[Child of the 7th Age]

Child had slept but a few hours the night before. She was, however, not about to pull up the covers and dream the morning away. There was too much to be done, and too many reasons she should be up and about.

She bounced into her clothes, and made her way towards the galley. Rose and Daisy were laughing and preparing the morning meal. They were chatting about this and that, their faces wreathed in sunny smiles. One would break out with, "Did you see her face, how it shines with the light?" while the other would point to her joking and excellent good humor.

The last point struck Child vividly. She could remember night after night when Piosenniel sat on the Star, deep in sadness and thought. Child sensed a bit of that sadness still underneath, but beside it stood an enormous reservoir of laughter and caring which had never been so evident before. Like Child, Piosenniel had seen her share of sad times. Child wondered if she could ever manage to create her own balance in life like that, or if such grace was granted only to Elves on leave from Aman.

As Pio had promised, the fish stew was properly simmered and waiting for lunch. Child dipped a spoon into the broth, and then tasted. Whether it was Pio's gentle hand on the pot or the bounty of the Mer-folk, this dish seemed fit for a lord's table. She vowed to brag to Mithadan about her superior cooking efforts, something that Child was not generally well known for! Given the way things had gone this past day, she doubted he'd mind the teasing too much.

Rose and Daisy were trying to guess where the Elf might have gone on secret business. Child looked stern and lectured them on the need to let Piosenniel have some privacy in personal matters. The girls continued to bubble over with questions about the West, and what had happened to their friend after Gondolin. Child had to admit that she too was curious, but she repeatedly reminded them, and herself as well, that this was a private matter for Elves which Pio might or might not want to share. If Pio told any on board, Child suspected it might be Bird, since she was her oldest companion. But such thoughts and questions were only secondary to the overall joy of the day.