i know the time thing is cheesy, but otherwise, it'll be like four hundred years before they even kiss...and i dont have that kind of time! heh.

hey...sorry if this was slow and long in the making, but i had writers block. plus, my finals were like really bad, so bear with me...im studying like hell

by the way, if you have time, and haven't already read it, could you read my other fairy story, ella-in-the-cinders? or something like that, i cant remember the title. and...Castles Prize? please?

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"Terrin!" she exclaimed as they entered the room. "Its lovely!" Her green eyes took in the deep blue and white marble floor, the blue silken hangings and velvet couches. "So...so splendid!" She sighed in appreciation.

"Look up," the boy said, pointing at the ceiling. Silver chandeliers twirled above, styled like clusters of stars.

Lianah stood, transfixed. "Its beautiful!" she cried, her voice echoing off the distant walls and high roof. "Just like staring into the sky!" She twirled in an impromptu step, her red hair swirling loose around her knees.

He grinned at her obvious delight. "I thought it would be more special that the kitchen," he commented shyly. She smiled and nodded, still indulging in the beauty of the chamber. She spun around repeatedly, her gleaming green skirts fanning out around her ankles.

"Care to dance, Terrin?" she laughed. He turned pale and shook his head. "Why not?"

"I dont know how!" he explained. "Or maybe I learned once, but forgot..." He shrugged. "Anyhow, I would step on your feet."

Lia stood there, her hands on her hips. Determined, she dragged him into the center of the room. "Its not that hard," she exclaimed. "Here. Hands here, arms there. Theres a waltz rhythm. One-two-three, one-two-three."

Experimentally, he moved his feet. "One-two-three?" he asked desperately. His hand tangled in her hair. "Damn!"

"It's easier with music," Lia giggled as they botched through the dance. "Just imagine." She hummed a melody softly.

Terrin bit his lip and complied. After half an hour of whispered advice and experimental steps, he was able to twirl her across the floor, though not with ease. "Ah, there we have it!" he exclaimed, delighted at success. She giggled.

He wiped his face. "That was hard."

Grinning, she shook her head. "Wasn't that fun?" she asked, gathering her hair up again.

Terrin groaned. "Things like that make me glad I lived alone with a bird." He paused, palms sweating. "Then again, I would know how to do this." He took her hand in his with a deep breath.

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Lianah felt her heart flutter in her chest. "Do what?" she asked, trying to steady her voice.

Terrin sighed. "Try to...I don't know! All I could think of was this beautiful room...and the rest I have no idea what to do." His hands made some kind of gesture, small but frantic, their motions futile in his small moment of torment. "Lianah, I like you a lot."

Realization stung her nerves, shocking them back to reality for a second. "Ah," she said, the exclaimation a small, bland word, echoing through the hall until it was a mocking laugh.

"Ah?" he repeated, a desperate twinge in his voice. Eyes opened wild and wide, his hands shook around hers, clasped tightly between both of his. "What does that mean?"

She stared at his hair, his eyes, now shining with fear, his lower lip, bitten with worry. A laugh began at the bottom of her stomach, tickling until it finally bubbled up as a tiny giggle.

"Lia!"

"Sorry!" she replied, eyes shining as she returned to earth. With a joy that sang directly from her heart to his, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.

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The late evening saw the two, fully fed and satisfied, in front of the fire as usual. But this time, instead of companionably sitting on seperate chairs, the two were curled together on a single couch, each utterly absorbed with the other.

"Lia," Terrin said wonderingly, her fiery hair spilling liberally over his hands, "What did I ever deserve in life to have you?"

Twisting the shining locks into a contained roll, she smiled at him. "I was just asking myself the same," she told him, hugging the boy around the waist.

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