"I'm not going anywhere." Ariala said, tightening her arm around Dimitrius. "Adan is wise enough to know that I'm firm in my decisions. He's been so kind though that its almost unnerving. Like the toast. I wonder how he still new strawberry jam is my favourite. Its been years since he's been here." Ariala said then realized that she hadn't yet told Dimitrius about Adan taking care of her. Biting her lip, Ariala hoped Dimitrius wouldn't ask any questions about that night. She barely remembered any of it anyways. She was completely innocent, it was for Adan's sake she was worried. The less drama centered around their relationship, the better.

Dimitrius' expression remained grim and flat-lined. Cursing Adan under his breath, letting the comment of the toast slide after seeing Ariala's expression. As they walked through the village, Dimitrius sighed, "Look, Ari, I trust you. You don't have to explain why Adan made you breakfast or whatever meal it was. I know you wouldn't do anything to betray me, I just.. that creature.. I.. I don't trust him. I fear he'll do something to try and steal you from me.. I don't want to lose you Ariala, I love you too much and cherish you with every part of my being.. to lose you.. it would be like taking away the air I breathe or stopping the very beating of my heart... and I assure you, the torture would be great.."

"Dimitrius." Ariala said firmly, stopping him in his tracks. She turned to face him, reaching on her toes to look him in the eyes. "I'm not leaving you. I was tired and overworked after a lesson and Adan helped me reach my bed instead of collapsing on the kitchen floor. He made some toast and tea and left it out for me for when I woke. I wouldn't leave you for him. Ever. He made his choice and now I have you. I love you." She said, moving forward to give him a small kiss. "I'm not going to let him ruin things again." She said.

Gently caressing her cheek as he searched her eyes for comfort, "I know, but.. He.. he... he won your heart once.. and he's serious about destroying us.. what if.. I'm just afraid he'll go too far, no only with you but with me.. causing me to lose my temper.. You've heard what happens when it's just Marreck and Emelaide, imagine what it would be like if it came to Adan trying to steal you from me in petty ways? I don't want to hurt you and make you think wretched of me just because of his actions... He just.. he seems to always be in the right place at the right time.. it's as if he's watching you and keeping tabs on you... It's causing me to worry, is all... I don't want you getting hurt again..."

"Oh, Dimitrius." Ariala said, wrapping her arms around his neck as she pulled him into a hug. "I told you that I was to marry him. I never said he won me over. I never loved Adan, I was to marry him because of my grandmother's dying wish. I'm not going to let him hurt me." She said, into his neck. "I love you to much to let him come between us." Ariala said, lips gently kissing his neck.

"Let's get inside, love." She said, fighting back a shiver. "Its much colder here at night." She sighed, hating that the weather affected her so much.

Dimitrius nodded as he led her inside, knowing she was right, but still wondering if Adan thought the way Ariala did - his guess was he didn't. Taking off his jacket and placing it on the rack beside the door, Dimitrius turned to Ariala and placed a long, tender kiss upon her lips, "I'll to start the fireplace in the bedroom so it'll get warm for you. There's plenty of food in the kitchen if you're hungry. I'm afraid I'm not one-hundred percent sure where everything is, I tend to simply stuff things without rhyme or reason," he added with a soft chuckle as a small blush crept into his cheeks.

"I'm not hungry." She murmured into his lips. For food anyways, she added in her thoughts. She curled into her small sweater, wrapping her arms around herself as she waited for Dimitrius to start the fire.

Dimitrius smiled as he kissed her softly before pointing behind him near the bedroom, "The bathroom's just over there if you'd like to change there. The bedroom is to your left, meet you there?" he teased with a grin as he placed a gentle kiss upon her cheek before heading to his bedroom and starting work on building a large fire for Ariala.

After the fire was built, he then set about changing into a pair of sweatpants himself, leaving off his shirt on account of the fire making his room warm as it was, not to mention the extra blankets he'd laid on his bed for Ariala's sake. He knew by morning he'd be too hot with his shirt on, so therefore he went without. "Hope Ari doesn't mind.." he mumbled to himself as he set about stoking the fire and adding enough logs for it to last through the night.

Ariala went to the bathroom and changed into a heavy t shirt and sweatpants Cindalina had made her. She missed her small nightgowns, covering up wasn't any fun with Dimitrius was around. She sighed, Save it for the honeymoon... She told herself. She brushed her teeth quickly and went into the bedroom.

Ariala's mouth gaped slightly when she saw Dimitrius without a shirt. Her cheeks turned a bright red as she realized that he had alot more muscles then she had thought. He was perfect, she mused. She wrapped her arms around herself insecurely, Dimitrius looked amazing and she paled in comparison.

Standing up when he noticed she had come in, Dimitrius smiled, noting that she looked absolutely breathtaking even in the thick Winterglade clothing. Walking over to her and slipping his hands around her waist, Dimitrius placed gentle kisses upon her neck as he murmured softly, "What's wrong, love? You look stunning, but could it be they aren't warm enough? Shall I ask Aunt Lina to make new ones for you?"

"The clothes are good." Ariala said. "But I'm not the only one who looks stunning." She said quietly, pulling him closer as her hands caressed the curves of his muscles.

Dimitrius couldn't help but shudder lightly under her touch as her fingers roamed his chest. After placing a long tender kiss upon her lips, Dimitrius gently caressed her cheek with his hand and murmured softly against her lips, "You shouldn't do that, love, you're tempting me far too much already.."

"Maybe I want to tempt you." Ariala whispered coyly against his lips. She moved forward to kiss him again, one of her arms snaking around his back to trace the lines of his muscles while the other roamed dangerously to his waist. Her lips moved gently against his, sucking gently on his lower lip before changing to focus on his upper lip.

Dimitrius returned her advances as his hand slipped under her shirt to gently caress her stomach, side, and back as he tenderly kissed her, the need for her showing in his kisses. Forcing himself to stop, he stepped back as he searched her eyes, "Ari.. are you.. sure? I don't want things to move too fast between us.. and I don't want to seem like I'm expecting it just because we're sleeping beside each other... are you sure you want to?"

Ariala bit her lower lip, she hadn't expect him to take her up on her offer. She weighed her options carefully and decided that she didn't want to wait for him but knew she should. She was suppose to stay a virgin until her wedding night. "We should stop." She sighed, sad that she had passed up her oppurtunity. Her dissappiontment shown in her eyes yet she knew things would be better if they waited.

Dimitrius smiled as he placed a kiss upon her forehead, "I thought as much, my dearest Ariala. Don't worry, we have our entire lives to take that step, we needn't rush it. For now, we should just be happy with being with each other, should we not?"

Picking up his fiancee and cradling her in his arms, he grinned as he walked over to the bed and laid her upon it. Placing a gentle kiss upon her lips, Dimitrius murmured softly, "And now we must sleep, for tomorrow we have a long day of Wedding Arrangements to go over, do we not?"

After pulling the blankets around her, Dimitrius walked around to his side of the bed and slipped in next to her, only covering himself in the bottom layer of the blankets, which was a thin sheet. Gently brushing the hair from her face as he gently stroked her cheek with his fingertips, Dimitrius smiled at Ariala, "I love you."

Ariala smiled at Dimitrius. "My intent was only to make you squirm a bit, love." She giggled. "I love you to." She said as she curled closer next to him. "Forever." She added before her eyelids started to droop. It had been a long day and now she only wished to sleep. She wondered briefly if Dimitrius would've made love to her had she asked before thinking if he would let her sleep in the next morning before she finally drifted to sleep.

Wrapping his arms around her waist as he pulled her closer to him, his nose gently nuzzling her hair as he placed a gentle kiss upon her head, "I know, love, that is why I didn't press.. I knew you weren't ready, and I'm fine with that."

Whispering softly before he drifted off to sleep, he admitted sheepishly, "I'm not so sure I'm quite ready either."

*THE NEXT DAY*

Ariala woke in Dimitrius's arms. She wasn't sure if he was still awake or not so she remained still in hope that he would hold her longer. She watched the flames that were considerably lower then the night before. She watched as they danced, mesmerized. Her mind drifted to thoughts of the wedding.

Dimitrius smiled as he woke up about twenty minutes after Ariala and found her still in his arms. Nuzzling his nose softly against her forehead as he placed a gentle kiss upon her eyelids, Dimitrius whispered sleepily, "Mornin' already?"

"Can we just stay here all day?" Ariala teased, knowing full well that they couldn't. "I'm already so comfy." She said, giving him a small kiss on the lips.

Dimitrius smiled as he returned her kiss with a tender one before teasing, "Hmm, we could my dear, but I don't think we'd get much work done. I'm tempted to go back to sleep right now, instead of making the list of wedding plans we need to arrange. What say you we go to Aunt Lina's and arrange the wedding there? I know close to nothing about weddings, but my Aunt is an expert and will surely have a better way to help you plan than I will."

"That sounds great." Ariala said as she moved to kiss him one last time, savoring the kiss before turning to face the blankets. "I'm trapped in here." Ariala laughed, working he way out of the cocoon of blankets. Standing, Ariala put her hand to her forehead. "Whoa. Head rush." She murmured as the room spun temporarily.

Dimitrius quickly sat up and reached across the bed to place his hands firmly on her shoulders. "Are you alright Ariala?" he inquired hesitantly, his voice ladled with concern as he turned her to face him, gently caressing her cheek with his palm, "You didn't catch a cold or a fever, did you? I knew it was a bad idea to stay here.. I'd better get you back to Elimlee so you can rest.. I'm really sorry Ari..."

"Overreaction." Ariala laughed, the room having come to a halt. "I only got up to fast. I'm fine, love, really." She said as she smiled down at him. She bent over, giving him a kiss to assure him. Quickly, Ariala slapped her hand over her mouth. "I must have horrible morning breath." She murmured from behind her hand, her eyes wide and her cheeks a bright red. She rummaged through her bag and found her toothbrush and toothpaste before hurrying the bathroom and brushing her teeth, completely embarrassed.