed by children just learning to walk.

"A different world," he murmured softly back to Lin. "And I would say, judging from the number of children who are less than two years old, that one of the first things Aerin did when she took over was let the men go home to their families, at least for a while."

Indeed, if Kaito had been with them, he would have made some comment about baby boomers.

As they made their way through the city, some of the women would say something to the people they were with and then wave to the group. Clearly, they were remembered from their earlier visit, though it had been a few years ago.

It took them a while to pass through the city, but by the end of it, Earendil was more than glad that they had done so. He felt very good about things now: the very air seemed filled with cheer and happiness, so different from the last time they had been there.

He smiled down at Lin as they passed through and headed towards the final wall before they could head to the castle itself. "Well, that was encouraging," he grinned.

They received a very similar reaction when they passed through the upper gate (where they were not stopped, other than for a brief warm greeting), and at the palace gate, Aurin himself met them.

"Welcome, welcome!" he greeted them warmly, his green eyes shining brightly. He was wearing his armour, sword sheathed at his side, but he was holding his helm in the crook of one arm. "It's so wonderful to see you all again! Welcome, welcome!"

He bowed to all of them, then shook Earendil's hand heartily. "We had begun to wonder when you would arrive, since of course we had no response to Rhea's letters," he laughed, "but of course she told us that you would be arriving today. And so here I am, to take you where you need to go!"

He let go of Earendil's hand and turned to Lin to shake her hand as well. "You are most welcome, most welcome indeed."

Earendil chuckled. "Thank you. It is obvious that things are not as they were the last time we were here. How did things go when Aerin returned?"

Aurin chuckled softly. "I will allow Her Majesty to tell you about that," he grinned. "It is quite a story, I must say."

He turned to Shea and Mikhail, and the two brothers introduced themselves and shook Aurin's hand as well. Then Earendil put one hand on Miyuki's head and smiled at Aurin. "And this is Miyuki," he told the man. "Our daughter. Lin's and mine."

"Ahhh," Aurin winked. "I always knew the two of you would get together someday. Hello, Miyuki, and welcome to Amon Darthir."

Aurin chuckled at Miyuki. She was cute. "Come," he said to all of them, beckoning for them to follow him. "I will take you to Her Majesty. She is most eager to see you."

Earendil took Miyuki's hand again as they followed after Aurin. "What about Rhea?" he asked curiously.

Aurin smiled widely. "She did express a desire to be here to greet you when you arrived," he told him, "but she was exhausted, so I insisted that she rest. She is with child, you see, and due sometime in the next week or so. I find it frightfully unfair, though, that she will not tell me if it will be a boy or a girl. And I know she knows."

Aurin chuckled. "This is true," he agreed. "And she knows how to make one anticipate things more than they might otherwise."

Shea and Mikhail were, like Miyuki, simply looking around. It was their first time there as well, and they didn't know any of the people that were being discussed.

"No, it won't be," Aurin chuckled. "This is true."

He led them to the dining hall, where the noon meal was taking place. Aerin was sitting at the head of the table, where her father had sat the last time they had visited, and though she was in the highest position in the country, she was dressed much as she ever had been: green tunic, trimmed with gold, and brown pants, as was comfortable with her. However, her hair was done up now, and a golden circlet rested atop her head, which did set her apart from the others.

Next to her was Caranthir, in his pale blue robes as always, though there was a silver circlet in his hair as well. On one side of the table, on Aerin's left, sat Alena, exactly as she had been, though somehow looking even younger than she had before.

All three of them looked up as the group entered the hall, and all three of their faces lit up with warm smiles.

"Welcome," Aerin said warmly, greeting them in the Common Tongue. "We have long been awaiting your arrival."

Earendil, Shea and Mikhail all bowed their heads respectfully. "Thank you, your Majesty," Earendil spoke for them. "We are honoured by your request."