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Aerin nodded and once again looked over the crowd of people. "And of course ... Alassëa and Aethos will have to have separate rooms for now ..."

"I will share with Alassëa," Wren spoke up, stepping forward. "We shared a cabin on the ship, and that way, once she and Aethos-sola are married, you won't have to worry about cleaning out an empty room, or preparing an extra one now. And I can help her with whatever she needs help with."

Aerin blinked, confused. "Needs help with?" she repeated.

Aethos chuckled. "Right. We take it for granted that everyone knows ... Alassëa hides it well, but she is blind."

Aerin's eyes grew wide, and she looked once more at Alassëa. "I'm so sorry," she apologized, blushing again. "I didn't realize ..."

"It's all right," Alassëa assured her with a smile. "I'm told that it's sometimes hard to tell. I've been blind since my birth, so I have learned to get along on my own, for the most part."

Aerin glanced at Miyuki and smiled. She had heard her words.

"I am really looking forward to getting to know you better, Alassëa," she said warmly. "It's going to be one surprise after another, it seems. But yes, let's find rooms for all of you, and then whenever you're ready, feel free to come to the dining room for something to eat. Lunch is at noon, if you'd rather wait. And of course, you're all welcome to wander and see the city, whatever you would like."

Aethos smiled and took Alassëa's hand again. "I think we would like to stay and talk with you," he told his sister. "We have something we would like to ask of you."

Rhea smiled widely. "I would like that very much," she said warmly. She glanced over at Aerin. "If Her Majesty has no need of me ..."

Aerin grinned. "By all means, Lady Rhea. You will know if I need you."

Rhea's smile widened further, and she turned back to Lin. "Then I'm all yours."

They spent the next while getting everyone settled into rooms - Aethos a new suite of rooms to himself, Alassëa and Wren were given a room to share, Lancaeriel had her own room, Daeron and Iorlas would share, Earendil and Lin were sharing, the nekos would share, and Miyuki and Andarien each had their own rooms. Once everyone knew where they would be staying, most of them wandered off to do their own things. Rhea stuck around to chat with Earendil and Lin and their children, and Xion and Rhiannon stayed with them so that they could play with the Pokemon some more.

"They have indeed," Rhea said proudly, grasping her staff with both hands and leaning on it. "Six years old now ... how old were they when you left? Not yet a year, I think. Very bright, too, both of them. Xion has already decided that he's going to be a Wing Rider when he grows up, and Rhiannon wishes she could be one as well."

There was something in Rhea's tone that made Earendil wonder why she had phrased it that way.

"Is there a reason she couldn't?" he asked curiously.

Rhea pursed her lips, trying to think how to answer the question satisfactorily. "Being a Wing Rider is like being in the Home Guard in the Southland," she said slowly. "It's a huge honour, yes, but ... it's also a great responsibility, and there is no freedom in such a position. You are bound to serve the royal family for the rest of your life, or until you are dismissed from service, whichever comes first. The Wing Riders are the elite of the Sky Elves, but it is a life of service to Her Majesty. Xion is eager to please, eager to serve ... but Rhiannon has a mind of her own, and I just don't think that she would do well, bound to such restrictions."

Rhea smiled. "To be honest, I have no idea," she admitted. "Probably because she loves rocs, I think. Even when she's not allowed to go up flying, she spends as much time with them as she can. And you should see her bedroom, she's got pictures of rocs everywhere. Of course, to be fair, that's the only flying she's ever done - on a roc, I mean. I go for a bit of a flight now and again, but I've never taken any of the children with me."

She grimaced slightly. "Though I don't think I'll be doing any flying for a while, now that you're all here. I don't know who it was, but someone in your party ..."

She trailed off. She didn't quite know how to explain what she'd felt.

Rhea's eyes grew slightly wide in surprise, but she nodded slowly.

"It sounds very likely," she murmured. "I don't believe I've ever sensed that much magic before, even around Aragost. It was ... suffocating. And I had no outlet for it! It was so strange ... usually I gain a new ability, but with her it was sheer power, without any specific ability."

She frowned, her brow furrowing in confusion. "How could anyone have that much power without a gift?"

Rhea was beyond impressed: she was in awe.

"I must speak with her!" she said with a wide smile. "I've always wondered - well, since meeting Prince Aranel - wow, High Druidess? That's just ... wow!"

Earendil laughed. "I never thought I'd see you surprise or awed," he grinned. "Surely this can't come as a surprise to you, of all people?"

Rhea smiled wistfully. "As curious as I am, I have made a point of not delving into peoples' personal lives unless invited to do so. I know I would consider it dreadfully rude if someone were to look into my personal life."

At that, Rhea laughed. "Daeron, married. Who would have thought? She seems such a shy, quiet creature, perhaps that's what caught his eye. He used to bellyache so much about his former travel companions and women he'd met ... all of them clamoring to be his friend, to have his him as a connection ... but tell me, what is his wife like?"

She smiled warmly, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.