Cindalina looked up from her needle and smiled at Ariala, "'twas a pleasure to meet you, dear. I look forward to seeing you again soon."

Dimitrius smiled as he walked over and kissed his Aunt on the cheek, "I'll stop in tomorrow after my lecture and see if you need anything else before I head home."

Cindalina nodded, "Of course. I'll see you then, Trius dear. I don't believe I'll need anything, however. All I need are some fresh fruit to make the pies for the Masters tomorrow."

Dimitrius nodded as he walked back over to Ariala, "I promise I'll stop by first thing with them so you have time enough to make them without being rushed."

Cindalina smiled as she returned to her work, "You two run along now, better get back before it gets much more dark."

Taking Ariala's hand, Dimitrius smiled, "Ready?"

"Yes." Ariala said, casting a last smile at Cindalina before leaving.

On the way back Ariala began to hum and raised Dimitrius' hand to perform a ballerina twirl. "You know I can grow the fruit for your aunt tonight if you like?" Ariala said, pausing in her song to talk, then beginning again.

Dimitrius smiled as he twirled her once more, "Nah, you need your sleep. You've got a big day tomorrow and I don't think your Masters would appreciate me exhausting your magic for selfish needs."

"Don't be silly." Ariala said. "I've barely used my magic today." She began humming again before adding, "And perhaps I just want to show off for you." She said with a smile up at Dimitrius.

Dimitrius chuckled as he pulled her to his side and placed a gentle kiss on her upturned lips, "Very well then, if you insist so much, you may grow the fruit for her. She'll need raspberries or blackberries, whichever is easiest, as well as strawberries, apples, and blueberries."

Ariala smiled, "I think I can manage." She said, kissing him once more before continuing to the border.

Dimitrius chuckled as he followed her, "But love, I didn't bring anything to collect them with. Will they last until tomorrow morning this close to the border without freezing?"

"They'll be fine. I promise." Ariala said, still buzzing from happiness. She saw the border coming into to view and hated the idea of leaving Dimitrius' side and almost to soon they had reached the border.

"So raspberries, blackberries, apples, strawberries, and blue berries?" Ariala asked, focusing her magic into the ground below and growing all 5 plants at Dimitrus' feet. "They should still be there tomorrow." She said, moving around the plants to wrap her arms around Dimitrius' neck.

Dimitrius grinned as he slipped his arms around Ariala's waist and pulled her close, "Perfect. Gives me an excuse to come to Elimlee before my lecture. Will I see you? Or will you be with your Masters?"

"Not tomorrow." Ariala said, a hint of sadness in her voice. "But the day after, I'll be here if you'll be." She stood on her toes to give him a small kiss.

Dimitrius nodded and pulled her in for a passionate kiss before stepping away, "I'll be there, promise. Sweet dreams, love. Good luck tomorrow, and don't listen to those friends of yours."

"I won't." She said, sprinting off to Elimlee but she didn't hear the footsteps that were running towards her and suddenly she bumped into someone, falling backwards, "Oh, I'm sorry-" She said looking up.

"Ariala." Marreck said, rubbing his head gently. "I was just looking for you."

"Well you found me." Ariala stood up and held out her hand to help Marreck up as well. "Let's go home." She said, looping her arm in his.

Dimitrius smiled as she ran out of view, not seeing the incident with Marreck, and picked a strawberry from the nearby bush. Popping it into his mouth, he chuckled as he headed back to his cottage in Winterglade, tasting the sweet berry on his tongue and looking forward to seeing Ariala in a couple of days.

"Where were you?" Marreck asked as they walked.

"I was just out." Ariala said, smiling happily.

"With whom?" Marreck asked, remembering the Winter Elf. He thought he had taken care of that.

"Just some one." Ariala said coyly.

"Your Winter Elf?" Marreck said, not able to keep the anger out of his voice.

Dimimtrius sighed as he slipped out of his pants and jacket. Climbing into bed, he took the ribbon from his hair and set it on the stand beside his bed. Pulling the blankets up to him, a smile crept into his lips as he thought of Ariala before drifting off to sleep.

"Marreck, just stay out of it." Ariala said sharply. "We're not talking about this. Just because you don't know what love is doesn't mean you can judge others." She said before darting upstairs to sleep, leaving Marreck in shock standing at the bottom of the ladder.

"Love?" He whispered quietly, taken aback before going back to his own bed for a sleepless night.

.*. The Next Day .*.
* * * * * * * * * * *

Dimitrius awoke the next morning fully refreshed, yet not wanting to leave his bed. Grudgingly, he pushed back the blankets and, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, shuffled to the bathroom and started the shower.

* * *

After a quick shower and a quick breakfast of toast and marmalade, Dimitrius threw on his jacket and headed out of his cottage, 4 large berry baskets in hand, and headed off towards Elimlee.

Ariala woke, still tired. She took a quick shower to wake her up and threw on a simple dress, only managing to eat a few berries for breakfast from nerves, before going to meet her Master.

~-~-~

Marreck rose early, hoping to find the Winter Elf that Ariala was so fond of. It was time to set the record straight. His true love was not going to be whisked away by some foreign elf if he had anything to do with it. He skipped breakfast and ran to the border to find the elf in question when he noticed the fruits that had grown.

Ariala... Marreck thought. Its as if you were leading him to me... He thought, plopping a fresh blueberry in his mouth and stood, waiting for he Winter Elf 'Dimitrius'.

When Dimitrius reached the border, he noticed a male Spring Elf lounging around the berries. Giving him a simple nod, Dimitrius walked over to the first bush and began filling the first basket with blackberries, "Good morning."

Marreck squared his shoulders and crossed his arms. "You wouldn't happen to know the beautiful Spring Elf who grew these would you?" He asked angrily. Ariala was choosing this pale skinned elf over him?

~-~-~

"Focus! Concentrate!" The Master barked at Ariala. "You can do this. Your power is obvious." He sighed fustrated. "Its natural for you to let your magic flow to the ground to grow flowers but you need to push your magic upwards. Let the rain fall."

"I'm trying..." Ariala murmured, fighting back her tears of fustration.

Dimitrius nodded as he continued to fill the basket, not acknowledging Marreck's obvious jealous attitude, "Aye, I know her. She grew these for my Aunt; are you a friend of Ariala's?"

"Yes." Marreck said, how casually the elf said Ariala's name grated on Marreck's nerves so badly that he had to restrain himself from attacking him right there. "I'm Marreck. And let me guess, you're the Winter Elf she's been running around with?"

~-~-~

A light drizzle began to fall and Ariala nearly laughed with relief. It wasn't much but it was all she had.

"Yes!" Her Master called. "Don't lose focus."

Dimitrius couldn't help but smirk as he moved onto the Raspberry bush, filling the blackberry basket to the brim with raspberries as he thought, 'This must be one of her friends. Seems pretty into her, 'tis a shame he doesn't see she doesn't return his feelings.'

"'Running around with'? Sounds like a jealousy statement. I prefer the term, 'dating', if you don't mind. And yes, I am the Winter Elf seeing Ariala. You wouldn't happen to have a problem with that, now would you?"

"Welcome to the conversation." Marreck spat. "You think I'd be here for a friendly chat? You know Ariala for under a week and suddenly you're in love?" Marreck's laugh was harsh and cold. "Aren't you just the Romeo to her Juliet."

~-~-~

Ariala wanted to jump and dance her way around the field but, knowing better, she focused all her energy into the rain and created a more steady fall.

Dimitrius blinked, "L-love? She said we were in love? I-I mean, sure, I fell in love with her the moment I laid eyes on her, but I never expected her to reciprocate that strong feeling so quickly.."

A grin crept across Dimitrius's face as he finished picking the raspberries and picked up an empty basket, immediately filling it with strawberries. Glancing at Marreck, Dimitrius sighed, "Look, I don't want to fight with you. First things first, I know you're one of the ones who's been harassing Ariala over her magic. You need to swallow your pride and simply accept that she's better than you and be proud of her. Second of all, you need to get rid of your jealousy and be happy for your friend. Don't you think you should be happy that Ariala has found someone who truly cares for her, who she cares for in return? Just because that someone isn't you, doesn't mean the person is any less worthy of her love nor loves her less than you love her."

Setting the basket of strawberries aside, he picked up the empty basket and began filling it with blueberries, "You'll lose her friendship with all this jealousy and harassment, haven't you realized this yet?"