The Pickers Are Here (Elietta, Any Brave Suitors)

[Disney]

While Elietta was talking to Ferdinand in her bedroom, a fact the young lady could be glad her mother did not know, due to the no-boys-over-11-in-the-bedroom rule (except Daddy of course ;D ), Esmeralda was slowly calming herself down in the kitchen, after the huge fight between mother and daughter. These fights did not happen often, but since the two girls both had temper, the entire neighborhood knew when it happened.

Her eyes were blazing with fire as she watched her daughter stomp out of the kitchen, even if she was grateful her husband supported her by telling Elietta not to speak to her like she did. When the girl disappeared, Esmeralda KNEW that it would take a while before her daughter would even SPEAK to her again. She sighed heavily and wrapped her arms around her husband, pulling him into a gentle hug.

"I am a bad mother, am I not? The Wicked Witch of the West? Thank you for supporting me, my love."

She was still smiling by the thought of Kovu giving his daughter a warning growl. That practically never happened, as father and daughter adored each other. And she already knew that if Elietta would ever speak to her again, Daddy had to step in as peacemaker.

"Don't you worry, my love. It is better that she never speaks to one of us again than that she is shunning us both. You know that she has always listened to you more. You will probably be needed as peacemaker to restore the family peace. And try to get the truth out of her, while you're at it, will you? It occurs to me she never replied to my questions...."

She gazed towards the living room door, not really wanting to go in there and see the.... the.... monster that did so unholy things with her daughter. She was afraid to claw out his eyes if she did.

((*Huggles Gaston*: I love you Gaston <333 These are Esmeralda's current thoughts, not mine ;D ;D ;D ))

When her husband looked back at her to ask if she was alright, she looked back at him with a tired smile.

"I'll be okay, I think. Could you please take care of that.... that.... boy in the living room on your own? I think he is still there, and I am afraid what I might do to him if I face him right now.... I'll wait here until you return...."

[kovu]

Kovu wrapped a paw around his wife's shoulders as she hugged him, purring gently in a way he knew would make her fell better.

When she asked if she was a bad mother, Kovu pulled away and gave her a "are you joking?" look.

"Esme, you are a wonderful mother!" he told her. "You don't have a bad bone in your body. Remember that I know from experiance what a bad mother is. You are no where close."

"I will speak with Elietta and figure out this whole mess," he continued on.

Seeing that she was still frazzeled and tired, he pulled her towards the table and pushed out a chair for her to sit down in.

"Take a seat and have a cup of tea to calm yourself," he suggested. "I'll take care of the problem in the living room. Besides, Haidar is going to be coming home soon and I don't want him worried about anything."

Pushing the door open to the living room, Kovu scanned the room for his victim visitor.

[bigbrother]

Gaston saw Elietta go in the kitchen and the door close. After a few moments a loud conversation could partially be heard by him. He could not help but wonder what it was all about. Were her parents really that angry that Elietta had come home an hour late. Gaston was feeling a little guilty that he had kept her at school fro so long with their conversation. Gaston then saw Haidar walk into the house, asking about all of the noise.

"Yes, but I am only here to help Elietta study. My name is Gaston and I work as a volunteer for the school. I may not be the smartest guy, but when it comes to French history I know quite a bit. Just as Elietta and I had started studying her parents started yelling, I am not sure why yet."

After Gaston finished explaining the situation to Haidar the male lion he had scene in the Kitchen earlier came into the room. The lion had a strange look on his face, as if Gaston had done something wrong by even being here. If Gaston only knew what the lion was thinking he probably would have been defending himself for an assault.

"What was that all about, Elietta and I finished we started at school here. At least an older guy like me can help her without it being awkward, those other guys at school probably wouldn't be able to stay focused on what they were doing around a young girl like Elietta. I hope we didn't worry you to much, I had no intentions of keeping Elietta that late. When it comes to a new interest like this for her, it was better to start slow at school and finish it here."


(( Aww man, had to throw one more awkward statement out there ;D ))

[kovu]

Haidar listened to Gaston's explination of what he was here for. Despite knowing the man's good intentions, he also knew that the man had dug his own grave by coming home with her. "Elietta" and "boys" was not something his father liked to see in the same house, let alone the same room. Haidar got away with it because he was her little brother and still hadn't figured out what that mysterious "one thing" was that boys apparently wanted.

Just then Kovu entered the room, looking around with an expression that Haidar knew meant trouble. His father saw him and nodded towards the kitchen door. Haidar took this as he cue to make his escape exit and snatched his backpack from the floor.

"Nice knowing you," he whispered to Gaston as he passed him on the way into the kitchen. He saw his mother sitting at the table and dashed up to his second floor bedroom. Along the way, he heard faint talking coming from Elietta's room. After talks with his other classmates with older siblings, Haidar had learned that it was his duty as younger brother to spy on his sister and annoy her incessently. Grinning to himself, he sneaked over to the door and listened through the keyhole at what was going on.

Back in the living room, Kovu was watching the man with sharp eyes. He took in every element of his apperance and it did nothing to help the lion's already low opinion of him.

As that man spoke, Kovu tensed in anger. Not only was he explaining what they had been doing (and apparently this was not the first encounter) but he was defending his actions! Maybe he would need to let Esmeralda come in and take care of this man, but that would probably include a sharp kitchen utensil and a big mess that would have to be cleaned up.

"I didn't ask you to speak!" he snapped. "How dare you come into my home and treat my daughter like this. I cannot believe that you would have done this at a place like school. What would other people think of you? She deserves better. I wish she had waited until she was older and we could have had more time to help her understand what she was getting into . . ."

Just then he heard sounds from the floor above and looked up at the ceiling. What was Elietta doing up there?

[bigbrother]

Gaston saw Haidar leave the room when the male lion entered with an angry look on his face. That anger seemed to be directed at Gaston from some reason. After Gaston gave his explanation the lion snapped at him quickly and responded like Gaston had done something wrong.

"Why are you so angry, I had no idea I was the first guy ever to do this at her house. I do apologize for not asking ahead of time for being here, but I was just trying to help the girl. As for school, kids having been doing this for a long time. Elietta and I just happened to run into each other, I may be her elder but at least my intentions were only to help her with something new. Your daughter is smarter than you think, she was the one that started this to begin with and if I cared about popularity I would help the sports teams more often, but I don't."

Gaston also heard something going on upstairs but he just assumed Elietta was taking her aggression out on her bed or something like that.

[Disney]

(*Dies laughing at your posts* Great job guys! Love you *Huggles group*)

Esmeralda snuggled closer to Kovu, feeling comforted when he wrapped his paw around her shoulders. She gave him a kiss and listened to the sound of his gentle purring. He always knew how to make her feel better when she was sad.

"I am so glad I have you as my husband," she said lovingly, caressing his mane. "You are a wonderful husband and father, and I could never have raised our children without you."

She remembered the few meetings she had with Kovu, and did not protest when he said he knew what a bad mother was. She wondered how it had been for him to grow up with Zira, how much he had to suffer. She wrapped her arms around him, holding him close and gave him a loving hug.

"I will do my best to make sure you will never have bad times like that again," she said, nuzzling closer to him. "I appreciate your help with Elietta. If I know her correctly, she will not speak to me again for at least a month. You know her temper."

She smiled when Kovu pulled her towards the table, and followed him willingly, knowing that he wanted her to relax.

"I will do as you say, my love," she said softly, sitting down in the chair he pushed out for her. "A cup of tea will do wonders now I think. Don't worry about Haidar. I can take care of him while you see to our.... eh.... problem...."

She smiled when her husband went into the living room, knowing that he would take care of this. With a deep sigh of relief, she poured herself a cup of hot water from the can on the table, before making herself a cup of relaxing tea. After calming down a bit, she went upstair towards her daughter's room, thinking that she had to see to her daughter after the argument.

Her eyes widened in surprise when she noticed Haidar's tiny shape by his sister's door, clearly eavesdropping. Esmeralda moved fast and without a sound over to her son.

"Haidar, what are you...." she began to whisper, then stopped herself when she heard a male voice from inside Elietta's bedroom. The last words Elietta had hurled at her echoed through her mind.

"I am going to spend the rest of the night in bed with Mark Twain...."

Esmeralda paled. She had no idea who this Mark Twain was, but as long as she was Elietta's mother, he would not be able to do unholy things. She still remembered the note Kovu had showed her, and knew that this Mark Twain clearly had experience entrancing young innocent girls. With a determined look in her eyes, she turned to Haidar, placed a kiss on his forehead and whispered in his ear.

"Continue keeping watch over your sister. Distract her if you feel it necessary. I will go and fetch your Daddy and be back as soon as I can."

With quick steps she hurried down the stairs, before rushing in to Kovu in the living room, panic written all over her face.

"KOVU, MARK TWAIN IS IN THE BEDROOM WITH OUR DAUGHTER!!!"

[kovu]

Haidar was in silent giggle fits as he peered through the keyhole of his sister's room. Normally he was on his sister's side (as it was at time dangerous to go against her) but this was just too much fun! Things were getting better every second and Haidar knew that his mother would have Elietta locked in the cellar for ten years if she found out about this.

Oh, this is a gold mine, he smiled to himself. I could have Elietta doing my chores for a year to keep this quiet . . .

Suddenly he heard his mother's voice and turned around in shock. Banging his arm against the wall in his hurry, he gave his mother a guilty look, ready for her to turn him over her knee and spank him. The devilish smile returned to his face when she got distracted by the male voice inside. He nodded as she told him to stay where he was, giving a playful salute to the "general" of the house that her orders were acknowledged.

Kovu was still waiting for a satisfactory answer about the stranger's activity with his daughter when he heard Esmeralda's voice in the other room. He whipped around as she stormed the living room, panickstricken.

"What!" he cried in disbelief. "Then who . . .?" he added, turning to Gaston with confusion. "Ah, never mind," he roared. "Esme, take care of him and I'll take care of Mark Twain."

Dashing at full speed into the kitchen and tackling the stairs two at a time, Kovu slammed up against Elietta's door with his shoulder. The door was a little stronger than he was, sending him staggering back onto the floor. Haidar crawled away as his father approached, watching from the safety of his bedroom doorway.

"Elisa Rosetta Pocahontas!" he roared, standing on his hind feet and pouding on the door with his fore paws. "Open this door this moment. I have a present for your nighttime visitor."

[bigbrother]

Before he could respond again Gaston heard quite a bit of noise from upstairs. He then heard footsteps run back downstairs and before he knew it a familiar figure was in the room with him. It was Esmeralda, he could never forget about her, he had sworn to protect her and her children long ago. Gaston knew that she had gotten married, but because of his own issues he wasn't able to attend.

The male lion must be her husband, and Haidar and Elietta must be their children. That was a little confusing to saw the least, Gaston had held Elietta in his arms as a baby in what his mind thought wasn't that long ago. Had he really lost track of time for that long? He must have been under Maleficent's control for longer then he thought.

"Esmeralda? I guess I understand your worry about your daughter, but I'm not sure what is going on here. I might be missing something, but a simple situation seems to have gotten complicated."

[ferdinand]

Ferdinand removed his hat and smiled at Elietta, ready to tell her how he felt about her. The girl seemed delighted by his gifts, though it appeared she didn't know why he'd brought them. "Why should you only receive gifts on your birthday?"[/color] the Prince replied playfully. He melted in her embrace, hugging her back tightly before letting go. Elietta set the gifts aside and pulled out a chair for him. "You don't need to do that. I don't mind standing."[/color] Ferdinand said, humbly refusing the offer.

The boy was shocked by Elietta's punishment. If she'd done something wrong, he'd understand; but being punished for nothing? How awful! "I'm sorry to hear that. If you ask me, it's quite unfair."[/color] He felt the greatest concern and compassion for her, apparent by the frown that suddenly appeared on his face. When Elietta asked Ferdinand again as to what troubled him, he thought it might make her feel better. "Elietta, I love you. You're the loveliest woman I've ever laid eyes on, and I'll die without you."[/color] The Prince had never been so passionate in his life, but he couldn't help it.

Ferdinand's breath stilled in his chest, knowing it was obviously surprising (and perhaps even shocking); but his heart wouldn't give him peace until he knew whether Elietta returned his feelings or not. A look of worry was present on his face as he waited silently for her reply.

Meanwhile, Zephyr was returning from school. It let out later than his brother or sister's, which greatly irritated him. Zephyr's over-sized backpack caused him to stoop over and walk at a slow pace. "Stupid homework. Why can't I get a break for once?"[/i][/color] the boy thought to himself, snorting. As Zephyr turned the corner, he saw Ferdinand climbing into Elietta's room. "I wonder what's going on..."[/i][/color] the boy thought.

Deciding to find out for himself, Zephyr walked as quickly as he was able to the ladder and heaved his backpack onto the ground. He then proceeded to climb up the ladder, and when he jumped inside Elietta's room, he caught his sister and Ferdinand together. The Prince spun around to see him, his blue eyes wide with fear. Zephyr crossed his arms and smiled. "Don't worry! I'm not gonna rat you guys out. I know you wouldn't do anything bad."[/color] Shortly after that, a loud banging would be heard at the door.

Kovu's voice was loud and filled with anger, worrying Ferdinand. He held a deep respect for the lion and his family, and he didn't wish to fall in bad favor with him. Zephyr looked at his sister and the Prince, thinking of an idea. "Dad, it's just me! I'm just showing Elietta how better I've gotten at juggling."[/color] The child hoped his cover had worked, because Ferdinand's life and Elietta's welfare depended on it.

[elietta]

((Great posts everybody. Am I the only one laughing my head off right now? ;D ;D ;D And Jacob, your post with Ferdi made me melt! *Snuggles*))

Elietta was in her room, happily unaware of her parents problems, or the conversation going on in the living room between her father and Gaston. She looked up at Ferdinand smiling to him when he wondered why she should receive gifts only on her birthday. She was surprised when he hugged her back tightly, mostly because she felt her heart skip a beat the short moment she was in his arms. She had never been hugged by a boy outside the family before, and this was a new feeling for her. New... and she had to admit... quite pleasant.

Still blushing after the unexpected embrace, she pulled out a chair for him, and smiled when he humbly refused the offer.

"Oh, don't be afraid," she laughed playfully. "I don't bite... except from in self defense...."

She smiled in gratitude when Ferdinand agreed that her punishment was unfair, and to her surprise she could see a frown on his face. She thought he never frowned. She looked up at him and waited for him to tell her what troubled him, but his answer made a deep blushing color her cheeks, and she lowered her gaze shyly. She had expected any other problem that might cause someone to lose sleep. War, bad economy, threatening enemies.... but not this. Someone loved her? The wild girl that didn't belong anywhere because she was so different from anyone else?

For an entire minute Elietta was quiet, only that a clear proof of how surprised she was. She was thinking of how she felt about him, wanting to be certain before she replied, to avoid any of them getting disappointed later. Finally she lifted her gaze and looked directly at Ferdinand, and her voice was calm and steady when she spoke.

"I love you too, Ferdinand. I don't have the habit of laying eyes on other men, so I can't return your compliment, but I do love you. And I would be very sad if you should die."

Way to go, Elietta. If your parents were upset with you before, it's nothing compared to what they will be when they find out about this. Ah well, I guess I'll deal with that when it happens.

For a moment she thought she heard someone by the door and froze, but since nothing happened, she brushed it off, thinking it was probably something she had imagined after her quarrel with Mama Esmeralda. The squeaking sounds from the ladder by the window, on the other hand, was not imagination, and she startled when her brother Zephyr jumped inside her room. She gasped, and Ferdinand spun around to face her brother, seemingly as shocked as she was. To her surprise her brother crossed his arms and said he wouldn't rat them out, and she smiled and gave him a hug.

"Thank you, Zephyr! In return, I promise I won't make you dinner for a year."

Everyone in the family knew how bad Elietta's cooking skills were. She couldn't even boil water without turning the kitchen into a disaster area. Elietta knew about her flaws in the kitchen herself, but having a good sense of self irony, she could laugh at herself. She used this no-dinner promise as a reward system for her family members when they had done something that deserved her gratitude.

Suddenly there was a loud banging at her door. Elietta was afraid the door might break, but luckily it was strong enough to resist the attack. She could hear her father's roaring on the outside.

"Elisa Rosetta Pocahontas!" he roared, standing on his hind feet and pounding on the door with his fore paws. "Open this door this moment. I have a present for your nighttime visitor."

"Geez," Elietta mumbled to Ferdinand and Zephyr when she heard the rage in Kovu's voice. "A present? It's not flowers or chocolate, that's for sure...."

She had no idea if her father would attempt to attack the door a second time, but she placed herself protectively between Ferdinand and the door just in case. Her father would have to go pass her before he could get to Ferdinand. Before she had the chance to answer, Zephyr spoke up, claiming it was him that visited her in her room, showing his juggling skills. Elietta smiled to her brother, and followed up.

"It is true, Daddy. And he is quite a juggler too. If you allow him to start at the Circus school in Moscow I think he really can be the greatest juggler in the world."

She said this because she knew how much her brother dreamed of being a juggler, and the school they went to now, had depressingly little to do with a Circus life.

(Gaston, since this post is so long, I will reply as Esmeralda to Gaston in my next post It is just to keep the things happening in the two different rooms apart )

[kovu]

Kovu listened at the door for a reply to his order, blood seithing through his veins. His eyes narrowed when he heard Zephyr's voice inside and Elietta's explination. When did Zephyr get home and how did he get into Elietta's room without being detected?

The lion glanced around and spotted Haidar watching from the doorway of his bedroom. The boy squeeked and quickly shut the door, leaving Kovu alone again.

Something about this wasn't adding up. Why would Esmeralda think that Zephyr, her own son, was some other boy? Had the problems of earlier messed up her judgement?

"Perhaps I over reacted then," he said, quieter now. "But I still need you to unlock the door, Elietta. I need to have a talk with you about what happened earlier. Unlock the door, please."

[elietta]

Elietta's eyes widened when she heard her father's voice outside the room. Normally she would welcomed her father, but now she had a handsome young man in her room, a man who had just declared her his love. She turned her head to Prince Ferdinand, lowering her voice to a quiet whisper.

"Oh God! It's my father! He must not see you here! He is a VERY protective father, and if he found a man in my room, I fear what he might do to you...."

She had always been a smart, fast-thinking girl when it came to protecting those she loved, and a quick glance around the room gave her ideas of several hiding spots.

Not the curtains. The light from the sun will cast shadows on the fabrics of the curtains, and the shadow will tell my father someone is hidden there. The closet? Too classic. Probably the first place Daddy will look....

Her eyes fell on her bed, covered with all the cuddly toys she had collected. It was a considerable amount, and emptying her room of cuddly toys would probably take several days. Esmeralda always said that if Elietta would ever leave her home, she would need to start packing her stuff one year before she left. A sly smile lit up her face and she grabbed Ferdinand and pulled him towards the bed.

"Hah - I got it!" she whispered. "It would take my father an ETERNITY to get to the bottom of all my cuddly toys, and in the meanwhile you will have plenty of time to think of what to say... Lions have very sharp hearing, so please don't make a sound unless he finds you...."

She shoved the Prince onto her bed, starting to covering him with cuddly toys. Throwing a glance at her brother, she whispered to him.

"Zephyr, please help me cover up His Majesty. I don't want Dad to find him. You have NO idea how hard it is to remove blood from a carpet...."

While she was quickly working on covering Ferdinand in the cuddly toys, she gave him a warm smile and whispered.

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. I won't let Daddy hurt you...."

At that moment Elietta heard her father's voice on the outside, quieter this time. She still had no idea why her parents were so upset, or why she was being punished in the first place, so she silently agreed to her father overreacting. However, she refused to open the door before Ferdinand was safe.

"I have no idea what I have done to be punished this way," she spoke out loud to her father, while placing a pink fuzzy rabbit with long ears on Ferdinand's head, throwing a teasing smile in his direction. She hoped Ferdinand would not be angry with him for teasing him a little. Elietta always mocked out of love, except from when someone tried to harm her family of course. "Right now, I am too upset to speak, even to you, so if you excuse me..... Just.... just return to the Wicked Witch of the West, why don't you?"

She managed to speak in a heartbroken voice, playfully adding a dramatical sob at the end of her sentence, hoping that it would give her parents some guilty feelings. At the same time she gave Ferdinand and Zephyr a playful wink, to show she was only acting.

[kovu]

Kovu waited in the hallway for Elietta to open the door. His anger was slowly going away, replaced by curiousity as he had to wait longer. He heard faint voices inside the room but couldn't make out what was said. His brow furrowed in wonder.

He was about to pound on the door again when Kovu heard Elietta respond. He wanted to yell at her for insulting Esmeralda again, but cautioned himself. It's just teenage issues, he reminded himself. Let her vent and say what she feels.

"Elietta, how can I fix this if you won't let me talk to you?" he reasoned. "I can't have my little angel hating me forever, can I?" He hoped that sweetening her with her old nicknames would help his case.

Wanting a back up plan, he looked back at Haidar's room. The boy appeared to know that he was needed as he peeked out into the hallway.

"So, what are you doing there, my boy?" asked Kovu.

The boy's eyes darted around quickly as he tried to come up with a response. "Uh . . . I lost something," he cried out.

"Lost something?" repeated his father with a nod. "What was that?"

"Uh . . . my Science homework," he replied. He slowly got to his feet. "Actually, I think I left it in the kitchen. I should go get that now and started . . ."

He bolted for the stair to the kitchen, but Kovu caught him in the stomach with his paw.

"Uh-uh, not so fast. What did you overhear?"

The boy grinned guilty and began spilling his guts . . . .


Ten mintues later, Kovu's enraged voice filled the hallway:

HE SAID WHAT?

Haidar zipped into his room again as Kovu resummed pounding on Elietta's door. This time he wasn't going to wait for her to open it, he wasn't going to worry about her "privacy rights" like teenage parents are always warned about by therapists . . .

As the door came crashing into the room, Kovu stood in the doorway, breathing heavily, looking like the cold-blooded assassin his mother wanted him to be. His sharp eyes darted from Zephyr to Elietta and his lips parted to reveal dagger-like teeth.

"Where . . . is . . . he??"

[elietta]

Elietta head her father's voice on the outside, a low, growling sound when she once again insulted her mother. She knew very well that nothing could provoke her father more, but right now she didn't care. She was still upset for the way she had been punished without even knowing why.

"All this stress because of the blasted homework," she puffed tossing a light blue teddy bear on top of the pink bunny, harder than she had to. Then she suddenly remembered Prince Ferdinand's head was hidden under the pink bunny. Giving herself a mental face-palm she lifted up both cuddly toys, placing a regretful kiss on top of Prince Ferdinand's head.

"Sorry, I got distracted by the thoughts of my mother. I didn't whack you with the cuddly toy on purpose...." she whispered and gave him a regretful smile before hiding him again. She placed a yellow furry chicken on top of the pink bunny and light blue teddy bear, hoping Prince Ferdinand wouldn't die from asphyxiation in all these toys.

She heard her father's voice outside, and looked over at Zephyr, silently asking him to help her cover up Ferdinand. She had a bad suspicion what Daddy might do to ANY boy he found in her room that WASN'T related to her by blood.

"Help me cover up Ferdi properly, Zeph," she whispered. "We don't want anything to happen to him, do we?"

She heard her father trying to sweeten her by using his old nicknames for her, but Elietta didn't want to risk Ferdi's life by opening the door too soon. She threw a sideway glance at her brother, then gave him a wink before replying.

"If I am your little angel as you say, why am I being punished?" she said in her most innocent and heartbroken voice. "I though angels were supposed to be innocent....."

Her father suddenly stopped talking, and Elietta thought he had gone downstairs again. She smiled in relief and was just about to give Zephyr a high-five before freeing Prince Ferdinand from her considerable amount of cuddly toys.

In the living room a furious Esmeralda was holding Gaston back with a huge metal candle-stake, determined to keep him there until she had gotten a proper explanation for what had happened between him and Elietta. She kept an eye on the door to the kitchen, hoping her husband would soon return after checking on Elietta. Ten minutes later, she heard Kovu's enraged voice filled the hallway:

HE SAID WHAT?

She sent Gaston a dark death glare, certain it was HIM that was the cause of her husband's rage.

((Sorry Gaston! I just couldn't resist! ;D ;D ;D Love you! *hugs*))

Elietta cringed when she heard her father's thundering voice. Never had she felt the Day of Doom being closer than in this moment.

"If I don't survive this, Zephyr, I leave all my cuddly toys to you...." she mumbled, certain that her father would kill her.

Two seconds later the door came crashing into the room, and her father stood in the doorway. Elietta's eyes widened in surprise and she couldn't help but feeling a tad anxious on Prince Ferdinand's behalf. Subconsciously, she placed herself between her enraged father and the bed where Ferdinand was hidden.

"Good evening, Father," she said, trying to sound innocent. "Is anything wrong?"

She gave herself a mental face-palm.

Way to go girl. Now he KNOWS you're up to something? Don't you know that the best way to wake your parents suspicions is to act innocent?

[bigbrother]

To say that he was surprised to see Esmeralda was a understatement. Gaston had no idea that Elietta was Esmeralda's daughter, or why she was so angry with him. When he had explained the situation before it had only seemed to make Kovu even angrier at him. He had never scene Esmeralda like this before, Gaston could only see a woman he had vowed to protect after they parted way romantically.

"Look Esme, its me Gaston. Why do you look so angry at me? If I knew it was going to cause so much trouble I would have just continued with Elietta tomorrow after school. I don't know why she didn't just ask you first since you know everything that I do. I mean the only reason I know as much as I do is because of how much time I spent in France."