Florina squeaked. More closely, she squealed. Her little body jumped up and twisted around in mid-air, only to face the one, the only Farina. Her sister stood there, with a devilish grin on her lips and her hands resting on her hips.

"Y-you startled me," Florina said, a little relieved.

"How? By talking or by saying Sain really does like you back?"

"Um…well, it was just sudden and—" Farina laughed at her reaction.

"No need to hide from me, sis," Farina said, slipping an arm around Florina's shoulder. She guided her back towards her own tent, talking smoothly the entire way. "We're as thick as thieves. Hiding from me only hurts your cause."

"My cause…?" Florina questioned. She had never really thought of it in that context. It seemed a little vicious when put that way, as if Sain were nothing more than a boy toy.

"Florina, it's time we have a talk," Farina said. Her voice was mock-serious. "It's about time I tell you about the Pegasi and the Wyverns." The blood drained out of Florina's face. She attempted to wiggle out of Farina's grasp, but Farina only tightened her hold on her. "You see, Florina, when a man and woman love each other very much-" Florina twisted free. Farina could no longer contain her laughter as she watched the flustered girl run off.

Florina, meanwhile, dashed away. She did want to have that talk with Farina; even if her sister was only joking, she loathed the idea of her even alluding to that fact. She shuddered and rubbed her arms.

"Stew?" a chipper person asked behind her. Florina jumped; this was the second time today! At least, on this occasion, it was not Farina teasing her. Rebecca was standing her, a ladle in one hand and a wooden bowl in the other. "Sorry," she apologized, after noticing Florina's jittery state.

"No…worry." Florina shook her head. "Um…stew would be…great." Rebecca smiled. She spooned a helping of the stew into the bowl and handed it to Florina. After stating her thanks, Florina glanced around for a seat. The cooking fires were popular at this time; she usually waited until later to eat, but since she was here…

Priscilla was sitting next to Raven and Lucius. She sent an anxious glance over her shoulder. Florina followed her gaze, but she could not find exactly whom she was seeking out. Raven was silent, slowly chewing the tough stringy meat in the thin broth, and Lucius was speaking softly.

Florina walked over to Priscilla. "D-do you mind?" She gestured to the bare spot next to Priscilla.

"Of course not, Florina." She smiled at her warmly. Florina kneeled down on her knees. She took a bite full of potato chunks and carrot bits before speaking again.

"I-I want to apologize for Sain's behavior earlier," she said. "He was acting unusually rude."

"Don't," Priscilla said as she shook her head. "I think I know why he's avoiding me." Her eyes wandered down dejectedly to her own bowl, half empty and cold.

"Why?" Florina pressed. Suddenly, she realized she had said it sort of forcefully, and she retreated. Taking a strand of red hair between her fingers, Priscilla sighed.

"He seems to be the root of my problems these days," she murmured. It was so quiet that Florina had to lean in to hear it. Obviously, she had said it so that only Florina could hear her. Her emerald eyes picked up again and washed over the premises of the cooking fires.

"What problems?" Priscilla slanted forward to whisper in her ear that she wanted to talk in a more private area. Florina nodded and picked herself up from the ground. The two girls departed from the area. Raven looked after them at their sudden departure, but other than that, no one cared or detected their leave.

Priscilla led Florina to a small grove of trees where only a handful of tents were clustered. Even here, in this solitude, her voice was hushed, and Florina had to string together the words themselves in order to realize what exactly she was saying.

"I'm not really the person that opens up to others," Priscilla began, wringing her hands. "But…I don't know how to deal with it."

"With what exactly?"

"I think…I'm in love." As Priscilla said the words, Florina thought she was going to faint. She knew it was coming all along, but the impact hit even harder than she could have ever expected. She gulped but forced an understanding countenance.

"With who?" Florina mentally slapped herself. Wasn't it obvious?

"Isn't it obvious?" Priscilla seemed at once anxious and a tad relieved. Of course, it was Sain. He was the source of her "troubles" after all.

"Well, y-yeah," Florina saved herself. "B-but maybe…if you say his name, it will help you deal with it." She seemed very satisfied with this answer, but before Priscilla could respond to it, another nagging question came to mind. "Why is this such a bad thing?"

"Because, I am in love with a man below my rank," she explained mournfully. "A man I will have to let go forever when the war ends…if he survives when the war ends! And if he doesn't, I feel I'll die too. I don't even know for sure if he loves me back…I'm a bit inexperienced in this arena. I was going to talk to Sain to help deal with it, but he keeps avoiding me! I know he has something to do with it-"

'Naturally,' Florina reasoned in her mind, but she said nothing as Priscilla continued.

"And I thought that since you're such close friends with him, perhaps you would know about- oh, of course you about it!" Priscilla's hands flew to her head, and she rubbed her temples. She was discernibly distressed by this matter. "I think…part of me is scared. Scared of what might happen, scared of what won't happen." She gave a despondent smile to Florina. "Do I make any sense?"

"Yeah, of course." Florina placed a comforting hand on Priscilla's shoulder. "But what exactly do you think I know?" This, Florina was absolutely dying to find out. Was she talking about if Sain loved her? According to Farina, there was doubt to that. Perhaps she was referring to flowers Sain gave her. He did give Priscilla flowers, right? Yes, yes, she remembered seeing them tucked behind Priscilla's ear that one day.

"Well, it started when-"

"Florina!" Kent called across the area. He was briskly walking towards her with his long strides. "Good thing I stumbled upon you. Fiora was looking for you; she has something she needs to speak to you about." Florina felt like taking her lance and plunging it through Kent. Of course, her lance was now shards on the bloodied earth, and she had yet to get a new one. True, Priscilla's statement would be painful to Florina, but it would help her see through the enigma that Sain was quickly becoming.

"Um, of course. Tell her I'll meet her back at our tent." Kent nodded and left them. "Sorry," Florina apologized. "Can you just quickly tell me?"

"It's a long story," Priscilla said disappointedly. Florina turned to leave, but Priscilla clung on to her arm. "Just promise me that I can speak with you later. This might sound silly, but you're the only person I can think of that can help me with this." Florina assured her that she would before trudging back to see Fiora.

Well, this was a strange development. She was helping Sain woo Priscilla, while at the same time, she would now be aiding Priscilla in dealing with her feelings for Sain. A slightly annoyed sigh left her lips. Since when did she become the prime love advisor for the army? She could barely deal with her own love issues.

Florina pushed through their tent. Fiora was already there, smiling. For some reason, Florina did not feel like smiling. She gestured to herself.

"I'm here," she announced irritably. Fiora patted down on the bedroll next to her.

"We need to speak."

"I know," Florina said, sitting down where Fiora had motioned to. "I just don't know why."

"We need to have a talk about you and Sain and your relationship," Fiora pronounced each word slowly and carefully. Florina's eyes widened. Not again! And she was sure Fiora was not kidding about having the talk. But of course, Fiora was not certain just where their relationship was; as it stood, they were still at that cursed friend stage.

"W-what about it?" Florina summoned up the courage to say.

"Well, Kent has been confiding in me lately about some things Sain has been doing, and I have realized that your relationship is more serious than I thought and more than you have been letting on to."

"Let me guess…you don't approve of him," Florina tried meekly. Fiora shook her head.

"I wouldn't have if Kent did not tell that since you two starting spending time together— for some unknown reason— that Sain has ceased flirting with other women. Whenever he hears your name, he instantly starts talking about you. I've known it for a while, but I wanted to talk to you so that I could get comfortable with that fact that maybe my little dear Florina has finally overcome her fear and found a man for herself."

At this moment, Florina's heart was racing. Her cheeks felt warm, and her mind tried to comprehend this all. Farina was right! Kent would never lie about this to Fiora, and Fiora would certainly never toy with Florina this way. But it still left so many unanswered questions.

"Florina, just tell me that you love him and that you believe he's a good man."

"L-l-love him?" Her heart thudded even wilder. "B-but how do I-I know it's not a simple c-crush?" Fiora's face dropped as she recognized where those words were coming from. She tilted Florina's face up so that she was forced to stare into Fiora's icy blue eyes.

"Don't you ever listen to that woman said," she cautioned her. "Sweet Elimine, I realize how awful it must've been for you. After Farina left, you were alone with that horrid woman." She pushed Florina close to her in a warm, sisterly embrace.

"She's our mother, though," Florina pointed out. Fiora sighed.

"And he was our father. Are you going to defend him?" Florina was silent, knowing Fiora was right. "I thought so." She held Florina now at arm's length. "I don't know just what is going on exactly between you and Sain; only you and Sain really know if it'll work out, if you're truly in love."

"Perhaps he doesn't love me." There was still the Priscilla factor, even if all evidence led to believe Sain had fallen for her.

"What is making you doubt this?" It was a true question from Fiora. Florina could understand; Fiora had been left in the dark about most of their relationship.

"It's…complicated," Florina told her. "But… I feel like I need to figure it out on my own." She stood suddenly, disentangling herself from Fiora. "I went to Farina-"

"You what!" Fiora exclaimed sharply. "I don't know whether I should be horrified or insulted that you went to Farina instead of coming to me."

"Well, I know now that didn't turn out so great for me," Florina redeemed herself. "She…just seemed like she knew more about relationships, and I had no idea what to do. I've never had a crush before; I've never had to deal with men like this-" Her voice cracked, and Florina looked away with a distressed sigh. Fiora joined her standing up and enveloped her into another hug.

"You may not realize this, Florina, but Farina is just as scared of a committed relationship as any of us. She had to go through the same childhood with the same parents. She just hides it." Fiora's fingers weaved through Florina's hair. "We're terrified that we'll fall in love, have our hearts broken and be left in a desperate situation. Until I met Kent, I was sure there was no one that would truly understand. I couldn't trust any one man."

"Do you love Kent?" Florina knew the answer, but she wanted Fiora to say it, as if her older, much admired sister's words would bring comfort to her own situation.

"As much as I hate being called a hypocrite, I have fallen in love with him during a war, when I should be focused on my duty. But that's how love is. You can't control when you fall in love." Her head bent down to kiss Florina's forehead. Florina broke away.

"I have to go talk to Sain," Florina murmured.

"It's getting late," Fiora advised her. "Go in the morning when you're sensible again." Florina nodded, slipped down onto her bedroll, and squeezed her eyes shut, praying sleep would come easily.

The next morning, Florina woke up. Her eyes were still heavy with exhaustion, and she stretched her limbs out to relieve the stiffness. The tent was empty. Fiora had already left and packed up her bedroll.

Florina dressed and left the tent. The morning was hazy; gray clouds hung low over the encampment. She could not tell what time it was exactly, but no one was wandering the camp. It seemed lonely and deserted. In fact, it was almost eerie.

Florina shook it off. She paused for a moment to gather her bearings. The conversation with Fiora wandered back into her mind. She had to speak with Sain, once and for all. At the thought of it, she became anxious, but she had no choice. Her feet seemed to carry themselves until she arrived right in front of his tent.

This time, she would forget to announce herself. Softly, so that she would not draw attention from another tents, she called out, "S-Sain, are you there?"

There was no reply, only heavy silence. She tried again, with similar results. Sighing in defeat, she turned to leave.

"Florina?" She turned around. There Sain was, poking his head out of his tent. His hair was tousled, and his eyes looked droopy. She smiled sheepishly.

"S-sorry for waking you," she murmured. Sain grinned at her brightly.

"No problem," he said, pushing aside the flap so that she could enter. "I needed to talk to you anyways." Florina's heart thumped.

"So did I! I mean, talk to you." Sain ushered her in. He quickly straightened his bedroll and invited her to sit next to him on it. She took the seat cautiously. He was busy tying his hair back.

"You don't have to do that," she stopped him by slipping the band out of his hand. "I thought you looked better without it." Sain grinned down at her.

"Well, if my lady so desires," he said. Their hands were side-by-side. He slipped his into hers. "So, where do we start?" Florina shrugged.

"I don't really know," she admitted.

"So how about with this," he began. Florina's eyes widened. "I love you, Florina. I'm madly in love with you, and I won't be able to shake off these feelings." Breathing suddenly became a hassle for Florina; her heart seemed to freeze in her ribcage. "You do love me back, don't you?" Florina choked back a mumbled reply; she was not sure if it was yes or no.

Apparently, it was a good response. Sain leaned forward and kissed her on the lips.

…

…

…

And then she woke up.

Dreams are such fickle things after all.

----

Author's Note: laughs evilly Oh, I am so evil. So very, very evil indeed. But I'm prepared. I've got my bullet proof vest, helmet, shin guards, gloves, and boots. (They're also flame resistant). Bring it on!

This chapter was fun. I do need to write something with a more serious tone now and then. But don't get too hung up on Florina talking to Sain next chapter. You really think I'd make it that easy for her! Nope, but expect a lot to be cleared up next chapter, including the Priscilla factor and Florina's past.

Reviews (even ones stating how evil I am) are greatly appreciated!