Trying to reduce the drama and keep up the comedy. Let me know if I was successful! lol

Chapter 10 -- First Warning, In Which Naesala Is In Leanne's Room

"Nestling! Nestling, wake up! I have urgent news from Kilvas!"

Naesala groaned as he sat up in bed. Damn hangover... he thought as he grabbed his head. "What is it, Nealuchi?"

"Urgent news from Kilvas! You have to read this right away!" the old crow called.

Instantly, Naesala was up and alert. Don't tell me something bad happened! There shouldn't be anything going on! He loosely fixed up his hair and threw on some pants (A/N: Naesala sleeps nude? O/O) "Is everything all right?" the raven king gasped as he opened the door.

Nealuchi smiled. "Yes, yes. It's good news! This should excite you, Nestling!" He handed a note to Naesala, who scanned it over a few times before its meaning reached his brain.

"An entire fleet of merchants headed to Begnion?!" Naesala looked back up at Nealuchi. "It's still winter there, right?"

"Yes, as far as I know. They must be pretty desperate if they're braving the sea in these conditions!" Nealuchi chuckled. "If we leave now we could get back to Kilvas in time to launch a raiding party."

The offer was indeed tempting. However, Naesala still had one major problem: he had not yet convinced Leanne to come back with him!

Sure, I could always come back to Gallia after the raid, but... I'm getting so close this time!

Nealuchi, instantly guessing his king's thoughts, remarked, "So now you must choose between stealing a fortune of goods from helpless merchants or stealing the heart of your beloved Princess Leanne."

"Shut up, Nealuchi." Naesala turned a slight shade of pink. "I'll think about it. Let me finish getting dressed." He shut the door and began putting on his morning outfit.

I suppose I could just send an order back to the boys, but if they somehow botch it up then Kilvas is completely open to attack... I could just straight out ask Leanne to come with me... The thought caused his already pink face to turn a darker shade of red. But if I leave Leanne here then that damn hawk will get to her first!

Naesala thought back to the night before. That dance had been so perfect... if only they had been alone...

Then he got it. Of course! I'll just send Nealuchi to Kilvas! He's a pretty clever fellow! And then he'll be out of my feathers, so he won't do anymore plotting with that stupid cat! Naesala grinned. While I'm at it, I'll get him to start on the garden, so that when I return with Leanne in a few days, it'll be almost finished! Oh, I am so brilliant!

He glanced in the mirror and ran a hand through his hair. Brilliant and sexy. Doesn't get much better than that!

The raven king, with his reboosted ego, went over to the throne room to give Nealuchi his answer. When he got there, he noticed that the hawks were preparing to leave as well. Nealuchi was talking with Tibarn.

"All right, Nealuchi, here's my plan," Naesala told him.

"Ah, so you know about the merchant fleet as well, Naesala?" Tibarn remarked. "Sure looks like a good find. Too bad they're not coming from Begnion, or I'd have left last night to catch them first."

"Yes, too bad. Anyway, Nealuchi, I think you should go back and lead the raid. That way, if they only spot one crow, they won't suspect as much."

"Are you sure, Nestling? You're the faster flyer!"

"Yes, well... They're bound to get slowed down by the waves. You'll have plenty of time. Besides, I want you to go get started on the... project."

Tibarn eyed him suspiciously. "Project? What kind of project?"

"Just some, uh, landscaping to better the fair country of Kilvas, my friend. Nothing of great exciteme--"

"He wants to build a garden," Nealuchi bluntly interrupted.

Tibarn stared at them in disbelief. "A garden? With Kilvas' rocky terrain?" The hawk king burst out laughing. "You'd have a better chance at building one in the northernmost part of Daein than in Kilvas!"

"You underestimate me, Tibarn. We'll find a way," the raven king assured him.

"So, Naesala, why exactly are you--"

"Nealuchi! You understand what I want you to do, right?" Naesala blurted, interrupting Tibarn to avoid any more questions about his garden for Leanne.

"Yes, of course." Nealuchi chuckled. "I suppose you'll be finishing up some 'business' before you come home, Nestling?"

"Hurry, Nealuchi! You have to beat the merchants to Kilvas!"

Naesala propelled the old crow away from Tibarn. Once they were out of earshot, he whispered, "Two weeks, remember? I gave myself two weeks, and it hasn't been two weeks yet!"

"It's been ten days, Nestling."

"That gives me four more days. Plenty of time."

Nealuchi turned to him and chuckled softly. "You're completely in love with her!"

"So? I'm not denying it. That's why you set up your little plot at the ball."

"Well, I must say that I would greatly enjoy having Princess Leanne at Kilvas everyday over any other woman." Nealuchi grinned. "Good luck, Nestling!"

Naesala was a little surprised to hear Nealuchi agreeing with him for once. I'm actually upset that he's leaving for a while... That old crow... "Thanks, Nealuchi. Now get going."

Nealuchi smiled and left the room.

Naesala sighed. Now I just have to get past Reyson and those cats... He was wandering the hallways, trying to come up with a way to win over the others, when he heard a sniffling sound. He followed the sound until he came upon a room that he remembered to be Leanne's room. Forgetting about prior warnings from both Reyson and Caineghis, he rushed into the room to see Leanne crying into her pillow. She looked up, startled, as he burst in, and she tried to hide her face so he wouldn't see tear streaks.

"Are you all right, Leanne? Did you get hurt? Did someone say something nasty to you?" Naesala gasped.

Leanne's face was scarlet as her muffled voice answered, "It no big deal..."

Oh crap, I just embarrassed her... Damn, I didn't mean to do that! Naesala stood silent for a while as he wrestled with the decision of whether or not to take the opportunity to comfort her. Finally, he came closer to her bed and softly patted her shoulder. "You can tell me, Leanne. I promise I won't tell anyone."

Leanne's teary eyes peered out from behind her pillow. "P-promise you not laugh," she whispered.

"Laugh?" Naesala sat down next to her. "Leanne, if you're crying about it, then it's obviously not something to laugh at! Of course I won't laugh."

Leanne nodded and took her pillow away from her face so she could hug it to her chest. "I saying bye-bye to Tibarn and Janaff and Ulki. I wanting to say, 'Have a nice trip back,' but I forget how. So I say, 'Have a knife in you back,' and Tibarn confused. I think of other to say: 'Have fun time going home,' but I say..." At this Leanne sniffed, trying to hold back tears. "I say... 'Have fun time doing whores.'"

Naesala could imagine the look on Reyson's face upon hearing his sister talk about whores. He was finding it hard not to laugh, but fortunately he was able to restrain himself.

Tears were once again streaming down Leanne's face as she continued. "They all look at me upset, and Tibarn look angry. I realize what I say and then I... I run back here..."

Naesala put his arm around Leanne as she sobbed into his jacket. "Leanne, I'm sure they know that you meant to say something else... You're still learning the language. It's a common mistake!" Well, I'm sure not many people accidently substitute 'whores' for 'home,' but I won't tell her that.

"They mad at me!" Leanne cried.

"No, no, Leanne..." He lifted her chin so he could look into her eyes. "Tibarn's angry at whoever it was who taught you that phrase. By the way, who did teach you that phrase?"

Leanne blinked as she thought back. "I... hear it somewhere... S-soldier say it, I think..."

Tibarn probably thinks I taught that to her... figures...

Naesala softly stroked her shoulder. "Remember what I said before? Learning a new language takes time. But you're really making progress, Leanne!"

She leaned against his chest. "Really?"

"Yeah!" Naesala laughed. "It took Reyson forever just to be able to say 'thank you.' He kept saying, 'Shank you!' instead."

Leanne giggled.

"So then I'd say, 'No, I'm shanking you first!' and pull down his pants."

Leanne wrinkled her nose in confusion. "What 'shank' mean?"

"Ah, well, it's a kind of, um... prank..." Naesala quickly decided to change topics. "Anyway, Leanne, you're good at saying lots of other stuff. Don't worry about the hawks."

Leanne looked into his eyes and smiled. "Thank you, Naesala." Then she giggled softly. "Yes, I good at saying that! I practicing--" She suddenly blushed and covered her mouth.

"Leanne? What is it?"

Softly, she whispered, "I practicing... what you teach me..."

"Oh, you have?" Now it was Naesala's turn to blush. He leaned closer to her and whispered, "Do you want to practice it right now, in front of me?"

"I... yes, I practice... I tell you..."

Naesala thought he heard footsteps coming, but he was too engrossed by her eyes to notice. "Say it like this: I love you."

"I..."

"I think you're going to be in big trouble, King Kilvas."

Naesala and Leanne both jumped and looked to see Giffca standing in the doorway.

"Ah, G-Giffca! So strange to see you here!" Naesala squeaked.

"Yes, I could say the same to you." Giffca looked at him sternly. "I suppose it's time for me to report this to King Caineghis."

Leanne quickly stood up and ran over to him. "Naesala helping me! He doing nothing bad!"

"Helping you? What do you mean, Princess Leanne?" the lion calmly asked.

Leanne glanced back at Naesala. "I sad... earlier... He helping cheer me up! He being nice to me since he come! He teaching me how to talk and dance and cheering me up and--"

"Okay, my lady, I understand." Giffca smiled. "I promise I won't report him... for now."

Leanne sighed. "Thank you!" She turned to Naesala, happy that she had kept him safe. However, when her eyes met his, she instantly turned red and looked down. "Thank you... h-helping me," she mumbled softly.

Naesala was still a bit stunned by her passionate speech, but he stood up and walked toward her. "You're quite welcome. I'm afraid I must leave now, though..." He was about to grab her hand and kiss it, but then he decided that it was not a wise thing to do with Giffca watching. "If you need to talk some more, just let me know." Then he followed Giffca out the door and down the hall.

Once they were far enough from Leanne's room, he faced Giffca.

"Okay, are you following me or something? You're always popping up out of nowhere when I'm--"

"When you're about to kiss her. Yes, I'm well aware." Giffca looked at him sternly. "From the moment you arrived we guessed that you were here to have some fun."

"Fun? In what sense of the word? I must say, I'm having quite a bit of fun since I came here." Naesala grinned.

"You know what I mean," Giffca muttered.

Naesala took a deep breath. "I've known Leanne since we were fledgings. I wouldn't just come here to mess around with her."

He was surprised by what he just said, so he decided to leave. He was about to turn when Giffca stopped him.

"Ah, King Kilvas?"

"Yes?"

"If Reyson or I catch you with her like that one more time, we'll be bound to think otherwise." Then he left Naesala alone in the hallway.

Damn, they're really getting worked up over this... I guess I'll just have to tell her everything... He sighed. At least Reyson wasn't the one to catch me! That would have been really bad!