Lessons

Hi. I'm here. I was bored, so I'm writing a one-shot about Eliwood and Lyn. I don't know why. I guess because I'm going to Georgia for a week tomorrow and I won't be able to write anything. .

I'm working really hard on the next chapter of The Scarred Heart, which is now SUBTITLED The Broken Road. Only because, I like that subtitle. So now the title reads…


The Scarred Heart: The Broken Road.

Pretty, huh! I can tell you now that I think there is a sequel, called…The Scarred Heart: Distant Utopia.

Okay, I admit. I'm talking too much. This one-shot is not very long at all, but I hope you like it.

Please enjoy.

The ocean rolled forward, casting waves upon the white sand that was the shore of Lycia. A few shells scattered here and there, dragged and or dragged out by the merciless yet gentle tug of the waves. Wind blew in from the sea, brining with it a salty smell and a warm feel on the skin. It blew forward until it hit the cliff face that separated this secluded buff from the rolling field, groves of willow trees, and the road that led to the port town of Badon.

The drifts of smoke that wafted up from the camp fire, climbed as far towards the heavens above as they could before vanishing, was the only thing that reminded Lord Eliwood of Pherae that the camp was still really there. That at least 20 soldiers were all boarded in a cluster of tents among the grass and willows. A steep, sandy path led down from the top of the buff to where he was. His cape, boots, socks, and armor lay discarded in a neat pile against the cold rock of the cliff as Eliwood stood watching the waves.

At first intention, he had come away from everyone else to practice on his swordplay. Eliwood was not going to be slaughtered by an enemy on the coming leg of his quest because he had slacked off on touching up. He still knew the practice patterns that his father, the very person he was questing to find, had taught him years ago. Upon last resort, he would call Marcus down to help him.

"I don't really need any help. I'd feel better if I learned this on my own." He muttered to himself.

Still, however much his body screamed at him to start practicing before it got too dark to see anything at all, his mind couldn't go away from the ocean before him. Eliwood's blue eyes followed the water until it met the sky. The twilight light was dimming, the sky sinking into velvet black with pinpoints of diamond silver starlight in the canopy of above him.

He hadn't heard her come down the sandy path to stand beside him until she spoke. "It's a pretty sight, isn't it?"

Eliwood turned his head to look at Lyn. Her face was pretty, creamy pale, and young. Her mouth turned into a smile as she watched his look of surprise melt into a kind and happy gaze that made him the Eliwood she knew. Reaching up, she tucked a stand of green hair out of her eyes and behind her ear.

"Hello, Lyn. I didn't expect to see you down here." He remembered what she had told him before about how she liked to feel the wind. "The gust is stronger atop the cliff."

"Well, I was up there for a while, watching…the ocean." She told him, purposely failing to mention that she had been watching him while he watched the ocean. In the wicked part of her mind, she knew that she really wasn't lying, even if the truth was partially absence. "Then I decided that you looked like you could use some company."

Eliwood smiled down at her. He still stood over her by a handful of inches. "I was trying to make myself look away from the ocean and practice my sword." And so came the confession.

To his surprise, Lyn laughed out loud her cheerful, light, lovely laugh. She smiled back up at him. "I used to have the same problem. Do you practice through patterns?" He nodded. "Well, my father used to do the same thing, until I go so used to doing them; it was like I couldn't make myself do them anymore."

Eliwood set her an inquisitive look, interested now. "What did you do?" he asked. Lyn smiled, and continued.

"Well, he started to teach my different lessons to help me become a better sword fighter." Her face visibly fell. "He…he died before he could teach my anything past lesson one." Her shoulders slumped, and she looked away.

Eliwood's heart was filled with a strange longing. The longing to bring Lyn's father and mother back, and give them to her, to make her truly happy again. He knew that her parents had died a year and a half ago, in a horrible bandit attack on her Sacaen tribe. She was so strong on the outside, but Eliwood knew it hurt, but yet she never once shed a tear.

A sorrowful silence was about to settle over them when Lyn suddenly jerked her head up, the look on her face was determined and happy, but her eyes were still trying to hide the sorrow she felt. "I know. I'll teach you Lesson Number One."

He beamed, feeling relieved. His emotions would have spilled over is she had begun to confess her sorrows of her parents to him. He would have broke down, worry over his own parents, both his father who was missing and his mother back home, would have ruled him. He was have clung to her for support, his fears killing him from inside out, as they were now. Maybe Lyn's lesson would be help.

Gripping his sword, he turned to face her fully. "Teach me." He asked, bowing gracefully to her. Lyn laughed.

"You won't need your sword, silly. This is a different kind of lesson. Go put your sword by your other clothes." She commanded, a playful smile dancing across her face. He was confused for a moment, as he trudged across the sand to do as she said. Hearing her come up beside him, she looked over to see her untying the thin, braided strips of cloth that were tied at the top of her boots. When she too was bootless, her bare legs slender, and her gloves were discarded atop her boots, she took his hand and led him over to a dry spot by the edge of the water.

Sitting down, straightening her back, she motioned for him to sit across from her. Once he was settled, he began. "Has anyone told you the lesson of yin and yang?" she asked. He thought for a moment.

"I…think someone might have told it to me at one point, but I don't remember it." He confessed. Lyn just nodded.

"The lesson of opposites is the base of the lesson I'm about to teach you. A cherry blossom tree, for example, reaches its branches up toward the sun. Underneath, its roots dig down to the rain below. Sun, rain. Up, down." She explained, her pretty eyes never straying away from his blue ones. Eliwood could understand this philosophy. Lyn gave a moment to let it sink in.

"Earth. What is its opposite?" she asked. Eliwood blinked for a moment, then understood.

"Sky." He answered, grinning. Lyn's eyes were twinkling, reflecting memories of doing this same thing with her father.

"Day?" she asked. Eliwood was ready this time.

"Night." He shot back quickly.

"Sound?" Lyn was almost as quick as him was. Eliwood faltered, until the answer fell about them.

"Silence." He told her. She nodded approvingly.

"Dark?" She knew this was an easy one. Eliwood knew it too.

"Light." Was his immediate response. Once again, Lyn nodded. She was glad that he wasn't one of those thickheaded lords that wouldn't understand this even if their gold depended on it. Well, for the misery ones, maybe if their gold depended on it, but not if anything else but their lives were on the line.

"Do you understand now? The secret to the lesson is that you cannot win on just one particular feat alone. You can't have strength without some weakness. You have to stand your ground at some times, and be quick in moving at others." She explained, using other comparisons that she remembers. Eliwood was the one who nodded this time.

"I think I remember now…the lesson of yin and yang." He said slowly. Happy that he remembered, Lyn's smile grew wider.

"One alone is not enough. You need both together." She scooted closer to him, placing her hand over his. "Like winter…"

"And summer." He finished, placing his other hand on hers. Lyn suppressed a shiver. His hands were warm while hers were a bit cold.

"The Moon…." She added her last hand to rest stop his. He scooted closer so that their knees were touching.

"And that Sun." he finished. Lyn felt her face heating up as his eyes landed upon hers. For a while, they sat there, the warm breezes caressing the skin of the lady and the lord. Eliwood could only stare at the lady so close to him as she averted her eyes to stare at the rolled waves of the sea.

He could not deny that Lyn was indeed beautiful, rivaling the beauty of the homeland plains that she loves so much. Her green hair hung down her straight back in its holder, pooling in the sand behind her. The long Sacaen style dress that she wore fit her perfectly, moving and twirling as her own body moved. Everything about her was perfect, to him. She had expressed to him that she wished to be a strong fighter for him, but now, tonight he decided he would teach her that it was okay to be afraid.

"Come here. We'll have to continue the lesson." She said finally, reluctant to release his hands. He was reluctant too, but stood up when she did. He watched her walk over to the piles that held their things, and grab their swords.

"Now, we'll have to apply the lesson to fighting." She told him, and he straightened up and smiled. Now came the sword fighting part.

"Now…" She walked over to the middle of the beach, drawing her sword and holding it with both hands so it was vertical before her eyes, the silver gleaming in the rising moon's light. She planted her feet firmly on the ground, and her muscles tensed. "Like a rock, you must be hard to beat."

Eliwood drew his own sword, standing across from her to mimic her actions. Lyn moved her arms so that her blade was horizontal in her air before her. Her whole body seemed to root into that place, and Eliwood's wasn't sure that even a charging paladin could move her.

"Like an oak, you must stand firm." She told him. He tired to do the same as her, but somehow he didn't feel the same sturdiness that he imagined she felt. Bringing his sword up into the horizontal defensive position, he soon found out why.

In a flash, but not to quickly to leave him dazed and stunned useless, her sword darted at him as quickly as a snake struck out of grass, clanging against his own sword as he raised it in defense. "Cut quickly, like my blade." She did move quickly, as her sword darted back and cut under and up, until it cold steel rested against his neck. He raised to block, but wasn't fast enough. "Think fast. Don't be afraid."

Lyn returned to her original position, standing in the sand with her sword before her. "You try it now." She watching him as he repeated what she said, slower at first, but picking up pace, and performed the same moves she did with a careful ease. Lyn grinned inwardly. He was a fast learner.

"Can I teach you something now, Lyn?" he asked, when his sword came to rest on his neck. One of her slim brows shot up, and she looked up at him through long lashes, a bit surprised.

"What do you want to teach me?" she asked, purely out of curiosity. He smiled this time, a glint in his blue eyes, and he stepped back, dropped his sword on the sand beside him. Lyn blinked. She didn't see where he was going with this.

Eliwood walked over to the edge of the water, stopping to roll up his white pants to his knees. The wind played with his red hair, throwing it back away from his eyes. Lyn, still confused, slowly walked over after him as he walked into the shallows of the water, until the water stopped about half way to his knee.

"Eliwood? What kind of lesson is this?" She asked, reaching the edge of the water. He turned his head to look back at her, and he motioned for her to follow him into the water.

When she was standing beside him, he sighed with content, then grew serious. "Lyn, what are you afraid of?" he asked. Lyn jumped slightly, planting her hands on her hips.

"What am I afraid of?" She looked at him for a long moment, matching his gaze. When she realized he was serious, she sighed too. "You already know. I don't want to be weak or a burden to anyone."

"I know that, but there is something else. I know it. I can see it, every day in battle." He probed, wanted to know what had caused her to look sad, a few moments ago at the beginning of the lesson, and what caused her to cry silently in pain at night. What was making her practice every waking moment, even in battle sometimes, to become so strong that no one would beat her?

Lyn was silent for a moment, wondering if she should avoid the question, like she had so many other times. She looked up when Eliwood placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it gently. Lyn knew that she wouldn't be getting away this time, not without giving him an answer. "I…When I first started out from Sacae, a year and a half ago, we came across a village that had been completely destroyed by bandits. The smoke and stench of death and blood still hung in the air, and sometimes in my sleep I can see the faces of the dead children that were just lying there in the street."

"I didn't want to believe that so many people had actually died, and that I alone couldn't do anything to stop it. I wanted to become so strong then, so that no one could defeat me." She paused for a moment. Now came the hard part. Eliwood's hand moved gently across the back of her neck, until he had locked her in an one-armed hug, silently urging her on. "After I met you…I started dreaming that you were the one that had died, and that you were the one lying in the street, and I was too weak and helpless to fight at all. I didn't…I don't want that to ever happen! I have to become stronger, so that no one dies because of me."

All was silent, until a small plink drew Eliwood to look at her for the first time since she had started talking. A single, crystalline tear had run down her pale, creamy cheek, and dropped into the ocean water. Lyn looked away, trying to hide her face from him, but there was no denying it. Lyn was crying.

He reached over with his other hand, turned to face her and cupping her cheek. Gently forcing her to turn and look at him, he wiped a tear away off her skin with his thumb. "Lyn…don't push yourself like that. I don't want you to hurt yourself…" He was cut off when Lyn broke down, her strong and confidence aura gone with each gust of soft wind. Closing the distance between them, she buried her face in his blue linen shirt, and cried.

"I…I don't want you to die. I have to push myself to my limits and beyond, so that nothing will ever hurt you." She sobbed, her voice shaky and muffled. Eliwood's heart broke as her tears broke out. Wrapping his arms tight around her shaking body, pulling her close to his own body.

"I don't want you to feel this way. I want you to be happy." He whispered in her head. She glanced up at him, a tear clinging to her eyelashes. Her eyes were red, and she looked like a small broken child. "I would give all the gold in Pherae to make you happy again."

He held her while she cried, until the moon had risen high in the sky, and the smoke trail of the fires were dwindling. Soon, he imagined that people would come looking for them. Better finish his lesson.

"Lyn, you taught me tonight that I have to be hard, firm, cut quick, and think fast. Now I want to teach you my part of the lesson. If what you have taught me is true, then while you must be hard and firm, then you must also be gentle and soft." His fingers laced through her hair, and he rubbed her lower back soothingly. "Like a cloud, you are soft." He leaned forward a bit, so she was leaning back a bit. "Like bamboo, you bend in the wind."

He felt her tense, and then relax. Her tears were coming less frequently now. He held her gentle and close until she was totally relax, and the wind played with her hair as his fingers played with it. "You are at peace, because you know…that's it's okay to be afraid."

"It's okay…to be afraid." She softly repeated, her breath warm on his skin. Their faces were closer than he had realized. He faintly nodded.

When Lyn felt Eliwood's lips upon her own, her first reflex was to turn away. But she didn't. Instead, she slowly kissed him back, wishing that they would stay within the shallows of this ocean buff and kiss him forever and ever.

Alas, however, tomorrow they were set to sail for the Dread Isle, to find Eliwood's father. To fight this Black Fang that was behind his disappearance, and too hopefully succeed. Lyn silently vowed as she stood there, allowing the waves to lap against her legs and soak her dress, that she would be strong. Strong in battle, but she knew, that from this moment on, as long as she was alone or near him, her defense would fall, and she would be gentle and at peace.

Eliwood promised, that as long as Lyn was alive, he would make sure that nothing ever scared her again. That she would no longer dream of him lying dead, but instead he would lie beside her in her bedroll, carrying her off into dreams of their life ahead. Together.

Together forever, like the yin and the yang.

When they broke apart, faces rather flushed, Eliwood was the first to speak. "That, my dear, is my lesson to you." He whispered. Lyn slowly smiled.

"I…like your lesson better." She confessed, flushing a deeper shade of red, embarrassed. Eliwood chuckled softly.

"If we combine the lessons, they will be even better. We can teach them to others…but save this last part here just for us." He grinned. Lyn too laughed.

Lessons…and this was only lesson number one, Eliwood thought to himself, as their lips met again for another kiss under the moonlit sky, standing alone in the clear and sparkling waters of the ocean.

Yeah, like I said, short. Please review anyway.

I'll see you all when I get back from Georgia!

Becca