"Wisp and Stone"

Kent/Florina - friendship/romance prompts

"He'd promised Lyn that he would take special care of her."

~X~

She was such a tiny wisp of a thing, timid in the main and terrified of anything masculine. When he'd first seen her hiding behind Lyn, he'd been astounded that there was someone who wasn't particularly a child who could manage the feat. She'd cringed away from both Wil and Sain when they spoke to her, though he couldn't blame her for either.

Wil was an archer and Sain...? Well Sain was a terror unto himself, after all.

There had been a tussle with the bandits that the tiny girl had offended with her landing skills and afterwards Lyndis had approached him away from the rest of the group. "Florina is terrified of men. She'll need special attention - can I count on you to take care of her?"

Kent had felt strangely honored by the simple request. His lady was placing her faith in him already, despite not having known him for very long. He'd nodded solemnly and caught a hint of the quick smile that she seemed prone to use. "Of course, milady. You can count on me."

"I knew I could."

He wondered sometimes if she'd known then what her request would entail.

~X~

Perhaps she had, perhaps not. When the civil unrest was finally dealt with, the usurper dead, and Lyndis was crying in her grandfather's arms, Kent had carried out the wishes of his lady. He spoke with those who commissioned the service of all of Caelin's vassals and arranged for Florina to be taken in to service. The tiny pegasus knight was overjoyed when he brought her the news, wringing her hands and smiling tremulously.

She managed to squeak out a 'thank you', before running off to find Lyndis and share the news.

Kent had tried to choke out the rest of his tidings before she left but ended up smiling instead. He could find her later and give her the rest of it.

He had ensured that he would be her mentor, after all. As a new recruit to the castle's guard, she was not expected to know the in's and out's of everyday life around the keep. It would be his duty to instruct her and see that she learned the lay of the land. There would be other training as well to ensure that she remained fit for active duty should Caelin ever require the need for her skills. He would be required to help her with that as well.

If she was uncomfortable with his presence, perhaps Lyndis would prove a more suitable partner in the beginning. Kent held no illusions that Lyn would be allowed anywhere near the freedom that she had enjoyed upon the plains, but those of the noble persuasion would probably leave the heir apparent alone until things were rebuilt.

And surely some of the maids would be available to help her learn the basic layouts of the place. Perhaps Sain would be able to steer him correctly in that regard.

Of course, he'd planned all this out without considering that Sain might resent him for taking Florina under his wing.

This is why he found himself saddled with teaching Wil as well. Taking care of two new recruits wouldn't have fazed him, had he not had the sudden thrusting of responsibility in the form of a promotion: Knight Commander. Suddenly the days that had seemed long enough as a common knight could no longer hold the endless list of duties and decisions that were expected of him.

Sain was quick to offer his aid with Florina, of course. Kent stared at his longtime friend for the space of a moment, uncomprehending. "You want to help me with Florina?"

A vigorous nod and a huge grin was his only reply, a first for his voluble companion. Kent frowned. "Why not offer to train Wil or to take care of some of the other minor details that I'm now swamped with?"

"Ah, but none of those that you mention involve dealing with a pretty maiden!" Sain fairly glowed. "I would not have the beauteous Florina wither under your ungentle care."

"So I should allow her to suffer under your flights of whimsy instead?" Shaking his head, Kent gave his companion a pointed glare. "If you don't wish to help, then find someone else to bother. I have too many things to accomplish to bandy words with you."

Sain danced away, his good humor unabated. "As you wish my boon companion! I shall avail myself of our Lady's most soothing presence and wash away the wounds your words have caused me!" His laughter faded along with his footsteps along the stone corridors of the keep.

"Sain... were it merely a burden that I had taken on myself, I could see my way to letting you indulge yourself. But this was a request from my lady and I'll not break faith." Kent sighed, turning his attention back to the pile of requisitions that he was expected to approve.

So absorbed in his work, Kent failed to notice anyone else approaching. The quiet knock on the open door caused him to jump in surprise, his quill jerking over the scrap of paper and nearly ruining his signature. Kent looked up to find an equally startled Florina staring back at him.

"I'm sorry, Sir Kent!" The young woman was shaking slightly. "I didn't mean to interrupt you..."

The normally staid cavalier waved away her protest with the hand that held his quill. He set the writing instrument down hastily when ink spots began to appear on his desk. "You have nothing to apologize for, Florina. If anything, it is I who should apologize to you- you must be here for our sparring session." Kent dropped his head into his hands and sighed. "I don't know why I even bother with this- I was never good enough to be the Knight Commander. They should have given it to Sain or to Sir Wallace. Either one of them would have done better in at least a portion of the job. And I?"

"I cannot even make my way through the requisitions in time to attend to my men. What kind of commander am I?"

With his head buried in his hands, Kent could not see what the tiny pegasus knight was thinking. He hadn't heard any retreating footsteps, which would imply that she still stood in his doorway watching him make a fool of himself. But what did that matter? He didn't have the strength to carry everything on his shoulders as Wallace could, or the glib tongue to charm his audience that Sain possessed.

"Um, Sir Kent?"

He lifted his head when Florina spoke and could see her fidgeting just inside the doorway. It was clear that she wanted to fly away elsewhere, but for some reason that eluded his grasp, she was still here.

"You shouldn't belittle yourself like this, Sir Kent. Lady Lyndis wouldn't like it! She says you do such a good job taking care of the castle and the men and making sure that she doesn't get overwhelmed by all the lessons that she has to take these days." Florina stopped to draw in a breath before continuing, and Kent noted a flush coming to her pale cheeks. "You are very kind to everyone here and you try your best to make sure that Wil and I are doing fine in our training. Even Sain says that you do too much and try too hard to do everything yourself. He says that you will wear yourself out and die in ten years instead of living for fifty."

Seeming to realize that she'd spoken out loud and berated her superior, Florina averted her eyes and began pushing her pointer fingers together nervously. "Um, so please don't quit?"

Kent blinked twice, slightly disturbed. Did they think that he would quit? Had he appeared that despairing? Suddenly realizing that Florina was waiting for his reply, he slowly pushed back his chair and stood. "Please don't worry about me, Florina." He kept his voice gentle, knowing how nervous the young woman must be. "I promise that I won't quit. I only think that there must have been a better choice for the Knight Commander. Until they take the position away, I will do my best to fulfill my duties."

Florina shifted nervously again but managed to look back at him. Kent waited patiently, knowing from experience that there was something else that she wished to say. It took her a moment to finally get around to it.

"Please let us help you."

Since he wasn't on the battlefield, Kent allowed himself the pleasant distraction of shock. "I beg your pardon?"

Florina hesitated. "Sain said that we could help you with your work and make things easier for you. Wil is going to train Lady Lyndis in archery and Sain will help out with Wil with his court etiquette. Lady Lyn said that I could sit in with her during her lessons to make sure that she doesn't have to work too hard and I can help you with your paperwork, if you want."

He heard her voice trail off on the last portion of her plea.

"I see." Kent thought about it for a moment. The plan that Florina had outlined for him smacked of simplicity and the conniving of several of his friends, but was that such a bad thing? Privately he could admit that he had been overworking himself, taxing his best efforts to swim the stream alone. Taking a deep breath, he let it out slowly. "You show great wisdom, Florina. I suppose that I will have to sit down with you and your co-conspirators and determine how much help you all can be. Will that suffice?"

He was gratified to see the smile that blossomed upon the pegasus knight's face. "Now let's attend to your training- after all, you've been getting much better with your swordplay lately and I wouldn't want you to lose your skill because your instructor forgets the time now, would I?"

~X~

AN: Somewhat corny ending. Ah well, I wanted to try out some Florina and Kent interactions. Let me know how you all saw it.

(Based off the fact that Kent gets endings with two of the three pegasus sisters. So what are his interactions with Florina like?)