“While the saying that all elves know each other is definitely over exaggerated, there is some truth to it. In general, elves of the same generation, who lived in the same area, know each other. To be fair, it would be hard not to know your peers when everyone lived for so long a time and adolescence lasted a whole century.” - High Elder Nydia Celearwen, of the Great Emerald Forest.

“Ah… My apologies,” said the elven woman after a short moment. She looked once more at Cal and her nieces with a nostalgic look before she gave a short bow. “My eyes must be fooling me. I had mistaken you for an old friend I had not seen for a long time at a glance.”

“That might not necessarily be the case,” offered Cal as she returned a polite nod. “If the Idania you refer to is one Idania Edrunviel, formerly a leader of the central district’s defense force, then we are related to her.”

“Oh? Do tell? No wonder you three look a lot like her, especially you,” said the elven woman with eyes aglow with curiosity. “Last I saw Idania was during a visit to the forest seven decades ago. Haven’t seen her since then.”

“Idania is my elder half-sister,” said Cal openly. “These two are my nieces, her daughters, Elaina and Sidonie.”

“You are little Elaina?” asked the elven woman as she stood up and peered closer to Elaina with a surprised and nostalgic look. “Last time I saw you, you were but seven or so. You’ve grown so much I didn’t recognize you…”

“Where are my manners? Sorry about that. I am Reginvell Deate, formerly of the Great Emerald Forest as well, now the fourth concubine to His Royal Highness King Down Under Bjørn Tobias Eisenhand, First of his name. Feel free to call me Regin though,” said the elven woman as she introduced herself. “You already met my older children Sieglinde and Jorgen. That is Angrboda, my younger daughter, and this is Jesper, my little boy.”

“You always lose yourself when you get nostalgic, Regin,” said Orloff with a smile. The easy manner with which he spoke to the Royal Concubine suggested their long relationship. He then tossed a storage ring to the elven woman. “Anyway, came here to bring your order over. Feel free to check them out.”

“Oh, thanks, Orloff. You’re always such a dear,” replied Regin as she caught the ring easily with one hand, even as she cradled her infant child with her other arm. She checked the ring for a moment, before she handed it over to her son. “Jorgen, be a dear and get the kitchen to send over some finger foods will you? And also have them open one of the barrels and get the tankards for us all.”

Jorgen obediently headed for the kitchen as he arranged for Regin’s requests to be done, while everyone else sat down in the comfortable room. Regin had almost immediately doted on Elaina and Sidonie, while Angrboda - who was very young for either of the races she descended from, being barely fifty and with her beard still a fuzzy thing - asked Cal about her experiences with shining eyes.

They chatted for a while before Jorgen returned, along with several dwarves in the liveries of servants, who politely placed platters of finger foods on the table. Another of the dwarves set one of the ale barrels - easily as large around as a dwarf’s torso - on a stand and filled tankards from its tap before another distributed them to the seated people.

“Idania and I used to be childhood friends, although our interests were nothing alike,” said Regin as she nibbled on a large mushroom stuffed with cheese. Cal noticed that there were meatless options for every sort of food served and noted that the Royal Concubine was likely one of those who eschewed meat. “She was always good with the sword, while I was more into the arts. In fact, it was while studying art in Levain that I met Bjørn.”

“Oh? I hadn’t known that the Kingdom Down Under sent their heirs there to study,” replied Cal as she took a gulp from her tankard. The ale tasted sort of similar to the elven liquor her father liked, but also with the strong kick that dwarves favored. Orloff had said it was a request for a drink that would be well accepted by dwarves and elves alike.

“He was still the crown prince at that time, and was studying to further his knowledge,” replied Regin with a nostalgic smile. “He was such a smooth talker, really. One day we went out on a date and a month later I was joining him to visit his home to meet his parents.”

“And you didn’t have any issues with being in the King’s harem?” asked Cal with genuine curiosity.

“Oh dear, no. Fortunately my sisters were not the jealous sort. We all well understood that our Bjørn would not be able to love just one woman,” she answered with a smile. “His heart is large enough for all of us, and he had made it clear from the beginning as well. There was just… something charismatic in him that drew us over like moths to a flame, if you will.”

“That said, it has been two centuries since I married him, and I have no regrets,” added the elven woman. “He gave me four wonderful children, and a group of women I consider my own sisters by now, their children almost as close to me as my own. It was a far larger family than I had expected to have, but one I have grown to love.”

“So long as you’re happy,” said Cal in reply. Given her own preference to stay alone, she was definitely not qualified to comment on other people’s love life. “By the way, Idania and the rest of our family moved to Paradise recently, so if you feel like visiting, it’s just a single hop away by gate.”