----------------------------------------------By Your Leave-------------------------------------------

Father turned to me and clapped me on the shoulder. "Son, your mother and I are leaving you here. I have utter confidence in the Ayorthians. I do not doubt that you will be well taken care of. You will be coming back by yourself in a month." He leaned forward. "And if you see any eligible ladies while here, just tell me. I hear the Ayorthian princess is available. I'm sure you could get along."  Father winked jovially, then mounted his horse and turned.

Mother came forward, tears in her eyes. Kissing me on the forehead, she whispered. "Oh, Jerrold, I miss you already! This is the first time I've been apart from my little baby, whatever am I going to do without you? I'm going to miss you! I don't have another child, what if something happens to you in Ayortha? Promise me you'll be careful, Jerrold."

I laughed, "Mother, I can take care of myself! I'm eighteen, not your little baby anymore!" I rolled my eyes, grinning at Father. "Mothers."

After Mother and Father left, the King greeted me. "Prince Jerrold, it is a pleasure to have you here with us today."

"And a pleasure for me to be here." I smiled. "You are the King Tryysius, are you not?"

"Yes." The King smiled. "Now, by your leave."

I stared at him, by my leave what? Why didn't he finish his sentence? The King was looking at me as if puzzled. Still staring at me, he repeated. "By your leave."

Someone nudged me, whispering. "He means for you to walk up to the Palace." Oh, well why didn't he say so?

I squared my shoulders and marched regally up the stone path to the Palace, the King falling in step beside me. When we reached the Palace doors, the king smiled at me and said. "By your leave."

Wow, what a wide vocabulary these Ayorthians must have. The King said 'by your leave' a total of six times in our trek to my rooms. Once outside, once at the Palace doors, once at the doors to the great hall, once at the stairs leading up to the sleeping suites, once at the door to my suite, and once at the door to my sitting room.

When we finally got the sitting room, I sent my servants away and sat down to talk with the King.

"I hear Ayortha is particularly famous for their singing." I was blabbering, saying just about anything to keep the uncomfortable silence at bay.

"By your leave." What? How did my comment merit another 'by your leave'? I looked down, trying frantically to understand. Finally, I looked up, deciding to just ask.

"I'm sorry?"

The King smiled, and then rose to pull on a cord hanging from the ceiling. I heard a bell ring somewhere deep inside the Palace. So that was what he wanted. Suddenly, I realized I was staring, hastily; I cleared my throat and tried to start up the conversation again.

"So, um, what kind of songs do you sing?"

"Many."

"Really? How… interesting. What type do you favor?"

"Homecoming."

"Indeed? May I inquire as to why you like the homecoming songs?"

Thoughtful look.

"So you just like them. Do you sing often?"

"At Sings."

"Oh, I've heard of the Sings, they're rumored to be quite lovely. I would love to witness one for myself."

Smile.

"Um… do you want a cookie?"

"By your leave."

I smiled and handed the king the cookie tray, frantically casting my mind around for something else to say. I was relieved of the task, however, when a knock sounded at the door. I practically melted in relief.

The King smiled at me. "By your leave."

I quickly wiped the ecstatic grin off my face, nodding gravely; I got up to open the door. A young girl stood on the other side, she was a year or so younger than me. Curtseying gracefully, the girl murmured a quiet "By your leave."

I could seriously grow to hate those words.

None of that annoyance showed on my face, however. I simply bowed in return and said. "No, by your leave."

The King and the girl both looked at me as if I was crazy. Snapping out of his trance, the king got up and put an arm around the girl's waist. "Prince Jerrold, this is the Princess Aethiel."

The Princess curtsied again, smiling. "By your leave."

This time I decided not to try and turn her words around on her. I tried a smile and a polite. "Of course."

It seemed I had finally done something right, the Princess smiled graciously and sat down in one of the chairs. Relieved, I scurried over to the chair I was occupying before and sat down.

The Princess smiled at me. The King gave me a thoughtful look. I smiled back at both of them, wishing I were at home. Why couldn't Daria have been here? Then at least I would have had someone else to talk to. How could these Ayorthians be so calm and quiet? I missed home more than ever, at least the people there moved.

And of course, Daria was at home. I wondered what she was doing. She was probably a lot happier without me. I wished I wasn't so mean around her. I really had no idea why I did such things, I just did. It was compulsive, like my need for noise.

A minute passed in silence. How could these people be so comfortable in silence? They seemed not to notice my squirming, thank goodness for that!

Why did we need these relations with the Ayorthians anyways? Whose idea was it to send me over here? Surely the person who came up with the theory that spending time in Ayortha would strengthen my liking for the country had never been here. The only thing Ayorthat could do for me was weaken my tongue.

Not that these Ayorthians were bad people, I'm sure they meant well. I'm just not the kind of person who was comfortable with silence. And the silence had already stretched for three long minutes.

Smiling uncomfortably, I turned to Princess Aethiel. "So, I hear the Sings are held monthly…"

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Okay, I'm sorry! Sorry for not updating at the right time, and sorry for not having Daria in this chapter. I'm doing his Ayorthian trip for a while, so you'll just have to trust me when I'm saying this is important! Don't worry, in my other fic I skip over the Ayorthian trip and Jerrold comes straight back the next chappie.

Streamers and confetti to:

Notaboy: Yay! I am, aren't I? 'head starts expanding… head is getting too big! Head falls over and off of shoulders…'

etheriums angel: It's not an act of love! He's being stupid and mean because that's what she expects him to be, so he just does it. It's not because he's in love with her! Did you get any of that? No? Too bad. Lol

Lady Emma: Thanks! Though this is a lot more work, and everybody knows how I respond to having work…

awaiting impatient person: Hey, boys are idiots (hopefully you're not a boy). But yeah, I agree with you. But it's 'easier said than done' don't you think?

Mandy: But she's not really selfish, she just doesn't know the real him. Poor Jerrold 'sniff' lets all cry together. WAHHHH!!!

dreamerdoll: I'll get better, you'll see… and thanks for beta-ing! Don't worry, I don't blame you (at least, not this time…)