“Can we visit the library now, Nana? Or the western border? Or the river?” the twenty-year-old Elfling spoke as soon as Finera, his mother, entered the living quarters provided for them in Menegroth, the Thousand Cave, by the generosity of King Elu Thingol. His eagerness became a deep concern when he saw that his mother looked stricken with awe. Leaping into her arms, he asked, “What is wrong, Nana? What happened?”

Finera did not answer immediately. Rocking her son in her embrace, she walked to their bedroom and gently perched him on the corner of the bed they shared. She went on her morning routine afterwards, and bade him without words to do the same. The Elfling pouted but complied nonetheless. He was on the verge of throwing a temper tantrum, all the same, when his mother refused to say anything even after she had bathed him and put him into a new set of clothes. “Nana…” he whined.

Finera shushed him. But this time his effort was fruitful.

She sat beside him on the edge of the bed and held him in an arm. Then she said in a slightly-quivering voice, “You still remember the king, do you not? He wishes an audience with us.”

“We have met him before, when we arrived here. You did not seem to be afraid of him. Are you afraid of him now? Is he angry?” Erestor was baffled.

Finera laughed nervously. “No, my little one; none of those,” she smiled. “But this time we are to spend a day full with him… and his family. We did not have a chance to see the Queen last week, did we not? Now we will… And we are going to see their daughter too, Lady Luthien.” Her trembling smile solidified into a firm, proud and happy one. “Few people, even in this realm, have ever met Lady Luthien. This is a great boon from the King and Queen, son.”

The Elfling bit his lip. He did not really understand what his mother had been talking about, but nevertheless he was happy for her.

They departed to the King’s private audience chamber soon afterwards. Finera had told her son that they were to dawn casual attire, according to the King’s bidding, yet they clad themselves in one of their best everyday clothes anyway. When they were bidden to enter the chamber by the two guards on its door, the mother and son found that the royal family were already there.

The King was garbed in a loose tunic and a pair of leggings. The Queen was wearing a simple dress. And their daughter, the Crown Princess, was clad in an elbow-length blouse and calf-length skirt, exentuating her youthful quality. None of them wore a formal garb, and Finera was relieved that she had obeyed the instruction of the King. The mother and son did not look different from the other family now, unlike if she had insisted to clad herself and her son with their finest clothing.

But anyway…

“Erestor?” she called softly, nervously, to her son. She had executed an obeisance to the royal family, but Erestor, she had just found out, had only been staring at each of the three royals, especially Luthien, with awe.

“Yes?” the Elfling was distracted at last. He looked confused when his eyes alit on his mother’s terrified expression. “What is wrong, Nana?”

Melian chuckled. “Nothing is wrong, young one. Would you come here to me?” She extended a slender hand, adorned with a bracelet carved entirely from opal, in a beckoning gesture. On his mother nod, the Elfling scampered up to the Queen and, in his juvenile assumption, just climbed onto her lap.

Finera nearly fainted. Elu laughed in a booming voice. Luthien grinned and giggled, cooing about how cute the Elfling was.

Erestor ended up being passed from one royal to the other, and that day his feet rarely touched the ground. His excitement, however, was not on being carried by the three most important people in Doriath – and most likely all Beleriand. It came when the five of them exited the audience chamber later in the morning, going in a tour to some parts of Menegroth. They came across a couple whom Elu introduced as Celeborn his kin, and Galadriel Celeborn’s spouse; Celeborn quickly agreed to teach the Elfling the art of archery. As a bonus, Erestor was let to ride on his shoulders the rest of the tour!

Later, the Elfling also find out that Luthien was not as feminine as she appeared to be. She taught him the art of throwing knives in secret, and teached him some tricks on horseback – ponyback, in his case. The Elfling went home to Gondolin armed with a bunch of new experiences and skills, and he was glad that his first visit to the widely-and-wildly-talked-about the guarded realm of Doriath had given him a good first impression.