The condensation cloaking Kent's beer glass accumulates into a puddle around the base. Beyond the bar, lamps illuminate the town fair that bustles with merchants and performers. The atmosphere is saturated with the smell of spices wafting from storefronts and women wearing excessive amounts of floral perfume. A jester in a baggy striped shirt hands out candy and paper models to children clambering at his bucket.

'Kent,' one woman separates from the crowd to meet Kent. He only recognises Fiora's sapphire eyes and gentle voice when she is in front of him, 'sorry if I surprised you.'

'No, I just had trouble recognising you in civilian clothes.' Sain is right: Kent, Sain had insisted, you use your knight's armour as a shell to hide under. With an attitude like that, Lady Lyndis will never notice you in the way you wish.

Kent scrutinises the lip print left on the top edge of his glass. He should be happy to be by Lady Lyndis' side as a knight of Caelin. Yet why does he dare wish, in spite of their class differences – Oh, he must suppress that desire before it overpowers him!

'You are not enjoying the festivities,' Fiora leans against the bar. Behind her, a travelling band plays a dissonant tune of woodwinds to accompany a pot-bellied opera singer, 'it's important to relax between knightly duties.'

'What about yourself?' Kent thanks a waitress for bringing a breadbasket with some butter. He places it between him and Fiora before buttering one of the slices. His knife scrapes against the crusty surface like a sword on flint, 'I only ever see you instructing Ilia's mercenary knights or looking after your sisters.'

'If only I could improve my efficacy in the second of those tasks,' Fiora takes a bread slice, tearing off a thumb-sized piece to pop into her mouth. She chews, silently watching a young couple giggle as they enter the markets with linked arms. They are both nobles, given the woman's high-quality silk dress and the man's maroon cloak, 'I spoke too harshly to Farina. It must be my fault that we always end up fighting about the most trivial matters.'

'Farina can be rather… Forward, especially in financial matters,' Kent remembers Farina boasting about how she charged Lord Hector 20 000 gold for her mercenary services, 'she is as eager about money as Sain is about women.'

'Where is Sain? I normally see you two together.'

'He has gone off with some fair lady or other,' Kent tries to spread the butter more evenly over his bread but a large glob sticks inside an air pocket, 'I've had it with babysitting him—forgive me if I seem cold.'

'It's natural to become irritated with those closest to us,' Fiora twists her bracelet around her wrist, once, then twice. She pictures the sudden transformation of Farina's mischievous grin into a trembling pout, 'although calling Farina "despicable" and "a disgrace to all knights of Elibe" was too harsh…'

'What were you arguing about, if I may ask?' Kent observes the Pegasus knight's slumped shoulders, so different to the bold rider leading her squad with a poised lance.

'It really was my fault,' Fiora presses two fingers against her temple, 'she'd simply teased that I was being too friendly with Lord Eliwood and accused me of lusting after his money and status. Thinking back, I'm sure she was just projecting her own preoccupation with those things but it deeply offended me in the moment.'

'Don't let it weigh on you, Fiora. Your conduct is always impeccable. And family communications are complicated.'

Sain's tousled brown hair appears through the crowd. The knight in green gesticulates to a girl with her hair in two braids. Kent winces when the girl slaps Sain in the face, as though feeling the sting himself. The woman storms away, leaving Sain surveying the busy market like a lost puppy. Kent tilts his face away from the scene and whispers to Fiora, 'I don't think you were overreacting either. After all, I would be deeply offended if Sain suggested that I only cared for Lady Lyndis because of her noble blood.'

'You… Care for Lady Lyndis?' Fiora's eyes drill straight through him.

'A-As a knight, of course! I-In any case, I envy your sisters. Florina spoke about how well you protected and looked after her.' If only he could return to that first journey to Caelin with just him, Lady Lyndis, Sain and Florina! Sain had often tried to monopolise Lady Lyndis' attention but Kent could steal some moments with her when Sain had decided to skip off with some other village girl. Now, the Lycian League under Lord Eliwood is so big that he has trouble finding Lady Lyndis' ponytail among the heads of unfamiliar axe fighters and armoured knights. 'As for Farina, she is naturally confrontational in her expressions of gratitude. It must be good, having a reliable, older sister like you to ask for wisdom.'

'If it helps, you're welcome to ask me anything you like,' Fiora rests her arms against the bar. At another table behind Kent, a woman sings a bawdy folk song. Her nasally pitch cuts through the laughter of soldiers as they bang their glasses. She is probably a prostitute based on her exposed cleavage and elaborately braided wig. Trying to be heard over their noise, Fiora makes a funnel with both her hands, 'my sisters said that you and I are like twins anyway!'

'Well…' Kent studies Fiora's downturned eyebrows and thoughtful smile. Yes, she seems trustworthy, 'do you think love can work between people of different social standings?'

'I… Struggle with that question myself,' Fiora's shoulders rise and fall with each breath. She focuses on the smashed edge of Kent's remaining butter slab. She recomposes herself, focusing on the Caelin knight's amber irises and copper hair combed neatly to one side, 'but you are referring to Lady Lyndis, correct?'

'I… Yes, that's right.' The puddle forming around Kent's glass trickles towards Fiora. The bench must be tilted downwards, imperceptibly, 'but could it be—the reason Farina's brash words hurt you so deeply…?'

'There's no point hiding it from you, is there?' Fiora stares at the water trail, lifting her arms so it can trickle off the side. Two drops land on the tip of her boot, 'I cannot judge which of our situations seems more hopeless: to already be by Lady Lyndis' side but strictly as a knight, or a foreign mercenary who can only admire Lord Eliwood's usual kindness from afar.'

'Lord Eliwood appreciates your sense of responsibility,' Kent butters another bread slice in slow motion: scrape… scrape… 'You mustn't discount yourself like that.'

'I'd say the same to you,' Fiora glimpses the prostitute strutting out of the tavern with two men stumbling after her, 'perhaps we are the only ones with such rigid views of class and personal relationships. Florina and Lady Lyndis do not let such differences hinder their friendship. Farina always demands her rightful fee, no matter how high-status her employer is. And Sain…'

'Sain does not let class or even marital status dissuade him from trying to woo a woman,' Kent had known of Sain's attempt to woo Lady Louise, the wife of Lord Pent the Etrurian Mage General, 'still, I fear that even if my feelings were returned, I would only bring Lady Lyndis misfortune. Her own mother, Lady Madelyn of Caelin, eloped with Lord Hasser of the Lorca Tribe. Both were killed in a massacre.'

'Your fear is only superstition. Besides, Lady Madelyn and Lord Hasser were happy during their time alive.' Fiora catches a stray ball and throws it back to a young girl, 'look at how people of all backgrounds mingle in the markets. It would have been unthinkable just a few years ago.'

'I suppose war and deprivation can inspire people to forge alliances and look beyond their own ranks,' Kent rests his chin in one hand, inhaling the fragrance of roast chicken and sage coming from one of the stalls, 'can you smell that? It's delicious...'

'Perhaps I'll buy some for Farina as an apology – though she'll probably scold me for spending money unnecessarily,' Fiora stretches her arms in the air, 'thank you for listening to me, Kent. I'll keep your feelings for Lady Lyndis a secret.'

'Thank you, Fiora,' Kent dusts crumbs off his fingers. He must also stop brooding alone and find Lady Lyndis himself! 'Best of luck with your sister—and Lord Eliwood.'

AUTHOR NOTE: Thank you for reading this piece about Fiora and Kent supporting one another's quests to win their loves, Lord Eliwood and Lady Lyndis respectively. I hope you enjoyed their conversation, and that it might encourage you to pluck up the courage to approach your own love interest! For now, this story is just a one-shot but perhaps I'll expand on either Fiora x Eliwood or Kent x Lyn– who knows? If you like what you just read, you may enjoy my (two!) fanfiction series on Miledy and Gale's relationship from FE6, one of my favourite fictional pairings since high school. Thanks again - kafkascharm.