Crossroads of the Heart

Author's Note: Fire Emblem is the property of Intelligent Systems and Nintendo.


Chapter 21: Consequences

Florina moved quickly, her steps echoing off the stone beneath her feet, her heart racing with a mixture of fear and an undercurrent of sickly excitement. On the one hand, it had been some time since she had seen… him, but on the other hand…

Well, she had to do it. She had to set things right.

She only hoped she had the strength to go through with it.

"E-excuse me!" Florina squeaked out, wincing at the sound of her voice – that certainly wasn't the tone she'd meant to use. She had to be stronger!

"Lady Florina?" A young vassal of house Caelin turned, bowing respectfully. "Can I help you, miss?"

"Ye… um, yes. You… would you happen to know… Kent, ah… Sir Kent should have been this way, with some guests…"

"Oh! You mean…" The girl's eyes widened; Florina felt herself flush red in response. Surely everyone had heard the rumors by now, after all, why should this girl be any different? "Yes, I saw. They were heading for the guest chambers, but…"

"Thank you," Florina spoke hurriedly, rushing past her before she could finish. She could feel the girl's eyes on her back, and her cheeks burned with embarrassment. Oh, yes, likely the entire fiasco was making its rounds among the serving women, the story garbling further and further with each retelling… Florina wondered what people were saying about her, about the situation.

"It doesn't matter," She whispered to herself, taking deep breaths to calm herself. Another terrible thought suddenly dawned on her, a thought dire enough to stop her purposeful steps altogether, and nearly drive her to a state of panic. What if Hector hears about this?

She thought she would die of shame, then. What if he'd already heard?

No… Hector wasn't the type to pay attention to idle gossip, was he? And he had more pressing matters on his mind, didn't he? She pushed those thoughts away, and started forward again, on shaking legs. Of course.

Voices from ahead in the corridor reached her ears; she paused to listen.

"Lord Hector, I assure you, she didn't seem to express that opinion in the least." Kent's voice, sounding strained, impatient, and entirely uncharacteristic. "She was quite insistent on you staying, in fact—"

Florina blinked. Was he planning otherwise?

"We can't go back, we've only just arrived!" Serra's voice, sounding rather perturbed. "You can't expect us to go all the way back without even a good night's rest! Really, Lord Hector…"

"Serra, if you say another word—" That was Hector, and Florina shivered at his tone; she didn't understand how Serra could face him so bravely when he sounded so angry. It frightened her just to hear it, even directed at someone else.

"Well, it's the truth!"

"Serra!"

"Fine! I'm going, but I refuse to leave today!" She sniffed, and Florina heard footsteps approaching at a rapid pace. She straightened herself up, realizing that she had practically been spying, and… Serra rounded the corner, arms crossed, and Florina thought for a moment that the woman might not even see her, she was so intent on stomping away in a fit.

She had no such luck, however, which was predictable – when had her luck ever been anything but horrible?

"Florina?" Serra paused, her annoyed expression fading quickly away, a concerned look taking its place. "Are you all right, dear?"

"I-I'm fine," Florina nodded, hoping she'd leave it at that.

"Well, you don't look fine," Serra eyed her pointedly, adopting a critical pose. "You've been crying! Look at those eyes, and you're shaking – whatever is the matter…? You can't fool me, so don't even try it!"

"I, ah…" Florina noticed that she was, in fact, trembling where she stood. She glanced past Serra, wondering what was going on further down the hall. "I needed to speak with… um… with Lord Hector."

Serra wrinkled her nose with distaste, clearly not holding the highest opinion of her liege at that point.

"No, no. Trust me, you don't want to talk with him," Serra snorted, slipping an arm around Florina and leading her in the opposite direction. "He's in a mood because of this whole business with Lyn – now, if I were him, I would have just gone on anyway, a girl likes a little initiative, but when Kent told him Lyn didn't want to see him, he looked ready to just give up! Can you believe that? Lord Hector, ready to call it quits! This whole thing, it's like he's a completely different person sometimes… except for that foul temperament of his, that's still the same, thank you"

"He's not r-really going to g-go, is he?" Florina stammered, looking back over her shoulder worriedly.

"Not if I have any say about it! And I do!"

"Ah…"

"Oh, cheer up, Florina – and come on, tell me, what's on your mind?" Serra peered at her, though she didn't stop walking. "I don't want to sound rude, but you look just awful…"

"Well, um… you mean you haven't heard…?" Florina mumbled, unable to meet her gaze. She'd thought for sure everyone in Caelin would have heard the news, by now.

"Uh-uh. No one tells me anything anymore, it's so annoying!"

"It's really not that, uh… big of a deal… but…"

"Well, sure it is! I mean, it obviously is to you!" Serra feigned a hurt expression, pausing to turn away dramatically. "But, I mean, if you don't trust me, I suppose…"

"That's not it!" Florina insisted, blushing. "I mean, we're… we're friends, right…?"

"Why, Florina! Of course we're friends!" Serra smiled winningly. "Was there ever any doubt?"

"Well, then… I guess…" Florina took a deep breath, indicating for Serra to follow her to her room, on the second floor in the castle, where no one would overhear their conversation. Not that there were too many people that would find it shocking anymore, anyway. Florina sighed.

Serra followed obediently, all but bursting with impatience.

"Is this your room?" She inquired, as they reached their destination some minutes later; Florina nodded absently, ushering her in. "It's… well, it's certainly practical!" Serra offered, clearly not overly impressed with the sparse furnishings.

"Well, I was expecting to join the Ostian guard, and serve Lord Hector and Lyn as a knight…" Florina shrugged. "I didn't expect to be back…"

"You've known about them that long?" Serra sounded scandalized. "This is so unfair, why does no one tell me these things?"

"Um… I am Lyn's best friend, I guess… and it was pretty obvious…" Florina nearly smiled at Serra's wounded expression.

"I suppose," Serra spoke with a tone of dismissal, then brightened up considerably a moment later. "Now, what's all this about? Tell me!"

"A..All right…" Florina took a breath to steel herself. "Do you remember, all that time ago in Ostia, when we talked…?"

"Yes, and you said you were—" Serra's eyes widened with a sudden realization. "You never did tell me who it was! Is that what this is…? Florina!"

"S-sort of," Florina nodded, her gaze sliding away from the other woman's and tracing a nondescript pattern on the chamber floor. "I was asking you back then if I liked someone, but someone else liked the same person… if I should let my friend be happy with him, or not…"

"Yes, that's what I thought you meant," Serra nodded impatiently. "And I told you—"

"You said you'd expect anyone I cared about that much to return my feelings, but the thing is, that person didn't know how I felt in the first place. Only one person did, and that was my sister, Farina."

"Farina? But isn't she the one who…" Serra trailed off, the picture of what had happened slowly forming in her mind. "Then… you…"

"The person I was talking about was, um… Lyn…"

"But that would mean…!" Serra stared at her, and Florina could feel her incredulous gaze despite carefully training her own eyes elsewhere. "Never! I don't believe it! You can't mean that you like…" Serra's mouth remained slightly open, and she looked at Florina as though she'd never seen her before in her life.

"You would have found out anyway," Florina wailed miserably, burying her face in her arms. "Everyone found out earlier today, there was this huge crowd, and people must thing I'm just awful, and now Lyn knows and I don't know what she's going to do, and I'm so afraid she's going to reject Hector for my sake because she and Farina think I don't care about my own happiness, but I do, and what would make me happy is to see her happy, but they don't understand—"

"Florina! No one thinks you're awful, how could anyone think that about you?" Serra insisted, still reeling with this new information.

"They should, because I am, I've ruined everything, maybe even more than Farina did, because I should have never let her find out!"

"Nonsense!" Serra was pulling herself together now, assuming that confident air Florina had envied in the past. "You stop saying things like that, this minute!" Her tone clearly indicated she expected immediate obedience; Florina sniffed, attempting to compose herself.

"B-but…"

"Now you listen here!" Serra crossed her arms, furrowing her eyebrows and speaking in a tone that allowed no interruption. "You are a wonderful person, Florina! You're sweet, kind, caring and completely selfless! You're way too selfless – and don't look at me like that, you are! All this time, you've liked Lord Hector, and I'll never understand why to be honest, but you think you're a horrible person for it? No!"

Florina stared at her, speechless.

"You can't control things like that!" Serra continued, speaking with a fervor that Florina had never heard her use before. "Trust me, I should know! What you feel doesn't have to make sense, and if other people feel – or don't feel the same way, it doesn't make you terrible for it. How can you even think that? I'm sure Lyn doesn't think any less of you for it – do you honestly think she does?"

"Well, she… she… she's just like my sisters, she…"

"She wants you to be happy, Florina! All this time you've been doing things to make other people happy, but did what I say to you back then even register? Your friends and family want the same things for you that you want for them, does that really surprise you?"

"You can't tell me you honestly think what Farina did was right!" Florina found words, finally, and spoke them quickly. "That anything about this situation is right…"

"I don't even know that whole story," Serra muttered bitterly, clearly wishing she did. "But the point is, Florina, you can't be so down on yourself for things that you can't control. You can't take the blame for things that aren't your fault!"

"But…"

"Is that why you wanted to talk to Lord Hector? To tell him it was your fault?"

"I-I d-don't know if I c-could have, but…"

"That's absurd! And he wouldn't have believed you, anyway…"

"He probably wouldn't even have heard me…" Florina agreed miserably. "I probably would have run away before he even saw me, like I always do…"

"Florina…" Serra looked at her with pity, now; she could think of nothing to help set the situation right. Florina was absolutely right, the entire thing was a mess!

"But he has to talk to Lyn," Florina insisted suddenly. "He can't leave without talking to her, he has to show her, he has to convince her, I'm sure she loves him, so…"

"She does, does she?" Serra adopted a thoughtful expression. "I thought so, too. I mean, I even told Sain once that she'd probably pick him! But…"

"So as long as you don't let him leave…"

"He won't," Serra nodded. "But, Florina…"

"Don't…" Florina mumbled, knowing what was likely to come next. "I don't want to hear what ifs or anything like that, I really don't. I don't want sympathy – I'm the last person that deserves that, and don't you disagree!" Florina added, noticing Serra's mouth open to do just that. "I just want this whole situation to be done with…"

"…But what if Lyn does turn him down…?" Serra inquired slyly. "You'll come back to Ostia, won't you? We might need some help cheering him up, you know, he probably wouldn't take it very well, and maybe if he found out about…"

"You won't tell him, will you!" Florina gasped, the pleading tone evident in her words. "You can't!"

"Well, I…" Serra sighed. "All right, I won't, not if you don't want me to, but Florina…"

"Lyn isn't going to turn him down. She can't, not now…"

"She might," Serra insisted. "And trust me, if she does, it's not going to be fun for the rest of us, either. In fact, I'd say you owe it to use to come back and help us out –"

"I c-couldn't do anything," Florina shook her head. "I…"

"I bet you could. I'd help you!" Serra said brightly, clapping her hands. "Why, I know just what—"

"I don't think so," Florina interrupted quietly, still shaking her head. "I… I couldn't… even if there was a chance… I… not after the way this all happened. That wouldn't be fair… that wouldn't be right."

"What are you talking about?" Serra raised an eyebrow. "Personally, I think it wouldn't be fair if you didn't!"

Florina disagreed, wholeheartedly, but a knock on the door prevented her from saying so. Both girls turned toward the sound, but even as Florina stood to answer their caller let herself in on her own.

"Fiora…?" Florina blinked; she hadn't expected her sister to come calling.

"You," Fiora pointed to Serra, who blinked. "Out."

"Well!" Serra sniffed, standing hurriedly. She looked quite offended, but Fiora's tone was hardly one to argue with. Even Serra could see that. "Really! Now, Florina, keep in mind what I—"

"Now," Fiora spoke in a warning tone, and Serra brushed past her hurriedly to the door, but not before casting a meaningful glance in Florina's direction before flouncing out. Fiora shut the door firmly behind her, and studied her squirming sister with an impassive gaze for a full few minutes before speaking.

"I've heard some interesting rumors, Florina."

"H-have you?" Florina spoke miserably, refusing to meet her sister's stern gaze.

"So, you and Farina had a spat earlier, did you?"

"…Yes…"

"Mm. And when were you planning on telling me anything? When the rest of the entire continent knew first!"

"Fiora, I… please…"

"You must have known I arrived with Kent. I kept expecting you to arrive, to tell me what had been going on – maybe a little information concerning the actions and wellbeing of my sisters is too much to hope for!"

"It's not that, I just, I…"

"And you're willing to speak with that woman first – that might be the most insulting bit of all – you'll tell her what's been going on, but as for me, your elder sister – who cares if she knows, right? She's only been worried sick and kept in the dark for this entire ordeal! She's only been left grasping at straws and unable to act this whole time! But never mind her!"

"But I thought…!"

"Do you have any idea, how worried I've been!"

"Fiora, I'm sorry… I just…"

"And now everyone is talking about some sort of scandal, involving both of my sisters, of course, and what did she do!"

"Farina, she, ah… she brought Rath here, from the plains, I'm not sure what she told him…"

"And before?"

"Um… She, um… I don't really…"

Fiora crossed her arms, her furious expression softening slightly.

"You'll be happy to know that Kent has convinced Lord Hector to stay…"

"R-really…"

"Yes, and as a matter of fact, he's completely changed his attitude. He's gone to find Lady Lyndis right away, actually, acting much more like himself…"

"H-has he…?"

"He has. Does that make you happy, Florina?"

"Only if he convinces Lyn to stay with him," she insisted, look almost defiant as she said it.

"Really…" Fiora pursed her lips, tapping a foot thoughtfully. "Fine. It's probably for the best; I don't think… well, it's no matter now," She spoke firmly, dismissing the situation. Florina had a feeling she knew what she had been about to say; it was just like Fiora to disapprove of her taste. If it could be called that.

"Yes… for the best," Florina agreed, although for an admittedly much different reason.


Lyn remained silent for some time, lying on her bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. She wondered how much different her life would be had her grandfather approved of her parents from the beginning; would her mother have remained in Caelin, with her father, instead of running away to the plains? Would she have grown up in this room, never knowing the life she yearned with her entire being to return to?

Would she have grown up like any other Lycian noblewoman, sheltered from the harsh realities of life, pampered and spoiled? She doubted her father would have put up with that, even if they had remained in Caelin. Even so, it was unlikely that even with a tribesman as her father, she would truly have grown to love the plains as much as she did now. One had to experience life on them to truly understand.

Rath understood.

She pushed the thought away.

She couldn't hold it against Hector – she would never have expected him to understand. Not even Florina understood, and she knew her better than anyone. She herself hadn't understood the full weight of her situation until rather recently. Until it was too late, and the damage was done, of course. She had lied to herself for so long to mask in the inevitable, and it was rapidly approaching time for her to account for her errors in judgment. It was not something she was looking forward to.

Hector was waiting for her. It wasn't fair to keep him waiting. Hector loved her. It wasn't fair to have led him along.

No, that wasn't the right choice of words. She hadn't been leading him on, at least not knowingly, intentionally. She loved Hector. She'd always intended to stay with him.

She loved Rath. She'd always intended to return to the plains.

Florina loved Hector. How had she missed that?

How had she not seen this coming? This entire situation was due to her own inadequacies, her own inability to notice even the most obvious situations unfolding before her eyes. Her complete incapacity for understanding herself, and what she truly wanted for her future. Her faults; her fault.

And so she stared at the ceiling, unsure of what to do, uncertain of how to make amends.

Yet the more she thought, the more she realized that all she could do this day was cause more pain. It wouldn't be any easier for her to say than for him to hear. She wasn't sure she could say it, not to his face.

He'd be furious with her.

No. That was how she hoped he'd react; she could handle anger. Hector had been furious with her in the past. The truth of the matter was, he'd be heartbroken.

And she wasn't sure she could handle that.

"Because I love him," She spoke aloud, for the first time in what seemed like hours, to no one in particular. Her voice sounded hollow even to her own ears; she winced at the sound. It was unnerving.

She blinked in surprise as a knock sounded at her door; she remained where she was, ignoring it. Whatever it was, she wasn't in the mood. They should have known that. The knock came again, more insistent, after some time. Lyn remained silent, hoping they would take the hint.

Minutes passed; she exhaled slowly.

"…Lyn. I know you're in there."

Her heart stopped.

Well, she should have known. Hector wasn't the type that liked to be kept waiting, was he? She sat up; her muscles felt like lead. She half expected her legs to refuse to support her as she stood.

She still wasn't ready for this. Why was he here?

"…Hector." The door swung open, and there he was. Their gazes met for a moment; Lyn looked away. "I thought I said…"

"That you didn't want to talk. Right, I heard. Sorry."

"Don't." Lyn held up a hand, shaking her head. "Don't you apologize. I should be apologizing. Hector, I am so, so sorry… sorry for everything. I…" She retreated back into her room; he waited a moment and followed, closing the door behind him. His gaze was impassive, and for the life of her, she couldn't tell what he was thinking. "Nothing I say will change the way I acted. Nothing I say… can change my mistakes…"

"Does this mean that you believe me?" He looked relieved now, as though he had expected otherwise. "You…"

"Yes. I know… what happened… wasn't your fault. Florina explained everything…"

"Florina did?" He blinked.

"…It doesn't matter. Hector… I never should have suspected you in the first place. That was stupid, and I acted like a child. But…"

"If that's how you feel, then why…" He shook his head, and smiled, as though it didn't matter. Lyn felt self loathing well within her; he looked so happy, and every minute she delayed was another minute of deceiving him. "Look, it's fine… I mean, it must have been… well." He cleared his throat. "I don't blame you, really."

"Yes, but Hector…"

"I almost left," He spoke softly, and she paused. "This whole time, I've been trying to think of how I could make you believe me, how I could convince you that what you saw… I didn't want any part of it. I wasn't sure if there was any way to do it."

"I should have never believed otherwise in the first place, but Hector, that isn't…"

"When Kent came in and told me you didn't want to talk, I thought that was it. I thought, if she's had all this time, and still doesn't want to see me… well, how could I convince you otherwise? But you… I… I don't even know what to say. I thought for sure…"

He paused, nervously, and gave her a look that made her want to die on the spot.

"Sorry. I'm rambling."

"I told you not to apologize… you're starting to sound like Florina."

"You keep bringing her up," Hector noted, though in a dismissive voice. Lyn said nothing. "All right. Lyn… since apparently this is all already worked out, you…" He trailed off as he thought of how to phrase what he wanted to say. "You'll, uh… you're coming back with me, aren't you?"

"Hector, I…" She'd known the question was coming, of course. How could it have gone unasked? "I…"

"You know how I feel, right? I mean…" He looked away for a moment, clearly embarrassed. Once, she would have been amused; she would have laughed at him, and informed him of how silly he looked, embarrassed over something like this. Even now, she could recall the way it had felt, in his arms… her face flushed. She still wanted that, even now, even knowing what she did and what she had to do. She was so selfish!

"I know. I know, and I still can't… Hector, I know it doesn't make sense to you, but I can't… I can't go back with you." She avoided his eyes, pressing on in a hurried voice, hating herself more and more with every word she uttered. "I never should have let myself think I could. It's a mistake… this whole thing was a horrible mistake, and I'll never forgive myself for it, never—"

"…Then all that…" Hector looked dazed, more than anything, as thought the full weight of her words hadn't sunk in. It probably hadn't, just yet. "All that back in Ostia… hell, before Ostia, on Valor, and even before then—"

"A mistake…" She whispered, fighting down tears. She couldn't cry, not now. She had no right!

"That's all it was to you?" His dazed expression was fading, his tone assuming an angry undercurrent. "That's it? That… that can't be true. Lyn, that's… it's not true."

"That's not all it was, but that doesn't change what it is," She replied, knowing such a poor explanation would probably only make things worse. But she could think of nothing else to say.

"That doesn't make any sense," He pointed out, clearly frustrated. "If that's how you feel, then why… in Ostia, why…"

"Because I was trying to fool myself into thinking I could stay with you, Hector! I wanted to believe it – I spent months on end convincing myself it could work!"

"And all of a sudden you've changed your mind?"

"No! I just…" She closed her eyes. "What I did was… it was stupid, childish, irresponsible – it's caused so many people so much pain! Hector, please… try to understand. I haven't changed my mind; I still wish… I still wish it could be… the way I thought it could…"

"You still haven't explained why it can't! Lyn, stop staring at the floor and look at me!"

She complied, after a moment's hesitation.

"I love you," He said simply, and she flinched, looking away again. "I said, look at me. Look me in the eye and answer me – I let you leave before, I won't do it again. Do you feel the same way, or not?"

"I…" Lyn could feel herself trembling, and she knew she was losing her inner war against the tears that threatened to overwhelm her. She couldn't lie. Sacaens didn't lie. She was a Sacaen. Wasn't that the entire problem, here, after all? "I… Hector, I… I do, but…"

"Then what's the problem!"

"I can't stay here! In Lycia! No matter what I have here, no matter who I care for or anything else! If I did that, I'd… I'd be living a lie. It'd be a life of deception – trying to deceive myself into thinking I'm happy, trying to convince others of the same thing! I can't live that way, I can't commit myself to a life like that… I can't!"

"…Is that really how you feel…?" He spoke quietly in response, the fire gone from his gaze in the aftermath of her speech.

"I spent all that time thinking that as long as I was by your side, I could put up with a life here, as a Lycian noble, shut up inside and suffocating—"

"I would have never done that to you."

"Not intentionally! And not you! You can't tell me truthfully that as a woman of the nobility I could live the way I would on the plains! I've spent all this time here in Caelin; I know very well what my life in Ostia would be like… you can deny it if you want, but it won't change the truth!"

"So, you're leaving. …Back to Sacae."

"…I… Hector, please try to understand…"

"I thought… back then… when I first realized the way I was starting to feel about you. I thought, I'd better stop thinking that way, because you were always talking about the plains… you were always insisting left and right that you'd go back…"

"I…

"But I couldn't help myself, no matter what I did. You… I never thought I'd feel that way, this way, about anyone! And the more I saw of you… I expected from the beginning that you'd never feel the same way. I knew I was acting foolish, and I never let my hopes get too high – and then in Ostia, what happened there…"

"I'm sorry…"

"That was the first time I let myself… when you said you'd come back… I thought…"

"I meant it," Lyn whispered, her voice breaking. "I swear by Mother Earth and Father Sky, Hector, I meant what I said back then, and I never thought things would turn out this way. If I would have known then the consequences, I never would have… I never wanted to…"

"…So that's it, then."

"If things could be any other way, I…"

"So I'm supposed to just turn around and leave? Just walk away, and accept the fact that I'll probably never see you again, right? No matter the way I feel, the way we both feel, if you're not lying to me, and I don't think you are – because hey, staying with me, we may as well throw you in prison, right!"

"It's not because of you!"

"It may as well be!" Hector shouted back, his eyes flashing dangerously. "You're telling me that you care about me, that you love me, of all things – but that can't possibly be true, because Ostia is a part of me, Lyn – it's… it's who I am. You can't… you can't possibly…"

"Then you should understand!" Lyn retorted, her tone mirroring his. "If that's true, then you should know how I feel – how would you feel if I asked you to come with me, to Sacae? To leave your home, and your people, and everything you care about? Could you do it, any more than I can?"

"Well, I…"

"Do you see! This couldn't have… there was no other way this could have ended. No matter how we feel, you and I are bound to different paths, Hector… we always have been, and I should have never thought I could change that…"

"…Nothing I say is going to change your mind, is it?"

She shook her head, not bothering to wipe her tears away. Hector remained silent for a moment, a moment that stretched until it seemed to last forever. The look he gave her, a look of regret, a look of longing, a look of utter helplessness – it wasn't a face that would ever suit this man. She could barely stand to see it.

"…Fine. I understand," He added, although he didn't sound like he did in the least. "No matter what happens, or where you go… Lyn… I hope you're happy. That's all I ever wanted for you…"

He looked like he might say something more, but seemed to think better of it, taking a step backward, away from her. It took every ounce of his will power to do it, to take that first step. A step out of her life, out of the life he'd spent the last several weeks hoping he might have. With her. He wanted her to stop him, he wanted to hear her say it was a joke, that she hadn't meant it, that she loved him and yes, of course she'd be his wife! But she watched him go, and made no move to do any such thing.

He wondered briefly, as he turned away from the woman he loved for the last time, if the numb sensation he felt welling within him would ever go away.


Author's Note, Revisited!

WildfireDreams: Thanks for your review!

AmbieChan: But… you still haven't updated! And you got my hopes up, too!

Destiny's Promise: Thank you for your review!

Angel White: You are so mean to Lyn. It's hilarious.

Raitei: Thanks for your review!

Chellybean: I'm glad you found the chapter so engaging. :)

Maquareion: Yep, we're about ready to start wrapping things up, I think.

Capybara: Thanks for the compliments. :)

Kratos Aurion: Hmm, if you thought there were too few appearances by other characters in that one, this one must really annoy you, eh:P

Timmycheese: I'm glad you're still going to read my story. :)

Wandering Cat: Hmm, I agree with your analysis of Rath, but you're being pretty harsh on poor Hector. :) I'm glad you're still reading, I was wondering what happened to you!

Silver's Shadow Tamer: I'm surprised at how many people actually sympathize with Farina's actions. It makes me happy, I was expecting a lot more blind Farina hate. Thanks for your review!

FenixPhoenix: So you liked Rath there, eh? I kind of liked how it turned out, too. Rath is kind of difficult to write.

Dove-chan: Poor Farina, so much animosity!

Mizuki: I suppose Farina is good or bad depending on who you wanted Lyn to end up with. :)

Shnickers: I pretty much agree with your analysis of Lyn; she's always going to be unsatisfied to some extent, no matter where she is. For her, it's a matter of degrees, and it will never be strictly happily ever after. …I'd better stop here. :)

Evergladelord: Indeed, Farina made quite a mess of things. Thanks for your review.

Kitten Kisses: You'll have to fight me for him if you want to—oh. :) Yes, uh… you'd hardly know Hector's my favorite character considering how cruel I've been to him. / Don't worry about late reviews, I'm just glad you like this enough to take the time and read it. :)

Nayrugoddess: No, not forever, I promise. I'm sorry I made you cry. /

NobleLadyOfCaelin: …Woah.