Chapter 6: Desert

The castle had recently been defended by a vicious attack from Eubans and his mercenaries. The group was forced to fight wave upon wave of enemies that surged in through the main gates, whilst facing off resistance from the side entrances. During the conflict, they met an unwilling wyvern rider named Heath, who took the opportunity to defect from the mercenary side. Joining the defense, he aided the rest of the group as they fought off the mercenaries. Hector was tempted to move out of the castle and fight Eubans himself, but by Lord Eliwood's order, he stayed put within the castle, aiding the defense.

Eventually, the mercenaries were forced to retreat upon Lord Uther's arrival. As soon as he arrived, the lords had an audience with him, in which they received their next instruction: to head to the desert. Uther suggested they stayed the night to stock up on weapons and rest before setting on the arduous journey towards the Nabata Desert.

That night, Lucius reached the next item on his priority list, a wash. Upon inquiring about where this could be done, a pair of servants granted his wish at once by bringing a large tub of steaming hot water to his room, decked out with a bar of soap and a sponge. Undressing, he slowly lowered himself into the luxurious water, almost convinced that the water had some sort of healing property within it. He exhaled a sigh of relief as he sunk into the water, the sweat and muck of many days dissipating from his body at once.

As he started to rub himself of dirt with the soaped up sponge, his mind begun to wander. A lot had happened to him in the last few days. Before Florina's incident, the most attention Lucius would ever get was in battle, if he happened to be quickly at someone's side to protect them from a potentially fatal blow. He would be quickly thanked and would make quick chat with the person he aided after the battle, strengthening relations. But his actions with Florina seemed to spark some sort of universal praise within the group. Already he had had two lords come to thank him for what he did; he secretly hoped that nobody else really knew for the sake of solitude.

His mind then turned towards Florina's question. Why did he go to so much trouble to help her? He knew his training as a monk taught him to always help those in need. But wasn't everyone in the group in need at some point or another? He didn't recall going to such depths to help anyone else in the group.

And it felt good.

It truly did, he thought. He wasn't going to convince himself that this was bad for him. He had strengthened the bond between himself and another member of the group, and everybody in the group seemed to be grateful for it. Of course it wasn't going to go to his head: otherwise he would have become complacent. And Lucius knew himself well enough to know that he'd never get complacent. With anyone.

Was this going to be the end of it? Were they to set off to Nabata Desert tomorrow without another word spoken on the topic? Will Florina even be well enough to go? If she had to stay, would he stay as well, or would he go and help Lord Eliwood? These were the questions that bugged Lucius as he sat within the tub of slowly cooling water.

But one question rose above all else.

"What does she think of me?"

The following morning came all too quickly. Like a flash, the group was out of Ostia and was travelling swiftly towards the southwest, where the unforgiving sands of Nabata were waiting for them. Days passed quickly, and throughout every day trip, Lucius would glance over to Florina, who appeared to be very well, although her leg was still in a cast. Her healing sessions with Serra would continue until she could run on her leg without any trouble, and a day before arriving at the desert, Lucius watched from the distance as Florina's cast was removed, finally granting her the freedom she wanted.

All through those trips, as Lucius gave his involuntary glances towards Florina, he couldn't help but notice the glances being returned to him by a pair of grateful, almost gleeful eyes. Lucius would quickly look back forward, almost stunned at this fact. It was too strange for him to continue his glance, and would have to turn his head to think about it before sneaking another look.

Eventually, they reached the desert. The grassy grounds slowly dissipated into a sandy wasteland, the calming sound of the birds and the bees replaced with the somewhat barren sound of the small, yet booming winds of the vast desert. The group's progress slowed from a quick march into an amble walk as they tried to traverse their way through the sands. The temperature around them increased significantly and the group started to dig their way into their supplies of water, hoping that they could find an area in the desert somewhere where they could refill their supply.

As the cold, cold night passed into the heated morning, the group set out again, the movement continually hindered by the sands. Everything seemed to be moving along normally, but the group started to spread thinner and thinner in formation, the strong willed fighters at the front charging their way through the sand whilst the lesser spirited lagged behind. And who else happened to be at the back of the pack than Florina herself. But she wasn't very fatigued; rather her pegasus was having trouble moving through the sand. Lucius, who's desert sandals made traversing the sand almost as easy as walking solid ground, could hear the commotion at the back between Florina and her sister.

"Huey's having trouble moving, Fiora!"

"Did you forget to take her horseshoes off? They're most likely getting caught in the sand"

"She can walk with them…but she's getting flustered by the heat!"

"Well, how is it that I'm having no problem then?"

"Fiora…wh-why are you being so nasty?"

"I'm not being nasty, I'm just saying we can't lag behind or Lord Eliwood won't be best pleased. And neither will Lord Hector, now hurry up!"

"…Poor girl"

The final voice was an entirely new one that emerged from behind Lucius's head. Lucius half jumped in fright and spun around to see Kent standing before him, looking as serious as usual.

"Oh…Sir Kent" Lucius said quietly. "I didn't see you there"

"Sorry, Father Lucius" Kent apologized. "I only wanted to get a better view of what's happening at the back. Lord Eliwood is worried that the convoy is becoming thinner and poorly guarded" he explained.

"She look as if she needs help" Lucius said to Kent. Kent nodded in agreement, settling his own horse.

"I can relate" he mumbled. "Trying to move horses across the sand is very hard. If only we could have traded for camels, hm?"

The two the started to laugh at the joke, although not heartily that the convoy could hear them. Kent cleared his throat again; it was clear that his throat was dry.

"Still, I wish I could help, but moving my own horse takes just as much effort" he explained. "Plus this heat doesn't make things any easier for anyone…"

Lucius turned back to see Florina continually struggling. It appeared that everyone in the group was too busy trying to keep their own sanity in the sun by moving on ahead. It could hardly be blamed on selfishness; the sun was very hot. But could they just leave Florina behind, after going through all the effort to bring her to the desert in the first place. These thoughts inspired Lucius to move down towards her.

As he walked closer, Florina noticed his presence at once.

"O-Oh, Lucius!" she called. "I-I need help!"

"How can I aid you, Florina?" Lucius asked, suddenly walking towards Florina and Huey with more urgency.

"C-could you grab the reins on Huey's left side?" she asked. "Just so she can calm down…"

Lucius nodded and walked towards the pegasus, reaching his arms out and grabbing the leather reins that hung from Huey's neck. With control at both sides of the reins, Huey started to calm down.

"Th-thank you…" Florina stuttered, obviously flustered by the whole experience. She was closing towards a break down again; Lucius could read by her worried gaze towards the slowly departing convoy ahead of them that she didn't want to be left behind. He didn't want her breaking down again.

"Don't be flustered" Lucius comforted, looking over Huey's arched back to Florina. Her head was just about fully visible from across the pegasus, trying to suppress her tears. "They won't leave us behind. Lord Eliwood is incapable of such cruelty, I'm sure"

"B-But…why are they…why are th-they leaving without me?" Florina whimpered.

"It's very hot out here, Florina" Lucius explained, walking a bit further so he was stood a few inches in front of Huey. Florina also stepped up towards the front in order to gain better control of Huey. "It's not that they want to leave you behind, it's just that they want to find Archsage Athos's abode as fast as they can. If they turned around and found that you were gone, they would stop and look for you, that's for sure…"

Florina wiped her eyes from her almost leaked tears, looking meekly up towards Lucius.

"A-are you sure?" she asked.

"Positive" Lucius replied, smiling. "I wouldn't leave you behind anyway. Now why don't you give me a smile, hm?"

Florina looked down before allowing herself to smile, warming Lucius inside. It was nice to see her smile, he thought. She had such a clean, pure face and a smile that was unable to conceal a lie. Her genuine smile.

"Thank you" she said quietly. "I-I'm a lot of trouble, aren't I?"

"You don't have to worry" Lucius said. "I'm always here to help with any trouble"

The two continued to walk, but the silence was hard to live with, especially with the sun beating hot rays down on them. Florina wiped the sweat off of her forehead before gulping her saliva, trying to compensate for the lack of water. She looked to see Lucius walking as if there wasn't a problem.

"How do you do it?" Florina asked, panting.

"How do I do what?" Lucius asked back, offering another smile.

"The heat…it's so hot…but you're not drinking any water or tripping in the sand…"

Lucius chuckled a little looking down at his sandals. His robes brushed against the dry sand delicately, leaving a trail behind him.

"Well, I have my sandals to thank for making the sand easy to walk on" Lucius chuckled. "But as far as the heat…well, I think it's something to do with a magic user's body" he said.

"Really?" Florina wondered "How so?"

"Well Florina…" Lucius begun. "When you study the magic arts, your body becomes trained and accustomed to being able to harness and manipulate the very forces of nature" he explained. "So for instance, the sun's rays are primarily light, correct?"

"So it's like…your body's been changed to contain and use this light energy?" Florina asked.

"Mm…something like that" Lucius replied. "If the sun was just a heat source, I would shrivel by now. You know that anima arts hold an advantage over light arts, right?" Lucius asked. Florina replied with a nod, prompting Lucius to continue. "Luckily, the sun is emitting a mixed source of light and heat, which as a result allows me to resist it quite well"

"Wow…that's something" Florina said quietly, almost as if she was off on another planet. Lucius felt a little flattered, rubbing the back of his head. His hair was already beginning to frizz in the heat. "I wish I had those kinds of things. But I'm just a pegasus knight…I haven't got any real perks"

"That's not true, surely?" Lucius asked, turning his head to Florina again. "You have fantastic resistance against magic when it comes to battle! I mean, I've seen you sent into a sea of mages and you came out unscathed!"

Florina looked at Lucius, utterly flattered by the compliment. Lucius then watched as she looked away, unable to hide a small smile. She was blushing.

"O-oh, well…" she said quietly. "I-I'm okay at that…I guess…"

Lucius didn't know it, but he was flushed as well. Was it the heat?

"That and you have…well, remember what I said about reconnoitering?" he explained. "I couldn't do that. Why, I don't think I could fly a pegasus straight, even if I tried!"

Lucius listened to the involuntary giggle Florina released. She placed a hand to her mouth to try and control it, before looking back up towards Lucius.

"You make it sound so helpful" she said. "But if I have good resistance, then why is it so hot out here?" she asked.

"There's a subtle difference between nature's forces and the magic powers people conjure" Lucius explained quickly. "Only the greatest mages alive could perfectly manipulate the forces of nature without actually altering its state. The magic enemies use on you may be condensed and created to hurt, but it's not the same as the true forces of nature. It's...quite complicated really, heh..."

Florina was confused by the explanation but giggled again before she started to cough. Quickly reaching into her satchel, she produced her water flash. Releasing the cap and bringing it to her lips, her eyes focused on the brown leather as she tilted it. Lucius watched as her eyes strained slightly as she tilted the flask more vertically. She shook it, forcing a few drops of water out of it. Disappointment once again reigned in her expression.

"Oh…no more water" she sighed. Lucius didn't know how he felt then. As he watched her desperation, her urge to drink water, he felt that same feeling again.

He wanted to help her.

Almost without thinking, he reached into his own satchel and brought his own, full water flask out.

"Here…" he said quietly. "Have a drink out of mine"

Florina looked at the offering, her expression indescribable, before softly taking the flask and opening. She took a tiny sip out of it, relishing the water. Lucius started to laugh.

"Go on, have some more!" he urged.

"But won't you…" Florina protested suddenly.

"I'm fine" Lucius responded quickly, silencing her protest. After a short pause, he continued. "I can take the heat. Drink as much as you want to"

There was a pregnant pause between the two of them before Florina looked back to the flash and started to gulp the water down. There was a look of utter pleasure on her face as she almost wolfed the cool water down her throat. She stopped suddenly; almost shocked and ashamed she displayed such greed in front of Lucius, before meekly passing the half emptied flask back to him.

"Th-thanks…" she said quietly. Lucius didn't feel the need to say anything more, a smile would do. Placing the flash back in his satchel, he felt the air of tension and doubt completely removed. At that moment to Lucius, they were merely strolling through the desert without a single fear or worry in the world…