A/N: Happy Valentine's Day! I decided to write a short (as in exactly 800 words) for Training Problems based on today. I've missed writing on this story so much! But, without further ado, I present Roses...

It started off as a single stray petal that she found in her clothes. Buried between the folds of her gold trimmed tunic, invisible against the deep red fabric. But when she unfolded the tunic to put it on, the soft petal fell to the floor.

"Biana!" Sophie called after putting on the tunic and getting ready. "Did you bring in any flowers?"

Biana walked into the room, her dark hair half-brushed. "Flowers?"

"Yeah," Sophie said, holding out the petal. "I found this in my tunic."

Biana frowned. "It looks like a rose petal," she observed. "I didn't bring in any roses. Are there any more?"

The two girls searched through the whole room, eventually finding five petals that led to the door.

"How about you follow the petals?" Biana suggested. "I still have to finish getting ready."

Sophie stared at the clock. "Well you better be quick. We have to be in the main hall in fifteen minutes."

"See you there," Biana called from the bathroom. "Have fun following the petals."

Sophie laughed. "I will."

As she passed the calendar by the door, the rose petals suddenly seemed to fit with the date. It was February 14th. Valentine's Day.

"Do elves even celebrate Valentine's Day?" Sophie muttered, repeating the question louder so Biana could hear her. Biana yelled back a "What's Valentine's Day?!" and "Can't a girl get ready in peace?!" Smiling, Sophie collected up the petals in a small basket and stepped out the door.

As she walked to the main foyer for breakfast, she found more petals hidden in the oddest places. In the nook of a wall. Under the edge of a carpet. Propped up high in the leaves of an indoor plant. By the time she reached the table, she wasn't surprised to see one under her plate of custard bursts.

"How do these keep getting everywhere?" she wondered, putting yet another petal in her basket.

"How does what keep getting everywhere?" Dex asked, propping down next to her. "Oh yeah, isn't it a human holiday today?"

Sophie nodded. "Valentine's Day. How do you know about it?"

"My mom has a lot of human movies," Dex reminded her, repeating one of the first things he said to her when he met her. "Anyway, what keeps getting everywhere?"

"Rose petals," Sophie explained, holding out the full basket. "I found one in my tunic this morning and they've been everywhere since then."

Dex grinned. "Maybe they'll lead you somewhere."

"The only place they've led me is to this plate of custard bursts," Sophie joked. "Not that I mind. They taste amazing."

Dex laughed. "You should try following them.

"That's what Biana said," Sophie agreed. "Maybe I should. And speaking of Biana, have you seen Fitz?"

"Nope. He said something about being in the Telepathy room and getting ready for something. Do you guys have a test today?"

Sophie shook her head. "Not that I know of... Oh no what if we do?!"

"I'm sure Mr. Forkle would have told you if you did," Dex consoled. "So are you going to follow the rose petals?

"I guess," Sophie said, pushing back her chair. "Want to help me?"

Dex shook his head. "I have a feeling that this is something you should do."

*~*~*~*

After following a few more hidden petals, Sophie found herself in a long corridor. Petals were littered across the floor and as she walked down the corridor, they became more plentiful until even the floor wasn't visible.

"What are these even for?" Sophie wondered, refusing to pick up any more petals. Her basket was already overflowing and the corridor didn't look like it was going to end any time soon. Suddenly, faint music began playing from the darkness in front of her. A human song she had heard a hundred times before.

Sophie smiled and began humming to the song. As she walked down the hallway, it became louder and louder. Until she heard a familiar voice at the end of the hallway.

"Happy Valentine's Day."

Sophie's eyes widened. "Fitz?!"

Out of the shadows stepped the one and only Fitz Vacker holding an enormous bouquet of...

"Roses," Fitz grinned. "I hope you like them. I heard they're kind of a Valentine's Day thing."

"What- how- Oh my gods." Sophie threw her arms around her boyfriend. "You did all this for me?"

Fitz smiled. "You celebrate all of the elvin holidays but we haven't acknowledged a human one even once. And we've been spending so much time in the human world, so I figured..."

"It's amazing," Sophie whispered, pressing her lips against Fitz's. "Thank you."

She could still feel him smiling as he wrapped his arms around her and broke away after a moment. "No problem," Fitz grinned. "Happy Valentine's Day."

Sophie smiled. "Happy Valentine's Day."