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Earendil looked around at the crowd that was gathered round. He knew that really they should all go with to greet the king - him especially - and that in this case was to his advantage.

"We won't all fit on the roc's back, will we?" he asked. "Perhaps if Kelirahc agrees, he could take some of us on his dragon as well?"

Leyenda translated for Kelirahc, and he nodded. "I know you're not fond of these rocs," he smiled at Earendil. "I'll take you on the dragon with me."

"You're welcome to join us on the dragon," Kelirahc offered to Lin with an amused smile. "Though I'm not sure if that's any better for Senka, to my knowledge she hasn't ridden on it yet ..."

"Unless she somehow sneaked into Lin's bag once or something," Leyenda winked. "But still, we do have to take at least a few others with us."

"I'll go with on Skyel," Rhea said quickly, her eyes sparkling brightly. "If no one minds, that is."

"Please do," Earendil muttered, "it means less space for me."

Earendil nodded and held Senka close. "See you there, then," he agreed. He looked at Rhea. "Think someone should ask Haldia if she wants to come?"

"I doubt she will," Rhea said dubiously. "Even for a king."

Kelirahc stepped forward. "I request that we not ask her," he said tentatively. "She is not ready to go, and I do not think it would be wise to pressure her to do so."

Earendil nodded. "All right then."

Kelirahc stepped back and summoned his dragon while Aurin was helping others to get onto Skyel's back.

The flight back to the island was short, and Earendil was glad that he was riding on the dragon rather than the roc. The dragon's movements were smooth, serpentine, and it didn't upset his stomach in the least ... and he hadn't even had any malek before the flight!

Aurin took Skyel to the rookery again, but Kelirahc, rather than following with his dragon, set down in front of the main doors of the castle. He, Leyenda, Earendil, and Celeb all hopped off, and Earendil, who had wrapped Senka in a corner of his cloak so that she wouldn't fluff up, unwrapped her now and held her in his arms, petting her softly.

"How was that?" he asked her with a smile. "Better?"

Earendil chuckled and petted her softly. "Good. Now, we should probably wait inside for Lin and the others." He looked over at Kelirahc and Leyenda and Celeb. "What do you say?"

"We're coming," Leyenda assured him as Kelirahc released the dragon, allowing it to vanish back into the air.

"Just a second!" Celeb protested. He ran up to Kelirahc and looked up at him. "Can I ride on your shoulders?"

Leyenda coughed. "Celeb, we're going to see a king, I'm not sure-"

"It's fine," Kelirahc interrupted with a smile. "We are who we are, we should not act differently for someone just because of his status. We do not change for Alena, we do not change for Aethos-sola."

He turned Celeb around and picked him up, plopping him down on his shoulders. "There, is good?"

Celeb giggled. "I can see the whole island from here!" he laughed.

Aurin stayed with Skyel this time, and Alena led the group into the castle. This was Arwen and Roydon's first visit, and the two of them walked a bit slower than the others, looking at everything they saw.

Alena led them through the maze of hallways and stairs, slowly leading them downward, until they were at the main entrance of the castle, where the other group was waiting for them.

Earendil grinned at Lin. "So you made it," he teased her as Celeb waved like mad from his perch on Kelirahc's shoulders.

"Says you," Earendil laughed. "Senka agrees with me, riding on the dragon is much better."

"I think it's a lot of fun!" Celeb exclaimed. "I wish I had a spirit!"

Kelirahc chuckled and reached up to tickle his brother in law's side. "Someday, if you prove yourself worthy," he grinned.

Alena cleared her throat as Celeb squealed.

Leyenda giggled and reached up to quiet her brother. "Come on, the king is waiting for us."

Once everyone was ready, Alena led them forward into the castle once more. For a while, she followed the same route that they would have taken to the dining hall, but then she led them past it, and they were in an area where none of them had been yet. Celeb chatted away excitedly to Kelirahc and Leyenda as they went, but Earendil looked around interestedly. After all, he had been here only twice, and the first time he had been recovering from his captivity, and the second time he had been ill. He hadn't really had a good chance to look around yet.

At last, they arrived at an enormous set of wooden doors, which were themselves at least two floors high. There were two guards stationed just outside the doors, one on either side, and when Alena and the group approached, they crossed the door with their weapons.

"I have brought the leaders of our visitors," Alena told the two. "Please announce Princess Arwen Aldrich, Prince Roydon Aldrich, Prince Earendil Aldrich, Princess Leyenda Aleanath, Prince Kelirahc Aleanath, Prince Celeb Aldrich, and Lady Lin Winters."

The guards nodded. "Wait here," one of them commanded; and he stood there while the other one headed into the hall to announce their arrival.

Earendil grinned down at Lin. "Lady," he chuckled. "I don't know who she's been talking to."