Ah, I haven't written any pairings for a long time. This one is really for the mood, as with my previous (Pokemon) fanfic. The storyline is really simple, as well as the meaning behind it.
unreachable.
He watched as she slipped through the gates and tiptoed towards the stables, glancing back every few seconds to make sure that no one was following. Oh, but no matter how he appeared, he had quite mastered the art of remaining inconspicuous and almost invisible, even when he was the only one around. This morning, the shadows were long across the dew, and this was just as well for him.
Her light lavender hair glimmered under the slanted sunrays, her shoulders guarded by blue and white armour. Her skin was pale, almost as much as her dress, her movements lightly delicate, almost like those of a butterfly flitting between flowers. But there was an air of joy about her, mingled with her caution—even as she moved, there was a spring in her step that betrayed her happiness.
Why, when she was alone, whether at dinner, or at the shops during their resting hours in cities, she was always so silent. One could think she was a mute! He had tried numerous times to strike up conversation—all his attempts had been warded off with frightened squeals and hurried departure. But he wouldn't give up so easily! Such a fair maiden deserved to be given more attention.
And so he had attempted over and over again. Failed over and over again. One could call him an idiot, not wanting to give up after so many failures—but no, he wasn't that sort of person! He wouldn't give in just because the girl was nervous. She'd warm up to him sooner or later, he believed.
As the Pegasus followed the knight out of the stable, he pressed himself against the wall in an alcove, hoping that neither of them would notice him there. Huey whinnied as she trotted on behind her master and best friend, giving her wings a flex. One feather brushed his arm, and he drew it back quickly.
Ah, how beautiful she looked, now that she was so close! Her eyes were like the clearest aquamarines, her locks of mauve falling in shimmering waves, framing her fair features.
She held a salt lick to her Pegasus, and the graceful creature lapped at the object, affection shining in its clear eyes.
"Ready, Huey?" she asked, patting her over the head.
How he envied the Pegasus! She was so liberal with her affection for it. But why was she so shy among people? If she had the guts to treat a large creature like that in such a way, why could she never be comfortable around others?
In moments, she mounted, and Huey held up her wings, the dawn light shining gently through the tips of her feathers. Her mistress gave a command, and suddenly, they lurched into the air.
He wanted to shout out in terror for the two, but moments later, he laughed at his over-anxiety. They took off perfectly, rising, then forming a smooth arc in the sky, before dropping slightly and soaring away over the tops of the sleeping tents. He could hear her laughter as the duo swept through the sunshine on silver wings. She was ten times as beautiful when she was in the sky on her Pegasus' back, a hundred times when she was smiling. He gazed on at her, poking his head a little way out of the alcove, as they made immaculate loops and dives, a fleeting silhouette against the sunlight.
If I could do the same! He thought to himself, allowing his mind a moment of dreamy wandering.
Moments later, she was back on the ground. Huey's hooves landed loudly on the pavement, and she leapt from her back with a freedom he had never seen her possess before. She was a completely different person from the one she always was among the rest of the army. This was the hidden side of her, a side unlocked only when she was in flight. If only it were there all the time!
Now seemed like the perfect time to make his move, he decided. She seemed happy enough, and perhaps her response would be different this time.
"Dame Florina!" Sain called out to the Pegasus Knight just as she was about to return to the stable with Huey. Startled, she gave a short shriek and leaped back.
"Oh—Sir Sain," she gasped out, laughing nervously and looking back at her Pegasus' head. "I d-didn't think you'd—be—"
"Huey is a fine creature," he went on, his words completely irrelevant to what she had just said. "Only befitting of her master, fair one."
He had expected her to draw away slowly, before running off in terror. He had expected her to scream and escape with alarming rapidness. He had expected anything but a smile. But smile she did, a shaky, nervous smile that filled him with warmth.
"—Th-thank you," she answered softly, bowing her head to conceal her blush. Quickly, Florina hastened to return to the stable, Huey cantering behind her with a few gentle beats of her wings.
Turning to watch her as she vanished between the doors into the stable, Sain sighed inwardly. Another failure, as with the last time. And the last, and the last before that.
But a "thank you"! This time, she had said something, more than just the utterance of a high-pitched interjection. This time, he had managed to gain her gratitude for one of his compliments! Hearing her voice had made his heart leap, unlike any other woman's voice ever had. It made him so glad; it told him that Florina wasn't completely closed off from the world. The strange, unending hope in his heart burned a little higher.
Now, as he thought about it, he realised—it had to be the flying that had brought about this momentary change in her. She was a whole different person, when she flew on the back of her Pegasus in the dawning sunlight; it was like a magical joy that spread through her and made her so much more blessedly beautiful, so much more like the person she was meant to be.
Sain smiled to himself and returned to the camp for breakfast. For now, she was still unreachable—a free spirit soaring high among the clouds. And it was something he admired her for. But next time, he would try harder. Perhaps he would finally find the perfect formula for impressing the mysterious girl with the lavender hair; perhaps she would forever be a dream eluding him.
But love did drive some to unimaginable extents, didn't it? One day, he would somehow gain her acceptance. One day, maybe, she would feel just as comfortable among people as she did in the sky. And maybe—there was just this glimmer of hope, somewhere—she wouldn't be unreachable anymore.