When morning dawned, the snow had settled about an inch deep around everything in Formenos. Eve shook herself off as she stood with the first glow of Laurelin, standing away from where she'd dozed off with Finno and the others. Aro rose with her, pointing in amusement at how snow had piled atop Finno's and Turvo's hair. Together they snuck off to find food.

They found a wooden makeshift feasting hall which had been erected some ways away. Eve marveled at the size, and swore it was larger this year than ever before. They went inside and found it oddly quiet besides the roaring of the firepits. But then the appearance of two familiar redheads interrupted that silence.

"Eve! Aro!" Telvo waved at them from a table towards the front of the hall. He raised a cup at them.

Eve hurried over, grabbing a drink of wine from the center aisle and taking a plate of meat and bread and cheese from a worker. With Aro following her, she slipped in beside Pityo. She hugged him tight.

"Eve," Pityo whined, pulling away. "Stop."

She laughed. "Make me, kiddo."

Pityo rolled his eyes looked at Aro. "Is your sister this bad?"

The son of Nolofinwë chuckled. "Definitely. Irí is terrible."

"Irí is wonderful, thank you very much!" Eve dug into the food before her. She continued dining mostly in silence.

When they'd all eaten, Aro and the twins dragged Eve with them back out into the fairgrounds. They headed towards the frozen lake where elves partook in ice skating. She changed from a dress to slacks and a long sleeved shirt in a small building before catching up to them.

"Where are the others?" Eve asked them. "I'm surprised they haven't caught up."

Pityo shrugged as he laced up his skates. "We do not know. Keep track of your own beloved." He winked at her.

But Eve merely rolled her eyes. "Shut up."

"Make me." Pityo put his skates on the ice and went backwards away from her. "Or are you going to be scared as always to get on this lake."

Eve narrowed her eyes and put a foot on the ice. He wasn't wrong; every year it would take forever to convince her to skate the first time, even if she'd had plenty of fun the previous year. But she felt determined this year.

Aro and Telvo laughed from beside her on the shore. As she hesitated with both feet on the ice, Aro snuck up behind her and gave her a push forward.

She shrieked in surprise and anger, "Which one of you godforsaken elves did that?!" She still faced forward towards Pityo, who couldn't stop laughing himself.

"Eve we go through this every single Hísimë festival. Just put your foot forward and skate!" Pityo reached out his hand. "You're more skittish with this even than Moryo!"

"Then I'm in good company," she spat each word through gritted teeth. "Moryo must have more sense than you three." Still, she did as he instructed and moved cautiously forward.

Feminine laughter sounded behind them which she instantly recognized as Elenwë. Eve growled and tried to turn. "I swear on Varda' stars that I will never forgive you for this, you fiends!"

"Careful what you swear on, Eve," said Tyelko as he smirked from where he stood now behind Telvo on the shore. "Never know who's listening."

"I'll show you who's listening," Eve grumbled quietly.

Telvo and Aro both stepped onto the ice leaving Elenwë, Turvo, Tyelko, and Finno on the bank with amused expressions. Tyelko sat on a bench next to Finno, both lacing up skates while Elenwë and Turvo stood arguing.

Telvo skated past Eve quickly, and she squeaked in surprise. Finno laughed at her. "That was undignified!"

Pityo skated up to her and took her hand. "Come on, stupid." He chuckled. "You always find this fun by the end."

Eve protested but knew he was right. So she held onto the elf for dear life and let him drag her around. "Do not let go of me," she insisted of Pityo.

He chuckled. "Even if I let go, you'd still be digging into me with your claws."

"Fair enough," Eve replied with a smirk. She took a few steps as Pityo pulled her, hesitantly pulling one foot off the ice at time. She did her best not to look down. She hated open water.

Pityo laughed. "The ice isn't going to break, Eve. Uinen is in charge this year."

"I'll never get over the fact that you can tell what I'm thinking," Eve muttered.

Pityo laughed. "Oh come on, Eve. You can do it to if you really try."

"Yeah, and the first and only time I've done it, I freaked out and swore to never do do it again!" She bit back at him angrily, still stressed about the skating.

Pityo snickered. "You really did get scared." He pulled her in a circle watched in amusement as she steadied herself.

"Of course I got scared!" Fueled by her indignancy, she pushed herself forward with more force and held on less tightly. "Mind reading is freaky and unnatural and I will never do it again."

"Ever?" Pityo asked with a smirk.

Eve shook her head. "Never."

She realized suddenly as Pityo away positively cackling that she no longer held his hand. Tyelko skated and over to her and smirked.

"Wipe that smile off your face, Tyelkormo," Eve snapped at him.

Tyelko threw his hands up in a display of innocence. "I did not say anything!"

Eve glared. She moved on the ice by herself, Tyelko racing off to find Telvo and Pityo. Finno and Turvo stood on the bank chatting with the newly arrived Káno and Nelyo, but Elenwë now approached her. The Vanya took her hand and pulled her gently forward, allowing Eve to pick up a bit of speed.

"Every year you take so long to readjust!" She chuckled. "You're so like to Amarië in that regard."

As the two women skated, Eve chatting much more happily with her than alone, Aro skated up with Káno. The women eyed them warily.

Aro grinned. "You have not fallen yet, Eve. That is a good sign!"

"She rarely falls, Aro," Elenwë defended her quickly. She hugged Eve carefully. "She's just a little nervous."

Arakáno chuckled and skated away, back towards the shore where Turvo, Nelyo, and Finno all stood. As Aro arrived back, Finno took to the ice and skated past him towards the women. Eve glared at him as he skated with ease.

But Finno merely snickered and took her hand, dragging her away from Elenwë. The Vanya in question protested with a laugh, half trying to hang on to Eve.

Eve snarled. "Finno! I will murder you if you make me fall."

But the prince merely laughed. "Oh come on, Eve, relax."

Eve decided it was time to prove to herself that she'd be fine. After all, she reminded herself, every year she did this and ended up fine at the end. So she pushed away from Finno and skated hesitantly away, heading back a ways towards the shore. She was just glad they had found a section of a massive lake that was unoccupied.

It was Elenwë who skated towards her. "You're doing wonderfully, Eve! You're remembering faster this year."

"Well I had to get away from Finno over there," she joked in response.

His indignant cry sounded towards them. "I heard that!"

For several hours, the group skated together. Tyelko and the twins came back after about an hour, completely exhausted and reeking of sweat. According to Telvo they had been racing with the Hunters. Nelyo eventually got on the ice, but Turvo absolutely refused, quite vocally, saying he wasn't dressed for skating. In his defense, it was true, though Finno and Eve both believed he just felt nervous, to which Elenwë agreed wholeheartedly. Káno laughed thoroughly at all of them as he skated circles alongside Aro.

When they finally tired of skating, they ate lunch and spoke for another few hours of various matters. But in the end, desiring some peace and quiet, Eve decided to go off on her own for a bit. She changed back into a dress of a thick material and walked around the fairgrounds, buying some nice parchment and a new graphite pencil from a merchant. Eve ended up settling down at a table under some barren trees towards the outskirts of the grounds.

She sat down and laid the parchment out. As with a thousand other days over the past twenty years, she intended to write her letter to Sophia and Christopher. The practice had begun years back after visiting Nienna's halls for the first time. The Valië had comforted Eve in her fear of losing her memories of her old life and her new, once Eve had been explained just how long years were for elves. Nienna assured the woman that her memories would not fade, but suggested that she could keep track of what happened through letters to herself.

Eve had decided to write them to her oldest, greatest friends.

"Dear Sophia and Christopher,

It's been a couple weeks since I last wrote to you. I'm sorry about that. Everything is so wonderful here. I really wish you could experience it. I know I write that every time. I can see you rolling your eyes Christopher."

Eve laughed at herself, holding back a tear.

"Hísimë started yesterday. They tried to get me out on the ice today, and I suppose they succeeded yet again, but this year it was my choice. You should've seen the first snow last night. Oh, Sophia, you would've loved it. It's kind of like the Christmas parties your mom used to host back home in New England, but no tree. This is entirely about music."

She paused before continuing.

"I saw Nixiel yesterday, which is cool since I hadn't seen her in a few years. Curvo is as grumpy as ever, but she softens him. It's actually kind of funny! Something else I noticed was Tyelko seemed a little shut off yesterday which was odd. He didn't say why-"

A shadow over her papers made Eve look up. She eyed the figure in front of her. He was tall, robed in raven black with equally dark hair. A small smiled played at his lips as she looked at him carefully. But then she realized who he was.

"Lord Melkor?" She put down her pencil.

"Yes. And you are Eve, correct?" He eyed her carefully just as she had done to him. "I've heard much about you."

"And I you."

Melkor grinned. "May I sit?" He gestured to the seat across from her.

With a nod, she agreed. "Of course my lord."

"My brother says they suspect you to be of the Secondborn!" Melkor gazed at her. "Is that true?"

"If by secondborn you mean human, then yes." She cocked her head. "And you are Lord Manwë's brother?"

"Yes." He smiled. "I am curious by nature, Lady Eve. And I had a few questions for you, if you don't mind me asking? I am terribly curious about your people."

Eve nodded. "Of course. What did you want to know?"

"What are humans like? Are they like elves?"

She actually laughed and then caught herself. "Sorry. No humans aren't like elves. Unfortunately." She made a face. "No, humans aren't as steadfast. Everyone here, they stick up for each other. Humans are fickle."

Melkor nodded. "So are they peaceful?"

Eve smirked again while shaking her head. Then her face fell. "I mean, I think humans are good. But a lot of humans fight. There was war, and famine, and mass murder."

"What causes them to fight?"

"Many things. Most people fight for power. Because humans are mortal, they are afraid of death, and some think they're able to stay alive longer with power." She sighed. "Fear of death drives them- us. Humans want to live forever."

Melkor nodded. "I see." He pushed a strand of hair behind his ear and leaned forward. "Does it drive you?"

"There is no death here," Eve laughed. "So that would be a no. It's weird." She sighed again and frowned. "There are some days I miss the prospect of dying, because then someday I might reunite with my friends. Still, then I would lose what I have gained here."

Melkor watched her carefully. "My dear child, I fear I must leave you. Perhaps we will talk again? While I was imprisoned, I was left to contemplate my actions. I wish to help those here, and that includes you. I learned a lot before being allowed back into paradise."

"Guess it was like a type purgatory for you," Eve smiled. "I hope you can help."

Melkor left her to finish her letter. She hesitated for a moment as he walked away, watching his dark form retreat. She felt a small twinge of uncertainty, but reminded herself that everyone deserved a second chance. Nienna had reminded her that when she'd been upset about the person who'd caused their deaths. So she would see how this played out with Melkor.

Eve turned back to her letter.

"Tyelko is a good guy. I'm privileged to call him a brother. Same with all of them, even Cranky Curvo..."