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A light blush spread over Aerin's freckled cheeks, and she laughed softly.

"Of course, I do apologize," she smiled, not at all put off by Andarien's wording. "It seems my shock has ... well. Yes. As you all know by now, I am Aerin, Queen of the Sky Elves. This" - she indicated Caranthir, who was still chuckling, though he was in control of himself now - "is my husband, King Caranthir, and our son, Cameron-sola."

The little boy was playing with the tie of his father's cloak and unaware that he was momentarily in the spotlight.

"And of course, you know Captain Aurin Striate," Aerin added, nodding at the man. He was still standing with Skyel, and he bowed his head respectfully to the group once more.

"His wife, Lady Rhea," Aerin went on.

Rhea's face was pale by now, and in contrast to her jet black hair her skin looked ghostly white. Still, she was smiling, and her brown eyes seemed to be glowing.

"And their children, Xion and Rhiannon."

Xion waved, his chest stuck out proudly, and Rhiannon twirled into a curtsey. Earendil chuckled. She was definitely her mother's daughter.

Aerin turned back to Andarien and, eyes twinkling, asked, "So, do you think we could go inside, out of the cold, now?"

Andarien blushed hotly and nodded, too embarrassed to say anything more.

"And Pony?" Andarien asked hopefully.

Earendil overheard his question, and he shook his head. "Not indoors," he said firmly.

Andarien's shoulders slumped, but he knew not to complain. He followed as Aerin and Caranthir led the way into the palace.

They were only a few steps into the palace when the servant who had run inside for Rhea's staff returned with it in hand. Rhea took it gratefully, and the moment it was in her hand, the colour began to return to her face and she appeared more relaxed.

Andarien was fascinated. Despite his special lenses, the magic was so strong that he could still see it, just as he could see Lancaeriel glowing, just not as brightly as before. He had seen a bit of a glow around Rhea outside as well, and it had gotten brighter when she had started feeling unwell, but now the glow was transferring from her into her staff, and from there into the ground, where it vanished.

Earendil nodded at Miyuki's question. "I'll ask."

He knew there were no horses here in Amon Darthir, and therefore no stables; he was a bit curious to see what Aerin would recommend. He picked up his pace a bit so that he could catch up to Aerin.

"Your Majesty," he began cautiously; but Aerin shook her head.

"Unless we are in a formal setting, just call me Aerin," she told him with a gentle smile. "We've known each other too long for that."

Earendil smiled warmly. "Thank you. I wanted to ask you ... Andarien and Miyuki have some rather unique pets, pets that are ... well, almost like bodyguards, or at least, are being trained to guard and defend the children for when we travel. Two of the pets are small, just a bit bigger than Senka - you remember Senka?"

Aerin chuckled softly and nodded. How could she forget the talking cat that hated males so much?

Earendil allowed himself a smile before continuing. "But the third is like a small horse. It's called a Ponyta ... and in a way it's like an elemental unicorn, in that its mane and tail are fire."

Aerin appeared rather interested. "I see," she said softly. "And you are wondering where it might stay, since we have no stables?"

Earendil nodded. "Andarien doesn't like to let it sleep out of his sight, and I don't blame him. They are very closely bonded, and Andarien is its trainer, and it is being trained to defend him ... now ... there is a way to keep it, where it won't need any room, but it's rather cramped and ... well, I'm not quite sure how to describe it ..."

Aerin paused in her step. "Would you like to show it to me, so that I can understand?" she suggested. "Is it on the ship?"

Earendil shook his head. "No, Andarien has it here, I think. Andarien ..."

He looked around for his son, but Andarien was still watching Rhea, transfixed.

Andarien jumped at the touch of Miyuki's finger on his shoulder, and he blinked up at her. "Magic," he told her. "Lots of it ... it's like ... it's like a stream, it keeps coming out of Lady Rhea and going into her staff and into the ground ... and ... I can see magic going into her but ... I don't see how."

Lancaeriel was walking at the back of the group, with Daeron and Iorlas, while Rhea was up at the front with the others, so they weren't quite close enough together for him to see exactly what was going on.

Andarien nodded. "Okay. I'll ask her later."

Suddenly, he noticed that Earendil and Aerin had stopped and were looking at him. "Oh ... was I being slow?" he asked, blushing a bit.

Earendil chuckled. "No, you were fine, Andarien. But Queen Aerin would like to see Pony."

Andarien's eyes lit up. "Really?" He dug into his vest pocket (beneath his cloak) and pulled out his two Pokéballs. He looked up at his father. "Can I let Eon out, too? He's been in there a while already, too ..."

Earendil nodded. He didn't see a problem with it. After all, Eon was the one who was less dangerous and much smaller.

Andarien grinned widely, and, taking a ball in each hand, pressed the buttons. There was a flash of red light, and the two creatures appeared next to him. Eon squealed with excitement at being let out of his ball and started to run in small circles around Andarien while Pony watched him. There wasn't room for him to run, and he knew it, so he stayed in place. The only indication that it wanted to run around was the way it pawed at the floor, though only a little bit.

Aerin's eyes were wide - as were most of the people who hadn't seen the Pokemon before. Like magnets, Xion and Rhiannon pressed their way through the crowd so they could see better.

"Wow," Xion breathed, his eyes wide.

Rhiannon grinned and sidled up to Andarien. "Can I touch them?" she asked, looking up at him through her long eyelashes.

Andarien smiled proudly. "Sure," he told her. "But careful, because if Pony is afraid of you he might burn you."

While the two children were examining the Pokemon, Aerin was looking at them thoughtfully, thinking about Earendil's request.

Eon tripped and sprawled out on the floor when Ai pounced on him, and he squealed with laughter. He loved playing! He rolled out from under her and turned to face her and lowered his head to butt her playfully.

Xion and Rhiannon were delighted to see that there was another one for them to watch (as at the moment it didn't seem like a good idea to interfere), and all the meanwhile Pony just looked on. It was younger than Eon by a good deal of time, but it was by far the more serious of the two.

"You know, as long as it doesn't leave any messes, I don't see a problem with having it stay in Andarien's bedchamber with him," Aerin decided. "The rooms are quite large, and we are careful not to have too many flammable things. After all, we are all firecasters here, and accidents can happen."

Andarien's eyes grew wide. The Ponyta was going to be able to stay in his room with him?

Andarien nodded his head vigorously. "I'll make sure he doesn't leave any messes!" he promised. "Thank you!"

He grinned widely and put one hand on the Ponyta's neck and gave it a loving stroke. "Hear that, Ponydash? You get to stay with me!"

Ponydash made a pleased noise and rubbed its nose against Andarien's arm.

Aerin smiled warmly. It was clear the two had a strong bond. She was certain that she'd made the right decision.

"Now, I never did get an answer from everyone," she said, changing the subject. "Would you like to bring your things to your rooms or are you hungry or ... ?"

"Perhaps it would be best if we first found our rooms," Aethos spoke up. "There are a number of people still on the ship, but I'm not sure how many of them will want to stay there rather than here ... and if they're going to be staying up here, then we won't have to show everyone their rooms at once."

Aerin nodded. "Then it is just a question of who needs a room of their own, and who will be sharing."