"What are you up to, Edward?"

The prince of Damcyan glanced up. Kain Highwind was looking at him with interest.
They were camping in a forest near Fabul: Edward and the others were coming back from Yang's crowning ceremony. After a quiet night, he awoke at the break of the day and left his tent in order to reach a glade he'd seen the previous evening. It wasn't too far: he only had to walk for a couple of minutes. Once there, he sat on a rock and started to play his lute.

"Good morning, Kain …did I wake you?" he asked.
"No, do not worry. I was already awake when you left."
"Is that so…?"
Edward looked down. He was used to playing his lute in front of other people, but Kain made him feel rather uncomfortable.
Kain didn't like cowards and spineless men, and the prince was aware of the fact that he wasn't really the bravest human on the Earth.
Actually, he was quite intimidated by the presence of the dragoon.

"I like your voice. Are you not going to sing anymore?" said Kain after an awkward pause whilst sitting in front of Edward.
He trembled. Not only did he not expect the dragoon to speak again, but he also received praise from him!
"What; are you scared of me?" Kain laughed, "Do I really look so ferocious?"
"No, not at all!" The prince blushed and began to splutter out some confused apologetic words.
"It is… I just… did not… it came as a surprise! I did not expect you to come and talk to me…"
'Stop being so embarrassed, Edward!' he thought. 'Why are you acting like this all of a sudden?'

"So… you do not want me to talk to you anymore?" asked the dragoon, softly.
The bard's green eyes met Kain's blue ones. Why did that question sound so… intense?
Suddenly the minstrel didn't feel so insecure. Kain was in the same situation as he: they had never talked that much before. That was probably why both of them felt so strange and withdrawn.
So he took a deep breath and tried to change the mood of their conversation.
"I do not mean to be rude-" Edward giggled nervously. "-but if you are quiet, I can sing something for you. To tell the truth, I did not know you were into music."

"I do not give that impression, do I?" sighed Kain.
"No, not quite." replied Edward, pensive.
He hesitated a bit, but then he asked, shyly: "Do you… really like my voice?"
Kain didn't answer. He was still looking at the bard with a broad smile on his lips.

Edward cheered up and started to play a song. It was his best performance ever.