Chapter 5

            "Kent…"

            "Oh, what is it, Sain! You've been--" Kent was interrupted by glancing over at his friend and seeing what he was so flustered by. He laughed. "I see!"

            "Kent…" Sain glanced over his shoulder nervously, which only made Kent laugh harder.

            Andraya had fallen asleep about half an hour into the journey, and had used Sain's shoulder as a pillow without really thinking about what she was doing. This apparently made Sain rather uncomfortable… Sure, he had plenty of experience when it came to flirting with girls, but no one had ever taken him seriously, and he had never been in a situation like this before… Most girls wouldn't even get near him!

            "Sain, why do you look so nervous? I thought you loved her."

            "Kent!" Sain glanced over his shoulder again, a look of pure terror on his face. Had she heard him?

            "She's dead asleep, Sain. She's been out for hours now…she's not going to hear us."

            "Oh, right…" Sain relaxed a little.

            "So answer my question. Why are you so flustered?"

            "I've…never been this close to a girl before…besides, no one's ever really loved me…" Sain paused to look over his shoulder again. "She certainly doesn't."

            Kent sighed. "Sain, maybe you don't really love her. She could just be a crush like you've had on every other girl here, you know."

            "No…not her, Kent…" Sain sighed, staring at the ground. "Ever since she joined our group, I felt…different around her then when I was with other girls. I didn't realize why until just recently…"

            "Is that why you've been acting so oddly?" Kent asked.

            "I guess…I've…I've never been in love before, Kent. Never. You said it yourself, I've only had crushes on girls before. This…this is so different…"

            "That doesn't explain your strange behavior."

            Sain sighed and looked Kent in the eye. "At that battle in Pherae, she caught my attention almost instantly…Hell, she caught everyone's attention with that weird magic of hers! But after it was over and Eliwood brought her over to us, saying she was coming with us…" Sain paused, remembering the moment. "It's not just her beauty, Kent. She has a…strength about her that just, I dunno…radiates from her, I guess. She's more capable of battle than any of the other girls we've met, and stronger too. And she is beautiful…" Sain twisted around to get a better look at Andraya. She looked so peaceful, asleep on his shoulder… Her navy blue hair fell around her pale face, framing her elegant features. She had her deep blue cloak wrapped around her robes of various other shades of blue, though she was still shivering slightly from illness. When she was awake, she had the most magnificent blue eyes Sain had ever seen, always seeming to have a spark of playfulness in them, combined evenly with the softness of concern for her companions that her eyes always reflected. "More beautiful than any girl I've ever laid eyes on…"

            Kent started at Sain's comments. He never spoke so highly about just one girl, and even if he did, it was never in earnest. He really is in love with her, he thought, glancing over at his friend. Sain was still gazing at Andraya asleep on his shoulder, the most head-over-heels in love look on his face. Kent had never seen that expression on his friend's face before…only looks of amusement and jest, especially when speaking about or to women.

            "Well, perhaps you should tell her what you've just told me, Sain. I'm sure she would like to hear it," Kent said.

            "Tell her!? No!" Sain snapped out of his daze and looked back at Kent. "Are you nuts?! She's in love with Lord Eliwood, haven't you noticed…" Sain's expression turned to one of sadness, another emotion unfamiliar to his features.

            "Eliwood?" Kent repeated in surprise, looking ahead of their group at the young lord. "Isn't he…"

            "With Ninian? Yeah, as of yesterday. I saw it happen…and saw Andraya's reaction to it as well…"

            "So that's why she's so upset." Kent nodded. It made sense now…though that didn't make the situation any easier.

            "Yeah…" Sain stared at the ground again. "Matthew's been a real pain lately, getting into people's journals and stuff, have you noticed?"

            Kent grumbled. That thief was more a spy for gossip than a help to the group. "Yes, I have actually, but what does that have to do with anything?"

            "He told me last night that he 'read up' on Andraya…and that she was more in love with Eliwood than anyone he had ever seen. He said that ever since she first laid eyes on him that she was instantly captivated by his kindness and compassion for everyone he met, even her, a Black Fang member." Sain looked up at Kent. "She had almost a whole journal filled with that kind of stuff...how handsome he is, how kind he is, how he's just so damn perfect!" Sain grumbled. He really hadn't enjoyed that conversation…

            "Well, now that he's with Ninian, she's going to have to get over that, isn't she?" Kent asked.

            Sain glared at Kent. "If you had any emotion in your heart, you'd know that it isn't that easy."

            "I--I was just trying to help you feel better…" Kent stammered, taken back by Sain's tone.

            "Whatever. Just…leave me alone for a while, okay?" With that, Sain rode a little further into the group, muttering as he went.

            Kent sighed. It's true that he had never been in love, but he should still be able to comfort his friend when something was bothering him! All he had done was made it worse, and all he wanted to do was get Sain back to his normal self again…

            "Oh, great," he muttered. Andraya had woken, and was completely ignoring Sain. She has a serious case of heartache…

            I just hope Sain can somehow heal it for her.

A/N: R&R PLEAAAAASE :)