Author's note: I've got to be honest: I've been excited to write this chapter ever since I started the new arc. Lyn, Florina, Kent, Sain and Wil have no doubt done a lot during this year and getting a chance to explore it I feel will really help people reconnect with these awesome characters after several chapters without them.

So let's just get to it! Remember if you have time, leave a review! I love to hear what people think and how I can keep making this even better. And a big thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far.

Chapter 44: Florina's Year

Dear Lyn, Florina, Sain, Kent and Wil,

Forgive me for not writing you all sooner. A lot of events have taken place over a short period of time, so when I would try to collect my thoughts and place them onto paper I couldn't properly find the words to express it all.

I suppose I should start with where my last letter. I wrote I was going to head to Pharae. I had heard rumors about Lord Elbert's disappearance and wanted to speak with Eliwood. I wasn't sure what advice I could offer, but I thought it was best to try.

After visiting Dorcas, Natalie and little Dorothy, Wallace and I planned to head straight for Castle Pharae. Unfortunately, I spotted some bandits approaching the other nearby village. Deciding to check it out, we found that bandits had seized it. To make a long story short, Eliwood showed up and helped Wallace and I drive the bandits away.

Eliwood told me of his plans to search for his father. When he asked for my help, I couldn't find it in me to refuse. So we began traveling together. Some familiar faces have joined us. You may remember Lord Hector, who we met during the Taliver conflict. He helped us in Santaruz when we fell under attack. Dorcas, Serra, Matthew and Erk I have run into again, all of which have joined our little band.

In Santaruz I learned something I wanted you all to know. My mother, Caitlyn, was Marquis Santaruz's daughter. I suppose this in a strange way makes me a Lord. The Lycian League likely will not recognize me due to my past, but that's fine. I just wish we had been able to save him. Realizing I could have had family to speak with and missing that opportunity… it haunts me from time to time. I don't mind admitting I feel like I failed him and Eliwood.

We headed for Laus. Lord Darin seems to hold the answers about Eliwood's father, but while we fought his son Erik, Darin fled. He left his castle and son behind. What drove him to it seems to be a man named Ephidel from the Black Fang. Unfortunately, I know nothing about him. He must've joined after I left. Currently, we're staying in the castle while searching for Darin's trail. I wanted to warn you just in case.

I hope you've all been well. Once Eliwood's quest is done, I promise to pay you all a visit. I owe you that.

Will

Florina folded the letter that had arrived with the dawn, the bird twittering happily before accepting the feed offered for its successful delivery. She folded the letter carefully, holding it in one hand as she decided to get moving. Will's last letter had arrived three months ago, so the others would be happy to know he had written again. It sounded like he had been through a lot, but she had to admit she was a little sad so little of it was interested in how they'd been. Not that she wanted him to worry, or anything. There were a lot of events that had happened over the past year that Will knew nothing about. She and the others had thought about including it in their letters, but in the end they had decided it would be better to surprise the tactician when he returned.

The first surprise was Kent's promotion to Paladin. This might have been expected, but the honor was still a rather large one. Wesley had been decorated with all the paladin symbols. Kent continued to use his red armor, but he had added a white cloak and his sword and lance were replaced with more durable steel variants. Kent had accepted the honor with his usual stern appearance. Florina giggled, remembering Lyn's awkward knighting ceremony as she traipsed around in a dress she no doubt found cumbersome.

The second surprise was Sain's transformation. Well, she called it a transformation but Sain hadn't really changed all that much. He continued to flirt with the village girls and even occasionally would hit on others in the Caelin army, though they were few and far between. He saved his best flattery for Florina and Lyn. Florina had gotten more used to the man, but for the life of her she still could not understand why he chose to act the way he did. If he would choose a girl and stick to her, Florina thought Sain could actually be quite the romantic. As it was, people still seemed to like him a lot. As for his sub commander changes, Sain had changed the entire way he fought. Kent had always been the faster of the two on horseback, while Sain seemed to have decided to go for the other extreme. His horse was decked out in chainmail and he himself had donned a much heavier set of green armor. He continued to work on the strength of his attacks, all while taking up the axe and teaching himself how to use it since they did not have anyone in Caelin proficient with one. His attempt had been successful. Florina dreaded having to face Sain in mock combat, since anything she could attack him with wouldn't penetrate his new armor and one good blow could bring both her and Huey to the ground.

Wil hadn't changed much over the past year. Kent had tried to take the young man under his wing in his spare time, teaching him about the Lycian court and how members of a house were supposed to address their lord, but Wil never seemed to catch on. He continued to call Lyn by her name or Lyndis without the Lady in front (Something Florina had mastered overnight, she was proud to say) and often remained out of the political meetings because of it. His skills with a bow still were amazing to see and he had trained up a fine group of archers to protect Caelin's walls. The few tips Wil had received from Will on archer battle tactics had helped him immensely when he had first started and over the past three months he had really come into his own. The troops especially were fond of Wil, especially since he would get in trouble with Kent just as often as they.

Lyn herself had also changed a lot that year. While she was still disdainful of the court, she had made sure to appear whenever she was needed. Lord Hausen continued to recover slowly but steadily and soon he believed he may be able to start attending court again himself. Lyn was exceedingly grateful for this both for her grandfather and herself. Florina had often caught Lyn leaving the castle on clear evenings. Once she had even tailed her friend, finding Lyn standing atop the hill where she and Will had said goodbye. Florina realized Lyn was hoping for Will's return just as much as she was. It also brought something to mind she had been fighting to come to terms with. Something she no longer liked to think about.

Lyn had found a way around the court proceedings in the fancy dresses, at least. About six months ago she had completed a new Lorcan outfit for herself. To be fair, it was very similar to the old one, but with a few minor improvements. First of all, she had fingerless vambraces to assist her in duels. This way she could block attacks with the vambrace and strike back instead of having to dodge every blow. She also had plating to covering her upper arm and prevent anyone from trying to injure her from the side. Finally, at Florina's insistence, she had added a black overcoat with several splits below the waistline. She also had white fur lining the top of the outfit around her neck. She tied a large red sash around her waist to tie the outfit together, with a couple small knots being made from rope to help keep it in place. Finally, her boots were now lined with white fur as well. This helped her look more presentable in court while also being more comfortable for her, though it earned her a slightly infamous reputation for being proudly and stubbornly Sacaen.

Florina herself had changed the most, though she often didn't realize it. Of Lyndis' Legion, she had been the only member still underage during their trek to Caelin. During her two years with Lyn, she certainly had changed. Firstly, over the past year she had grown. Her height still paled compared to Lyn, as she was about a head shorter, but it was better than before. She had also filled out a little (mind out of the gutter please, it happens to all young girls still growing). Even so, she still felt like her attributes were quite… secondary to Lyn's. It may have been because the two spent so much time together, but she found herself a bit jealous of her friend's natural beauty and womanly figure. It made her still feel like a bit of a child when standing next to her in court. Her fear of men had improved rather drastically. No longer did she hide in fear of any new men she came across. She still tended to stutter when dealing with new men she wasn't accustomed to and there were always men to be careful of, but with Kent, Sain and Wil around she felt much better around men than she had been a year before.

The largest change outside of her physical ones (Sain had earned himself a particularly nasty bruise from Lyn when he commented on Florina's womanly charms increasing) was her attire. Six months ago, when Lyn had finished her new outfit, she had surprised Florina with something she hadn't expected.

"I'm sorry it took so long." Lyn apologized. "I wanted to ask you much sooner, but it took me more time than I imagined."

"What do you mean?" Florina asked. "I mean, I'm always happy to help, Lady Lyndis, but you're being more cryptic than usual."

"Just follow me." Lyn said. "And please, drop the Lady stuff just for today. It's a special occasion. I hope."

Florina was even more confused than she had been before, but followed Lyn through the hallways to the castle. In spite of being in service to Lady Lyndis, she did still visit and talk with Lyn more often than most soldiers probably should. Lyn always seemed to enjoy their talks, even if she got annoyed by Florina addressing her by her proper title. Eventually, they reached Lyn's room. Lyn led Florina inside, before quickly closing the door. On the bed lay Lyn's new outfit, which Florina saw was finally complete. "You finished it?" Florina asked.

"Yes, but that's not why I called you here." Lyn said. It was then Florina noticed a hastily wrapped package sitting on the table. Lyn seemed really excited about it. "I have something for you."

She indicated the package and Florina walked over to it. Looking over at Lyn, who nodded, Florina began to open it. Inside was quite an amazing sight to behold. Vambraces that matched the ones on Lyn's new outfit had, a blue chest piece of lighter color than her old piece with shoulder pads, a dress much like her current attire with the skirt portion ending mid-thigh that was blue with red patterns adorning the sides and brown boots that rose a small bit above her knees. Along with it was two small brown straps for the boots and one red sash to tie around the waist with a pouch attached for vulneraries. Florina was amazed by the detail, but even more so by what this outfit represented.

"About six months ago now…" Lyn began, "I said goodbye to Will. When he left, I asked him to take an outfit for males of my tribe. I asked him if he would rejoin the Lorca." Lyn smiled a bit at the memory. "He said yes."

"That's great Lady—" Florina began. A glare from Lyn did manage to get her to stop. "Umm… Lyn. That's great."

"I know there aren't many who would take on an idea like this." Lyn said. "I'm the last of my tribe. Most people would say I should give up on a silly dream like returning the Lorca to its former glory."

"I think it's a wonderful dream." Florina said. "But Lyn, does that mean…"

Lyn nodded. "After Will, I had to think about things. I know there aren't any others I feel comfortable asking, but you… I always thought I should ask you. We're best friends, after all. I thought once you turned eighteen I would give you a gift and ask you at the same time."

"Eighteen." Florina mused. Lyn was right. She couldn't be sure her birthday was today, but it was somewhere in the coming month. The last time she had her birthday was when they had been on the road together for Caelin. It was amazing to think about.

"Florina, you don't have to say yes. The outfit is your gift either way." Lyn said. "If you want… I'd like for you to join the Lorca."

Florina was amazed, to say the least. To Lyn and to herself, this was probably the greatest honor she could bestow upon her friend. While Florina had been entirely content to serve Lyn in Caelin, Lyn had been thinking about a much grander goal. To Florina, it meant she hadn't really been treating Lyn with the respect she deserved. "I… thank you, Lyn."

"You're welcome." Lyn said, beaming.

"Can I… think about it?" Florina asked, holding the new dress up to her body to check the measurements. They were surprisingly accurate. This must've been why Lyn kept bugging her the past month about her growth in areas. At least she didn't sound as weird as Sain when asking.

"Of course." Lyn said.

The trip to Ilia had been colder than she remembered. Lyn's new outfit helped isolate her against the cold, the vambraces and boots were lined with fur that Lyn had cured herself. She also gave herself a small pat on the back for growing her hair out again. It had finally reached its old length at about mid-back, but she was considering letting it grow down to her waist. She had never tried having her hair that long before and she thought it might actually look pretty nice as long as she continued to take care of it.

To answer Lyn's request, Florina had wanted to return home and speak to her sisters. Honestly, she really wanted to say yes right then and there. However, the life of a Sacaen was different than an Ilian, so she figured she should talk to her sisters. They might think she was throwing her life away. Even if they understood, they might know how to best help her move forward. A part of her was so confused she just wanted to make sure she talked candidly with someone close to her. Since it was about Lyn, it couldn't be her. She didn't want to spend time searching for Will (and she blushed heavily upon realizing she had thought to go to him before her sisters) so she asked for leave to return to Ilia for a short time.

Huey was a saint, accepting their long days of flight without complaint. Florina kept him well fed and rested, so they made very good time crossing the mountains and Sacaen plains which led to Ilia. Pegasus travel was always preferable to being on foot, since it cut travel time by weeks or even months. Soon, she came upon the small house the three sisters shared. Thankfully, for once, the lights were on. At least someone was at home.

When she entered, she was assaulted by an impressive pile of garbage. "Farina!" She shouted angrily into the house.

"Oh? If it isn't baby sis!" A boisterous call from the other room answered. "Sorry about the mess! I was planning to clean it up when I headed out, honest!"

"If Fiora were to come home you'd give her a heart attack!" Florina grumped angrily, grabbing the nearest bag (which they used for garbage) and beginning to pick up.

"Sorry." The short blue haired eldest daughter appeared around the door.

"Farina! Put on your clothes!" Florina cried in surprise.

Farina was indeed dressed in very little. She had on a small skirt and a tube top, neither of which were conducive to the weather or her usual Pegasus knight gear. "Hah! You're sounding just like Fiora. Do you want my help or not?"

Florina sighed, but gave in. The cleaning did go much faster with two of them, Farina laughing as she regaled Florina with tales of her latest adventure. She had been exploring Etruria when a noble girl accosted her, demanding if she had seen a man with red hair. Farina had told the girl to be more specific, but the girl hadn't really been able to provide any further details. Aside from that, her mercenary troop had all decided to head home for a spell. When she got back, Fiora had just left on some top secret mission from the higher-ups and Florina had only sent a note about where she had gone. "I settled in for a bit. Figured I'd take my time and figure out what I want to do next."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know whether you'd be home so I wasn't sure how much to write." Florina said.

"It's fine." Farina said. "Besides, now that you're here you can give me the full run down. Sounds like fun to me! What do you say?"

Florina smiled. "Yes, I'd like that."

The two sat for hours, Florina trying her best to recount the events of the past year. Leaving Ilia, finding Lyn's home burned and searching for her, crashing into bandits, being saved by Lyn, being taught by Will, learning to overcome her fear of men, the Black Fang, Lundgren, getting her hair cut to try and get Lyn and Will to surrender, the Taliver coalition, Mark, saying goodbye to Will and her new position with Lyn. Finally, she got around to her new outfit and Lyn's question.

"Huh." Farina mused. "You've been through a lot these last two years, Florina."

Florina nodded. "I was hoping to ask for your and Fiora's help."

"Well, Fiora's gone on a secret mission." Farina said, scratching her chin. "No telling when she'll be back. Things got crazy up there when a tactician showed up and tried to warn the higher ups against it."

"A tactician?" Florina asked curiously.

"Yeah, if I heard right some Sacaen and an armored giant nearly broke into the palace." Farina chuckled. "They were arrested and brought before the leaders. Once the Sacaen said his piece, the leaders decided to let him and the giant go. Of course, they decided to go through with the mission anyway. The words of a single crazy person isn't going to change their minds."

"Sacaen… could it have been Will?" Florina asked in amazement.

"Dunno." Farina said. "If it was your little man crush, maybe they shouldn't have ignored him."

"M-muh-man crush?" Florina cried in surprise, blushing furiously.

"Oh come on little sis." Farina grinned. "Think I can't see the dreamy look and bright smile that you had when you kept talking about him. From the sounds of it though, you think Lyn and you are both…" She crossed her fingers together to illustrate her point.

Florina slumped in her chair. Fiora was surprisingly dense to romance, but Farina had always been quick on the uptake. She had kind of been hoping to avoid this topic, considering she'd manage to avoid thinking about it herself for so long. "Lyn is… my best friend." Florina said. "She's beautiful and wonderful and caring and strong…"

"Sis, you're all those things too." Farina said, taking her feet down from the table. "You just don't see it yourself. You spend a lot of your time admiring Lyn and making yourself feel inferior."

"But I… I want Lyn to be happy." Florina said sheepishly.

"She's a strong girl. She will be." Farina said. "Besides, you won't be happy if you let him go, will you?"

Florina thought about this. Try and she might, she couldn't see her feelings going away any time soon. "I… don't think so."

"Then at least try." Farina said. "At the end of the day, he's going to choose who he likes. Sure, that may be Lyn, but you'll never have a chance of flying if you don't get on the pegasus' back."

Farina's blunt words had a point. Florina hadn't really considered Will's feelings at all. Somehow, amidst her feelings of jealousy and competition, she had ignored the person it concerned. It made her feel even worse than she had before. "Now I feel like a jerk."

"Everyone has those moments." Farina said with a laugh. "Heck, I could tell you up to twenty of mine and that probably still wouldn't cover the opening chapters of my blunders. Even perfect Fiora has her share of blunders. What's important is to get in there and try, right?"

"I suppose… you're right." Florina agreed. What her sister said made sense, in a lot of ways. "So Farina… If umm… I said I wanted to join the Lorca tribe because Lyn asked me too… would that be okay?"

"Hmm… well it's not like you'll be gone forever. And it's not like we expected to all come back and live in this little shack together, right? We girls need to get ourselves our own lives! I'd say go for it, as long as it's what you want." Farina said. "I don't know if it would affect your status in Ilia though. I'm guessing that's what worried you?"

"A little." Florina agreed. "I'm not sure I would care about leaving the pegasus knights, since you did it yourself and are just fine, but I worry they'll come and try to take Huey, or something…"

"Well they haven't touched Carver." Farina shrugged. "Maybe because I'm a gifted Pegasus rider and I do report in from time to time, even while in mercenary troops, but I don't think Ilia is all that into separating pegasi and their riders if they don't plan to be knights. Just wouldn't be right."

"I suppose…" Florina agreed, nodding her head. "I think I made up my mind now. Thank you, Farina."

"Hey, I'm the oldest. Fiora may act like it, but it's my job to make sure you two are doing well at the end of the day. I'm just glad I could be here when you needed it." Farina said, ruffling Florina's hair. "You're really going with the long hair look, huh?"

Florina mumbled to herself, which Farina took as a challenge, grabbing the younger sister in a headlock and continuing her rant. "That's right, you turned of age just recently didn't you? I'm going to have to be there for your first drink! You may not like the taste, but that's not something I'm going to miss. After that, we'll talk about plans. I think I may have a better way to stay in contact when I go off on my next job. No promises though."

The two sisters enjoyed a peaceful evening together, as the snow outside fell softly to the ground.

"Florina!" Lyn said in surprise. It had been a total of two months since they saw each other last. Florina had asked for time off and though she knew she would miss her friend, Lyn had been happy to give it to her.

On the way back, Florina had a lot of time to think about what her sister told her. While it was true that she didn't think she was as pretty as Lyn, Florina had admitted she had her own charm. She was in shape and despite her slightly smaller size all around she was still built well. She could handle her weapons and Huey with ease and had even started learning the sword from Lyn, Kent and Sain. With that, all she could do was try. If Lyn also wanted to be with Will, she too would have to try. Then, once Will understood, a choice would be made. At least then, if she lost, it wouldn't hurt quite as much. "Lyn!" She cried, jumping off Huey. The two embraced tightly.

"I missed you." Lyn said happily.

"And I you." Florina said.

"Did you get a chance to do what you wanted?" Lyn asked.

"I did." Florina said, as they led Huey to the stables for a well-deserved rest. "I didn't get to speak to Fiora, but I got a chance to catch up with Farina. It was really nice to spend time as sisters."

"I'm happy for you." Lyn said. "Though I must admit, it was quite subdued while you were away. I had no one to talk to about some of the sillier court matters and the trainees all seemed a little out of it."

"I'll get them back into shape." Florina said, in a mock deep voice that was trying to imitate Kent's.

Lyn giggled. "That's exactly what Kent said! He trained applying one of Wallace's old training schedules to the routine, but it fell apart rather quickly on him. He started sulking so Sain had to take over for a few days until Wil managed to get Kent out of his funk. It was odd, to say the least."

"Lyn…" Florina said, tugging on Lyn's hand to stop her as they approached the castle walls. "I had time to think about what you asked. It's also why… I wanted to talk to my sisters."

"Oh, right." Lyn said, understanding. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ask too much of you."

"It's not too much!" Florina said quickly. "I umm… I just wanted to make sure… I chose it for myself."

"I see." Lyn said, nodding. "I understand."

"So, Lyn…" Florina said, looking the slightly taller woman in the eyes. "I would be honored to join the Lorca."

Lyn's eyes widened in surprise. It was the second time someone close to her had surprised her with their acceptance. She pulled Florina into a hug and the two remained that way for a long time. "Thank you, Florina."

So now she wore the garb of the Lorca, just as proudly and happily as Lyn did in court these days. Once she had returned from Ilia, everything seemed to settle down nicely. The next few months were rather quiet, apart from the occasional correspondence from Will. Florina did notice that Will never wrote about appearing in Ilia. She supposed it could have been another person, but the description Farina had given her was too much of a dead ringer to be someone else. She supposed that would have to be added to the list of questions to ask Will when he came back.

Well, when he came back. Since he was now traveling with Lord Eliwood to search for his father, who could say how long it would be until she saw him again? Maybe when Lyn saw this she would determine herself to rush to their aid anyway. Lyn did tend to do whatever she thought best, no matter what anyone else said to try and dissuade her.

She supposed that job now fell to her. As one of the only three Lorca tribesmen, she likely had a bit of power to make Lyn listen to her. She hoped. If she was unlucky, Lyn would keep treating her like a younger sister, constantly worrying over her when she didn't need it. Sometimes, Lyn drew dangerously close to Fiora levels of worry.

Today, however, was promising to be a good day. She had received Will's letter, they finally had a day off from all that training and now she would be able to gather everyone without it seeming strange. She'd have to figure out where each of them were. If she thought about it, there was only one place Kent would be. He always trained early in the morning. Hopefully, Sain or Lyn would be with him, which would cut the amount of people she had to find in half. Wil was either sleeping in or at the archery range outside the castle walls. Lyn had been taking up the bow, so she supposed it was possible for her to be there with him, but it was just as possible for Wil to have wandered over to a nearby village. Lyn, if she was lucky, was not going to have to appear in court today. She'd probably take Lord Hausen on a walk or two so they could talk, but otherwise would be free. Will's letter couldn't have arrived at a better time.

"Lord Darin." The soft voice of Ephidel spoke so near his ear the Lord nearly jumped.

"Ephidel! What is it you want?" The older man asked, disgruntled. He was still having difficulty coming to terms with leaving his son behind. Hadn't this been exactly why he wanted to overthrow Ostia? They had so much power and consolidated the best for themselves, while his youngest lay in a bed, coughing and sputtering until he moved no more. Leaving Erik behind to share the same fate…

"Lord Hausen and his granddaughter are not likely to let us pass unhindered." Ephidel sighed. "Sacaen's are known for being stubborn and prideful."

"Why the man accepted a granddaughter like that is beyond me." Darin agreed.

"Instead of allowing their forces to catch us, we should strike. By taking Caelin, we can throw Lycia into chaos." Ephidel hissed softly. "The rebellion has already begun. Anyone who has not sworn themselves to you, is an enemy."

"Yes… yes you're right of course." Darin said, gripping his lance. "Anyone who stands in my way must pay the price. I am the rightful Lord of Lycia."