Must find time to write! Seriously, this work is catching up to me. If I don't finish another chap this week, I won't be able to do a chapter preview next week… and then the update date will be "asap," heh XD

Anyway! I live with just my mom, and she's in China until Oct 9th. Which would be awesome if I didn't have to do all the chores for her XD. At least I'm not paying the bills… at least I don't think I have to XD

Chapter 20! This story's really come a long way, hasn't it? And yet, it's only day 3… maybe I write too much filler, haha XD. Anyway, enjoy the LxR romance!

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"Rose! Relax, will ya?"

Ledah, airborne, chased after Rose, who was running on the ground with no particular destination in mind. He caught up with her quickly, stopping her by landing in her path. She breathed heavily.

"Are you… taking after Ein?" Rose asked between breaths. "You're… becoming a pervert too?"

Ledah wasn't breathing quite as heavily. "No, I'm not. I was just stating facts, like I said!"

"I almost expect you to state that you're a perv," Rose said sarcastically and sighed. "I don't know why I ran like that…"

"Me neither," Ledah replied. "Come on, relax." Holding onto her hand, he led her to the grove, which wasn't very far away.

"I guess I was just afraid that you were becoming a pervert too," Rose said after a moment of silence. "But I still feel like there's some hidden meaning…" They arrived, and Rose quickly found herself sitting under a tree with Ledah beside her.

"Don't think about it too much," Ledah chided. "You'll get wrinkles on your pretty face."

Rose chuckled. "I'm not that old…"

"Old or not, you'll get wrinkles if you worry too much."

"If you say so." Rose rested her head on Ledah's shoulder and sighed again, relaxing. "It feels weird for you to be talking to me now. Shouldn't you be training?"

"There's time for training and time for rest," Ledah answered with a gentle smile. "Don't worry about me. I train all the time."

"Oh, do you?" Rose stroked his cheek tenderly. "I never see you training…"

"Training takes many forms," Ledah explained. "Though I think that what we should be doing the most is preparing to have some Angels stay in Elendia."

"You think so?" Rose pulled her knees up to her chest. Her tail danced playfully behind her. "Is it a good plan, though?"

"I don't think we have much choice," Ledah replied. "I do think that Orion's Angel army lacks unity, though, and we just might be able to take advantage of that."

"Izzat so…" Rose rested her chin on her knees, tracing circles on the ground with a finger. "That means we should be able to pull a few out of the army, right?"

"I think so." Ledah leaned his head back and breathed in the fresh air, looking up at the clear sky. Clouds scattered around the sky, and the sun shone brightly. "I think we should be enjoying our last few moments of peace though. It might be a while until we have peace again."

"Yeah, you're right." Rose let her knees slip back out and lay down, resting her head on Ledah's lap. "I really like this peace. I can't forgive anyone who even tries to take it away from us."

"I think the same," Ledah replied, glancing down at her. "Is there a reason you don't fight?"

"You could say that." Rose grinned up at him. "The only reason why there wouldn't be peace is if people fight, right? If you killed someone, wouldn't someone else be crying?"

Ledah pondered her words. "Well, in a war, it's either you kill your enemy or he kills you. You make someone cry, or he does."

"Does that really help the fight at all?" Rose continued. "Kill because someone else was killed, and be killed because of killing? Does that kind of thing bring peace?"

Ledah was silent for a moment. "I think that's one of the reasons why we have a plan like the one we do."

"Yeah, I guess. At least we know that if we kill Orion, we'll have peace, even if it's only temporary…"

"You're saying there might be another Magus out there who might try to destroy Riviera?"

"Could be," Rose answered. "Or, there might be someone even higher, some evil mastermind who was controlling Orion himself, and maybe even Hector…"

"I don't know about that…" Ledah said. "We should look into it though, or we could be in for an endless battle for peace."

"Personally, I hope that doesn't happen," Rose whispered. "I really hate fighting… even when it's all around us."

"Yeah." Ledah stroked Rose's cheek gently. "I'll be sure to protect you." He leaned down until he was no more than an inch from her face, and looked into her eyes. "I swear my life on that." With that, his face drifted forward and his lips found hers. After being locked for a moment, Ledah drew his head back and looked down at Rose, who was now smiling softly.

"You don't need to swear your life on it… but I appreciate that." Rose reached up and caressed Ledah's soft cheek and smiled. "I'll do my best to protect you too… not in a fight, but everywhere else."

Ledah nodded despite the fact that he wasn't sure if he knew what she meant. "Okay."

Rose's hands reached up and curled around Ledah's neck, pulling him down into another kiss. "You don't have to be strong only for me, you know…"

Ledah could only nod as his lips locked with hers again. He found his hands on her back, holding her up. For a brief moment that he wished could last forever, he forgot about the many things that threatened the peaceful land where he lived, and focused on the girl whose head lay in his lap. Here was someone he cherished as much as she cherished him, someone who he was willing to die for, someone he loved more than anything. With her, he found only contentment. He squeezed his eyes shut and drank in Rose's taste.

Swimming through Rose's mind were only thoughts and memories of Ledah as she melted in his embrace. In Asgard, the two were always close, even though Ledah was a Grim Angel and Rose was Ein's familiar. Ledah had always been there to protect her. Being separated from him had caused her grief, though she hid it well. She had no doubt that he'd always be there to protect her now. He was someone she wanted to be with forever, someone she loved with all her being. Her eyes remained closed even after she drew away and sighed. The corners of her mouth curled upwards in a small smile, and her hands dropped away from Ledah's neck.

"I want to be strong for you, Rose," Ledah declared. "I need to be. I don't know if I can live without you…"

"I can easily say the same to you," Rose replied. "You complete me. Don't die out there, okay?"

"I promise." Ledah smiled again. "I won't let you die either."

"I won't let you let me die." Rose grinned. "There's still too much to do together."

"How could I possibly die knowing that?" Ledah glanced at her knowingly. "Oh, the responsibility…" He chuckled. "I won't let you down. I can't let down Ein either, actually."

Rose sat up and straddled Ledah as far up as she could, making him lean back into the tree. On her knees, she pressed close to him and brought her face near his. Their heat shared, their breath mingled. "I have full confidence that you won't." With that, she threw her arms around his neck once again and pressed her lips against his.

Ledah wrapped his arms around Rose protectively as he kissed her. She's got me pinned here, he thought, slightly amused. He suddenly felt the stares of sprites on him. I just remembered that we're in the grove… Oh well, it's not bad or anything to get it on in public… His eyes still closed, he ignored the stares and pushed a little deeper. He felt Rose's tongue enter his mouth and toyed with it for a couple seconds. Her tongue withdrew, and his followed.

Rose could feel the eyes of the sprites on her back too, but she didn't care. She focused her attention on Ledah. Her body relaxed and leaned heavily into him. The beats of his racing heart set her heart racing too, and soon she was feeling warmer than the surrounding air. After a few seconds of playing with Ledah's tongue, she broke away gently and looked around at the other sprites in the grove, who were staring at the two of them.

"Should we take a walk?" Rose asked, winking. She took a deep breath. "Come on."

"Feeling better now, are you," Ledah remarked, breathing in as well. "Okay, let's go." He allowed himself to be dragged out of the grove.

"Where are we going?" Ledah asked after a few minutes of walking in silence.

"Is it bad to take a walk with no particular destination?" Rose gave him a sideways glance, grinning. "Just walk around Elendia, see the places, talk to the sprites. There's a lot to do here."

Ledah just nodded. Since coming to Elendia a couple days ago, he hadn't seen much of the village or its people. He figured it would be nice to see the people before leaving to fight.

Rose dragged him along to Kyle and Mylene's house first. They found Mylene sitting on a wooden bench outside, and walked up to her. Gill and Molan were off playing in the yard.

"Mylene!" Rose greeted as she approached her, still dragging Ledah along behind her.

Mylene looked up. "Hi, Rose. And you are Ledah?"

Ledah nodded and bowed slightly. "It's a pleasure."

Mylene chuckled. "Oh no, the pleasure's all mine. What brings you here?"

Pleasant, Ledah thought. "Rose here just decided to introduce me to the sprites in this village," he explained.

"Oh, and I'm first, I presume," Mylene finished. "Ein had told everyone a lot about you."

"He has?" Ledah blinked. "I, um, didn't know that."

Mylene laughed softly. "I didn't expect you to. Thank you for deciding to side with us, Ledah."

Ledah blinked again. "Um, you're welcome, I guess."

Rose patted Ledah on the back. "Yup. Ledah's a good guy, like Ein said, right?"

"I'm sure he is," Mylene replied. "Kyle's inside fixing the table, if you want to talk to him."

"I'm right here."

Mylene turned to see Kyle standing behind her, clad in a blue T-shirt covered with dirt stains and overalls, holding a hammer in one hand. "Oh, are you taking a break?" she asked.

"I suppose I am," Kyle answered. He set the hammer down on the porch. "I heard voices out here, so I came to take a look."

Rose cleared her throat. "Yeah, we just came by for a chat," she explained. "I'm taking Ledah around Elendia to talk to the sprites."

"Oh, that's nice of you." Kyle walked up to Ledah and shook his hand, grinning. "Nice ta meetcha."

"Nice to meet you too," Ledah replied with a smile. "I'm going to be fighting alongside Ein to protect Riviera."

"That's good," Kyle remarked. "I suppose we need more people like you." He turned to sit down by his wife. "I just wish we didn't."

"You mean you wish we didn't need people to fight to protect Riviera?" Ledah asked.

Kyle nodded. "A peaceful land like Riviera shouldn't need fighters to protect it."

Ledah scratched his head thoughtfully. "That's similar to something Rose said earlier."

"We sprites all share similar thoughts of peace," Rose said. "The kind of peace where we never have to fight, where we can all accept each other's existence."

"Sadly, though, people have to fight to defend that kind of utopia." Mylene shook her head. "Fighting isn't something people do in a place like the one we imagine."

"That's why all of us, who want to live out a peaceful existence, owe those of you who fight our lives," Kyle added. "You all fight for the kind of land we want."

"That's not completely true," Ledah argued. "That's the kind of land I want to create, too."

"Well, it's all for the better, then," Kyle commented. "If you fight for such a reason, you'll have full motivation to fight."

Ledah nodded thoughtfully. "I guess you're right."

"I think we'd best keep moving," Rose put in. "We still have the rest of the village to visit."

"That's fine," Mylene replied, smiling gently. "Do your best out there for us and for the land we want."

"We owe you our thanks," Kyle added. "If there's anything you ever need, come see us and we'll help in whatever way we can."

"Alright," Ledah said, nodding. "I appreciate that. Thank you too."

"Okay, let's go," Rose exclaimed, dragging Ledah off again. After a few seconds, she turned to him. "Want to go talk to their kids?" She pointed to the yard. "I think they're in there."

"Sure," Ledah replied. "You're the tour guide, so you lead on."

Rose giggled. "You don't have to put it that way…" She pulled him along into the yard to find Gill and Molan playing tag.

"Hey, Rose!" Gill shouted when he saw them. "Who's that, your boyfriend?"

"Whoa, Rose's boyfriend!" Molan joined in. "Rose has a boyfriend who has black wings!"

Rose blushed. "Uh, this is Ledah."

A hint of red came onto Ledah's face too. "Huh? Boyfriend?"

"Nevermind," Rose mumbled to him. "Want to play with them for a bit?"

"Play…?" Ledah looked skeptical. "Play as in… play?"

"No duh!" Rose exclaimed. "Let out the kid in you!"

"Kid? Me?" Ledah's face looked blank. "Um, what the heck are you talking about?"

"Ah, whatever." Rose walked over to Gill. "Want to show Ledah your sword skills?"

"Sure!" Gill ran over to a tree and pulled out a wooden stick. "This is the will of the Gods!" he shouted, swinging the stick wildly.

"Go Gill!" Molan cheered. "Kill those demons!"

Ledah walked over to Rose, who was grinning. "What's he doing?"

"Take a look," Rose answered, pointing. "Gill here takes after Ein. Ein's like a hero to him."

Ledah watched silently for a minute. Gill leapt into the air and drove the stick down. "Hya!" he yelled, pushing the stick an inch into the ground. "Take that!" He pulled the stick out and thrust it forward in a mock stab.

"Yay!" Molan clapped. "Gill rocks!"

"Ein really is a hero among the sprites here," Ledah murmured.

"You got that right!" Rose poked him in the side. "The kids revere him. They want to be just like him." She pulled out Lorelei from its sheath and handed it to him. "Come on, show them some of your skills too!"

"You want me to fight them?" Ledah asked incredulously.

Rose laughed. "No, just slash around at the air like Gill was."

"Um, I don't know…"

"Ledah's putting on a show?" Gill cried. "Go Ledah!" He tossed the stick aside and sat down next to Molan.

"Yay!" Molan cheered.

Ledah sighed. "Okay, here goes…"

Ledah lifted off to hover a few inches off the ground. He twirled Lorelei in his hands a couple times, then slashed horizontally left and right and finished off with a piercing stab. It was his favorite combo. He used it often during his early travels with Ein.

"Whoa, Ledah looks so cool!" Molan cheered. Gill soon joined in. "Come on, more! More!"

"Eh…" Ledah blushed and looked around. He saw Rose smiling, encouraging him on. "Okay, okay." He closed his eyes for a moment to channel his power. When he opened them, a red aura formed around Lorelei, and he lashed out again. "Burn in the flames of judgment! Crimson Courrages!" He muttered the words so the others couldn't hear, but he felt he had to utter the words or he couldn't pull off the attack. He flew a little higher and slashed diagonally several times, then lifted backwards at a small angle to the ground, finishing off with a horizontal slash that produced flames, which spread outwards from the slash a short distance.

"Whoa!" Gill exclaimed. The two kids clapped enthusiastically. "Do you think I can do that?"

"You can try, kid." Ledah grinned and ruffled his hair. "To add elemental properties to your attacks takes practice, though."

"Elemenal perties?" Gill cocked his head to the side and put a finger to his chin. "What's elemenal perties? Some kind of party?"

Rose chuckled as she moved towards them. "Elemental properties, Gill. El-leh-men-tal praw-per-tees. It means to add something like fire to your attack."

"Fire? Attack? Dwah?" Molan's eyes glazed over. "Molan doesn't understand…"

Oh no, Lina's habits are rubbing off on her… Rose thought. "Don't worry about that," she assured her. "I don't think you'll need to know about stuff like that."

"Elemental… properties…" Gill said slowly. "Elemental properties!" He began to dance around.

"Uh, forget I said anything…" Ledah put a hand behind his head sheepishly. "You shouldn't need to know something like that."

"Elemental… huh?" Gill stopped in his tracks and stared at Ledah.

"Don't worry about it," Ledah repeated. "If you really want to practice, then just stick with what you're doing right now."

"But you were so cool!" Gill exclaimed. "You shot fire from your spear!"

Ledah smiled weakly. "Uh, like I said, that takes practice. Don't focus on the advanced stuff before the basics."

"Advanced? Basics? Awooo?" Molan's eyes showed that she wasn't registering a thing he said.

"You're not helping, Ledah," Rose said slyly. "Hey, Mylene!"

Mylene looked up from the garden. "Yes?"

"Entertain the kids!" Rose yelled. "We're having trouble here!"

"Entertain?" Molan fainted.

"Aack… Help, Mylene!"

"Okay." Mylene got up and headed over to where they stood. "Who wants ice cream?"

"Yeah! I do, I do!" Gill jumped up and down.

"En…ter…tain…" Molan's dizzied voice drifted to Rose and Ledah, who decided to take the chance to sneak away. Rose nodded gratefully at Mylene before leaving. Mylene just smiled gently.

Once they were out of earshot, Rose turned to Ledah and grinned. "Er, was that a good idea?"

"I don't think so," Ledah replied. "After that experience, though, I can tell we need more experience before we should have kids…"

Rose's heart skipped a beat, and her face flushed red. "L-Ledah! W-wuh-what the heck are you saying?"

"Oh, nothing." Ledah winked at her. "You're cute when you blush like that."

"Huh?" Rose's hands flew to her face. "I…"

Ledah chuckled. "Come on, don't you have a tour to give me, miss tour guide?"

"I… uh… yeah!" Rose pulled Ledah along again, turning her face away so he couldn't see. "Um, next is, uh, the blacksmith!" Ledah could only chuckle again as he got dragged along.

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A/N: Yep, new vocab! I meant it purely as comic relief, yep. Most of you readers should know what they mean, but hm… how old are the kids, anyway?

I don't know how the plan they have in mind will work out. It worked on Ein, so… I dunno XD

These romance scenes are getting steadily more and more sexual. I'll try to keep it within the T rating, of course XD. But I wonder if readers notice stuff like that… hm, touchy topic. Anyway…

On the next chapter of The White Wings (by the way, I was totally out of ideas on what to name the chapter… can anyone think of a better one based on the preview?)…

Chapter 21: The Golden Rod (Release on October 1, 2006)

Serene plays around with Lina's dreams. Afterwards, the two of them go to Fia and Lina's house to find Ein and Fia to train together, not knowing Fia's condition. Meanwhile, Cierra and Soala are brewing up a strange potion, and Soala has a new staff to give Cierra…