Canadion caught sight of us and waved excitedly.

'My prince!' he called. 'You are well, at last!'

Tharmeduil laughed.

'I am indeed, and you? You look stunning!'

'Thank you, I will tell my husband Thiriston you said so...'

'So you did it, you got married...? I am glad; for in my drawings, I sometimes saw Thiriston with a person in just such shoes and skirts... now I understand!'

A moment later and Thiriston appeared behind Canadion, lugging a couple of cases. He called a greeting to the prince, but then broke off, dropping the cases abruptly and giving an incoherent shout as he stared off beyond us, across the shore to wave at someone in the little group of elves Nestoril had pointed out to me earlier.

Following Thiriston's gaze, I saw an ellon begin running towards the ship, shouting. As he approached, I could hear he was calling 'Adar, Adar, Adar,' in time with his steps.

'Lhostor!' the big elf yelled back. 'Penneth, it's Lhostor!'

Canadion abandoned the bags he was moving, stared, took a moment to slip out of his impossible heels, and ran for the bank where the ellon – Lhostor, the orphan they had adopted so long ago – was waving and calling, and pressing his hands to his mouth.

Thiriston made landfall first, and grabbed at the ellon, who hugged him back with delighted sounds. I felt my throat grow hard at the sight of their simple joy; I remembered how there had been doubts when Thiriston and Canadion had wanted to adopt, not least because Lhostor had been damaged right down to his fëa in the events that killed his parents, but in the finish, all had been proved wrong as the youngling had blossomed and regained his courage in the odd little family they had become.

Now Thiriston backed away, grinning, to look at his son, and Lhostor looked beyond to where Canadion was now hurrying over.

'Ada? Is that...? Adar, is that my Ada?'

'That's your Ada,' Thiriston said with a smile and a glance, and Lhostor laughed and ran to greet Canadion.

'Ada, my Ada!'

'Your silly Ada, still. Lhostor, oh, ion-nin!'

And they hugged and kissed and Lhostor laughed again.

'You know, I always wished I could call you Nana. You were so very like the other nanas I knew, or the ones I heard about in the stories.'

'Well, if you wanted to, I would not have minded;. It is just words, penneth, just as these are only clothes; I am still your silly Ada, but I could be your silly Nana too, if you wanted.'

Thiriston came up to hug his son and his husband, and Lhostor began to lead them off, laughing.

'Ah, we are not done yet, ion-nin! We are helping get the luggage off the boat and – and there is still someone else on board you will be pleased to see...'

'Commander Canadion,' I said loudly, giving my former secretary a field promotion just for the look of pride in Lhostor's eyes. 'You and Commander Thiriston may consider your work done for now. Collect your nice shoes, Canadion, tell the engineer's mate to come ashore, if he can, and then stand down. I understand there will be a welcoming feast, as soon as somebody gets organised...'

Canadion smiled – no, he beamed and nodded.

'Yes, my king, for I think there are people over there who want to meet Thiriston, and I will indeed fetch the engineer's mate, because he will want to see Lhostor...'

He hastened back on board, while Lhostor, babbling about Daerada and Daernana and Daernaneth and Daeradar, dragged Thiriston off to the little group of people who had come up after Lhostor.

Thiriston was not generally given to shows of emotion, or surprise, so to see him stop dead in his tracks and shake his head, disbelieving, to see that fierce face crumble...

The two ellith in the party stepped forward at the same moment. One, with somewhat wild hair went to step back; the other said, 'nonsense, he knew you latest!' and pushed her forwards, waiting while she leapt at the big elf and swamped him in a hug.

'There!' I heard her say. 'There is a welcome from your Nana Fasdes, and your Naneth is here, too, your Adar and your Ada Cadudor...' and then Thiriston was at the centre of a four-parent hug as both his foster-parents and his birth parents greeted him.

Lhostor stood back, his face showing a mingling of emotion, happiness for his Thiriston-Adar and a renewal of loss as he was left standing alone.

Not for long; Canadion slid an arm around him.

'Thank you for bringing them to him,' he said. 'If it was me, I'd have wanted him all to myself for ages. I know when I saw my Ada again after centuries apart, I could hardly bear to let him out of my sight! And that was on my honeymoon!'

Lhostor gave a wet little laugh and turned in for a hug. Canadion cuddled him, stroked his hair.

'Ai, you look wonderful, ion-nin. Now, here is Merenor Daerada, and he has missed you too!'

'Lhostor!' Merenor smiled and opened his arms, joining with his son and grandson in a hug. 'Well, this is so lovely! And your honour-Daerada Hanben has come home, too, but he is busy working while I am allowed to come and hug you, my dear. But this is a wonderful way to make landfall!'

'Yes, Daerada Merenor, and Ada Canadion, guess who is coming too? Uncle Baudh is away in the forests, but we will send word, still my uncle Melion is here, and Caraphindir, and everyone, and Bronwenith, and Emlissel, except she is at home with our elflings and, sorry, my first-parents...'

'What? Elflings? Lhostor, you have been busy!'

'Yes, and do you know, Emlissel's other Nana and Naneth, where they might be? Did you bring them?'

'We did indeed,' Canadion said. 'But I do not know where they went... shall we go and look for them? I want to hear all about your elflings, ion. And your birth-parents, I am sure they were happy to see you...?'

'Everywhere reunions!' a familiar female voice said from behind me, and I turned with a gasp and a smile in my heart to greet my own mother. 'Thranduil, my son, how are you?'

She gave me a genteel, restrained hug that was no less loving for its dignity, and suddenly, there were no words; I understood exactly the emotion that had overwhelmed Thiriston, the joy on Lhostor's face, and I felt as if I were an elfling again, here was my Nana, as lovely and smiling and flaxen-haired as I remembered and I was clinging, suddenly, in a most unkingly manner, and she was patting at my shoulders and shushing me as she had done when I was very small, everyone, everything else forgotten in the moment of connection.

Eventually, I was able to lift my head from her shoulder and she smiled, stroked my hair back from my face, dabbed at me with the corner of her shawl.

'Welcome to Valinor, penneth,' she said. 'Goodness, so many old friends as you have brought with you! I passed Nestoril on the way... I understand you and she are married?'

'Indeed,' I said. 'But perhaps it was late coming...'

'I am truly glad for you. Not that I was not, am not, fond of Baralinith, but she was ever destined for higher things...'

'Yes, I understand now. She mentioned Father, but she did not say much... where is he?'

My mother smiled sadly.

'Still in the Halls of Mandos.'

'After all this time?'

'Yes, indeed. His penance was up long ago as far as the Lord of the Halls was concerned, but you know Oropher, he never could forgive himself anything... Ah, look, the feast is spread... shall we...?'

We made our way to the place reserved for us and sat, my sons with us, Iauron bringing Seamus to join our party, Nestoril coming up with Feril; it looked as if both were smiling, after tears, but that was the story on so many faces, including my own, that no-one commented. Tharmeduil patted the ground next to him, and Feril sat with a smile.

I did not know what I ate, or drank, or who I greeted, but there was a slow succession of comings-together and movings-away as little groups formed and reformed, their components changing, their tone remaining the same, happy and joyous.

Not all was delight, however. Araspen, Merlinith's spouse looked in vain for her mother, although there were plenty of Merlinith's older kin who were happy to welcome her. And Parvon could not help looking occasionally worried as Glorfindel laughed and shook out his golden hair and smiled with all his eyes at Triwathon.

Darkness fell like the drawing of a velvet curtain and the stars sprang out. A burst of song from the Noldo contingent heralded the night. At my side, Nestoril rested her head against my shoulder.

'I am sure I should want to stay up all night singing the beauty of the skies,' she said. 'And indeed, they are very beautiful, the stars back in their right places, and pure and sparkling like gemstones in the sky. But mostly I want to walk with you, in the softness and quiet of our new home.'

'Small chance of that with the Noldor serenading the stars...'

She laughed and pulled me to my feet.

'A walk with a song around us, then. Come, there are trees over there, and you have not yet expressed your wish to climb in them.'

'The Noldor would sneer at my Silvans, look at their king, climbing in trees like an elfling!' I slid my arm around her shoulders. 'But we should at least go and look at the woods.'

Across from us, Triwathon got to his feet.

'If you will excuse us, Glorfindel, Ecthelion, Parvon and I must speak with our king.'

'Of course, mellon-nin! Where are you lodging tonight? We have plenty of room, do we not, Ecthelion?'

'We are grateful,' Triwathon said swiftly. 'But I am the king's Commander of the Guard and Parvon his Chief Advisor. We must stay within call.'

Nestoril and I continued on a little way so that when Triwathon and Parvon caught us up we would be well out of earshot.

'Triwathon, I no longer consider myself your king, you know,' I said softly when they joined us under the spreading leaves of the trees. 'This is a new world for all of us. Where will you lodge tonight?'

'I have no idea; I was hoping that the promised pavilions would have materialised by now.'

'Oddly enough, so were we,' Nestoril said with a smile. 'Of course, there is plenty of room at Glorfindel's...'

'Oh, do not, I must not laugh at my dear friend's hospitality,' Triwathon said. 'And I know he is simply being kind, and it is his way to be exuberant and... and enthusiastic, but it is almost as if the expression 'married to Parvon' is beyond his comprehension!'

Parvon looked at his fëa-mate with grateful eyes.

'I think Lord Ecthelion is quite as proprietorial of his iphant as I am of you, my dear, beautiful shadow,' he said. 'But you gladden my heart.'

'Allow Parvon and me to enquire, my king, as to when these pavilions will be ready; we will return as soon as we have news.'

Once they were gone I leapt for a low branch, unable to resist the lure of the trees, and settled with my back to the trunk, reaching down a hand to pull Ness up to lean in against me.

'Wild wood-elf,' she said.

'Slivan witch,' I murmured, pressing my lips to her hair. 'Maybe we should just stay here all night?'

'Maybe. But it is rather a public place for a married couple to sleep... especially so newly married a couple as we...

Parvon and Triwathon returned with news of a proper encampment, already set up and just beyond the field, shielded by a rise of land. We returned to bid our friends and family good night, and retired to our assigned lodgings, Parvon and Triwathon installing themselves in a nearby tent. Canadion and Triwathon, on their way to a shelter of their own, called out goodnights to us as they passed.

The pavilion was spacious, our luggage – including the bicycle – had been brought for us, and there were seats, and wine and fruit, a soft, wide mattress spread and covered with good linens, and we undressed and lay down gratefully in each other's arms. Ness stretched and relaxed across my chest and I rested my hand on her glorious hair.

'We ought to sleep, but there is too much to talk about,' I said. 'So many people newly-met, so many still looked-for... to see Tharmeduil and Iauron healed, to know Baralinith is not upset... and Legolas...'

'Yet you know Legolas will be well; he is with Govon, he is here, he is awake,' my wife said softly. 'He will not fade, not now.'

'I know, Ness,' I said. 'It is only that, of all the things I expected, it wasn't this. I thought he would be safe, once we hit the Straight Road, and instead...'

She propped herself up on one elbow to look down at me in the darkness.

'I was talking to Feril...' she began. 'And I do not know it for certain, but I think...'

'Go on?'

'She says that Tharmeduil had inherited his mother's prescience, that her Maia powers, in him, were too much and overwhelmed him; once here, once it was recognised, it was easy to release him from his paralysis...'

'I see... but I do not see...'

'Legolas. You know how close to the forest he was, how keenly he felt his connection to it... and how deeply he felt the sea-longing, for that matter, more so than most of us; what if that was his Maian heritage manifesting, not in prescience but in empathy with the land...? What if that was why he suffered so; the more the world changed, the harder it was for his Maia self to cope with it?'

'Do you really think so?'

She sighed. 'Mostly, I'm guessing. But what I do think is that he will be fine now he's here. They took him to Lady Estë, Thranduil; of course he will be fine! Now, kiss me, and go to sleep; I have a feeling there will be a busy day ahead tomorrow.'