Here we have chapter two. Thanks very much to those of you who reviewed! I wasn't expecting to be getting any at all. Now, some of you may recognize the premise of this game from Ever After. God I love that movie. Moving on, Eliwood might seem a tad bit out of character, but he's not very expressive in the game, so it was difficult to determine what would be going through his head. This was as close as I could get.

Well, without further ado, here is the second chapter!

Chapter 2: Rock Paper Scissors

Lyn stared determinedly into the dark blue eyes of her opponent, daring him to look away. Her gaze was fierce and taunting. Eliwood narrowed his eyes slightly, trying to mirror her expression.

"Ready?" he asked quietly, cocking an eyebrow.

"Of course," Lyn replied in the same even tone. They both curled their right hands into fists.

"One…" Eliwood began slowly.

"Two…" Lyn continued, leaning forward ever so slightly.

"…Three!" they shouted in unison. Both of them stuck out their index and middle fingers.

"Scissors again!" Eliwood cried out in exasperation, a smile spreading across his face in spite of himself.

"You, Lord Eliwood, are reading my thoughts," Lyn replied slyly, a mischievous smirk gracing her features as she watched him curiously.

"And they're as hard to understand as my own," he countered, matching her smile.

"So, Pherae surrenders?" Lyn replied tauntingly.

"Never!" Eliwood cried haughtily. He made a fist again. Lyn smiled brightly and followed suit.

"One… two… three!"

"Ha!" Lyn shouted triumphantly. "Paper beats rock!"

"Foiled again," Eliwood cursed with mock vexation. "I suppose it's my turn then."

"Yes, it is," Lyn replied, settling back into her cross-legged position. "And it better be good."

"Okay then," Eliwood sighed in defeat. He sat back on his heels and stared thoughtfully into the fire for a few moments. "Ah, I've got one. When I was very young, I was outside when it began to rain. I had never seen rain before, and I was convinced the sky was falling, so I ran inside crying. It took quite a while for my parents to calm me down."

Lyn had begun laughing halfway through. When Eliwood finished his nostalgic tale, she was still shaking with mirth, eyes closed tightly. Eliwood smiled as he watched her. His smile soon became full out laughter, however. Something about Lyn's laugh was contagious.

"I like it when you laugh," Eliwood said when they had both calmed down.

Lyn's eyes snapped up to his own as soon as the words were out of his mouth. Eliwood looked surprised at himself. He hadn't meant to say that aloud. He cleared his throat quickly and curled his fingers into a fist. Lyn did the same, though she was still watching him curiously.

"One… two… three!"

Eliwood let out a laugh of victory. "Scissors beats paper! Now spill," he said confidentially, smiling.

"Hm…" Lyn's eyes flicked skyward as she thought. Then she smiled. "Ever since I was a little girl out on the plains, I've wished upon the first star I see every single night," she said, gazing almost wistfully at the stars.

Eliwood smirked curiously. "What do you wish for?" he asked.

Lyn's cheeks colored slightly, green eyes clouding over beneath demurely lowered lashes. "If I told you, it wouldn't come true," she said mysteriously.

Eliwood flashed her a debonair smile. "You won't even tell me?" he asked tauntingly.

"No, not even you," she replied frankly. She then proceeded to stick her tongue out at him.

Eliwood looked thoughtfully at Lyn. He remembered when they had first met. It had been over a year ago while Lyn was on her way to Caelin for the first time. She had only recently learned that she was the true heiress of Marquess Caelin, her grandfather. Eliwood had been able to form an opinion about her character very quickly. She wore her heart on her sleeve. She was a determined and loyal leader, but a friend first and foremost. At the time, that was all the young lord of Pherae had seen in her. She had lived up to his expectations concerning the Sacaen people; she was strong, fast, and beautiful. It wasn't until much later that he discovered the side of her that she rarely allowed to surface. Deep down, she was exceedingly gentle and caring. She hid her weaknesses so far in, they were nearly impossible to find.

But Eliwood knew everything about her. He knew what made her happy and what made her smile, but he also knew what she was afraid of and what made it difficult for her to sleep at night. He heard her slipping out of the camp in the frigid predawn. It wasn't long before he had begun to wonder whether she slept at all. Whenever he got too close to her, asked questions too intimate for casual conversation, she drew away from him. She seemed afraid to open up to him.

But despite that, there was something about her that he found fascinating. She enchanted him in a way he couldn't understand. When he had described this feeling to Hector, the hard-headed Ostian lord had suggested that Lyn might be some kind of Sacaen witch and that Eliwood was indeed under some sort of enchantment. Though he knew Hector was kidding, Eliwood assured his friend that this was not the case. Hector had just laughed and told him that it wasn't entirely difficult to figure out what he was feeling. After that, he wouldn't say another word, no matter how much Eliwood had prodded and begged for advice. It was annoying to the red-headed lord that Hector knew something he didn't. It was usually the reverse.

Even though he didn't understand what he was feeling, Eliwood found that whenever his mind was vacant and he had a moment to relax, his thoughts would land on her. They were in each others' company constantly. They sparred together, they enjoyed eating together, they talked whenever they were given the chance, and when on the battlefield, they often ended up quite close to each other. They stood back-to-back, fending off numberless hordes of enemies on more than one occasion. They made an unstoppable team.

When Eliwood came to his senses, Lyn was looking at the stars again. She wore a contented smile and her eyes were bright with wonder. She didn't seem to notice that he had been analyzing her for several minutes. He smiled. They had settled into a comfortably intimate silence. Lyn shivered suddenly and moved closer to the fire. Eliwood removed his cloak and offered it to her without thinking. It was as if protecting her was second nature, whether it be from the cold or from a ruthless bandit. Lyn smiled appreciatively and accepted the gesture, wrapping the heavy cloak around her shoulders. This struck Eliwood as interesting. She never accepted charity from him, and yet here she was, accepting it.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

"You're welcome," he replied, smiling at her. Maybe this meant she was getting more comfortable with him. To Eliwood, this was very good news.

"Look at them, they're adorable," Rebecca sighed. Hector, Rath, Matthew, and Guy all looked over at her. They exchanged exasperated glances. She was still watching Eliwood and Lyn. And what was more, Serra, Florina, Priscilla, Nino, Louise, Isadora, Fiora, and Farina had all joined her. By this time, the entire camp was aware of the bet, and most of the travelers had decided to participate.

"I hope for all our sakes that Eliwood and Lyn don't notice half the camp watching their every move," Hector sighed, shaking his head slowly.

Ha, told you they chapters would get longer! Not much, unfortunately, but like I've said before, this won't be a very long story. Tell me what you think!