He was in the room where I landed and didn't want me to tell anyone and I don't know who it's safe to irritate and nobody asked so - so I didn't, and then when I was here he came in and, he was curious about my book, he wanted to learn to read -

Of course he did. He stands. In the future, if he comes to you, tell us where he is. Fëanáro, we're leaving.

Bella bows her head apologetically.

And they sweep out. The person who'd come in originally stands there awkwardly. I was supposed to show you around.

Um, okay. Bella gets up shakily to her feet and manages to follow her out of the room.

The external light is white now instead of golden. They walk down a few dazzling stone hallways. There are silk tapestries hanging on the sides, hundreds of feet long, stunningly realistic - all of this strange species, playing outdoors in forests or dancing under stars or relaxing on great green hillsides.

It's very pretty. Bella walks and admires and tries to calm her heart rate.

They enter a courtyard. It's extraordinarily elaborate, filled with colorful flowering plants. The sky overhead is an even brighter, unbearable, dazzling white. There's a waterfall that moves in a way definitely not natural to water.

Bella shades her eyes with her hand and squints at the water feature. Nifty. It's beautiful here, she offers.

Isn't it? Delightedly. We're glad you found us.

Blink. Um, you are?

Yes, of course. She hesitates a moment. Did you think you were unwelcome because you hid the crown prince? Finwë was very frightened, but not angry with you. Clearly you did as you thought best.

Honestly, if I'd landed in the Emperor's palace in my country and proceeded as I did I am pretty sure I would be dead at least twice.

Confusion. Your Emperor's palace must be very poorly designed.

The Outer Lands sound terrible indeed, she says, a bit complacently. It's good you're here now.

I suppose, she says. I guess it's not likely there's a convenient way for me to go home.

No, you have to stay! The Blessed Realm is the safest, happiest place in all of Arda, and the Valar are teaching us everything they know of the deep workings of the world.

That doesn't sound cultish at all. I wouldn't know anything about that, but my parents probably think I'm dead and I was in the middle of a course of study I find it unlikely I'll be able to continue here.

Well, your parents will join us if they ever die, and their land sounds very deadly.

Everyone comes to the Halls of the Dead here in Valinor when they die, and then the Valar help them heal as swiftly as possible so they can rejoin the living. We're going to be reunited with everyone we ever lost.

That, um, it sounds very nice that it works that way here, but on my plane when people die they go to one of several afterlives and then they stay there until a living person resurrects them, which is expensive and uncommon, especially for people who die of old age like my parents are likely to.

Ah. Well, whatever the expense, we can always resurrect your parents here.

People who die of old age can't be conventionally resurrected at all; it takes particularly inaccessible feats of magic to do that.