Disclaimer: I still don't own it.
Serenade of Hoof Beats: Laughter Song
Chapter Two
For what seemed like a forever to Hector everyone was still and Lyn and her horse galloped through the wet grass, her soaked hair flying behind her, her head thrown back, laughing.
Lyndis helped Hector onto his horse. The blue haired man cursed vulgarly the whole ordeal, his face red with embarrassment. The lord and lady were in the horse barn of Ostia, surrounded by friends mounting horses.
Sain, the Green Lance, and Kent, the Crimson Sword, both sat proudly upon their own horses, Angel and Drumbeat, respectively. Florina, the sky-rider, gracefully mounted her pegasus, flowers falling out of her hair. Oswin, knight of Ostia, clumsily mounted his war horse, a stallion called Dawnscar. Serra, a cleric in service to the house of Ostia, clambered onto a lovely blue-gray mare, ripping her purple dress in the process. Matthew, the greatest spy in Ostia's network, was quickly upon the back of a gelding. Wil, the archer, could be found sitting on the back of a mare Ostia was lending to him.
Lyn mounted the mare she was borrowing from House Ostia, her crimson skirts flowing as she sat side-saddle upon her back.
"So!" It was Serra who spoke, "We're a ship crew?"
Hector and Lyn glanced at each other.
"Yeah," Hector answered, "I guess we are."
Nino was bored. She sat in a chair, fiddling with her short green hair, wondering where Rebecca had gone of to. She had just gone to get Wil!
"Where are they...?" She whined, looking up at Jaffar. Many said the man was cold and heartless, but Nino didn't think so. Jaffar had always been nice to Nino.
"..." That was all Jaffar said for an answer. That was all he usually said. But Nino had figured a way of understanding those "..."'s. This one meant he didn't know.
"Should we go look for them?"
"..." Yes.
Nino stood up, smoothing her spring-green skirts. "Well, let's go then!"
Rebecca sighed. Where had that boy gone? Now she was lost in Ostia's largest building. Her skirts rustled as she moved, annoying her greatly.
She turned her head into the stable. She smiled. There sat Wil, upon the high back of a horse. He noticed her in the doorway.
"Becca!" He called, waving. She scowled. She hated when he called her Becca... Wil looked over at Lady Lyndis, who sat side-saddle on a mare towards the front of the group Wil was in. "You ever been on a boat?"
"...He's still looking at us..."
Raven, clad in lovely dark purple, glared at the swordsman, Guy, across the hall. His sister, Priscilla, tilted her head thoughtfully. His best friend, Lucius, looked between the two.
"Should someone go talk to him?" Lucius said kindly. "He's all alone."
"Not me," Raven said automatically. People weren't his 'thing'.
Lucius looked at Priscilla. She didn't notice. Her green eyes remained upon the boy across the room.
Without any prodding, she started over to Guy, her short red hair flowing as much as it could as she walked. Long purple dress swishing around her sandaled feet, she smiled lightly.
"Hello," Priscilla said loudly, "Would you like to go for a ride with us?" She gestured at her brother and friend.
Raven sighed.
Jaffar walked calmly behind the skipping Nino. The girl was 15, but still acted like a child.
He was rather jealous. He never had a chance to be a child. Expected to be emotionless, he could never be happy. He could never love. Jaffar had no father or mother.
That was something they had in common. Nino's parents were gone. Long gone. But she had loved Sonia and her 'step-father'. Jaffar could not love.
He had to remind himself that constantly, and did again as they turned down a hallway leading outside.
He loved Nino, with all his cold and twisted heart. He hated himself for it.
Nino deserved someone young and whole and kind and happy. Jaffar was none of these.
"Nino!" It was the Wildflower. She sat atop a large warhorse, her skirts falling around her. The two were at the back of a large concentration of horses leaving the barn.
Nino turned to Jaffar, her eyes sparkling merrily. "You were right," She said happily, "We could find them!"
"..." Jaffar closed his eyes briefly and thought with all his might.
The Angel of Death cannot love.
Hector looked vaguely at Lyn. Ostia was running out of horses.
Florina had run off to ask her sisters if they wanted to come. Rebecca, Nino, and Jaffar had joined their group, with Wil and Rebecca going to get Dart. Serra went off to hunt down Erk. And now, Priscilla, Guy, Lucius and Raven made their way up to the stable.
Lyn laughed. "Hey!" She waved to the small group headed their way. Hector had never seen her so happy. "You like boats?"
They looked at her oddly. Then Priscilla nodded slowly. "Yeah. Boats..."
Hector sighed. The stable-lad sighed. Lyn just laughed.
Rain pattered slowly on the ground as the last of their group (Farina, Fiora, Dart, Erk, Pent, and Louise) mounted horses. Lyn was still laughing.
Hector looked over at her. "You're crazy," He said gloomily, the utter insanity catching up to him, "Who the heck is gonna take care of Ostia for me?"
"Eliwood?" She shrugged, turning to look behind her as Farina dismount her pegasus to scold Dart's poor handling of the horse before facing him again. "Aren't you excited?"
Hector didn't get the chance to answer. Farina re-mounted her pegasus, yelling up to the front of their band, "Ready!"
Lyn kicked her horse. For what seemed like a forever to Hector everyone was still and Lyn and her horse galloped through the wet grass, her soaked hair flying behind her, her head thrown back, laughing.
Then Kent spurred Drumbeat into a gallop. Everyone else followed his example (In the case of Hector, Dart, and Guy, rather clumsily). A serenade of hoof beats and Lyn's laughter sounded across the grounds. Limitless and free as the wind rushed through his blue hair, Hector found laughs erupting in his chest as well, and soon his gleeful whoops joined those of Lyn.
Serra's giggles, Mathew's kind laughter, and Oswin's deep chuckles added to the song, among others.
In a chorus of laughter, the parade of adventure-seekers left Ostia.
A/N: Yay. -.- It's sorta short. I like it, though. Expect next chapter soon!
Sorry for the delay. I got distracted.