Florina had wanted to stay in Sain's arms forever, long after her tears had dried; she liked having his warmth envelope her and his strength support her. After dragging her into his tent, Sain just held her. His voice in her ear soothed her, consoled her, lulled her. Only a few minutes passed, and yet it seemed all of eternity could pass by her and she would not care.
Parting with his warmth was difficult, but the shouts outside called for a speedy dismantling of the camp and an immediate departure. Sain took his time letting go of Florina; his fingers still held hers in their tentative grasp.
"Will you be all right?" he asked her, and she nodded. His eyes, always so joyful and glistening with mischief, now dimmed with concern for her. She did not like that she could make him so worried, but the thought also brought a sort of comfort to her, knowing that she had someone who truly cared.
Sain leaned down and pressed his lips to her forehead. Florina felt something tingle, then sink down through her stomach and her legs, pinning her feet to the ground. She almost did not feel him let go of her as he prepared to take down his tent, but when she did, she moved to help him.
"Go on and saddle Huey," he told her. "I'll be fine here."
Florina shook her head. "I want to help you, like you helped me."
Something passed through Sain's eyes that moment, something Florina did not recognize. It softened his gaze and caused her to tremble.
"Sain!" The moment fled them. They knew that voice. Kent.
"Look busy," Sain said before they split into two different tasks. Florina took to furling the bedroll, and Sain started throwing his belongings haphazardly into his bag. When Kent burst into the tent, he saw them frantically moving.
"Oh Kent!" Sain exclaimed. "What are you doing here? I thought you'd be taking down your own tent."
"Two things," Kent said. "First, Florina, your sister was looking for you. I suggest you hurry."
Florina nodded. "Yes. Thank you. Bye Kent. Sain."
"Till we see each other again, Flora," Sain said, and Florina could feel him watching her as she left the tent. Upon thinking of their closeness, Florina shivered, wondering why it had to end like that.
Till they saw each other again. Florina knew he had something special in store for her.
And the anticipation was killing her.
----
"So what was the furor about again?" Farina asked, slumped forward on her Pegasus. Florina rode next to her as they both let their mounts rest their wings. Matthew hiked in front of them, hands constantly on resting on the hilts of his daggers.
"False alarm," Matthew told them.
"How do you know?" This time the question was Florina's.
"Because if you listen very carefully, you can hear Lord Hector cursing about it at the head of the march," Matthew answered in the sly way he did.
Farina sighed, wrapping her reins around one wrist while stroking Murphy's mane. "We're moving at a snail's pace. I'm so bored." She slumped forward, hand firmly tangled in white hair with her head against Murphy's neck. "This really blows."
Matthew held up a hand to silence them. "Listen…ah, there's my young master again. And we're lost. And only Hector can say it so colorfully." Farina groaned audibly.
Lowen, trotting next to Matthew, gave a look that Florina could only assume was disbelief at Matthew's abilities, but when it came to Lowen, discerning any sort of emotion from behind the rug of hair was nearly impossible.
"Are you sure?" Lowen asked him. "I can't hear anything."
"Because you're a knight and I'm a spy," Matthew reminded him. "I'd be a pretty lousy spy if I were deaf."
Florina gathered Huey's reins in both hands and yanked him out the line. "I'm going to volunteer to scout out the area. Perhaps I can figure out where we are." Urging a word into Huey's ear, Florina hovered above the ground for a moment before skidding to the head of the line. As she neared the lords, she could begin to make out his bellows.
Matthew was right; he did have a colorful vocabulary.
"Lord Hector," Florina called as she directed Huey to a grounded gait again. "Do you want me to scout the area?"
"What for? We have Rath and Rebecca on scout duty." Hector lowered his voice to speak with her, but from its rough edge, she could tell he was still vexed.
"But aren't we lost?" The words came out before she could properly process them. She watched as Hector's face turned red; Eliwood hid his laugh behind a hand.
"We're not lost," Hector said firmly.
A flush of embarrassment swept over Florina. "Oh," she murmured, "her voice low. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"
"Florina," Eliwood cut in with a kind smile, "it would be greatly appreciated."
The embarrassment subsiding, Florina nodded and dug her heels into Huey's flank. As she rose into the air, she realized that Sain was marching behind the lords. Catching his eye, she smiled and blushed; he grinned back, a knowing glint in his eye.
----
Lyn approached Florina at camp that night, and they took a walk together, trying to relive old times. The dinner calls had already rung, and most had eaten, now retreating to tents for sleep or a round of cards.
"Thank you so much Florina for helping us earlier," Lyn said after a lull broke between them. "Hector won't admit it, but you helped us quite a bit."
"It was no problem," Florina insisted. "Just doing my part."
Lyn let go a deep breath into the crisp air. "I've been so busy lately we haven't had much of a chance to talk."
Florina giggled. "I know. It's like you're stranger now."
Lyn shook her head. "No, it's like you're a stranger. You're so confident these days. And happy." A thin smile grew on Lyn's lips. "And I bet I know why."
"Why?" Florina wanted to know.
"I think it has something to do with a certain paladin." Lyn watched Florina's reaction, but the flustered mess she expected never surfaced.
"Maybe," Florina said with a coy grin.
Lyn laughed. "Well regardless, you two will have plenty of time together tonight now that Mark has assigned you both to guard duty tonight."
Florina groaned. "What? Tonight?"
"You didn't know?" Lyn sounded skeptical. "According to him you haven't served night duty for a few weeks now, and Sain keeps skipping his turns." Lyn nudged Florina. "Perhaps, he thought that if he assigned you two together, Sain would actually do his duty for once." Waiting, she added, "as a perk." Now Florina blushed. Even if Lyn was joking, if their relationship had influenced Mark's decisions, then she knew that the entire camp already had their suspicions.
"Uh, well, I suppose I ought to report to Mark then," Florina said.
"All right, but on tomorrow's march, I want you by my side," Lyn said before they separated.
Florina retrieved her armor and lance before proceeding to Mark's tent, which was a mess of maps and papers. Florina danced around the disorder, approaching the scrawny tactician. Absorbed in one of his maps, he had not realized Florina's presence until she delicately tapped his shoulder.
Mark jumped, and when he landed, he nearly slipped on a sheet of parchment. Spinning around and breathing heavily, Mark saw Florina and began to relax.
"Sorry for scaring you," Florina meekly apologized. "I'm here to report for guard duty."
Mark nodded, reaching for a leather-bound book with bits of twine poking out of the top. Opening it to the marked place, he pointed to a small box headed by the date. "Sign there so I have it for the records." Florina picked up his quill and signed her name in the box using her dainty signature. Mark, meanwhile, glanced over her shoulder at the second visitor.
"Ah, Sain." He waved over the paladin. Florina perked at the name and handed Sain the quill with a smile. His eyes bore into hers; he seemed just as happy to see her.
"Flora," he said, "what a surprise. We'll be serving out our sentences together."
Mark was quick to correct him. "Not technically together. You'll both have different posts to watch over."
Before Sain could scribble his name in the book, Farina and Dorcas entered. Farina smirked at Florina.
"Hey sis. You and Sain are doing duty tonight eh?" Farina edged towards Florina as she waited for her turn with the quill. "Just so happens I volunteered myself tonight. We can have a little guard party."
"No," Mark jumped in, "No, you can't. You'll all be at different posts." Sain handed Dorcas the pen and slung an arm around Florina's shoulders. Neither he nor Florina was listening as Mark continued, choosing instead to watch one another. "Sain will take the north post, Florina the east. Farina, you have south, and Dorcas will take the west."
"Sounds good," Sain said once he noticed Mark had finished speaking. "Well then, Florina, allow me to escort you to your post." He led her out of the tent.
They had not walked three steps away when Farina burst from the tent flap. She pried herself between them and ignored their murderous visages, slipping her arms around each of their shoulders.
"Well, then, this will be fun, the three of us, no matter what a party spoiler Mark is," she said. Noticing Florina and Sain's suddenly irate expressions, she twittered innocently, "Oh don't mind me. You two can still spend time together." When her statement failed to placate them, she released them. "Oh fine, go off and leave me alone, why don't you."
Sain returned to his former position with Florina, leaning to whisper in her ear, "what are the chances she's going to follow us?"
"Pretty high," Florina staked. "You're talking about a girl who camped outside of Kent's tent for several nights, hoping to see him make a move on Fiora."
Sain veered left. "We'll just have to go somewhere where she won't find us." His hand now lost in Florina's orchid strands, he added, "and I know just where."
Florina was more than glad just to follow him, taking dizzying turns throughout the camp to throw Farina off, giving them a good laugh as well. As they approached the outskirts of camp, Florina saw Dorcas, axe in hand, parading the perimeter.
"Dorcas!" Sain called out. Dorcas turned his head and acknowledged their presence. "Do you mind watching the east post for Florina tonight? It's dark, and there are a lot of trees there, and it would make it very easy for her to be overwhelmed should someone attack." By the way he raised his eyebrow, they both knew that Dorcas did not buy it, but he nodded anyways.
As he passed Sain, he whispered, "I was young and in love once too." Sain gaped at him as he walked away, not expecting that statement to leave the normally stoic man's mouth, and Florina had to laugh at the goofy expression.
"Are you laughing at me?" Sain asked, feigning hurt. "Well, that's not very nice. I get rid of your sister, and look how you treat me."
"I'll make up for it somehow," Florina said.
Sain leaned close. "Oh Florina, you are shameless." She swiped him away playfully. "Well, now that we're alone, I think you and me need to have a little talk." Florina braced herself for it; she had known it was coming for a long time now, the time to share with Sain her past, their future, and everything in between. "About our deal, actually." What? Their deal? He wanted to talk about the deal?
"Oh, sure. What is it?" She tried to conceal the surprise in her voice.
"Well, I was watching you with Lord Hector and then with Mark," Sain said, "and I just noticed your fear is gone. You speak with such ease around men. Which means," he paused for a moment before saying, "I've fulfilled my side of the bargain."
Florina nodded. "You have. You're right. And I'm very thankful for it, Sain." She found her hand slipping into his. His fingers curled around hers, his heat seeping in her skin; it all felt good and, most importantly, it felt right.
"But," Sain added, and it was a very ominous but, "something is still distressing me." He left her hand cold and alone in the air, taking a step away to create distance between them. The distance to Florina, though, felt like a cold, stinging void; she enjoyed Sain's warmth. "You see, Florina, I have yet to woo a woman." He turned his body away from her.
The first response that came to Florina's mind was 'are you serious?' But she did not say it, nor did she try to correct him. Instead, her voice came out in her trademark awkward squawk, "what?"
He had to be joking. Sain would joke about this, right?
"You can see the problem," Sain said, completely serious, but he still refused to face her. "You were supposed to help me woo a woman, yet my lady love has yet to join my side." To prove him wrong, Florina stepped beside him.
"You did woo a girl," Florina told him.
Sain looked down. "Oh really?" Florina nodded. "Prove it."
It was fire that sparked in his eyes; Florina saw it clearly. He was challenging her, and she knew it. Turning Sain around so that he faced her, Florina returned the challenge. Inside, she was quivering, but her exterior remained steadfast.
"All right," she spoke, her voice lowering. "I'll prove it to you."
Had she put any thought into her next move, she would not have done it. It was too brash, too sudden, too risky for unsure, little Florina. But Florina did not think, and she let herself be swept away with her action.
Slowly, Florina stood on her tiptoes and met Sain's lips with her own.
Almost instantly, Sain's arm was around her waist and his mouth pressed to hers, deepening the kiss. Oh, this was exactly what Sain had wanted. Electricity jolted Florina as they stood, entwined in each other's embraces, radiating in each other's love.
When they pulled away, Florina felt almost woozy. She leaned her head against Sain's chest.
Voice husky, Sain spoke first, "how was that for a first kiss, my Ilian Rose?"
"I don't know," she said. "Perhaps I need another to really know."
As their faces neared once more, Sain's words tickled her warm cheeks. "Ah but you can only have one first kiss." He did not wait for her reply before sweeping her up into another passionate kiss.
They parted again, staring deeply in one another's eyes. It seemed so ideal, so enchanted, so romantic.
"Aha! I never guessed you would be kissed before Fiora."
Damnit. Farina!
----
Author's Note: You really can't blame me for procrastination. I had written this chapter at least four times before coming up with something that I liked. And I figure that you either love or hate the ending. I was going to add something after the last line, but it felt painfully extraneous so I didn't. I kinda like it the way it is. And I was considering writing the scene where Florina tells Sain about her past, but I didn't for a few reasons. Every time I tried, it didn't work, and I'm not very good at emotional, weepy scenes.
So there you go, after a very loooong delay, I finished The Deal. It feels rather good, for as much as I loved writing it, it is complete at last. Thank you for reading. Your reviews always made me smile and keep at it. And as always, reviews are loved.
Lemurian-Girl