Matthew: We're terribly sorry for the long, long update. But FireEdge was obsessed with her new video game Tales of Symphonia. Of course, we devoted muses managed—

Guy: Barely!

Matthew: to pry her away from her precious Game Cube.

FireEdge: Let me go! Let me go! Must go kick Mithos's sorry ass! NOOOO!

Guy: Good thing we locked her door.

FireEdge: … My room doesn't have a lock…

Matthew: … Now it does…

Reviews:

TheOneAndOnlyT: Eh…. This isn't fast is it? Sorry…. Oh, and as for the romance thing…. It has to get worse before it gets better, right? Don't worry, it's all part of my sinister plan. Muahahahahaha!

Matthew: You gave her sugar didn't you?

Guy: No, I didn't!

Lord Cynic: I'm doing that too, but I do them in Hector's and Eliwood's… Hey, I hope you didn't drown when you fell in that water…

Ragnarok: Don't worry, it takes a lot more to insult me! :P And yes, the charm is very twisted isn't it? Twisted as in strange, not twisted as in… twisted…

Ed, the Master Tactician: Wow, that's an awesome compliment! Thanks! Oh, but don't kick yourself, we all have to agree with Guy at least once in our pathetic lives.

Guy: Hey! I resent that!

Fallen-Angel-Kaeko: Yes that does suck. And as for Guy, I don't hate him. He's my favourite character in FE7 and is sometimes my strongest. He hates me. As for being mean to him… ¬¬ It's Ed's fault, I swear! Ahh! Run away! (No offence Ed, if that was an offence…)

tactic mageXD: Thanks!

Serenade.EXE(x3): Really, you used some of the same strategies as me? Go figure.

Legolasgirl15: Thank you. But Florina doesn't really have doubts on their relationship, it's sort of like an amnesia thing.

katelynn: Nope, as you can see it doesn't end at 8 chapters!

FireEdge: Finally! The reviews are done! Wow, I got a lot of them, yay!

Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem.

Stray Arrow

Chapter 9

"If we are to avoid being caught, the best path would be through the forest. Shall I go?" Wil stated, as they devised the best way to get to Laus and ask Eliwood and company for help. They knew they could not retake Castle Caelin back on their own. Laus' troops were far to many.

"I suspect you're right. Horses cannot move well in woods. It'll take you awhile, but you can travel lightly…" Lyn replied with a nod.

"Lady Lyndis! I'll go! I can fly above the forest. I can be in Laus faster than anyone else." Florina interrupted. Lyn turned to the pegasus knight in surprise.

"Florina? You can't do this on your own! It's not possible!" Florina shook her head.

"Thanks to my time here, I'm no longer as timid around men as I used to be. And I've met Lord Eliwood before. I'm sure I can do this on my own." Wil blinked in slight surprise at what she said. You say you're not as afraid of men anymore, but why do you continue to push me away? You talk to me now, but…

"This will be dangerous, you understand, Florina?"

"Yes. But… I promised to be braver for you! I'm not the weak little Florina you used to know."

"Fine. I trust you, Florina. You've convinced me. Just promise me you won't try anything impossible."

"Yes, milady. Farewell!" With that, she took off. Wil let out a small sigh. Are you lying to me, Florina? Do you not love me anymore? Suddenly Sain spoke out.

"Did you hear our meek Florina? She sounded most forceful! Beautiful!"

"She's become a full-fledged pegasus knight." Kent added.

"Yes, she has." Said Lyn. Not wanting to look strange, Wil put on a fake smile and also put in his own comment.

"All for you, Lady Lyndis. That's quite gallant." Lyn nodded, and watched the small speck, which was Florina, fly into the distance. They all stood waiting for her return. Still following her with his eyes, Wil let out a gasp.

"No! Archers! They're shooting at her!!!"

"What?!" Lyn looked to where Wil was pointing. A moment later, they saw her figure fall from the sky.

"No!" They all let out a yell.

"Do you think she survived…?" Wil asked, biting his lip.

"I-I hope so… we'll just have to go see…" Replied Lyn.

"But what of the castle, milady?" Kent inquired. Sain nodded.

"Do you think it would be a good idea, moving out now?"

"What choice do we have? We must see if Florina is alive." Lyn answered plainly. The all nodded and started carefully but slowly through the forest. As they progressed deeper, they heard the sound of twigs snapping.

"Be careful." Kent hissed, moving forward. Suddenly a fireball was hurled at them and scorched the ground in front of them.

"Pull back! Mages!" Kent yelled. As they turned to run, they heard an all too familiar voice.

"Erk, are you blind?! You nearly scorched Lady Lyndis!" Serra screeched.

"Serra?! Erk?! Is that you?" Lyn exclaimed. The cleric and mage stepped into their range of vision at the call of their names.

"Fancy meeting you here!" Sain smiled.

"Er… sorry about the fireball…" Replied a red-faced Erk. Lyn just smiled.

"At least you aren't an enemy."

"Did you see Florina?" Wil demanded, unable to hold it in any longer.

"Florina?" Asked Serra. "Yes, she was the one that notified us of where you were!"

"But we saw her getting shot at by archers."

"Oh, yes. That did give us quite a scare, but Lord Hector managed to catch her." Serra chirped.

"Lord Hector?" They all asked in unison.

"Don't worry, you'll get to meet him after we reclaim the castle for you!" As Serra said, they soon had beaten the knight guarding the castle, Bauker.

Wil then took the opportunity to find Florina. Walking through the mass of unfamiliar people he soon found the pegasus knight, standing alone, staring at something.

"Florina?" He approached her from behind. The girl whirled around at the call of her name. She blinked once and shook her head.

"Um… hello Wil."

"What are you looking at?" He asked, following her gaze from before, he found that she was staring at a big blue-haired man clad in heavy armor. "Who's he?"

"Um… that's… Lord Hector… he saved me when I, um, fell…" Florina blushed as she said that. Looking at her from the corner of his eye, Wil's spirits fell. Does she love him, just because he saved her? But I've saved her before too…

"Well, I'm glad you're okay…" He replied sadly. I can probably never compare to him. He's strong, rich… I'm just a village boy…

"Florina! Wil!" They turned to see Lyn calling them.

"Let's go Florina, Lady Lyndis is probably worried about you."

"Yes…"

All right… that was a crappy chapter, but it was necessary… I'll try and get the next (and hopefully better) chapter up by the end of this week… Don't worry I've almost beaten ToS, so I won't be that occupied. :P

Guy: Ya right. This chapter was so boring, people will most likely ditch you!

Matthew: I hope not. I don't get to hit Guy if they ditch you… :(

FireEdge: Um… Please review… It looks like it's gonna be HectorFlorina like, but it's not… just the way the story goes. The romance will come back in another chapter or so, so please bear with me!

--FireEdge--