"BORNE ON WINGS OF ANGELS" ©2004 Blacken
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Fire Emblem, nor do I own its characters or any copyrights. This is a derivative work of fan fiction. Pairings included, yuri and straight (Lyn/Florina, chiefly). And anyone for a glass of lemonade? I'd appreciate any comments you might have; please review it if you feel the urge.
It took her so long to fall.
She, who had only one thing to fear--being plucked from the sky by that very object.
Even in fog, from some ways away, I see it. An arrow follows its path, straight and true, high into the sky. The accursed bolt flies true, striking the pegasus knight flying high overhead.
I hear a scream. Belatedly I realize it is my own.
* * *
Then I was in the past, some two years previous. After the deaths of my parents, but before the troubles with Caelin.
Despite the anger over my parents' deaths I lived freely and peacefully then. There were no assassins to strike at me. There were no evildoers trying to cause harm to my friends. Although, indeed, at that point I had few friends.
I walked alone through the grasslands of Sacae. One can walk for days and not see another human being. My sword was at my waist, but I thought little of it. Now I must be ready to use it constantly, whether to protect my friends or not.
Carried on the wind was an unfamiliar sound, something like the flapping wings of a giant bird. I whirled and sighted the creator of the sound in only seconds. A winged horse--a pegasus? I thought it likely.
Slowly I saw that the beast had a rider, and one looking rather woebegone at that. She--I could tell at even this great distance--was nearly hanging off one side of the winged equine as it canted dangerously to one side. The beast swooped down low, low, lower. And of course it just had to come to a crashing halt atop me, like the shot of a catapult, without giving me a chance to react.
"Hey!" I blurted, at the bottom of the pile of horse and girl. I quickly extricated myself, scrabbling back a few feet.
No slower at rescuing herself, the girl crawled from beneath the beast on hands and knees. She had been knocked under the pegasus. "Uh..." she mumbled, then saw me. Her eyes widened, the irises the same orchid as her hair. "Oh! I'm--I'm sorry!"
My senses immediately told me she was no threat. "It's all right," I assured her hastily, shifting to balance on a knee. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," she said distractedly, looking back at her mount. She ran expert hands across the beast's wings, then along its flanks. Thus reassured, she visibly calmed and sat beside it. "I'm so sorry."
"Don't worry about it!" I assured her, smiling at her. She seemed like a nice girl. "I'm Lyndis, of the Lorca tribe." My voice caught only slightly at the last.
"I'm Florina," the girl said shyly, offering me a little smile. More than most people could ever get from her, that was. "I'm sorry, I'm a clumsy flier."
"Relax," I said easily. "You didn't hurt me. There's no need to apologize."
"I know, but--" she stopped. "Wait. Did you say 'of the Lorca tribe'?"
"Yes." Instinctively I went on my guard. "Why?"
"Lorca, Lorca..." she said tenatively. "I'm in Sacae?"
I nodded.
"No!" she burst out, thumping a small fist against her thigh. "I'm off-course."
"Where were you going?" I asked curiously, sitting back down and crossing my legs beneath me.
"I was to go to my sister in Thria," she said eagerly, nearly bouncing up and down as she spoke.
"Oh?" I asked, being polite. I had no idea where Thria was save that it was in Lycia. "Is your sister a pegasus knight, too?"
She nodded. "Commander of Ilia's third battalion," she said, then looked embarrassed. A faint blush spread across her cheeks. "I'm just in training."
"Even a trainee pegasus knight is impressive," I assured her. "Ilia- - that's where you're from."
"Of--of course. You can't find pegasi anywhere else."
"Oh, right." I smiled. I found myself liking this girl. "I imagine that crash must have rattled you a little."
"I'm used to it," she confessed, smiling bashfully. "We're friends, but neither of us is very quick."
"Friends? Oh, yes. You and your pegasus."
"Y-yes."
"I see." I was suddenly at a loss for what to say. I stood. "Come, let's walk a little. It's not every day I meet a pegasus knight."
It's not every day I saw anyone, back then.
* * *
I tear off into the underbrush in a panic, my blood pounding in my ears. Wil, bless his heart, inadvertently gets in my way and he is thrown to the ground, protesting furiously.
I hear the galloping strides of a horse and Kent's voice rings out from behind me. "Lady Lyndis!" he cries. "It's not safe!"
I ignore him. Soon enough I crash through enough growth to reach the spot where she fell. Her immaculate white clothing and oh-so-pale skin draw my eyes, contrasting sharply with the muddy, gray-green underbrush all around us. Those white clothes are marred.
I see the vivid crimson stain slowly spreading from the arrow wound in her belly and my heart rends.
* * *
"Lyn?" a voice called, plainitive and unsure. "Are you home?"
Nearly any other voice would have sent me scrambling for my sword. Hers only makes me smile. "Florina? Is that you?"
Florina's head peeks through the curtain at the door of my ger. "Lyndis, you are home!" she exclaimed. "Uh--can I come in?"
"Of course." I smiled at her and placed the book I was reading atop the table. My father was a collector of such books. "So you found Thria, I take it."
"Yes, I did." She smiled at me and giggled. "It wasn't far."
"Good," I said. "What were you sent to do?"
Florina held up a sealed envelope. "I was sent to give a message to my sister Fiora and return with her reply. And since it's nearing nightfall, I thought--" She broke off, looking a bit embarrassed. "If you don't mind, of course."
"Not at all. I'd like it if you stayed." I chuckled to myself. "A storm is approaching, anyway. I can feel it. I wouldn't let you go if you wanted to."
"Uh--okay." She walked in and looked around awkwardly. "Uh--"
I divined her problem and waved vaguely. "You can sit anywhere you like. Are you hungry?"
"A little, yes," she admitted, sitting on an ornate little stool. "What--what are you having?"
"What are 'we' having," I corrected her with a smile. "And we're having...well, whatever I can find. It's been a while since I went to trade. I'm afraid there isn't much choice."
"Anything is fine with me," she assured me politely. "I'm very grateful."
"You're welcome," I said absently, chuckling again. Florina's hesitant demeanor has always amused me to a high degree, but I've always tried to hide it. Usually successfully. I quickly found some smoked meat and hardbreads from my last trip over the border into Bern. I gave Florina a hearty half, content with only a small amount for myself.
She tore into the food with wild abandon, eating as if she hadn't in days. Only when it was gone did she look up, and that was with a self- conscious grin on her face. "I'm afraid I'm not one for dinner conversation," she said apologetically.
I waved away her apology, mouth too full to speak. Then I swallowed. "Don't worry about it. Neither am I."
A gust of wind rocked the ger slightly and Florina tensed. Reasonable, really. The storm was upon us and wind was one of a pegasus knight's greatest obstacles. A draft found its way in from an unsealed crack in a wall somewhere and blew out one of the large candles I kept near the door for light. Florina yelped. "That's some storm, isn't it?" she asked, voice about half an octave higher than usual.
"It's certainly windy," I agreed. "I don't like the idea of going out tonight. Will your pegasus be okay?"
"He'll be fine once I see to him," she said, almost absently. "I have to cover him for the night."
"I'll help."
Once outside, the wind decided to double and triple its intensity. The rain was no help, either. I was soaked in seconds. Speaking out there was impossible and we both hurried to draw a watertight cloak around the white winged horse's body as fast as we could manage. Then we fled inside as fast as we could manage.
I looked with dismay at my sorry state once I reached safety. My clothing was soaked through after only a couple of minutes and my hair hung behind me, wet and heavy. "Well," I commented dryly, "I think that was enough for one night. But now there's nothing to wear to the party."
Florina, though less wet, was inclined to agree. She stood next to me and picked at her own sodden clothes. "I-I'm not very presentable myself."
"I suppose not." An indelicate situation found its way into my mind and I winced inwardly. "Do you have a change of clothes?"
She shook her head.
"Oh." I looked at her from head to toe. "I think what I wear will fit you."
"Uh--okay."
I heard her step over to me as I opened the cabinet, but was engrossed in looking for something suitable until she cleared her throat nervously.
"Yes, Florina?"
"Um--" Her blush was almost audible. "--where should I change?"
"Anywhere, I suppose." Then I understood the problem implicit in the question. I should be forgiven--it was a foreign one to me. "Oh. I won't look."
"Of--of course not."
I pulled a simple robe from the closet and draped it across her arms. "Same color as your hair," I teased, then found myself an appropriate one as well.
"Yeah," she agreed hesitantly. Taking those little, mincing steps, she went over into a corner. "Now, don't look."
"I won't." I didn't, of course, quickly changing into my own robe. I laid the wet clothes on a rack, hoping they'd be dry the next morning.
When I turned around, I even blushed. Florina was still changing and I had looked at her at an inopportune time. Her singlet was over her head and fell to the floor as I watched. The orchid-colored robe had just slipped over her shoulders when she cast an errant glance that included me. She froze. "Lyn--"
I coughed uneasily. "Florina, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to look."
"No, no." She was blushing too. "It's alright. Uh, if you don't mind, I'm a little tired..."
"Uh, yes. Of course." I pointed at the bed. "Please, take it. I'll sleep on the floor."
It was a mark of how flustered she was that she didn't even try to argue. She collapsed gratefully onto the bed and pulled the blankets up to her chin even before I even lay down on the floor beside the bed.
A silence best described as "pregnant" reigned after I pinched out the last few candles. At last a huge roll of thunder echoed and Florina made a soft yipping sound.
I blinked and sat up. "Hm? Florina?"
"Uh, it's nothing," she said, her voice muffled. "Would you mind if we, erm, switched?"
I blinked a few times in the darkness. "You want to sleep on the ground?"
"Y-yes."
"Well...alright." I pulled myself first to my knees, then began to crawl onto the bed, when something stopped me.
Florina wasn't moving.
I murmured her name softly. "Florina."
She moved around a little. I got the impression that she was staring at me. 'Yes, Lyn?"
"Why aren't you moving?"
Her hands told me the answer to that, oh-so-carefully and oh-so- hesitantly touching me. One lay against my side, the other touched my face. I heard her swallow hard. "Lyn, I--"
My hand moved of its own accord to light the candle by the bed and I looked down at her. "Florina..."
She looked scared and vulnerable and about twelve years old as she moved over to lay next to the wall. "I...please?" She patted the bedside, near the edge. Away from her.
I was in unfamiliar territory with no map--it was up to me to decide, and quickly. I complied, slipping beneath the covers. Florina shook her head minutely when I reached to snuff the candle, so I left it on, feeling stupid just lying there, hands behind my head.
We both lay there for an interminable time and at some point my eyes closed. I woke, though, when she moved, laying against me like a drowning man clings to a rock.
I don't know why exactly, but my hands went around her waist and I drew her to me. "Florina," I whispered.
She looked up at me.
No, nothing happened that night. But we were close. Both of us wanted desperately for something to happen, but we were also both so--why belabor the point. We were both scared of what it might mean.
But we were close.
* * *
She has been cruelly injured now, first shot and then broken by her fall from her pegasus. I do not see the beast now. Then again, I see no trees nor even the ground. All I see is her meager little body lying in my arms.
Her eyes slowly flitter open and she coughs weakly. I see her life flying from her. That blush of her cheeks I am so used to seeing whenever anyone speaks to her--Hector, Sain, even myself--is fading fast.
"Lyn...I mean, Lady Lyndis..."
"I'm here," I assure her. No time to be correcting her now. "I'm here."
"Good..."
I hear something behind me, but do not look. If it is an enemy, let him take me now, for I am grieving.
"I'm always such trouble, Lady Lyndis..."
No, Florina. No, you're not. Never.
"Lady Lyndis..."
I can't accept this.
"Lady Lyndis..."
I won't accept this.
"Lady Lyndis..."
I don't accept this!
"Lyn..."
I am snatched back to the present. The tears in my eyes blur her beautiful face. "Florina, I'm here," I manage to say, hiccoughing through the words.
"Lyn...I love you. I truly do."
"I know, Florina...and I love you."
"..."
"Florina..." I whispered brokenly.
She is gone.
* * *
The night of Lundgren's death brought celebrations untold to Caelin. Drink and food flowed freely and I'm sure those of Lyndis's Legion had their fair share.
I retired early, exhausted from the day and from at last meeting my grandfather. He was--is, I fervently hope--a great man and I wept freely upon our meeting.
A room had quickly been provided for me. I learned that my mother Madelyn had resided there as a child. It had been cleaned exhaustively probably every day, waiting for its rightful inhabitant to return.
She never did, and I was there in her stead.
I was very tired; I lay on the bed and fell asleep almost immediately. Sleep was a respite of which I rarely could partake. Soon enough I heard a timid little knock at the door and a voice on the other side.
"Lyn--Lady Lyndis?"
I groaned quietly and persuaded the fifty-ton shields over my eyes to lift. They did, reluctantly, and I sat up, the world rushing back to me. My voice felt rusty. "Who's there?"
"Florina, Lyn."
I stood and walked to the door and opened it. She stood there, smiling crookedly. "Florina," I said, surprised.
"Hello, Lyn," she said shyly. "Er--Lady Lyndis. I mustn't forget that."
I smiled. "Florina, I'm Lyn to you."
"That wouldn't be proper, w-would it?" She spoke in a rush. "Uh, would you mind if I talk to you for a minute?"
"Of course not." I stepped aside and waved her in. "Have a seat."
She sat stiffly, not looking at me. "If you allow it, Lady Lyndis-- "
"--Lyn."
"--Lady Lyndis, I would like to stay on with the Caelin knights. If you are staying, I mean."
"Of course!" I exclaimed. Did she think I would be against her staying? "Will your superiors mind?"
"No." She shook her head, orchid hair flying this way and that. "I have to find mercenary work to help support Ilia."
I nodded. "Ilia is a cold place, isn't it?" I made it seem just barely a question.
"Very cold." She almost shivered. "But beautiful. Ice everywhere."
"I'd like to see it sometime."
She beamed. "I'll take you sometime, if you would wish it."
"I'd like that."
We fell silent for a few moments. Finally Florina stood and walked to the window. "This is a very nice view of the fields."
"Yes." I took slow, measured steps to stand next to her. "Where are you staying?"
She flushed slightly. "With the death of Lundgren and his cohorts, Kent has taken charge. He assigned me a room down the hall. I was a little surprised to be put in an official's room, but the barracks don't really accomodate women."
I laughed. "I wouldn't worry about it, Florina."
"I'm not, Lady Lyndis."
"Good." I floundered about for a minute. "You know...my grandfather is going to ask me to take charge of Caelin's affairs."
"Is that a problem?" she asked timidly, but then her voice strengthened. "You'll do a great job, Lyn, I know it."
"I hope so."
Florina shifted; I became aware that she was close to me. Blindly feeling about, my hand clasped hers. I looked down at her. "I'm glad you're here."
"I am, too, Lady Lyndis."
"Lyn," I corrected mildly.
"...Lyn."
I reached around her, placed both hands on her rear, drew her to me. Neither of us had anything to say before we kissed.
And that night, we released our fears and made love.
* * *
Tears run down my face as I stand, carrying the pegasus knight's body in both arms. She is so light, so frail and fragile.
I am undefended, but I accept that. It becomes harder to stand, however, when an axe-wielding pirate bursts through the trees, bearing down on me.
I scramble back, but cannot simply bring myself to drop her body so cruelly. I kneel quickly to set her down, but know that there is no way I can do that and still draw my sword in time. I brace to join her in the afterlife.
The axe falls.
A bright, polished sword interposes itself between the axe and my head before it can strike home. The blade flashes deep into the pirate's stomach, then curves into his vitals. He falls heavily to the loamy ground.
"My lady, are you all right?"
I looked up bleakly. "Kent."
Kent, eschewing the use of his horse, caught sight of the body and swallowed hard. "Florina. I'm sorry, Lady Lyndis."
"Yes." I straightened painfully. "The battle. Over?"
"Over." He closed his eyes. "The others thought you had fallen."
"And not you?"
"And I," he admitted. "But I could not leave."
His candor brought a faint smile to my face and I almost managed to laugh. "Kent," I said in all seriousness, "you are a good man."
He snorted. "I suppose I am."
"Very modest, too."
Kent lifted a hand, then stopped. "Lady Lyndis?"
I blinked a few times and looked at his outstretched hand. "Yes?"
He looked distinctly uncomfortable. "Shall I--carry the body?"
"I'm fine. I will carry...her."
We walked quietly, Kent on the alert for danger and I preoccupied with my thoughts. "Lady Lyndis, please. Let me carry her."
I sighed. "Very well." I surrendered the body to him and drew the Sol Katti.
He took her with little effort. I knew from previous experience that he could easily carry thrice her meager weight. "Milady..."
Though my voice shook I dared him to question me. "Yes?"
"Do you know why she was there? That far from our flank, I mean, and so undefended."
I swallowed. "No, I don't."
"I see."
"...Kent."
We broke through to the clearing of the plains. He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye. "Yes?"
"Why?"
He smiled tiredly. "Eight swordsmen were approaching your position. She volunteered."
The world spun slowly around me. "Oh."
"I was more than surprised," he continued inexorably. I had not the heart nor the strength to tell him to be quiet. "I don't know why she agreed to go alone. She would not even endanger anyone else. I...know she cared about you deeply, milady. And I feel honored that I had the privilege to know her."
My throat went dry. I could barekly croak out a reply. "Thank you, Kent."
"Let's go," he said gravely. "Sain and Wil and Rebecca are waiting."
* * *
ONE MONTH LATER
Florina had not lied. Ilia was cold.
Hector was a generous soul; he paid in full for all services and expenses, though he had not been within a hundred miles of that battle. Matthew had come with the news and the money.
"Between you and I," he said, "I think that he loved her."
"But his wife...?"
"His wife," Matthew said archly, "is her sister."
"Oh. I thought Serra married him."
He held up his hand. A ring was on the third finger. "No."
* * *
I kneel before the granite momument, tears in my eyes. Quietly I read the engraved words, running my fingers across them. "Florina," I whisper. "Full Pegasus Knight of Ilia. Died in the service of--" The last word was unbearable, for it was my name.
She died fighting to ensure my safety. I could think of no way to repay that debt, greater than any other. I owed her my life; nothing exists that outmatches that. And nothing ever will.
Her monument is an impressive one, thousands of gold lavished upon every surface and figure. A full-sized statue of her stands atop the slab on which the words are written. To either side are pegasi, one rearing back on its hindlegs and the other in flight, with a single stone hoof touching the base. I spared no expense in the endeavor and regret not a gold.
A long time passed before I stand, and when I do both cheeks are stained with icy tears.
Behind me, Kent and Fiora and Farina stand, exchanging embarassed glances. Her sisters--her sisters cared for her, yes, but her death was ensured by her status of a pegasus knight. Few of them ever retire.
Uneasily, Kent rests a hand on my shoulder. He wears ceremonial garb, part light armor and part ornate clothing. "Lady Lyndis, I am sorry."
I look over my shoulder and sniff. "So am I, Kent."
He appears not a little saddened himself. "The two of us traveled all this way..."
"With our help," Farina says. Grief makes her tone even more sour.
"With their help," he agrees readily. He does not move his hand. "I think Sain was right, really."
"What's that?" I ask. "What was he right about?"
Kent smilescrookedly. "He said that my heart must lead me, not my vows."
"What do you mean--?"
He glances over my shoulder and makes a slight movement of his head. Fiora and Farina clear their throats and make a hasty effort to be elsewhere. "I have no position now," he says evenly. "To come with you, I left Caelin's knights."
My eyes widen in surprise. "But, Kent, the knights are your home. Your life."
"Not anymore." I hear no regret in his voice and know instinctively that there is none in his heart. "Lady Lyndis...Lyn...what I have of a life has, these two years, been tied to where you are. Sain was right. I--I love you."
I smile, looking tired. "Kent..."
"It's true," he insists patiently. "Before I could not say anything- - we were fighting a war, first with Lundgren and then Nergal. And so soon after, when we returned to Caelin, Florina--"
The tears in my eyes loosen and drip down my face as I look at him. Such warm eyes. "Kent, I knew you loved me during the war. And I...I wish I could love you in return."
He deflates, becomes downcast. "I feared you might say that."
It hurts, saying this, but I press on. "I cannot love, Kent. I..."
He casts a glance at the granite edifice reaching ten feet into the sky. Heath's wyvern would easily fit beneath it. "Was it she?" he asks.
There is no sense in denying it, no shame. "Yes."
He steps around me, stands face-to-face. His hands wrap about mine. "You are grieving for more than a friend," he says, with an expression of self-disgust on his face. "I should have realized. Sain--"
"Sain did not know either, Kent. It was...quiet." I force a small smile onto my face. "I cannot fault you, Kent, my friend."
He blinks. "Lyndis?"
I free a hand, touch his face. He smiles, not a little sadly. "Lyn," I say softly.
"Lyn, then."
"Kent..." I take a deep breath. "What will you do now?"
He looks stunned. "You feel you must ask?"
"Yes."
He swallows hard, nods. "Fair. I will not leave your side, Lyn. After Lord Hausen's death I swore again an oath to Caelin. And to you."
I come very close to stepping back. "You will not leave, even though I cannot love you?"
"I will not leave your side unless you order it." Kent kneels on one knee, grips my hands tightly. "I did not exaggerate when I said I loved you."
The sheer formality of his words brings a lump to my throat. The tears begin to flow again. "Kent, Kent, Kent..." I murmur. "Stand up."
"As you wish, milady." He stands, looking intently at my face.
"You are witness to my vow," I say in barely more than a whisper. "Someday I shall do something worthy of Florina's sacrifice." The walls guarding my emotions collapse and I do the same, sobbing.
"Lady Lyndis, don't cry." Kent enfolds me in an embrace, brings my head to his shoulder. "You have always been worth the sacrifices your friends have made. And you always will be."
I sniff and pull back just enough to look up at him. "Do you mean that? A promise?"
"I promise," he assures me.
"Th-thank you."
We leave the cemetary, holding hands because neither of us feels like being alone right now.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Fire Emblem, nor do I own its characters or any copyrights. This is a derivative work of fan fiction. Pairings included, yuri and straight (Lyn/Florina, chiefly). And anyone for a glass of lemonade? I'd appreciate any comments you might have; please review it if you feel the urge.
It took her so long to fall.
She, who had only one thing to fear--being plucked from the sky by that very object.
Even in fog, from some ways away, I see it. An arrow follows its path, straight and true, high into the sky. The accursed bolt flies true, striking the pegasus knight flying high overhead.
I hear a scream. Belatedly I realize it is my own.
* * *
Then I was in the past, some two years previous. After the deaths of my parents, but before the troubles with Caelin.
Despite the anger over my parents' deaths I lived freely and peacefully then. There were no assassins to strike at me. There were no evildoers trying to cause harm to my friends. Although, indeed, at that point I had few friends.
I walked alone through the grasslands of Sacae. One can walk for days and not see another human being. My sword was at my waist, but I thought little of it. Now I must be ready to use it constantly, whether to protect my friends or not.
Carried on the wind was an unfamiliar sound, something like the flapping wings of a giant bird. I whirled and sighted the creator of the sound in only seconds. A winged horse--a pegasus? I thought it likely.
Slowly I saw that the beast had a rider, and one looking rather woebegone at that. She--I could tell at even this great distance--was nearly hanging off one side of the winged equine as it canted dangerously to one side. The beast swooped down low, low, lower. And of course it just had to come to a crashing halt atop me, like the shot of a catapult, without giving me a chance to react.
"Hey!" I blurted, at the bottom of the pile of horse and girl. I quickly extricated myself, scrabbling back a few feet.
No slower at rescuing herself, the girl crawled from beneath the beast on hands and knees. She had been knocked under the pegasus. "Uh..." she mumbled, then saw me. Her eyes widened, the irises the same orchid as her hair. "Oh! I'm--I'm sorry!"
My senses immediately told me she was no threat. "It's all right," I assured her hastily, shifting to balance on a knee. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," she said distractedly, looking back at her mount. She ran expert hands across the beast's wings, then along its flanks. Thus reassured, she visibly calmed and sat beside it. "I'm so sorry."
"Don't worry about it!" I assured her, smiling at her. She seemed like a nice girl. "I'm Lyndis, of the Lorca tribe." My voice caught only slightly at the last.
"I'm Florina," the girl said shyly, offering me a little smile. More than most people could ever get from her, that was. "I'm sorry, I'm a clumsy flier."
"Relax," I said easily. "You didn't hurt me. There's no need to apologize."
"I know, but--" she stopped. "Wait. Did you say 'of the Lorca tribe'?"
"Yes." Instinctively I went on my guard. "Why?"
"Lorca, Lorca..." she said tenatively. "I'm in Sacae?"
I nodded.
"No!" she burst out, thumping a small fist against her thigh. "I'm off-course."
"Where were you going?" I asked curiously, sitting back down and crossing my legs beneath me.
"I was to go to my sister in Thria," she said eagerly, nearly bouncing up and down as she spoke.
"Oh?" I asked, being polite. I had no idea where Thria was save that it was in Lycia. "Is your sister a pegasus knight, too?"
She nodded. "Commander of Ilia's third battalion," she said, then looked embarrassed. A faint blush spread across her cheeks. "I'm just in training."
"Even a trainee pegasus knight is impressive," I assured her. "Ilia- - that's where you're from."
"Of--of course. You can't find pegasi anywhere else."
"Oh, right." I smiled. I found myself liking this girl. "I imagine that crash must have rattled you a little."
"I'm used to it," she confessed, smiling bashfully. "We're friends, but neither of us is very quick."
"Friends? Oh, yes. You and your pegasus."
"Y-yes."
"I see." I was suddenly at a loss for what to say. I stood. "Come, let's walk a little. It's not every day I meet a pegasus knight."
It's not every day I saw anyone, back then.
* * *
I tear off into the underbrush in a panic, my blood pounding in my ears. Wil, bless his heart, inadvertently gets in my way and he is thrown to the ground, protesting furiously.
I hear the galloping strides of a horse and Kent's voice rings out from behind me. "Lady Lyndis!" he cries. "It's not safe!"
I ignore him. Soon enough I crash through enough growth to reach the spot where she fell. Her immaculate white clothing and oh-so-pale skin draw my eyes, contrasting sharply with the muddy, gray-green underbrush all around us. Those white clothes are marred.
I see the vivid crimson stain slowly spreading from the arrow wound in her belly and my heart rends.
* * *
"Lyn?" a voice called, plainitive and unsure. "Are you home?"
Nearly any other voice would have sent me scrambling for my sword. Hers only makes me smile. "Florina? Is that you?"
Florina's head peeks through the curtain at the door of my ger. "Lyndis, you are home!" she exclaimed. "Uh--can I come in?"
"Of course." I smiled at her and placed the book I was reading atop the table. My father was a collector of such books. "So you found Thria, I take it."
"Yes, I did." She smiled at me and giggled. "It wasn't far."
"Good," I said. "What were you sent to do?"
Florina held up a sealed envelope. "I was sent to give a message to my sister Fiora and return with her reply. And since it's nearing nightfall, I thought--" She broke off, looking a bit embarrassed. "If you don't mind, of course."
"Not at all. I'd like it if you stayed." I chuckled to myself. "A storm is approaching, anyway. I can feel it. I wouldn't let you go if you wanted to."
"Uh--okay." She walked in and looked around awkwardly. "Uh--"
I divined her problem and waved vaguely. "You can sit anywhere you like. Are you hungry?"
"A little, yes," she admitted, sitting on an ornate little stool. "What--what are you having?"
"What are 'we' having," I corrected her with a smile. "And we're having...well, whatever I can find. It's been a while since I went to trade. I'm afraid there isn't much choice."
"Anything is fine with me," she assured me politely. "I'm very grateful."
"You're welcome," I said absently, chuckling again. Florina's hesitant demeanor has always amused me to a high degree, but I've always tried to hide it. Usually successfully. I quickly found some smoked meat and hardbreads from my last trip over the border into Bern. I gave Florina a hearty half, content with only a small amount for myself.
She tore into the food with wild abandon, eating as if she hadn't in days. Only when it was gone did she look up, and that was with a self- conscious grin on her face. "I'm afraid I'm not one for dinner conversation," she said apologetically.
I waved away her apology, mouth too full to speak. Then I swallowed. "Don't worry about it. Neither am I."
A gust of wind rocked the ger slightly and Florina tensed. Reasonable, really. The storm was upon us and wind was one of a pegasus knight's greatest obstacles. A draft found its way in from an unsealed crack in a wall somewhere and blew out one of the large candles I kept near the door for light. Florina yelped. "That's some storm, isn't it?" she asked, voice about half an octave higher than usual.
"It's certainly windy," I agreed. "I don't like the idea of going out tonight. Will your pegasus be okay?"
"He'll be fine once I see to him," she said, almost absently. "I have to cover him for the night."
"I'll help."
Once outside, the wind decided to double and triple its intensity. The rain was no help, either. I was soaked in seconds. Speaking out there was impossible and we both hurried to draw a watertight cloak around the white winged horse's body as fast as we could manage. Then we fled inside as fast as we could manage.
I looked with dismay at my sorry state once I reached safety. My clothing was soaked through after only a couple of minutes and my hair hung behind me, wet and heavy. "Well," I commented dryly, "I think that was enough for one night. But now there's nothing to wear to the party."
Florina, though less wet, was inclined to agree. She stood next to me and picked at her own sodden clothes. "I-I'm not very presentable myself."
"I suppose not." An indelicate situation found its way into my mind and I winced inwardly. "Do you have a change of clothes?"
She shook her head.
"Oh." I looked at her from head to toe. "I think what I wear will fit you."
"Uh--okay."
I heard her step over to me as I opened the cabinet, but was engrossed in looking for something suitable until she cleared her throat nervously.
"Yes, Florina?"
"Um--" Her blush was almost audible. "--where should I change?"
"Anywhere, I suppose." Then I understood the problem implicit in the question. I should be forgiven--it was a foreign one to me. "Oh. I won't look."
"Of--of course not."
I pulled a simple robe from the closet and draped it across her arms. "Same color as your hair," I teased, then found myself an appropriate one as well.
"Yeah," she agreed hesitantly. Taking those little, mincing steps, she went over into a corner. "Now, don't look."
"I won't." I didn't, of course, quickly changing into my own robe. I laid the wet clothes on a rack, hoping they'd be dry the next morning.
When I turned around, I even blushed. Florina was still changing and I had looked at her at an inopportune time. Her singlet was over her head and fell to the floor as I watched. The orchid-colored robe had just slipped over her shoulders when she cast an errant glance that included me. She froze. "Lyn--"
I coughed uneasily. "Florina, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to look."
"No, no." She was blushing too. "It's alright. Uh, if you don't mind, I'm a little tired..."
"Uh, yes. Of course." I pointed at the bed. "Please, take it. I'll sleep on the floor."
It was a mark of how flustered she was that she didn't even try to argue. She collapsed gratefully onto the bed and pulled the blankets up to her chin even before I even lay down on the floor beside the bed.
A silence best described as "pregnant" reigned after I pinched out the last few candles. At last a huge roll of thunder echoed and Florina made a soft yipping sound.
I blinked and sat up. "Hm? Florina?"
"Uh, it's nothing," she said, her voice muffled. "Would you mind if we, erm, switched?"
I blinked a few times in the darkness. "You want to sleep on the ground?"
"Y-yes."
"Well...alright." I pulled myself first to my knees, then began to crawl onto the bed, when something stopped me.
Florina wasn't moving.
I murmured her name softly. "Florina."
She moved around a little. I got the impression that she was staring at me. 'Yes, Lyn?"
"Why aren't you moving?"
Her hands told me the answer to that, oh-so-carefully and oh-so- hesitantly touching me. One lay against my side, the other touched my face. I heard her swallow hard. "Lyn, I--"
My hand moved of its own accord to light the candle by the bed and I looked down at her. "Florina..."
She looked scared and vulnerable and about twelve years old as she moved over to lay next to the wall. "I...please?" She patted the bedside, near the edge. Away from her.
I was in unfamiliar territory with no map--it was up to me to decide, and quickly. I complied, slipping beneath the covers. Florina shook her head minutely when I reached to snuff the candle, so I left it on, feeling stupid just lying there, hands behind my head.
We both lay there for an interminable time and at some point my eyes closed. I woke, though, when she moved, laying against me like a drowning man clings to a rock.
I don't know why exactly, but my hands went around her waist and I drew her to me. "Florina," I whispered.
She looked up at me.
No, nothing happened that night. But we were close. Both of us wanted desperately for something to happen, but we were also both so--why belabor the point. We were both scared of what it might mean.
But we were close.
* * *
She has been cruelly injured now, first shot and then broken by her fall from her pegasus. I do not see the beast now. Then again, I see no trees nor even the ground. All I see is her meager little body lying in my arms.
Her eyes slowly flitter open and she coughs weakly. I see her life flying from her. That blush of her cheeks I am so used to seeing whenever anyone speaks to her--Hector, Sain, even myself--is fading fast.
"Lyn...I mean, Lady Lyndis..."
"I'm here," I assure her. No time to be correcting her now. "I'm here."
"Good..."
I hear something behind me, but do not look. If it is an enemy, let him take me now, for I am grieving.
"I'm always such trouble, Lady Lyndis..."
No, Florina. No, you're not. Never.
"Lady Lyndis..."
I can't accept this.
"Lady Lyndis..."
I won't accept this.
"Lady Lyndis..."
I don't accept this!
"Lyn..."
I am snatched back to the present. The tears in my eyes blur her beautiful face. "Florina, I'm here," I manage to say, hiccoughing through the words.
"Lyn...I love you. I truly do."
"I know, Florina...and I love you."
"..."
"Florina..." I whispered brokenly.
She is gone.
* * *
The night of Lundgren's death brought celebrations untold to Caelin. Drink and food flowed freely and I'm sure those of Lyndis's Legion had their fair share.
I retired early, exhausted from the day and from at last meeting my grandfather. He was--is, I fervently hope--a great man and I wept freely upon our meeting.
A room had quickly been provided for me. I learned that my mother Madelyn had resided there as a child. It had been cleaned exhaustively probably every day, waiting for its rightful inhabitant to return.
She never did, and I was there in her stead.
I was very tired; I lay on the bed and fell asleep almost immediately. Sleep was a respite of which I rarely could partake. Soon enough I heard a timid little knock at the door and a voice on the other side.
"Lyn--Lady Lyndis?"
I groaned quietly and persuaded the fifty-ton shields over my eyes to lift. They did, reluctantly, and I sat up, the world rushing back to me. My voice felt rusty. "Who's there?"
"Florina, Lyn."
I stood and walked to the door and opened it. She stood there, smiling crookedly. "Florina," I said, surprised.
"Hello, Lyn," she said shyly. "Er--Lady Lyndis. I mustn't forget that."
I smiled. "Florina, I'm Lyn to you."
"That wouldn't be proper, w-would it?" She spoke in a rush. "Uh, would you mind if I talk to you for a minute?"
"Of course not." I stepped aside and waved her in. "Have a seat."
She sat stiffly, not looking at me. "If you allow it, Lady Lyndis-- "
"--Lyn."
"--Lady Lyndis, I would like to stay on with the Caelin knights. If you are staying, I mean."
"Of course!" I exclaimed. Did she think I would be against her staying? "Will your superiors mind?"
"No." She shook her head, orchid hair flying this way and that. "I have to find mercenary work to help support Ilia."
I nodded. "Ilia is a cold place, isn't it?" I made it seem just barely a question.
"Very cold." She almost shivered. "But beautiful. Ice everywhere."
"I'd like to see it sometime."
She beamed. "I'll take you sometime, if you would wish it."
"I'd like that."
We fell silent for a few moments. Finally Florina stood and walked to the window. "This is a very nice view of the fields."
"Yes." I took slow, measured steps to stand next to her. "Where are you staying?"
She flushed slightly. "With the death of Lundgren and his cohorts, Kent has taken charge. He assigned me a room down the hall. I was a little surprised to be put in an official's room, but the barracks don't really accomodate women."
I laughed. "I wouldn't worry about it, Florina."
"I'm not, Lady Lyndis."
"Good." I floundered about for a minute. "You know...my grandfather is going to ask me to take charge of Caelin's affairs."
"Is that a problem?" she asked timidly, but then her voice strengthened. "You'll do a great job, Lyn, I know it."
"I hope so."
Florina shifted; I became aware that she was close to me. Blindly feeling about, my hand clasped hers. I looked down at her. "I'm glad you're here."
"I am, too, Lady Lyndis."
"Lyn," I corrected mildly.
"...Lyn."
I reached around her, placed both hands on her rear, drew her to me. Neither of us had anything to say before we kissed.
And that night, we released our fears and made love.
* * *
Tears run down my face as I stand, carrying the pegasus knight's body in both arms. She is so light, so frail and fragile.
I am undefended, but I accept that. It becomes harder to stand, however, when an axe-wielding pirate bursts through the trees, bearing down on me.
I scramble back, but cannot simply bring myself to drop her body so cruelly. I kneel quickly to set her down, but know that there is no way I can do that and still draw my sword in time. I brace to join her in the afterlife.
The axe falls.
A bright, polished sword interposes itself between the axe and my head before it can strike home. The blade flashes deep into the pirate's stomach, then curves into his vitals. He falls heavily to the loamy ground.
"My lady, are you all right?"
I looked up bleakly. "Kent."
Kent, eschewing the use of his horse, caught sight of the body and swallowed hard. "Florina. I'm sorry, Lady Lyndis."
"Yes." I straightened painfully. "The battle. Over?"
"Over." He closed his eyes. "The others thought you had fallen."
"And not you?"
"And I," he admitted. "But I could not leave."
His candor brought a faint smile to my face and I almost managed to laugh. "Kent," I said in all seriousness, "you are a good man."
He snorted. "I suppose I am."
"Very modest, too."
Kent lifted a hand, then stopped. "Lady Lyndis?"
I blinked a few times and looked at his outstretched hand. "Yes?"
He looked distinctly uncomfortable. "Shall I--carry the body?"
"I'm fine. I will carry...her."
We walked quietly, Kent on the alert for danger and I preoccupied with my thoughts. "Lady Lyndis, please. Let me carry her."
I sighed. "Very well." I surrendered the body to him and drew the Sol Katti.
He took her with little effort. I knew from previous experience that he could easily carry thrice her meager weight. "Milady..."
Though my voice shook I dared him to question me. "Yes?"
"Do you know why she was there? That far from our flank, I mean, and so undefended."
I swallowed. "No, I don't."
"I see."
"...Kent."
We broke through to the clearing of the plains. He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye. "Yes?"
"Why?"
He smiled tiredly. "Eight swordsmen were approaching your position. She volunteered."
The world spun slowly around me. "Oh."
"I was more than surprised," he continued inexorably. I had not the heart nor the strength to tell him to be quiet. "I don't know why she agreed to go alone. She would not even endanger anyone else. I...know she cared about you deeply, milady. And I feel honored that I had the privilege to know her."
My throat went dry. I could barekly croak out a reply. "Thank you, Kent."
"Let's go," he said gravely. "Sain and Wil and Rebecca are waiting."
* * *
ONE MONTH LATER
Florina had not lied. Ilia was cold.
Hector was a generous soul; he paid in full for all services and expenses, though he had not been within a hundred miles of that battle. Matthew had come with the news and the money.
"Between you and I," he said, "I think that he loved her."
"But his wife...?"
"His wife," Matthew said archly, "is her sister."
"Oh. I thought Serra married him."
He held up his hand. A ring was on the third finger. "No."
* * *
I kneel before the granite momument, tears in my eyes. Quietly I read the engraved words, running my fingers across them. "Florina," I whisper. "Full Pegasus Knight of Ilia. Died in the service of--" The last word was unbearable, for it was my name.
She died fighting to ensure my safety. I could think of no way to repay that debt, greater than any other. I owed her my life; nothing exists that outmatches that. And nothing ever will.
Her monument is an impressive one, thousands of gold lavished upon every surface and figure. A full-sized statue of her stands atop the slab on which the words are written. To either side are pegasi, one rearing back on its hindlegs and the other in flight, with a single stone hoof touching the base. I spared no expense in the endeavor and regret not a gold.
A long time passed before I stand, and when I do both cheeks are stained with icy tears.
Behind me, Kent and Fiora and Farina stand, exchanging embarassed glances. Her sisters--her sisters cared for her, yes, but her death was ensured by her status of a pegasus knight. Few of them ever retire.
Uneasily, Kent rests a hand on my shoulder. He wears ceremonial garb, part light armor and part ornate clothing. "Lady Lyndis, I am sorry."
I look over my shoulder and sniff. "So am I, Kent."
He appears not a little saddened himself. "The two of us traveled all this way..."
"With our help," Farina says. Grief makes her tone even more sour.
"With their help," he agrees readily. He does not move his hand. "I think Sain was right, really."
"What's that?" I ask. "What was he right about?"
Kent smilescrookedly. "He said that my heart must lead me, not my vows."
"What do you mean--?"
He glances over my shoulder and makes a slight movement of his head. Fiora and Farina clear their throats and make a hasty effort to be elsewhere. "I have no position now," he says evenly. "To come with you, I left Caelin's knights."
My eyes widen in surprise. "But, Kent, the knights are your home. Your life."
"Not anymore." I hear no regret in his voice and know instinctively that there is none in his heart. "Lady Lyndis...Lyn...what I have of a life has, these two years, been tied to where you are. Sain was right. I--I love you."
I smile, looking tired. "Kent..."
"It's true," he insists patiently. "Before I could not say anything- - we were fighting a war, first with Lundgren and then Nergal. And so soon after, when we returned to Caelin, Florina--"
The tears in my eyes loosen and drip down my face as I look at him. Such warm eyes. "Kent, I knew you loved me during the war. And I...I wish I could love you in return."
He deflates, becomes downcast. "I feared you might say that."
It hurts, saying this, but I press on. "I cannot love, Kent. I..."
He casts a glance at the granite edifice reaching ten feet into the sky. Heath's wyvern would easily fit beneath it. "Was it she?" he asks.
There is no sense in denying it, no shame. "Yes."
He steps around me, stands face-to-face. His hands wrap about mine. "You are grieving for more than a friend," he says, with an expression of self-disgust on his face. "I should have realized. Sain--"
"Sain did not know either, Kent. It was...quiet." I force a small smile onto my face. "I cannot fault you, Kent, my friend."
He blinks. "Lyndis?"
I free a hand, touch his face. He smiles, not a little sadly. "Lyn," I say softly.
"Lyn, then."
"Kent..." I take a deep breath. "What will you do now?"
He looks stunned. "You feel you must ask?"
"Yes."
He swallows hard, nods. "Fair. I will not leave your side, Lyn. After Lord Hausen's death I swore again an oath to Caelin. And to you."
I come very close to stepping back. "You will not leave, even though I cannot love you?"
"I will not leave your side unless you order it." Kent kneels on one knee, grips my hands tightly. "I did not exaggerate when I said I loved you."
The sheer formality of his words brings a lump to my throat. The tears begin to flow again. "Kent, Kent, Kent..." I murmur. "Stand up."
"As you wish, milady." He stands, looking intently at my face.
"You are witness to my vow," I say in barely more than a whisper. "Someday I shall do something worthy of Florina's sacrifice." The walls guarding my emotions collapse and I do the same, sobbing.
"Lady Lyndis, don't cry." Kent enfolds me in an embrace, brings my head to his shoulder. "You have always been worth the sacrifices your friends have made. And you always will be."
I sniff and pull back just enough to look up at him. "Do you mean that? A promise?"
"I promise," he assures me.
"Th-thank you."
We leave the cemetary, holding hands because neither of us feels like being alone right now.