Because it was early in the morning in Australia's East Coast, it was dark in Austria. Nobody saw her land after her jump.

She landed in a big pile of snow and saw stars for a moment. This was truly disorientating. Did she do it? She looked around and waited for her eyes to adjust to the dark. She left at eight, so nine hours back means it was eleven in the evening. She could only hope Darra wasn't asleep yet. She didn't exactly booked a hotel room anywhere. Boy, it was cold.

Her visualisation of the area Google was so kind as to provide her with, paid off when she recognised the cottage in the near distance and with a hopeful heart she set off.

Ploughing through the snow with a suitcase on wheels that should have been a sled, was difficult, to say the least. Breathing heavily, she finally made it to the fence that surrounded the cottage. Should she ring the doorbell? The lights were still on. Would they let her in? Darra did invite her. Sort of.

She took a deep breath, opened the gate, walked up to the front door and rang.

An unfamiliar face opened the door. There was, however, something recognisable in the lines around the eyes, so she guessed this had to be Imogen and Darra's mum.

"Yes?"

Would she know her? Could she sense her magic?

"Ehm... hello, Mrs. Blackwell? My name is Kyra, Kyra Glen. Your son invited me."

Mrs. Blackwell squinted and leaned forward ever so slight, as if to examine the intruder from a closer range.

What would she do if they wouldn't even let her inside? Would she have to look for a hotel? Or go back home?

Suddenly Mrs. Blackwell's eyes lit up and with a huge fake smile, she clapped her hands together as she called out: "Kyra Glen, the tri-ling. Of course, my, what an honour to have you on the doorstep of our cottage. I'll have to reprimand my son, he never mentioned you were coming. Darra!"

The last word was shouted over her shoulder, after which she walked back inside, motioning for Kyra to follow her.

She dumped her snow covered suitcase in the pristine hall. It gave Mrs. Blackwell a temporary sour look that made her the spitting image of her daughter. Kyra took off her coat, boots and hat and shrunk back when her host again yelled her son's name.

The door to the living room opened and Darra appeared. His face lit up when he saw her.

"Kyra, you came!"

"Yes, dear, she came. It would have been nice if you had mentioned this to your father and me. You know we'll have guests in the morning."

Quickly Kyra said: "He didn't know. I'm sorry, I would have let you know, but I couldn't exactly get in touch with you. Do you even have mobile phones?"

"Don't need them," Darra said, walking up to her to take her coat and hang it on a rack to her right. When he was near her, he leaned forward and whispered: "I'm so glad you came", which made her blush.

"We have other means to communicate. That is, we elves do. I'll teach you, come on in, you look frozen."

"My things?" She pointed at her suitcase, that now stood in a little pool.

"Don't worry, Poppy will get that to your room. Poppy?"

His yell brought forth a small figure that turned out to be a tiny lady with a big smile and a round face with rosy cheeks. Was she human or elf? Kyra didn't dare to ask. She couldn't see any ears, but that was because Poppy wore a funny bonnet.

"Poppy, this is my friend Kyra, she will be staying in Imogen's room."

"Darra!"

He looked at his mother and raised his eyebrows. "Imogen won't mind, she won't be here anyway and the guest rooms will be filled after tomorrow."

Poppy smiled widely at Kyra, took the suitcase, that was almost as big as her and waved a hand. With a little pop, she vanished.

"Poppy is a gnome. We named her poppy after the sound she makes when she jumps."

"A gnome? Those are real? Never knew it. And she works for you?"

"Yep, even before we bought the place. Gnomes can get very old."

Kyra nodded a bit distracted, she had never been in an magic household before and with Lily and her family she only saw the one room. Would it be very different?

The room Darra led her into seemed very ordinary. It had a big fireplace and cosy furniture. Everything emanated luxury and she almost tiptoed with her socks over the thick rug. "Dad's at a pub, he won't be back till after midnight. Are you hungry?"

"Yes, but, only something light, please. For me it's not even lunchtime yet."

Darra laughed, ignoring his mothers pointed look as he opened the fridge and began to take out items.

"Don't stay up too late, son, our guests arrive around nine." Mrs. Blackwell said, before leaving the room, obviously in doubt whether she should remain and supervise.

"Do you want a simple sandwich or something hot? I can ask Poppy to whip up some soup?"

"Oh no, a sandwich is fine. It's nice and warm in here, I already forgot I walked through the snow. This cottage is amazing. I can't believe Imogen wouldn't come with you."

Darra's movements slowed down and he closed the fridge. "She's still mad at dad and she can't get along very well with mum. They are too much alike, so they clash all the time. It's a good thing she's not here, because she hates the visitors that come tomorrow."

"Oh?" Kyra walked up to the counter, where Darra laid out all ingredients for a decent sandwich.

He snickered and softly said: "I am really grateful you are here, that way I won't have to put up with Olivia all the time."

"She's the guest?"

"Their daughter. Mum has been trying to get us together for ages. Olivia's mother is her best friend. They are very wealthy and influential in the States."

"Oh", Kyra responded for a second time. She didn't want to admit it, but she didn't like that idea at all. "Is she nice?"

Darra smirked. "Only if you like polished, phoney, platinum blonds who hang on your every word and adore your mother."

It relieved her tremendously that Darra obviously disliked the girl and a small smile played at her lips.

After finishing the sandwich and the smoothie Darra made for her, they took a seat on the couch facing the fire.

"How did you get here? Does your dad know you're in Austria?"

She shook her head, trying to cool down her cheeks because Darra sat very close to her.

"N- no. He thinks I'm in Canberra, taking a tour to see kangaroos. I told him I wanted to do something on my own. Help me remember I give him a call in the morning to tell him I've arrived safely and had a wonderful day."

They sat silent for a few minutes, the tension growing by the second, until Darra asked the next question. "You're probably not tired at all?"

"Not really no. But I read somewhere that when you go to another time zone, the best thing to do is follow the routine as quickly as possible. So I guess I should just go to bed now."

"That's no fun, you just got here. And we'll only have this night before someone else tries to divide my attention. We can go for a walk."

"Now? But it's the middle of the night, and it's dark, and cold."

"We could go anywhere you want. We could actually go to Canberra and take a few pictures there to keep up appearances."

That wasn't such a bad idea. However, "won't you be too tired?"

He huffed. "I've stayed up whole nights before. Besides, that's not what we'll do. We'll be back with plenty of time for sleeping."

"Time travel would be nice. Can we do time travel?"

He looked at her with his sweet smile, but shook his head. "There are limits to our powers."

He stood up and held out his hand. "So, do you want to look at some kangaroos?"

Giggling she placed her hand in his, which immediately gave her goosebumps. She'd never held his hand before, did it mean anything?

"Oh, I just remembered, we're not wearing any shoes. Never mind, I know a beach we can go too that's secluded. No kangaroos though, they'll have to wait till next time. Ready?"

Ready? Right now? Darra waved his fingers and whoosh, in a rip they were gone.

The next thing Kyra knew was that they were standing on a very empty beach that looked a lot like the one that was created by Edward Boynton, the architect of the library.

"This is amazing. And hot." She quickly pulled of her socks and sweater and watched Darra do the same. He was right, there wasn't another soul in sight.

"Are you sure we didn't go through one of those portals again?"

He laughed. "Pretty sure. I come here when I want to think, or get away from my family. They are okay and all, but sometimes they drive me crazy."

She could imagine. She was pretty lucky with her dad.

"Wanna go for a walk?" Darra asked, pointing with his thumb over his shoulder.

She nodded. Her hand was still in his, but it didn't seem like he would let go any time soon. The butterflies in her stomach were humming happily as her feet sunk into the soft white sand. She had hoped to be able to be alone with him in Austria, but this was so much better.

After a while, Darra motioned for them to sit down in the shade of a dune. He must be getting tired, she thought. For him, the day was long over.

Still with her hand in his, she sat down next to him and looked out over the ocean. Waves were rolling in and left a narrow rim shining in the sunlight. Near her, little shells proved that sometimes the waves were much larger than this.

"So", Darra shook her from her thoughts. She looked his way, he eyed a bit shy all of a sudden. "Does your coming mean I have a new chance to ask you out?"

She bit her lip and gazed down. "Isn't this, you already doing that?"

"Ah."

When she looked up again, she saw a lazy smile on his face.

"Good to know."

"Why?" She couldn't help but ask.

"I kind of wanted to ask you out ever since I met you, but it never seemed the right moment and then, at the basketball court you said it was better if we just stayed friends for now. If you see this as a date and you're not running away, it gives me hope ..."

There was more he wanted to say, so she looked at him and raised her eyebrows. "For?"

"That we could be more than friends?"

His blush was so cute she had trouble thinking. Did she want it to be more? Her going all the way to Austria to see him, kind of already proved that, didn't it?

A small nod was all he needed to move closer until his lips softly touched hers. Time seemed to stop and she felt as if they were floating. Perhaps they were. She could fly after all, she was part fairy. But elves couldn't fly. Why was she over thinking this. Shut up stupid mind.

The kiss was over before she could properly enjoy it, but for now it was enough. No need to rush things. They were only just beginning.

After a while Darra moved so he could lay down with his head in her lap. "Wake me up when you want to go home, alright?"

She hummed an affirmative, because he already closed his eyes. This was nice. Just the two of them, no haste, warm sand beneath them. She had no idea where this beach was located, but by the time her stomach began to rumble, she decided they had to leave.

Would she jump together with Darra, while he was still sleeping? He looked so peaceful, she didn't want to wake him. On the other hand, it might be better that he was awake. Imagine running into one of his parents when they got back.

She softly shook his shoulder, but Darra didn't wake. She bend forward and studied the freckles on his face for a while, before admonishing herself and shaking his shoulder a little harder.

This time he made a growling sound that made her giggle. That in turn made him open his eyes and a smile spread over his face.

"Morning, is it morning yet?"

"I don't think so, but it is time to go back. Can you jump, or should I take us?"

He got up, rubbed his eyes and helped her on her feet. "I'm fine. I'll make a rip to my room, that way we won't bump into anyone."

"Your room?"

"Imogen's room is right next to it, so don't worry." His smirk made her believe he was imagining a lot more than she was, so she lightly hit him in the chest.

As a response he grabbed her hand, made a rip and pulled them both through.

The cold immediately made her shiver, even though there was a heater in his room. She quickly sat on his bed to put on her socks and was about to pull her sweater over her head, when she caught Darra staring at her. The look in his eyes made her cheeks inflame and she hurried to hide her head in the fabric. Slowly she emerged and when she could see the room again, Darra was sitting next to her.

The fierce look was gone and she exhaled. However Darra moved forward a bit and with a teasing voice asked: "Do I get a good night kiss?"

Deciding she shouldn't over think things, she leaned over and gave him a quick peck on the lips. That wasn't what Darra had in mind, but she stood up before he could get his arms around her.

"Where is Imogen's room?"

He sighed and got up as well. "This way." He opened his door, peeked around the corner to see if it was all clear and pointed to his right.

In the door opening she had to walk passed him and before she knew it, he had his arms around her.

"Darra", she whispered warningly.

"Just one more, please?"

She couldn't really say no, feeling how much she herself wanted it too, so she sighed and nodded. As soon as his lips toughed hers she closed her eyes. This was no peck and it was also much more than the small kiss they shared on the beach. Darra's hands pressed against her back and hers found their way to the small of his neck. She was about to move her fingers into the strands of hair that tickled her hand, when a booming voice made them jump apart.

"What the blazes is going on here?"