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"Ah huh."

Unfurling the rug, Elka flung it into the air, holding tightly to one end of it so it landed almost perfectly on the floor. With her bare foot, she stomped out the wrinkles, than pulled it one way than the other, trying out different areas of the floor for whatever looked best.

"Mm."

On top of the rug she placed a small table. On top of the table, a little pot of flowers that had been sitting on the floor by her feet. Standing back, she scrutinized it thoroughly, one finger on her chin. No. That didn't look right, either.

Throwing up her hands, she removed the table and picked up the rug, moving to a different corner of the living room to place it down there. Who knew decorating your own house could be so difficult?

Elka hadn't heard anyone coming into the house and jumped, nearly dropping the pot she held in her hands. Carefully, she set it down at her feet and turned, waving a finger at the man standing there with an amused grin on his face.

"Don't do that!" she chastised him, fists going to her hips. She would not smile and show him she wasn't actually that bothered by his appearance. Nope. He would get nothing but the furrowed brows from her.

"This rug doesn't look good anywhere."

During the whole process of Kayde taking over, all Elka did was shake her head. She had had the rug in that exact spot just a few minutes ago. It made the room look too big. Too empty. Too one-sided. Everything was stacked against one wall while the other half of the room looked bare and boring.

"No, no," she said once he was done, going over and picking up the rug once more. This time it went to the other side of the room, filling in the space more. But when she looked back at the couch's side, it just looked like it was missing something crucial: A rug. Once more, the woman threw up her hands in defeat, twirling around and crashing down onto the couch with an irritated sigh.

A soft groan came from the blue form fusing with the back of the couch. Elka could do nothing but sit there with her head thrown back and her eyes closed, feeling utterly defeated by a rug. She had never designed a room before in her life. She had had servants to do that for her. Even at the inn, the arrangement of the room wasn't hers. That was just how it had been for all those years that she had stayed there. Never once had she thought about moving it.

After a while, she raised her head and opened her eyes, looking over at Kayde with a tired expression. She didn't really want to give up. There was so much that needed to be done still, they didn't have time for a break.

"I just want our first home to look perfect."

For a moment, Elka pursed her lips, stubbornness all over her face. While going outside did sound nice and she'd like the break, maybe take a little walk in the waves, she really wanted to finish this one small project she had. The rug needed to go somewhere. If not now, it would still need to be done later.

But the look in Kayde's eyes made her keep her mouth shut and simply nod slowly at him. "Fine," she answered just as softly, allowing herself to be raised from the couch, both her hands clasped in his. He led her outside without saying a word, just smiling sweetly at her, until she felt the breeze on her face. Closing her eyes, she breathed in deeply, letting all the stress go in one slow exhale.

Elka continued to breath in deeply, the salty air strong in her nose. It was a smell she found as pleasant as a fresh snowfall, though very different from it. Where one was crisp with cold, the other sharp. It made her realize she may never see her homeland again. Not for fear of what her father would say about what she was doing. Getting so close to another of a different Tribe just wasn't acceptable. Especially not for a man as rich as her father, who would have used her as a pawn to forge connections with the other wealthy families in Zena. At one time she would have happily done so, under the naive thought that she could just continue her expensive lifestyle with a husband. Wifely duties had never occurred to her, than. Being married to a strange man wouldn't have been luxurious at all. He might be mean to her, or worse. Leaving Zena had been the best decision of her life. It had allowed her to meet Kayde, who would treat her right. And she would be just as good to him.

She turned to him, now, her eyes shining with love. "Yes. I feel much better. Thank you, Kayde."

Elka felt the happiest she could ever remember feeling. The sun was shining down on her face. The breeze was cool on her slightly flushed face. And the sweetest man ever was staring at her with such love and adoration in his eyes. This truly was paradise. What more could she want from this moment or any other moment in her entire life?

As he started talking once more, she merely nodded once, smiling. Than he started digging into his pocket. Still she was oblivious to the context of what was going on until whatever was in his hands gave off a tiny sparkle in the sunshine. Her smile faded, her eyes widdened, and she opened her mouth to take a large intake of air.

"Kayde, what are you doing?"

Taking his hand, Elka uncurled his fingers to reveal what she knew was there. Ring shone in the sun's rays, silver in color, with a pretty blue stone at the center. Kind of cliché, really, considering she was all blue.

She should have been mad. She knew exactly what he was doing and he was blowing it so badly, the romantic moment was ruined. But she wasn't. Elka didn't feel anything but touched and amused by his attempts to make it as special as his abilities could. Though he hadn't prepared anything special. Hadn't even waited until the sun had set and the day was at its best potential, she didn't feel any less disappointed, even if he'd managed to do it with confidence and not choke as he was now. Instead, she laughed.

"I think you're trying to ask me something very important and utterly failing at it."