A/N- Muaha! Gabe n' Liz are alive, Jason is drunk…I think I'm rather liking how this story's turning out!

Mouse--I know what you mean. One of the strays we took in kept getting pregnant…as a result, my family now has seven cats. We started out with only three.

Elizabeth brushed a strand of hair that had escaped from its pin out of her face as she walked down the hall in the West Wing to the ballroom. She had decided on the dress she'd talked about earlier: it was made of pale blue silk, and the bodice was laced up with lavender ribbon. It left her shoulders and half of her back bare, but the sleeves flowed down over her hands, leaving only her fingers visible. She still wore her locket, as she rarely took it off. The light from a few gas maps reflected off of it, making it turn into a small golden sun.

Her hair…felt odd. She had left it out of its horsetail, and it fell almost down to her waist. I guess I'm just not accustomed to it yet, she decided.

She opened the ballroom door and looked around. Her three friends were sanding in a group, chatting about something. They each wore a matching dress of soft green velvet that ended at their ankles, revealing their bare feet. They were low cut in the back and front, and had sleeves that only reached past their elbows. There were embroideries of leaves in yellow thread across the hem and the waist. Seeing her, they stopped their conversation.

"Liz, you look lovely!" Ella complimented.

"As do you three. Is anyone else coming?"

"No, sorry," Fraya said. "We tried to ask some of the other Fey, but they are convinced that this castle is haunted. Or something of the like."

"That's fine. Is Gabriel coming?"

Ella grinned. "He should be soon! Fraya went to his room half an hour ago, when you were getting ready, and told him to take a bath because he smelled like a dog!"

Elizabeth looked at Fraya, fighting to urge not to laugh. That was exactly the kind of thing Fraya would say.

"Actually, Ella, I said he smelled like a wet dog. Next time, when you eavesdrop on my conversations, try to get the facts straight."

Both Ella, Elizabeth, and Mirei started to giggle.

"What's so funny?" Gabriel asked as he entered the ballroom. Which didn't help.

Elizabeth was the first to put on a straight face. "Bonjour, Gabe--" Her eyes widened slightly. His hair wasn't tangled, for once, and he had actually brushed it. It hung down to his shoulders, and, she could now see, was slightly wavy. His fur was clean and smooth, and he wore a black dress coat, pants, and boots. He actually looked…nice. Well, not that he didn't before, but now she could see some of the aristocratic traits that had once been in his blood. "--riel," she finished.

"Same to you, ange." he bowed and then straightened up, smiling. "And, if it's not out of line for me to say, you look more beautiful than usual."

This time, all three of the faeries covered their mouths to hide their smiles. "If you two don't mind, we just have to go…attend to something," Fraya said. "We'll be back in a moment."

"You can start supper without us!" Ella added.

"Wait! I thought--" Elizabeth called, but they had already disappeared. "Oh, well."

"Should we wait for them?" Gabriel asked uncertainly.

"No." She was now suspecting that they were going to plan to leave all along. "Let's go eat. They might turn up…later on."

Gabriel automatically offered her his arm. She stared blankly at it for a moment before she realized she was supposed to take it. Blushing, she did, and they walked together to the banquet table. It's not my fault I never learned proper etiquette.

Her face had just returned to its normal color when both she and Gabriel pulled out her chair at the same time. Luckily, she seemed to be not the only one who was embarrassed.

"Sorry…some lessons die hard," Gabriel explained. He took a seat on the other side of the table. Elizabeth stared at him a moment; he looked so…at home.

Liz, this is his home, dear. She mentally shook her head. She knew that, but she meant…well, she wasn't quite sure what she meant. Royal? Was that it? Aristocratic? His family was definitely the former…just look at the castle! I guess he probably was taught manners and such at a young age…

"Ange? Is something wrong?" Gabriel asked, and she realized that she was still looking at him.

"No, nothing." She quickly dropped her gaze to the food. If she had seen it before hand, she would have definitely known that they were going to leave: it was a meal for only two.

Not that there was anything wrong with the food; it looked like the traditional Christmas meal. She grabbed some items at random (since she had forgotten to eat lunch, she was hungry enough at this point that she really didn't care what she ate) and put them on her plate. For drink, there was red wine, which she looked at apprehensively. She had never had alcohol before.

Gabriel sat in polite silence across from her.

"Aren't you going to eat anything?"

"No…I'm not hungry."

"You're never hungry."

"I guess not…" He filled his glass with the wine and took a sip.

"That…how does it taste?" she wondered half to herself.

"Fine, I suppose…depends on your taste." He handed the bottle to her. "Don't drink to much, alright? The last thing you want is to be sick."

"Don't worry. Anyway, I think I'll just drink some later." She set the bottle to the side and began devouring her food as politely as she could.

After supper came desert, a type of chocolate cake she had never tried before. Then again, she had never tried many sweets. Elizabeth downed two pieces as Gabriel looked slightly off to the side. "What?" she asked. His face looked suspiciously straight.

"It's just that… I never thought you, being so small, could eat so much!" He indicated the table, which was a little over half empty.

"What can I say? I guess I was hungry," she said with a shrug. "And thirsty…" she eyed the wine bottle with obvious reluctance. Why hadn't they have thought (or she had mentioned) to put out something other than that?

Oh, be quiet! How bad can it be? She poured her glass half-full and cautiously took a small sip, expecting it to be bitter. To her relief, it wasn't. "This isn't half-bad!"

Gabriel smiled, but looked worried at the same time. "I'm glad you like it. Just please, do not get yourself drunk. You wouldn't enjoy it that much."

"Hey, I said not to worry! I'm responsible." She finished her glass then poured some more, this time filling it up. She finished it slowly, in little sips, but enjoyed it. After that, she had another glass, then set it a good distance away from her. " I think that's all for to-night." She leaned back in her chair. "Ugh, I'm so full!"

"Not surprising, considering you just ate enough to feed two people."

She sighed. "So now what? I ate a good deal of the food…and of the wine…nobody else seems to be showing up…"

Gabriel shrugged. "I'll do whatever you want to do."

"Well, this is a ballroom. Why don't we dance?"

"Pardon?"

"Dance. You know, where two people go in the middle of the floor and spin around in circles?"

"I…don't know how." Gabriel quickly dropped his eye contact with her and focused on the tablecloth.

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow. "Really? I recall you mentioning having dance lessons as a child."

"I forgot."

She put her elbows on the table and rested her chin in her hands, staring at him and smiling with fake innocence.

He looked up. "What?"

It must've been the wine; she was starting to feel incredibly giddy. "Are you going to ask me to dance?"

Gabriel's eyes darted around the vast ballroom. Nobody was there to distract her attention, or change the conversation.

Was she really asking him to ask her to dance? Or was she just drunk?

Can a person get drunk from two and a half glasses of wine?

Him, dance with her? He was three feet taller! What if he stepped on her foot, or scratched her hand, or forgot a step, or--

Or if the whole thing turns out perfectly fine, and she might return your feelings?

There's a chance for the former---not much for the latter. And even if there wasn't, what harm could a little dancing do?

He got out of his chair and went around the table.

"Would you like to dance with me, Elizabeth?" he asked, offering his hand. His heart was beating loud enough that he was sure that she could hear it.

"Yes, I would, Gabriel. I'm glad you asked." She took his hand and let him lead her to the center of the ballroom, dress brushing against the ground.

Gabriel stopped and turned around. He remembered one of the most simple types of dances…but what if she didn't want to be tha close to him?

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow and waited.

Stop your complaining for one night and just dance Gabriel took her left hand in his and put his right over her right hip side, barely touching. Elizabeth made a good effort to put her hand on his shoulder, as you were supposed to in this type of dance, but failed in the attempt. He was just to tall. Resigning, she put her left hand on his upper arm.

"Too bad we don't have any music," she said.

"Just imagine it, ange."

And then they began to dance.

At first, he was really beginning to think that he would forget how, exactly--despite the fact that it was very simple, all you basically had to do was move around in circles--but after the first minute he relaxed. They were both happy, and that's all that really mattered, wasn't it? Never mind the fact that they both almost trod on the other's feet at least once. It was…nice.

They danced for five minutes, spinning around and around in circles across the floor, until Elizabeth finally held up her hand in surrender. "Let's take a break! All that spinning makes me feel like all that food is going to come up."

"Excellent idea. It is somewhat dizzying, isn't it?" He walked over to a door at the end of the ballroom. "Here. Maybe some fresh air will make you feel a bit better." Unless it had crumbled away (which he highly doubted), there should be a large balcony with stone benches, used for guests to admire the stars or sit with there drinks.

Gabriel tugged it open; it held at first, then swung open all the way, revealing a decently-sized stone balcony, just as there was supposed to be. The benches were still there, too.

And, like everything else, bright red roses had attached themselves to places. Mostly on the edge of the balcony. Some had dropped over the inside wall, giving it the appearance of having low walls of bright red and dark green.

"Whoa…" Elizabeth stopped short a few steps behind him, head craned back.

Gabriel looked up to see what she was staring at. Ah. The stars.

Millions of them covered the night sky, seeming to light it up like miniature silver flames. There were a few darks wisps of clouds that blotted a few out…but not many.

"Nice view, isn't it?"

" 'Nice' is one word! Try 'stunning'!" She walked over to the nearest bench and sat down, still staring at the stars. Gabriel sat down next to her and did the same. How can something so simple be so beautiful?

After a while, she broke her gaze and caught sight of the roses for the first time. "Tell me, Gabriel…why are there so many roses?"

He blinked. Good question. "I don't know the original reason for them being planted here…my mother liked them, because they were attractive, I suppose. But after they…left, the roses became my favorite flowers. I had nothing else to do, so every once in a while I would come out and tend to them. They just grew."

"That's interesting. My favorite flowers are snowdrops, because they were the first to come up in my garden after winter. Why is yours a rose?"

He shrugged. "I'm not sure, really…maybe it's because they're beautiful, but can hurt you if you get careless. Or that they can symbolize both love, the bloom, or pain, the thorns." He laughed. "Or maybe I just like the color red."

"I don't think it matters…maybe you're just drawn to a flower like people are drawn to others. There doesn't have to be a reason, or an explanation."

"That's a good explanation. Listen, Elizabeth…"

"Yes?"

"Do you ever get tired of being here?"

"No…I do get a little bored, but only when there's nothing to do. If you mean tired of the castle, then it's a definite no. I like it here."

"Really?"

She dug an elbow playfully into his side. "Yes, Gabriel, really. Why are you always hinting that you want me to leave? Am I being annoying?"

"No, no, of course not!" He organized his thoughts before answering. "I've been here all my life, and if I could get a chance at going someplace else, seeing new things, I would. So why do you not?"

"Like I've said, I'm happy just where I am. Unless you'd rather send me off on a ship to some foreign country…"

"Why would I do that?"

"…since you are so eager to get me out of the castle."

Gabriel snapped his head around and looked down at her. "No. I will never force you to do anything, or go anywhere. I made a mistake with pressuring you to go back to your village, and you almost got in serious trouble because of that." He hadn't meant to give her a lecture, since she had only been teasing him, but his mouth sometimes moved before his mind. "Ange, I l--"

" Merry Chrissss'mss to y'all!" Jason suddenly appeared in front of them, interrupting what Gabriel was going to say.

Jason's eyes were bloodshot and unfocused, and an empty bottle hung from one hand. "Yesss, Merry Chriss'mss…n' you c'n all rot 'n bloody hell!" With that, he disappeared, leaving both Elizabeth and Gabriel to give each other questioning looks.

"Was that…Jason?" Elizabeth asked.

"I'd rather not know." Whoever it was, he felt half-grateful to him for interrupting his sentence.

The other half of him just wanted to get the damned words out of his mouth.

And, as usual, the other, more shy half won over.

No dramatic confessions. At least not tonight. Maybe never.

"Oh, Gabriel, you were saying something?"

"Yes…it's already late, and you've had an odd day. You should get some rest."

"Not a bad idea…I still feel a little sick. I'll fell better after a little sleep, probably."

"I hope so. Here, I'll walk you back to your room."

At the same time Gabriel was walking Elizabeth back to her room, Giles was pacing angrily back and forth in his room.

How could that creature…that monster…that thing?--best me in a fight once more? And in front of a crowd!

He continued to pace, fuming silently. There was a spreading dark purple bruise under his chin where that monster had struck him.

If it weren't so fast, I could've killed it! And as for the matter of it's second appearance…it stepped into my plans with that wench! She's my wife, and yet she looks at it like it's a human? A friend? How could she? The thing was hideous! Giles shook out his own sandy hair. There must be something wrong with the girl. He had good looks, money, power…good looks…and she would rather spend her time in the company of that monster!

Maybe instead of locking her away in my basement, I should lock her away in an insane asylum!

Actually, that wouldn't be a half-bad idea…except for that creature! How could he take her from it?

No monster, no matter how strong, could fight off an entire angry mob…

And then there was another problem: the angry mob. How could he convince everyone to storm a castle, where he had forgotten the directions to, and which they had forgotten entirely?

Face it, Giles: you're better off just getting a more attractive, more obedient wife, and forgetting about the wench. She was too mouthy, anyways.

He shrugged his shoulders and sat down at his desk, where a good-sized mirror edged in gold was propped, taking a comb out of his pockets and passing it through his hair.

It had gotten mussed while he was pacing.