Author's Notes

One thing about my stories is the fact that they may not have as much realism as other stories. Well, to compensate, this time I've added even less realism. :p Because of this, let's get this out of the way now, instead of people complaining about it later: Roy is somewhat OOC, but I'm just trying to get a different perspective on him.

This is a (mostly) serious fic based on this hypothetical scenario: What if Roy fell in love with his teacher, Cecilia, at first sight, before the events of the game, instead of after their A support, and after the events of the game? What if this love for her was so strong that it had a physical effect on him, and that it even affected his rational thinking? Or should I say, "my" rational thinking...

At First Sight

Chapter 1: First Day

Today's the day I start my training to become a soldier. Right now, I'm waiting with my best friend, Lilina, for our teacher to meet us at the Ostian training grounds.

"Roy, are you excited for today?" Lilina asks me, as she paces in anticipation. "I wonder which weapons we'll learn to wield. I'm going to try my hand at magic! What about you?"

I chuckle in response. "I'm not sure right now, but you're right, magic would be worth trying."

"I don't know Roy. I bet you'd probably burn something, ha ha!"

As she continues to laugh at me, I turn around and notice a green-haired woman talking to Lilina's father, Lord Hector. After they converse for a bit, she turns around to face the two of us, and I immediately light up. She is an extremely beautiful woman, and I cannot take my eyes off her...

But then, I instantly feel my heart begin to quicken its pace, and I instinctively look away in embarrassment.

Flashback:

I sit in my favourite chair, inspecting a small, turquoise stone. This very stone belongs to my mother, and she gave it to me before she died. But it's been years since that day, and so now I examine the stone with interest. And for some reason, it piques my curiosity on a certain subject...

"Father, what happens when you fall in love?"

My father, Lord Eliwood, who's sitting across the room from me, looks up from his book to acknowledge my question. "When you fall in love?"

"Yes. How did you fall in love with Mother?"

He thinks for a moment, and then relocates to a chair beside me. "Well, your mother was a beautiful woman. However, she was also the kindest soul you would ever meet. She always put others before herself, she was humble... the truth is, I needed her. I couldn't live without her."

He pauses for a moment. "She gave up everything to be my husband... and I owed her everything in the world to keep her happy. But all she ever wanted from me was to never stop loving her. She was truly unselfish in that way."

The two of us sit in silence for a couple of moments.

"Oh yes, your original question. Well, when I first laid eyes on Ninian, strange things started happening to me; I felt shortness of breath at her appearance, my heart started beating faster, and I couldn't get her out of my mind." He laughs. "When I was carrying her, after saving her life the first time, I felt shivers. I didn't want to ever let her go."

He smiles at the memory. "The point is, many people fall in love at first sight, even if they don't know it or act upon it. When you're in love, your body and mind will tell you. Some feel it more than others, but it's only natural; I felt it, and I can tell you that your mother was very sensitive to these feelings; so much that they completely enveloped her whenever she allowed them to, and it's possible she may have passed that onto you... I'll be very glad if she did."

I look at him with curiosity. "Why would you care, Father?"

"I'll tell you in a minute... back to my earlier point; even Lord Hector noticed it when he first met his wife, Farina, albeit it was much more subdued."

Really? Lord Hector, of all people?

"Yes, he felt it too," he continues, reading my thoughts. "I only know this because he told me... after making me swear an oath of secrecy, which I've obviously just broken."

We both laugh for a few minutes, and then my father gives me a final piece of advice. "Roy... my advice to you is to embrace those feelings; don't subdue them like Lord Hector. Feel the excitement as your heart begins to race from passion. Indulge yourself in the touch of her skin. Don't be afraid to act on your emotions. Enjoy the experience; the woman of your affection will cause your body to react this way, and if you embrace these moments, I promise you that you will be the happiest man alive."

He gets up from his chair, and after a slight coughing fit, relocates to his bed.

"I didn't learn that lesson until it was almost too late. Son, don't make the same mistake I did."

I recall my father's words from a couple of weeks ago, and so, I decide to take his advice. I look back at the woman and allow my heart to resume its hastened tempo. Excitement courses through my body as I continue meeting her gaze. And instead of trying to control the situation, I let the situation control me.

My father's right; I feel amazing right now.

Lilina, concerned, taps me on the shoulder and brings me back to reality. I swivel my head to face her. "Um, Roy? Are you okay? You seemed a bit... out there, just for a second."

"Oh, sorry about that." I can't tell her I was admiring the woman in the distance; she would only laugh at me. "I'm just thinking about how things are going to go today. Everything should be fine, right?"

"I don't see why not. What could possibly..."

"Hello, you must be Roy and Lilina, correct?"

The two of us jump at the calm voice, and we look to see who is speaking. It is the woman from before, and I blush slightly.

"Y-yes, yes we are ma'am. Who are you?"

"I am the Sorcery General of Etruria. But you can just call me Cecilia, if that's fine with you," she says, putting her hand on my shoulder. My skin tingles from her touch. "I'm going to be your teacher for the next while. Are you ready to get started?"

Lilina nods in excitement, and I nod in agreement. "So, where do we start?"

"Well, first we need to pick weapons." She walks towards the weaponry shed, and motions us to follow her. "Any idea where you guys want to start?"

I speak up first. "I think we were both going to start off with magic. It can't be that hard, right?"

This causes Cecilia to laugh. "Well, everyone has their natural gifts. Some people, like your father, Roy, cannot understand how others can fight with something as heavy as an axe..."

"Like my father?"

"Yes, Lilina, like your father. And your father could never figure out how in the world magic worked. It all depends on what feels most comfortable." The three of us reach the shed, and Cecilia opens it up, taking out two Fire tomes.

"So, who wants to start?" she asks, and Lilina immediately volunteers. "Can I go?"

"Ladies first, Lilina!" All of us chuckle, and we make our way to a group of targets with bulls-eyes in the distance. Lilina opens her tome and begins chanting.

In a couple of seconds, the target bursts into flames, causing Lilina to squeal in delight. "I did it! On my first try, too!"

"Very good job! I don't think there's any doubt as to what your special talent is. Do you want to try now, Roy?"

"I'll give it a shot," I say, as I face an unburned target and open my tome. I begin chanting...

...and Lilina's hat catches on fire.

"AAAAAHHHH! My hat! Roy! You did that on purpose!"

"No I didn't!"

Lilina knocks her hat onto the ground. She then proceeds to stomp it into oblivion, as I watch in horror.

"I... do not think that magic is for me. Can I try something else?" I ask Cecilia, as I give the tome back to her. She just laughs. "Yes Roy, I think it would be a better idea if you used a different weapon. Let's try something else, shall we?"

Back at the weaponry shed, the three of us proceed to try out many different swords and lances and axes, so that Lilina and I can at least have a balanced opinion on what to use, even though it's already pretty obvious that Lilina will be sticking to magic.

Nonetheless, we first try to use axes... and we can't even lift them off the ground. It is unknown to me how Lord Hector can carry these things around without effort, let alone defeat entire armies with them.

Next, we try some lances. After I nearly stab Lilina with a Slim Lance and almost puncture a passerby's foot with a Javelin, we unanimously decide (and hope) that the sword will be the right weapon for me to use. Cecilia brings me a Rapier, and places my hand onto the hilt of the sword.

"Maybe because of all these... mishaps, it would be wise if I helped you with this one, okay?" I nod my head in agreement, my breath starting to speed up slightly. "Lilina, would you start putting away the other lances while I help Roy with this for a couple of minutes?"

"Okay!"

Lilina starts carrying the lances one by one back to the weaponry shed, and then Cecilia starts guiding my arm, moving it in various different motions to test the feel of the sword.

"Next, you should learn to attack in a backhand motion, in case you need to parry. You move this way..."

"Like... this?"

"Yes, exactly like that!"

I've never been in such close proximity with a beautiful woman like Cecilia before, and considering my age, the new experience is quite... stimulating. Her hand is so soft, her friendly eyes give me a warm feeling inside, and she smells vaguely of lilies; a very enjoyable aroma. Her instructions and reassurances, through her kind and heartfelt voice, soothe me, and as she guides my movements, I can feel the warmth of her body course through mine.

Truly believing now that my father is a genius, I completely submit myself to revel in the pleasures of her presence, causing my palms to sweat and my breath to become somewhat irregular.

"Roy, are you okay?" She leans closer to me, and I can feel her warm breath on my neck, further adding to my excitement. "Your breathing is becoming somewhat laboured..."

I shake my head to try and compose myself. "Oh, yes, I'm okay. Perhaps I just need some lunch. Can we take a short break?"

"Certainly! This has been a very successful lesson today. Lilina will be using magic..." she says, as she gestures towards the returning mage, "and you will use swords. Okay, let's go now. I'm actually starting to get hungry too!"

Cecilia starts walking towards the castle, and Lilina looks at me with a strange expression on her face. "Roy, what's gotten into you? You didn't look right a minute ago."

"I don't know..." I reply, looking back at Cecilia as she walks away. "She's beautiful, isn't she? And she's so caring as well." Lilina gives me another strange look. "What's your point, Roy?"

"Well, if what my father says is true... I may be in love."

Lilina starts giggling non-stop to herself, and she follows Cecilia to the dining hall. "Don't say anything!" I yell to her, and she turns around and gives me a thumbs-up.

I begin reflecting on my last few minutes with Cecilia. During the apex of my satisfying encounter, I was almost oblivious to the world around me; that's how much I was able to submit myself to the experience, and now I'm on an almost intoxicating high.

How in the world is this possible?

"I can tell you that your mother was very sensitive to these feelings; so much that they completely enveloped her whenever she allowed them to, and it's possible she may have passed that onto you..."

Hmm...

"I'll be very glad if she did."

Thinking I finally understand my father's words, I smile to myself, and then I head back to the Ostian castle to meet the others.

Author's Notes

Wow, first-person narrative? I'm going all out this time. Thanks to Kitten Kisses for a bit of advice on how to actually write first-person narrative! I hope I applied it properly. I'm not sure why, but I thought this would be better told through Roy's eyes instead of "mine". And by the way, he starts to react to Cecilia's "inner beauty" next chapter, instead of just her looks, although it was slightly touched on in this chapter as well.

I'm trying something really different with this story. That's why I had to create this strange scenario; I spent hours getting this concept figured out. As well, I went nuts with an online thesaurus trying to find the right words for each situation and occurrence, and I think it paid off. "Revel in the pleasures of her presence"? You think I came up with that on my own? :p

Other than throwing logic out the window, this story of Roy and Cecilia is made in a similar fashion as my other submissions, obviously, and thankfully the other two chapters won't be this long. I can somewhat understand how this relationship could start: EVERYBODY, at one point or another, had that hot teacher in school that we'd gush over. Don't kid yourself. The only difference, in this case, is that Roy actually pursues a relationship with her outside of "school". They're not that much different in age, really; Cecilia is apparently only in her twenties.

I hope you guys don't mind how I'm writing this submission; I know it's kind of strange, but just bear with me for now. If I crapped out on the first-person narrative or with something else, I'd like to know. If this is actually working for some people, I would love to know that too!