Florina watched curiously as Farina sniggered and hid behind the closed door. Her ear was pressed to the wood as she covered her mouth with her hand. Her young body was crouched down low as another muffled giggle escaped her lips.

"What are you doing?" Florina asked. Farina turned her head to look at Florina before pressing a finger to her lips. She beckoned for Florina to sit by her and then leaned her head back against the door. Florina followed suit. Through the door, she heard her mother and Fiora speaking. It took a moment to focus her ears so that they could pick up on the soft conversation.

"So, what is his name?" Her mother asked in her lyrical voice. Fiora hesitated a moment before answering.

"Watt," she replied sheepishly. "He's in training to be a knight."

"Fiora's got a crush," Farina sang out quietly. There another chuckle before she silenced herself to listen as the rest of the scene unfolded.

"How old is he?" Their mother inquired. There was a pause followed by a slight squeak of an answer.

"What did she say?" Farina asked Florina, straining her ears to listen.

"Two years older," Florina told her. There was a sigh emitted from their mother, followed by some light, inaudible chatter between mother and daughter. Farina was becoming antsy, as she clearly could not understand what was going on. Finally, their Mother spoke in a louder voice.

"A crush is simply a liking for someone," she spoke. "It does not mean you are in love. It does not require you to pursue romance. There are some bad men out there, Fiora. Remember that. Stick truer to your duties than to any man, for they will make you happier and will never betray you. And make sure you know the difference between love and infatuation before you marry that supposedly one special man."

That single memory was brought back to Florina as Farina lectured her, saying very clearly, "This isn't the end of the world, you know." Florina only could numbly nod; Farina just didn't understand. It might not be the end of the world, but for her, it was pretty damn close.

"You don't understand," Florina tried to put it to words. Farina sighed.

"Of course I do," Farina attempted to convince her, but they were at odds here. "I have had several unrequited crushes. I deal with it, and it's about time you learn to do the same." She paused. "You're lucky to have me helping you instead of Fiora convincing you that you don't have these feelings. Jeez, you should just be happy with the fact that I'm not making you pay for my services." This made Florina crack a small smile.

"You're right," she admitted. "She wouldn't like the idea of me liking Sain." Farina snorted.

"That's an understatement. She wouldn't like the idea of you with anyone, especially during a time of war. Except, she seems to a hypocrite, as she is spending more and more time that Kent guy." Farina took a short strand of her hair and twirled it between her thumb and index finger. "Those two are so much alike, it's scary sometimes. And, as strange as it may seem, he actually agrees with all those little rules and morals she makes up." Florina reminded her that she had been watching their antics for much longer than she had and that she knew very clearly.

"Do you, well, think that Fiora will follow Mother's advice?" Florina questioned. With a strange look, Farina glanced over at Florina and shrugged.

"What advice?" She said sarcastically, with a little bit of disdain thrown in. "Oh, you mean that we should disregard all members of the opposite sex for they will bring us great pain?" Her snide remark carried all the contempt she held for their mother, a woman she considered weak and pitiful. "Well, I will say she did a good job of raising us. What, with a daughter who thinks that it is morally unfit to breathe on a man out of marriage, a child who only loves gold and a kid with an absolute fear of the male population." She paused. "But no, I think Fiora won't listen. Of any of us, she was the always the one to think beyond that and the only one with hope of marriage. Us two, we're not made for men."

Though it rung true, Florina did not like to hear Farina talk like that. She had always loved her mother, and although the woman had a strong dislike for men, she was kind and gentle, and she still carried a love in her heart for their father. Perhaps that was the source of their troubles. Also, Farina spoke as if none of it would ever change, and there would be no hope for Florina.

"You're wrong," she said quietly.

"About Fiora? Heh, I think not," Farina chuckled. Before Florina could properly explain what she meant, Farina whisked her out of the room, suggesting that they travel even further down memory lane and tune into Fiora's love life. Florina knew where they were headed: Kent's tent. Just a few days back—the night after Florina realized her affection for Sain— Kent had been free of that "cage" of an infirmary, as Fiora so nicely put it.

It was dark outside, with the stars and moon illuminating the encampment. From the center of the camp, a few fires were still lit as most of the army continued to chat and drink as the night wore on. For a second, Florina caught sight of what she believed to be an Ilian Rose tucked behind Priscilla's ear in place of her usual feather. But it was only a glimpse, as Farina was still dragging Florina behind her as they approached Kent's tent.

From inside the tent flaps, Florina could hear a hushed conversation. It was nothing private, but she was sure that Fiora and Kent did not want to draw attention to the fact that they were spending more and more of their leisure hours in each other's company. Farina squatted on the other side of the tent, away from the tent flap where eyes could catch her eavesdropping. Florina knelt down next to her.

There was a little light laughter and some discussion of the army and current events. Farina yawned as it stretched on with nothing occurring of any slight interest. They watched the two from the shadows of the tent. The taller form was Kent while the slimmer shape was obviously Fiora.

Finally, the two shadows moved closer together, and as they did so, their voices dropped to a low tone. The sisters watched eagerly as Kent's dark hand brought Fiora's up to his chin. As his head bowed, the girls could safely assume that he was kissing her fingers. Farina struggled to keep from letting out an excited whoop. It was not that she was happy that her sister was finally hooking up with a guy; it was the fact that this made excellent blackmail material that made her so anxious.

"If only Isadora would have taken me up to that bet," Farina whispered to Florina. The shadows broke apart. They probably heard of a voice and thought someone was walking by the tent. "Man, I would have won it big time." The two inside seemed to decide that it just wasn't a passerby, as Fiora's figure retreated. With a muffled giggle, Florina crawled away on all fours before climbing back onto her feet and running away.

Farina apparently did not miss Florina's presence nor did she notice the absence of one of the shadows, as she continued to rant on. Florina burst into laughter as she heard Fiora's familiar shout upon finding Farina hiding behind the tent. She glanced over her shoulder to try to see them fight as she continued to run, but as she did so, she ran straight into two strong arms.

"Tsk, tsk," Sain pretended to chide her. She looked up and gasped when she saw Sain's teasing face. "You ought to be ashamed of yourself, Florina. Eavesdropping on your sister…why just the idea of it could make you guilty." Florina stepped back out of his embrace and took a moment to steady her breathing patterns.

"Y-you would have, um, done the same," she pointed out. He laughed.

"True," he admitted, "but I would have been a lot more discreet than Miss Farina over there. So," He leaned close to Florina. For a second, she hoped- thought- he was going to kiss her, but even she knew that was implausible. "Did they finally kiss?"

"Y-Yeah, he kissed her," Florina said coolly. Sain let out a satisfied whoosh of breath, but she then added, "On the hand, that is." Sain cursed under his breath.

"I've been waiting for those two to hook up forever," he said. "For some time now, I've been suggesting to Kent that he allow to me give him some dating advice, but he always turns me down."

"Dating advice? You mean passing on what I tell you?" Florina remarked. "Really Sain, I'm starting to think you're using me." He laughed and patted her back.

"You know, you really are a fun and witty person once you start coming out of your shell," he said. Florina reverted back to her old habit and bit her lip. Farina had said the same exact thing several times before, but every time she seemed to "come out of her shell", she only embarrassed herself more.

"So, you've c-chosen Priscilla, eh?" She changed the subject abruptly. He looked at her, surprised if anything. Her eyes cast down to the ground, where her boots became an instant source of entertainment. "I saw you gave her flowers."

"Yeah," he said. "She's nice, and she seems to like me."

"Well, good then," Florina mumbled. Then a new idea snuck into her head. Before her common sense could stop her, she put it into action. "But…isn't she, um, some sort of n-nobility?" Sain nodded. "Its will be hard to please her…because…you know, she already has everything."

"I've thought of that, and I've thought of Priscilla. She doesn't seem like that." What he said had an air of truth to it, and Florina cursed- yes, swore violently- in her head for it. Why was she jealous now? She had known what she was getting into, and it was perfectly clear to her that Sain was going to pick a girl other than her and fall in love. Florina would be pushed out of the way when she was no longer needed.

"You're right," she murmured softly. "Um, I guess I'll find out about her- I mean, I will help find ways to win her over." He smiled his thanks. Poor Florina was heartbroken, but he could not see it. It was getting darker by the second, and shadows were cast about her face, shielding her emotions that were probably painted clearly on her burning cheeks and trembling lip.

"You've guessed my girl; so, any ideas on your boy?" He questioned her. She snapped back to reality. She had given it a lot of thought, and she believed she knew the answer.

"W-W-Wil," she burst out. Florina saw Sain's eyes widened only slightly; he was surprised she knew. "I mean, he did e-everything that I told y-you to do, and y-you obviously passed it on. It surprises me; he was with R-Rebecca I thought and-"

"Haven't you heard?" he asked. She knew the rumors, and she had indeed heard of them. "People have been saying Rebecca and Raven have a thing for each other, and Wil is getting jealous. Perhaps…" He let it hang as she knew very well what it was. Wil wanted to hang out with her to make Rebecca envious. It would make sense, except Wil didn't seem like that type of person. Then again, Florina was willing to screw up Sain's relationship with Priscilla; so, anything was possible.

In fact, maybe accepting Wil's approaches would have the same effect on Sain as it would Rebecca. If he cared about her, he would be driven mad with jealously. Florina knew in her heart that she really couldn't so cruel to amiable Priscilla that she would lie to Sain about her, but flirting with Wil would gain them both of their desired results. Ok, so she wasn't a great flirter (or actress), but it could work.

Suddenly, her mother's words echoed back to her, and she instantly felt ashamed. This was a crush, nothing more than a more-than-usual liking of this man. Why would she go to such extreme measures for him? Wil was obviously in love with Rebecca; he had known her since they were children. Florina had known Sain for a little more than a year, and her infatuation of him was relatively recent.

"Florina, are you alright?" Sain asked her. She nodded meekly. The answer came to her then, as he slipped his arms around her body and muttered a good night to her. It was a friendly embrace, a gesture to simply cap off the night, but it unclouded the haze around her question.

Why was she thinking of such crazy actions?

Because, quite simply, she would go insane if she didn't.

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Author's Note: Ta Da! Now that you've read this, it's time for the second part: Review!