Welcome to Gaia! ::

Conversation stopped when the door opened and the tiny child entered the Dining Hall. Half a dozen pairs of eyes followed her movements, staring openly.

After a moment, the queen, sitting at the head of the table, broke into a wide smile and rose from her seat.

"Lin!" she said warmly, coming over to pick the girl up. "Welcome! I don't believe you've had a meal with all of us since you arrived here ..."

She brought her over to the table and sat her on her right side, and every pair of eyes followed her - except of course for Luthien, who had seen the girl several times since her arrival.

"Did you come with Donovan and the others?" one of the men asked from further down the table. He was the youngest of them all, and despite being grown now, he was unable to help himself. He was a scholar, after all, and questioning things was in his nature.

Atalya gave her granson a stern look, quashing the question that she knew he was going to ask. They had already been through the whole idea of her being here without telling anyone, and she had decided that if the time change between the two worlds was as drastic as their visitors had claimed, there was a good chance that the girl wouldn't be missed back home anyways.

As long as nothing happened to her here, as long as there were no accidents, there should be no problems.

"How have you been enjoying your stay?" she asked the little girl curiously, waving for another plate of food to be brought for Lin to eat as well.

Only a few moments later, a plate was set in front of the little girl, as well as a glass of water. The kitchen staff was used to her size by this time, and the dishes she was given were suited to her size, and her food had been cut up into portions just right for her. Likewise, they had brought utensils for her that would be easy for her to use, specially crafted just for her.

Atalya smiled. "I'm glad," she said sincerely. "What do you like the best of everything you saw?"

She took a bite of her food, watching Lin out of curiosity. And amusement.

Atalya blinked. "I ... have not heard of that book," she murmured. "Tell me ... where was it? Who showed it to you?"

And why had she never heard of it, or seen it? It had to be in the castle, it was the only place the girl had been since her arrival ... but where?

"Ah," Atalya smiled, laughing softly. "One of his books. He tends to keep those ones to himself, and I fear I haven't nearly as much time as I would like for reading. I never have."

And having not spent her childhood at the castle, she hadn't received even a small fraction of the education she should have had. Small wonder then that she only barely managed to run the kingdom.

"Then I'll have to ask him to show me sometime when I get a chance," Atalya smiled. "As it is ..."

She sighed, glancing at the window. "I have to go already. Please excuse me. Perhaps I shall see you at dinner."

She dabbed her lips with the tablecloth and left the room abruptly.

A few seats down, the same person who had spoken earlier assured her, "Don't worry, she just has work to do."

"So much that there are days when even we don't see her," the man nodded as other started leaving the table as well. "But it's always been that way."

He moved over a few chairs so that he was sitting next to Lin and smiled at her kindly. "I'm Prince Mikhail," he introduced himself. "Eärendil's youngest uncle."

He was taller than the rest, and thinner: he could almost be described as gangly. His black hair went down a little past his shoulders, and he had the top part of it pulled back and braided, with two small braids just in front of each ear as well (for all intents and purposes, his hair was almost identical to Celebor's, though of course he knew nothing of this, save that it was black). His face was thin and angular, but his expression was kind. He was dressed in robes similar to those of Sir Valdemar's, a scholar's robes.