Title: Alone
Author: 90
Pairing: Lyndis & Hector
Summary: She had made up her mind. She didn't want to be alone any ...He had resigned himself to being alone. A Hector & Lyndis tale.
Disclaimer: Fire Emblem and its characters belong to their rightful owners. I own NOTHING, except the idea.
Chapter 1
The sun shone through one of the many windows of the small house, located in the vast plains of Sacae. It was inhabited by a woman….a woman having hair and eyes the color of the dense forests and a heart made of gold. She woke up that morning with the same feeling to which she had woken up to in the last few months...and the feeling grew more and more acute with every passing day. The feeling was of loneliness…She was lonely. She was alone.
He woke up that morning like he did every morning…without a companion by his side. No one with whom he could share his thoughts, no one with whom he could talk about his feelings, no one to support him when times were hard and no one to offer comfort to him when he desperately needed it. In the biggest room of castle Ostia...the blue haired lord woke up to another empty bed but now, it did not bother him as much…He had resigned himself to accept that he would be alone.
One year ago…
After the Great War, Lyn had traveled back to Caelin to be with her grandfather in his last days. Hector and Eliwood had traveled back to Ostia and Pharae respectively and were both crowned as the new and Ninian were finally together and the flame haired lord couldn't be happier. Hector had immersed himself in the very frustrating task of ensuring the welfare of the citizens of Ostia...it was frustrating because of the fact that the nobles in his court were a big nuisance for him to deal with and often he was tempted to use his axe on them. But there are some things which just cannot be done and this was definitely one of them, he had known…but the temptation was always there.
A few months passed without any major occurrence…however, it was soon before they got the bad news…Lord Hausen, marquess of Caelin and Lyn's grandfather had passed and Hector both rushed to Caelin as soon as they head this piece of information.
In the main hall of castle Caelin, Lyn stood with her head bent down and sorrow etched on her features. Kent and Sain stood a little behind her looking equally distraught. Florina was standing near Lyn and away from the paladins…she was barely able to control her tears and a few stray ones would eventually escape her eyes every once a while. Everything was quiet. The ominous silence which followed death was deafening.
The quiet atmosphere was broken by the entrance of Eliwood and Ninian, who came along with Marcus and Isadora. The couple went straight over to Lyn and offered their condolences. She just nodded and thanked them silently. It was a few minutes later that Hector arrived. He stood a few feet away from her, he felt as if he could not move a step further.
He looked at her.
She looked at him.
"Hector…" her lower lip quivered.
"Lyn…"he couldn't wait any more. In two long strides, he covered the distance between them and embraced her…tightly. It was then that her barriers broke, the bottled pain was released….the tears flowed freely.
"He's…he's gone…Hec-…Hector, he is no more…I...I miss him…so…so much ", her words came out in gasps. It broke his heart to see her in such state, but he couldn't tell her it was alright…he knew first hand it wouldn't be…at least not at the moment. Time would lessen the pain but it won't go completely away. He was aware of it. He just held her and stroked her hair, tried to calm her.
He didn't know for how long they stood in that position…minutes, hours….a lifetime. When they broke apart, he gently rubbed the tears coming out of her eyes." No more tears…you are a strong woman, Lyn…" he said. She nodded quietly.
The funeral was arranged and the body was buried in the castle courtyards. Lyn asked Eliwood and Hector to join her for lunch and told them that there was something that she wanted to discuss with the both of them in private.
"So, what was it that you wanted to discuss...eh Lyndis?" asked Eliwood
"I was thinking of the cessation of Caelin to Ostia…this is a big region and I have no experience in running an entire province. So, I thought maybe under Ostian rule it might flourish. Is that fine with you, Hector?" Lyn replied.
"Yeah…I got no problem with it…though, what are ya gonna do after it….I mean you can still manage Caelin after all...Ostia can provide the region with funds and security but you can manage it still..Right?" Hector said. He hoped that she would accept this…he wanted to see her around…he wouldn't admit it out loud. But he loved her…in the truest sense. He loved everything about her and he thought, in due time. He could ask her to marry him and be with him. He would…the train of thought was broken by Lyn's voice.
"Actually…uh...no...I was thinking of going back to the Sacae plains…I don't think I can run this province, I am just not interested in it. I think I belong to those plains; they are my true calling…my real home. Yes...I will go back", she said.
Whatever plans he was making all came crashing down, his heart dropped through his stomach, right down to his feet. A feeling of dread came all over him. He opened his mouth but no words came might have noticed his state. Which prompted him to ask Lyn," But the people of Caelin must surely need you right, Lyn?"
"Oh no. no…the people here barely know me, must've been as a result of my traveling with you during the war…and I barely used to go out when I lived here…so that's not an issue", she said.
Eliwood looked at the both of them. Lyn was looking at Hector, as if she was waiting for him to say something. Hector was staring down at his hands, lying on the table…he refused to meet her eyes. The tension between them was contiguous.
"Hector…",Lyn began.
"Alright. Let's get this done with.", He cut her off.
"Okay", Lyn said quietly.
By the next morning everything was done,Caelin was now an Ostian territory. Hector had not stayed for breakfast, he had left early into the morning. Eliwood knew that it hadn't gone down well with Lyn…who looked sadder than ever.
"Lyndis..",he began.
"Its fine…I am fine…don't worry", she tried to assure him, but failed miserably. He tired to say something, but then decided against it and just nodded. By afternoon, she had left for the plains. That would be the last time she would see him in over a year.