"You will be careful?"

Fuu smiled and nodded.

"Of course. I will have Umi-san with me, and together we will do everything we can."

Around her, all of their friends had gathered, wishing them luck and cautioning them ruthlessly.

"And come back safe, ya hear? I need bridesmaids, and I don't wanna hafta find new ones."

Umi laughed at Caldina's statement. "All right, all right! But we need to go now. Fuu?"

Fuu nodded, but then paused. "Actually, Umi-san, I need to retrieve something from my chambers. Prince Ferio, I would request your help. Umi-san, if you would be so good as to wait here…?"

Her eyes caught Umi's for a split second, and a silent understanding passed between them. "Of course. And I need to ask the Master Mage something about my magic, so would the rest of you please disperse!?!"

Muttering and laughing, the crowd around the two Magic Knights did disperse, leaving one green haired prince, one Master Mage, and two Magic Knights. As he left, Ascot cast a fleeting glance behind him, but Umi wasn't looking, and she missed whatever it was he had wanted to tell her.

Fuu was left standing behind the Prince. He turned back to her and smiled strangely, offering his arm.

"Shall we?"

Fuu, wondering, took the proffered hand and followed the Prince down the chamber, leaving Clef and Umi standing alone.

Clef watched Fuu's retreating back, smiling sadly, then brightened his expression and turned to Umi.

"You had a question...?"

Umi nodded and, oddly, blushed deeply. "Yes."

An uncomfortable silence followed.

"Umi…?" Clef ventured.

Umi's blush deepened. "Um…Actually…I wanted to tell you something."

Clef smiled gently. "Yes, Umi?"

She looked down at her hands, her blush still staining her cheeks and her fingers twiddling nervously.

"Um…"

She shifted from foot to foot, nervous, undecided. Then, suddenly, she shut her eyes tightly and gritted her teeth.

"I love you!" she shouted.

Silence.

Umi refused to look up, her face hidden by the waterfall of hair that flowed over it. She ventured a glance at Clef.

He was staring, eyes wide in shock. His face was still, petrified in surprise. Umi ducked her head again. She had never imagined it like this. She had thought that her proclamation would bring about a joyous reunion that had, even in her dreams, set her heart thrumming. But now…

Suddenly, Clef blinked, seeming to come back into himself. He blinked a few more times, clearing his head. Then he looked at Umi, and his face softened.

"Umi."

"I'm sorry!" she cried, head still bowed, "I know I shouldn't, but every time I tell myself that, I just…I can't…I'm sorry!"

Clef smiled softly. "Umi."

She looked up then, and a flicker of hope shone in her heart and on her face. But there was something sad and silent about his smile that made her hope a fragile birth at best.

"Umi…" he started, then paused, thinking. After a moment, he took a breath and started again. "Umi, you don't love me."

Now it was Umi's turn to stare in shock. Didn't love him? Of all the things she had expected him to say, that was the one she had never thought of. How could he say that? But Clef was continuing.

"Umi, think about it. When you first came to Cephiro, you were lost and confused. You didn't want to believe in anything here. But then you saw me. And because you were so lost, you latched on to the first thing you found that made even a little sense: Me. So you had an anchor in this confusing world. However…" as he paused, Umi's eyes deepened, as though every word he spoke was a revelation, "Week after week passed, but things still didn't always make sense. You came from a world where everything is clear to you. It is clear because the people in it who make it clear are those you love the most: your parents. So you have associated the feeling of security with the feeling of love."

Umi's eyes were wide, astonished, but comprehension was slowing dawning.

"Do you see? You don't love me; you simply don't know what else to call this feeling inside of you." He spoke with a feeling of finality and, oddly, assurance.

Umi stared at him in silence. He spoke once more, gentle and kind.

"Do you see?"

Haltingly, Umi nodded. Perhaps he was right. She had never been in love before, and only recently had she decided that this warm feeling had to be love. Maybe she had been confused. But then…

"Clef…"

He looked up at her.

"Just after I escaped the Chizeta fortress, I spoke to Celes."

Clef nodded.

"He told me that he had been able to help me escape because he was much stronger now than he had been."

Again, Clef nodded.

"But when I asked him how that could be, he said he grew stronger as my heart grew stronger. And then…"

She paused, a faint blush back on her cheeks. Clef watched her curiously. "And then what, Umi?"

Her blush deepened. "And then he told me that his new strength flowed from new love."

Clef nodded. "Yes, I thought so. Umi, you are in love. There is no other way for your heart to grow except by love. However, you confused that feeling with the one you thought was love for me." Clef nodded definitively.

"But…but who else could I possibly be in love with?"

Clef shook his head. "That is for your heart to tell you when you are ready to hear it. Now, I think you should prepare for this battle. How can I help?"

And so they stopped talking of love, and began to speak of earthly things again, and the time grew frighteningly near when both she and the Magic Knight of Wind would have to face down an enemy at half their strength.

MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMW

Fuu walked along the corridor beside the prince, but her head was down, her hands folded. Ferio would glance at her from time to time, once even taking a breath to speak, but decided against it, and they continued their journey in silence 'til they reached Fuu's chambers.

At the door, Ferio stopped. Fuu continued on a few steps, then realized she was alone. She turned around. Ferio was standing, fists clenched and eyes down, a little behind her.

"Fuu…" he said through clenched teeth.

The surprise faded from Fuu's eyes, changing to deep sadness. "Ferio…"

"I don't want you to go, Fuu!" Ferio cried, stepping forward and placing his hands on her shoulders. "You haven't been here long enough…" Hands still on her shoulders, Ferio's head bowed, the tears he had been trying to hold back finally breaking through.

"I love you."

Fuu jerked back in surprise. However often she had realized this, it was a unexpected shock to hear it from his lips, put in such a simple, undiluted form. Then shock faded, and she stepped forward, sliding further into the Prince's embrace, a peaceful smile touching her lips.

"I love you, too."

Now it was Ferio's turn to be astonished. He pulled back, looking down at the sweetly smiling face of his beloved Magic Knight.

"Really? I mean-…Do you-…Really?"

Fuu nodded, then giggled.

"What? What?" Ferio questioned.

"Your face, Prince Ferio…" She giggled a little again, covering her mouth with a hand that did not quite hide her smile.

Ferio let out a huff of laughter, but then he looked down at his precious Fuu, and his eyes softened. He loved to see her like this: smiling, happy in his arms. Especially in his arms. When she had left the first time, Ferio had thought he would never smile again. Now, with her smile and her laughter, he thought he would never stop smiling. If she left again…

"Fuu…" he stepped away from her, serious again, "How long are you going to stay in Cephiro?"

Fuu's face turned solemn. Instantly, Ferio hated himself for making her lose her smile; but he had to know.

"I don't know. Last time we disappeared just after we…" She paused, sadness and regret in her voice. Ferio frowned, but then Fuu pasted a smile over her face and looked up at him.

"Why do you ask, Prince Ferio?"

Ferio blushed faintly, then shook his head and cleared his throat. He stared at Fuu for a moment, something solemn and serious in his eyes. Fuu waited patiently.

Suddenly, Ferio bent on one knee before Fuu, reaching out to grab her right hand.

"Oh!" Fuu's left hand flew up to her chest in a familiar motion. Ferio looked up into her face.

"Houoji Fuu, will you please accept this ring as a pledge of marriage?"

Fuu's left hand flew up over her mouth. Her eyes were wide and frozen in shock.

Did he-…did he just…propose!?!

Then her sense came back to her, and she lowered her hand from her lips, silent. She opened her mouth to speak, when suddenly she paused and looked down at the man who still held captive her hand. Ferio's eyes were wide, the first hints of perspiration gathering at his temples. His other hand, wrapped around something small, was shaking badly. He looked as though he was about to pass out. She giggled.
The shaking simply grew more pronounced. Fuu smiled again and finally spoke.

"Yes."

"YES!" Ferio whooped, leaping up and jumping in the air in his jubilation. Then he came down to earth and captured Fuu in his arms, pulling her into their first kiss.

After a long time, he finally pulled back, smiling so big he seemed he would split his face in two. Fuu was smiling too, though a blush was creeping up her cheeks.

"Prince Ferio…"

"Ah-ah-ah! I've told you again and again, it's just Ferio." Eyes twinkling mischievously, he placed a finger on her lips, silencing her. But then his eyes grew soft again, and he leaned down slightly, capturing her lips in a sweet kiss.

"Ferio…" Fuu said as they parted. The gold-eyed prince looked down at her and smiled.

"Yes?"

Fuu did not smile back.

"Ferio, I do not know how long we will be allowed to stay. When this battle is over, if we win-"

"No!" Ferio interrupted harshly, "don't say that. You will win."

Fuu didn't respond. After a moment, she sighed and continued. "Our presence here may only be necessary when Cephiro is in grave danger. Once Debonair is defeated, I-…we can't tell how long we will have before we will be sent back home."

Ferio smiled. "That's alright. As long as you're here, I'll be right beside you."

But Fuu shook her head impatiently. "No! It's not alright. When we leave, everyone will be sad." She looked down, her hands held in front of her chest in a familiar motion. Ferio saw the gesture, and instantly he placed a gentle hand under her chin, lifting her face towards him. Fuu refused to look at him.

"Fuu…don't worry, I'll be fine." He said softly.

But she jerked away angrily, tears finally spilling down her face. "No! That's a lie! You won't be alright! And it's not just you, either…" she trailed off, tears running unchecked down her cheeks.

Ferio laid a gentle hand on her cheek. Fuu looked up at him through blurry eyes, sadness, fear, and pain on her face. He stroked her cheek with his thumb, softly wiping the tears away. Fuu's hands clenched in front of her chest. Why? Why does he have to be so perfect? So sweet? Her tear-blinded eyes caught his, her heart written on her face.

"I don't think I can leave you again…"

For a second, the same inescapable sadness flitted across Ferio's face, but then he was gathering her to him, pulling her inside the warm safety of his loving embrace. She sobbed quietly into his chest, letting all the fear and anxiety of the past months out, accepting his love in return. Ferio placed a gloved hand on her hair, gently stroking, soothing.

"Fuu….Fuu, it's all right….shh, my Knight, my zephyr…" Fuu's sobbing eased under the relentless, peaceful presence of her love. Ferio kept talking, nonsense and nothings into her ear until she quieted. Then he looked down at her.

"Fuu, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if you and I never see each other again."

Fuu looked up. Ferio stepped back a little, put his hands on her shoulders, and locked gazes with the Magic Knight of Wind, imparting his heart into her.

"Fuu, you are the one for me. You are perfect, beautiful, amazing…Ah! I can't even express how wonderful you are to me." He smiled a little at his own ineptitude. "So it doesn't matter if I never see you, or you never see me. Because I am telling you, right here, in this dark hallway, that no matter if a thousand ladies fall at my feet, you are the one I love. You always will be. I think I can live with just that." He smiled at her as he finished. Fuu watched his eyes, blinking back more tears, then gave a shaky smile of her own.

"I love you, Ferio."

Ferio grinned. "I love you too, my own Magic Knight of Wind…Houoji Fuu."

Then he leaned down to capture her lips again, and with that kiss seal a forever truth within their hearts: He was hers, she was his.

And that was all the truth they needed.

MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMW

It was less than half an hour later that a great rumbling was heard, and moments later two great machines shot out over the ledge of the castle, heading towards the last place they had heard Debonair. Near the place they had departed, a crowd of people stood waving, some with tears in their eyes. Two had found their world, and now only lacked the time to live in it. Two had made their world with all, and now were losing a dear part of it. And two…two others were watching their worlds fly farther and farther away, towards what might mean death. One had assurance of peace if all went well. But the other…the other could only hope, and wait, and watch.

Because, unbeknownst to her, if Umi died, he died with her.

Go safe, beloved.