Oh, my God... Over a year, ugh, you all probably hate me now, but... excuses, excuses... life in general and lack of inspiration gave me a big mayor writters block this time. I had to play the game all over again to find my muse, luckily I found it...

Anyway! Here's chapter 4, 1 more chapter and we're done, this fic's coming to an end! Yeas, folks, we're nearing the end. Woohoo!

Now comes the pleading for reviews... blah,blah... Hope you enjoy it!!

Disclaimer: FE doesn't belong to me, it belongs to Nintendo and Intelligent System.

A/N: By the way, english is not my first language. I have a beta now, ThorHammer17 (thanks!), so I hope there's nothing wrong.

Chapter four:

"Of Duty, Fear, and Love"

When the young man felt her relax in his arms, he lowered his gaze to find the young Lady already asleep. A little smile made its way to his lips and he sighed deeply, content to have the woman he loved in his arms. He shifted his position slightly until he was comfortable. He knew that he would cherish that one moment forever.

.~~~~~~~~~~~~.

The rain had stopped long ago.

Mark woke up at dawn, as usual. After getting ready to set off, he walked through the corridors of the castle until he got to the gardens, and he was greeted by a very familiar sight.

There were a few members of the party, the most responsible ones.

There was Kent, who was feeding his and Sain's horse. Besides him, a very lethargic Sain leaned on his horse; he seemed to be sleeping.

Then there was Fiora, who was preparing everything for their journey to Bern —she was done feeding her Pegasus—. Besides her, Florina was feeding Huey, or rather, trying to do so, because she seemed about to fall asleep right there were she was.

Mark spotted Marcus and Lowen not far from them, along with other member of their army who he could not make out from the distance.

He smirked and walked up to the first group he saw.

"You know, guys, you could let them sleep a while longer," he said to the Crimson Knight and the eldest Pegasus sister.

Both Kent and Fiora turned around to greet him.

"Good morning, Mark," they said.

"Good morning," Mark replied, then he looked back at Sain and Florina. "And as I said before, you should let them sleep a while longer. We won't be setting out to Bern until everyone's up, which won't happen any time soon."

Fiora laughed a little at the comment, and so did Kent.

"That might be true, but it is our duty to get everything ready for the journey. Besides, as a proud knight of Caelin, Sain can handle it."

Sain only groaned in response.

Mark laughed a little. "Very well, but what about Florina?"

Florina, who was finished feeding Huey, hugged its mane, stifling a yawn. "It's alright, Mark, there is no need to worry… I can…" she yawned, "I can handle it…"

As soon as the last word left her lips, Florina collapsed; fortunately Kent reacted fast enough to catch her before she hit the ground. All of them were confused and a little staggered, even Sain, who had woken up fully the moment Huey had squealed. As they took a closer look at the girl, they noticed she was fast asleep.

"Did she get any sleep last night?" Mark asked.

Fiora sighed, shaking her head slowly. "I don't really know. We all had separate rooms."

"Uh, that's right."

"I'll take her to her room," Kent said.

Fiora nodded, walking ahead of him. "I'll show you where it is."

Kent nodded, following the eldest Pegasus sister into the castle.

Mark watched them go, before turning back to look at Sain, who was starting to get sleepy again.

"Come on, Sain, we need to get this stuff ready for the journey."

His only response was a groan.

.~~~~~~~~~~~~.

Kent laid Florina down on her bed and stepped back, going to stand by the door.

Fiora pulled the blankets over her little sister and sighed tiredly.

"Is something amiss, Fiora?" Kent inquired.

Fiora nodded and walked outside the room, motioning for him to follow her. Kent did so without complaint and soon they were both walking towards the inner-garden of the castle, where Mark and the rest of the party were.

"I am worried about Florina," the young woman said, suddenly.

The red-haired man turned to look at her, a confused expression plastered on his face. "Why? Is she ill?"

"No, no, her health is very good, but…" Fiora paused, letting loose a frustrated sigh. "She hasn't had a decent night's sleep in days. And lately, she has been having some dreams, but she doesn't want to talk to me about it."

"But, surely, those dreams cannot be that bad," Kent said, trying to reassure her.

"She wakes up two or three time at night," she said.

There was a tense moment of silence, before Fiora spoke again.

"I don't know what to do… Every time she awakes, she looks so… frightened, so… hopeless. I haven't seen her like this since our parents' death and this time it seems I can't do anything to help her."

They stopped walking, standing a few feet away from the gardens. Kent looked sadly at her, not knowing what to do, but feeling compelled to comfort her. And for once, he decided to follow his instincts, and hugged her. His sudden gesture took Fiora by surprise, not expecting something like this —especially after the subject of their last conversation, namely how some of the party seemed to be getting too intimate with someone, even the Lords— and, though she couldn't explain why, she didn't complain about it. She let herself enjoy it, instead.

Kent pulled her closer to him, and began to stroke her hair in slow motions. "It's alright to worry about Florina, but… you need to worry about yourself too. You haven't slept well, Fiora, I can tell."

"Yes, but—"

"No, no buts. Florina will be fine. She's not a weak child anymore, she can take care of herself. You have seen her on the battlefield."

After a moment of silence, Fiora nodded. "You are right… I guess I was not ready to admit that my sister has finally grown up."

Kent released his hold on her, but didn't move away, letting his right hand rest on her shoulder in an attempt to give her some comfort.

"I know she will tell you, eventually. She probably needs time," he said, earning a grateful smile from his companion; he felt himself blushing and a wave of nervousness swept over him. "Uh… Just promise me you will worry about yourself more often."

"I promise," Fiora said, and in a bold move, she kissed his cheek.

The awkward silence that settled over them gave them enough time to realize that something had definitely changed. It was as if they had crossed an invisible line.

"Fiora…"

"Kent…"

A whisper, and without realizing it, their heads began to close the distance in between. Only a few more inches, and…

"Kent!"

Sain's thundering voice cut short their trip from reality.

The Paladin and the Pegasus Knight jumped as far away as possible, and as fast as their bodies allowed them. Turning around slowly, they saw Sain standing at the end of the hallway, with an amused expression on his face. To them, it was obvious that Sain had been watching them all along before he decided to interrupt. Kent felt utterly frustrated, while Fiora was simply ashamed and a little bit disappointed.

Sain smiled innocently at them. "Mark sent me to come look for you. He was getting worried… What took you so long?"

Kent sent him a deadly glare, without the desired effect.

"That is none of your business," he replied, storming out toward the inner garden.

Fiora sighed and went after Kent, keeping her eyes averted from Sain.

Once the pair was out of hearing distance, Said laughed. The truth was that he hadn't seen anything at all, he had called Kent's name before stepping around the corner; but he just knew something had happened there. Their blush gave them away.

Oh, our journey is going to be so much more fun now, Sain thought and then sauntered back to where he came from.

Once he stepped on the grass, Mark was at his side. For someone who has never been trained to fight, he surely was fast.

"Did something happened, Sain?" he asked, motioning towards Kent and Fiora, who were finishing their duties, facing away from each other, and with a light blush on the faces.

Sain couldn't help but smirk. "Oh, something certainly happened, but I didn't see anything."

"Alright…" he replied thoughtfully. "Come on, Sain, we need to get everything ready for our journey."

"As you wish."

Mathew arrived at the garden then, Oswin following him a few minutes after. And one by one, the whole group was up and about, ready to begin the trip. Everyone, except the three Lords and Florina. No one seemed to notice this, save the tactician.

It wasn't uncommon for Hector to wake up late, but… the other two…

"Eliwood and Lyn haven't woken up yet. They are usually up by now," Mark said, more to himself than to someone else.

Sain, however, heard him. "You are right," he said, scanning the surroundings. "They're nowhere around."

Just then, and to everyone's surprise, Hector stepped into the garden, yawing. He wore only his clothes, no armor.

"Wow, is this the end of the world?" Mathew said, earning a few laughs.

Hector turned his sleepy gaze to glare at him. "Very funny, Mathew."

"Well, you can't blame him. We are not used to see you at this time in the morning," Mark said.

Hector yawned again. "I woke up and just couldn't go back to sleep, alright? No big deal, so let it go already."

"Whatever you said, young master," Mathew answered.

Mark laughed a bit, shaking his head. "Hector, go and sleep some more. Since it seems some of you haven't got a good night of rest in a while."

Now, it was Hector's turn to be surprised. "Are you serious?"

"Yes, yes… Now go before I change my mind."

And, for once, Hector did as he was told without complaining.

A maid came out of the castle just as the Ostian lord was leaving, walking up to the tactician. "Breakfast is ready."

Mark smiled, nodding his head. "We'll head in right away. Thank you."

"Sir Mark?" the maid said, just as he was turning to leave.

"Yes?"

The young girl averted her gaze, blushing lightly. "Lady Eleanora wishes to see Lord Eliwood before breakfast…"

"Oh, I believe he is still resting," Mark said, oblivious to the small audience that had gathered behind him.

"Very well, I shall inform her of that," she said, bowing a little before turning around, and heading back into the castle.

Mark spun around, coming face to face with Sain and Serra, who were smiling amused at him.

"What?" he asked, irritated.

"She likes you," they said, stating the obvious fact.

The tactician rolled his eyes annoyed, and turned to the group. "Breakfast's ready, everyone!"

.~~~~~~~~~~~~.

Hector made his way towards his room slowly, thinking on the main reason for his lack of sleep.

Argh! What's wrong with me?! Since when do I get so worked up… over a girl no less?!, he thought.

"But she is cute… very pretty… Too bad she's too shy to talk to me, or any men for that matter," he murmured to himself, "And her flying horse —what's its name?— doesn't make things any easier for me. I guess I'll have to wait for her to approach me, because if I do, she'll probably run away from me, or faint."

Hector sighed as he entered his room and, flopping on the bed, he fell asleep.

.~~~~~~~~~~~~.

Florina woke up with a start, sitting up quickly. She sighed tiredly once she had calmed down. It had happened again. That blasted dream that just wouldn't leave her alone, and it was always about the same… Although, this time, it didn't scare her —and that realization made her wake up so brusquely— she had actually enjoyed it.

If only he weren't so… crude, she thought. If he were a little gentler… maybe I could come up with enough courage to talk to him…

Florina looked up at the sound of the door opening, watching as her older sister walked in. "Hey, Fiora…"

Fiora smiled. "Are you feeling better now, Florina?"

"Yes, I'm sorry for worrying you."

The older sister shook her head, moving closer to the bed.

"That's alright, it's only normal," she said, sitting next to Florina. "Now, go eat your breakfast, Lord Mark said we are leaving soon. I'll go wake up the lords, and I'll meet you outside."

"I'll go wake them up," Florina said, jumping off the bed, and she was out of the room before her sister could protest.

Fiora laughed softly and stood up, walking out of the room as well. On her way to the main garden, she turned a corner and crashed against somebody wearing armor. Red armor, she noted.

"I'm sorry, milady, I wasn't paying attention—"

"It's okay, Kent."

Only then Kent saw it was her he'd bumped into. "Oh… I'm sorry."

The Pegasus knight was about to keep walking, but a hand prevented her from going much farther.

"Is something the matter, Kent?"

"About what happened earlier…"

"Don't worry, Kent… It… it didn't bother me, really."

And before he could react, she was out of his sight. "It didn't bother me either…"

.~~~~~~~~~~~~.

Florina watched the wooden door closely. Lord Hector's door. And after several minutes, she still couldn't bring herself to knock.

Come on, Florina. You're only going to say that breakfast is ready, just that, three words. Nothing to worry about… Okay, breath in… breath out… Here I go.

She raised her hand to knock, but just as she was about to touch the door, it swung open and Hector appeared in front of her, a surprised and sleepy expression adorning his face.

"Florina…"

"L-lord H-hector! I j-just wa-wanted t-to t-tell you that b-break-fast is read-ready!" she stammered.

Oh, I made a fool out of myself…, she thought shamefully.

"Okay, I'll be there in a second," Hector said.

Florina nodded and turned to walk away, fighting the blush that covered her face completely.

"Florina, wait!"

She froze at the sound of his voice, and barely managed to reply with a weak, "Yes?"

"I wanted to ask you something," Hector said.

Florina nodded and turned around slowly, only to jump a little when she noticed that the blue-haired man was closer than before.

"Are you afraid of me?" he finally asked, but didn't let her answer. "Wait, don't answer that, it quite obvious you're afraid of men in general… What I meant to say is… Why is it that you only seem to run away from me? Am I that scary to you?"

Florina tilted her head to one side, looking confused. "I d-don't think I… un-understand, Lord Hector."

She mentally patted herself on the back for not stuttering so much this time, but her satisfaction didn't last long, for at that very moment, Lord Hector decided to get closer to her. Every step he gave forward, she gave one backward in response. They continued like this until her back touched the opposite wall of the hall. She was trapped, and although Hector wasn't pinning her to the wall, he could do it without effort, it was the fact of having him so very close that made her feel trapped. Plus, she had never been this close to a man before.

And he isn't just any man, she thought.

"I'm asking you this because every time I try to talk to you, you either faint or, as I said before, run away."

Florina didn't reply, not that she had anything to say, but it was mainly because she was suffocating. Breath, Florina, breath…

"I've seen you talking with some of the guys in our party, like Kent or Mark. You keep your distance, of course, but… there's still the fact that you talk to them," Hector paused a second. "Why is that? Do you see me as a monster or something? An insensitive jerk maybe? What is it about me that makes you so frightened?"

He waited for an answer, but it never came. So he closed the remaining distance between them, and grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Look at me, Florina. Why?" he said, waiting a little more, and then sighed, letting his hands hang at his side.

Florina relaxed a little, only to tense up again when Hector grabbed her hand.

"Did I do or say something for you to be this much afraid of me?" he asked softly, and then remained silent.

The orchid-haired girl breathed deeply, to calm her nerves, and finally responded to him. "It is not w-what you think, L-lord Hector…"

Her whisper was soft, but clear enough for him to hear.

"Then what is it?" he asked, looking her in the eye.

Florina bit her lower lip, and summoning all her courage, she answered. "I… You are not a… monster or an… in-insensitive jerk, Lord Hector… I do not think of y-you that w-way… You are v-very kind and you c-care for your f-friends in your o-own unique way. I think you are a very t-trustful and ho-honorable m-man… And… and…"

"And?"

"I-I like you!" she said, and shut her eyes in fear of his reaction.

Hector was, to say at least, surprised.

She likes me? Florina likes me, above everyone else?, he thought, finding himself lacking words to respond. He didn't know what to say, no, wait, he knew exactly what to say, he just didn't know how.

Florina took his silence the wrong way, and she felt the sting of tears begin to form in her eyes. Oh, no… He's… he's going to reject me, I don't…, she thought, panicking, looking for a way to get out of there; she didn't want to hear his answer! Her internal self bit its lip and closed its eyes.

"I… kind of… No, wait… I like you, too," Hector muttered, never having felt this nervous and vulnerable before.

When he caught sight of her reaction, he frowned. "Hey, you don't need to look so surprised."

"So-sorry…" Florina blushed profusely, knowing she probably was a red as Kent's armor, if not more.

Hector blushed lightly, hesitating a bit before reaching out to embrace her. However he couldn't even touch her, for someone ruined the moment by coughing loudly behind him. He jumped away from the girl and spun around quickly, feeling very frustrated. There, in front of him, was a maid looking very embarrassed.

"Yes?" he asked, resisting the urge to scowl.

"I am sorry if I interrupted something, milord," the maid said, not seeming to be able to look at the pair without averting her eyes. "Lord Mark sent me to see if everything was alright, and to tell you that they are all ready to go."

Hector sighed. "Thank you. Please tell him we'll be with him in a minute."

The maid nodded and, after giving a little bow, she left without further ado.

Hector hadn't even moved a muscle, when he heard a soft murmur, and by the time he turned to Florina, he found her gone. He smiled, still not quite believing his luck, and walked a few steps down the corridor to Eliwood's room.

"She likes me…"

So immerse he was in his thoughts, he didn't realize the strength with which he knocked —more like banged— at the door.

To be continued...

That's all for now, next chapter's gonna be up by the end of this month! Yes! And that's a promise.

Would it be too much too ask for some feedback, please? :)