((Re-edited since first upload.))
Yeah, yeah. I know. I took forever to update again. Not to mention the thingy that 's been doing won't let us log in… But I'm here now aren't I?! Hehe…
Guy: Right…
Matthew: Just get on with it.
FireEdge: Pfft.
Reviews:
Squallsgurl: Yeah, I know! It was about time I made them kiss. :P But this chapter isn't very fast, is it? Hehe…
TheOneAndOnlyT: Yes, let the fluffiness consume you! Haha. Yes, I know it's pathetically sad that they don't "realize their love" yet. But it makes it all last longer this way. :)
Wyrmseeker: Oh yeah… I forgot about Huey…. NO! Ahem, anyway… yes, school has been a drag and I've been piled with homework, this week especially, so I'm lucky I actually got to update at all.
Lord Cynic: NOOO!! Leave the pink marshmallow!!
Ragnarok-legend: Yes, I know, they're so cute together! Yeah, it's okay. If you're lucky I might have a cameo of Haru near the end. ;)
ErkTheSlayer: Thank you! It seems the only thing I write decently is romance. :P Don't worry, just keep working at it, and you'll be great at writing too!
Fury: Yes, I found that out when I first played Eliwood's mode. It certainly sucks, but that's the glory of fanfiction. I can do whatever I want.
onionbreath002: Yay! Cookie! Mmm.
Oswin the Nino Fan (x11): Thank very much for all of your reviews! But, not to sound harsh or anything, but there wasn't any Nino, because… Nino, DOES NOT SHOW UP YET! But she will be making her first appearance this chapter!
Emarista the Torturer: Hehe! Thanks for reviewing, and I'm sure Wil and Florina appreciate your support!
Poyo: Wow, you read all my stories? Thanks! Eep, don't kill me!
The Blazing Blade (x14): Thanks to you too, for all the reviews! AHHH! MARCUS! RUN AWAY! -FireEdge, Guy and Matthew all bolt for the door-
InItIaL D ROCKS: Thanks for the review
Ed, the Master Tactician: Right, Ed. Yeah, thanks for the compliments!
jaffar8: Um… here's more, but it wasn't exactly now…
Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem.
Stray Arrow
Chapter 17
They were finally at the manse. Everything was dark, for someone had taken out all of the lights. But worse of all, they had to divide their forces. Something that they didn't like to do, especially in a place like this. Where they didn't know their surroundings and didn't know where their enemies could be.
Florina crept forward carefully. She didn't want to be ambushed. Behind her, Matthew stalked along, penetrating the darkness with his sharp eyes. He was supposed to warn her if there was any particular danger ahead. Especially archers.
She was glad that Huey had survived the storm a while back. He had returned to them with nought but a few scratches. Now he flew along silently, the only sound he made was from his breath and the flap of his great wings.
Her mind then wandered back to that night. That night when Wil had kissed her. Florina blushed at the thought. I can't believe that happened. It was truly amazing. But it was just as she had imagined her first kiss to be.
Trying to set her mind on the task at hand, which was to rescue the prince, she looked around her. She was currently in the lead of the small group, with Erk and Serra tagging along next to her. Slightly behind her she could hear the clink of Hector and Oswin's armour.
Suddenly, Matthew let out a yell. "Archer ahead!" Florina's head shot up as she nudged Huey in the side sharply, making the pegasus swerve to the side. She could hear the arrow whiz past her and clatter to the ground.
"There's a whole squad of them!" Matthew informed them all as he himself dodged another arrow.
"Well, it shouldn't be too hard." Erk replied, already casting an Elfire spell. Next to him, Serra, a newly promoted bishop, was chanting the spell for Lightning.
Florina gulped and bravely twirled her javelin, striking a nearby archer. She dodged another arrow as it shot past her. As she took out another javelin, she didn't notice the sniper creeping up behind her. Not until it fired its deadly accurate shot.
"Florina!" She heard Matthew yell a too late warning. The falcoknight gasped. It wasn't possible for her to escape the attack. She was going to die.
But just as she braced herself for the oncoming arrow, she felt a heavy figure grab her and she was pushed out of harm's way. She could hear the strong arrow 'tink' against thick armour.
Opening her blue eyes, she saw that Hector was slightly over top of her. He had been the one who had pushed her out of the way. She owed the lord her life.
"Th-Thank you, L-Lord H-Hector…" She stuttered. The only man she felt truly comfortable with was Wil. The blue-haired lord gave the young girl a smile, his white teeth flashing.
He was too close… She turned pink, and looked around for a way to get out. "Uh… L-Lord Hector? Sh-Shouldn't we get b-back to the fight?" Florina asked timidly.
"Of course. Up you get." He gave another smile and pulled her up with surprising gentleness.
"Thank you…" She said again as she stood and mounted up onto her pegasus again.
"No problem." He replied, going back to the fight. Though Florina noticed that he stayed especially close to her. She wasn't exactly sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing, but decided to ignore it.
Elsewhere, the other troops were fighting in the western side of the manse. Wil himself was fighting non-stop against the army of the Black Fang. His arrows were shot one after one. The numbers never seemed to stop.
"Move forward!" Elfaiya ordered. "We won't get anywhere if we attack without moving!" Everyone nodded and tried to charge forward, taking out enemies that got in their path.
Wil ran forward, the enemies temporarily ignoring him as they went after Lucius. The sniper seemed to be the only one running down the dark corridor, his footsteps echoing on the marble floor. He could hear fighting behind him and the blasts of magic in front of him.
Looking up, he saw a burst of light that he knew to be a Shine spell. But Lucius was well behind him. Speeding up, he turned the corner and saw a young girl chanting an anima spell against an enemy monk.
If she's fighting against the enemy, then she must be an ally! Wil thought to himself. As he ran up to the mage, he saw the monk crumple, dead, to the ground. The girl was exhausted and scared.
Not wanting to give the girl a scare, Wil made some noise as he walked towards her. The mage's head shot up immediately.
"Wh-Who's there?" She asked, her eyes wide.
"I'm a friend. There's no need to be frightened." Wil said, stepping out of the darkness. The girl blinked a few times, but then her eyes went wide again.
"Are you from the castle?! Hurry! You have to save the prince! He's in his room! I'll hold off the enemies from here!" She blurted out all in one breath.
"C-Calm down!" Wil exclaimed. "The prince will be fine… What's you're name, and what are you doing in such a dangerous place like this?" The girl played with her Elfire tome nervously.
"Er… I'm Nino…" But she didn't say anything else. Obviously she didn't want to say why she was here. But Wil didn't mind, it wasn't really that much of his business.
"It's alright, Nino." He replied. Lifting his head, the sniper could hear footsteps and familiar voices headed his way.
"Here, my friends are coming." As he said that, Lyn, Eliwood, Elfaiya and a few others came their way.
"Who's that, Wil?" Lyn asked coming up to him. Eliwood was close behind her. Elfaiya stayed back checking to see if everyone was there.
"This is Nino. She says the prince is in danger." He replied, gesturing at the young mage. The mage stared at the two lords, still slightly frightened.
"It's okay, we're here to save the prince." Lyn kneeled next to the girl. "Why don't you come with us?" She asked. Eliwood nodded his agreement, and looked at Elfaiya for her confirmation. But the tactician was preoccupied.
"I don't think Elfaiya would mind, either." He said. After everyone introduced themselves, Nino finally explained the situation about the prince. When she finally finished, they could hear more footsteps coming from the opposite direction.
They all readied their weapons and held their breaths. But to their relief it was only the other group. With them, they saw that the others towed along a dark-robed assassin.
"Jaffar!" Nino exclaimed, running up to him. While she fussed over the assassin, an angry looking Hector stalked over to Eliwood, Lyn and Elfaiya.
After even more explanations and settling agreements, they finally started to fight once more. The rest of the battle was easier now that their strength was reunited once more. Soon, the battle was over. And whilst the lords and tactician spoke with Queen Helene. The rest of the army once again took a well needed rest.
Wil sat down next to Florina, both silent. They hadn't really spoken to one another since that night. Neither had been brave enough to start a conversation. They just sat there, staring at the ground. Finally, taking a deep breath, Wil spoke up.
"Florina…" He started hesitantly. Florina looked at him with a side-long glance. She wondered what he would say… She certainly didn't know what to say to him. But took up the courage and responded.
"Y-Yes, Wil?" The sniper took a long pause as he tried to sum up his words. It was much harder than he expected to talk.
"… Did I… Did I offend you… that night?" He asked slowly, not really knowing what to say. The girl next to him blushed ferociously, taking a moment to answer. What do I say? It didn't offend me… but… still… I'm so confused. What did it all mean? Love...?
"… N-No…" She turned even more red, if that was possible as she said the next few words. "… I-It was… n-nice… I've n-never been k-kissed before…" Florina shut her eyes tight, afraid at what would happen next, though she didn't really know why. I can't believe I said that! What will he think now? That I'm just some little girl that hasn't seen anything in this world before? She felt as if she would cry, but knew she shouldn't.
The young girl then felt a hand cover over hers. Opening her eyes slowly, she looked at Wil. He had a soft smile on his face, a determined light in his eyes. Florina felt herself staring at those deep pools of brown. Feeling lost in them. As long as she looked into them, she felt safe. Surrounded by an aura of salvation of sorts. Have I ever told him that his eyes are really pretty? She wondered absentmindedly. But her reveries were interrupted as Wil finally spoke again.
"Florina… I never had the courage to say this to you before. But… I love you. And I always will love you." The other girl's face brightened, her cheeks still pink. A small smile spread across her pretty face. Florina could feel her heart become strangely lighter. A fluttering feeling filled her stomach. I-I can't believe he said that! He l-loves me? She swallowed and opened her mouth without hesitation.
"I-I love you too, Wil." She said, her face bright with her beaming smile. But then her face saddened. "Please don't ever leave me, Wil… I don't want to lose you…" She added, tears were starting to sparkle in her light blue eyes.
"Don't worry, I won't." He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze before standing, pulling Florina up with him. I won't ever leave you… Not after this. We have so much more to experience… together. Leaning down, he gave her a kiss on her forehead.
Florina let out a light contented sigh and leaned against Wil's chest. She closed her eyes and revelled in the moment. She could feel the warmth of his body, with his arms wrapped around her. The young girl hoped it wouldn't end.
Wil stood with his eyes closed, holding tight to Florina. He could faintly smell the scent of perfume from her. A delicate flowery smell that suited her. Like her, his thoughts also read that he wished for this moment to last forever.
But unbeknownst to them, they had a few nosy guests. Three pairs of eyes peered through the leaves of a nearby tree.
"Are you sure we should be doing this?" Guy hissed, brushing a leaf from his face.
"Of course we are." Matthew replied. Elfaiya grimaced.
"I love seeing them together, also. But I don't think we should be spying on their private moments…"
"See! Even Elfaiya agrees with me!" Guy continued to protest.
"Oh, be quiet! You're the one who had us go into this tree!"
"I did not!"
"Well weren't you the one who got Elfaiya's map stuck up here?!" Retorted Matthew.
"If its my map we're after, I have it here. Let's go down then." Elfaiya said, holding up her map. "And it's not like we all have to be up here." But the thief waved her off with her hand.
"Shh, I can't hear them if you keep on talking!"
"Matthew…" They both growled threateningly.
"Wha-?" He started to ask when they all suddenly fell from the tree they were in. The three companions landed into the bushes below with loud 'thump'.
"Owww…" Looking up from the position they were in, hey saw Huey look at them innocently.
"Smart horse…" Matthew muttered.
I have no clue if this is long or not, but its all you're going to get this chapter… Well, at least they admitted their love for each other.
Guy: We fell from a tree?!
FireEdge: Well I had to add some humour, somehow.
Matthew: And all this time I thought that pegasi were stupid…
Guy: Smarter than you.
Matthew: I wouldn't talk.
FireEdge: Shut up…
--FireEdge--
