Disclaimer: No, I don't own Fire Emblem!

Ninian wearily dragged herself out of the silky bed and fumbled for her clothes. She did not sleep well last night since her mind kept playing back what happened yesterday with Eliwood and Lyn. Remembering the uncomfortable sapphire necklace, she jumped and slipped on her dress quickly before rushing towards the elegant mirror that was in front of her bed. She checked the precious stone and found that the sapphire's color had improved a little, but it was still not at its best shade. Moaning, the guardian flopped back onto the bed and lay perfectly still until she heard someone knocking on the wooden door.

"Ninian? Are you awake yet?" came a familiar voice.

"Yes." She replied while opening the door.

"Did you sleep well last night?" Lyn asked.

"Yeah! Of course." The guardian lied.

The bed was comfortable…and so were the pillows…

If she meant the quality, it was excellent.

During breakfast, Lyn elucidated that they were going on a journey to Ilia to explore the mystery of the Sacred Circle. She said that Florina, a certain Pegasus knight of Caelin, was going to lead the way. Florina concluded that the trip to the barren ice lands would take about a month or so. It would be a harsh trip, traveling across all the rocky terrains and the majestic forests that lay ahead in their way.

"So, when are we leaving?" Ninian inquired.

"Today." Replied the Sacaen princess.

Both the lords and Ninian stared at her incredulously.

"What? You said it was rather urgent…didn't you, Eliwood?"

"Um, yes, yes I did. I guess we should get going then."

Lyn got up from her seat and motioned for Ninian to come with her. They strolled into the castle stables to find a lavender haired girl brushing a white Pegasus. The princess and the guardian heard the girl mumbled a few words to her horse and watched as a faint blush appeared.

"Florina?" Lyn finally spoke up.

The girl named Florina jumped and hugged her horse tightly.

"L-Lady Lyn!"

"Sorry if I frightened you, but we have to go now."

Florina nodded and gripped the reins of her Pegasus tightly, leading it out of the stables.

"Oh, and Florina? Could you tell the others to join us? Ninian will come with you."

"O-Of course."

Then Lyn ambled back to the castle, leaving the two girls to do the job.

"Hi, Florina." Ninian started to say.

"Hi…Ninian…"

The two girls walked in silence until they came to a flat grassland with medium sized trees on the sides. In the middle of the field were two cavaliers who seemed to be practicing their aim with javelins. One of the cavaliers took notice of Florina and shot a huge grin at her. Ninian could see Florina turn red and she too, grew nervous.

"Ah…um, Ninian?" Florina stuttered. "C-Could you do a favor for m-me?

"Sure. What do you need?"

"Um…could you maybe…ask Kent and Sain to go to the parlor where Lady Lyn will be waiting for them? I-I'll come with you…but can you do the talking?"

"Okay…but which one is Kent and which one is Sain?"

"Oh…you will find out soon enough…"

Ninian began to walk towards the two cavaliers with Florina hiding behind her. The same cavalier in green armor eagerly rushed towards them with the other chasing after him. Florina shrieked, jumped, and darted away in the opposite direction. The knight halted his brown horse directly in front of Ninian. Why should he have to go chase a fair maiden when there was already one in front of him?

"Ah! Hello there, gorgeous! What might your name be?" the cavalier asked.

"…Ninian…"

"I'm Sain!" the knight exclaimed excitedly. "How would-"

"Sain! You scared away Florina!" the cavalier dressed in red armor shouted.

Ninian assumed that was Kent since the first one introduced himself as Sain.

The guardian took a deep breath and said, "Lady Lyndis is waiting for you in the parlor."

"Thank you…Miss." Kent replied, and started riding towards the castle.

He stopped abruptly when he realized that Sain wasn't following him. Kent turned around only to find Sain hitting on Ninian unsuccessfully. The red head shook his head-Sain was so irresponsible. Even when duty calls, he wouldn't focus on his task. How could someone like him live like that? At last Kent ended his pondering, and directed his horse towards his insane companion. When will Sain learn that no matter how hard he tries, he'll always end up being rejected? Kent saw Ninian and Sain, but where was Florina? The conscientious cavalier looked up to find the Pegasus knight hovering above him.

"Florina! What are you doing up there?"

"I-I uh…was...hiding from…S-Sain…" Florina stuttered.

Sain! He should have known. Kent jumped off of his horse and dragged Sain away from Ninian.

"H-Hey! Kent! Let me gooo!"

"Finally…" Ninian thought.

When Kent and Sain were a good distance away, Florina slowly and hesitantly lowered Huey, her Pegasus, onto the ground. Shakily, she placed one foot on the soil and walked towards Ninian.

"Thank you for your help." Florina said.

"Hm? Oh, it was nothing." The guardian replied. "Is there anyone else that Lady Lyndis wants to see?"

The Pegasus knight pondered for a while before answering, "Wil. Could you maybe do the same thing again? I have a hard time talking to…the opposite gender."

Ninian nodded and the two girls began their search for Wil, the archer. Not too far away was a lone figure shooting arrows at a tree. He seemed to have an endless amount of arrows behind his back. Wil did not notice Ninian approach him and continued his archery practice. Right when he was about to release his arrow, he heard a voice call his name. He leapt at the sudden sound, and the arrow soared in a crooked pattern.

"Um, Wil?"

The archer whirled around and crashed into Ninian. His bow tumbled to the ground, and a handful of arrows dropped as well.

"Oh! Ah, I'm so, so sorry I startled you!" Ninian blurted out, while automatically picking up the items that Wil accidentally unloaded.

"Hm…that's okay." The brown haired archer replied as he got up. "Do I know you?"

"I don't think so. I'm Ninian."

"Ninian…well, nice meeting you!" Wil answered joyfully as he took back his bow and arrows.

"Lady Lyndis wishes to see you."

As soon as the words came out of the guardian's mouth, Wil, Florina, and Ninian headed towards the castle. Ninian had to walk between Florina and Wil since the Pegasus knight would not stand anywhere near a man. Meanwhile, Wil tried to start a conversation, but failed. Florina was too nervous to even pay attention, and Ninian had no idea what he was talking about, for she did not hear anything concerning Lycia while she was still in Ilia. Thankfully, they soon reached the castle and went straight to the parlor where the three lords and Kent and Sain were supposed to be waiting. As they entered the parlor room, Ninian got a glimpse of Kent yanking Sain away from one of the maids that was passing by. That Sain really was a flirt…no wonder Florina dashed away at the sight of him!

"Wil! Thank goodness you are here! Thank you Florina, Ninian for bringing everyone here." Lyn said, smiling.

Florina gave her friend a docile smile and carefully sat down on the sofa that was the farthest away from the guys. Ninian soon joined her and listened attentively to Lyn. Pretty much everyone was paying attention except for Sain who occasionally grinned at the maids who walked past the door. Ninian could clearly see that Kent was extremely annoyed.

"As you all know, Elibe is in trouble. It may be very serious, so we must act fast. Eliwood, Hector, and I have agreed that we are going to be traveling to Ilia and investigate what happened at the Sacred Circle. Therefore, I will need all of you to accompany us in case danger lurks in our path. We are planning to leave once this meeting is over. Any questions?" Lyn explained.

No one said anything. Lyn assumed that they were prepared to depart, so she strolled out of the room and out of the main front doors where the horses were waiting. Following her orders, everyone also exited the room, and out of the castle where a perilous adventure awaits them.

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Notes: Well, they are off on their adventure...