Dimitrius picked up the newspaper and began reading over the titles as Cindalina and Ariala continued peeling and cutting the apples and laying them in the dish to create a two inch layer of apples.

----------------

Emelaide nodded as she placed a card down, "Twenty. Add or keep?"

Ariala stacked the apples, managing not to injure herself a second time, when the scent of the cake started to fill the room.

Ariala sighed, taking in the scent. It was nearly mouthwatering.

~-~-~

"Keep." Marreck said with a smirk, as if he was willing to take the chance.

Cindalina smiled as she picked up the pan and walked over to the oven. Placing it inside, she walked over to the icebox and took out the bowl of cake batter, "Now we'll let this get to room temperature so it's easier to pour over the apples after we've put sugar and cinnamon on top. The apples should take awhile to bake if you want to head into the living room and warm up, I'm afraid the heat doesn't quite fill the house. I'll have to fix that if you plan to stick around awhile," she added with a wink.

-----------

Emelaide nodded as she turned over a card for herself, revealing an ace of diamonds. Giggling with excitement, "Two to one! I'm winning!"

Shuffling the cards, she couldn't help but smile with enjoyment as she passed out the cards, revealing a two of hearts and a nine of spade for Marreck and a six of hearts for herself, "Eleven, add or keep?"

Ariala smiled, leading Dimitrius to the living room. "Much cozier in here." Ariala said, sinking into the couch. "And less dangerous." She added, lifting her cut finger.

~-~-~

"Add." Marreck said, slightly disappointed by the loss.

Dimitrius chuckled as he sat beside her, taking her hand in his and bringing her wounded finger to his lips for a gentle kiss, "Aye, that it is. But don't worry, love, you're getting the hang of it. You're catching on a lot quicker than I did by far! I still can't cook well, and I've been doing it for years while my parents took up residence in the castle."

-----------

Emelaide couldn't help but chuckle over Marreck's manner as she placed a six of clubs next to Marreck's row, "Seventeen, add or keep? And don't look so glum over my win! It's not your fault I'm better at cards than you," she teased.

Ariala smiled up at him. If he could possibly be more perfect, she couldn't see how. "Whatever I did to deserve you," She said. "it had to be very good."

~-~-~

"We'll see." Marreck said, glancing up. "Add." He said.

Dimitrius chuckled as he gently caressed her cheek and leaned in for a tender kiss. "What makes you say that, love?"

-----------

Emelaide bit her lower lip as she looked at the card she drew for Marreck, "Ooo, that was a really... terrible decision. You should have kept it. Let's see what I have," she teased as she flipped over her card, revealing an ace of spades, "Seventeen. Oo, we could have tied. You really shouldn't have added," she continued to tease, still not revealing his card to him, which happened to be a four of diamonds, bringing his total to twenty-one.

"Just thinking out loud." She said, resting her head against his shoulder and gazing into the fireplace.

~-~-~

Marreck grinned at his victory. "Two to two. Looks to me like we're a good match." He said, then realized how his words would sound. "At cards of course. My turn to deal." He said hurriedly, reaching for the cards.

Dimitrius chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close, resting his cheek gently on her head, simply enjoying the peace and joy of having her within is arms in such a cozy scene.

------------

Emelaide blushed as their hands met as she handed over the cards. Looking up at him, she blushed even more, "R-right. We seem to be a perfect match for each other, I've never tied with anyone before."

Ariala wrapped her arms around his waist, pulling herself against him. "What are you thinking?" She asked after a few minutes of silence.

~-~-~

"Well you're about to lose." Marreck said, back to his teasing demeanor. He dealed the cards, revealing a four of hearts and a queen of spades in front of Emelaide and a ten of clubs in front of himself. "Fourteen. Keep or add?"

"Nothing, really. Just thinking how perfect right now is. You, me, the fire dancing across your glistening features - it seems almost too good to be real; yet here I am holding you. Nothing short of perfect," he said softly as he gently played with her long hair, allowing it to run through his fingers.

---------

Emelaide laughed, "We'll see. Add."

Ariala burrowed her face into his shoulder, blushing from the compliment. "I love you Dimitrius." She said. "I can't wait to show you the Fields." Ariala added, her eyes settling back onto the fire.

~-~-~

Marreck laid down a seven of hearts in front of Emelaide as well as a jack of hearts infront of himself. "Rats." He mumbled at her luck.

"I love you too," Dimitrius chuckled, "What's so special about these fields of yours?"

-------

Emelaide grinned as she gently poked Marreck's nose, "See? What did I tell ya? You can't win against me."

"They're beautiful." Ariala said. "There's a hill you can stand on that looks down over the Fields. Spring Elves go there to grow flowers. Its like a large collection of flowers that various elves have grown. There's a tree overlooking the whole field that's been there for centuries."

~-~-~

"Oh I wouldn't be so sure about that." Marreck teased, blushing slightly from her touch. "Getting lucky on one game won't gaurantee a win." He said, shuffling the cards so fast it was hard to follow.

Marreck laid down a nine of clubs and a 3 of diamonds in front of Emelaide. Laying down a queen of spades in front of himself. "Keep or add?"

Dimitrius chuckled, "And I suppose you'll want to climb that said tree, correct?"

-----------

"I suppose that's true. Add," Emelaide chuckled. "So what is it you do around here anyways? There's so much plant-life it's ridiculously overwhelming. Surely there's hardly any room to walk, much less live. How do you all manage it? And how do you find so much room to grow things without taking over the other Kingdoms simply for more room?" she inquired after a few moments.

Ariala laughed. "I've climbed the tree millions of times. I want you to see the view. I think your inner artist would like it." She said with a grin.

~-~-~

"There's always room in Elimlee. Plants eventually die unless of course they're constantly cared for. The circle of life and all that." Marreck said with a smile. "I would prefer the plants to the cold any day though."

He flipped over another card for himself, revealing a jack of clubs. Then he flipped over a card for Emelaide, showing a ten of hearts. "Rotten luck." He said with a smile.

Dimitrius chuckled, "Alright, I'll take one quick peek, then I'll get back on the ground where it's safe and I'll paint the scene from there."

---------

Emelaide blushed, "Things don't just.. stay alive?" Her focus completely gone from the loss, she blushed even deeper at how stupid she sounded, for she had always believed everything in Elimlee simply stayed living forever, never dying, always growing.

"Don't be a scaredy cat." Ariala teased. "Climbing is fun."

~-~-~

"Of course not." Marreck said. "Flowers have to die so that new ones can grow. There are some plants that stay forever. The elves take care of certain ones. There's a tree in the Field that has been there for centuries. The elf who created it was well respected so the elves decided to keep it alive in his memory."

Marreck flipped over two more cards for Emelaide, showing a ten of hearts and a nine of diamonds. Then he gave himself a card, revealing the queen of clubs. "Keep or add?"

Dimitrius rolled his eyes playfully as he tickled her sides for just a few moments, "I'm not afraid. I simply prefer the ground to the air."

-------

"Keep," she said softly, the blush still highly present in her milky-cream colored cheeks, "I didn't realize.. What made the elf so special that they decided to keep the tree in his honor?"

Ariala laughed, moving her side away from his fingers. "But its so much fun." Ariala said. "I love climbing trees."

~-~-~

"He was very powerful. He had alot of magic so it's made him a legend. In fact, Ariala's of his bloodline. That would be why she has such strong magic herself." Marreck said, flipping over a card for himself to show a ten of diamonds. "Twenty-one. Four to three isn't it?" He asked.

Dimitrius smiled, "If you say so, love, but I've never found any fun in it. Especially when doing so got me reprimanded by th-by my parents."

------------

Emelaide rolled her eyes as she nodded, "Aye, you're winning so far. It shouldn't surprise me Ariala's practically a descendant of God in your Kingdom; she just seems to be getting more and more perfect as I learn about her; no wonder everyone is so much in love with her.. all I am is the daughter of a couple of nobodies in comparison," she continued to grumble as she awaited the decision to 'Keep' or 'Add'.

"If you're worried about getting caught, we won't." Ariala said, slightly put off by wondering what he was going to say. "In Elimlee its just a part of our lifestyle."

~-~-~

"Oh." Marreck said after realizing he had brought up Ariala. "Maybe talking about her isn't the best idea. I apologize."

"Nah, not about getting in trouble, love. More of an issue with not being able to climb well," he admitted with a soft chuckle and a slight blush, "I'm afraid you'll upstage me."

--------------

"Not your fault. Why wouldn't you want to talk about her? She's perfect in every single way and every single man turns their head her way and falls madly in love with her and is envious of any man with her that's not him! Of course you'll wish to talk about her, she's practically a Goddess and you're in love with her like all the others, you just can't help yourself," Emelaide sighed as she played with the snow beside her, tracing designs within it's soft powder, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said such things. Forgive me."

"Well, you weren't all that great of a swimmer either." Ariala joked. "And now you're swimming fine. It'll be fun." Ariala said.

~-~-~

"Emelaide." Marreck said, shaking his head. "Dimitrius' choices are his own. Its true that Ariala has many great qualities but if you saw your own you wouldn't be nearly as jealous."

Dimitrius chuckled as he tickled Ariala's sides, "Not fair. There's no opportunity to swim in Winterglade, I have a legitimate reason for not being able to swim!"

-------

"It's not just Dimitrius who's in love with her," Emelaide mumbled, "and at this point I don't care anymore if he does. They're perfect for each other, both being so well respected and high-ranking in their Kingdoms and all. As for great qualities, I have none; we established this hours ago. And I'll be jealous if I very well please! Practically every man I know is in love with her!"