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Ariala felt her jaw snap open in response. "You're giving us a house? For our wedding present?" She said shocked. "You have to let us pay for some of it at least." She choked out after a few moments. "Its an awful lot to give." She said, her eyes still wide.
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With a wave of her hand, Cindalina softly shushed Ariala with a grin, "Nonsense, my child. I was either this or paying the construction crew, but I was afraid you wouldn't like the house. But since you do, my dear child, I'll let you have it."
"Auntie, really, we-" "You can, and you will," Cindalina said simply as she went back to making lunch, now for the four of them, "Please accept my gift, Trius, Ariala. It would mean a great deal to me if you would take the house." "Ari.. we should do something.. shouldn't we? But what?" whispered Dimitrius across the table to Ariala. |
"I-I don't know." Ariala whispered back to Dimitrius. "She won't take money, what should we do?" She said quietly, her brow furrowed from confusion. There had to be some way to repay Cindalina for her extravegant gift.
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Cindalina chuckled as she brought over peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, "You two can quit your whispered plotting. You're not getting out of it. You two are taking the house, and that's final. I'll get the paperwork drawn up tomorrow. Now, you two dig in. I'll be right back," Cindalina added before she scurried off towards the back room.
Taking the opportunity while Cindalina was gone, Dimitrius leaned across the table and whispered, "I have an idea.. She's always wanted to see the Autumn Kingdom, so why don't we send her there on vacation? We can pay for the trip as well as her stay, not to mention find someone to take her on a small tour of the Kingdom. What say you?" |
"Sounds perfect." Ariala mused happily. "I have some money saved up so I can help for some of it. I'd hate for Cindalina to give so much without getting something in return. Who will we find to give her a tour though? I don't know any Autumn Elves. Eolande is on the other side of Winterglade and I've barely been here." Ariala laughed as she took a bite of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
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Dimitrius smiled as he took a sandwich, "I know the Royals there, I can arrange something with them. Sometimes it pays to be my father's son," he added with a laugh before turning to Ria, "Ria, my dear, you are not to tell Auntie of anything, alright? We want it to be a surprise."
Ria nodded as she bit into a sandwich, getting jelly all over her mouth. "Otay!" she said with her mouth full and a grin. Sighing lightly, Dimitrius chided Ria with a wink, showing he wasn't angry with her, "And no talking with your mouth full. Proper young ladies chew, swallow, and then talk, remember?" |
Ariala laughed as she saw Dimeria with jelly surrounding her small mouth. "How can you resist the cuteness?" Ariala asked as she folded a napkin and dabbed away the jelly. "She's completely irresistable." She teased Dimitrius before taking another bite of her own sandwich.
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Dimitrius chuckled while Dimeria grinned and took another bite, this time jelly escaping the bottom and falling onto her lap. Dimitrius simply shook his head, "Ria, were you helping Auntie make these before we came?"
Dimeria nodded as she swallowed most of her food before speaking, "I'm a big girl! I helped!" "And did you by any chance add a lot of jelly to certain sandwiches?" Dimeria giggled as she nodded and held out her sandwhich. "I thought so. Sit over the plate, alright? You're dripping it all over," he added with a chuckle as he took a bite of his own sandwich. "She may be adorable and irresistible, Ari my love, but she also makes the biggest messes," he teased with a smile. |
"Yes but she's cute while she makes them so its forgivable." Ariala laughed as she shifted Dimeria to sit facing the table, moving a plate underneath the younger elf's sandwich. "I wonder what our own children will look like." She mused as she ate her sandwich. "Hopefully they'll be a slightly cleaner version of this one." She teased, looking down at Dimeria.
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Dimeria grinned, "They look pretty like Ari!"
Dimitrius chuckled, "We can only hope that your nieces and nephews look like their mother. We don't want them looking like their plain old father, now do we," he added with a smile as he ate finished his sandwich. Laughing, Ria shook her head, "Nuh-uh! Ari's pretty, so they should look like her, not Trius!" |
"I disagree." Ariala blushed. "I hope our children look like thier father." She smiled. "But I guess we'll have to wait and see." She smiled as she continued to eat her sandwich.
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Ria giggled and continued to eat her sandwich as Cindalina scurried back into the room carrying a small stack of papers, "A few things, loves. I've got a wardrobe for both Marreck and Erreminette to pick up when they're free, as well as your wardrobe finished and packed for Dimitrius to take home. And in one of these," she added as she handed half the stack to Ariala and the other stack to Dimitrius, "is your wedding certificate, signed by me already as the witness since I was the only one of age. You two need only to sign it and it'll be official. The rest of the paperwork is names of the elves of whom we can depend on all housing needs right here in Winterglade. You each have a list so in case you change your mind on someone you're crossed out, you can redo the list on the copy. Now, not only will that list help you with the house being built, but it will also help you with the cottage. I'm sure it needs a bit of repair, not to mention an addition for your growing family. I'm sorry to bombard you with this information now, my dears, but I don't know when I'll see you next and I know you two are eager to get to work with the house."
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"Cindalina, you didn't have to do all of this." Ariala blushed as she scanned over the paperwork. "Thank you so much. I don't know where we'd be without you." She smiled as she took a pen and signed the marriage certificate before handing it to Dimitrius.
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Wiping his hands and moving the plate, Dimitrius signed his name on the proper line before handing it to Cindalina, "Really, Auntie... you've done so much!"
"Trius, my dear, this is what your parents should be doing. And since I know perfectly well how far that will get, I'm gladly stepping up for my favorite nephew and his darling wife," she added with a smile at Ariala. |
"Thank you again." Ariala said, her cheeks a light shade of pink. "What would we do without you?" She smiled before taking another bite of her sandwich.
"I might be able to make this." Ariala mused as she looked at the sandwich. "Its pretty basic and there's no cooking so I probably wouldn't burn down the house." She smiled. "Erreminette would always make the sandwiches when we would go exploring somewhere, I might just be able to match her." |
Cindalina looked a bit confused, but Dimitrius was quick to explain.
"We've been trying to decide who will do the cooking. Since I've learned from you, my cooking was naturally amazing," he teased with a wink at Ariala, "I figured I might as well relieve her. but she cooked quite a bit while we were on our small honeymoon, and I must say, she's catching up rather quickly. She's really not as bad as she thinks she is, she just needs more confidence," he added as he stood and went to the icebox, "Would either of you like anything to drink?" "Nothing for me Trius, thank you," replied Cindalina as Dimeria said, "Ari's juice!" Dimitrius chuckled, "Ria, my love, you can't have Ari's juice. Ari's juice is only at Ari's house, remember? I promise I'll bring some back for you when I return from Elimlee, alright? How about some milk instead?" Dimeria nodded solemnly as she finished her sandwich, jelly sticking on her hands and lips. |
"Water will be fine, love." Ariala said before turning to Cindalina. "I think Dimitrius was exaggerating my improved cooking." Ariala laughed. "I only knew how to make the macaroni and cheese so that I wouldn't embarress myself on our honeymoon." She explained. "I'd been digging through my mother's recipes to find something worth cooking."
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Dimitrius grinned with a wink at Ariala before pouring a glass of milk for Dimeria and himself, as well as a glass of water for Ariala, "Well, it was definitely delicious."
Cindalina chuckled, "Ari, dear, would you like to borrow my cookbooks and make copies of any of the recipes you like? I have recipes from all over the Four Season Kingdoms, and a few from Earth, if you'd like to try them." |
Ariala's eyes widened as she considered the possiblities of new recipes. "That'd be great." Ariala said happily. "I know Dimitrius could survive but I'd hate if our future children starve." Ariala laughed as she took another bite of her sandwich. "My mother was never able to teach me but I have most of her fabourite recipes. Though she was a much better cook, she had a natural talent so she didn't write alot down, recipe-wise."
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Dimitrius laughed, "Love, I don't think our children would starve! Don't you think I'm capable of making their meals?"
Cindalina chuckled at Dimitrius' remark and whispered in an aside to Ariala as she wiped the jelly from Dimeria's face and hands, "I'd beware of his cooking. He's not much better than his mother, I'm afraid. Though he did inherit a bit of my talent, though not enough to compensate," she added with a laugh. "How many would you like to start with and which Kingdom would you like to start with? I have four full books from each." |
"Talk about overwhelming." Ariala laughed. "I'd like to see recipes from the Autumn kingdom." Ariala said. "I've never been farther then Winterglade and only a short while ago I couldn't have even said that." Ariala smiled as she remembered the day she'd met Dimitrius. "I bet its beautiful there with all the red and purple leaves." She mused.
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Cindalina chuckled, "They're all categorized according to meal, is why there are so many. One book is nothing but breakfast, another is nothing but lunch, another dinner, and the fourth is dessert. Which would you like to study first?"
Dimitrius chuckled as he sipped his milk, "Auntie, honestly, you're too organized for your own good!" |
"Lunch." Ariala smiled, ignoring Dimitrius's outburst. "I'm already pretty handy with breakfasts." She smiled proudly as she finished her sandwich and took a sip of her water. "But its not as if Dimitrius would know anything about organization." She teased lightly. "His kitchen is a mess." She said, giving Dimitrius a wink. "Though he will claim that I just don't know the method yet." She added to Cindalina.
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Dimitrius laughed, "But it is organized! Come, I'll show you before we go to meet your parents. We'll pick up the book from Auntie when we return before we go home and decide the half of the construction crew that will be from Winterglade. Do you mind watching Dimeria for a bit longer, Auntie?"
"Not at all, Trius dear. But I must agree with Ariala, you really don't know the first thing about organization," she teased with a smile as she held out her arms for Dimeria. |
"Thank you." Ariala said as she passed Dimeria to Cindalina. "We'll see you in a bit." She smiled as she wrapped her scarf around her neck and rebuttoned her coat. Taking Dimitrius's hand, Ariala said goodbye to Dimeria before leading Dimitrius outside.
"To your house then?" Ariala asked once they stood in the winter wonderland. |
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