Author's Note: Oh wow. Nine reviews. This is the most I've gotten so far. I'm both nervous and excited that people like my story. Eep...hopefully I don't mess things up in this chapter!

Douceur: Thank you!

Wistful-Eyes: Haha, that's sort of how I picture Jaffar: Emotionless. Not around Nino, of course. I love their supports! It's so hilarious! XD

Nintendofan (x2): Dragon of Zhao got me started on ToS (heh). Actually, I don't have a lot of supports, about 11 or so. The list for the feast was just to emphisize the absence of the knight (as Dragon of Zhao pointed out).

Dragon of Zhao: Glad that you finally got around to readingthe first chapter. Hope you like this one!

Bomber the Scoto Fox: Thank you! I do try. (doesn't mean I always get it right though, heh)

Voice of the Plains

Fortunate Discoveries

A Forest Near Castle Pherae

"We are hopelessly lost, aren't we, Lowen?" said Nino unhappily, glancing apprehensively around at the thick blanket of trees surrounding them, her hand glowing with Fire which provided them a bit of light. She could have sworn that she had seen that grizzled old tree before—at least fifteen times!

"D-Don't be silly, Nino," said the lime-green haired cavalier quickly. His grip on the reins of his horse grew firmer as he gave the girl sitting in front of him a stiff pat on her shoulder. "I...just...don't know where we are.

"Nevertheless, I'm sure we can find our way to the castle soon," he said hastily, having watched her face fall considerably. As she let out a sad sigh, a gentle evening breeze passed by them. Suddenly, the horse neighed restlessly.

'What's wrong, boy?" said Lowen promptly, stroking its muscular neck. It pawed at the ground impatiently, throwing its beautiful chestnut head back. It whinnied toward a certain direction and took a few halting steps back, rolling its eyes uneasily.

"What's wrong with it, Lowen?" she inquired curiously, surprised by the horse's sudden discomfort. He strained to see past the trees, where his horse had whinnied at, only noticing darkness, darkness, more darkness and a weak, sweet odor.

"I-I don't know for sure," he admitted, deciding that the light Fire provided them with was not enough to see what was lurking behind all the plant life. However, judging by the horse's action, there was something bad up ahead. "But I think there's something over there, like a wild beast or something. Let's go check." When there were no protests coming from the girl, he cautiously led the fidgeting beast toward the cause of its distress, his one hand determinedly hanging onto the rein and his other hand clutching a Steel Sword.

The scent grew stronger, now a sickly sweet smell, and as the horse grew more nervous as they pressed on, so did it. Feeling his stomach churn warningly, he tried to remember where he had smelled it before, for it seemed frustratingly familiar.

I can't remember...but I'm sure I've come in contact with something like this before, he thought, slowing down as Nino showed signs of wanting to hurl.

"What…is this smell?" she said weakly, pressing a cloth to her mouth to prevent herself from puking everywhere. He shook his head grimly, growing maddeningly irritated as he tried to put his finger on it. So strong now...and so familiar. What was this smell? And where was it coming from?

Nino abruptly snapped her head up, startling him. "Blood. I remember this! This is smell of blood! Lowen, someone is hurt!! Hurry!"

"But if we can smell it," he protested, not wanting to put either of them in danger (and also wanting to get to the feast as soon as possible!), "wouldn't that person be dead by now? From the loss of blood?" Yes! He remembered now; that gruesome, disgustingly sweet scent that he had inhaled in so many times on battlefield. How in the name of St. Elimine could he have forgotten?

"They might still be alive," she argued, almost hysterically. She had a vague sense of intuition that this person was—or would be—very important to her. She couldn't lose them like this, without a struggle! "Oh Lowen, please, let's just try!" He looked down at her, his expression skeptical. Judging by the scent, whoever it was had lost much blood...there was almost no hope that the two can save them. In addition, there also might be the attackers still lingering around, which would position Nino and himself in grave danger.

"Please. As a knight, isn't it your duty to save other people? Plus—" she begged, rummaging her sack for something and placing it in front of his face. "There. I have a Mend. You are an excellent cavalier, and I also have a healing staff in my possession. I'll help you anyway I can—please, Lowen!"

She looked up at him, her expression a mixture of sadness and pleading.

Apprently, the food must wait.

"...Alright, I give in," he said, defeated.As her grin spread, he gripped at his Steel Sword tightly, and began to follow the scent. "But if we get into trouble for this, you will have to take the blame!" He had, of course, been joking, but she nodded solemnly, getting her staff ready in her left hand and the other holding Fire.

"It was a jest," he said incredulously, smiling nonetheless as they rode toward the unknown.

---

Twenty Minutes Later

"Lowen, your sense of directions are even worse than Sir Wallace's!" Nino said frantically as they passed by the same spot that they had bypassed barely two minutes ago. "We have already passed that stump five times already!" The lime-green haired cavalier let out a frustrated noise between a whimper and a growl.

"Let's stop for a second," he said, stopping and dismounting his horse. Despite her objections, he sat down on the stump dejectedly. He could not even find his way around a forest near his home at night. Feeling as a failure at being a knight, he moped by himself, staring miserably down at the ground.

Noticing his unhappiness, she spoke to him bracingly. "It's not your fault. I'm sure you'll get better at seeing in the dark if you train more." He let out a scowl, an uncharacteristic thing for him.

"It is easy for you to say. You're a high-and-mighty mage," he snapped and then looked down at the forest floor shamefully. A brief look of hurt had crossed her face, making him feel even worse than he already did, if possible. "My—my apologies, Nino. I did not mean to yell at you. I was just so...frustrated with myself…" She smiled in her cheerful way then nodded wordlessly and fell into a lapse of thoughtful silence. Thinking himself utterly useless, Lowen kicked angrily at the ground. His foot caught on something rather like a long piece of wood, which flung a few feet away from him.

"...?" Out of a vague suspicion, he reached out and picked it up. He sniffed it once and recoiled—burnt wood. Could it be? It was too hard to believe, yet...

"Nino, I found a Torch!" he said excitedly, springing up from the stump. Yes! What luck! "We can use it to find our way around here!"

"Yaaay!" she squealed gleefully, jumping up and down like the child she was. When he held out a hand to help her up the horse, she abruptly stopped bouncing and got on. As he got on, he lit the Torch, then blinked a couple of times to adjust to the sudden glare. Once he had, he frantically looked around, hoping for any signs of the gravely injured one.

While Lowen's eyes darted around wildly, Nino gazed around her surroundings calmly, drinking in every detail in an effort to find the poor creature. Her gaze rested on a small clearing directly ahead of them, and she caught a sight of something lying there. She squinted, trying to see it more clearly. Details rushed into her brain—spiky rust-red hair, gray cloak, sleeveless shirt, wide pants, twin sheaths...

Could it be? She let out a loud gasp and took a second look. It...it can't be! her mind cried, not wanting to believe it. Yet everything was right in front of her—But it couldn't be...it mustn't be!!

Letting out a stifled sob, she leapt from the horse and dashed toward the crumpled figure.

"Jaffar!!"

---

---

---

"Lowen's awfully late," worried Eliwood, barely touching his food. Even Hector wore a concerned look now.

"He is," the burly man with blue-hair agreed restlessly, then stood up, gathering his cloak. "I'm going with Oswin to see what happened to that rogue of a knight." He had barely taken three steps when the doors flung open, and a wild-looking Lowen stumbled in, carrying a bloody person in his arms. The dining hall fell into a complete silence, and every pairs of eyes directed toward him. He seemed speechless, breathing heavily as he staggered toward the table, his lips moving crazily in a muted explanation. Everyone was bewildered until Nino ran in, sobbing and clutching two bloody Killing Edges.

"It's Jaffar!" she cried, crystal tears spilling forth from her clear blue eyes. "He's hurt!!" 'Hurt' was not the right word for it, judging by his appearance. His bloodstained clothes were ripped and torn in most places, and there were deep wounds, most of them disturbingly green and twisted in appearance. There were no visible signs of life from him, not even the rise and fall of his torso to confirm that he was still breathing.

Lyn let out a silent scream and covered her mouth, her eyes wide and horrified at the sight of the wounded assassin. Eliwood's face contorted into confusion, then comprehension replaced it. He sprang up from his chair, then gave orders to the healers present.

"Serra and Priscilla! Tend to his injuries! Quickly!!" The two immediately bounded from their seats and rushed toward the lifeless figure, now lying on the reddened marble floor. They got out their Antitoxins and Elixirs and started to apply the healing salves to his injuries as quickly as possible. They worked in piercing silence, with everyone's eyes fixed intently on the two. Not one dared to utter a single word, but sat or stood in rapt attention, as if enchanted by their dexterous movements.

"Eeeek!!" cried the pink-haired cleric, stepping back in horror when they had removed Jaffar's torn, blood-caked shirt to apply more Antitoxin. Priscilla shrunk back as well, her whitened face a sharp contrast against her crimson hair, but no words came out of her mouth as she stared at the particularly distorted arrow wounds on his tanned chest.

"We'll be lucky if he lived for three minutes after receiving these gashes!" Serra said uncertainly, twirling a lock of her pink hair anxiously as she looked down at him. Cautiously, she put her ear to his left-side chest and listened carefully. After what seemed like an eternity to others, she lifted her head up, frowning.

Eliwood, who had his face in his hands in deep thought, inspected her piercingly as she straightened up. "Is he...alive?"

"There is a heartbeat..." There was a round of relieved sighs from everyone at the cleric's words. "However, it is very faint. I'm not sure if he'll make it."

"I-I'm sorry, it's all m-my fault," Nino sobbed, hot tears streaming down her face. "I-I tried to use my M-mend, but I couldn't c-concentrate..." She buried her face against Lyn, who was holding the little one close. The Sacaen noblewoman's blue-green eyes were looking as though on the verge of tears at the sight of the girl's heartbreaking distress.

"It is not your fault," Eliwood said gently, looking kindly at her. "You were distressed greatly. It is natural that you panicked." Nino smiled a little, regaining a bit of her former self, but her expression promptly reverted back to that of sorrow.

"Move him to a bed," he directed the servants, who nodded in understanding as they advanced toward the figure. "Transport him as gently as you can. He is terribly wounded." Once the unmoving assassin was carried out, a thick curtain of troubled silence fell over all.

"What...what do we do now?" the green-haired girl whispered, piercing the grim stillness. She glanced uncertainly about at everyone. It was Priscilla who spoke up, speaking for the first time Lowen had arrived with his load.

"We have tried our best, but he was badly poisoned and he's lost so much blood..." she said in hushed tones. "All we can do now is wait and hope for a miracle...St. Elimine, help us." At the whispered last sentence, every person bowed their heads, murmuring their own prayers.

Author's Note: Dum dum dum...Jaffar is alive, but barely. A rather crummy cliffhanger, I realize, but I tried putting the Jaffar-gets-dragged-to-Pherae scene on the next chapter, and it didn't work. Plus, it makes chapter two nice and longer...hopefully.

R&R, please!