Selling Reyson to Oliver was… a bad idea.

Chapter 21 – Friends Close, Enemies Closer

After the White Prince had left, Nealuchi followed Naesala into his private library and grabbed him by the shoulders.

"Nestling! What are you thinking?" he gasped. "You can't show Reyson the blood pact mark—"

"It's not that, Nealuchi," Naesala replied in a low voice. "I know you're going to heavily chastise me for this, but I've just made a great deal with Duke Tanas."

Nealuchi let go of Naesala and backed away. "Wh-what do you mean?"

"That idiot senator wants another beautiful object, but this time, the object is none other than our good friend Reyson," Naesala explained casually. "He's going to give me double the normal rates if I deliver Reyson to him."

The old crow's eyes widened. "Y-you're going to… to sell Prince Reyson?! To a beorc?!"

"Nealuchi, calm down. I have this all figured out." Naesala took a deep breath before continuing. "Reyson's upset at me because of all of my dealings with humans. I have to explain to him somehow that I don't like humans, but I have to work with them if Kilvas is going to prosper. Reyson hasn't been to Serenes Forest since the massacre, right? If I show him what the forest is like now, how the humans of Begnion have mutilated it, then maybe he'll realize how much I hate humans. You know, it will bring back old memories and such."

"But, Nestling, selling him—"

"Nealuchi, I'm not finished," Naesala interrupted. "Yes, by taking Reyson to Serenes, I'll be able to trick him into going to the nearby Tanas estate. I'll collect my reward from that fat tub of lard, and then when he's least expecting it, I'll sneak in and rescue Reyson back! That way, I get money, and Reyson will stop pestering me about humans."

Nealuchi sat down in the desk chair in relief. "So Prince Reyson won't be harmed in any way?"

"Of course not! Duke Tanas won't allow the tiniest scratch to a piece of his collection." Naesala grinned. "Nealuchi, do you really think I would sell my best friend to that fat slob and then not care about it?"

"Still, Nestling… I'm not so sure about this. Prince Reyson will be deeply hurt by your betrayal."

"I'm not betraying him!" Naesala replied. "Double the normal rates, Nealuchi! Kilvas needs all the money she can get if she's going to survive this damn blood pact!" He shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. "Besides, the request is from a senator. Even though Oliver isn't acting off of the blood pact, I still need to be careful not to upset him. I need to maintain good relations with Begnion for as long as possible until I can figure out a way to break this curse."

Nealuchi sighed. "I hope you're doing the right thing, Nestling… I really do."

A few days later, Reyson arrived in Kilvas. Naesala could tell that the White Prince was not in the best mood, so he kept up a friendly grin.

"Reyson, we'll have to do a bit of flying. Is that all right with you?" he asked.

"I suppose… Just as long as it isn't too much." Reyson frowned. "Why do we have to leave Kilvas, though?"

"It's a surprise. Just trust me, okay?" Naesala launched himself up into the air and beckoned for Reyson to follow.

If I've timed this right, then it will be too dark to fly back. That way, we'll have to find a place to stay, and it just so happens that Oliver and his men have themselves conveniently hidden in his villa, along with Milo and a small batch of ravens. I'll just tell Reyson that it's abandoned. This flying will wear him out enough that he'll be too tired to care about the fact that it's a human villa.

"Naesala, what is it exactly that you want me to see?" Reyson called from behind. They were now flying steadily in the direction of Begnion. "I'd rather not be around any of your human friends right now."

"Reyson, why would I take you to humans?" Naesala sighed. "Just keep flying. We're almost there."

He heard the heron prince groan but resisted the urge to look back. A slight lump of guilt was building up in his throat, mostly because he was unsure of how negatively this plan would affect Reyson. After all, Reyson had not seen his homeland since it was destroyed twenty years ago. The heron had no idea just how much damage had been done after he and his father escaped.

But this plan is the only way that I can get that money and still hope to restore friendship with Reyson. If I show him the forest, then he'll finally realize that I don't like working with humans, and then when I rescue him from Oliver, just maybe… Too much risk in this plan, but give or take a few years, things might go back to normal.

The chill of autumn grew stronger as they continued north. The silence was beginning to bother Naesala, so he decided to see what reminiscing would do to the situation.

"So, Reyson. Remember when I tried to teach you how to fly?"

Reyson cocked his head. "Why are you suddenly bringing that up?"

Naesala shrugged. "I don't know. I just happened to start thinking about old times. Maybe it has something to do with the time of year. Kilvas is always warm, but it's starting to get cold here."

"I suppose so," Reyson replied. "Anyway, what were you talking about when you taught me how to fly?"

"Oh, well…" Naesala smirked at his friend. "It's funny how much better you've gotten at flying since then. It's just weird to think how much people change over the years."

"Yes, I suppose so…" Reyson's voice trailed off.

Oh dammit, he's going to use that to bring something up about my dealings with humans. 'You've changed, too, Naesala. You deal with humans. Tibarn says that's a bad thing. Blah blah blah…'

"Naesala?"

Here we go…

Reyson cleared his throat. "I realize I've probably grown a bit… well, aggressive over the years. Tibarn told me this yesterday. I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing that I'm losing my heron qualities…"

This sudden confession surprised the raven king. He stopped flying momentarily to see Reyson's face and make sure that this was an honest confession, not some sort of joke. However, the heron's face was indeed genuine, his eyes drawn in concern.

"Reyson, you know… You've always been stubborn. That pretty much set you apart from the average heron from the very beginning." Naesala smiled. "Just make sure you don't sprout brown feathers and turn into a hawk, okay?"

He thought he saw his friend flash a quick smile, though he was not entirely sure. Glancing down below, he realized that they were closing in on Serenes Forest.

"Naesala, where are we going? We've been flying for quite some time now," Reyson called from behind.

"We're almost there," Naesala replied. "Another minute or so and we'll get there. Don't worry." The dark, gloomy space that had once been Serenes Forest was now visible on the horizon.

Reyson, don't be too upset. It's all going to make sense. Once I rescue you from Oliver and explain everything, then you'll be fine.

Finally, Naesala signaled for Reyson to land. The White Prince followed, landing softly in the mud.

"Wh-where is this place?" Reyson asked, glancing around nervously.

"This is what I was going to show you," Naesala explained. "Do you recognize it?"

"Recognize it? I…" He began fluttering off, his face completely white with shock. Naesala kept a close distance behind him, making sure that none of Oliver's henchmen were around to mess things up.

Because humans think they're so smart and like to ruin excellent plans.

"This is… this is Serenes?" Reyson asked, almost in a whisper. He turned to Naesala and looked at him with wide, disbelieving eyes. "This barren wasteland? These charred trees? This is my homeland?" He stepped around the muddy forest floor, horrified at the skeleton-like, charred trees that surrounded him. Then a hauntingly beautiful speech poured out of his mouth, each word delicately flowing into the next.

Naesala gasped. "The ancient language! You can still speak it?" So you haven't changed into a hawk after all. However, the sudden sound of the heron tongue brought forth a flurry of memories, running around in a forest that used to be a vivid green, singing and fluttering about in the innocent games of childhood. He listened carefully and realized that he could still understand a language that he had not heard in almost twenty years.

"Oh, my forest! The beautiful trees! The life that used to thrive here! The land that was blessed by the goddess herself! Destroyed! Oh, my dear trees, I am sorry!" Reyson whispered these things in his mother tongue as he continued through the graveyard of trees.

"Reyson, this is what happened when you left," Naesala replied. "You see? Humans did this."

The wide, emerald eyes arched in sudden anger. "Those cursed humans! They did this?! I can never forgive them for this!"

Naesala looked right into Reyson's face to show just how honest he was being at that very moment. "Reyson, now you realize that I hate humans for doing stuff like this?"

Reyson nodded. "Yes, I understand, now. You must hate having to deal with them. Naesala, I'm sorry for accusing you of forgetting about your kin. I fully understand now."

Naesala smiled. "Good." Just keep understanding that for the next few days, Reyson. Please… He sighed. "Well, it's getting late. I know of a senator's villa around here that we can stay in for the night. It should be empty at this time of year, so it's ours for the raiding – er, staying in."

Reyson frowned. "A human's house?"

"Reyson, think about it. It's getting dark, and we birds can't see once the sun goes down." He pointed up at the sky. "I'm only worried about our safety."

"I guess you have a point…" Reyson looked back at the desolate remains of his forest once more. "Rest in peace, my brothers and sisters," he whispered in the heron tongue.

Naesala led Reyson to the Tanas villa, glancing around to make sure that the soldiers were indeed well-hidden. He could not see any sign of Oliver as they walked through the empty hallways.

"Whoever owns this villa is sickeningly rich," Reyson spat out. "They probably used wood from the Serenes Forest to build it."

"It wouldn't surprise me at all," Naesala replied truthfully. In his mind he could imagine Oliver jumping up and down at the sight of an "object of beauty" made from Serenes wood.

Finally, they reached a large bedroom on the second floor. Naesala lit a torch on the wall.

"I think this should do for now," he told Reyson. "You wait here. I'm going to see if I can find some food around here." He turned to leave the room.

"Wait, Naesala." Reyson took a deep breath. "I just wanted to say… Thank you. I really appreciate what you've done."

"Don't worry about it, Reyson." Naesala grinned. "We're old friends, right?"

"Right!" Reyson returned the smile.

Naesala nodded and left the room, shutting the door behind him. Then he leaned against the wall and sighed. Great. Now I feel even worse about doing this… He wandered down the hallway until he met up with Milo.

"Is everything ready?" he asked the captain.

"Yes, sir! But, about Duke Tanas… He's literally… quivering with anticipation." Milo shuddered. "It's not pretty. Kinda reminds me of gelatin, and not the tasty kind."

"I can imagine." Naesala shook the image out of his head. "Just hold back that mountain of suet for a little longer. If Reyson sees any humans in here at all, he'll fly out of here."

Milo saluted. "I'm on it, sir." He turned and went back down the hallway.

Now all we have to do is wait for Reyson to fall asleep. I collect my wages, and then we fly out of here. No problem at all.

I just had to keep the "mountain of suet" line in. It makes me giggle every time I read it. There might be a slight delay before I post the next chapter. Possibly. Very likely. I apologize in advance. I'm incredibly busy all the time...