Told y'all next chapter would be up in a jiffy :P

*** Chapter Twelve : Busted! ***

"This is all YER fault!" Cornelia exclaimed as she walked down the rickety stairs, Bentley was right behind her. Needless to say, she wasn't all too happy over the situation she woke up to. Both of them tangled up in each others arms on the hayloft, completely nude, and on to add insult to injury; she was hungover something awful!

"MY fault?! How is this MY fault?!" He retaliated, even if her accusation didn't come as a surprise. "It wasn't me who drank myself senseless b'cause I was bein' angsty over my arranged weddin'!"

"But YOU allowed this to happen! You should've stopped me!"

"How?! If I would've tried to stop you, you would've started screamin' and wake everyone up!"

"Are you really that stupid or am I just lucky!? Of course I wouldn't do that! Then I'd just get into trouble as well!" She stopped and turned to face him. "Where's my pants?!"

He handed her the reddish brown pants and focused to not look down at the rest of her. At least he was wearing his pants, she had nothing but her underwear on. "Look, Chuck and Finn will be here any minute, we HAVE to stop arguin' and get outta here!"

"We ain't arguin'!" She hissed, turned her back to him and stuck her foot through one of the pants legs. "And stop lookin' at my ass, ya god damn pervert!"

"Hey! I ain't lookin' at'cha!" He hurried to turn around. "And I ain't the pervert here!"

"Oh, are you sayin' it's ME who's the pervert?!"

"I never said that!"

"But you were thinkin' it, weren'tcha?! Or were you busy reviewin' yer new fappin' material?! Pervert!" When he didn't answer, she snarled and turned around, only to discover why he was so silent.

In the doorway to the stable stood two other slaves, Chuck and Finn. Their eyes were wide in shock as they stared at the two half-naked, arguing teens, nobody said a word. Awkward silence.

"Of-fuckin'-course!" Cornelia exclaimed and jumped in behind Bentley, he took it as a cue and held out his arms as if that would help to cover her up more. "Why, Universe?! WHY do you hate me so much?!" She growled up at the roof.

"Umm, hi there, Finn! A-and Chuck!" Bentley finally manages to say and when Cornelia poked at his side, he handed her light green shirt as well. "W-what're y'all doin' here?"

"You were missin'" Chuck was the only one of those two who was in condition to speak. Finn was still traumatized of what he just saw. "Ama got worried so we decided to go look for ya b'fore we start workin'"

"T-that's nice! Well, as you can see, I'm fine! Soo, why don't you two just head back to the cabin and I'll be right there!" Bentley said with a sheepish smile while trying to ignore the redhead behind him, cussing up a storm meanwhile getting dressed. None of the other slaves moved from the spot and Bentleys smile faded. "Look, I can explain ev'rythin'...!"

"I hope so!" Chuck growled. He had gotten past the shocked state, and now looked more furious. "I hope ya have a damn good explanation!" Bentley looked down at the ground as Chuck dragged the shocked Finn away back to Amas cabin. To deliver the good news about Bentley being found unharmed, and the bad that he might have sealed everyones fate...

But before they left, Cornelia stepped out from behind Bentley and hollered at them. They both turned their heads to her, but quickly looked away when they saw that only the first buttons on her shirt was done. "And none of you fleabags better tell ANYONE of what you've seen! Capische?!" She hissed, and the hyena and the wild dog first exchanged glances before nodding. "Good!"

The duo dashed off, leaving Bentley and Cornelia alone. He was still staring down at the ground. "I'm sorry, Corny..."

"Look, let's just never talk 'bout this again, capische?" She said and buttoned the rest of her shirt and tied her messy hair up in a sloppy ponytail. She didn't see him do it, but she still knew he was nodding. "Well, later!" She said and clenched her aching head as she ran as quietly she could to the bushes to get unnoticed to the loose boards.

"See ya..." Bentley put on his shirt and got out as well. The walk to Amas cabin felt longer than usual, probably because he knew that they were waiting for him there. Waiting to attack him with questions. When he finally stood in front of Amas door, he hesitated. He looked up at the birdskull above the door and saw that some of the colorful painted patterns had faded. A good luck charm. But now it was grinning down at him, like some sadistic spirit just waiting to hear him get scolded by his family. He took a deep sigh before opening the door and step inside the kitchen. Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to him. Dead silent.

"G'mornin' ev'ryone!" He said with a nervous chuckle, but didn't get anything in return.

Chuck was glaring at him with a displeased from, Finn still looked shocked, Toby looked like he was about to start hyperventilating, Ellie tilted her head and looked at him with concern and Amas face was expressionless.

He silently took a bowl of gruel and sat down at his usual chair, but he couldn't eat. Everyone was staring at him. "I-Is somethin' wrong?" He asked eventually and finally got a response; Toby bursted out in a hysterical laughter.

"'Is somethin' wrong' he asks! 'Is somethin' wrong'!" Toby said between the laughing attacks, looking absolutely horrified. "First he nails masters daughter, and then he comes 'ere askin': 'is somethin' wrong'! IS SOMETHING WRONG?!"

"Toby!" Ellie exclaimed and gave the striped hyena she adored a stern look. "Calm down!"

"Calm down?! How can I be calm when Jungle-Jim over there just...!"

"Enough, Toby!" Chuck barked, causing Toby to slam his head on the table and start bawling.

"They're gonna kill us all!"

Chuck sighed and rolled his eyes. "Can somebody PLEASE remove Toby? He's gettin' a bit too hysterical for my likin'..." He said with a meaning look at Ellie, indicating that she probably was that 'somebody'.

She nodded and walked over to Toby, putting a soothing hand on his shoulder and nodded for him to follow her out. They waited until the two hyenas were outside until Chuck turned with his eyes narrowed at Bentley. The brown hyena gulped and seemed to shrink in size as he sat on the chair, just waiting for their judgment.

"Well?" Chuck said and raised an eyebrow. "You said you could explain. Now, explain; what were you and Miss Aventine doin' in the stables?"

"Naked..." Finn added with a low, distant voice.

Bentley gulped and averted his eyes to granny Ama. She didn't seem as furious as Chuck was, but she didn't look pleased either. He sighed and stared down at the grayish gruel.

"M-me and Corny... Errm, I mean Miss Aventine, are just friends... Last night was a mistake, she was anxious over her and young Mr Willows arranged marriage and somehow managed to get a hold of some brandy and emptied the entire bottle..." He looked up and saw that their faces hadn't changed. "Nothin' like that has ever happened b'fore, or will happen again! I swear!"

"You said you were friends?" Chuck asked skeptically. "But she's never been to this side of the fence, at least not alone, and we're not allowed to as much as look at her!"

"There's a couple of loose boards in the fence, behind all the bushes. She comes here by night, usually sometime b'fore midnight. We meet up on the loft, on that platform you used to store grains, r'member?" Bentley sighed and looked down at the gruel again. "I-I'm not supposed to be tellin' y'all 'bout this, I promised her never to tell anyone!"

"You're not s'posed to meet her at all!" Chuck growled. "What if anyone in the residence finds out?! Do you have any idea what Mr Aventine would do to you if he found out?!"

"But so far he hasn't found out!" Ama was the one to object, and Bentley looked at her in surprise. "How long have you two met?"

"T-ten years, granny..." He could tell they were all surprised by the long time. "I met her only a few months after I got here. She was the one who gave me the name Bentley, y'know. She said I looked like her teacher, Mr Bentler"

"That's why I found it so familiar..." Ama mumbled before turning to Bentley again. "So, what have you two been doing for ten years?"

Bentley whimpered. He knew this was going to happen. "She... She has been teachin' me..."

"Teachin' ya what?" Finn was starting to get out of the shocked state.

The younger hyena took a deep sigh. "To read, sir... I can read, write... Oh, and count! I'm actually pretty good at it!"A faint smile appeared in the corners of his mouth, but that vanished when Chuck got up from his chair and began pacing back and forth in front of the stove. "I know it's illegal, Chuck! We both know! But she really wanna b'come a teacher herself, so I...!"

"This is bad... This is far worse than I'd ever imagine!" The older wild dog ranted as he paced. "I knew somethin' was up! I knew it was somethin' with the kid!"

"Chuck, can we talk?" Ama said, and judging from the tone in her voice, it wasn't a question. The wild dog and the girdled lizard walk into one of the rooms just as Toby and Ellie returned inside.

Toby sat down on a chair while Ellie soothingly stroke one of his long, pointy ears. "So, what did we miss?" She asked and looked at Finn and Bentley.

"Not much..." Finn said with a shrug. "Just that Bentley and Miss Aventine has been secret friends for ten years and they meet up every night and she has taught him to read, count and write"

Tobys eyes widened. He threw a glance at Ellie before bolting out through the door again. Ellie sighed and followed him out. The ones still on the inside could hear his hysterical and frightened voice. Hopefully, none of the overseers could hear him repeat everything he just heard to himself. He sure was convinced they'd all get punished now! Shortly after they left, Chuck and Ama came out into the kitchen again and Bentley hurried to look down into his gruel again.

"Bentley..." Chuck said, he sounded stern so Bentley didn't dare to look up. "None of us is gonna to tell anyone anythin'. But we don't think you should meet her anymore, it could get you both into trouble! You're lucky it was me and Finn who turned up in the stables. Imagine if Lasher, or any of the other overseers found you two?"

Bentley gulped and let his shoulders slouch. "I-I know..."

"Can you promise us that you'll never meet up with her again?" Ama asked, and Bentley looked up from the gruel and at his caretaker for a few seconds, but then he turned his attention down at the gruel again.

"I'm sorry... But I can't..." He replied, causing the rest to draw a simultaneous, annoyed sigh. "I've already promised her that I'd meet every night. I'm not gonna break a promise to a friend!" He shoved the bowl of gruel away from him and stood up. "I ain't hungry, see y'all later..." He said and walked out. He knew he was going to regret not eating any breakfast later, but right now he just couldn't get himself to eat a single bite. He knew it was just a matter of time before someone else found out about him and Corny. Secrets like this one is hard to keep forever, it was a miracle it had been ten years already!

But he had never expected the secret to be discovered already the same day!

...

He was out plowing on the fields right outside the house with a couple of others when the Willows arrived. They came from East, so when he heard the sound of trotting roadrunners and large, wagon wheels, he looked up and at the road. Cornelia and her family, including the uncle, was standing outside their gate when the silver blue coach-wagon stopped by the entrance to the slaves home quarters, to allow Chuck and Finn to take care of the coach and the two silver gray roadrunners pulling it. One of the roadrunners seemed jumpy and worried, and it spread to the other one.

Four mountain lions were exiting the coach; Mr and Mrs Willow, along with their two children. When Phillip, dark blonde and looked to be just a few years older than Cornelia, came out from the wagon, Bentley could swear he heard Cornelia groan in pain.

The adult Aventines happily welcomed the Willows and walked over to them to greet them properly, worrying the already skittish roadrunner even more. Cornelia stayed by the gate. She was wearing a deep red lacy dress and a matching bonnet on her head, and when she locked eyecontact with Bentley for a few beats, her face turned into a similar color and she pulled the bonnet down over her face. He couldn't help but to chuckle.

But an angry holler from Lasher and the crackling of his whip got Bentley to turn back to the plow he was controlling. The big, scruffy roadrunner that pulled the plow had almost fallen asleep since the one in charge had been busy looking at the funny rich people, but it also snapped back into reality when Lasher cracked his whip right beside it.

"What do ya think you're doin', hyena?" The heavy wolverine growled. Since the little prank Bentley pulled on him seven years ago, he was still annoyed by practically everything Bentley did.

"Oh not much, just workin' and stuff... You, wolverine?" Bentley replied with a cheeky smile and leaned over the plow.

"Less glarin', more plowin', git to it!" The overseer cracked his whip once more.

Bentley snorted. "That was the worst slogan I've heard in my life!"

"It ain't no slogan, GIT TO IT!" Lasher repeated and looked like he was about to explode. But then they heard someone yelp from the road, and both Bentley and Lasher turned to see what the fuss was about.

Phillip had walked over to Cornelia and probably said something, since she was now walking towards his father with determined strides and cursing down at the ground. But meanwhile, the skittish roadrunner was completely ballistic now and was tossing and turning to get away from the slaves trying to hold him and the other one down. He eventually dragged the other into the hysteria as well, and Bentley instantly realized that Chuck, Finn and the Willows driver wasn't going to be enough to hold the hysterical birds still. And Cornelia was walking right in their way, unaware of the birds.

"CORNY! WATCH OUT!" Bentley screamed and bolted towards the road just as the two birds yanked themselves free from the hands holding them and stampeded along the road.

Cornelia looked up when she heard Bentleys shout, but the sight of the roadrunners coming straight for her with the coach still behind them, made her paralyzed in fear and stand like frozen solid on the spot. She could hear her mother scream when she saw her daughter was in the way, but she couldn't move!

Bentley ran as fast as he could and leaped over the fence. Right before the stampeding coach hit Cornelia, he lunged at her, threw his arms around her and pushed her out of the way. They both rolled away to safety by the verge, and he curled up over her as a protecting shield as the roadrunners bolted past them. The entire ground shook as if an earthquake rocked the ground, and dust was kicked up by the birds big, trampling feet and the massive coach wheels. Bentley and Cornelia coughed as the dust reached them, and not until the thunder of the stampeding roadrunners was fading away did Bentley dare to look up at the road. The dust was slowly settling when Cornelia suddenly threw her arms around Bentleys neck and pressed herself close to him in a tight hug. She was shaking in the aftermath of the shock and tried to hold back the sobs as she clung to him like a barnacle.

He was confused for a while, as this was the first time in ten years he had seen her really scared, but then he hugged her back. He sat up on his knees with her leaning against him and calmly smoothed out her red hair, since her bonnet had fallen off and revealed that her hair had been washed and brushed. She was probably supposed to look like her finest now when her supposed fiance was here, but now she looked anything but charming, since the dust had clung to her and her dress was ripped and dirty. But she was alive and unharmed, but scared.

"It's alright, Corny..." He said soothingly and carefully brushed away a strand of hair that had fallen over her face. "You're okay, I got'cha!" He chuckled when she clenched her eyes shut and pressed her head against his chest." Ya didn't make a mess in yer petticoat just now, did'cha?" He teased and earned a low growl from her.

"S-shut up!" She said and tried to stop sobbing. She felt embarrassed for trembling like a leaf in public like this, and her cheeks slowly began to turn red, but she still didn't want to move from this spot. "I... I guess I owe ya one now, huh?" She managed to say with a faint smile.

"Nah, ya don't owe me shit, Corny" Bentley mumbled in response and hugged her tightly. "Just doin' my duty, that's all..."

His ears twitched by the unmistakeable sound of a revolvers hammer getting clicked back, and when he looked up, he found himself face to face with the dark barrel of a gun. He felt his heart skip a beat in fright and looked past the revolver at the man holding it; Lasher. And right next to the overseer stood Mr Aventine, not looking the least bit pleased.

"Git yer filthy paws off my daughter" The plantation owner growled with his fangs bared.

Bentley gulped and obeyed. He slowly let go of Cornelia, and was roughly dragged up on his feet by Lasher. He threw Bentley to the nearest fence and aimed his gun at the hyena. "Just say when, Mr Aventine!" The wolverine growled and his mouth curled up into a sadistic grin. Bentleys eyes nervously flickered to the sides and he slowly raised both of his hands.

The women rushed up to help Cornelia up on her feet, along with the Willows youngest child; their daughter Fifi. "Oh no! Cornelia, look at your dress!" Mrs Aventine gasped and with tears in her eyes, she began to try and brush of the worst dust. "Y-your beautiful dress!"

"Yeah, yeah... Good riddance!" Cornelia mumbled, but it was her turn to gasp when she saw the overseer pointing his gun at Bentley, just waiting for the order from Mr Aventine. "Dad! No!" She freed herself from her mother and Mrs Willow and stumbled over to her father. "Really, dad? You're gonna let the Mr Hogwash over there shoot the man who saved my life?!"

Gabriel Aventine raised a skeptical eyebrow at Bentley, who grinned sheepishly and waved.

"Saved her?! Pfft! I've told ya, sir! These hyenas have been plannin' somethin' for days now!" Lasher growled and tilted his head at his boss. "I heard that Finn plottin' with the others, they've been thinkin' of escapin' for a while, an' I bet this was just a try to get away! Sir, THEY were the ones who sent the 'runners runnin', and they were probably gon' take yer daughter hostage!"

"What?! Dude, you're fuckin' outta here!" Cornelia spat at the overseer and took a step at him, her arms stretched out. "That's gotta be the most paranoid bullcrap ya ever came with, and you've talked a LOT of shit in yer days!"

"Excuse me, Miss, but you don't know these people as well as I do! They'll take any chance they git to...!"

"Well if they wanna get outta here so badly, then maybe you should treat 'em better!" Cornelia raised her voice, now furious at the overseer. "They're what makes this place work, and y'all treat them like rubbish! Like they're nothin' but...!"

"That's enough, Cornelia!" Gabriel said, intervening between his daughter and overseer before a full blown fight broke out, knowing how hotheaded his daughter was. "He won't die... This time..." He put an arm around Cornelias shoulders and narrowed his eyes at Bentley. "You know what I do with anyone who lays a hand on my daughter?"

"Ugh!" Cornelia crossed her arms and rolled her eyes.

"Y-yeah, sir!" Bentley nodded. Looking too long at Cornelia Aventine was forbidden, talking to her; taboo, and touching her; out of the question. Maybe Mr Aventine was a bit overly protective of his daughter?

"Well, the same goes for you! But..." The adult mountain lion cocked his head to the side. "But you did save her, and I believe in 'a life for a life'. Therefore, I'll let you go with just a warnin'. But the next time..."

Bentley lowered his hands and nodded nervously. Lasher growled in disappointment and lowered his gun. He grabbed Bentley by the scruff of his neck and was about to drag him back to the field when Matt emerged from the group.

"Hey! Hold up there a minute!" The gray haired mountain lion said and nodded at his brother. "A word, Gabe?"

Gabriel frowned, but left to hear what his brother had to say. Cornelia crossed her arms and smiled a victorious grin at Lasher, until her mother came up to her and tried her best to straighten out her dress and fix her hair as best as she could.

"Mom! No, stop!" She sighed and tried to wave her mother off, but Grace was persistent.

"We have to go back inside..." Grace mumbled and dusted off the deep red, dirty fabric on her daughters long, puffy skirt. "We have to put on somethin' else, this is completely ruined!"

"No! I'm fine, mom!" Cornelia threw a glance behind her, at Phillip. The other mountain lion returned her glare with a raised eyebrow. "It ain't important right now!"

Grace ignored her sister and turned to the Willows. "I'm incredibly sorry this happened today!"

"Oh it's our fault!" Mrs Willow scoffed and sadly shook her head. "It was our critters who ran away." She turned her head and the curly dark blonde bangs swayed. Chuck and Finn were coming back with the two roadrunners and the coach. Luckily, they were all unharmed. "But I wonder why they did that? They seemed so calm at home!"

"One of them had a thorn in his leg, ma'am..." Finn said, overhearing the other mountain lion wife. "He was just in so much pain an' just tried to get away from it, I guess"

Suddenly Cornelia saw her father march back with Matt right behind. He looked beyond furious. "You there!" He barked, and made Bentley jump in surprise.

"M-me, sir?" Bentley tilted his head. "Or did you mean my buddy here?" He nodded at Lasher, who still held his mane in his long, black claws. Lasher growled in response.

"You..." Gabriel growled and scowled at his hyena. "You knew my daughter, didn'tcha?"

"What?!" At least five other people burst out simultaneously. Cornelia and Bentley just flinched.

"Uh, well, of course! W-we all know who yer daughter is! O-or else we wouldn't know who to stay away from, right?" Bentley tried to explain, but the nervous grin didn't exactly convince.

"Matt told me he heard you call her somethin'..." Gabriel growled and took a few steps closer to Bentley.

"Corny, wasn't it?" Matt said suspiciously.

Bentley blinked in confusion. "... Did I call her somethin' corny, ya said?"

"No! Ya called her Corny!"

"But... I don't think she seem especially corny?"

"Enough!" Gabriel barked loudly. Something was going on here, he could tell. He knew that Cornelia wouldn't let anyone touch her like that. Hell, she had never even let her own family hug her before! He hadn't thought of it that much back then, but Matt had noticed and reacted. "How come you two seemed like old friends back there, then?"

"I was scared, dad!" Cornelia hurried to answer and placed herself between her father and Bentley. "Look, that's just paranoid talk! Matt NEVER knows what he's talkin' 'bout, so let's just drop it? I mean, Bentley saved me and that's all...!"

"Bentley, huh?" Gabriel averted his eyes down at his daughter, who instantly cursed silently to herself.

"W-well, that's what ya called him? R-right?" She chuckled nervously and shrugged, but her fathers suspicious face didn't budge.

"We never called him anything..." Grace said instead of her husband, and both Cornelia and Bentley gulped in fear and exchanged nervous glances. Finn and Chuck sighed and they too exchanged glances between each other. The silence that arose quickly turned awkward.

Neither Bentley och Cornelia said anything, but they could tell what the other was thinking; We're busted, right?

And there you have it :P! Why yes, they are royally screwed and I do like cliffys :3

However next chapter shouldn't take too long ;)