Gilly took her bowl and started eating eagerly, appreciating the taste and the feeling of having something hot going into her stomach. But when Eled started shouting about his, she couldn't help but laugh. "I thought elves were the refined and delicate ones, and us country folk are the ones that pull stuff like that?"

She shook her head, still chuckling amusedly. "But you shouldn't swear...it's not polite..."

Eled blinked as he stared at her, his mouth still sore. "Lle...Lle lasta amin?" He stood up and went over to her, sitting down on the ground next to her. He stared at her more intensely than he had ever before. There was no way he could deny it now. There was something...familiar about Gilly. A thought came into his mind.

"Mani naa essa en lle?" He asked quickly. If she truly was unlocking memories, she would have this tucked away in those same memories of her mother and father.




((Sorry it's so short >.<))
{Translation: Lle lasta amin = You understand me?
Mani naa essa en lle = What is your name?}

She frowned at him and shook her head, intending to signify that she didn't understand. It was coincidence that that happened to be the exact question he'd asked. "No, you're gonna have to talk common...I took a guess and it sounds like I was right but that doesn't make me magically fluent."

Eled frowned, clearly disappointed. "Sorry. Anyway. How is the soup?" He changed the subject, hoping to bring back their light mood that they had during the morning. He tucked into his again, this time taking far more care to cool down each spoonful of soup before cautiously putting it in his mouth. As he finished his bowl, he looked up at the sky.

"We should probably get moving again soon. Hopefully we can find a better spot to camp tonight than out in the open."


{Where should we go from here? My brain isn't working >.<}

{I'd say to the next point on our plot itinerary, which would be either when Eled figures out who she is or figures out that he's falling for her. Either or. I'll give us a timeskip and you can take it from there?}

And so the months passed. Gilly finished carving her flute, and she even made a few more to sell when they passed through settled areas. She picked up Elvish from him in bits and snatches, and combined with her shaky memories she managed to learn the language quicker than most would. Eled had to teach her the actual words, but the grammar came to her naturally, making it easy enough.

They had come to another town, and Gilly was looking forward to settling down with her flute in the marketplace and playing for everyone--it was an easy way for her to get coins, and she liked being able to earn her way travelling with Eled. Sometimes snatches of songs she'd heard as a baby worked their way into her music, but many times she just made up tunes based on birdsong she'd heard.

Eled himself had started to confuse Gilly, though. He was a good friend, that she knew, and she appreciated how much he'd done for her, but she wasn't sure she felt about him as a friend. She'd decided to try and not think about her feelings for him at all, though it meant that sometimes in the quiet lulls on the road she would simply watch him, hoping that the answer would dawn on her.

{Sounds great :D I think he should fall for her first, then figure out who she is. It's slightly more devastating that way XD}


It was watching her play that did it. Listening to the sweet notes of her flute rise and fall like birdsong, Eled would find himself lost in her tune, staring at her. When her song was finished, he would snap out of his daze quickly enough, but he always thought she had seen him staring.

This was awfully confusing. Eled had always traveled alone, except for when he had stayed with Caylen. These new swirling vortexes of emotion were unreal to him. One moment it was like he was playing with his younger sister, playfully teasing and joking around; the next, his heart was fluttering in his chest, threatening to explode out as he stared into her wonderfully familiar eyes.

Those eyes! Bright as the light in a baby's smile, deep as the deepest pool, so wise yet so childlike. Eled constantly had to keep his head in check, which was a task in itself. During those moments when she would play for him, or for others, his self control vanished and it was only by sheer force of will that he didn't grab her and press his lips to hers. It was almost infuriating. Those feelings he couldn't pin down. They were unlike what he had felt for Caylen, but it was the same heart stopping feel that stole his breath every time she laughed. Add in the fact that his brain was still nagging him about something. Something that he had forgotten, or something he had purposefully filed away. She was just too familiar, and every once in a while, he was almost have it, but then she would turn and look at him, and it would disappear.

They were now on the road again, with both of them carrying full purses of gold. Eled leaned back in the saddle and patted his belly. "Boy, when we aren't run out of Inns, I quite like towns." He smiled over to Gilly, knowing she would remember that night. He pulled out his map and studied it. "Well, where should we head next? We could try out your Elvish and head to Innail."

Gilly laughed brightly, remembering that day as well. It felt like ages ago, and she'd come so far since then. She was still a dead shot with rocks--or anything she chose to throw at a target, and she'd taken to carrying a pouch of them ever since that day at the inn.

She frowned at the suggestion of heading to an elvish place. "I...how would that even go over? Will they think I'm one of them? Will they know I'm an outsider?" She didn't sound like she was against the idea, though--just frightened a bit of what might happen there.

Eled heard the fear in her voice as she voiced her questions. "Well, they will know that you weren't raised as one of us, but most other Elves are polite about those things. I would hazard a guess that they will assume you were wounded in some way that made you forget our language." He stated this matter-of-factly, knowing how city elves thought. "The only thing you have to wary of are the ones that offer to teach you words. More often than not, what they tell you it means, isn't what it really means." He looked out of the corner of his eye at Gilly. Not seeing what he thought he would, he continued. "For example. Say we are at a pub, and there is a rather large Elvish woman singing on the stage. Another person comes up, having heard that you are relearning the language, and offers to teach you to compliment her. If you agree, they will tell you to tell her, or even shout, 'Roch'. Now you remember what that really means, yes?" He paused for effect. "It means horse. But they would tell you it means something like 'angel'. See what I mean?"

"Now, don't get me wrong, not all city Elves are like that, but some enjoy the laugh they get when someone is gullible to go along with it." He closed his eyes, moving gently with Callon's swaying walk. "I swear, you are starting to rub off on me, you Elvish Hobbit! I'm hungry already, even though we've just eaten!" His laughter rang out, startling Callon enough that he missed a step and stumbled. "Oh, sorry boy. I just couldn't help it!" He chuckled through his apology, and Callon just hurrumphed back at him.

"Would you like to stop for a snack or keep moving, my dear?"

He was over-explaining things again. But she supposed she couldn't fault him for it--sometimes she picked things up quickly, and sometimes she didn't. She nodded quietly, switching over to Elvish to practice. "But I'm not having problems with the -language- as long as it's not big words. It's..." Her vocabulary ran out and she switched back to common. "Customs...culture...how to act... I'm...still not an elf through and through..."

She giggled when he mentioned food, and she nodded. If he was hungry, she was hungry. But...she'd gradually stopped insisting on extra breaks, and now only paused when Eled wanted to pause. She was losing weight, as well, the constant moving around to travel helping her to shift it all off. She was far from the stereotypical elvish slender pretty, and likely would never be that skinny. But it was enough to notice, anyway.

"Well, things like that you won't learn unless you are around more Elves. I can only teach you so much." Eled rubbed his blue eye as he swung off his saddle and took a few left over tidbits out of a pack. He handed Gilly half of a sandwich, taking the other half for himself. He had gotten more contemplative over the last few weeks, trying to decipher his own feelings towards Gilly, and what they could mean. At one point in time, it could have been the storybook tale: Boy meets girl, they fall for each other, they take each other as life-mates, and they live happily ever after; and Eled would have been happy. But after being run out of his home, losing his first love, never seeing his family again...He lost faith in all of those childish fantasies, believing that he would never find love again. Then he had met Caylen. He found happiness. And again, it was all stolen from him. Now, back at square one, believing...whatever he did, here was his heart teasing him. There was something between him and Gilly, more than friendship, but not quite love. And then, his mind was playing tricks. Telling him that he knew Gilly. That feeling never went away, and it bothered him to no end. Of course, he had pondered over it long and hard, and he knew there was no way that he could have ever known Gilly. He could ask her, but how idiotic would that make him seem?

He realized he was just standing, staring at nothing. He coughed, to cover up his embarrassment, and started moving again. "Well? Have we decided? I suppose we could wander about in the woods for a little while if you'd like."

His words made sense, though, and while she ate her sandwich, she couldn't help but think about it as well. Finally she nodded. "Let's go to Innail, then. And hope they forgive me being......weird. How do I say that? I'm strange...I know I'm strange..."

She took the sandwich and ate cheerily, moving along despite how Eled had fallen behind. She laughed a little bit, smiling cheerily once he caught up. "Something on your mind?"

Eled looked away shyly. Since when was he shy? Confounded girl...He broke out of his string of "what has happened to me" thoughts when he realized Gilly had asked him a question.

"Hmm? Oh, nothing. Just pondering." He winked his emerald eye, and giving a dazzling smile. He couldn't help but be cheered by her laugh, it was so...normal. Despite how odd a Hobbity Elf was.

"Just play along. If they assume you've been struck on the head too many times, work with it. You should hear some of the tales they still talk about me." He rolled his eyes and retied his white hair into a tail at the base of his neck, keeping it from flying everywhere.

Gilly was happy to travel quietly with him, though mostly that was because his smile had made her blush and quickly look away. She wanted to be left with her thoughts, even though she doubted she'd come any closer to knowing how she felt about him. She nodded absently at his advice, listening more than she let on though she kept her eyes on the road ahead of them.

{I think Gilly's happy to stay quiet till they get there. >_< Want to skip us along?}

{Sounds good :D Have them sleep or something, then I will cover the city in the next post :D}


As day faded into twilight, Eled began to see small flickers of light, just beyond the crest of the hills. He rubbed his eyes, then looked closer. Smiling, he inched a thoroughly worn-out Callon closer to Gilly. "We'll be there tomorrow. Look there." He pointed towards the flickering light that were growing brighter in the dimming sunlight. "That's Innail. Well. The wall fires anyway." He reigned in Callon and jumped off with new found energy. It had been so long since he had been here, he was glad to be back. There were very few places where Elves outnumbered humans and were treated with respect. He began to set up their camp, quietly humming to himself.

"Tomorrow afternoon I suppose we will get to the walls, and by dinnertime we'll be in an Inn with the best meal you've ever had. A true Elven dinner." He couldn't help the giddiness that coursed through his voice. He felt like a child again. Then as he began thinking about a 'true Elven dinner', he got quiet and contemplative again.

"Hmm, we'll have to teach you proper manners." He was talking to himself mainly, running through the things Gilly would need to know. "There's the meal itself, which you won't have problems with, but all the cutlery, proper cloth placement..." He continued his personal conversation as he got a fire going with water boiling above it. Absent-mindedly, he pulled out two ceramic tea-cups with saucers, and a few scraps of cloth.

Having brought out all of his 'equipment', he turned back to Gilly. "Oh, there you are." He smiled, his mind finally out of it's preoccupation. "Now, the meal itself will consist of 5 courses." He paused for effect, letting that sink in. Even after all this time, he knew she still had her Hobbit raising where food was concerned. "The starters, which usually is specially prepared eggs or something small that you can use your fingers to eat." He added hastily, "But please, do NOT use your fingers. Most Elves in Innail are nobility, and some are even royal. I am hoping we will be able to stay with a friend of mine, and that will mean meals with her. But those manners are another thing entirely." He ran a hand down his face remembering nice dinners gone horribly wrong because of a single mistake. "Now, where was I? Oh. Right. After those comes the pre-meal, which is usually a salad or soup. After that is the main course, which can be anything from pheasant to lamb to fish. It really depends on the occasion. After the main course, there is a frozen dish that you eat to cleanse your pallet for dessert. Then after that is dessert." He smiled, "Which is by far my favorite course of all. Now." He moved and grabbed the pieces of cloth. "Pretend this is your napkin. It will be folded, like so, underneath your salad and main forks. Without moving the forks too much, take the cloth and open it to your right side." While he talked, he moved, showing her the proper motion. "Then, since you are a lady, you place it on your lap." He showed her where to place it, then smiled. "Don't worry, you'll do fine."

Learning elven manners wasn't as difficult as she'd thought it would be. It wasn't far off from hobbit table manners. And...for as simple country folk as the hobbits were, they were -polite- simple country folk. She listened to Eled quietly, hovering between total nerve attacks and thinking it was all dead easy.

But...

Royalty? Gilly had never been near royalty, or even anyone more important than the mayor. She was nervous, but she also knew she had to believe in herself. After all, the worst thing she could possibly wind up doing would be to make an ass of herself by letting her nerves get the better of herself. Hah. All that worry and they weren't even there yet. She sighed softly and turned her attention back to Eled, though she was distracted a bit by trying to imagine what the food would be like.

And it was with thoughts of the food that she finally tumbled into her bed roll and fell asleep, dreaming of it and trying to imagine having a proper elvish meal. And in her dream she was dressed like the elves of rumour and legend, silk and satin and embroidery to spare... And Eled was there...Eled was...

Gilly sat up with a start, blinking into the hazy rays of the rising sun, blushing deeply even in wakefulness after her dream. Hopefully the day would pass quickly and quietly, and she wouldn't have to think about what she'd been dreaming about Eled...

{Ha! Love it! XD}


Eled awoke as the Sun was just beginning to crest over the emerald hills, chasing the deep ebony sky away and replacing it with glorious crimsons, energetic oranges, and dazzling pinks. The few clouds that dotted the clear sky were dyed a deep pink, with almost literal silver lining. He sat up slowly, taking a deep breath of the crisp morning air, letting it fill his lungs and course through his body. For just a moment, he believed himself to be back home, his original home. Where his sister would be sleeping right behind him. He turned to look, not quite out of his dream, but was quickly thrust out of it when he saw Gilly sitting straight up, white as a sheet save for the deep pink that touched her cheeks. Eled didn't think anything of it though, since there was so much pink in the sky, he thought it merely reflection of some sort.

He smiled cheerfully, despite the soft twang of his heart strings, once for not seeing his sister, and once for seeing Gilly. "Good morning, Gilly." Eled stood up, stretching out his sore muscles. "Well I suppose today's the day!" He began to roll up his blanket, and strapping it back onto Callon's back. He took his cloak and flung it around his shoulders, pulling the cowl up over his white hair. After dousing the coals from last nights fire, he looked around, ready to get going but not wanting to leave.

Once he saw that Gilly was ready, he stepped up onto Callon, giving the horse an affectionate pat on his neck. He sat up straight and waited for Gilly to bring her horse up next to his. "Well? Are you ready to meet other Elves?" He gave her a smile, then added in teasingly, "Now just promise me you aren't going to run off with the hundreds of other Elven men that are going to throw themselves at your feet." He winked at her, then clicked at Callon, getting him started on their long walk to Innail.


------------


It was well past midday when they reached the outer walls of the city. They were built thousands of years ago, yet were still intact and just as formidable as ever. The walls were built out of a volcanic rock, strong enough to withstand thousands of years of elements and warring times, but looked soft and subtle in the bright afternoon light. The stone was black, which made the walls look even more foreboding than their size did. They easily towered over 200 feet. Eled couldn't help but lower his head subconsciously. The last time he had been here...well. He hadn't exactly left on good terms. But that was a long time ago, and he hoped that most people would forget about it.

As they neared the gates, which were made of cast iron, wrought into different shapes and were just as tall as the walls, a Gate Keeper shouted down at them. "In the name of Innail, who are you?" The traditional greeting.

Eled kept his cowl over his head, but tipped his face up towards the man, gesturing Gilly to do the same. "Eileldholas and my companion Gwilelwen. Here on request of her Grace Aerwyna Mithlynnil."

Eled truly hoped that they wouldn't ask her first before letting them inside, but his fear was abated as the Gate Keeper quickly opened the gate, bowing to them as they rode by. He smiled at Gilly and mouthed, "I'll tell you later."

They trotted probably another quarter of a mile before they got to the city itself. The rode past hundreds of houses that were built well when compared to other towns and cities, but these were considered the poor homes. As they drew closer to the main city, where they could see thousands of bustling bodies, moving quickly as mice being chased by cats, he leaned over towards Gilly and whispered, "Don't make eye contact, we're going to go straight to, uh, my connection here. I'll explain everything once we get to her house."

He sat back in his saddle as they moved through the throng of people. He kept his eyes plastered ahead of him, while using his peripheral vision to look at those around him, moving out of the horses way. Even with his cowl up, a few people must have recognized him, or at least, that's what his paranoid mind told him. He hated the city. The moved deeper into the city, crossing right through the middle. They could have gone around the outer wall, but he wanted Gilly to see what a real Elven city was like. The buildings were tall, taller than most city buildings, and each one was different, which made it relatively easy to find the place you are looking for. The passed several pubs and inns, and even a bakery, which made Eled's stomach absolutely roar with hunger. If he was this hungry, he couldn't imagine how hungry Gilly must be. He shot her a look of apology, and a look that promised they'd eat in just a little while.

After two hours of slow walking, even on horseback, they finally made it out of the main part of the city. Now they were coming to the upper class homes. Huge mansions with white brick and brightly painted trims with elaborate gardens dotted the bright green scene. As the crowds thinned out around them, Eled began to relax a little bit. He turned to Gilly and apologized. "I'm sorry for all that. I didn't think it would take us as long as it did." He went back into silence as they trotted towards one house that was slighter larger than the others, that sat on more land than the others, and the only one with a stone fence instead of a painted wooden one. He stopped Callon in front of the gate and took a deep breath, then dismounted. He took a step back and took in the house. It was white brick, like the others, but the roof was deep jade green, the same shade as the trim on the windows and door. The gardens were full of roses, jasmine blossoms, cherry trees and hundreds of other blooms that smelled wonderfully sweet. He turned to Gilly and took a shaky breath, trying to calm himself. "Alright, this is Her Grace, Lady Aerwyna Mithlynnil's home. While she only uses her Lady title, she is actually a Duchess. She was married to the Duke of Innail, who was an advisor to the King while he was alive. Now she holds her late husbands position. Please don't look so stricken, she's actually very kind and down to earth. She's..." Before Eled had a chance to finish the sentence and let Gilly recover from shock, the very Elf he was speaking of came exploding out of the jade green door.

"Eled! Cousin!" Aerwyna's voice was musical, high and sweet. She was wearing a silk gown of light emerald, like fresh grass, with golden embroidery around her neck and hem. The sleeves went to her elbows, then ended in a golden lace. She was slim, as most Elvish women were, but with long elegant limbs, she looked more regal than awkward. Her golden wheat hair was long and flowing, only half pulled back in an queenly twist, fixed with deep emerald pins. Her bright baby blue eyes sparkled as she ran, yes ran, to embrace Eled. He caught her just in time, putting her head between him and Gilly, so neither of them would see his blush. He was hoping he would be the one to tell Gilly that he was related to nobility.

"I'm sorry I didn't write you a warning, but it was sort of a last minute decision."

"Oh bother. I never mind getting visits from you! You should come see me more often." She teased him as he put her down and they broke from their embrace.

"My dear Wynn, I would like to introduce my friend Gwilelwen, or Gilly for short." He moved aside, holding out his hand for Gilly. Aerwyna moved forward and smiled sweetly.

"Gwilelwen? Lovely name. Hidden jewel." She smiled, the same smile that Eled often wore, and gave Eled a sly look. "Well. Welcome to my humble home, Gweil- I mean, Gilly."

Eled offered his arm to both women, and Aerwyna took it without hesitating, giggling as she did, letting him lead her into her own house.

Gilly blushed a little bit at Eled's tease; no matter how many times she tried to insist he was simply being funny, the idea of Elven men throwing themselves at her feet... and how Eled wanted her to not run off with them... Did he really care so much for her? Her blush deepened a bit.

She didn't have time to question Eled as they went into the city--it was awe-inspiring and breathtaking all on its own. The sights, the smells, the /everything/ left her breathlessly staring at all of it. The height of the buildings made her feel a bit nervous--she wasn't used to things being built -above- the ground. It all looked as though a strong gust would send the whole city crumbling, and yet here it was a buzzing hive of activity with people so obviously and so obviously -happily- living in it...

Oh it was breathtaking, amazing and awe-inspiring, every inch the tales of history and mystery associated with the legends of the elves, and...

And they were approaching their destination, it seemed, so Gilly pulled herself out of her reverie to listen more intently to what was going on around her, rather than dreaming of what that delicious and delicately spiced scent they'd passed would taste like.

Cousin? And Eled was still keeping up the pretence of a false name? Though this lady Aerwyna seemed to be sharing a look with Eled, or at least a smile in common. Better to be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt...

Gilly stayed silent, though she did smile cheerily and openly. She wasn't trying to be -stonily- silent, just measuring her words a bit more carefully than she might have normally.

She took Eled's arm and followed him quietly, doing her best to not gape at everything.

In truth, Eled was thankful that Gilly hadn't smacked him the moment Wynn had mentioned their relationship. Well, at least now she knew they were family instead of...in other sorts of relationships.

He opened the grand jade doors to the house and his jaw dropped open. While he had been here before, he'd always snuck around the side of the house and entered via the servants quarters. Mainly because Aerwyna's former husband hated his guts. He was one of those stupid people that didn't believe a dirty, nomad wood elf was related to a beautiful, elegant high elf like Wynn.

He took a deep gulp and managed to choke out, "It certainly has been a long time since I've been here."

Wynn laughed musically. "It's been even longer since you've come in the front door." She released Eled's arm and clapped sharply. Two young girls in matching chocolate and holly green servants uniforms materialized out of nowhere.

"Yes ma'm?" They said in unison. Eled noticed for the first time, after getting over his shock of their sudden appearance, they were twins. The same long straight umber brown hair, that nearly matched their dresses, and the same cat-like eyes, the exact color of their green aprons.

"Hello girls." Wynn smiled down at the young twins. "Laura, would you tell Mrs. Higgins that we have some guests and would like some tea and pastries in the sun room. And Lina, would you prepare two guest rooms?" The girls nodded in unison, then split and headed in different directions.

"It's like watching a sideways mirror." Eled was mystified.

Wynn chuckled lightly. "They've always been that way. They came to live with me shortly after they were born." Her face was downcast suddenly. "I'll explain about them later." She forced the sunny smile back on her face as she took Gilly's hand. "Now, my dear, you will have to tell me how you came to be traveling around with my scoundrel of a cousin." She shot Eled a playful look, and he shot one right back as he followed them into the sun room.

True to it's name, it really was a sunny room. There were almost no walls to speak of, the entire room seemed to be made of glass, even the ceiling. What wall there was was painted a lovely shade of deep cerulean with white crown and foot molding with tiny shapes of leaves carved into them. The furniture was simple, but ornate. There was a large round table created out of a wood so light it looked white, and it had the same leaf detail around the sides as the molding. It stood on on central pillar that flowed into four feet that supported the entire structure. All down the pillar and legs was the same leaf pattern, except now they were all connected by a vine that wound around the bottom half of the table. The chairs were made out of the same white wood, with the same vines creeping around the legs. Each leaf, on the chairs, table, and moldings, had a slight shimmer to them, as if they were painted over with silver, and this made the furniture sparkle in the bright light of the sun.

If that wasn't enough in itself, there was a blue square of lace, the same shade of the walls, set in the center of the table. In the middle of that square, stood a white vase that held the purpliest lilacs Eled had ever seen. His mouth dropped open slightly as he took in the sight. "This...this is exactly like..." Eled couldn't continue.

"I knew you'd like it." Wynn came up behind him, still holding Gilly's arm softly. She put a hand on his shoulder. "You always talked about what you would do with your own house." She paused a moment. "After...after my husband passed, creating this room allowed me to cope. And annoy his ghost." She said the last part with a half smile painted on her lips, but very little humor in her voice.

Eled turned to face her. "You didn't have to do that."

"But I did, so there." Her regular teasing voice was back as she stared up at Eled. "Now sit. Tea should be along, and I can imagine how hungry you and Gwil- Gilly, must be." She smiled as she corrected herself for the second time over Gilly's name. "I'm sorry, I'm so used to using formal names."

"Gilly? Are you alright?" Eled directed the question straight at her, noticing how wide her eyes had gotten since they came in here, and now she looked rather pale. "Gilly?"

Everything was so...-beautiful-...Gilly was happy to stay out of the conversation and simply stare at everything. Even the twin servants, she just gawked at everything. Something in the back of her mind told her that that was rude, but she couldn't force herself to care when it was all so new and it was all just.... /there/... All just there and -waiting- to be looked at. She followed along, if only to keep getting more things to look at, more things to see.

When they were led into the glass room, she couldn't help but stare, and against her better judgement she pulled away a bit to spin in a circle and stare upwards. Everything was so -beautiful-...she couldn't help herself. One thing snapped her attention back, though, and she stood at Eled's side now with an embarrassed flush tinting her cheeks. Hungry? Food? The fine, amazing elven food she'd spent the whole night dreaming about?

As long as it didn't taste like that bread...it was nice, it was -very- nice for being travelling rations, but....she'd eaten far too much of it to look forward to it.

"I'm fine....really, I'm fine...I just.... It's....all so beautiful here. Even if it does look like a strong wind'll knock it down..." There was something she hadn't considered--her accent. Even if her words were flawless, her accent still marked her out as being from a farming community. Not to mention that her reactions to things were unusual for an elf.

{Whoa, you're name change totaly threw me off XD}


Eled smiled affectionately. "Good." He moved towards the table and pulled out two of the chairs, then turned back towards Gilly and Wynn. "Ladies?" At that moment, the twins entered the room, each carrying something. One of the girls was carrying three trays piled high with tiny sandwhiches, glorious smelling tarts, and the last held beautifully decorated mini cakes, each topped with a luscious crimson strawberry. The mere sight and smell of them made Eled's mouth water in anticipation.

"Oh those smell divine. Thank you girls." Eled took a seat closest to the small cakes, hands itching to snatch one.

The other twin carefully placed an overly large silver tea-pot with gold swirls all over it and matching tea-cups on the table. Next to the cups, she placed a bowl filled with lemon wedges, another nearly overflowing with sugar and a small silver tray that held small glass jars filled with the leaves of at least a dozen different kinds of teas.

When they moved together by the doorway again, they curtsied at the same moment, then moved to blend into the background onto a bench that was partially hidden by a large potted rose bush.

"Please, eat up!" Wynn said, as she delicately took a glass jar and sprinkled some of the leaves into her cup, then pouring the hot water from the kettle over it. The warm fragrance wisped around the room, installing feelings of contentedness upon it's occupants.

Gilly stared at everything as it came into the room. She, too, was simply itching to get a hold of all of the delicious things that were all just -there-, waiting to be eaten. She slid into the seat closest to Eled, though the tea quickly got her attention. She took a few pinches of a few different things, seemingly at random, but by scent alone she had decided on a blend, and pouring hot water over them released an earthy scent that seemed to be greater than the sum of the parts.

She took a deep drink from it, then blushed a little bit as she remembered she'd been ignoring questions directed at her. She fidgeted for a moment, trying hard to force herself to wait and make conversation before reaching out and stuffing her face. She watched Eled discreetly, watching him for cues as to how to conduct herself with regards to the trays of treats.

"...Yes, thank you. Thank you for everything. It's very nice to be able to stay with you after travelling so far. Eled and I have been travelling quite a ways together now, actually." Since Aerwyna -had- asked about her travelling with Eled.