12-9-07

Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem

Only a Dance

Chapter 1

It was the music that called to him. The melody of the violin and lute, mandolin and flute, that tugged his feet toward the people dancing in the glade. At the center burned a fire higher than a man's waist that granted warmth and light to their party. And the smell of hickory smoke wafted along the gentle breeze with the scent of earth dampened by mid-afternoon rain. It was a crisp, cool night. A night for well earned rest, a time to forget, even for a moment, the worries of the day. People relaxed at the edges of the clearing content to rest and talk as they ate. Food and drink were passed liberally, fares that he would usually sample from the start if not for the presence of his favorite activity. Sain grinned as he looked around for her. It was time to dance.

He walked up to Rebecca and bowed. She was leaning against a nearby tree, her forehead wrinkled in a frown. "Lovely Rebecca, would you honor me with a dance?" She glanced at him but said nothing, one brow arched in question. "Am I deceived, or do you regard me with a somewhat icy gaze this night?"

A sigh. "No, Sain, it's not you."

"Well then dance with me, and allow me to carry your woes."

"You want to hear me complain while we dance?"

He offered his hand with a smile. "For you, fair maiden, there is nothing I would not do." She smiled reluctantly even as she shook her head, but after much coaxing she took his hand. He listened to her complaints while they danced, and he was glad to see that when they parted, a smile had replaced her frown.

Then he found Fiora sitting on a rock sharpening her sword, and she looked up when he stood beside her. "Lady Fiora! By all the stars in heaven, I swear that you are even three times lovelier today than yesterday."

"Hello, Sain. I see you've recovered from your fever."

"Only because of you, gentle lady. Surely it was destiny that brought us together, for without your care I would be on the brink of death even now."

"I think I liked you more on the brink of death." A tiny smile betrayed her stern tone.

He bowed, then took one of her hands and kissed it. "Then slay me now, fair Fiora, if that is what it takes to win your heart. Or dance with me, and save my life yet again." She tried to say she couldn't dance, but in short order found herself getting dragged to the dance floor. To her dismay, she stepped on his toes, tripped him, and crashed them into another couple before the verse ended. But Sain just laughed at it all, and by the end of the dance she was laughing too.

Then he danced with Serra, who made the outrageous claim that Lady Lyndis fancied Hector. Sain said she was blind if she didn't see how close his lady was with Kent, but she wagered a silver coin that by the end of their journey, it would be Hector holding Lyndis's hand and not Kent. He gladly took that bet, sure that he would soon be one silver coin richer, then ran after her when the dance ended because she would not say who fancied him.

Then he danced with Isadora, who refused his invitations to a romantic dinner, a stroll in the moonlight, and sharing a tent "for warmth." But she did agree to another training session with him and he realized, with faint surprise, that he wasn't disappointed at all.

Afterwards, he took a moment to rest by sitting against a tree and breathing deeply. Dancing had to be as strenuous as knightly training, he thought wryly. But he grinned as he thought of the lovely women who had danced in his arms that night. Just as strenuous, but far more enjoyable, and an essential skill for any man. His father had told him once, when Sain was only a boy, that the way to a woman's heart and forgiveness was through a dance. "Dance with her," he had said, "and she will forgive anything. Dance well, and she will forget everything…but you." Sain had never forgotten that lesson, nor the look on his mother's face when she flew at his father after hearing that, laughing even as she scolded him for being a terrible rogue.

Something blocked the light overhead and he looked up sharply. He only caught a glimpse of the large winged creature before it disappeared, but knew it was too large to be a bird and too long to be a pegasus. It had to be a wyvern, and if the shadows on its back were any indication, it had riders. Sain quietly slipped into the forest and ran in the direction he had seen it fly, not wanting to alarm everyone but needing to know if the riders were friend or foe.

He hadn't gone far when he found them in a small clearing near camp. He crept forward, careful to stay hidden as he moved in for a better look. The full moon was his aide and eventually allowed him to see it was Heath and Priscilla, standing in a close embrace.

Then Heath stepped away and leapt atop his wyvern. He didn't look back as they rose into the sky and flew away. Priscilla was left alone in a pool of moonlight, and there was something terribly lonely about the way she stood there watching wyvern and rider vanish into the distance.

"Lady Priscilla," Sain murmured as he stepped out of the shadows.

She gasped and whirled to face him. "Sain! How long were you … I mean…Heath and I..." Her voice wavered and he had the sinking feeling that she was about to cry. "I just need a moment..." She bowed her head, but not before he saw tears trickling down her face.

Sain cursed quietly and strode forward to pull her into his arms. She gasped and stood stiffly in his embrace, fists clenched at her sides, and her shallow, rapid breathing told him she was doing everything in her power not to cry. A wave of anger swept through him while a dull pain began in his chest. It was just like the day he had come home to find his sister weeping after some upstart buck had broken her heart. And just like then, there was only one thing he could do. He held her tightly and cradled her head to his chest.

"It will be all right," he said.

A wracking sob broke through her and she squeezed her eyes shut. She grasped his shoulders, but her legs gave out. He caught her when she started to fall and sank to his knees with her. Then she flung her arms around him and buried her face against his neck. Words spilled out brokenly along with her tears.

"He said goodbye…that too much stood between us... I could have accepted that, I think…but then he said, right before he left…that he loved me… too much to be with me because… it would only hurt me later." She choked on a weak laugh. "But it hurts now, Sain… It hurts too much…and I can't bear it… I love him…so why…why can't we be together?"

"I don't know," he murmured.

He couldn't say how long they knelt there. He only knew there were no more words and that eventually, her sobs stilled to silent tears, and soon even those stopped. She took a deep, steady breath and looked up at him. "Thank you, Sain. I'm all right now."

He wiped away the tears and cupped her cheek gently. "Are you sure?"

She nodded and smiled. It was a wobbly smile, and her green eyes were overly bright from crying. But her voice was firm when she said, "Yes, I'll be fine. Don't worry."

"I wish I could do more."

She shook her head. "No, this is more than enough. Thank you for being here."

"Anything for a lady," he said. Then he rose to his feet and helped her stand, unable to resist a tiny smile. "Besides, I am your knight. I live to serve you."

Her voice still sounded scratchy and sore, but she laughed a little. "So you say. But well do I know that you say so to many women of your acquaintance." A teasing note entered her voice. "Admit it, Sain. You're quite hopeless."

"Hopeless? Surely you mean irresistible, dashing, handsome beyond belief?" Sain waggled his eyebrows.

Priscilla laughed loudly, her eyes shining with mirth. "No, you really are hopeless." They shared a smile.

"Are you certain there is nothing more I can do?" He said. "A dragon to slay? A flower to fetch? A wyvern knight to leave bound and gagged at your door?"

"No…I don't think I can use any of those at the moment."

"Then…why not dance with me?"

"Now? I don't think-"

He took her hand and gazed at her fervently. "Dance with me, dear princess, and give me a chance to help you smile again. Dance with me, and let me help you forget the sadness that burdens your soul, the sorrow that darkens the bright windows of your eyes, the-"

She silenced him with a finger to his lips and smiled as she shook her head. "You, good sir, are a veritable rogue. And clearly a danger to unattached women everywhere."

He grinned. "Including you, I hope."

She rolled her eyes, but there was laughter and warmth in her gaze. Then she stunned him when she leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek.

"But you're a good man, too," she said softly. "And it will be a very lucky woman who catches your heart."

Sain was speechless and mortified that he was blushing like an inexperienced boy. She cocked her head, as if wondering why he was so quiet, then grinned.

"It was only on the cheek, Sain. I'm sure you've done that before."

"Of course I have! And more besides," he said indignantly. "But I was the one stealing the kisses, not the other way around!"

She giggled and her green eyes fairly glowed. He could feel a reluctant smile tugging at his mouth even as he said sternly, "Proper young ladies do not kiss men like me, Lady Priscilla."

"Oh? Then what do proper young ladies do then?" The challenge in her voice made him grin slowly. He lowered his head till his face was only inches from hers. Her eyes widened.

"They're swept off their feet, of course, to dance the night away."

Without further ado he swept her off her feet and dashed back to camp. Despite loud protest, he refused to let her go and only put her down when they reached the dance floor. Then he bowed with a flourish and offered his hand. She sighed, but put a slender hand in his. They danced until they were breathless, until her cheeks were flushed, her eyes sparkled, and no hint of grief remained on her features. He looked at her and knew the pain was only forgotten, not gone. But he was still glad to see her smile again, even for a moment. He was smiling too when the dance ended and he watched her walk away.

Then something made him look back to the fire. A flash of violet hair had caught his eye and he saw a woman on the other side, appearing to search for someone. He waved, and she answered with one of her own before heading toward him. His smile grew as he walked to the woman he had been looking for all night.

Florina.

Author's Notes: The 'lesson' Sain's father gave him is an adapted quote from Robert Jordan's A Crown of Swords. The original goes "Dance with her, and she will forgive much; dance well, and she will forgive anything." Several of Sain's lines are also based on his supports.

This was fun to write because I got to show Sain as the flirty, loveable rogue that he is, but also something more. I liked him more than ever after writing this piece.

Thank you Wolfraven80 for beta-ing this piece.

-Kitsilver-