"No offense taken my dear." Gabe sad stil grinning. They walked further down the corridor and he was beginning to get frustrated again. "We are never going to find him. This is ridiculous. With as adventurous as that guy is, he's probably off in the jungle painting trying to pick a fight with a tiger or something."

Adrianna laughed. "Sweetie, calm down!" she said, squeezing his hand gently. "He probably is... but if we continue to the grand staircase, I'm sure that either he will be there... or someone will know where he is," she said with a grin. "So, cheer up, and enjoy being attached to me for the time being," she said with a flirtatious wink.

Hermione smiled back at Aston noticing he was blushing "lets go then" she said beginning to walk down the stairs.

"I don't want to be attached. I want to be able to hold you without killing our arms. I want to be able to hold your face. To be able to carry you...." Gabe smiled and lifted her hand to his mouth kissing it lightly. "But I will try to brave out the rest of this quest like a man." Giving her hand a squeeze, he opened the door leading out into a hallway which connected the hall they were in to the staircase. "I just wish we could get this over with. I want to show you your surprise."

Adrianna smiled at Gabe. "Love, don't worry," she said, reaching up with her free hand to stroke his face. "We will be out of this soon..." she assured him as they walked into the grand staircase. She looked around at all the different portraits, all of them moving and conversing. "Where do you think we should start?" she asked, looking around.

Gabe leaned into her hand and smiled. "As you wish, princess." As they made their way to the staircase, he looked around and sighed. "I have no idea, let's just pick one that looks promising."

Astin smiled again. He shuffled the shorts legs up a bit and stepped slowly down some stairs following Hermione.

Adrianna smiled and nodded. "Sounds good to me..." she said, looking around them at the various pictures. "How about that one?" she asked, pointing to a picture that contained two men playing a game of chess. "Excuse me," she said, stepping toward them, shooting a grin back at Gabe.

going down the steps felt like it took for ever, but eventually they got to the bottom "now we need to head to the direction of the north tower" Hermione said beginning to walk to the castle.

Gabe willingly followed her towards teh portrait and let her do all the talking. He stood a bit behind her and leaned forward whispering in her ear. "They better know something. Otherwise I may be forced to redecorate their portrait....permanently." He idly threatened and chuckled kissing her neck softly before standing back up.

The two men in the portrait looked up from their game and down at the young students.
"Yes? Can we help you?" one asked.
"We are in the middle of a game... make it quick," the other demanded.

Adrianna laughed. "Forgive me for interrupting," she said, shooting an entertained grin to Gabe. "We were wondering if you had seen or know where Sir Cadagon might be," she said, looking up at the two men. She almost laughed at what Gabe said, but covered her mouth just in time. However, it was the hand that was connected. Before putting it down, she quickly kissed his and then stepped so she was right in front of him.

"Ah... so they've figured out the clue..." the kinder man mused.
"Nope, haven't seen him," the other said while studying the board.
"Don't mind him, he's lost the last couple rounds and is quite upset," said the first. The second humphed and continued looking at the board. "However, I do believe I saw Sir Cadagon meandering through the African portrait down there," said the portrait. "I would show you... but I am in the middle of a game, and..." he looked over at the other player. "I am willing to bet that he will try and cheat," he said softly.

Adrianna looked over and, sure enough, the other man was trying to advance his piece up a spot in the most subtle manner possible. She laughed and nodded. "Thank you for your help!" she said, turning into Gabe to smother her laughter.

Gabe stood silently behind her, amused by his making her laugh. While she was talking to the portrait he rested his free hand at her waist. He groaned and leaned his head against her back as the man said he was in the African painting. "What did I tell you...off picking a fight with tigers...." He mumbled and stood back up again and sighed. "Thanks for your help." He said giving the portrait a tired smile and laughed as Adrianna laughed into his chest. "Come on giggle box let's go find the African jungle."

Adrianna laughed as they walked away. "Well, I will give you brownie points for that one!" she said, leaning her head against his as they walked. "You were right... although there aren't any tigers in Africa," she told him with a grin. "But close enough!" she assured as they wandered over to the African painting. Adrianna peered into the painting, looking for Sir Cadagon. "See him anywhere?" she asked, narrowing her eyes as she looked.

"this is true....but same idea....so he's fighting giraffes or something...." Gabe laughed and shrugged following her to the painting. "we are just going to keep getting led in circles...." Sighing he moved his arm in front of her, so that their hands were clasped in front of her, and he stood behind her holding her close to him. Looking over her shoulder, he looked into the portrait as well. "He's probably going to wait until we are both up close to that portrait trying to find him, then he will pop out of nowhere and scare you, and just slightly startle me." He chuckled and kissed her cheek.

"Just slightly startle me..." she mimicked, shaking her head to hide a grin. "You honestly want me to believe you weren't scared of anything before I came along?" she asked him, looking over her shoulder to raise an eyebrow at him. She loved the feeling of his arms around her and she leaned her head against his gently. "I don't think I see him in here," she said, making a face.

Gabe tightened his arms around her and closed his eyes resting his chin on her shoulder. "Umm well let's see, there was that one house-elf....." He joked and smiled then shrugged. "I honestly can't think of anything love." He gently moved his thumb back and forth over her side as he held her. He breathed in deeply, taking in the flowery fruity scent of her hair. Sighing happily, he kissed along her cheek to the corner of her mouth, since that was as far as he could reach. "Now what do we do princess?"

"House elf?" she asked, hoping he would continue on that story. "Come on, you can't just say that and not expect me to be interested," she said, turning to face him slightly. Suddenly, as he moved his thumb, Gabe hit a tickle spot. She jumped slightly and a giggled escaped befire she narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't you even..." she was cut off as he began to kiss her. She closed her eyes and leaned into his kisses, his warmth and scent enveloping her in what felt like a protective bubble. "Well..." she opened her eyes and looked at the pictures on either side. "You could try talking with her," she said, indicating the portrait on the side of the African portrait.

Gabe smiled. "oh...well let's just say that the poor girl had a fixation with the boys dormitory." Chuckling, he immediately stopped when she chastized him. "I'm sorry...I didn't mean to that time...honest." He continued kissing her again noticing its effect and grinned. "Oh no you don't. You are the talker...I'm just here for support." He said softly mumbling into her neck. Glancing over at the portrait, he saw and beautiful woman sitting beside a window. "Besides....you might get jealous..."

"Aww! Poor thing," Adrianna said, letting Gabe guess as to whether she meant him or the House Elf. She narrowed her eyes at him once more. "You'd better not have-" but she was cut off once again as he kissed her. "Darn you and my weaknesses," she muttered, fighting a smile. She glanced at the painting. "Why would I be jealous? Its not like you think she's beautiful, right?" she muttered to him, raising an eyebrow and searching eyes as she waited for the reply. She was only playing with him, but she wanted to see his reaction anyway.

Gabe chuckled and held her close to him. "You are jsut so obvious that I figure out your weaknesses. And I really didn't mean it, it was an accident, if I had tickled you on purpose you would know." He glanced back at the portrait then at her and blushed a bit. "Well if I told you that I didn't think she was beautiful, I would be lying. However, she doesn't come close to being as gorgeous as you. I'd never replace you with a picture."

Ooc: Happy holidays!!

"Oh, am I?" she asked, a slight grin playing on her lips. "Well, you have just turned the page of a long chapter... and many of those weaknesses are heavily guarded," she told him. She watched him closely as he responded. "Wait, you're blushing... I don't know if I like this," she said, taking a step away from him and crossing her arms. It was hard keeping her smile from showing, but she knew that if Gabe were looking close enough, he would see her lips trembling. Then again, he may take that as a sign that she was close to tears.

Gabe looked at Adranna as she took a step away from him. He did of course notice her lips trmbling, however he interpreted it as a sign of her almost ready to cry as opposed to laughing. His expression immediately saddened. "oh, oh princess, I'm sorry..." He stepped towards her feeling horrible. stupid, stupid, why did you have to say that? "I...oh sweetheart you know I wouldn't love anyone more than you, and certainly not one that is just paint on a canvas."

It was too much, Adrianna began to giggle and soon that giggling became laughter. It took her a few minutes until she was able to get ahold of herself. "Sorry darling, I had to do it," she said, looking back at him. Her eyes sparkled slightly in the torchlight from her tears of laughter.

Gabe just stared at her tilting his head then looked down at the floor shaking his head. Again....he thought he upset her, and she was just pretending. "Right....no I should have....I should have known that you weren't serious." He gave her a small smile and continued walking past that particular portrait. He was so worried about causing her any sort of pain, any sign, even a small one that she was in pain killed him, but again, it had been a false alarm.

"Its okay... in fact, its better that you were worried," she told him, smiling. "If I really were hurt, instead of just pretending, I would want you to comfort instead of just figuring I was joking! Once again, you prove that you are the perfect prince," she told him. She stepped forward and kissed him gently on the lips. "Now, I think you should talk with that lovely painting... she looks vain and you might be able to get more out of her," she pointed out.