Leanna was unsure how Cole would react to her emotions, she was never one for talking about how she felt to people - except to maybe Marie - but the way Cole spoke about her made that all too familiar clench in her chest return and she couldn't deny the bubbles of joy that seemed to fill her belly when he told her how much he wanted to see her again. They kissed again and she smiled into it, so happy that he was safe, that these secrets were something they could work on together. In a movement so smooth she blinked twice before realising what happened, she was sat in his lap, those strong arms wrapped gently around her waist holding her tightly and possessively... and she loved it.
His breath was warm she could suppress the giggle that erupted when he whispered in her ear, but as the words came out her normally pale face exploded into the brightest shade of red. He had said the words so easily, she was glad she wasn't looking directly at him; "I love you too you big idiot!" she claimed, leaning back into him as a kind of strange backwards hug. They had a moment of absolute peace, just them together, comfortable in each others embrace.
It was nice while it lasted, but it appeared the dragons wanted more attention than they were getting, Leanna giggled, "I think they very much can!" she said smiling at just how childish the two seemed to act. Leanna agreed although felt slightly lonely the moment they pulled apart. She let out an exasperated sigh, "I've lost track of time but there's probably already a search party on the lookout." she said with a slight smile, "Don't worry, I'm sure they'll just break a window this time." She hopped on the back of Azutri again, still rather ungracefully, and they took off back to the Kingdom. The flight back was much more pleasurable, Leanna was free of her worries although still wasn't sure how to help Cole ease his conscious.
When they landed she fell off, landing on her butt and let out a small yelp as Azutri tried to nudge her back to her feet. "I don't know if I'll ever be able to climb on and off gracefully" she added with a light chuckle. The guard met them by the doorway with a scowl on his face, he glanced at Cole and then back to Leanna, "Princess, if I hadn't seen the two dragons fly off I honestly would have sounded the alarm. Do not run away from me. I'd be hanged if you disappeared on my watch" he seemed really pissed off. "I'm sorry Luka, really! But I'm back, and safe, so you've got nothing to worry about". The guard huffed and let out an irritated sigh, "Of course Princess, I'm glad you're safe." he added, still scowling towards Cole, "We should head back to the castle..."
Leanna agreed, "Isn't Freya still there? Cole, are you coming back to the castle with us?" she asked, hoping he would agree - although she wasn't really sure what exactly their relationship was, she wanted to do something with it. Perhaps they could go out tomorrow into town or something? Luke seemed impatient though and they had to hurry back to the castle. "I'll see you in the morning." As Luka turned around to head out she gave Cole a very short and quick kiss on the cheek and waved him goodbye.
The castle was in chaos.
Immediately she sought her parents who were both pale-faced, grimacing at a stack of parchment and books and maps, "Whats going on?" she asked, grabbing the attention of everyone in the room, all of which had equally pained expressions. Her mother glanced to the King quickly and then took Leanna outside. "Darling walk with me for a little". They headed through the hallways, she watched as guards of all ranks were carrying weapons and equipment in all directions, there was a lot of shouting, a lot of commands. It didn't take a genius to figure out what was going on. When they walked into the living room Leanna looked her mother in the eyes, "We're going to war, aren't we?" she asked, already knowing the answer.
"I'm afraid so, yes. Yeurna declared it officially a few hours ago." Leanna had never seen her mother look so exhausted. "We're establishing an army and building defences as we speak, our top priority is protecting the town and it's people. Yeurna are after our dragons, our land and our wealth..." she gave Leanna a look that almost broke the girls heart in two, "... and they want you" she said, voice wavering. "Why me?" she asked, the Queen shook her head, "No one really knows. They didn't specify. Maybe the Prince just wants you as a bride, maybe it's to gain power, I don't know." Leanna wondered for a split second if going to Yeurna would stop this foolish war - but immediately discarded it. "Get some sleep darling, I'm afraid there's nothg we can do for now."
Leanna hugged her Mother and headed for her room, which was now guarded, she recalled Cole saying he was planning on joining the army and that frightened her. She had no doubts he could defend himself, but Yeurna used strange dark magicks that a sword couldn't stop. And that worried her greatly. In the middle of the night, after a lot of thinking and a lot of inner-debates, Leanna made a decisions.
She would become Lee once more, and join the army as well, without telling anyone... even Cole.
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