Chapter 5: Respite

Upon reaching Ostia, the situation was made clear to the entire group: they would wait within the castle until Lord Uther, Hector's brother and the Marquess of Ostia, arrived, where they would plan their next move. Florina was taken to the castle's infirmaries as quickly as they could upon arrival and was given one of the most lavish rooms in the castle to recover.

Lucius was placed in a small, yet comfortable room with a fantastic view of the fields outside. He wasn't sure how long it would take for Lord Uther to arrive, but the room was sufficient. He knew he had to clean himself from days of sweat due to travelling, and set about his personal priority list.

As he was unpacking his equipment, there was a knock on his door.

"Come in" Lucius called. The door opened, and Lyn walked into the room, half closing the door behind her.

"Hello, Lucius" Lyn greeted. Lucius gave Lyn a warm smile.

"How are you, Lyn?" he asked.

"I'm very well, thank you" Lyn replied. "I wanted to talk to you about Florina…"

Lucius felt a little strange upon hearing Florina's name. He thought about the previous night when Eliwood had thanked him for his aid. Was Lyn going to do the same? How many people knew of his actions that night?

"Do you wish to thank me for last night?" he asked. Lyn seemed to fall silent, having been predicted. "Please, there is no need to thank me. I was only doing what I thought was best"

"Yes, it was very kind of you…" Lyn replied. "The antitoxins here have worked very well; I'm glad you spotted the fracture though. Had we not known, we may have endangered her health even further…"

"I'm glad she is safe" Lucius responded, nodding reflectively.

"That reminds me…" Lyn said quietly. "She wants to see you"

Lyn watched as Lucius's attention was caught upon her words. His eyes opened up a little more and his fatigue from his sleepless night seemed to wane a little.

"…She wants to see me?" he asked. Lyn nodded, confirming the question.

"Only for your company, I think" Lyn said. "If you're not too busy, I don't think she'll keep you for long" Lyn explained. Lucius released his smile again, feeling quite happy to oblige.

"I'll gladly" he said. "Thank you. Although…I only remembered recently, isn't she afraid of men?"

"She is, but not with you" Lyn explained. "You…you're a lot kinder than the other men in our group. Not to say that they aren't kind as well, but you know…you have the big lugs in hulking armor, and then we have people like you and Canas, for example. Florina…doesn't really find masculinity very appealing at times…"

Lucius started to blush, realizing what Lyn was actually saying. As much as she tried to veil her words, the meaning came out very clearly. Lyn noticed this at once and brought a hand to her mouth as if to try and silence herself.

"Oh, I'm so sorry…" she said out of exasperation. "I didn't mean to draw attention to your appearance…I'm really sorry"

Lucius started to giggle, unable to feel offended by Lyn's sudden repentance.

"It's okay" he said. "Never you mind, Lyn. I shall go and see Florina now…"

A short walk later and Lucius found himself knocking on a large wooden door, far more lavish than his own.

"C-come in…" a meek voice called. Lucius pushed against the large door and popped his head in through the door. His sight beheld the large room, with the intricate tapestry that was hung upon the walls. There was a soft red carpet on the floor and a large dressing table and mirror up on one side of the wall. There were comfy looking seats placed around the room, quite a few next to the large lavish bed that was the centerpiece of the room. Lying within the great bed, looking somewhat out of place, was Florina, who was wide awake and propped up against the large, red and purple silk pillows. She seemed to be dwarfed by the extravagant bed, her white gown contrasting with the deep purple of the duvet.

"Good afternoon, Florina" Lucius said, walking in and closing the door behind him.

"Oh…good afternoon, Lucius" Florina said. Her expression was shyer than the previous night. The sweat from her forehead was absent and her hair was neatly combed, with no loose strings hanging from her head. Her face was less pale and she looked to be a lot healthier and responsive as well, which warmed Lucius's heart.

Lucius took one of the seats and moved it towards the edge of the bed, sitting down in it.

"How are you feeling?" Lucius asked.

"I'm feeling better" she said. "I don't feel so ill anymore…"

"Last night must have been terrible for you" Lucius recalled. "That reminds me, how is your leg?"

Florina sighed, a hint of exasperation in her voice.

"The doctors say I can't move on it for a day or two" she said. "I hate being bed ridden….i f-feel so useless…"

Lucius suddenly realized that Florina had become upset. It wasn't rare to see Florina in tears about something, but realizing he was the only audience to her show of grief, he suddenly became unsettled.

"Oh no, please don't cry!" Lucius pleaded.

Florina managed to control herself, but was still visibly upset. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

"I-I…all I do is get i-injured…*sniff*…and ill. I never make a-anything…better…"

"That's not true!" Lucius responded, desperate to raise her hopes. "You are just as crucial to this group as everybody else is! I mean, you and Fiora are the only pegasus knights of the group, correct? Nobody else could do such excellent recon like you and your sister can, and recon is very important!"

Florina had calmed down, reducing her tears to sniffles. She shook her head in sheer disappointment.

"i-I just hate being ill…" she said quietly.

"We all do…" Lucius said in his most comforting voice. "But the good thing is you'll be well soon, and ready to continue. Don't be down…"

"Lucius…why are you being so kind to me?" Florina asked. The question again. But Lucius didn't know how to answer it this time, even if it was asked in a different way. Why did he want to treat Florina so well? He always did hate seeing someone in such a vulnerable state. After all, he spent a lot of his childhood in the same sort of situation. An orphan.

"…I don't like seeing anyone suffering" Lucius said quietly. "I suppose it's as simple as that"

There was a small silence between the two of them at that moment. Lucius looked up to see that Florina was looking down at her sheets, still looking somewhat miserable. Lucius could tell she was still feeling ill. An awkward tension built within the room. Lucius knew he had to dissolve it, lest it grow.

"…Do you want another drink of my medicine?" Lucius asked. Florina looked towards Lucius, a slight energy sparking inside her.

"Yes please" she replied politely. Lucius smiled and reached into his satchel, pulling the bottle of bergamot and vetiver solution from within. He handed it to Florina, who took it calmly, yet energetically from his hand. Opening the bottle, she took a few gulps of the medicine before pulling the bottle away. Lucius appreciated her reservation of the medicine, instead of gulping it down greedily she drunk it sensibly. Lucius was always fond of anyone who was sensible with even the smallest things.

"…Mmm, it's delicious" she said, smiling. The smile was warm, real, not like the smiles one would get in a polite conversation. Her smile was genuine; her eyes were closed in satisfaction.

The bottle was handed back to Lucius, who pocketed it in his satchel.

"I'm glad you enjoy it" Lucius said giggling a little. "I thought medicine wasn't supposed to be tasty!"

Florina joined Lucius with her small giggle. Lucius sighed after his own laughter, clearing his throat quietly.

"So how are the doctors going to fix your fracture?" he asked.

"Oh, the doctors aren't fixing it, Serra is" Florina explained. "She's going to schedule a session of repair soon with her healing staves"

"That should be effective" Lucius noted. At that point, the door suddenly opened and Eliwood came rushing in.

"Lord Eliwood!" Lucius said, standing up quickly.

"I'm sorry to interrupt" he said quickly. "Lucius, we need you to join the rest of the group"

"What's happening?" Lucius asked worriedly.

"Nils has collapsed" Eliwood explained. "And even worse, we're surrounded by mercenaries who are out for our blood"

The familiar sense of pre-battle panic and nerves ran rife through Lucius's body again. He calmed himself as much as he could, ready to ask a question.

"Are they the same mercenaries that tried to corner us at Lahus?" Lucius asked.

"That's right" Eliwood confirmed. "And their leader, Eubans, is with them. We need to prepare our defense and counter attack"

"Very well, I'll be there" Lucius said. "What about Florina?"

"I've had a look at the castle plans, the enemy can only get into the castle via the main entrance, which is where we've deployed ourselves. But to be safe, I've asked for a few knights to stand guard outside the doors"

"Th-thank you, Lord Eliwood" Florina stuttered, visibly shaken by the sudden attack. Eliwood quickly left the room, with Lucius following. But before he could vanish from sight, he turned around and took one more look at Florina.

"Please, rest yourself" Lucius explained. "I'll make sure they don't get through"

And without another word, Lucius focused himself for battle, moving down towards the main hall, where the enemy was waiting…