A/N: Wow, this was a quick update. I suppose having the chapter already written except for some final tweaking helped. This chapter averages out with the last one to a little longer than a normal chapter. Thank you to everybody for reviewing; I got to test out that cool reply button. Hope you like the chapter.

Chapter 10: Sain's Story

"It all started when I was five. I lived in Ilia until that time, and, from what sparse memories I can recall, my life couldn't have been better." Sain found it surprisingly easy to tell Florina about this, despite how long he had kept it locked in. "You see, my mother was a mercenary. She was one of the best, and had the top position in Ilia's First Wing to show for it. As such, she was often gone on missions, during which times my father would take care of me. Apparently, his macho ego couldn't handle relying on his woman to provide for the family. When I went to sleep, he was there. When I awoke the next morning, he wasn't. It was that simple, at least to my five year-old mind. My mother found me sitting in the kitchen, surrounded by crusts of bread. She was heartbroken. She cried herself to sleep every night for a couple of weeks. She did her best to hide it from me, but, even at my young age, I could tell something wasn't right. When I saw how much my mother had changed from her normal cheerful self, I made a promise to myself. I would never make a woman cry. Ever."

"When our funds started running short, my mother snapped out of her depression long enough to realize we would have to move. There was no way she could continue being a mercenary and take care of me at the same time. We moved to Caelin, where she became a maid for a rich family. It killed her inside to degrade herself so, but it was the only job she could find that guaranteed she could be with me at all times. Like many mercenaries, she didn't trust nearly anybody else, especially not with important matters such as the care of her precious son." Sain smiled at the memory.

"I suppose that's when I started to become the infamous mercenary you see before you today. I started with the conduct that made my mother happy. I complimented girls whenever possible: their clothes, face, eyes, hair, personality, anything and everything I could find. I brought them flowers from the fields surrounding the nobleman's estate. I even started training to be a knight, so I could protect girls. Safe girls were happy girls, right? Everything started out so well." Sain sighed, dredging up the past was always painful. "The girls all thought I was just 'too cute'." Sain imitated a girl's voice for the phrase, "but everything went downhill after that. Around age twelve, I noticed some of the older guys doing something different with girls. This something seemed to please girls even more than flowers, so I couldn't help but take interest. That was my first exposure to kissing. I tried it out on a few girls and received every bit the reaction I was anticipating. They blushed, smiled, giggled, etcetera. "

"Soon after, I realized I was getting rejected more and more. It seems that everyone thought I was just after the girls for their bodies." Sain paused for a moment, but continued, "All of a sudden, none of my friends wanted to be seen with me anymore. I didn't know what was going on; I was just trying to make girls happy like I had done all my life. What had changed? The girl I had always considered my closest friend told me in blunt terms." A stray tear escaped his eye, but it was quickly brushed aside. He continued as if it had never happened, "I still remember her words; they've been burned into my mind since that day. The day all logic in my life shattered. I saw her at the market and asked her why I hadn't seen her lately. She answered, although sometimes I wish she hadn't. 'Sain, you haven't seen me because I've been avoiding you. So have all the other girls. You're a pig! You hit on all the girls, and we're not going to be your playthings anymore!' She screamed before slapping me and walking away. I stood there for what seemed like forever, although it was probably only a couple of minutes.

I didn't even know what she was talking about. Hitting on girls? A pig? Playthings? These were foreign words to me at the time. What did my efforts to keep girls happy have to do with hitting, a barnyard animal, and toys?" 'Toys…'

"Why? Why do they have to hate me? I was just trying to make them happy…I decided to reevaluate my promise. I had been treating it as having to make girls happy, but, apparently, I didn't know how to do that anymore. I then realized that I didn't have to make them happy, I just had to keep them from crying." Sain said, his eyes staring at a sight far in the past. He barely registered her continued presence, talking to himself as much as Florina. He nearly jerked in surprise when he felt a pair of slender arms timidly wrap around his chest pull him into a warm, if slightly awkward, embrace. One hand patted the back of his head; the other rubbed small circles on his lower back. "During our campaign, I thought I might have finally found someone who would love me back. Priscilla…" Sain's eyes misted over for a second, "She was the only woman in the army who didn't mind my presence. Mind, heck, she was the only woman in the army that let me within ten feet of her outside of battle. She even told me I made her happy…the first woman to tell me that since my childhood. But…it was not to be. I wasn't high-ranking enough for her, according to her family. And now that I'm a mercenary…well, you understand."

"I'm sorry." Florina said.

Sain shrugged, "It's okay; I've gotten over it. I doubt I could handle all those politics anyway; I'm much better suited to the life of a mercenary. The stunning partner is a wonderful perk, too." Sain grinned. "And besides, I have to smile: she said she would cry if I didn't, and I can't have that happening; that would break my promise. And I have kept my promise. No girl has ever cried because of me. They might hate, curse, yell at, or slap me, but they never cry. How could they? No one cries over a lecherous womanizer; no one cares enough about him in the first place."

Florina couldn't believe what she had just heard. Here was a man who, as far as she was concerned, had every right to hate the so called 'fairer sex'. Pfeh, she didn't see anything 'fair' abut how they had treated Sain. He always tried to make them happy, despite all the pain they had caused him. And when he found himself unable to do that, he made sure they never had reason to cry. All because he had made a promise to himself because of the pain he had witnessed his mother going through when his father left. How could she be so selfish? Here was a man who had hardly received any love, been hurt countless times by the ones he strived to help, and was, despite all that, still more than happy to help her. 'It's so saaaad! Whoa, calm down girl; you're never gonna get any action if you keep bawling like that. I don't want any action! Whatever, anyway, he's better now; he has Florina. Right?'

'Right.' Florina silently agreed. She couldn't just sit here, not after he had just shared his life story for the first time with her. She slowly wrapped her arms around him, doing her best to comfort him. She couldn't bear to see him in pain, especially now that she realized just how much he had gone through. All the girls had rejected his advances at one time or another. None of them had any idea what they were doing to him. She did her best to comfort the man in front of her. "It's okay; I'm with you now." Florina soothed him, allowing him to find what comfort he could in her arms. She made a promise to herself right then and there. Sain would never have to face the pain of rejection again, not while she was here. 'Pain can be good in a relationship.'

"I'm so sorry, Sain. I had no idea what you were feeling all that time. And during our adventure with Lady Lyndis…" Florina shed a few tears as she remembered the times she had run from him. 'Oh no, you too? Now is not the time to fall apart.' She pleaded, having little effect.

"Hey now, you know I can't stand to see a woman in tears." Sain said softly, wiping her tears from her cheek. 'It's a good thing someone around here has some sense.' "Are you going to cause me to break my promise after all these years?"

"But you said it yourself," Florina reminded him, "I wouldn't cry for you if you didn't mean something to me. If I could lessen your pain by taking it upon myself, I would do it in an instant." 'I know a way you could lessen his pain…' 'Now is not the time for those thoughts!' 'There's always time for those thoughts.'

"I'm glad to hear that. But…" Sain said, looking into her eyes, "I have a strong motivator to keep that from happening. Your smiles illuminate my world, and I'm not going to let you, or anyone else for that matter, take that away from me." Sain shrugged, "I suppose I'm just selfish."

'Aww…' Florina smiled and held him until he commented, "Well, it'd be a terrible waste if we didn't do anything while we're having this great moment and all." 'I knew you chose this man for a reason.' Florina punched him lightly, and then hugged him, 'So close…' 'Too close…' "I'm glad you're back." She said softly. "And I'm glad you're here." Sain said gently. Florina smiled, but Sain wasn't finished, "Most of the other ladies I know would have hit me a lot harder if I made that comment." Florina slapped him, "Hey!" He complained, holding up an arm to defend himself against her assault, "That wasn't a challenge!" 'Who knows? Maybe he likes that kind of thing. Why would anyone want to be hit? You have much to learn in the ways of the world…'

A/N: Well, what do you think? Tell me in a review; I can't wait to use that little button again.