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Ariala broke into tears. "Honestly. I've heard that song before." She said with a smile. "Do you know how hard it is to trust when the last time you were broken and humiliated?" She asked.
~-~-~ "Emelaide?" Marreck questioned. "Are you alright?" He asked as she leaned into him more out of weakness then out of affection. ~-~-~ "You always did have horrible timing." Erremientte sneered. "Though I suppose you coming back anytime would be a bad time. Why don't you leave before Ariala sees you?" "Aw come on." Adan said with a smile. "I apologized, give me some credit." He said as Erremientte climbed the ladder to face him. "I came back to speak to Ariala but frankly that's between me and her." |
Dimitrius sighed as he wiped the tears gently from her cheeks, "No, I do not. But I see what it does to those it has happened to, and I see what it has done to you. There is no other way I can make you see that what I say is true, so therefore, if you wish it, I shall take your leave and allow you to return to Elimlee without me and will wait for you in Winterglade, if you wish to see me."
Placing a gentle kiss upon her cheek, Dimitrius tried to hide the amount of pain she was causing him at the moment, not wishing to add to her discomfort, "I love you Ariala, always remember that." -------------- Emelaide nodded, "Yes, of course. What makes you think I'm not?" |
"You're just going to up and leave me?" Ariala questioned. "Really? That's your solution to tell me that you care about me by leaving? That's possibly the worst solution I've ever heard." She said witha smile. "I do love you Dimitrius. You know that as well as I do. I just wish that you hadn't sounded so much like Adan. It just shocked me."
~-~-~ "You just seemed weakened is all." Marreck said, heading in the direction of Elimlee. ~-~-~ "Frankly it is my business. She's happy so why don't you just leave." Erreminette spat at the elf. |
Dimitrius shook his head, "No, my love, not leave you. Simply allow you to cool off because there is no possible way I can convince you of my feeling being true and not mistaken in reference to my love for you. Adan? Who's Adan?" Dimitrius inquired as the name registered in his mind almost as an after thought.
-------------- Emelaide shook her head and forced a smile as she looked up at him, "No, of course not! I couldn't be any better," she lied as they walked on, her thoughts swirling in hopes that she could hold out long enough to get Marreck to a safe distance to where he wouldn't freeze before he got home to Elimlee. |
"I suppose you should know." Ariala said with a sigh. "I would much rather forget about the entire ordeal but its best you know. My grandmother had a dying wish to see me married and the royal family granted pardon for me to marry before my coming of age so my grandmother could see it. The only problem was there wasn't a groom. Adan and I had been friends for years and he had been recently making his affections known, which my grandmother believed made him the canidate to marry me. Adan was a gentleman and of course he asked for my hand in marriage. However, he had a change of heart the day of the wedding and told the entire village about how I was 'unsatisfactory' and how I 'didn't meet his standards'. Then he took off." She finished. "My grandmother died without me being married and I haven't heard from Adan since."
~-~-~ "You need rest Em. You look faint as it is. I'd hate to put you out just so I may return home." Marreck said. ~-~-~ "Erreminette, Erreminette." Adan chided as if he was talking to a child. "Ariala and I need to talk and unless you're going to leave and find her for me I suggest you take your leave." He said haughtily. Erremientte stared in disbelief at the black haired elf. His golden eyes shone full of confidence. "You have some nerve." Erreminette said. "Ariala is busy with her boyfriend right now." She said, taking pride in the look of shock that crossed Adan's face. "Boyfriend?" He asked, shaken slightly. "No matter." He said, gathering his confidence. "Ariala belongs with me and she knows that as well as I do." |
Dimitrius, infuriated to say the least, simply held Ariala close and bit his tongue, not daring to say something quite unfit for a woman's ears. Instead, he took a deep breath to calm himself and held on tighter to her, lovingly caressing her as he gently stroked her hair, "He was a fool, Ariala. He was cruel and incompetent; he didn't deserve your love, my dear. Please, don't believe that I am anything like that miserable wretch.."
------- Emelaide forced a laugh as she brushed it off, "Nonsense, love! I'm perfectly capable of seeing you safely back to Elimlee, I promise." |
"I never loved him." Ariala said. "I was more hurt by the humiliation then anything really." She admitted, much more calm in his arms. "Ever walked into a church to see an entire village tell you that your soon-to-be ditched? It felt awful." She said, feeling tears sting her eyes as she remembered.
~-~-~ "Emelaide." Marreck said softly. "Are you sure?" He asked, hating to see her push herself past her limit. ~-~-~ "Go. Home." Erremientte said, walking close to Adan so that she was only inches from his face. "Sweetheart, I am home." He said, leaning up against Ariala's cottage. |
As he continued his caressing, loving movements, Dimitrius held Ariala close, "I can only imagine, my love, but I promise you, I will never do such a thing to you."
Tilting her face up towards his, Dimitrius smiled as he kissed away her tears, "If I had the chance to marry you, see you dressed in white, and call you mine forever - I would never have given up the opportunity of marrying the sweetest, most beautiful, dearest Spring Elf in all of Antronesia. He's not worth the tears, my love. He's gone now, and will never hurt you as long as I am around for I promise to protect you from him and from whoever dares to say cruel things about that incident to you." ------------- "Marreck, for the last time, I'm positive," Emelaide replied as she shot an annoyed glare at Marreck. Emelaide was strong and she hated to appear weak in front of people, especially those she loved and respected. |
"Its past now." Ariala said. "I say we leave it in the past." She said as she moved to kiss Dimitrius gently. "There's still a few hours til sunset. I should go talk to Erre, Marreck and I kind of left her in the meadow." She said, giving him another small kiss.
~-~-~ "If you say so." Marreck said, not fully believing her. Marreck continued to walk in silence as they reached the border. "I'll see you in a few hours." He said bending down to give her a kiss goodbye before turning to leave. |
Smiling, Dimitrius gently caressed her cheek, "Aye, you'd best be getting along. I'll meet you in a few hours by the border."
------------ Emelaide forced a smile as he turned to leave. Leaning against a nearby tree, she forced her magic to quit. Her breathing hard as the magic left her and her body began to shut down from the over-usage, Emelaide fell to the ground, completely blacking out as her head hit the ground. |
Ariala smiled as she turned to walk away when she heard a cry in the distance.
"Emelaide!" Marreck shouted loudly, rushing to her side. "I knew you were over working." He mumbled uselessly as he pulled her into his arms. "Marreck?" Ariala questioned, gripping Dimitrius's arm and pulling him with her as she broke into a sprint. "Something's wrong." She said, her feet barely hitting the ground as she ran. "Marreck?" She called out, louder this time. "Ariala?" Marreck said, jerking his head up. "Help." He said, turning to face Dimitrius and Ariala with Emelaide still in his arms. ~-~-~ "We'll see about that." Erreminette scoffed. She turned to leave, giving up on Adan. He wasn't particularly worth her time anyways. |
Dimitrius knelt down on the other side of Emelaide. Gently stroking the hair away from her face, Dimitrius looked her over, "You idiot. How many times have I told you never raise temperatures?"
Looking up at Marreck, Dimitrius sighed, "She'll be fine, Marreck She just needs to sleep; the magic completely used her energy and strength. I doubt you want her staying here, so you'd best give her to me so I can take her home. There's no possible way you can carry her in those clothes, you'll die before you get close." |
"If you say so." Marreck said, uneasy from having to leave Emelaide. "Bye, love." He whispered to Emelaide as he ducked to give her a small kiss on the forehead. "Thank you." He said to Dimitrius as he put Emelaide in Dimitrius arms.
"She'll be okay." Ariala said, patting Marreck gently on the back. She flashed a grateful smile at Dimitrius. "Thank you." She said softly, turning to take Marreck back to Elimlee. |
Dimitrius nodded and shifted Emelaide in his arms so he had a better grip on her as he stood up, "Of course she'll be alright, Emelaide's a strong woman, she'll be just fine. I'm afraid she will be asleep for a couple of days, though. Would you like me to bring you a set of Winterglade clothes so that you may check in on her?"
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"That would be great." Marreck said with relief. "Thank you Dimitrius."
Ariala wrapped her arm around Marreck's sagging shoulders. "Let's get you home." She said, giving one last smile to Dimitrius. |
Dimitrius smiled at Ariala, "I'll see you tonight, love. After I get Emelaide situated at her house," Dimitrius continued as he turned towards Marreck, "I'll run to my Aunt's and get a set of clothes for you and bring them to Elimlee. Wait for me just outside of the village."
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"Alright." Marreck said as they left. "I appreciate it." He said with a smile.
Marreck and Ariala ran back to Elimlee at full speed. "Oh." Ariala said as they approached the village. "Oh." Marreck said as he slowed his speed. "That is not the welcoming face I was expecting." He said, climbing the rope ladder. "Hello Marreck." Adan said cheerfully as Ariala began climbing the rope. Marreck gave a small smile before promptly punching him in the jaw. |
Dimitrius quickly ran through the forest, holding Emelaide close to his chest. Reaching her home in less than ten minutes, Dimitrius quickly made his way inside to her room and laid her upon her bed.
"Sorry Em, kind of have no choice," he mumbled as he swiftly undressed her after getting a pair of pajamas out of her dresser. After putting them on her, he tucked her into bed. Sighing, he kissed her forehead and whispered, "You fool. You know better than to use your magic that long. You could have been killed." Standing up, he picked up her dirty clothes, took them to the bathroom, and set them in the basket to be washed. Turning out all the lights, he shut the windows, much to the animals' displeasure. "I'm sorry, but you'll just have to come back later," Dimitrius told them as he picked up her art things and set them on the kitchen table before shutting and locking the door. He quickly made his way to his Aunt's house, explained the situation, took the clothes from her, and took off at a fast run towards Elimlee. |
"Marreck!" Ariala cried as Marreck's fist hit Adan in the jaw.
Adan stumbled back slightly and adjusted his jaw as he steadied himself. "Yeah, I guess we never were the best of friends." He said with a smile. "Pleasure to see you though Ariala. I've missed you. Marreck moved quickly, grabbing the front of Adan's shirt and holding him against the edge of the ropes that kept people from falling from the village. "Marreck, let him go." Ariala said, stepping between them. Adan smiled wide at Marreck. "Thank you." He said to Ariala humbly. |
Reaching the border, Dimitrius slowed to catch his breath. After about five minutes of rest, Dimitrius took off at a semi-fast jog across the meadow.
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"Ariala." Adan said with a shy smile. "I came to talk to you." Adan rubbed his jaw slightly. "You have a good hit Marreck." He said, still smiling.
"Are you alright?" Ariala asked, turning to face Adan. She raised his jaw for a better look, making him wince. "Maybe some ice will help." She said, leading him to her cottage. "What are you doing?" Marreck asked, stunned. "You're bringing him to your house?" "He needs something for his jaw which you punched." Ariala said, walking away. Marreck followed Ariala for a few steps before she turned around. "You need your clothes from Dimitrius." She said, as her and Adan entered her house. Marreck sighed and leaned up against the door, she was crazy for being alone with him. |
Dimitrius soon at the village in his sights, causing him to run the last stretch of land as fast as he could. Stopping for a breather at the rope ladder, Dimitrius called up to Marreck, "I'll.. be right up.."
With a small laugh, Dimitrius climbed the ladder and walked over to Marreck, "Long run. You can keep the clothes as they are if they fit, if not I'll take you back to my Aunt's after you've changed and you can have them altered before you visit Emelaide." Noticing the tense air and the semi-loose safety rope, Dimitrius looked at Marreck with an inquiring glance, "Did something...?" As he spoke, he noticed Marreck's red knuckles, "Apparently so. What did you punch? Is Ari okay?" |
"Adan came back for a visit. I may have hit his jaw." Marreck said with a smile. "Ariala took Adan inside for ice. I was waiting for you and now that I'm not, shall we?" He asked, nodding to the door.
~-~-~ "Thank you." Adan said, putting the ice on his jaw which was in fact not in that much pain at all. "I missed you." He said shyly, looking up at Ariala. "Oh." She said, leaning against the counter across the room. |
Half-shoving the clothes into Marreck's arms, Dimitrius nodded and walked past him, almost barging into Ariala's house before he calmed himself a degree and knocked, "Ari? Can I come in?"
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"Dimitrius?" Ariala asked, looking at the door.
"The boyfriend?" Adan asked, his voice suddenly weak. "You moved on haven't you? We were supposed to be together." He said. Ariala's head snapped up and her eyes narrowed with rage. "You left me on our wedding day!" She screeched, pushing him across the room and into a vase which crashed to the floor. "You left me in front of everybody!" She yelled again, picking him up by the shirt and tossing him into the counter. |
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