Whoohoo! Chapter 3 is up!
Guy: Who cares?!
FireEdge: Me! And everyone else who reviews this! Speaking of which, here's the reviews!
Reviews:
Ed, the Master Tactician: Don't worry about it; I don't mind tactician pairings at all! I've read one or two already and they're real good! Thanks for staying with me! :P
Griffinkhan: Ooh, I'll try and add more description into it, but I'm not sure if it will be enough. :P Start a trend? That would be cool!
Oh yes, I kinda lost track of the days they had been traveling and where they were, so I apologize for not having too much detail…
Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem.
Stray Arrow Chapter 3They had been traveling for quite a few days now. Just yesterday, they had gotten into another fight with the Taliver bandits. They had thought that they were finally rid of them, but they just kept on coming back. Though they fought a hard battle it wasn't all for naught, for they gained two new companions. One was an Ostian priestess named Serra; she seemed to be very proud of her looks and was very talkative. The other was her escort. His name was Erk; he seemed to be more of the silent type and was usual reading, when he was not trying to avoid Serra.
Florina flew along on her pegasus, biting her lower lip. She knew that it was her fault that they had been plagued with these attacks. If only she had been more careful when landing then this would never had started. They could be safely in Caelin by now, if not for her. She lowered her head, her orchid locks covering her face. Tears started to well up in her eyes, though she did not shed them.
Soon, they reached the city of Araphen. While everyone took a break and looked around the grand city, Kent went to see the marquess of Araphen.
"Hey, Florina!" Wil called out to the girl. Still absorbed in her thoughts, Florina didn't notice him. "Florina? Hey, are you okay? You seem a little distant today."
"Huh?" She lifted up her head, finally taking notice of the archer. "Oh… um… hi, Wil."
"So are you okay?" He asked again, knowing that she had not heard him the first time, by the dazed look in her eyes. Florina nodded her head.
"I'm fine…"
"Uh, okay then. So… do you want to look around the city with me?" Offered Wil. She seemed so sad today. He wanted to try and cheer her up a bit. Perhaps taking a walk would take her mind off whatever was bothering her.
"Um, okay…" Standing up, they started walking. Suddenly Florina asked Wil the question that had been nagging at her. "Wil, do you think that it's my fault that those bandits keep on attacking us?" Her lower lip quivered slightly and her eyes shone with tears. Wil was taken aback at the question.
"What?! Of course not! Why would you ever think that?"
"Well… it was my fault that they attacked us in the first place… I mean… if I didn't land on him…" She explained. Tears now rolling down her cheeks.
"Don't cry. It wasn't your fault. You couldn't have known that he was there, I mean, you were looking for Lyn at the time weren't you? So you must have been distracted." He smiled sympathetically. Gently he wiped a tear away from her face. Then he gave her a broader grin. "And look on the bright side! You wouldn't have met me, or Serra or Erk, if this didn't ever happen. I know that these attacks are horrible, but you did meet a lot of new people." Florina managed a small smile. He was right. She wouldn't have met him if that had never happened. Though she still felt guilty, she did feel better now. All of a sudden, they heard Elfaiya give a yell.
"Everyone! Get back here right now!" Giving each other a look, they nodded and ran back to where they had left the group. Lyn and Kent already stood there, another man on horseback stood with them. Erk was standing up, his book in hand; Dorcas leaned against the wall of a building, hefting his hand axe absently. From the other direction, Serra and Sain, obviously out sightseeing, came running towards them.
"What's going on?" Demanded Sain.
"The marquess of Araphen has been accosted and the castle is a fire." Elfaiya explained. Nodding at the stranger on the horse, she continued. "This is Rath. He is the captain of the guard. We need to help him open three triggers in the barracks to get inside the castle." Everyone nodded. Gathering up their weapons, they continued to listen to her instructions. "So our goal is to find all three switches! Then Rath and the rest of the guards can take care of this… problem. All right, head out everyone!" After receiving his orders, Wil headed towards the south. Up ahead, he could make out a soldier, guarding a door. From off to the north, he could hear Rath's deep voice boom.
"I've taken care of the first one! That's two more to go!" A grating noise soon followed. It sounded as if a wall had crumbled down. Sneaking up on the soldier, Wil shot two arrows and fell the guard.
"Hmm… well, I've got a bit of a problem here…" He stared at the locked door. Letting out a sigh he turned around. As he turned, he let out a cry as he came face to face with Florina. "Florina!"
"Um… Elfaiya said that I needed to give you this key. It's to unlock the door." She handed him a simple gold key. Taking it from her he gave a smile.
"Thanks." Fitting the key into the lock, he pushed the door open. He didn't notice the enemy behind the door until Florina flew past him and sunk her lance into him. Defeating the soldier in the process. "I guess we're even now. I saved your life, you saved mine." Going past her he stepped onto the blue tile, which he presumed to be the switch. "Yes! That's the second trigger. We've got to find that last one." He gave her another grin.
Florina was glad for the darkness of the room. For her cheeks were flushed red. The comment Wil had given her was actually quite embarrassing. As he smiled at her, she noticed for the first time how handsome he was. His eyes twinkled with an unknown happiness. He seemed to have the cutest smile. Wil was also quite tall, she noticed. She only reached up to his shoulders. Wait?! Wh-what am I thinking?! Florina blushed even redder than before.
"So, you coming Florina?"
"Um… uh… yeah…" She stuttered and then they quickly went out. As they stepped outside, they heard Elfaiya call to them.
"Hey, good job guys! You got the second trigger! Get over here quickly! Florina just take Wil onto your pegasus and get over here!" With that, Elfaiya ran off.
"Come on, let's get over there, Florina." Wil nodded. Looking at the pegasus, he grinned sheepishly. "Uh… I'm not too good with horses. Or pegasi, so can you er, give me a hand?" Moving her food from the stirrup, she held out her hand.
"Um… put your foot in the stirrup and grab my hand. Then just pull yourself up behind me." He grabbed her hand. After a bit of struggling, he finally sat down on the saddle behind her. As she took off, she felt Wil's breathe on the back of her neck. And the warmth of his body proved that he was very close to her. She blushed, realizing how close he was. She almost fell off her pegasus, when Wil placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Florina, you can land over there." He pointed to the opening of the wall. Nodding slowly, she headed for the landing.
As Florina's pegasus made a touch down, she noticed that Elfaiya was quarreling with a stranger that they hadn't seen before.
"Please?! Oh, come on? It's just an… advancement on our… reward!"
"I said no, Matthew!" Elfaiya growled. "Just because you're a thief, it doesn't mean you have to act like one!"
"Oh, please?!" He begged. Elfaiya sighed grudgingly.
"Oh, fine. If you'll stop whining!"
"Hurrah! Treasure time! Treasure time!" Matthew jumped up excitedly and with a twirl of his red cloak he was at the chest. With a few movements of his wrist, the lid of the chest popped open. "Ooh! Look an Angelic Robe!" He lifted up a beautiful white cape. Handing it to Elfaiya, she looked it over. Talking to herself, she walked over to Florina.
"Hey, Florina. Here, take this. It should help you survive easier." Giving Florina the white cape, she walked back to Matthew and gave him new commands while she sent Kent and Sain to fight Bool, the knight that was guarding the last trigger.
Soon, with Lyn wielding the new Armorslayer that Matthew had recovered from another chest, Bool was easily defeated. Though the marquess declined to help them, Rath joined them and had given them 5000 gold! Matthew the new thief also stayed with them. By now, Elfaiya had seemed to have gotten over the fact that he steals things and seemed to be good friends now.
Now that they had stopped for the night, Florina finally took out the Angelic Robe she had received from Elfaiya. Frowning, she turned it over in her delicate hands.
"I've heard of Angelic Robes before." Wil came up behind her.
"How is it supposed to help me?" She asked.
"Well, put it on. The say that if you put one on, it'll make you last longer in battle."
"Um… okay." She carefully slipped the robe on. As if settled on her shoulders, she felt a tingling sensation go through her and the robe disappeared. She felt strangely refreshed. "What… happened?" She gasped. "Where did it go?"
"They say that once the robe has been used. It disappears."
"Wow. That was amazing…"
"Yeah. I'm sure that after that, you won't be needing me to save you in battle anymore!" Wil laughed. Florina blushed severely.
FireEdge: Fweh! That was long! I hope you can bear with me! Hahaha…
Guy: What?! How comes Matthew's there?! When do I come in?
Matthew: Because it's the chapter I'm introduced! And you don't come in for a loonngg time!
Guy: AHH! Where did you come from?!
Matthew: I'm her new muse!
Guy: What?! You're ditching me?!
FireEdge: No. I was bored so I decided to hire Matthew! :)
Guy: You hate me!
FireEdge: Nope. I just needed someone who won't insult me every second! :)
Guy: You really hate me! Wah!
Matthew: Hehe. Please review!
FireEdge
