A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews and critiques again! I'll try to incorporate all of them to hopefully improve my writing. I'm still kind experimenting with words and what not, so if you see something you like or don't like, please point them out. Also, sorry I took so long to update. I'll generally try to get at least a chapter a week (at least).
The next morning. "Ah... the rising sun. I think I shall go hunting," Rebecca thought out loud "And then maybe I'll bake some cookies."
"Rebecca, my sweet! Where did you go?" A little off in the distance, a figure shrouded by the morning fog called out. Undoubtedly it was Sain's voice.
"Oh drat, it's Sain again!" Rebecca hastily ducked into Merlinus's tent.
"Did I carry this too far? Getting Sain to flirt with me was easy enough... but how do I undo it? This is all Wil's fault!" she thought angrily.
She suddenly realized she was also in the presence of Hector and Lyn. They were absorbed in their own conversation and took no notice of her.
"No... Of course not." Lyn said intently, deep in thought.
"Fighting isn't everything on this journey, you know. If fighting was everything, what use would we have of Merlinus?" Hector continued.
"Well, I suppose..." Lyn agreed.
"Ahem!" Merlinus interupted.
"Merlinus! Must you be so loud?" Hector glare at Merlinus.
"Right you are. My apologies Lord Hector."
Rebecca took the opportunity to gaze at Lyn's beautiful figure. It reminded her of her current dilemma. Something she didn't quite think through when she got herself into it.
"She's so beautiful... Lady Lyndis... Lyn... arrggh! ... the way he said her name! If only he'd think of me..."
Merlinus, tired of Hector and Lyn's conversation, finally turned to Rebecca.
"Miss Rebecca do you need something?"
"Yeah... give me some arrows would you?" She said mechanically.
By coincidence, Florina came into Merlinus's tent now. Merlinus now turned his attention to her.
"Here Miss Florina, the lance you ordered."
"T-thank you" she replied.
"Is this to replace your old spear? I noticed it's quite worn down."
"T-this is for my sister... I... I like the spear I have now." And she blushed a bit.
"But surely you see the need to have better weapons," Merlinus insisted.
"W-well... I..." Florina fumbled on her words.
Looking at the little purple-headed pegasus knight, chatting away, piqued some interest in Hector. He eyed her suspiciously.
"Say, aren't you one of Lyn's" he said.
"Ah! S-sorry, I beg your pardon!"
Florina was taken by suprise. She ducked her head, and readied for a hasty retreat. A while back, Florina's pegasus landed on Hector. It was a matter of embarassment. That, coupled with the fact that Hector is quite a big man, it is easy to see why Florina would be intimidated.
That is the common perspective, but to Rebecca, who was at a different angle, she caught a different perspective. Shy Florina hurried away with a bright red face.
"Strange girl... she was blushing... I wonder if she likes Hector?"
"Lyn, that vassal of yours treats me like a monster!" Hector frowned.
"Her name is Florina and she is my friend!" Lyn objected. "Anyway, you probably scared her because you're such a big lunk."
"Are you serious!?" Hector bawked.
"You should leave her alone... Actually, it's probably better if crawl under a rock... for everyone's sake," Lyn teased.
"Guys, Mark wants to speak with us... immediately" Eliwood approached from an unforseen angle.
The man of which Eliwood spoke, Mark, was this army's genius tactician. He carried their tiny army thus far without a single loss of life. It was something he quite prided himself on.
"Do, I really need to hear this? I usually do my own thing anyway," Hector questioned.
"He asked for you specifically" Eliwood replied.
"Oh, alrighty then."
"To scold you," Eliwood added. Hector scowled.
"If it's Mark, it must be important," Lyn replied. And thus the three walked off.
"I wonder what that was about?" Rebecca thought.
"Fair Maiden Rebecca! Here you are!" Sain huffed, as if finding her had been a great trial.
"Drat! I forgot!" Rebecca quickly thought of a way to lose him.
"Sain! How do you do? It is such a nice morning, perhaps we should go hunting again?" Rebecca beamed her brightest smile.
"Then, I'll lose him in the woods, just like before!"
"Hmmm..." Sain looked cross at the thought. "Hunting is such a tiring sport. And I was thinking we could do something more... relaxing."
"Hunting is relaxing! C'mon! Catch me if you can!" And thus, Rebecca sprinted off.
"No, come back!!" Sain called at her fleeting figure, and she was gone.
"Blast! She's so hard to keep up with... but I'll have you yet... sweet, sweet Rebecca..."
Meanwhile, in the nearby forest, Florina was leading Huey, her trusty pegasus, down to the lake for some water. As he drank, She calmly brushed Huey's fine white mane, a very calming activity for Florina. It let her collect her thoughts.
"One... two... three..." She sounded off, her thoughts elsewhere.
"What was that about yesterday... Farina made such a big deal about the spear..." Florina recalled the dinner, two nights ago.
Fiora had left early to enforce the gender divide policy. She and Kent would routinely check the tents, ousting anyone who was in the wrong area and of the wrong gender back to their rightful camp. This left her completely alone with Farina, who then took the opportunity to bombard her with questions.
"Soooo Florina... is there something you're not telling me?" Farina smiled coyly.
"Um, no, that was pretty much the whole story. I think he was hungry, so he came to eat," Florina replied.
"Florina, a man doesn't just barge in on someone to ask for food!"
"Well, I didn't think he barged in... he was very..." Florina thought about it, choosing her word very carefully, "Nice..."
"Hmmmm..." Farina glared suspiciously "For someone you don't really know, you sure defend him alot."
"Errm... that's because... urrrmmm..." Florina was defeated. She couldn't answer that question very well, for she didn't know herself. Satisfied with her victory, Farina continued.
"He probably had ulterior motives."
"u-ulterior!?" Florina gulped.
"Yeah! He grabbed your hand you say? Sounds like a brute! What else did he do?" Farina demanded.
"Well... he then sharpened my spear... see, here look. I think it's very well sharpened. Isn't that nice?"
"Whhhaattt!" Farina screamed, "And you let let him!? Florina, No! I won't allow it! You're too young to be making such decisions!"
In the heat of the moment and shock, Farina jumped and rose to her feet. Florina, confusing the action for hostility, ducked.
"eeep!" she cried "don't hurt me!"
Seeing Florina's shrunken figure, reminded Farina to approach the situation in a more calm manner.
Farina took a few deep breaths.
"Florina, I would never hit you," she smiled sadly, "I just wished you would have consulted us before you would make such a big decision all by yourself."
"No... I'm sorry... it's my fault. You're right, I can't be a good pegasus knight if I... shirk off weapon maintenance?" Florina didn't actually know what she was at fault for.
"No, it's not that... it's you know..." Farina stressed the know, like it was common knowledge.
"Know what?" Florina asked, very curious at this point.
"'It... that, you know..." Farina continued, "The biiig question."
"The big question... when we die?" Florina tried to see see the connection between death and spears.
"spears impale people... when we are impaled, we die... yes, that must be it," she thought.
"Hmmmm... actually, Florina," Farina seemed to reach some kind of understanding, "Don't worry about it."
"Worry about what?" Now, Florina's interest was really piqued.
"Nothing, nothing..." Farina repeated, then smiled.
And then she changed the topic.
"So, what's with Fiora and Kent? Aren't they spending an awfully lot of time together? Do you think they'd make a good couple?" Farina joked, "Cause they're both so uptight!"
There was no reaction.
"C'mon, don't leave me hanging!"
But leave her sister hanging, Florina did. She was too deep in thought.
"If you won't tell me," she thought "I'll just have to ask Fiora."
And that was what transpired two nights ago. Since then, Florina had found it very difficult to talk to her sisters, especially Fiora, for any notable length of time. Especially last night, when both her sisters disappeared without a trace. Fortunately, that gave her the opportunity to bed with Serra, someone who gave her useful tips to handle her timid personality.
"It's almost as if they're avoiding me!" she thought.
"fifty-seven, sixty-eight, ninety-two, one-hundred! There! Now, for the other side! Huey, raise your head." Florina then ducked under her pegasus's long neck and then started to comb the other side.
"One... two... three..." she sounded off again.
"Why... am I so fickle? And to think, just a little while before..."
She stopped her comb, and held up the spear that Wil sharpened. She could see her reflection in the tip.
"Should I use this? It'd get rusty again"
And then she thought about Serra's teachings on being confident.
"Wil... you cute little insect... what is it that I feel for you?"
Speaking of insects, suddenly, a horrible buzzing sound came from behind. It headed straight for Florina.
"Ahhh!!" Florina screamed.
Swish! An arrow flew! Splat.
The threat was no more. Wil had made a daring shot. The bee laid dead, squished under the weight of the arrow.
"Florina! A-are you okay?" Wil was worried he had shot someone.
"Um... I, I'm fine. The bee took me by surprise."
"Bee...?" Wil thought, "I hit that?"
"You... saved me..." Florina was truly grateful.
"No... I... it was just a bee..." Wil smiled nervously.
"Yes... but such a frightful bee" she looked at him with admiring eyes.
"I'm... pretty sure that's just a regular bee."
"Still, I'm in your debt." Florina insisted.
"Um...ok," Wil decided he wouldn't argue.
"If you would like to have d-dinner with me... again..." Florina turned red, "And my sisters," she quickly added, "As thanks!" she added once more.
"I... yes... I would like that..." Wil replied.
"O-okay then... tomorrow night! I-I'll see you!" And Florina rushed off, nearly tripping on a tree branch as she went. Wil looked at her fleeting figure until she was completely hidden by the woods.
Florina had forgotten her pegasus.
The pegasus, Huey, looked at Wil quizzically.
"Hmmm... You wouldn't want me to brush you, would you?" Wil asked.
The pegasus nodded.
"Wow, smart pegasus" Wil thought out loud.
The pegasus snorted as if it had just been insulted.
"Alright, alright, I guess I have some time..." Wil picked up the brush, and started to brush its fine silken mane.
"One, two..." he counted out loud.
"What if Florina was my wife?" And he gave it alot of thought.
He thought about her light purple hair against his chest. His arms around her. She was so tiny... so huggable...
Then he thought of another scenario.
"Florina, I'm home!" He, Wil the masterful archer, had returned to his secret lair.
"Welcome back!" she smiled.
Then, they started to kiss and make out.
He then thought of romantic outings. He'd be flying in the air, with Florina, on Huey.
"Wow, I'm flying!" he'd yelled at the top of his lungs. Then Florina looked back.
"And now... in the sky, we are all alone..." she smiled.
"Florina, no! I need my clothes, it's cold!" he protested.
"Tee hee," she didn't stop.
"No! not in the sky!" he objected once more.
Wil then backed out of the fantasy.
"wow, that was so lame, I was foolish to have thought it."
The pegasus gave Wil a strange funny look, the kinda look you give someone when you somehow share in their strange fantasy.
"Don't involve ME in your fantasies," he seemed to say.
Did the pegasus see Wil's strange fantasies? Wil decided to not think about it further.
"And ten! There, ten brush strokes. That should do it. You can't complain now, right?"
The pegasus snorted.