The next chapter [ON HOLD]

Chapter 31

Within a week of their conversation, Janner, Nia, and Sara put their plan into action.

Nia would make a nice lunch, and put it in a picnic basket.

Then, Sara would go get Galya and bring her to the castle.

Janner would get Kalmar, and bring him to where Sara and Galya were.

Then, they would play a game of Capture the Flag, making sure to put boys against girls so Kal could be Seeker while Galya was Guard for her and Sara's flag.

Leeli jumped in and decided to help with the plan, and so she was going to be scorekeeper, just to avoid suspicion that the only reason Galya was there was to distract Kal from Janner and Sara (which might have been a bonus in their opinion).

The full plan was that Nia would give Sara the picnic basket, saying that it was a snack for their team.

Then, Janner would wait for Sara, by his flag, while Kal searched for the girls flag.

Then, that would give Kal and Galya time alone, and as an added bonus, Janner and Sara would get to spend some time together alone, away from Kal's non-stop teasing.

Once the 5 of them (Janner, Sara, Kal, Leeli, and Galya) were out in the field, the plan was into motion.

"Okay, we're gonna do girl verses boys." Leeli said. 

"Sounds good with me." Janner said, glancing at Kal.

He shrugged, totally not suspecting the plan.

Leeli blew a single note on her whistleharp, and the game began.

The boys went their ways, and within a few minutes, they had found a perfect tree to put their flag in.

The girls took a bit longer to find a good tree, but soon after, they had their flag up.

Now the searching began.

Sara offered to be Seeker, and Galya agreed to be Guarder.

Janner told Kalmar that he was to Seek, while he would Guard.

Kal was fine with that, he was a faster runner, so it worked out.

After around 15 minutes, Sara found the boys tree, and now it was the waiting game.

Kalmar had a hard time finding the girls tree, but soon he saw it in the distance.

He crept up to it, making sure to not be seen. He snuck to the tree, on the side that Galya wasn't facing. 

Galya had sharp vision, but her hearing was even better. She heard Kal creep up and the second he was going to grab the flag, she wheeled around and tagged him.

"You're out." She said smugly.

Kal fumbled for words. "Um-uh-oh."

Galya laughed, and it made Kal smile.

Then Kal finally had the courage to confess his feelings.

Meanwhile...

Leeli was out keeping the score, and sitting outside the forest, when she heard footsteps coming behind her.

She turned around, and saw Nate dismounting his horse.

"Oh hi Nate!" Leeli said, smiling. "You looking for Galya?"

A flash of panic crossed his face, but it was quickly replaced with a smile. "Uh, yeah! I was looking for her. Is she here?"

Leeli nodded her head, wondering why he had looked a bit panicked. "Yeah, she's in there playing Capture the Flag with my siblings."

Nate looked at the forest. "Just your brothers, or Sara too?"

Leeli suddenly wondered why he had mentioned Sara. "Yeah, she's in there too. She and Janner had a plan to try to get Kal and Galya to confess their feelings for each other, but since all they have to do is wait, I wonder what they're doing."

"..Wait..?" Nate asked, confused as to what she meant.

Leeli nodded her head. "Yeah, the plan was for Kal to be Seeker, while Galya is Guarder, and so their would have to meet, so Sara went to the boys tree, and is waiting with Janner right now."

A look of jealousy crossed Nate's face. "Oh, that-that's too bad."

"Why's that?"

"Well, I...uh-I kind of like Sara, and was hoping to-uh give her something." Nate said quietly.

Leeli frowned. "You know she and Janner are engaged, right?"

Nate's head shot up, and he looked at her. "Wait, really? I didn't know that they...you know...thought of each other like that."

Leeli laughed. "Since they were 13, they have."

Nate frowned. "Oh-well-uh...thanks for telling me." He turned back to his horse.

"Do you want me to tell Galya you were here?" Leeli asked.

Nate shrugged. "Just tell her that I'll meet her back at home."

Leeli nodded her head, then Nate spurred his horse into a gallop.