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Haldia looked up at the sound of her name and scrambled to her feet, rushing to the bars and grabbing them tightly.

"Lin?" she gasped. "Earendil - Rhea ... get me out of here, I beg of you! Please, get me out of here!"

"That's why we're here," Earendil spoke up, still leaning on Rhea's shoulders. He motioned to Aethos. "If you'll let her out," he said suggestively.

"I'm working on it," the first sola muttered back. "There are a lot of keys here ..."

At last, Aethos found the proper key, and he quickly opened the cell, letting Haldia out. Without waiting for anyone, Haldia took off, racing for the stairs as fast as her legs could carry her.

Aethos stared at her in shock. "What ..."

"She's never been in a building before," Rhea told him. "I'm sure she's quite terrified. Not to mention being surrounded by such creatures ..."

Aethos's brow furrowed deeply. "I see," he murmured softly, his voice anxious. "I didn't know ..."

"Not that you were anxious to listen to anything anyone said," Rhea put in. "Here Lin, you take Earendil, I'm going to go after Haldia and make sure she's all right."

She helped Earendil to put his arm around Lin's shoulder, then hurried after the fleeing Night Elf.

"Me too," Earendil murmured. "Here, give me a moment."

He reached down to massage his leg. "She'll never believe when we tell her she had the better cell," he smiled faintly at Lin. "Not that either of them was good."

"Don't say that until you've been in it," Earendil quipped. He straightened up. "There, I should be good for a while now, at least. Aethos-sola, I'm ready to continue. We need to find our friends."

Aethos nodded. "This way then," he said, hurrying back towards the stairs.

Not knowing exactly where Rhea and Haldia had gotten to, Aethos couldn't take them to any specific place, and so he brought Earendil and Lin out of the prison section of the castle, and headed back towards the entrance. When they arrived there, Rhea was standing there, looking towards the sky.

"Haldia?" Earendil asked as they came up behind her.

Rhea turned to face them. "She returned to the ship," she murmured. "I don't think she'll be back. At least not indoors. But she can let the others know that we're all fine, at least."

Aethos looked troubled. "I'm sorry to have caused so many problems," he murmured, "I truly wish things had been different."

Earendil smiled and put one hand on the prince's shoulder. "You didn't know any better, and one in your situation can't be too careful," he assured him. "You are after all in charge while your father is away."

"If I may ask," Rhea put in curiously, "Where is your father?"

Aethos pointed out at the mountains in the distance. "He is out there, leading the war against the gnomes," he replied. "He is rarely here."

Aethos looked at Lin. "What do you mean?" he asked her, not quite understanding her question. "They have been here for as long as I know ..."

They had been on the island even longer than the elves. At least, as far as he knew. And they were gnomes, what more explanation could be needed?

"Ah," Aethos nodded, "I see what you mean. Unfortunately, I cannot help you ... I do not know such things myself. I admit, I'm too prejudiced against them to learn much more about them than that we must fight them. However," he added before Lin could get too disappointed, "if you would like, I will take you to our historian ... after having something to eat. I'm certain that Prince Earendil at least must be famished."

"Starving," Earendil murmured, smiling at the thought of food.