Chris: Well, here's the next part. Enjoy! Oh, and if you're wondering, this is Ninian's ending.
Mullenium Master: Ah….Okay. Got it. Thanks for the compliments.
SkyeDunhart: Glad you like it!
stuck-in-a-tree: Well, here's the Ninian pairing right now! And yes, Sain and all the other girls who aren't way too old or something. Like Hannah.
RLnaruhina: Sure, I don't mind if you add my fics. It'd be awesome, really. Glad you liked the Sain x Florina part.
Northernsword: Eligible means that it's an available choice. And as for Sain, Vaida is not eligible because there's an age difference (Probably of around….5-10 years) and besides, Sain and Vaida would just not…click. The first compliment Sain pays would earn around 1000 years of pain.
Maxmagnus20019: Glad you liked it.
Nightmare3: Ah….Okay. Got it. Hope it gets fixed soon. And you totally stole my line. "I hope you update faster than I do." is so my line, man. Just kidding. And here's your update.
Meneil: Thanks for the compliments.
Alex: Well, I've written more, and here it is.
narugurlee13: Heh, glad it made your day a little better. Well, hope you like this as well!
Disclaimer: This chapter will probably not have a lot of humor in it. This story is romance first for a reason.
Chapter 3: Ninian
"Well…I think I have feelings for…" Eliwood paused, slightly unnerved by the look on Marcus' face. "I think I'll keep it to myself."
"But Lord Eliwood! As your retainer, I have a right to know who you will marry!" Marcus protested, but Eliwood waved him off.
"I'll tell you when I'm done, okay?" Eliwood said. "And please, please, don't find some way to bother me. This is…important to me."
"I understand, milord." Marcus bowed. "Very well. I shall leave you alone for the time being."
"Good, good." Eliwood nodded and departed. "Now…Time to find her…"
---
"Ninian?" Nils asked sleepily, rubbing his eyes. "What's wrong?" Nils had been taking an afternoon nap when sounds from his sister disturbed him from his slumber. Rubbing his eyes again, he pushed himself off of the bed. "Ninian?"
"S-Sorry Nils…" Ninian stuttered, wiping tears from her face. "I…I…"
"What's wrong, Ninian? Why are you crying?" Nils asked, a worried look on his face. "Did you get hurt?"
"No…It's not that…" Ninian sniffed, wiping more tears off of her face. Her sky-teal hair still seemed to retain its special sheen, and her dress was perfect, as usual, but something seemed different. "I-I wasn't hurt…"
"Then what's wrong, Ninian?" Nils walked up to Ninian and sat beside her. "I'm your brother…You can tell me."
"Ohhh…" Ninian sobbed again. "It's nothing, Nils."
"Don't give me that. Something is bothering you. Tell me what it is." Nils said.
"I…I don't know if I can return to our home, Nils. I…I feel too attracted to this world…"
"Ah…" Nils nodded. "And to one person in particular, I assume."
"…" Ninian nodded silently, her tears dropping on the ground.
"Lord Eliwood?"
"Nils!" Ninian said, surprised. "I…I never said that!"
Nils nodded sagely. "Well, I'm not stupid. I've seen the looks you've given him and how you always act different when he's around."
"I-It's that obvious?" Ninian asked, her words catching in her throat. "I…I…"
"Not to everyone…But I'm your brother. I know you better than most." Nils smiled slightly. "Don't worry. If you wish to stay with him…I can't stop you. Sigh…I would have liked it if you decided to return home with me. Because, Ninian, you must remember. However much we like this land, our home is somewhere else."
"I-I know that Nils!" Ninian cried, tears still streaking down her face. "I…I won't be able to see my friends…Or our mother…I so desperately want to go home…But I can't leave Lord Eliwood alone!" The dancer continued crying, trapped between two decisions.
"Ninian…." Nils held his sister close to him. "It's okay…Stay with Eliwood…At least, when I'm at home, I'll know you are happy." He smiled. "Now, go tell him how you feel." Nils nudged his sister. "You can't let him get away from you, now that you've realized your feelings."
"T-Thank you, Nils…" Ninian smiled through her tears. "Thank you so much…" She hugged her brother tightly before dashing off. Nils watched her depart.
"I'm getting too old for this…" Nils sighed and crawled back into his bed. "Waaay too old for this." The bard closed his eyes and yawned. Soon, he was asleep.
---
'Definitely not what I wanted…' Eliwood stared dismally at the commotion that had happened in the middle of the camp. Apparently, Wallace was showing off his new exercise regimen and was forcing Kent, Sain, and Wil to participate. Oswin was there as well, but that was only because Oswin wanted to prove that he could out-exercise anyone else in the camp.
While this normally wouldn't be much of a distraction, today was different. Different in the fact that Wallace had corralled a couple of…'volunteers' to help him out and Eliwood just happened to be standing nearby. Definitely bad luck.
"Now give me one-hundred push-ups!" Wallace roared. "See? Watch me!" The bald general began doing his push-ups, huffing as he pushed himself up. "Full battle armor! Now!"
"Why did I ever join the army…?" Wil muttered as he began doing the exercises. He would have tried to run away, but Wallace kept catching him, so he just gave up on the idea of escape.
"This is only so we can become better fighters to defend our country." Kent intoned as he did his exercises. "Although I'm certain we could do without one-hundred push-ups." The orange-haired cavalier panted as he shook his head wearily.
"I cannot believe I am doing this…" Sain replied. "If I get tired, I won't have any energy to show my full respect for everyone in this army!"
"You people don't have endurance!" Oswin yelled as he did his push-ups, doing them as easily as if he were slicing bread. "You've got to be strong!"
"I'm the brother of the Marquess of Ostia! I shouldn't have to do this!" Hector cried, one of those that had 'volunteered' to do the exercises.
Eliwood said nothing and concentrated on trying to find a way out of his predicament. He looked around. There were a few onlookers that were shaking their heads in sorrow and pity. Eliwood smiled as he thought of an idea. Because standing in the crowd of people was Serra, holding a heal staff. Thinking to himself, Eliwood finalized his plan.
"Hey Serra! Matthew's behind you and he's trying to grope you!" Eliwood shouted.
"WHAT?" Serra's screamed and turned, flailing her heal staff around.
While everyone was occupied with watching Serra beat the crap out of Matthew with a heal staff, Eliwood dashed off, escaping his torture and regaining his freedom. The red-haired lord looked back to see that Matthew was unconscious and that everyone else besides Oswin had already fled the scene. Eliwood mentally thanked Matthew for his sacrifice and continued to run before Wallace could chase him.
"Phew…I think I'm fine…" Eliwood chanced another look behind his back and saw that no one else was following him. Thanking Matthew mentally once again and wiping the sweat off of his face, Eliwood resumed his search for Ninian.
---
"Ninian?"
"Ah, yes? What is it, Canas?" The dancer looked at the purple-haired shaman.
"I'm sorry to bother you, but I must figure more out about your dancing. I've always wondered how your dancing has the ability to rejuvenate people to greater limits." Canas asked, pulling out a small notepad and pencil.
"Uh…Ah…Hmmm…" Ninian stalled. It really was just dancing, of course. Unless he meant those rings that they had found…
"What is it, Ninian? Please, this is for the pursuit of knowledge." Canas said, adjusting his monocle.
"Well, it's just dancing…" Ninian said softly.
"I understand that. But there are times when you dance that trigger…some sort of reaction. People fight stronger, faster, and tougher. I must figure out how you are able to do this." Canas said, marking down notes onto his notepad.
"Uh…" Ninian stalled again. The rings were special. They were forged with special metals and enchanted by magic users. While that wasn't so surprising in itself, the part that made Ninian nervous was that you needed to be of dragonkind in order to utilize such an item. "Well, there are these rings…" She brought out a small string on which the rings hung. The sky-haired dancer remembered when Eliwood had first seen them. His reaction to her dancing was so pleasant…Ninian blushed slightly.
"Hmm…These rings must be enchanted with magic of some sort in order to improve people's abilities." Canas squinted at them. "If I may, will you let me examine them for a while?"
"W-Well, sure…" Ninian handed the rings over. She hoped that Canas wouldn't discover anything that would reveal her true identity. Ninian liked it here, acting like a human. She felt like she truly belonged in this world…And with Eliwood.
"Ah…I see…I see. Definitely magical artifacts. A different gem in each of the rings…Uh huh…Let's see…." Canas continued to scribble down notes. "Thank you very much for your help, Ninian!" He bowed slightly and returned the rings to her. "This discovery has made my day!" The shaman left to transfer his notes to his workbooks.
"Ah…" Ninian let out a sigh of relief, placing a hand over her beating heart. 'I'm safe…' The dancer looked around for Eliwood, and spotted the lord nearby, hiding from someone. Ninian made to raise her hand, but she stopped and lowered it. The sky-haired girl was suddenly overcome with a rush of doubt and she hid behind a tree.
'Huh? I thought I saw Ninian around here…' Eliwood looked around, confused. He had been hiding from Wallace, who was going around corralling everyone who had to do his exercises, when he saw a flash of blue-white. Eliwood walked forward, looking for Ninian. "Hey Ninian! Are you around there? Ninian?"
"H-Hi…Lord Eliwood." Ninian stepped out from behind the tree, twisting her white shawl around her fingers nervously. She offered a weak smile and shook slightly.
"Oh, Ninian! I've been looking all over for you!" Eliwood walked closer to the dancer, but Ninian cringed slightly and backed away. Eliwood stopped, confused. "What's wrong? If you don't want to talk to me, that's fine."
"N-No…It's…not that. Not that at all…" Ninian whispered, still nervous and scared. Her shawl was getting caught in her fingers since she was twisting it so much. Eliwood walked forward a little more and took Ninian's hands in his own. Ninian's eyes widened in shock and the dancer backed away even more, sliding her hands out of Eliwood's grip.
"P-Please…I…I…" Ninian continued backing away, until she felt the tree behind her. "I…I…" She didn't know what to say. Her insides were all twisted around and the figure of Eliwood kept confusing her. Ninian knew that she loved him, but a part of her wanted him to stay away, so she could go back to her home.
"Ninian? What's wrong?" Eliwood stepped closer.
The dancer cringed against the tree. Eliwood's face was full of concern for her, and it was overwhelming. Thoughts and reason ran willy-nilly through her mind, and she could only shake. It was like she was Florina, except all the feelings were being caused by one man and not the whole gender.
"Ninian?" Eliwood walked up to her and took her hands again. "What's wrong? Why are you so tense?" He slowly rubbed Ninian's hands in his own, feeling the soft skin along with the fabric of her shawl.
Ninian's senses exploded at the touch of Eliwood's fingers. She started to whimper, from fear or from pleasure, she didn't know. "L-Lord Eliwood…Please…" The dancer gained some control over her body again and she stopped shaking, at least for a little while. "I…I have something…something to say…"
"As do I…" Eliwood replied, still holding her soft, white hands.
"Eliwood…"
"Ninian…"
"I love you." They both spoke at the same time and stared at each other, flushing. Eliwood chuckled awkwardly and Ninian giggled. However, the feeling came back to the dancer, and she began shaking again.
"What's wrong, Ninian?" Eliwood looked at her again, worry and concern rampant on his features.
"N-Nothing…L-Lord Eliwood…" Ninian replied, but tears started falling from her eyes again. "I-I…" She sniffed and tried to stop crying, but couldn't.
"Ninian…Please tell me. Why are you crying?" Eliwood asked, his voice soft.
"Oh…Oh Eliwood…" Ninian sobbed. "My…My homeland…Would not like me marrying someone from his land. The elders…prefer to keep their country…pure…" She sniffed again. "B-But Eliwood…I l-love you so much, it breaks my heart!" Ninian buried herself in Eliwood's arms, crying.
"Ninian…" Eliwood looked down at her. He slowly stroked her hair with one of his hands, murmuring soothing words to her. "Ninian…If…If your elders do not like me marrying you, then…I will leave you alone, if you wish."
Ninian looked at him with her tearstained face. "No! Please…Please don't leave me…"
"Then…If you cannot return to your homeland, then I would be glad to make my home yours." Eliwood looked at her, a reassuring smile on his face. "Don't worry, Ninian."
"R-Really?" Ninian hiccupped. "B-Because…I…"
"Ninian…" Eliwood shushed her with a finger to her lips. Bringing her closer to him, Eliwood tipped Ninian's chin slightly, so that she was looking directly at him. "I promise." He leaned down and kissed her.
Ninian's eyes widened at contact, but she slowly closed them as she savored the feeling. Her knees grew weak and she was afraid that she might fall, ruining the moment. The sky-haired girl slowly felt herself sink, but Eliwood's arm was there, keeping her up. Ninian gasped as Eliwood broke the kiss, her heart beating even faster. Ninian looked at Eliwood again and felt herself sinking into those clear, blue eyes.
"E-Eliwood…" Ninian stuttered, her face flushed and her body shaking with adrenaline this time, not fear or nervousness.
"Don't say anything…This moment is for us and for us alone…" Eliwood leaned down and kissed her again.
Chris: There ya go. Have fun and hope you enjoyed it! Next chapter is the last!