Welcome to Gaia! ::

Adonai looked at Caranthir thoughtfully. "Perhaps," he suggested, "if you're so acquainted with Elros, you might be able to escort Triton to the palace? He has business with the king and queen ..."

Caranthir smiled and nodded. "I would be happy to," he agreed. "I have no previous engagements, and it would be a welcome relief to an otherwise boring afternoon waiting for Aerin to return."

He hoped she was successful.

Once their lunch was over, and Adonai, Shael and the others headed upstairs to rest from their journey, Caranthir checked his weapons and his bag, and then he nodded to Triton.

"Ready when you are," he grinned in his laid-back manner. "Shall we head off?"

He was sort of expecting Aerin back soon, but only if her business was successful, and she didn't need him to be there when she got back.

Because the palace was a more recent addition to a city more than fifty years old, it had to be constructed where there wasn't anything yet, and therefore it was quite a ways from the inn that was run by Rayna and Reuven.

The palace was still being constructed, and the guard around it was quite heavy. When Triton and Caranthir approached, however, one of the guards came over to greet them, his expression far from suspicious.

"Welcome," he smiled broadly, bowing at the waist. "You are expected. Come with me."

And he turned and motioned for the two to follow him towards the castle gates.

The castle gates opened wide for them, and closed behind them once more, and the two were led up the stone path towards the actual palace doors, a tall and wide set of oak doors reinforced with steel latticework. This was obviously a palace built not for beauty, like the Southland palace, but for defense.

Inside, however, defense and beauty had been combined to create a beautiful effect. Red carpets and draperies lined ornate stairways and hallways, and tapestries on the walls showed vibrant colours and images.

A little black-haired girl in a pale green silk dress was running down the hallway towards the three of them. She had a silver circlet in her hair, and ribbons tied into her braid. She giggled, soft brown eyes sparkling brightly as she ran towards the group.

"Suilad!" she said brightly, and then she set off in a string of excited elvish, circling the three of them like a vulture inspecting its next meal.

The girl giggled again and sprinted off towards the nearest doorway shouting, "Nana! Nana! Aen gargovad! Aen gargovad, Nana!"

She disappeared for a brief moment, and then reappeared in Lothirel's arms. Lothiriel was quite the same as ever, her long black hair falling in ringlets nearly to her ankles, her face still as youthful and innocent as ever, and even her clothing, the same silken whites, was the same. What was different was the silver crown she was wearing: not a large one, as a rule, but one that showed her new station. She was hugging the little girl tightly, and she carried her back towards the two visitors.

"Triton," she smiled brightly, her brown eyes dancing as they always had. "It is lovely to see you again. And Caranthir. I have heard much about you."

Caranthir knelt to one knee and bowed deeply, one hand over his heart. "Your majesty," he murmured respectfully. "It is an honour to be granted an audience with you."

Lothiriel smiled and put one hand on Caranthir's shoulder briefly, giving him permission to rise, and then turned back to Triton and smiled warmly. "Nor have we been back to the Southland, or even to my family's home," she admitted. "As you can see, life has dealt us a few surprises."

Relatively surprising, anyways - considering that life held so few true surprises for her.

"This is our daughter, Amora," she added with a giggle, hugging the little girl again. "Amora, can you tell Triton how old you are now?"

Amora giggled and held up one thumb - the sign language symbol for five. "I'm getting big!" she beamed. "Just like Nana and Ada!"

Lothiriel laughed and set Amora on the floor again. "Go find your Ada," she encouraged her, "tell him that our guests have arrived."

With a wave and a giggle, the little girl was off.

Lothiriel motioned for Triton and Caranthir to follow her as she started off in the same direction as Amora had disappeared.

"We have also been blessed a second time," she smiled warmly at them both. "We now have a son, four weeks old, properly named Pengolodh ... he's just fallen asleep, I'm afraid, but you must see him before you leave. Who knows when we will see each other again?"

Caranthir allowed Triton to walk beside the queen, following a few paces behind and keeping silent. His eyes were thoughtful, however, though his smile was a relaxed as ever.