-1"EEEK! Lyn, help!" Came a familiar scream from outside the tent.
"I'm coming!" Lyn dashed out, Sol Katti in hand.
Even after all that had happened, Florina's fear of men was the one thing that hadn't changed much. Not that Lyn minded being the timid, aquamarine-eyed girl's protector. Lyn smiled to herself, quite the opposite really.
She saw the falcoknight first, then followed her frantic pointing to the band of brigands second. Pulling out her iron sword, these scum weren't worth skewering with the Sol Katti, she rushed to the smaller girl's side.
"Lyn, there are twenty of them, are you sure we can handle it?"
"Florina, you helped me cut down a dragon once, we can handle these paltry fools. Right Makar?" The blue-eyed woman asked the Pegasus.
The winged, horned horse whinnied eagerly, waiting to be mounted. Florina smiled brightly at Lyn, grateful for the support. She pulled out her lance, sword sheathed at her slight side, and swung her leg over the back of her powerful steed. Lyn checker her bow, making sure it was strung before hanging it on her back, the quiver at her side.
"Watch out, they have archers," Lyn warned before she took off.
"No worries, you be careful yourself," the now confident girl answered.
Lyn watched her take to the skies gracefully. When had she become so trusting of her? Just a few words of confidence made the girl completely different from the meek knight she watched over in the war. She had to admit, she liked the new, steadfast Florina.
A roaring battle cry wrenched her out of her thoughts as a warrior drew his axe down on her. She parried without batting a eye, running him through in a fluid, practiced motion. She swept his body out of the way as another came along, this one a deserter soldier. She tilted her body to avoid the spear thrust. With a quick swipe she beheaded him in time to see one of the archers shoot at the flying knight.
A deep-rooted fear shot up in her, vanishing as the skilled girl dodged the bolt effortlessly. Unbeknownst to them, a sniper with a killer bow waited for her to be distracted before twirling the arrow in a circle and firing it at the white horse.
Lyn screamed a warning, knowing full well there was no way for Florina to move out of the way of something moving that fast. The feathered shaft embedded itself in her breastplate and she faltered in the saddle. The bottom dropped out of Lyn's chest as her heart plummeted.
Florina straightened in her seat and beckoned Makar forward, slicing the sniper with her sword. Lyn's elation was cut short by an axe blade biting into her shoulder, three warrior having snuck up on her in her fright. She jumped back and whipped her sword in an arc, slicing off his arm. As he fell crying, clutching his stub, she cut the other two down before they could react. Seeing a myrmidon a little ways off, she pulled out her bow and struck him in the heart, felling him instantly. She fired on three more archers as the falcoknight decimated the remaining axe wielders.
"Lyn, Lyn, you're bleeding!" The panicked lavender-haired girl told her as she landed and ran to her side.
"Florina, are you alright? I thought you were dead when the sniper shot you!" Lyn asked, seemingly ignorant of the red liquid running down her sword-arm.
"Of course, you gave me that amulet, remember? It didn't get past my armor."
She produced the charm Lyn had given her, the Delphi Shield that had saved her life more than once. She then tore the shaft out of her breast, showing Lyn that the armor was still mostly intact. The green-haired woman heaved a sigh of relief. Then her legs decided to stop working and she collapsed into Florina's startled grasp.
"Lyn? Oh, goddess, you're hurt worse than I thought!" She said, Makar kneeling so she could put her injured friend on his back.
The pristinely white steed was getting reddened by the Blade Lord's blood as it followed its worried rider to the tent that Lyn and Florina shared. Once inside, she prepared to remove the top of the dark green-blue plains dress that Lyn always wore. Realizing Lyn was still conscious, she decided to let the woman know.
"Lyn, it's really bad. I'm going to have to remove the top of your dress to put an elixer on it. Is that alright?"
"Do whatever you have to, I don't mind."
She nodded and undid the clasps with slightly shaking hands. She pulled out one of the blue vials they always kept around just in case and rubbed the solvent on the gash. The wound closed quickly, leaving only the bloodstains on Lyn's dress and Makar as reminder of what had happened.
"Lyn, does it still hurt?"
"No, Florina, you were amazing."
She cocked her head, "How so?"
"You've changed so much from the scared little girl I befriended here on the plains years ago. You didn't freak out when I got hurt like you used to, you handled it like a true knight. How come I didn't notice you'd grown so strong?" The beautiful woman asked her, looking into her pretty eyes.
"Lyn, you're the one who made me strong. You're always so brave, I-I wanted to be like you. I kept training and trying not to be afraid anymore, because I knew you would always save me. When we fought the dragon and you dealt the finishing blow with a critical, you said it was all thanks to the strength I gave you. I knew then that even when we returned to the plains, I would never be that weak child you met before, who couldn't even keep track of her lance. I'd gotten stronger because of you, and the feeling I got when I helped protect you was something I'd never give up. I finally felt complete Lyn, I don't ever want to lose that feeling, so I'm going to stay with you forever. I love you, Lyn."
"Florina…I never guessed you felt the same way. When I fought the dragon alongside Eliwood and Hector, I knew I could win. Not because I was strong enough, but because you were right behind me, waiting to swoop in and save me, even if you got burned to a crisp yourself. I loved you and I wanted nothing more than to protect you and live the rest of my life with you, that's how I was able to gather the strength to deal the final blow. I'll always love you Florina, never forget that."
"I won't Lyn, and I'll always be by your side," she answered brightly, smiling in a way that made Lyn feel warm inside.