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Donovan had been focused on what Ulrich had been saying about the ranch house until he added the last bit about newlyweds. He chuckled at that, partly because he thought it was funny it coming from Ulrich.

"Pot calling black kettle," he muttered a bit, "You're one to talk."

Though he didn't visit often, and there had always been years between visits, he had a sense that Ulrich and Ulani at times could be just like newlyweds. Then again, they loved each other dearly, which was obvious enough to anyone.

Ryu gave a quick yank on Feng's shirt, and she took the hint. Her brother realized that next time, before their lesson, they should go through their excerises, she tended to be calmer after going through them. Probably because they forced her to be calm enough to do so.

"I see..." Ryu murmured as Feng nodded trying not to figet.

He then made a note they were going to do excerises after lessons before Feng drove him nuts.

Ulrich chuckled a bit. "Yeah, I suppose so," he agreed with a shrug as the ranch house came fully into view. He beckoned towards it with one hand. "So, inside first? Check it out, check in with Elrohir and Haradhel? I can take you on a full tour afterwards."



Aliya clasped her hands behind her back and rocked backwards on her heels slightly as she tilted her head and looked directly at Amdír. "So ... which horses are good for beginners?" she asked him. "You would know the best."

Without looking at her, Amdír replied, "None of the ones I've trained yet, since I only really started this year. You need older horses, horses that are more used to inexperienced riders, horses who know their stuff so well that they really don't need much direction."

He turned to look towards the stable. "Halamar and Hasufel would be my choices."

Aliya nodded. "Thank you," she smiled, and took Feng and Ryu's arms once more. "We might be back to see you later, all right?" she called as she led them off towards the stables once more.

Amdír merely nodded, keeping his face carefully turned away from her as a slow smile crept over it.

"Bye...." Feng called out as she allowed herself to be led away happily.

She thought there was something curious about the way Amdir was acting, but she couldn't put her finger on it quiet yet. Probably because her mind was far too busy.

"Good plan," Ulrich grinned. "Lighten the load first. Save your backs." And with that, he led them into the house through the large front door. Once inside, he stepped to the side to let them pass him and shouted, "Elrohir? Haradhel?"

The foyer of the house was large and brightly decorated. Haradhel had gotten a lot accomplished in the few weeks that she had been living there: there were bright tablecloths on all of the small tables that lined the walls, and potted plants (cereus, for those who knew the flowering ivy) sat in all of the corners.

A large double door to their left led to an enormous dining room (the kitchen was hidden behind it, and was a fair size as well) with rows of tables. After all, Ulani and Ulrich had reasoned when designing the place, who knew how many children they might have at any one time?

To the right of the foyer was another large double door, but this one led to a huge, nearly empty room. It was carpeted with a bright red, and there were bookshelves lining the walls. Only a fraction of the shelves had books on them, however. On one wall were several desks lined up in a row as if for lessons, or just for working at.

That had been Haradhel's idea. What better way to start feeling normal again, she had reasoned, than to get right back into your lessons? And considering how extensive Elrohir's lessons had been, and how much experience Ulani and Ulrich had with pretty much everything, it wasn't a far stretch to say that they could probably take over from whatever point the child had been at when they had been abducted.

On the far wall, just beyond the doors that led to the room on the right, was a staircase that led to the second floor. Directly in front of the front door was a double door with double windows on each side, and through all of the glass a white marble patio could be seen.




Aliya led Feng and Ryu to the side of the stable, where she asked them to wait for her as she climbed over the fence into the wide acreage that was used as the paddock. She set out immediately to find the two horses that Amdír had recommended, and as she did so, she wondered what had made him so talkative all of a sudden.

Cindy smiled and returned the bow, "I'm Cinderella Winters, my mother's eldest," she explained, "But eveyrone calls me Cindy."

So this was one of Elnara's brothers, well it was nice for her to have met at least one of them.

Triton murmured hello to Elrohir, he finally understood what Donovan had meant, and Elnara. Even though Elrohir hadn't said much yet, he seemed much... happier. He was glad for that.