Hey guys, I´m back. And it didn´t take me months to translate. I´m proud of myself. And I want to thank Diedre for the review. And I thank everyone, who read this and didn´t hate me. Maybe you will it now. But I don´t think so.

Seth took a deep breath. He was standing in front of the tavern. Despite the thick glass of the translucent windows, he could hear the laughter, the singing and raucous brawling of the drunk. The gentle candlelight was the only source of light in the night besides the moon. Seth nervously ran his fingers through his hair and looked over his shoulder. The dark forest appeared much more pleasant than the tavern. ´I promised her. There is no going back.´ Seth steeled himself. His typical serious expression returned to his face; he no longer showed any signs of insecurity or fear. He opened the door resolutely and stepped in.

The same fug that awaited them in every tavern practically slapped him in the face. The mixed smell of beer, sweat, smoke and food drove every person with a weak stomach to their room. Seth, however, was a well-trained soldier and had seen worse things on the battlefield. A zapped or burned soldier smelled worse than every drunkard did.

Seth looked around in the bar area. The biggest part of the attendees was people from the town. Big men with even bigger muscles and beards laughed with men that were hardly old enough to drink. Scantily clad waitresses carried plates full of roasted chicken and big mugs of ale.

One of the waitresses shoved Seth with a harsh muttering out of her way. The girl disappeared with a handful mugs in her arms in the crowd, before he could apologize. Seth just shook his head. He wondered how a young girl like her could carry so many mugs without collapsing. ´Maybe we should integrate something like that in our training.´, he thought with a half-smile. Then he ran a hand through his hair, sighed and scratched his neck. ´Well, back to my actual mission.´ And he looked around.

At the counter sat Kyle and Forde with the pegasus sisters Syrene and Vanessa. The four had mugs in front of them and he could clearly see that Forde was the drunkest. While talking, he gesticulated wildly - he nearly slapped Kyle over the head-, he swayed from side to side and sometimes needed to grab a hold on Kyle's shoulder so he wouldn't fall from his seat. But the green knight had had his fair share as well. A broad grin was on his face and he didn't stutter around Syrene anymore. The ladies just sipped at their beer and watched the two knights amused. Seth didn't bother to scold them; most likely Kyle will do it himself the next morning - with a splinting headache, Seth guessed.

At one of the many tables sat Garcia, the retired troop leader of Renais, and Gilliam, a knight of Frelia, who were engaged in a match of arm wrestling. Ross, Joshua, Colm and Rennac were with them and cheered them on. Seth guessed that the two thieves and the myrmidon had made bets on the winner.

At the next table sat Prince Ephraim and General Duessel. They were the only ones that talked in a moderate volume. But their peace was disturbed when Prince Innes came to them with a big mug in his hand. He already swayed a bit and let himself fall in a vacated seat across from Ephraim. He immediately started to babble. Prince Ephraim watched him amused. Duessel chuckled lowly and excused himself. When he passed Seth, he nodded in recognition and went to the upper floor.

At the wall with the windows were long benches. In the most remote area of the benches sat one of Seth's best pupils. Franz sat together with Amelia, the girl from Grado, and chatted cordially. Seth smiled benignly. Every time the two teenagers touched by accident, they turned a deep pink and averted their gaze. Both stuttered a small apology until they smiled shyly and returned to their conversation.

But the person Seth was searching for was not there. Seth suppressed a sigh and looked to the stairs that led to the upper floor. ´That means she's already up there.´, he thought, feeling uncomfortable. ´If she is already retired, I shouldn't disturb her, right?´ Unconsciously, he clenched his hands and heard the creaking of the leather of his gloves. ´It wouldn't be proper to go to her now. On the other hand... what I want to tell her isn't proper as well.´ Seth turned insecurely to the front door. He could still run, could still hide. ´No! No, I promised not to run. I promised Lady Myrrh I would not shy away.´ Seth looked determinedly to the stairs again. The upper floor was in complete darkness. Until mid-stairs, the light of the bar illuminated his way, but the rest was unknown. Seth ascended with firm steps, the wood creaked unpleasantly loud under his feet.

When he finally reached the top, he looked around. He pondered for a moment, but it wasn't really necessary. He knew exactly where her room was. He just needed a moment to keep his resolve up. Slowly Seth walked to a room at the end of the corridor. He could see light under the room door and cursed inwardly. Now he had no excuse not to knock.

He stood in front of the door and took a deep breath. Seth tried to banish all perturbing thoughts, but the more he tried, the more they haunted him. Should he really knock and tell her how much he loved her? Only thinking about it made Seth's heart skip a beat and his hands began to sweat. How would she react? Myrrh assured him that she still loved him, but she could have mistaken, right? Maybe she doesn't love him anymore. He did hurt her badly. Seth ran shaking fingers through his hair. It was nerve-racking. He slowly lifted one hand. But before his fist met the door, it stopped. ´I can't. She... I... I can't do it.´ He grunted frustrated and rested his head against the door.

Suddenly he heard the scraping of a chair on the wooden floor. In panic he backed away. The person walked to the door. Seth stepped backwards until his back met the wall. Startled he looked around for a hideout. But there was none. There wasn't enough time to reach the stairs, nor his room. It was on the far side of the floor. And he couldn't enter an unfamiliar room, could he?

Seth observed how the doorknob turned slowly. He hid his hands behind his back, swallowed and tried to look confident. The door opened. Soft candlelight shone in the dark corridor and illuminated Seth's face. He hoped that she couldn't see through his mask, because he could feel how it slipped away. The woman standing in the door was holding a book in her hand. She wore a white skirt and a deep red shirt. Her armour laid polished on her bed, the rapier next to it. She looked at Seth with surprise evident in her eyes. But not with the rejection he had feared. Quite the opposite; she seemed to be pleased with his visit.

"Seth," she said in that smooth and affectionate voice she always used with him. Seth swallowed again and constrained himself to not avert his gaze. "What are you doing here?"

"Princess Eirika, I am sorry to disturb you at this hour, but..." Seth began insecurely. Eirika raised wonderingly an eyebrow at Seth's strange display of nervousness, but she didn't comment it.

"Who's there?" a female voice asked. Seth nearly jumped and Eirika turned her head. The paladin prayed that she didn't see his reaction.

"It's Seth," Eirika answered.

"Seth?" Seth heard a person walking to the door. A woman with long blue hair appeared behind Eirika. "What does he want?"

"Princess Tana, I apologize for disturbing you at this hour." Seth said with a bow.

"Tana's right," Eirika remarked and shot him an questioning look. "What can I do for you?" Seth swallowed yet again and tried to relax his fists. Since the door had opened, his hands had been clenched to fists and slowly he lost the feeling in his fingers.

"I want- need to talk to you, Princess Eirika." Eirika cocked her head in question. Seth's heartbeat thumped loudly against his eardrum while he watched her reaction. He loved everything about her and especially this innocent expression made him melt inside. "Alone, if it is not inconvenient," he added with a glance at Tana.

The Frelian Princess grinned back. "How about a little walk?" she suggested.

"But isn't it a bit late?" Eirika asked carefully. Before Seth could argue, Tana piped up again.

"Eirika, Seth will go with you. I don't think anybody would attack you with the Silver Knight by your side." Seth winced at his nickname, but none of the women noticed it.

"You're right." Eirika laughed and gave her friend her book. She smiled warmly at Seth and stepped into the corridor. Tana waved them goodbye before closing the door. Seth and Eirika stood awkwardly in the now dark corridor for a moment, uncertain of how to begin a conversation.

"Uhm," Eirika said and looked at her feet. "Let's- Let's go outside. It's a bit stuffy in here."

"Yes," Seth answered hastily. "That would be... wonderful." Eirika smiled at him and Seth could feel a pleasant warmth spread in his body. He smiled tentatively and offered her his arm. "Milady." Eirika nodded and linked arms with him. With a loud thumping heart, Seth guided Eirika in the cold night.

Ephraim was bored out of his mind. Innes was still talking completely incoherent nonsense like he, Ephraim, his eternal rival, would never get Tana without a fight. But the Prince of Renais just sighed and let him talk. ´Looks like he doesn't know that Tana is more interested in that wyvern knight of Grado than me.´,he thought amused. Suddenly Innes banged his fist on the table and glared at Ephraim.

"Are you lishening?" he exclaimed angrily.

"Of course," Ephraim answered honestly. When Innes nodded smugly, Ephraim had to restrain his laughter, because the Frelian Prince made a total fool out of himself. But if he would have laughed, he would be in deep trouble; Innes would have yelled at him, scolded him and whatever he could think off to make Ephraim's life miserable. At least for the next few hours. ´Maybe I should ask Gilliam to escort him to his room.´, Ephraim thought and turned around.

But the knight was kinda busy. Garcia managed to press Gilliam's arm halfway down to the table and Gilliam didn't look like he would give up. Sighing, Ephraim turned back to Innes, who was quietly mumbling to himself. Then Ephraim spotted something turquoise over Innes' right shoulder. He observed how Seth and his sister came down the stairs. They had linked arms and Seth guided her to the door. Ephraim raised wonderingly an eyebrow. ´Seth looks nervous. Maybe he gave finally in? It's about time.´, he mused and chuckled quietly.

"An´- an´that´s why you neva, neva gonna beat me," Innes mumbled before passing out. A loud snoring escaped his mouth as Ephraim clapped his hand over his mouth to restrain his laughter. As soundless as possible he stood up. But Innes probably wouldn't have noticed him even if he had slapped him with a chair. Ephraim tipped Gilliam on the shoulder.

"Hrngh?" the knight asked while he tried to push Garcia's hand onto the wood.

"You'll have to carry your Prince to his room. He passed out on the table."

"Hrngh." was the answer. Ephraim took it as a "Yes, Sir." With a last glance on the snoring Frelian Prince, Ephraim disappeared in the upper floor and stepped into his room. Right when sat down on his bed, he heard a knock. Surprised and curious he opened the door. At first he saw no one. On second glance, he saw a small person in front of him. She had purple hair tied up in two pigtails and looked tentatively at him.

"Brother Ephraim, may I come in?" she asked quietly. Ephraim smiled warmly and stepped to the side.

"Sure, Myrrh. Come in." She smiled back thankfully. Ephraim closed the door behind her and the corridor was dark once again.

Seth opened the door for the princess and both stepped into the cold night.

"When we arrived this afternoon, I saw a small lake." Eirika said smiling. "Can we go there?" Seth nodded and they walked in silence.

While walking, Seth twisted his mind to figure out what he should - or could - say. He couldn't just say ´I love you, Eirika and I'm sorry that I lied to you.´ No, that wouldn't do. On the other hand, he couldn't see any other alternative. Lightly despaired he shook his head and sighed.

Eirika heard him. Curious she looked over to him and was quite surprised. His often expressionless face showed a myriad of emotions. Seth seemingly didn't notice that his mask had slipped and Eirika didn't have the slightest intention to point it out. She saw a perfect opportunity to discover Seth's feelings.

At first he was hopeful and then it changed at lightning speed to doubtful, disbelieving and crestfallen. Then there was a spark of hope and determination, which resulted in insecureness and helplessness.

Eirika was confused. She couldn't imagine what in the world could make Seth feel such emotions. What was going on in his mind? And why did he need her?

They reached their destination. The lake was so tiny that it was rather a pond. The water was crystal clear and Eirika could see the ground until the water was too deep to see properly. The moon was reflected on the surface and everything had a silver lustre.

"It's beautiful." Eirika sighed and let go of Seth's arm to step closer to the edge.

"Yes, beautiful," Seth whispered, but he didn't look to the pond. Eirika knelt in front of the water and dipped her hand in.

"Wuah, cold!" she squeaked and withdrew her hand. She stood up and turned to Seth with a smile. "Now that we are here... What did you want to tell me?" Seth swallowed hard.

"Uhm, yes. That's -" he cleared his throat nervously and glanced over Eirika's shoulder to avert her gaze. "It is difficult to find the right words."

"Really?" Eirika giggled. "Maybe you should have asked Forde or Innes to help you with that. They always know how to express themselves." Her smile when she said the Prince's name stung him. A deep and painful stab. Maybe Myrrh had been wrong? Eirika didn't notice Seth's discomfort, because she already turned back to the pond and viewed their surroundings.

Suddenly a cold breeze made Eirika shiver. She hugged herself to conserve some of her warmth, but it didn't work well. She wore a short skirt and a thin shirt; highly inadequate for an area like this. Then she felt a warm cloth on her shoulders. Surprised she turned to Seth. He had removed his dark coat and put it over her shoulders.

"Seth," she chided gently. "What about you?" The paladin just shook his head.

"Don't worry yourself. The cold doesn't concern me," he replied with a smile. A forced smile, Eirika determined. She tightened her hold on the coat. The warmth on her skin felt as if Seth was holding her in his arms.

"Seth, what was it you wanted to tell me?" she asked blissfully.

"I..." Eirika watched the man curiously. He looked on the ground with a frown on his face. He obviously fought with himself. "Would you answer me a question first?" The Princess blinked puzzled.

"A question?" Seth nodded and looked at her with a nearly pleading gaze. "Sure." A warm smile appeared on Eirika's face and gave Seth enough strength to ask.

"Are you... Are you in love with Prince Innes?" Eirika looked at Seth in complete shock. She couldn't believe what she just heard.

"Innes?" Seth nodded and unconsciously nibbled on his lower lip, which surprised Eirika greatly. Seth never showed such obvious signs of distress or anguish. It was unsettling to say in the least. "No, I'm not in love with Innes." It was clearly a load off his mind. And a spark of hope returned to his eyes. "But why do you ask? You should know who I'm in love with." She looked at Seth dolefully. And to her big surprise and delight he blushed. He averted his gaze and cleared his throat nervously. A big grin appeared on Eirika's face. Slowly she had an idea about what he wanted to talk. And she hoped wholeheartedly that she was right.

"Seth?" Reluctantly the paladin turned to the Princess. "I answered your question. Now you have to answer mine. What do you want to tell me? Alone." She smiled impishly.

"Ah, that- yes, well- you see-" Eirika's smile broadened in a grin. Seth was so cute in this helpless state. His cheeks were still flushed and he hid his hands behind his back. Maybe he hadn't noticed that before, but he always did that when he was nervous about something. It didn't happen often, but Eirika had observed it. Eirika sighed good-heartedly and took his hands in hers.

"Seth," she said. Seth calmed down a bit. "Just tell me." She smiled encouragingly at him. Seth took a deep breath and closed his eyes. After a few seconds, he opened them with new strength.

"Eirika," he said determined. Eirika's heart skipped a beat. She was delighted that he had omitted her title. "I-" She looked at him expectantly. "I love you. What I told you at that time... that I would only think about you as my future queen... it was a lie. Since our flight from Castle Renais, I think about you every second... I- I love you."

Silence.

Seth gazed anxiously at Eirika. She showed no reaction; she just blinked. "Eirika?" Seth asked insecurely. The anxiety came back. ´She rejects me, she rejects me.´ unwound in his head in an infinite loop. The desperation clutched his heart painfully.

Eirika released him from his negative feelings quickly. She flung her arms around him and laughed. A perplex Seth closed his arms around her and snuggled her to him. After a too short moment - at least for Seth - she sank back and looked him in the eye.

"I love you too." she whispered and nuzzled her nose against his. "Always." A big grin appeared on Seth's face.

"Really?" Seth asked felicitously.

"Really," Eirika whispered and under the full moon, they shared their first kiss.

Myrrh sat down nervously on the cot opposite of Ephraim's. The Prince lit another candle and placed it on a desk by the window. With a small sigh, he dropped on his bed.

"So, what do you want, Myrrh?" he asked friendly. Myrrh smiled shyly.

"I just wanted to talk a bit," Myrrh answered hushed.

"I see." Ephraim smiled back and laid down on his cot. He starred moonily at the ceiling and noticed a large cut and deep brown stain. Irritated he raised an eyebrow. But he pushed it aside and returned his gaze to the manakete. "About what do you want to talk?" Myrrh shrugged.

"I don't know," she admitted. Ephraim chuckled lowly, which caused Myrrh to look up baffled.

"It's not like you to come without a reason. You're feeling lonely, aren't you?" Myrrh blushed a bit and averted her gaze. "Do you get along with the rest of our companions?" he asked when he saw that she was uncomfortable with his earlier question.

"Yes. Some of them are a bit odd, but everyone treats me well."

"Odd?" Ephraim asked with raised eyebrows. He turned on the side and propped himself on his right elbow.

"Yes, Princess L'Arachel and her servant Dozla for example. They are ... interesting humans." Ephraim laughed out loud.

"That's true. The Princess is really special." A dreamy expression entered Ephraim's face. Unbeknown to him Myrrh's face distorted for a second. But when Ephraim turned his attention back to the girl, the grimace was already gone.

"And Prince Innes reminds me a bit of Saleh," Myrrh continued to hide her discomfort. "He is so serious, just like Saleh. Just a bit..." Myrrh searched for the right word.

"More stern?" Ephraim helped. Shyly, Myrrh nodded and the Prince chuckled.

"But I can see that he has a good heart," she added. Ephraim gazed at her in question.

"You can see that?" Blushing, Myrrh nodded.

"Yes. As a dragon, I have the power to look in the heart of people. But just a bit." Myrrh fiddled nervously with the hem of her dress. "I'm too young to see everything. I just can sense emotions sometimes."

"Interesting," Ephraim murmured and turned on his back. "So you know what a person feels." Ephraim lost himself in a thoughtful silence. Myrrh watched him; the gentle light of the candle let his skin glow golden and Myrrh felt her heartbeat speed up. "Say, Myrrh..." The Prince sat up and turned completely to the manakete. She was surprised by the determined and simultaneously abashed gaze.

"Yes?"

"Would you- could you ascertain, if-" He looked at her shyly and blushed red. Myrrh already knew what he wanted; she could feel it. It was a straight punch in the stomach. "Could you ascertain if Innes and L'Arachel are ... you know... in love?" Ephraim gazed hopefully at the small manakete. Her face was expressionless.

"Why?" she asked lowly. Ephraim chuckled nervously.

"I- I just want to know. He's my rival, you know. I- I just want to know." But Myrrh sensed his jealousy and insecurity. Exactly the same burning feelings Myrrh felt in her chest.

"You are in love with the Princess of Rausten, brother?" she asked. She hoped her voice didn't sound as bitter as she felt. Ephraim flashed her a bashful smile.

"Yes. But lately she and Innes are always together and they argue about whose country is better. And IM just worrying about Innes falling in love with her, I guess." Myrrh nodded. She could feel the tears in the corner of her eyes, but she couldn't risk Ephraim seeing them. Now, after his confession she couldn't tell him that she loved him. He would feel guilty - and maybe pity her - and she didn't want that. "So... would you help me?" Myrrh looked up in surprise. Ephraim gazed at her so hopefully that she couldn't do otherwise.

"Of course. You are my big brother after all," she answered with a smile. Ephraim didn't notice the force behind it. He jumped from his cot and hugged her tightly.

"Thank you, Myrrh, thank you," he laughed. Myrrh put her hands on his back lightly and pressed her face in his shirt. He smelled of smoke, beer and metal.

"It's nothing," she said, her voice hushed by the fabric. Unwillingly, she broke their embrace. "I should go now. It's late." With a downcast look on her face, she walked to the door. Before she could leave, Ephraim called out to her.

"Myrrh?" She turned in the doorway and looked back confused. Ephraim flashed her a toothy grin. "You're the best sister." Myrrh smiled back and closed the door behind her. In silence she walked back to the room she shared with Neimi.

The room was dark; the girl was already asleep. Myrrh dropped her coat on the bed and stepped on the windowsill. She flapped with her wings, at first cautiously, then with powerful flaps. After a few seconds she was already flying over the town. Now she let her tears flow. ´I'm sorry, General Seth... I couldn't keep my promise...´

Well, well. This story is finished. What do you think about it? Feedback would be nice.