Chris: Now, without further ado, the next section of Life's Quest! This time with Florina, cause she's the first girl that I thought of a good title for! (Seriously. I just chose her cause I had a title in my head.)
Disclaimer: Don't own any copyrights whatsoever to Fire Emblem.
Chapter 5: Androphobia, Part 1
"Now, with my quest in full swing, I must find a most suitable bride!" Sain said to himself, striding proudly through the camp, his manner suggesting that he had ingested five-hundred cups of Lowen's coffee, which meant he was charged. Really charged. The brown-haired cavalier looked around for some girl to charm. 'The first girl to not brush me off is truly the one who accepts me and loves me! So therefore, she shall be the one I dedicate my life to!'
"Ah, my fair Rebecca! How are you in this beautiful day?" Sain waved at the green-haired archer, who turned at the sound. Rebecca shuddered angrily and clenched her fist before stomping towards Sain and hitting him in the stomach.
"That was for peeking at me while I was sleeping!" Rebecca shouted before stalking away, her head high in the air.
"Ooooh…" Sain clenched his aching stomach, the cavalier's earlier enthusiasm beginning to die off. 'That wasn't fair. Lyn told me to go wake her. If she had just happened to wake while I was entering her tent, that was no fault of mine.'
Throughout the morning, Sain's enthusiasm for his quest continued to dwindle, as every member of the opposite sex he had talked to had in some way or another, told him to leave them alone. He was beginning to lose any hope of success when he spotted Florina in front of him, whispering a soft song to her pegasus as she brushed him.
"Ah, lady Florina! It is truly a pleasure to be able to catch a glimpse of your exquisite loveliness at least once today!" The brown-haired cavalier walked up to Florina, who squeaked slightly.
"U-Uh…H-Hi Sain…" Florina shrunk against her pegasus, looking at him with a frightened expression. "H-How a-are y-y-you?"
'Well…I guess that doesn't count as brushing me off. Although she's probably doing it out of courtesy and the fact that she is frightened half out of her wits.' Sain reasoned in his mind. 'The fates have decided! I have met my perfect match!'
"U-Um…" Florina whispered, thinking that Sain was sick or something, since he had been standing still for a couple of minutes without doing anything. "A-Are you o-okay?"
Sain snapped out of his daze and redirected his attention back to the orchid-haired pegasus knight. "I am doing absolutely spectacularly now that I have seen you, o fragile blossom!"
"O-Oh…" Florina flushed and turned from Sain. "Uh…Um…T-Thanks…"
"My dear Florina, let me have the pleasure of your company for a nice, leisurely walk through the forest nearby!" Sain bowed and extended his hand out towards her, his eyes shining and his trademark grin on his face.
"I-I…" Florina looked at the cavalier, her heart beating so fast that she thought it would burst in her chest. She was visibly trembling from fright since, outside of battle; this has been the closest that any guy had ever come close to her. 'What should I say? I don't want to hurt his feelings…But he scares me…Lyn told me to be careful around him…' She took a deep breath to try to calm her nerves, only to find out she was so nervous that it wasn't working. "I-It…w-would be n-nice…"
Florina froze. 'Did I just say that?' She looked nervously at Sain, beginning to shake more than ever. 'Oh no…'
"It fills my heart with joy to hear you say those simple words!" Sain proclaimed as he lightly kissed Florina's gloved hand, causing shivers to run up her arm and through her body. He grinned at her and bowed once again. "Shall we go right now?"
"N-Now?" Florina asked, extremely flustered and still suffering from some sort of distant cousin of the nervous breakdown. "U-Um…I-I don't k-know…"
"Well, then! I don't want to pressure you, my sweet dove, so I shall ask you later, after you have made up your mind!" Sain said cheerfully, before walking off, whistling a common marching tune known to the soldiers of Caelin. Florina watched him go for a while before collapsing in a faint, overwhelmed by the attention that Sain had given her.
---
"Florina? Florina?"
The light-purple haired pegasus knight squirmed at the voice and slowly peeked her eyes open. "Lyn? I-Is that you?" Florina shifted from where she was and found out that she was in the army's infirmary tent. "H-How did I get here?"
"I found you collapsed on the ground. Are you okay? You're not sick, are you?" Lyn looked at her childhood friend worriedly.
"N-No, I'm fine. I was just a l-little…overwhelmed…" Florina whispered, blinking her shining blue eyes. "There's nothing wrong."
"Overwhelmed? By what?" Lyn asked, slightly confused. "We haven't had a battle for a long time and there hasn't been any bad news coming from Lycia." The princess of Caelin thought for a while before frowning. "It wasn't Sain, was it? I swear, that idiot has been walking all around camp trying to hit on everyone!"
"U-Um…It was…" Florina nodded slowly. "B-But please don't be too angry with him…H-He was kind of n-nice…"
"Florina!" Lyn looked at her friend, amazed. "You thought Sain was nice! I thought he was an annoying asshole!" She scratched her hair before looking at Florina again. "Are you sure you're not sick?"
Florina shook her head vigorously. "I'm not sick, Lyn. S-Sure, he was k-kind of strange…B-But I've gotten used to him…"
"Hmm…Who am I to say where the spirits lead you?" Lyn shook her head. "Are you sure you don't find him the least bit repulsive?"
"N-No…Not at all…" Florina replied, shaking her head again. "H-He doesn't b-bother me that much…b-because he knows I don't feel comfortable around m-men…"
"Hmmm…One of the few decent things I've heard him do." Lyn mused, smiling. "Just kidding. Anyway, you get better Florina. I don't want you fainting again. And if Sain ever bothers you, well, call on me and I'll put him in his place." She patted Florina on the head before leaving.
"O bountiful sorrows, what misfortune has befallen the oh so lovely Florina!"
"She was just in a faint, Sain. No need to go into dramatics."
"So I see, Lyn! Can I go and talk to her?"
"Fine. But do anything bad and it won't look good for you. I suspect you wouldn't be so cocky with a bleeding nose."
"Your warning is appreciated and taken with its worth of caution!"
Florina cocked her head to the side, wondering what the two of them were doing. After a couple of moments, Sain pushed aside the tent flap and sat next to Florina, wearing his usual smile.
Sain gave her a little wave. "I'm truly sorry that I caused you to faint, sweet Florina. It was a mistake on my part and I hope it doesn't happen again." He ran a hand through his thick, brown hair and frowned slightly.
"N-No! I-It's o-okay! R-Really!" Florina protested, feeling the usual mix of emotions whenever a man came to talk to her. There, of course, was the hefty dash of nervousness combined with a smaller dose of self-consciousness and low self-esteem. The next part was unique to all people. Whenever she was speaking to Mark, the tactician, for instance, there was a nice addition of respect and duty. With Sain, however, there was even a bigger dose of nervousness, since she had heard how the cavalier was around women. There were a couple of more things that she felt that were common enough when dealing with someone like him, but there was just one emotion she could figure out. Florina decided to deal with that later.
"Well, if you say it's fine…Then thank you for your understanding, my fragile flower!" Sain bowed in his seat and daintily kissed her on the hand, causing a blush to rise to her face. "I certainly can't ask you out, especially after that fright that you had, so perhaps we shall depart on our walk later! Farewell!" He leaped up and strode out of the door. "Ah Kent! Boon companion! I seem to have misplaced by money bag! Perhaps you could lend me a couple hundred gold so I can go get another one from town!"
Florina smiled slightly at the cavalier's antics before closing her eyes. The orchid-haired pegasus knight shifted in her cot again before falling into a deep sleep.
---
"Where am I?"
"This is a dream sequence specifically put here to show you the inner recesses of your soul." An otherworldly voice answered her.
"Ulp…U-Um…Can w-we just skip this?"
"Sorry, no. I've got to ramble on for around 15 minutes, so you're stuck with me. I've got a job to do."
"F-Fine…If you say so…"
"I do say so." The voice replied. "Now, let's look at your life so far." There was a small pause before it showed a scene of a snow-covered house. The vision moved inside the house and it pictured three young girls of varying ages. The oldest girl, one with teal hair that fell to the bottom of her neck, was busy instructing the other two on the principles of lance usage atop a pegasus.
"Aw, come on, Sis! I already know this stuff!" The second-oldest girl pouted and folded her arms. "I'm already part of a pegasus wing, remember?"
"And that's why you need to review these things! I don't want to see you killed just because you forgot about the special intricacies about flying in the sky!" The teal-haired girl returned her sister's glare. "Farina! Listen up!"
"What is there to fighting? Aim, charge, poke! Come on! It's pretty simple, Fiora!" Farina retorted.
"As you can see, those are your two sisters." The otherworldly voice said. "This is an important point in your childhood, because it practically made you into the girl you are today."
"Um…Sisters?" The youngest, a cute girl with purple curls, whispered. "Sisters?" She raised her voice slightly, but Fiora and Farina were still too busy arguing to hear here. "Umm…"
"And that's why I had to bail you out last time, Farina! If you had just paid attention, then maybe you wouldn't have been in trouble!"
"You can just stuff it, Sis! I'm tired of you saying that you're better than I am!"
"That's because I am!"
"Um…E-Excuse me…"
"What is it, Florina!" Farina looked at her youngest sister, looking angry.
Florina shrank back from the angry glare of her older sister and timidly shook her head. "I-It's nothing…"
"Sheesh, then why'd you interrupt me?" Farina shook her head before returning with her argument with Fiora.
The scene paused and the voice returned. "You see? This is the first stepping stone. The loneliness you felt when your sisters ignored you, coupled with the fact that when one of them did notice, she bit your head off, all add up to why you were and still are a shy girl. Now, shall we look at why you're afraid of men?"
"N-No! T-That's okay! P-Please…I-I don't want t-to see it!"
"Are you suuuuuure?"
"Yes, I'm sure!"
"Very well then. Maybe some other time…"
---
Florina woke up in a cold sweat, panting slightly. She looked around the darkness and found out that it was already night. Florina pushed herself up on the cot and heard soft sounds echoing from her side. Quickly turning with fright, she found that it was just Serra, who had fallen asleep at her desk.
'Phew…It was just some dream…' Florina thought to herself before shaking her head rapidly to shake any drowsiness away from her head. Unfortunately, this only made her dizzy and she had to steady herself for a couple of moments before being able to stand. Since she was completely, well, mostly rested, she decided to just take a walk outside to calm her nerves.
Florina turned away from the light that signified a guard watch and instead walked into a secluded part of the camp, one that was close to a hill that overlooked the valley bellow. Sighing slightly to herself, she plopped herself down and brought her knees up to her chin. 'Ah…It's nice and peaceful here…'
However, just as she was ready to go back to her tent to sleep, a haunting melody came drifting towards her. Curious, she followed the sound of the music, listening for the hidden subtleties inside of the music. On the outside, it was deep and sorrowful, chock full of emotions and stories of lost loves. However, somewhere within the sorrow was a small ring that spoke of victory and success in the face of tall odds. Florina grabbed a hold of this strand of music and followed it to its source.
"S-Sain!" Florina couldn't stop herself in time and immediately searched for a hiding place. But to no avail, for there were in a grassy plain and there were no suitable places that she would be able to hide in well enough.
"Wha?" The brown haired cavalier turned around from his position on the grass, clearly surprised at the interruption. He placed his wooden flute onto the ground and the fire in front of him showed a hint of a smile on his lips. "Florina? Is that you, o mistress of the flying horse?"
"A-Ah…U-Uh…P-Please don't c-call H-Huey a f-flying horse…"
"My mistake." Sain grinned. "So, what brings you here to the glorious scene that can only be achieved in the darkest of nights? Come to hear a lonely troubadour share with you his tales of woe? Or perhaps to comfort a questing cavalier?"
"U-Um…N-No…" Florina stuttered.
"My loss." Sain said whimsically, shrugging. "Anyway, what's the real reason why you're here?"
"I-I just h-heard your m-music…U-Um…I-I'm sorry…" Florina bowed quickly, feeling the heat rush up to her face when she realized how pathetic she sounded.
Sain's eyes sparkled. "No, there is no need for a beauty like you to apologize! It ruins your fantastic looks and Elimine knows I don't want that." He plopped himself back onto the grass and motioned for her to join him. "I don't you really don't like hanging around guys…Heck, I'm not exactly fond of that myself. But perhaps you'd like to join me?"
"U-Um…I-I'm sorry…B-But I've got t-to go…" Florina bowed again before departing quickly, not willing to look at Sain as she left.
"Hmmm…" Sain watched her go and decided to not bother going after her. It seemed that she didn't exactly like him enough to spend more than a couple of minutes in his company. Or maybe it was just because she didn't like guys. "Well, next time I'll see if I can win her heart."
He lay back on the grass and put the flute to his lips again, once again blowing out the tale of his love and his life.
Chris: Ahem…Sorry for the long wait. I've just had other things on my "Stories To Do" list…so yeah. I'll try to pick this one up, but I can't give guarantees. I still have a lot of other things to finish, but I assure you that this will be updated as quickly as possible.
I hope you enjoyed it and review please!
P.S. Androphobia is the fear of men. Yeah.