Okay so I know that some of you, love Flinx. I forgot to even mention her in the last chapter. Just to let you know, she is only slightly bigger than a kitten. She rides on top of Lila's pack, and was sleeping through out the last chapter. So, sorry if I disappointed you by not including Flinx. She is in this one.
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"Good morning! What a nice sleep I had!" Flinx said uncurling. She gave a slight pur at Lila's comrades. "You can rely on these people. Their aura's are some of the purest I have ever seen." Flinx chimed happily. She leaped to the ground gracefully. Yawning and stretching.
Flinx sniffed the air. "Are we going on an adventure?" She asked Lila quietly.
Lila gave a fond smile. "Yes, yes we are. " She whispered back.
The silver fox bounded into the air. "I like adventures!" She purred contentedly.
Lydia looked back at Flinx, with a concerned look. She wasn't sure if they should trust it. But Lila, seemed to really care for Flinx. Even Lydia had to admit, she was not an expert at Bilmora's. They held strange loyalty's. Most often to their owner, but Flinx seemed to accutely, hate Torrigor. She couldn't blame her.
Iris was helping Mike off the floor. Lydia concealed an amused smile. She had forgotten how truly clumsy Mike could be. She wondered if one of his falls, had caused a cut to form yet.
Sam was trying to whistle through a mouthful of seeds. She looked up and she saw Ashes, flying above them. She didn't understand, why did he like seeds so much?
Lucas, had a thoughtful look on his face. He was also in the back of the whole group. She had realized that he had stiffened. He had almost been back to his old teasing self. Than Eris, had made the mistake of telling the Blidian council, that he was the Prince of Aruline.
She wondered why castles troubled Lucas so much.
The silver fox set off on a ran and landed on Lila's bag. She placed a black foot on Lila's shoulder and peered out at the others.
"He seems awfully unhappy. The others are paying him no attention." Flinx whispered slyly.
Lila looked around. "Who?" She asked curiously.
The silver fox purred. "Him." She said airily.
Lila already had an idea, of who him was. Lucas... He had been so stiff and man-like. She liked it better, when he would much rather drive her crazy. She hated his silence. She felt like she should talk to him.
She looked back at him. He was walking slowly, a firm frown of his face. She stopped for a moment, biting her lip anxiously. Coming up with her decision, she stopped walking and dropped to the back. He needed a distraction, she would give it to him.
She laid a gentle hand on his shoulder and smiled at him. It was not one of her fakely sweet, it was a real one. Friendly and warm.
At the feeling of the hand on his shoulder, Lucas seemed to come back to the present. He blinked over at Lila. She was smiling? He pushed back the urge to smile back.
Obviously she had decided that he needed attention. He would continue deserving that warm and wonderful smile.
Her smile fell a little. It had not worked. Generally, when she smiled like that, others smiled back. She needed to use a different tactic. Her smile returned and this time she stepped into his path. Blocking the way forward. She took his hand in her own.
"Its not the end of the world, Lucas." She said gently.
Lucas looked her straight in the eyes. "It feels like it." He responded. His voice gruff.
Lila let go of his hand and stepped beside him. Was it really not helping, or was he just being stubborn?
"Its just a palace, we are going to try and free some people. What is so bad about a palace?" She asked gently.
Lucas frowned. "Its like a stone prison. Hard and cold and dark. If your royalty, your stuck in it for most of the day. Signing new laws, learning history, no free time to spend with friends." He said bitterly.
Lila stared at him. "Maybe this palace is different." She suggested.
Lucas laughed. "All the palaces I have been in, are basically the same." He said stubbornly.
Lila furrowed a brow, stopping briefly. Lucas seemed determined that he would hate it. Was it really that hard to be royalty? A sound in the distance, caught her attention. It sounded like the fall of water.
Flinx ran past her and through the undergrowth. Without hesitating, Lila followed after.
Sam walked over to Iris. "Are you ready to forgive me?" He whispered.
Iris shook her head. "No, Mr. Walker." She said stubbornly.
Sam frowned. "Well, than your a-a..."
"A what?" Iris asked, her eyes narrowing.
"A pushy cat!" He exclaimed, his face flushing.
Iris arched a perfect eyebrow. Her eyes glittered faintly. "A pushy cat, Mr. Walker?" She asked curiously.
Sam scowled. "Your bossy, selfish, and..." He began angrily, but stopped.
Iris, seemed uncertain of what to do. She felt like laughing. It was such a petty insult. "What? Mr. Walker?" She asked calmly.
Sam glared. "Will you just stop calling me, Mr. Walker! It makes me seem like an old man... What? What are you laughing at?!" He exclaimed, furrowing his brow at Iris.
Iris had suddenly burst out laughing. She couldn't help it. She had not been angry with Sam. She had been angry at the fact, that he knew. Was her attraction to him really that obvious?
"Such interesting- interesting insults, you carry in that small brain of yours!" She said breathlessly. Insulting and complementing him at the same time.
A small smile appeared on Sams lips. "Thank you! Wait!...Hey! I do not have a small brain!" He exclaimed boyishly.
Iris laughed. "Do too." She responded.
"Do not." He replied.
Lila gave a surrendering shrug. "Fine, you do not." She said slyly.
"Do too." Sam blurted.
Iris laughed. "Ha! I won!" She said triumphantly.
Sams eyes flashed. "That doesn't count! You tricked me!" He complained.
The other three watched the two bicker. It was amusing. At least they were talking to each other. Lucas looked behind him, to see if Lila was still there. He was surprised to find, that she was not.
"Where's Lila?" He asked the others.
Iris and Sam briefly paused in their argument. "Don't know." They said in unision. Which resulted in the two of them, glaring at eachother.
Lucas gave an exasperated sigh. "Fine! I'll go and find her. Your such good volunteers!" He finished sarcastically.
It took him a while, to find any hint of where Lila had passed by. He followed the small tracks. Lila's feet barely left a mark in the mud. He heard the sound of running water in the distance, and Lila's bare tracks lead him towards it. Finding no more sign of tracks, Lucas took a seat in the shade of a tree. He felt worry envelope him, but he pushed it away.
He heard a laugh near by and Lucas looked around again. He did not see any hint of Lila.
"Its funny, how seldom people look up." Lila said thoughtfully.
Lucas looked up, his eyes meeting Lila's eyes. Her blue-green eyes had a mischievous light in them. A small smile appeared on his lips.
She was sitting leaning against the tree trunk. Her loose red-gold hair drifting in the breeze. She brought herself to a sitting position and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
"Lucas... Did you know, that you make enough noise, to wake up a..." She cast her eyes around trying to find a satisfactory item. She jumped off of the branch, landing like a cat.
"A tree." She finished triumphantly, straightening to a standing position.
Lucas raised an eyebrow. "A tree?" He said doubtfully.
Lila smiled. "You must know, tree's have very bad hearing." She winked at him playfully.
Lucas chuckled. "Interesting remark." He said quietly.
Lila laughed. "I know! Isn't it." She said innocently.
Lucas watched her closely. She was being childish again. She reminded him so much of his little sister.
He cleared his throat. "Lila..."
A blur of silver ran towards the two. "Are you coming or not, Lila?" Flinx asked impatiently.
Lila smiled. "Sure! Lucas, do you want to come along?" She asked curiously.
Lucas shook his head. "Lila, I..." He began but again was interrupted.
Lila laughed and took his hand in her own, dragging him along with her. "Come on! This will be fun!" She exclaimed excitedly.
The two followed Flinx up a steep hill. Lila held onto Lucas's hand, dragging him up after her. A wide grin was fixed on her face. She always loved to go on adventures.
All Lucas could do was follow Lila. If he left her alone with the silver fox, something terrible might happen. He couldn't take that risk. Instead as he was being dragged along, a memory came to Lucas.
A girl about Lucas's age with curly golden tresses grabbed his hand. His cousin Isabella, with her mother's eyes. No one, not even his mother, could resist the princess's requests. She had inherited beautiful violet eyes. "Come on, Flipper! Lets have some fun!" She said with a giggle.
Lucas had reluctantly went along with her. The girl had dragged him through a forest, up a steep and rocky hill, and to the edge of a cliff. "Its gorgeous! The sea looks so beautiful from up here!" The girl had exclaimed in delight. "Come on! Lets dive into it!" She said, her violet eyes sparkling mischievously.
Lucas had hesitated. "Bella, don't you think its dangerous?" He warned her.
Isabella looked down again. "So?" She said airily. With that said, she jumped off the cliff and into the water. Lucas remembered the next few seconds like time had frozen. Isabella, had not checked for any rocks and when she dived, a sharp rock cut one of her arms deeply.
Isabella's innocent beauty, became flawed by a ugly purple scar that ran from her shoulder down to her hand...
Lucas returned back to the present slowly. Lila and Flinx had stopped. Lucas couldn't help but compare the surrounding's to that of his memory. They where beside a small waterfall. There was a gentle flowing pool of water below them.
The dieing sun, reflected pink and purple on the dancing water. Lucas felt his gut grind. He had finally found the answer to the question Lila had asked him.
Each time he began to care about someone, they were hurt. Or they disappeared from his life. He had loved his cousin Isabella, and she had been hurt, marked by an ugly scar. One of her arms practically useless. He had loved his brother's and sisters. They had been sent away, to another land for their education. The person closest to a friend, had been his father. His father had died three months before he ran away. His heart had been broken. No friends, no company, he had been alone in the world.
Sure, there had been the anxious ladies. But they treated him like a prince, and flirted with him shamelessly. He had always been clever. He had run away when his mother, had called for a ball, in which he would chooose his queen. Lucas didn't want to be king, he wanted a different life. It had all began when he had met Lila. If she got hurt, he wouldn't know what to do...
"Lucas? Do you feel like a swim?" Lila asked quietly.
Lucas pushed away the thoughts. He didn't want to remember. He didn't want to relive that lonely life.
Flinx stared up at Lucas thoughtfully. "Come on! There is a vine over there! We can swing off of it and into the large pool below. It will be exciting!" The fox chimed gently.
Lila looked at Lucas with concern. "Lucas? What is the matter?" She asked gently.
Lucas stared at Lila for a moment. She looked more stunning than ever before. "Make sure there is no rocks." He said gruffly.
Lila nodded. She stared at him thoughtfully, but nodded her head. "Good idea." She said patting him on the shoulder. She walked up to the edge and peered down. "All clear." She said happily.
Flinx bounded into the air. "I'll go get the others!" She said, her silver fur becoming a blur as she ran away.
Lila retrieved a thick green vine from a tall tree near by. "Ooh! This is exciting!" She murmured aloud.
Lucas held his breath anxiously. Praying that she would be fine. Lila held onto the vine like a rope. She ran off the cliff. Lucas watched closely, as the vine swung gently over the water. Lila laughed excitedly and let go of the vine. Disappearing into the water with a splash.
It seemed like a year passed by, until Lila's head, finally broke the surface of the water. Lucas let out a sigh of relief.
"Lucas, go on! Have some fun!" She called up at him.
Lucas hesitated, but eventually took the vine in his hand. He closed his eyes and stepped off of the cliff. The sensation, was like what he imagined, flying would be like. After a couple of swings he let go and fell into the water.
The water enveloped him freely. He swam to the surface. Catching his breath and laughing. It had been fun. He looked around for Lila, but did not find her.
Two wet hands, covered his eyes. "Guess who." Lila said playfully.
Lucas smiled. "It's Princess." He said teasingly.
Lila uncovered his eyes. "My name is not, Princess! Why do like teasing me so?" She said with a small pout.
Lucas laughed. "Maybe because, your lively when your mad..." He said vaguely.
Lila circled to the front of him. "I'll make a deal with you. You stop calling me Princess, and I will stop calling you Princeling." She said, staring him in the eyes.
A mischievous light came into Lucas's eyes. He leaned towards her. "You haven't called me Princeling, in a long time." He breathed quietly.
Lila leaned towards her ear. "Maybe, I might again." She whispered playfully.
Lucas chuckled. "You wouldn't, Princess." He whispered gently. He reached a hand towards her cheek.
Lila stared back into those gentle cerulean eyes. She was not confused like before. A warm smile appeared on her lips. She leaned towards him, breathing in the warm spicy scent. His hands felt warm against her skin. She was closer to him, then ever before.
"I might..." She breathed quietly. She didn't care what others thought. She loved him. He was a man, but he was not like any of the others. He was warm, and boyish, and-and real! She felt like she belonged right in front of him. Staring into those knowing cerulean eyes...
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Ha! Perfect chapter. Perfect. Your anxious now, aren't you? It started out as a bicker, but it softened. I hope that all of you Flinx-lovers were satisfied. Yes, Flinx does a play a major part in the story. Does that make you happy! I have always liked foxes, but strange silver foxes, that's even better.
Keep reviewing! You readers and reviewers are so awesome!
You rock socks! Remember, you can make a difference!
-Lightzing ;) (P.S- g2g, I'm going to Greaters. Signing off...)