A/N: Sorry about all the spelling and grammar mistakes last time. I was so excited about their first kiss that I kinda proofread quickly.

Wickedly-Wonderful: Well, I wanted another flame for Aliya. Plus his stalking them saved their lives! Otherwise, the Urgals would have stormed in unannounced.

Niloufar:You did win at Clue FX! I guessed too early! Did I ever tell you I finally saw Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? I loved that movie!

Xdragonsx: Sorry for taking so long to reply! Thanks for correcting me on the correct spelling of Ellésmera.

Aliya woke up slowly, afraid that yesterday had all been a good dream and fearing facing Rashid. She had to get up sometime, though, and she would rather get it over with. Rashid was already awake and cooking some more of Karim's porridge by a small campfire.

"Good morning, Aliya," he said, pulling her in for a kiss. She sighed contentedly. So it hadn't all been a dream. They broke apart reluctantly when their breakfast was done cooking, Rashid politely handing Aliya the first bowl, taking the second one for himself. When she was done, he pulled her in again for a kiss.

"That was for saving me from the Urgals," he told her when they drew apart. She pulled him back to her, kissing him briefly.

"That was for saving me from the river," she replied. "But soon, we better get going. The elves were expecting us a while ago, but we've been…delayed." After breakfast, they decided to go on Aliya's horse, letting Rashid's rest a little. Both liked it better this way; what with Aliya wrapping her arms around Rashid's stomach. Neither spoke much. They didn't have to. It was wonderful enough being surrounded by all this beauty with each other. They stopped by a gurgling stream for lunch, enjoying the simple meal of a loaf of bread each.

"You know, we're much closer now," Aliya said, pulling the map out of her saddlebag and opening it. "We just have to get out of the forest and cross the plains, and then we're in the elves' forest. But hopefully, you got a lot of food at Tarnag. I don't see any more towns in our path." Rashid hugged her.

"Do not worry," he replied. "I got plenty of food." They stayed close together for a few more seconds before starting to pack up the remains of their lunch. Aliya paused to drink from the stream, making sure she refilled both of their canteens. Rashid helped her mount Aliya. Even though she did not really need his help anymore, it was such a sweet gesture that she let him help her up every time. He tied his horse to Arya's saddlebag, swung up behind Aliya, and wrapped his strong arms around her. She sighed, she couldn't help it. She loved the heat radiating off his body. Kicking the horse slightly, they took off. If they made good time, they'd make it to the plains before twilight.

"Well, Rashid, it looks like you aren't a very good guard," Aliya joked. He looked offended until she continued. "I told you I heard something rustling in the bushes the other night, and you could not. I still appreciate you pulling me up from the river, however, do not worry." Rashid smiled.

"But what was Karim doing following us?" he asked himself out loud. "Why did he not reveal himself to us? Did we forget something at Hakim's house?" Aliya shrugged.

"Well, before we left Hakim's house," she started shyly, afraid of what Rashid would say. "He sort of, well, kissed me. It was completely unexpected. It did not feel the same way yours do," she added quickly. He hugged her more tightly.

"Do not worry, I am not jealous," he assured her. But he now knew why Karim had snuck into her room so much. It did not alleviate his fears much.

"Can you grab the map from the saddlebag, Rashid?" she asked him. "I need to see how far away we are from the plains." He nearly fell over trying to get it out, but handed it to her a few seconds later. Rashid reached around her and took the reins while she studied the map.

"We do not have too much farther to go," she told him. "But if we skip supper, we will make it there before night completely falls."

"I will not mind my stomach rumbling a tiny bit," he told her stoically.

"Me neither," she replied, leaning into him. After a few hours, poor Arya got tired, so they switched to Rashid's horse, Rasul. Arya was tied to Rashid's saddlebags, and they were on their way again, with Rashid holding the reins. They traveled a long time past supper, and both Rashid and Aliya's stomachs were growling. They ignored it, choosing to wait until they had reached the plains. Just as twilight fell, they could see the trees thinning, which meant they were close.

"Just a few more miles, Rasul," Rashid comforted the animal. "You can make it. I know you can." And he did. As soon as they reached the edge of the forest, Aliya and Rashid swung off of his horse and hungrily pulled out their food.

"Mmm, I have never been so famished before!" Aliya said.

"Me either," Rashid replied. "We should camp here, it is so pretty under the stars." Aliya nodded, snuggling up to him. They ate as much of their supplies as they could without endangering their trip, and pulled out their blankets. Rashid started a small campfire, and Aliya put her blankets on the opposite side of his.

"I do not wish to tempt you," she said to his questioning look. "I want to respect your mother's wishes."

"I know," he sighed. "I love you. Good night." She came around the campfire and gave him a quick kiss.

"Goodnight."

The next morning, Aliya woke up quickly, wondering how in the world she had dragged her blankets over to Rashid's in her sleep. She certainly didn't remember doing it. She finally noticed that her arms were around Rashid and held them there a little longer, enjoying the feeling. For almost the first time since the guards drowned, she had had a good night's sleep. The kiss must have conquered her fear of the river. She fell back asleep, telling herself that she would wait for Rashid to wake up before she extricated herself from his warm body.

"Wake up!" a strange voice said, kicking her. Aliya didn't enjoy being woken up this way, and was about to tell him so, but realized who she was talking to.

"You-you're an elf!" she said, shocked. He looked to be around thirty or so, but you could never tell with elves.

"Yes," he sighed. "I'm an elf, sent by the Council of Ellésmera to find you. We thought you were lost or captured. Why are you two so late?"

"Our guards drowned, Aliya broke her ankle, and we were attacked by Urgals," Rashid explained a bit impatiently. The elf looked shocked.

"The guards…drowned?" he asked. "Why would they send you with such incompetence?" Rashid shrugged.

"How did you fight off the Urgals?" he asked curiously.

"I frightened them off," Aliya told him curtly, still put off by her rude awakening. "But not before they killed my…good friend, Karim."

"Well, I am your guard now," he replied. "No more sleeping together, first of all. I will not have it." Aliya blushed.

"We did not do what you think we did," she told him. "I cannot believe that you would jump to such conclusions!" He ignored her and continued.

"And no more being left by yourselves. Not all Urgals are as easy to frighten; you were lucky. I am your guard now, and as such I will teach you both basic defense techniques when we reach the city." He started circling the two of them, noting that Rashid's shirt was off, and he would be well suited to fighting.

"What are you doing?" Rashid asked, exasperated after the elf studied his stomach.

"Seeing what condition you are in. You would be well suited as a warrior," he complimented him. He started on Aliya , noting the star on her forehead.

"You must be the one chosen by the Rider," he stated simply.

"Yes, that would be me," she answered sarcastically.

"You need a bit of conditioning to be a fighter, but Nasuada tells me that you can fight with magic. That is a start."

"Would you like some breakfast?" Aliya asked, trying to start over with him, being polite. He shook his head.

"I have eaten. I will wait for you two to finish yours, and then we must start towards Ellesméra. The Council is expecting us. If you will excuse me, I must write a letter." Untying a small cage from the back of his horse, he pulled paper and a quill out of saddlebag. He walked away from them so he could have privacy.

"That elf makes me so mad!" Aliya yelled, as loud as she could without the elf hearing her. "Thinking that we have slept together! I cannot believe him! And he's so arrogant!"

"Ssh, calm down Aliya," Rashid said. "We know that we have not slept together. That is what is important. Who cares what he thinks? At least we will be safer with him." She nodded, feeling better. At that moment, a bird flew off into the sky, and the elf came back.

"We never got properly introduced," Aliya said, holding out her hand. "I am Aliya, and my boyfriend is Rashid. And you are?" Rashid felt a tiny glow of happiness at her calling him her boyfriend but pushed it aside, waiting to hear the elf's name.

"Andrius. If you two are done, we are wasting time," he said, shaking Aliya's hand quickly.

"But, Andrius, we have not had breakfast yet," Rashid said. "We will not take long."

"No, you will not. Eat it on the trail," the elf ordered.

He will not be fun to ride with, Rashid sighed to himself. He grabbed two loaves of bread and tossed one to Aliya. He helped her mount her horse, then decided better of riding with her. He didn't think Andrius would condone it. He mounted Rasul, against his and Aliya's wishes. Andrius set a fast pace, and it was all Aliya could do to not choke on her breakfast while she was galloping behind Rashid. It was easier to go faster here, with no trees to accidentally run into. She finished her bread only after learning to hold her reins with one hand. Andrius did not stop for lunch, either, obviously figuring that the bread would hold them over.

It didn't. At least, not for Aliya. She did not know if Rashid was hungry too, because it seemed that Andrius was determined to keep them apart. He rode between them, speeding up when he was close to Aliya, and slowing down when he was close too close to Rashid. He kept them going at an impossibly fast pace, and Aliya could tell that her horse was getting tired.

Maybe elvish horses are specially bred, she mused. She sped up Arya for one last run, managing to stay side-by-side with Andrius.

"Andrius!" she yelled at him over the wind. "Arya is getting tired! I do not think that she will be able to keep up this pace for much longer!"

"Just a few more miles and we can let the horses rest, Aliya," he told her. "Just put your hand on her mane and say waíse heill! She will feel better." She tried it, and was almost jerked off when Arya took off in a sudden spurt. Andrius' horse quickly passed her, keeping the distance between her and Rashid. Catching up to Rasul, he put his hand on the horse and did the same thing Aliya had done to Arya seconds before.

Finally, Andrius decided that they had traveled far enough for one day, riding past Rashid and stopping.

"We will have supper here and then continue riding," he told them, walking off.

"We will continue riding?" an unbelieving Aliya asked credulously of Rashid. "Our horses could barely keep up the pace before! They will surely drop dead!"

"I am sure he has a reason," Rashid assured her. "Come here, I will cook our supper." When he saw the smoke from the fire, Andrius came rushing

"What do you think you are doing?" he yelled at Rashid, who was tending the flames.

"Cooking," he replied. "What does it look like?" The elf muttered something under his breath, and the fire went out.
"What did you do that for?" he yelled, enraged. "How are we supposed to cook our supper?"

"Remember those Urgals who killed your friend?" the elf asked. "There may be more in the area, and the smoke is a dead giveaway! Eat a cold dinner." Huffing slightly, Rashid grabbed some bread from his saddlebag, handing half of it to Aliya. He did not offer any to Andrius, and the elf was fine with it. When they had just finished eating, he started mounting his horse again, and Aliya and Rashid resignedly took the hint. They rode into the wee hours of the night, stopping only briefly to let the horses rest. Any time Aliya would start to complain about Arya being tired, however, Andrius just repeated the words from the ancient language, and they would press on. Around dawn or so, Aliya fell asleep on top of her horse, barely feeling the ground rushing past her. The elf woke her up when they stopped for breakfast, before she had a chance to fall off Arya and hurt herself. She groggily pulled some cheese out of her saddlebag, chewing on it without really tasting it. Andrius had been riding them hard, and Aliya was sad that she had barely had a chance to get close to Rashid.

"Andrius?" she said, blinking in a futile attempt to stay awake. "I am not hungry. I think I will just go change behind-"

"Where?" he smirked. Looking around, she finally woke up and realized what he meant. The plains were too flat. "Just keep riding. We should be in a forest soon," he said a little more kindly than usual. She waited patiently for Rashid to finish his bread, since she had lost her appetite.

They started off again, Andrius making sure that Rashid was ahead of him, while Aliya stayed behind. If there was a surprise attack from behind, Aliya would be dead in an instant, but the elf only seemed to care that the couple was separated.

"Only a few more miles," he yelled behind his back to Aliya. She sighed in relief. In a few minutes, they made it into the shelter of the trees, and Andrius yelled at them to slow their horses down.

"We can rest today," he told the pair. "We will start riding towards Ellesméra again tomorrow." Aliya gladly pulled her blankets out of her saddlebag, setting them next to Rashid's. She was about to lie down when Andrius quickly stuffed his blankets in between the pair, forcing them to move farther apart.

He really does not trust us at all, Aliya thought angrily to herself. She soon forgot entirely about the elf, however, slipping peacefully off to sleep filled with dreams of Rashid.

Before her tired body felt ready, it was morning again, and her stomach started grumbling since she hadn't eaten for a day. She looked around for Rashid, but couldn't find him.

"Andrius, where is Rashid?"

"Oh, him. He is gathering sticks for the fire."

"I will go join him, then."

"No! Stay here, there is nothing for you to do," he commanded her. "Rashid can gather sticks by himself." She sighed, knowing that arguing with him would not get her anywhere. She grabbed some fresh clothes from her saddlebag and headed into the forest. She came back quickly, and noticed that Rashid was back, too. Aliya moved to go sit by him, but Andrius quickly slid between them. Aliya was really starting to get annoyed, and put her clothes in her saddlebag fuming. She went the other way around the campfire and sat by Rashid anyway, putting her arm around his waist and kissing him, finally. The elf scowled, and Aliya smiled to herself.

It will be annoying traveling with him all the way to Ellésmera, she thought to herself. But only if I cannot find ways to annoy him!

A/N: Well, I hope you like this chapter! You won't see one for a while, probably because I'm going to Florida, then school starts. But already my other fanfic is almost as popular as this one, with less chapters. Oh well, enjoy!