Nightmare
By: Fullmetal Ai
Story II
12.15.2005

"All of Cephiro mourns the Prince!"

Her blood froze. The .. Prince? There was only one Prince of Cephiro .. and if people mourned him, that meant .. She suddenly stood, running past groups of mornuers, past the blood, past the grief, the anguish, the deathly cold corpses about her. She couldn't think of them at the moment, though in the back of her mind she knew it selfish. No. This time, her thoughts were focused on what she had just heard.

Ferio, she thought. Ferio, please be safe .. please, let the rumors be false .. As she passed the groups of mourners, the cries of mourning became even louder. Louder. Louder. Crying out the name of the 'deceased' Prince of Cephiro.

She suddenly halted in her step, her eyes widened. No .. no, it can't be .. there were bodies of people she cared about, blocking the entryway to the castle.

Miss Hikaru .. Her eyes widened more.

Miss Umi .. Tears began to form.

Mr. Clef, Mr. Lafarga, Ms. Gardina, Mr. Ascot, Ms. Presea .. Tears ran down her cheeks.

Ferio.

"No .." She whispered, dropping to her knees. "No .. everyone .. everyone is .." Tears began flowing at a rapid pace, and she covered her face with her hands, crying out in grief.

"NO!"

Fuu Hououji sat up in the bed, gasping for air. It took her a moment to realize that the wetness covering her face was not just from the sweat she was secreting. What .. What .. Why ..? Why ..? There was not much sense to Fuu's thoughts at the moment, and with that dream .. that nightmare that she had just experienced, she couldn't blame herself for it. Quietly regaining her lost breath, she looked to the bed she was laying upon, seeing Hikaru was still dozing peacefully, clutching the comfortable Mokona to her chest as she slept. Umi was nowhere to be found. Fuu smiled, sighting in relief. Umi had apparently awoken before she had the chance to wake her, and Hikaru had not been woken at all. That was a good thing; they all needed their sleep, and she was glad that at least one of the three sleep-deprived girls was acquiring it.

Fuu lay back down onto the bed, recalling the events that had occurred in her nightmare .. then she shook her head, erasing all thoughts out for the moment. She couldn't think about that .. it was just a nightmare, right? It couldn't be a premonition ..

Fuu swallowed. Yes. It could very well be a premonition. The fact that the three were back in Cephiro, without knowledge of who summoned them was enough to make her (and Clef as well) suspicious. If it was, in fact, a vision of what was to come, then .. then Hikaru, Umi, Clef, Presea, Lafarga, Ascot .. Ferio .. everyone in Cephiro, they were all in grave danger, and the outcome would not be pretty if the knights were overcome.

Fuu quietly pulled back her covers, swinging her legs as gently as she could manage over the side of the bed, standing and putting on her normal clothes. She began walking out of the room, remembering to close the door quietly behind her in order to make sure that Hikaru had a nice, undisturbed rest; it was the least she could do for the small girl with the fiery spirit, after all.

She started down the hall, rubbing her eyes gently, trying to rid herself of the tears she had shed while still asleep. She wasn't sure how she would handle it if anyone saw her and asked what was wrong. No, she had to be strong .. the least she could do was wait until morning. If anyone asked her what was troubling her then, she would gladly tell.

In all honesty, Fuu had no idea where she was headed, or where her legs were taking her; she knew exactly where she was, however, when her legs stopped walking, stopping in front of a large, beautifully crafted door. She had never seen this room in the castle before, yet she knew exactly which room it was, as well as who it held inside. This was ..

The door suddenly opened, and in the doorway was a tall young man with messy green hair, bright gold eyes, and a scar on the bridge of his nose, as well as on his cheek. This ... was Prince Ferio. As he opened the door and saw Fuu there, he stepped back a little bit, obviously surprised to see her up at this time of night, nonetheless at his door. The two suddenly opened their mouths to speak.

"I was just .." They spoke in unison, stopping mid-sentence and trying again.

"I had a nightmare," they spoke once more, in unison. They both frowned a little, then before Fuu knew what was happening, she was being pulled into the room by the young Prince, and held close to him. She felt him relax after a moment, and she began to relax not long afterward, wrapping her slender arms around him as he was doing to her.

"Fuu .. Fuu .." She could hear him repeating her name as he suddenly shuddered against her thin frame, bringing tears to Fuu's eyes once more.

"Ferio .. it's all right .." She whispered, though not even she knew if she believed the words that had just come from her mouth. Her hand began rubbing his back in an attempt to comfort the young man further. Ferio pulled away from her reluctantly after another few moments, smiling solemnly.

"I guess I don't need to explain what I saw .. do I?" He said, trying to liven up his mood, for her sake as well as his own. Fuu looked to the ground and shook her head. Ferio sighed, grasping Fuu's hand and leading her gently toward his bed, encouraging her to lay down. She complied, shooting him a confused look as she did so. Ferio grinned boyishly.

"I promise, nothing bad .. I just want to spend some time with the one I love." Fuu smiled and snuggled close to him as he lay down beside her and wrapped an arm around her midsection, pulling her closer than she already was. He placed a kiss on the top of her head, closing his eyes and breathing in her scent.

"Fuu .. you have no idea how much I've missed you .." He finally said quietly, smiling a tiny, grateful smile. Fuu smiled as well.

"I've missed you as well .. Ferio, I could only hope that you were alright the entire time that we were in Cephiro before .." Fuu confessed, turning around in the bed to face him as she finished. Ferio temporarily lifted his arm from Fuu's middle to brush away some stray hairs that were in her face and smiled gently at the girl next to him.

"I was hoping the same .. I wanted to see you again, to let you know exactly how I felt .. how I couldn't stop thinking about you, how much I wanted to be near you .. how much I wanted to .. hold you in my arms, and .. how much I .. wanted to kiss you .." Ferio trailed off, staring into the eyes of an awe-stricken Fuu. "And .. I wanted to do everything in my power .. to make you feel safe," he finally concluded. Fuu was silent for another few moments, before slightly blushing and averting her gaze once again.

"I .. I've never been told this before .. not by anyone .." Fuu admitted shyly. Ferio chuckled.

"There's a first time for everything, isn't there?" He grinned, picking up his arm once again to place a hand under Fuu's chin and gently bring her face up to look him in the eye.

"I honestly can't understand why nobody has told you these things, though .. you're so beautiful .. and more than worthy of love," Ferio whispered softly, making Fuu smile brightly.

" ... I've never been kissed before, either .." She admitted once more, blushing ever more with each passing moment under Ferio's watchful eye. Ferio grinned.

"Then I suppose we'll just have to find out how it feels together, won't we?" Fuu giggled.

"You've never had a first kiss either, Ferio? Surely you would have .." Ferio shook his head.

"I never loved a girl enough to kiss her," he explained. "You are the first I've felt this way about." Fuu's face became pinker with every word.

"I suppose .. we ar-" Fuu let out a small noise of surprise as as her sentence was cut off by Ferio's lips covering her own. Her eyes widened as realization set in; Ferio was kissing her. She slowly relaxed, her eyes closing as she enjoyed the warm sensation that had filled her heart at that moment. Their first kiss didn't last too long, and though it was rather unexpected and awkward, it was still very exciting. Even after Ferio had pulled away, Fuu was full of happiness; she could tell that Ferio was as well.

"That was .." Fuu started.

"Magnificent," Ferio whispered with a smile. No more words were needed as Ferio leaned in yet again, capturing Fuu's lips with his own once more, the two engaging in this expression of love yet another time.

After they had parted a second time, Fuu began to intentionally roll off of the bed, but was caught in another tight embrace by Ferio.

"Where do you think you're going, my lovely Wind Knight?" Ferio said with a smirk. Fuu smiled.

"My room .. I think I can sleep now, since I've been reassured of your safety."

"Why can't you stay in here, Fuu?" Ferio asked, giving Fuu a kiss on the cheek. Fuu giggled.

"Ferio, you know that people will suspect things if they find us in the same bed .." She explained, causing Ferio to grin.

"I know that."

"So wi-"

"But frankly, I don't care." Fuu looked to Ferio, a part of her feeling shock at this statement, while another part of her was overjoyed. She smiled, snuggling even more back into the young prince's embrace.

"All right, Ferio. You win," She said gently, leaning her head on his chest as he draped the bedsheets over them.

"Goodnight, my princess .." Ferio said softly, holding her comfortably against his body.

"Goodnight, Ferio .." Fuu said, then quietly added "My Prince." Ferio smiled, watching as Fuu's eyes closed, her breathing becoming softer and steadier. He gently removed her glasses from her face, noticing that she had fallen asleep wearing them, and set them on the bedside table before turning out the light.

"I love you," he gently whispered to her sleeping form before falling asleep himself.

End

Author's Ramble: Hi there :D This is Ai, and this story is the sequel to my Ascot/Umi fanfiction, which is titled Starlight. You don't need to read that fic to understand this one, but I just thought I would let some of you who are just tuning in know about it. :D Anyway, Ferio and Fuu is my absolute favorite couple in Magic Knight Rayearth, and even though I surprised myself by writing my Ascot/Umi fanfiction before my Ferio/Fuu one, it served quite a purpose. :D Anyway, I hope you have enjoyed, and I hope I can get some reviews on this one! n.n; Thanks for Reading! -Ai