Tensions are building! Now there's the whole issue of the engagement process. Enjoy!
(and sorry for the delay once again. I've been sick, once again...)
Chapter 10 -- Rings, In Which an Invasion is Imminent
It is only a matter of time... Just a little longer, Naesala kept reminding himself. But he was running out of time. Leanne's visit would be over in four days, meaning he had four days to make Reyson infatuated with Vika, which would distract him away from Leanne so that he would be free to propose to her any way he wished.
Any way he wished... This left another problem:
How am I going to propose to her?Naesala anxiously paced back and forth in his room. It has to be romantic, of course. She really seemed to like the beach. Maybe I'll take her to the beach. And I need a ring! Yet another problem. What kind of ring would Leanne like? Green, of course... But she might not go for something that's overdone. Would she like gold? What if it had emeralds and diamonds and was made of gold? He groaned at the headache that was now growing in his brain. Let's just take this one step at a time...
He snuck out of his room and made his way to the treasure store. Reyson would never have to know that it was stolen... Then he fished through mounds of pearls and rubies and golden statues and crystal ware until he found a box of rings. However, when he opened it he realized with horror that none of them bore emeralds.
I suppose I could ask Nealu-- no bad idea. He'll tell Reyson that I'm planning on proposing to Leanne, and then it would all be over... He dug through more treasures, slowly making his way to the back of the room. Come on, there has to be something! Don't tell me I actually have to spend money on this!
"Nestling? Are you in here?"
"Crap!" he whispered. "Yes, Nealuchi. What do you want?"
The old crow tottered through the messy room. "What are you doing in here?" he asked. "If you need something, you could just ask--" Then he gasped. "You're looking for a ring!"
"No I'm not!" Naesala hoped that his blush wouldn't give him away.
Nealuchi chuckled. "Come now, Nestling. I know you've been waiting for this opportunity since Princess Leanne arrived here."
"This has nothing to do with that! I'm looking for a... a tea set."
"How come, Nestling?"
"Because I can. Why don't you go over there and help me look?" Naesala muttered.
"I'm afraid I don't have time," the old crow replied. "One of our scouts returned from the mainland and reported that Miss Vika's companions are on their way here to retrieve her."
"What?! They can't do that! Reyson hasn't confessed his love for her yet!" Naesala sighed. "Nealuchi, go get Vika. Convince her that she needs to stay."
"Don't you need help looking for a ring?"
"I'm not looking for a ring! In face I'm going back to my room!" He started following Nealuchi out when something green grabbed his eye. He picked it up and thrust it in his pocket without looking at it.
He rushed through the hallway until he spotted Reyson wandering around. He grabbed the unsuspecting heron prince by the shoulders for attention.
"Reyson! We have a big problem!" Naesala shouted.
Reyson's eyes widened. "Oh no. Did something happen to my father?"
"Uh... no, actually. It has nothing to do with that." Naesala cleared his throat. "Vika's companions are coming here to retrieve her! She won't be here anymore unless we act now!" He was hoping to play off of Reyson's sympathies in order to get Vika to stay.
However, Reyson merely sighed. "Well, maybe she wants to be with her friends again. You did rudely kidnap her away from them to begin with."
"B-but, what about you? You two are becoming such close... friends! Won't you miss her at all?"
Reyson shrugged. "I can always go and visit her. Or write letters or something."
Naesala's eyes lit up in excitement. "You'll go visit Vika? Soon? Perhaps in a few days?"
Reyson was about to reply when he suddenly realized where the raven was going with this. "No. I am not leaving you alone with my sister! That's a terrible idea! I'll just write a letter to her after she leaves."
"Aww, you poor thing. You will miss her so much! You know, last night it almost looked as though you wanted to ki--"
"Naesala, shut up! That was just... well, I think I got a little too much into the mood of the song. Nothing more than that!" Reyson's face was now beet-red.
Naesala was beginning to run out of ideas. There has to be something I can do to convince him! Then he remembered the little red-haired mage who had accompanied Vika. "You know, Reyson, if you visit Vika, just be careful of her little beorc friend... I believe his name is Tormod? He is a bit, er, overprotective of her, if you know what I mean. He might get jealous if a handsome male laguz is visiting his beloved Vika."
Reyson gulped. "You mean he has f-feelings for Vika?"
Naesala nodded. "It was apparent from the moment I saw them together. He was watching her with such a gentle, protective look, and when I came in to take her away he violently tried to attack me. His fiery passion for her is probably as strong as his fire magic, if you know what I mean."
"W-well, intimate relationships between laguz and beorc are forbidden! Vika would never allow such a thing!" Reyson replied in a shaky voice.
"That's never stopped it from happening before, though. How do you think Branded come about?"
Reyson gasped. "Th-this is terrible! What if Vika really does like... I have to find out!" With that, he rushed off to find the poor raven girl.
Naesala chuckled with delight. This is going quite well now! Of course, the little mage is too young for a beorc to be thinking of such naughty things, but Reyson doesn't know that. Now that that's taken care of...
"Naesala! I have question!" Leanne ran up behind him, wearing her new sage-colored dress. This was one of the dresses that had been altered greatly; it showed a fair bit of cleavage, though not enough that Reyson could protest. Naesala had to snap himself awake from the sight of her partially exposed chest in order to listen to her question.
"Yes, darling? What is it?"
She smiled innocently. "About house in garden that I see yesterday..."
"No. I'm not telling you what that is. It's a surprise, remember!" He folded his arms to show that he was not giving any more away this time.
Her face dropped a little at this, but she had another idea in mind. "I know. But I wondering if maybe it has cherry trees surround it? Cherry trees my favorite!"
Naesala hesitated to respond. If I put cherry trees there, then she'll want to spend more time there. But it's supposed to be a surprise for when we have our honeymoon, which of course will just be the most romantic event ever! Then again, she really does love cherry trees...
"Naesala, you taking long time to answer. I think I know what house is for!" she exclaimed with a playful grin.
"No you don't. I just had to think about how I'd obtain the cherry trees. They don't grow here naturally." Naesala sighed quietly in relief that he was able to think of an excuse so quickly. "Anyway, yes, I'll put some cherry trees around it, just for you!"
She clapped her hands in delight. "I knew! House is for me!"
"Wh-what are you talking about, darling?"
"House is where we go hide from Reyson for days! He not find us there! That what it is, right?" she asked hopefully.
Well, she's somewhat right... but not really. Naesala laughed. "You might be close. But I'm still not telling you!"
"Aww... Naesala, why you being mean?"
"Because it's a surprise, darling. You won't have to wait much longer, though." He kissed her to cheer her up. "Now, I must be on my way. There's a small issue concerning Vika's friends. They're coming here to take her back with them."
Leanne gasped. "Oh no! Reyson not love her all the way yet!"
"I know. I'm working on it, but I think we still have a long way to go. How about Vika?"
Leanne giggled. "She talk well of Reyson. She starting act like me when I first like you."
"Really?" He slid an arm around her waist. "And just how did you act when you first liked me?"
"I giggle a lot when I talk about you," she replied. "I say, 'Oh, he so nice!' and 'He so polite and good-looking!' Vika starting talk same way."
"She thinks Reyson is good-looking?" Naesala found this hard to believe. Reyson has such a... feminine appearance. Many people tend to mistake him for a girl until he starts talking. He has such soft features and long girly hair... I suppose Vika goes for that kind of thing.
"She think he has kind face. She never mention sexy, though." Leanne wrapped her arms around him. "You very sexy. I think that from the start."
"Of course you would. Not many laguz are as sexy as me!" They exchanged a few more kisses until...
"Naesala! Not in the hallway! Can't you keep your mouth off of my sister for more than two seconds?" Reyson had returned and was glaring at the raven king with disgust.
"I suppose I could keep my mouth off of her, but why would I want to?" Naesala smirked and kissed Leanne on the cheek.
Reyson rolled his eyes and groaned. He had long ago given up on keeping the raven from kissing his sister at all. "Well, Leanne, could you excuse us for a second?"
The heron princess nodded and dashed off to find Vika. She was in a mood to play dress-up, anyway.
"Naesala, I'm utterly confused," Reyson whispered once he was sure that they were alone, "and although I'm worried that your advice will be completely disgusting, I don't believe I have anyone else to turn to..."
Naesala grinned. "What is it, my dear, dear Reyson?"
Reyson took a deep breathe. "Vika's been acting differently around me today. And there's a big problem with this."
"Is she being rude or something?"
"No, just the opposite." Reyson glanced around before replying, "She's acting like Leanne did when she started to like you."
Yes! Then Vika must be starting to like Reyson! This is perfect! Naesala laughed. "But, Reyson, why is there a problem with that? She must like you. What's wrong with that?"
"I'm, well... I'm getting these impulses to do some very improper things, and I don't know what it's from--"
"Oh, please, Reyson! It's natural!" Naesala shook his head. "How can you be so naive? You're in love with her! That's what you're feeling! The fact that she likely loves you back is making you want to express you affections for her, and in what better ways than to become more physical?"
"But th-that's improper! What would Father say if he knew that I was holding hands with a raven girl?"
"He'd probably laugh." Naesala put an arm around Reyson in a friendly manner. "Look, Reyson, I think it's high time that you go and kiss her."
"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Reyson's face was now a deep shade of scarlet, a combination of embarrassment and acknowledgment of the fact that Naesala was partially right. "I knew I should have never asked your advice! I'm surprised you haven't suggested that I take her clothes off!"
"Can't hurt," the raven replied with a shrug.
Reyson only groaned and stormed off.
Well, I'll have to worry about that later. I must go find Nealuchi and devise a plan for holding off the invaders, should they attempt to climb Kilvas' rocky shores. Naesala wandered off and found the old crow back in the storage room.
"I think this ring would be just lovely, don't you think?" Nealuchi suggested as he held up a large diamond ring.
"Not now, Nealuchi. We have to find a way to keep the mage and his tiger friend from retrieving Vika." Naesala didn't like the ring, anyway. "You suppose we should keep up a watch along the shoreline?"
"The tiger was quite powerful. I think a violent defensive maneuver will only result in bad feelings between the beast tribe and ours," Nealuchi responded.
"They aren't really great to begin with," Naesala muttered.
The old crow sighed. "I think we should let them come and then reason with them. After all, if Miss Vika wishes to stay, I'm sure they wouldn't mind letting her. Especially since she's attracted to such a nice young heron fellow."
"You think talking will work?"
"I think so. As long as Miss Vika's attraction continues to grow, I believe we will have no problems." He smiled in reassurance.
"Well, I hope you're right." Naesala stretched. "I'm relying on that for my other plans at the moment."
"Plans for marriage?"
"None of your business, Nealuchi."
That night, Naesala sat down on his bed with a huff, and something in his pocket jabbed into his side.
"Oh, right... What did I even pick up back in the storage room this morning? I just saw green..." He pulled the ring out of his pocket and slowly looked it over. It was made of white gold and had a thin band. The sparkling emerald in the middle was the only jewel on it, but the band was engraved with a leaf pattern. Naesala grinned. Something about it was making it scream "Leanne!" Maybe it was just its simple yet elegant beauty.
"This is perfect," he whispered.