Whew… Sorry if this update took awhile. But my inspiration left me for a bit. Not to mention I spent the past two or three days thinking up on how to redo the past two chapters. Speaking of which, they have been greatly modified. So, even if you've already read the past two chapters. I recommend going over them again. For, if you don't you'll be confused as to what is going on in this chapter, and why I repeated some scenes.
Guy: Yeah, have fun. Not.
Matthew: Be nice. It's for their own good that they have to read it again.
FireEdge: You're making it sound like a death sentence…
Reviews:
Hamano Ayumi: Thank you for the review!
TheOneAndOnlyT: Thanks, I really liked how the dream turned out also, since I adore the history of the Scouring. :) Yeah, that's a really good piece of advice. I'll keep that in mind for the future, going to revise something rather than making up for it. And I also never think you too critical. I'm usually surprised if you don't find something to comment on! I always appreciate your compliments and criticisms, since you're one of the only ones who give me such in-depth reviews. I hope that you find my revisions up to your standards, though.
Ed, the Master Tactician: Of course you know who the guy who healed Wil was. If you didn't, I'd really think that something was wrong with you…
The Blazing Blade: Yeah, who does say that…?
Dal Argent: Thank you for reviewing!
rice8369: I'm terribly sorry that I haven't updated it! I mentioned it in the last chapter's author's note, but I said that I wanted to wrap up this story before I continued my ToS one. I apologize if I'm keeping you waiting, but please put up with me! This fic is going to end soon, so I ask you to keep patient! Thank you!
Macross-Green: Yeah, it wasn't that bad. But I fixed it up, so I think it's much better now. Thanks for the review.
Wyrmseeker: Yeah, I guess I overdid the Barigan part. But I love the history of the Scouring, so I couldn't help it really.
Emarista the Torturer: Yeah, Barigan is awesome. :) But I think you might cry again once you read what I did… I hope you don't cry too much though… Eep.
Sokuma: Thank you for your multiply reviews! And yeah, I guess Wil did recover his memory quite too easily. But I've been dragging this story along for a long enough period of time, and I want to wrap it up soon. But thanks for the tips!
jan2789: Thanks for reviewing! Hey, nice question. ;)
Ragnarok-legend: Mmmm, sugar is good. :) But yeah, what did happen to Florina's sisters? ;) And as for Hector, I think that after Lyn's "talk" he'll be staying far away from her.
Baka KitsuneBri: Yeah, like I said so myself, the ending was strange. So I fixed it! And as for the RP community, it'd be really nice if you wanted to join. I have a link in my profile to it. It should be near the top of the page somewhere. You can go and read around a bit, see if you like it. If you decide to join, please do me a small favour. On the application form, there should be a slot that says something like: "Referred by". For that please type in the name: Elfaiya. Thanks!
Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem.
Stray Arrow
Chapter 23
Lyn sighed and continued her walk back from the stable. She hadn't expected to see Wil up and walking around already. But she hoped that he would make Florina feel better.
She wondered, however, why Florina had been so upset in the first place. Maybe she should have asked Wil before she left. Wasn't Florina going to say something to her? But then Wil came.
As she wandered down the hallway that she just entered through the door, she stopped short with a gasp.
"Oh! I'm sorry Serra, Priscilla. I wasn't watching where I was going." Lyn immediately apologized when she walked into the two healers.
"It's alright, milady." Nodded Priscilla with a smile. Recovering from their little run-in, Lyn opened her mouth.
"By the way, you two. Isn't Wil supposed to be resting? I just saw him at the stables…"
"… No, he should be in bed. Rebecca is watching him. Why did she let him out?" Serra pondered, her thin brows furrowing.
"Hmm, well if Rebecca let him go, there must have been a good enough reason." Added Lyn with a small shrug, also a bit confused herself. Priscilla looked thoughtful for a moment.
"Ah, Serra, shouldn't we tell Lady Lyndis about… Wil?" She whispered to the bishop next to her.
"Oh yeah! That's a good idea." Replied Serra. Turning to Lyn, she raised her voice. "Lady Lyndis, there's something we should tell you."
What followed was a brief explanation of what had happened. From Wil's healing, to when he revealed his… predicament. This time however, they added in what they had discussed in privacy. About how Wil had been… dead.
"… He was… dead?" Lyn breathed, her eyes large enough to bulge out of her head. She shook her head in dismay, staring at something far away, that wasn't there.
"How could he have been dead, but be alive now…?" Asked Lyn slowly, after recovering from her shock.
"We don't know… A miracle, perhaps. Or… some freak twist of nature." Replied Serra with a shrug of her slender shoulders. The red-haired valkyrie beside her nodded in agreement.
"That's the most explainable reason…. However, we're led to believe that that charm had something to do with it." Priscilla added.
"That charm…?" Lyn inquired, a hand cupping her chin in thought. "I've… heard about it before, from Elfaiya and Lucius. They told me about it back when I had been reunited with my grandfather… And that same one Athos spoke of?"
"Yes, that's the same charm. It seems that it's saved both Wil and Florina a number of times…" Nodded Serra. "And once again, it's saved Wil. Though it does seem to have some side-effects…"
"I see." Lyn replied solemnly. "But is it permanent? Is Wil going to regain his memory back? Or is he going to stay this way? And why is he out and about?"
"I'm afraid we can't answer that…" Said Priscilla. "I've never tried to cure someone of amnesia before… All that we can do is to try and remind Wil of his past as best we can. Hopefully, scraps of his memory could come back. Unless some other miracle happens."
"As for why Wil is out at the stables is still beyond me. We can go see him or Rebecca." Shrugged Serra. But Lyn shook her head.
"No, it's fine. I'm sure that there is a good reason for why Rebecca let Wil out. And I'd rather not bother Florina…"
"All right then."
That night passed by in a peaceful silence. The army would be moving out the next morning… Preparing to head to Valor for the final battle… Everyone slept soundly that night.
Except for a few in their army. Eliwood was haunted by dreams of Ninian, about how he had struck her down with his own sword… Hector by images of his dead brother…
And in a small stall in the Ostian aviary stables, a young man was also lost in his own dreams. His back was leaning against the wall of the stall, his legs stretched in front of him. Florina sprawled atop his chest and some of his leg.
Though the sight might seem to be peaceful, what was in his head was far from peaceful…
It seemed that he was standing in a black… vortex. That was the only way to describe it. Where this place was exactly, he had not the faintest idea. It was harder to comprehend than the one that he had previously had.
The air felt heavy and damp, like a rainforest's air would be. But everywhere he looked there was only darkness, and a strange black fog roiling about his feet. What seemed to be dim stars surrounded him.
But this place seemed strange somehow. He felt as if a shard of a broken mirror. The pieces all placed back into the frame awkwardly and incorrectly. How he obtained this image, he didn't know.
Taking a step forward, Wil let out a loud gasp, he was falling. Plummeting so quickly that he couldn't catch his breath. The next instant he stood still again. It looked like the same place he was in before, but he knew that it wasn't.
His breathing was normal again, as if he had never fallen… Frowning, Wil took another tentative step forward. This time he didn't plummet, but a mighty force of invisible power hit him.
The sniper collapsed backwards, bracing to hit the ground. Of course, there wasn't really a ground and he didn't know what he hit. But he didn't slam into this strange flooring as he expected. He fell right through it, as if sinking in cool mud.
For one moment he was engulfed in some gelatine liquid, and he felt as if it covered the inside of his lungs. Painfully he tried to breathe, but it just caused his lungs to inflame more.
As he started to see spots of black in his vision, he was suddenly lying on his back. He could see the faint stars, and he could feel the strange mist crawl over his skin. Sitting up, he took in a gulp of air. He felt fine.
"What is this place? I know it's a dream… But it felt so real…" Wil mumured, slowly standing up now. He took another deep breath, and mentally prepared himself to take a step forward.
Moving his foot a step, he once again went through the strange procession. This time, he started spinning in a circle as if tied to a wheel and rolled down a hill. As he tumbled enough to make him empty his stomach, he stopped.
With a muffled grunt, he lifted his face up from the ground, and the site in front of him made his eyes widen, and he immediately jumped up.
There in front of him, Florina was standing, but she was shackled to what seemed to be the air. Chains bound her, her armour dented in some places, and her dress looking worn and torn in some spots.
"Florina!" He called. But she didn't seem to hear him. Forgetting about the rules of this place, he took a step forward. Just before he started to fall again, he saw that her eyes were half-open, clouded with tears.
Once again, he fell. And once again, he got up. And every time, he saw Florina. Bound, and hurt. But there was nothing he could do about it, whenever he tried to venture forward, to free her, he fell.
It pained him deeply to see her like that. Especially when he figured out that she could see him too. Could see him disappear when he came closer. He wasn't sure how he knew this. But each time he saw her, more tears were rolling down her face.
"FLORINA!" He screamed, falling once more, for the probably tenth time. As he landed, he didn't get up. What could he do? It was all the same, every single time.
It wouldn't make a difference if he stood up now. He would just see her, wounded, while he hopelessly tried to reach her. What was the point? After all, it was just a dream… just a dream. He had to wake up.
Wil tried to pinch himself with his hand. But it just sent a small painful irk through his arm. He was still there.
Suddenly, he heard the soft sobbing sounds of Florina crying. He sat up, but kept his eyes away from Florina's form. He couldn't bear to look at her, not being able to help her.
The sounds of her despair caused him to grind his teeth. He had to get away. Wil deliberately stood up and walked forward. He almost relished the feeling of suffocation as he fell away.
But moments later, he was back. And her sobs were louder to his ears. He kept on running, falling, landing. Yet the sound of her tears just became stronger.
"Why won't I wake up? Why won't I wake up?" He kept on asking himself as he once again landed on his knees. He winced as he heard Florina's sniffle. It sounded so loud in his ears that he would think her right beside him.
He buried his head into his hands. I will wake up. It's almost morning. And all of this will be over. It's just a dream. Just a dream… The young man thought to himself.
"I need to get away… But how?" Wil wondered.
"Running away?" A familiar voice asked. Wil's eyes widened and he saw the man from before. He knew who he was now.
"Barigan…?"
"This is not a dream, fool boy…" Barigan answered instead. The man's eyes seemed harder and colder today. But that was the least on Wil's mind. Not a dream?
"What are you saying?" Asked Wil, desperately trying to drown out the sounds of Florina's crying.
"…" The legendary General said nothing, hesitating. Instead, the blue-haired man looked around the vast nothingness of the area. "This is… This is her mind…"
"What… What are you saying?" Wil now stood, staring eye to eye with the other man. "Her mind? That's impossible."
"I suppose you cannot fathom such things. The knowledge has been lost since the Scouring." Barigan's eyes shifted to rest on Florina. A look of pain flashed across his face, but the next instant it looked as apathetic as before.
"There are many different kinds of dreams. So many, that I cannot begin to name them. Only the wisest savants knew them and perhaps the dragons… But this one that you reside in… It is the most material of types of dreams."
"Most materiel? I don't understand." Said Wil. For that matter, he didn't understand why Barigan was even here in the first place, if this was Florina's mind.
"Whatever happens here will reflect on your real self in real life." The paladin blinked. "Mentally at least…Physically nothing should affect you."
"Why are you telling me this? What does that have anything to with this?" Wil demanded. His patience did have its limits. And his riddles weren't helping.
"You are here for a reason. What, that's up to you." Grinned Barigan. The smile sent a shudder down his spine. It seemed a little half-crazed. But the grin faded just as quickly as it had come.
"You should help her… Tell her what she needs to hear. You know just as well as I do what I'm talking about, don't give me that look."
"I'd love to do that, to talk to her, as you say. But how? Every time I try to take even a step forward, I fall and it seems like I return to the place I used to be standing!" Cried Wil. Barigan tilted his head to one side, regarding Wil curiously.
"You didn't know what you were searching for. Whatever your heart truly wants will guide you there." Wil opened his mouth to say something, but only a strangled breath came out. Barigan was gone.
Wil clamped his jaws shut, and frowned. Your heart will guide you… It sounded like some line from a fairytale. But his brownish eyes rested on Florina. He knew now what he wanted. What he needed to do.
It almost disgusted him that he hadn't figured that out until that man told him. Then again, he wasn't just any man. One of the legendary heroes of the Scouring.
Breathing deeply, Wil focused on one thing. Florina. To see her in front of him. No, more. To hold her in his arms, to feel her.
Gulping, he looked uneasily at the ground in front of him. Then warily took a step forward, preparing himself for the fall that was sure to come. But his foot met solid ground, if it could be called that.
"I didn't fall… Hmm, he was right…" Wil shook his head and looked straight ahead at Florina. Her cries still rang in his ears. Taking another step, then another, the sniper began to speed up until he was running towards her.
Finally he was merely a foot away from her. Her head was still hung over, tears dripping to the ground. The sight of her like that caused a stab a pain to his heart. As if someone had driven a hot knife into his gut.
"Florina… I'm here. It's me, Wil." He said, taking another step forward. "Florina?" The girl didn't answer, but it seemed that her sobs began to soften.
What should he say? He wondered. Tell her what she wants to hear… But what did she want to hear? Suddenly it hit him. Before they had fallen asleep, Florina thought that she was dreaming. Dreaming that he had regained his memories.
"Florina. I know you thought that it was all a dream. That regaining my memories was all an illusion. But it's not. This is an illusion!" His voice became stronger with every word. Slowly gaining more and more confidence.
"I'm me again! I can remember everything! I can remember the first time we met. You were just a shy girl, you were so afraid of me. Because I was an archer." A small smile quirked at his lips when he recalled that. She had thought him an enemy. But how she had entranced him even then.
"I can remember when you gave me that charm… The one that saved me so many times before!" Barigan once again flashed before his eyes at he mention of the charm, but Wil dismissed it. That wasn't important right now.
"I can remember pain, too. The pain of you being afraid of me again, after you took that wound from Lundgren. Every time I looked at you, I saw that light in your eyes that told me that you were scared of me. Me!" Indeed he could remember.
Right now, that same pain gnawed at him. As if he had been starved for days. His stomach trying to consume something, but there was nothing there. Except, it was his heart that felt this ache.
"I even recall when I first met your older sister, Farina. How much she had scared me! She was so overprotective of you! She probably still is. I don't think she likes me much." As he added that last part, he finally focused himself more on Florina.
His eyes widened a bit; it seemed that there were fewer chains draped over her body. Was it working? Was he freeing her? Well, he wasn't going to wait around and find out.
"Remember that time in the desert? When we first met Athos? And he told us about Barigan and the charm?" This time he didn't see Barigan. "Then when we went to look for the Shrine of Seals?
"We had to find the Fire Emblem for the queen. And how we had been hit by that blizzard? I was so afraid that I might have lost you… That's I'd never see you again…" He was barely conscious of the tears that were now falling from his eyes.
He had been so afraid. More frightened than anything that had ever scared him before. Especially when he had found her, collapsed on the snow, nearly white as death. Wil supposed that he was lucky, to know that she was even alive. And that she had lived through that night…
Once again looking, he saw that the chains were gone. Only shackles held her. Just two simple shackles.
"What I remember most was the day I confessed my love for you." Wil smiled, the fuzzy feeling he had felt in the pit of his stomach and how warm he had been when she had returned his feelings. What'd he do to feel that way again.
"I love you, Florina. I would never lie to you. You know that. Whether in dream or reality. I'm telling you now, from the bottom of my heart. To wake up, and see the truth. I'm back, and I'm staying for good. There's nothing for you to worry about… Please, come back to me, Florina."
His hand lay stroking her wet cheek. Suddenly, a small flash of light came and went. And Florina tumbled from her position. Wil immediately caught her in his arms.
"Oh, thank Elimine." He murmured, relieved. The young man held her close to him. He could feel the heat of her body pressed against his, and he could feel the beating of her heart.
Then he was aware of a wetness that stained his shirt. Her tears were still there, and he could feel the dampness of them as his wool tunic absorbed them. Suddenly he felt hazy…
Wil's eyes opened. He let out a gasp, then squinting as the sun shone through the stall door. Groaning a bit, he shifted, and could feel a part of his shirt sticking to his chest.
Looking down, he saw Florina nestled on top of him. Her hair spread out about her head like an angel's halo. Tear tracks ran down her face. And he could just make out droplets of them clinging to her thick eyelashes.
A rueful smile crept onto his mouth. Sitting up, he held Florina in his arms. She was still sleeping soundly, though she seemed to nestle more into his chest.
He didn't need her to be awake to know that she finally was herself again. He knew that Florina accepted the truth, and that she knew that he was himself again. Caressing her hair, he planted a soft kiss atop her head.
"Today's a new day. And new memories will be made…"
Ta-da! End of chapter!
Guy: That was long…
Matthew: That's a good thing, doofus!
Guy: What. Ever.
FireEdge: Yes, and if you're wondering why I have Barigan here, again. It's because there's something special about him. No, it's not because he was one of the 8 Generals. It's for a different reason that you will find out soon…
Guy: Yeah, that means that this story is over yet… Unfortunately.
Matthew: So, for now, please review!
Note: QuickEdit isn't my friend... So if large spaces appear, that's not my fault. I spent 20 minutes trying to correct them, and I sincerely hope that they are gone. If not... Well...
-FireEdge-
