I highly suggest you read the original "Sain's Guide to Dating", 
before reading this; it might make more sense. (Not much more, 
but... Oh, well. ^_~)

After the whole debacle over the first story (first the plagerism 
of it, then its removal off ff.net), you'd think I'd be fed up 
with the story... But no, it just encouraged me to finally write 
the sequel. ^_^ I doubt this one will be as good as the original, 
though...

***

Fire Emblem fanfic:

"A Guy, Some Girls and a Piece of Parchment"

(aka "Sain's Guide to Dating, Part II")

by Avi


(A quick recap for our faithful viewers:)

When we last left our heroes, Sain had given Kent a scroll with 
his advice on love, which Kent hoped to use to win Lady Lyndis's 
heart. After many mishaps, where Kent tried to read the scroll 
in private, the cavalier ended up with with an injured foot... 
This culminated in Kent furiously chasing Sain across the army 
encampment... And Sain's scroll being passed on to a new bearer.

Now, back to our story...

*****

Chapter 1: Manual Labour 

As Kent walked away, Guy held in his hands the precious parchment 
that the cavalier had given him. 

"Now... Where in the world can I read this without anyone 
watching...?" he murmured to himself.

The swordsman started to walk around, searching for a secluded spot 
in the army encampment... However, it seemed like his search was in 
vain; there were just far too many people about.

That's when Guy began to think to himself... Perhaps Kent was 
being too secretive about the piece of parchment; hadn't he heard 
the cavalier's friend complain that he was too serious, once? 
Besides, everyone in the encampment was usually caught up in 
their own affairs, to notice what anybody else was up to...

Checking carefully to make sure no one was watching first, Guy 
slowly unrolled the scroll, then began reading it. Soon, he was 
so absorbed, that he had forgotten he was still moving forward... 

After several moments of not bothering to look up to see where he 
was going, Guy ran into something very solid and metallic, with a 
loud thump.

As the stars faded from the swordsman's eyes, he felt someone help 
him get to his feet. "Careful there, little man!" said a booming 
voice.

Guy looked up, and was nearly blinded by the glare... He then 
realized the glare was coming off highly-polished silver armour, 
and an equally shiny bald head.

"Sorry about that," the swordsman mumbled to the knight, 
sheepishly. "Um... Sir... Sir..." 

"Sir Wallace, young man," finished the armoured knight proudly. 
"You're one of those Sacaean swordsmen, aren't you?" he asked. 

When Guy nodded mutely, the knight chuckled. "You remind me of the 
Lady Lyndis, you do... Though it looks like you could benefit a bit 
from my 'Manual of Knightly Prowess'," he added, scrutinizing the 
myrmidon's slim physique. Wallace indicated the red, leather-bound 
tome he carried under his arm. "What say you, boy?"

"Er..." Guy began slowly. Wallace's so-called 'Manual of Knightly 
Prowess' had gained notoriety among most of the soldiers among Lord 
Eliwood's army. 

"That's a very kind offer, Sir Knight, but... I'm afraid I have to 
decline..." the swordsman replied, diplomatically.

The knight shrugged. "Suit yourself... Just remember, the offer 
still stands, if you're ever interested." Wallace then marched 
away, rather stiffly.

Guy heaved a sigh of relief... Until he realized he no longer he 
was no longer carrying the scroll. Frantically rummaging the grass 
upon he had fallen on, he finally caught a glimpse of it... The 
trouble was, he had seen the parchment wedged within the book 
Wallace carried, as the knight had walked away.

"Oh, no!" gasped Guy, to himself. "He must've picked it up by 
accident, after I crashed into him..."

The swordsman got up to chase the armoured knight, but Wallace was 
too far ahead... Guy could only watch his gleaming back fade into 
the mass of tents of the army's encampment. 

However, Guy was not about to give up... With a determined look 
on his face, he began searching the camp for any sign of the bald 
knight or his book.

***

Chapter 2: The Shaming of the Shrew 

Wallace and his manual were in fact passing by the area where 
all the army's winged mounts were tethered... When the knight 
heard a familiar, sneering voice.

"What's that you've got under your arm, teapot? I didn't think you 
could actually read..."

The armoured knight glared at the scarred wyvern rider known as 
Vaida.

"I'll have you know that this is my 'Manual of Knightly Prowess', 
woman!" he retorted, displaying the book proudly before him. "It 
is what has made me the stellar knight that I am today!"

"Creaking, rusted heap of metal is more like it," she mocked.

Suddenly, Vaida managed to snatch the manual from the armoured 
knight's hands, in one, swift gesture.

"In fact, I doubt there's anything of real worth in this book..."
she said evilly, holding it up, just out of Wallace's reach. "So, 
I think it would be better for everyone if I just got rid of it, 
hmmm...?"

"Do not befowl my 'Manual of Knightly Prowess' with your touch, 
witch!" raged the knight.

"Oho, I do believe I've stuck a nerve..." Vaida observed nastily. 
"Looks like I've got another tasty treat for Umbriel, here!"

At this, Wallace's face nearly turned red with fury.

"If you even think about feeding my book to that beast of yours," 
he growled, "I'll... I'll...!"

"You'll what, old man?" Vaida sneered.

As the wyvern rider waved the book high in the air, a piece of 
parchment suddenly slid out of it, and floated to the ground.

"What's this...?" snapped Vaida, distracted. She picked the 
parchment off the ground.

"'The Art of Winning a Woman's Heart'," she read aloud. "What 
in the hells...?" Then, a sly smirk spread across her face.

"Oho...! Now, I understand...! It seems that your so-called 
'Manual of Knightly Prowess' is not all that it seems..."

"Excuse me?" snarled the knight, affronted.

"Don't play the fool with me... Although you do it, so well...! 
It seems those barbed words you throw at me, actually conceal 
feelings of love!"

As Wallace stared at her in bewilderment, she laughed. 
"I wouldn't have taken you for some sentimental old softy, 
teapot..."

"Me... Have romantic feelings for you?" spluttered the bald 
knight. "You must be joking, wench... I'd sooner wed a cobra!"

"Don't lie to me, old man... It's all on this parchment that 
was in your book!"

Vaida held up the parchment in the air triumphantly... When it 
was snatched out of her hand, by the wind.

"Blast it!" she cursed. "Stupid thing..." While she was thus 
distracted, Wallace took the opportunity to snatch back his 
manual.

"Aha! Foiled you again, witch!" he sneered. He then displayed 
the pages of his book to her. 

"As you can see, there is nothing in this book about love... 
You must've been making it up... To hide your own feelings for 
me!" he concluded triumphantly. "You must be more feminine than 
you look... It wouldn't be hard..."

"What?" snapped Vaida, in disgust. "Me like you? Ugh, don't 
make me sick, old man..."

"Admit it! Admit that you love me!" yelled Wallace.

"No, admit your love for me, you disgusting old man...!" 

***

Chapter 3: Belle, Book... And the Handle of a Sword

In the meantime, Guy was becoming desperate, as he ran through the 
encampment; he hadn't been able to find either Wallace or that book 
of his, yet...

All of a sudden, the swordsman caught a glimpse of a red 
leather-bound tome, out of the corner of his eye. He began to 
lunge forward... Then he stopped, when he realized who carried it.

It was that lovely healer Priscilla, whom he felt nervous around... 
He couldn't just go up and take the book from her! It probably 
wasn't the right one, anyways...

But... If it was, by chance, the right one, and she caught a 
glimpse of the scroll that was in there... He couldn't let such 
a sweet lady read something like that!

Besides... The book the healer held just looked so hauntingly 
familliar... In his panic, Guy immediately jumped to the wrong 
conclusion.

"Here, let me take a look at that!" Guy cried out, quickly grabbing 
the book out of Priscilla's hand.

As the healer stared at him, startled, Guy quickly began flicking 
through the pages of the book, then paused. 

"Wait a minute..." began the swordsman. "This is... This is..."

"It's a Fire tome," explained Priscilla, a hurt look on her face. 
She then showed Guy her right hand, which had a Guiding Ring on 
the index finger. "I'm finally at a high enough level to learn 
Nature magic... But why did you take away my book of magic from 
me, Guy?"

The swordsman was at a loss for words. Suddenly, he sensed someone 
staring at him... The two looked up, to find Raven glowering at the 
both of them.

"Is this boy harassing you, Priscilla?" asked the mercenary coldly. 

"Oh no, Raym-- I mean, Raven..." answered Priscilla quietly. Guy 
waved his hands in front of him.

"This has just been some terrible mix-up!" he explained hastily, 
avoiding the mercenary's icy gaze. "I'm really sorry!"

As Raven's hand tightened around the hilt of his sword, the other 
swordsman backed away slowly. "Er... I think I'll be going now..." 
Guy started to say... He then beat a hasty retreat.

Raven then turned to his sister, fixing her with a similar glare. 
"Are you sure he hasn't been bothering you?"

"No, not really... I actually rather like him," she replied coolly. 
"At least, he acts like he cares for me..."

And in a huff, she turned on her heel and walked away, leaving 
Raven standing by himself, dumbfounded.

***

On the other side of the army encampment, the monk known as 
Lucius walked by, a gentle smile upon his fair features. As 
he walked, the wind rustled his sky blue robes... The sunlight 
gleamed off his golden hair as it streamed behind him, caught 
up in the gentle breeze...

The poetry imagery was rather spoiled when a piece of parchment, 
blown by the wind, went and smacked the monk right in the face.

Spluttering in an undignified manner, Lucius promptly peeled the 
parchment from his face, and glanced at it.

Noticing that the document had writing upon it, the monk began 
to read it, curiously... After a few moments, however, a blush 
spread across his delicate features.

"Oh, my..." he gasped. "I wonder if just reading this would break 
my vows of chastity..." He then noticed the name written at the 
top of the scroll.

"Sir Sain..." Lucius murmured to himself. "Hmmm... I think I 
recognize that name..."

***

Chapter 4: An Unexpected Discovery 

Meanwhile, the cavalier in question was walking to the healer's 
tent, while rubbing the back of his head... It seemed that Kent 
had caught up to him at some point, and hit him over the head 
with his crutch.

Sain felt hurt by this, and not just physically... Wasn't he just 
trying to improve his friend's reputation with the ladies?

The knight was about to enter the healer's tent, when he heard a 
soft-spoken voice, behind him.

"Pardon me... You are Sir Sain, correct?"

Sain turned, to see an attractive blond addressing him. Delighted 
at the attention of an apparent female, he immediately clasped the 
hand of the surprised Lucius to his chest.

"Ah... And you are the lovely maiden known as Lucia, as I 
recall..." replied the knight, planting a kiss on the proffered 
hand. The monk gently removed his hand from knight's own, as 
tactfully as he could manage. 

"Um... Actually, the name is Lucius," corrected the monk politely.
"And... I happen to be a man." 

Sain looked crestfallen. "What? Seriously...?"

"Seriously." 

"Oh..." The cavalier sagged a bit. Feeling a bit sorry for him, 
Lucius patted him on the shoulder reassuringly.

"Don't worry, I get that a lot..." he told the knight. The monk 
then pulled out a piece of parchment from the light tome he was 
carrying.

"Anyways, I found this scrap of parchment with your name written 
upon it, Sir Sain, so I thought you might want it back..." He 
handed it to the knight.

"Really...?" enquired Sain. After glancing at the parchment 
for a moment, he recognized it immediately. "Hey, this is...!"

The cavalier fought down a surge of disappointment, as Lucius 
gazed at him curiously. "Um... Where did you find this...?" he 
asked the monk.

"It just blew into my face, actually," confessed Lucius. "The 
wind must've caught it, by accident..."

"Or someone threw it away," concluded Sain, quietly. When the 
monk gave him a questioning look, the cavalier gave him a sad 
smile. "Thanks for bringing it back to me, Lucius..." 

Rolling up the scroll, the knight then entered the healer's 
tent, with a downcast expression on his face.

"Poor guy," said the monk sympathetically.

*

Lucius turned around to walk away, to suddenly find Raven 
looming overprotectively behind him.

"Oh! Hello Lord Raym... I mean, Raven," the monk greeted his 
friend, caught somewhat off guard. However, the mercenary wasn't 
paying attention to him... He was staring fixedly at the flap of 
the tent, where Sain had entered.

"That knight..." said Raven, slowly. "He wasn't pestering you, 
was he...?"

"Oh, no!" replied Lucius, sounding shocked. The mercenary fixed 
his friend with a cold, calculating look.

"But... I saw him grab your hand..." Raven began.

"Oh, that!" said the monk, with a laugh. "That was just a bit 
of a mix-up, I'm afraid..." The mercenary's expression darkened.

"You should be careful around that guy," he warned. "I've 
seen him hanging all over Priscilla... Plus, I've heard things 
about him; that he's a ladies' man, or something..."

"But I'm not a lady," Lucius pointed out. 

At that remark, Raven shot him a sharp glare, which made the 
monk cough nervously.

"Don't worry, Raven..." Lucius told him, reassuringly. "As you 
can plainly see, I can handle myself in these matters..."

When Raven continued to brood, the monk raised an eyebrow at 
him.

"You're not jealous, are you?" he asked.

"Jealous?" snapped the mercenary. "I wouldn't flatter yourself, 
Lucius..."

"Good." The monk smiled beatifically, and patted Raven on the 
cheek, in a fond manner. "I wouldn't have it any other way." 

The blond man turned to leave, as the mercenary stared at him, 
blankly.

"Hey... What's that supposed to mean?" asked Raven, plainly 
annoyed. The monk continued to walk away, causing the mercenary 
to grumble under his breath.

"First Priscilla, and now, Lucius..." Raven muttered to himself. 
"This just isn't my day..."

***

Chapter 5: The Lady Suspects 

In another part of the camp, Kent was storming back to his tent 
as best as he could, on his sore foot. The knight was grumbling 
under his breath... Although he had regretted hitting Sain on 
the head as soon as he had done it, he was still quite angry at 
his friend.

"Excuse me, Sir Kent..." 

Kent turned around awkwardly, to find the stratagist of Lord 
Eliwood's army politely addressing him. The knight managed to 
rein in his temper.

"What can I do for you, Lady Tactician?" he asked respectfully. 
The young woman sighed, in reply.

"How many times have I told you, Kent? You don't need to address 
me by my title... I have a name, you know." 

When the knight gazed at her quizzically, she sighed again. "Never 
mind," said the tactician, sounding a bit exasperated.

"Did you want to ask me about something, milady?" prompted Kent.

"Oh, yes..." she recalled. "I know you've been through a trying 
day, Kent," the tactician told him, "but I'm just curious... Lady 
Lyndis mentioned that you found my map, and I've been wondering 
why you never gave it to me..."

"What map?" asked Kent, without thinking. When the tactician shot 
him a hurt look, he recalled the excuse he gave Lady Lyndis for 
having Sain's scroll in his hand, earlier. 

"Oh, that map...!" he amended hastily... Kent thought fast. "Um,  
I'm afraid I lost it, somewhere..." he confessed to her, hating 
himself for lying. The tactician looked resigned by this. 

"Oh... That's okay," replied the young woman, sadly. She turned 
to leave, but then, looked back to address him again.

"Although... I must say I'm a bit disappointed in you, Kent," 
she told him frankly. "I'd expect that kind of behaviour from 
Sain, rather than you."

The knight bit his tongue at this. As the tactician bade him 
farewell, Kent found himself cursing Sain's name again...

*

"Um... Kent..."

At that voice, Kent spun around on his crutch, causing his 
addresser to flinch. 

"Please don't hit me again," pleaded Sain. He indicated his now- 
bandaged head. "I just wanted to ask you something..."

Kent sighed. "I wasn't going to hit you again, Sain. I am still 
mad at you, however... So, you'd better make it quick." The 
knight folded his arms before him.

Sain fixed his friend with an unusually serious look. "I... I 
just wanted to know..." he began hesistantly, "The reason why 
you threw away the scroll I wrote for you."

"Threw it away?" asked Kent, in astonishment. "What makes you 
think I threw it away?"

"Kent... I'm holding it right here!" exclaimed Sain. He held up 
the rolled-up piece of parchment, in front of Kent's bewildered 
eyes.

"Wh... Where did you get that?" asked the knight.

"Lucius found it," replied his fellow cavalier coldly. "Apparently, 
the wind blew it in his face... As if someone just tossed it 
aside." A hurt look then spread across Sain's features.

"Kent..." he began, in a sad voice, "I thought we were friends; I 
thought I was helping you out, by giving you my advice on women... 
But if you thought that it was all just garbage, then the least 
you could do is tell it to my face." 

With a look of disappointment, Sain turned his back on his fellow 
knight, and began to walk away.

"You've got it all wrong, Sain!" Kent protested. He started to 
run after his friend, tripped on his bad foot, yet continued on... 
After limping forward a bit, he finally managed to catch up to 
Sain, then stared him directly in the eyes.

"Sain, I swear... I didn't throw away your scroll," he told his 
friend firmly. "I gave it to... To someone else," he amended 
hastily, wanting to protect Guy's identity. "It seems they wanted 
advice on women, as well... They were so... Enthusiastic about it, 
that I decided to let him have it."

When the other cavalier gave him a skeptical look, Kent placed a 
hand over his heart. "I swear that I speak the truth, Sain... On 
my honour as a knight of Caelin." 

Sain continued to stare at Kent, for the longest time... Then, he 
broke into a wide grin.

"Aw, I should've known you didn't throw my scroll away," said the 
cavalier, his good nature restored. "I'm sorry I doubted you, 
pal..."

"And I'm sorry about hitting you on the head with my crutch, 
earlier," added Kent, sheepishly. "What with the injury and all, 
I guess I just lost my temper..."

"That's okay," replied Sain cheerfully. He placed a companionable 
arm around his friend's shoulders... Suddenly, he placed Kent's 
head in a headlock, and ruffled his red hair affectionately.

"Sain! Do you mind?" protested Kent. "My foot still hurts, you 
know..."

"Oops, sorry, Kent!" apologized Sain, releasing his friend. "I kind 
of forgotten about that..."

Sain helped his fellow cavalier to stand up, then began to hand him 
the roll of parchment. 

"I guess I should give this back to you, huh?" he asked.

Kent made to take the scroll from Sain, then paused.

"That's okay... I don't need it anymore," the knight told his 
friend frankly, offering him a rare smile. "I have you to advise 
on matters of the heart." As Sain grinned back, a thought then 
occurred to Kent.

"What I don't understand is, how did Lucius end up with your 
scroll, anyways...?" he said aloud, his brow furrowing. "I never 
gave it to him, I gave it to--"

"Kent! Sain! There you are!" called out a familliar voice.

"Eeep!" gasped Sain, hiding the scroll behind his back. Kent tried 
to compose himself as well, as Lady Lyndis walked up to the two 
cavaliers, a stern look upon her face.

"Look, you two..." she told them, eyeing both of the knights as 
they began to sweat. "I want to know why you guys were chasing 
and yelling at each other across the camp, earlier... That sort 
of thing doesn't help this army's morale, you know."

"Lady Lyndis..." began Kent uncertainly, "I swear to you, the 
altercation between Sain and I has been resolved."

"Really!" added Sain, as Lyn gave the two a disbelieving look. To 
prove his point, he placed a friendly arm around Kent's shoulder. 
"See? Best buddies, again, right Kent?"

"Er... Right!"

As the two cavaliers grinned nervously at her, Lyn stared at 
both of them in turn, with a skeptical expression on her face... 
The expression changed to one of recognition, when she noticed 
something else.

"Say... What's that parchment in your hand, Sain?" asked Lyn 
curiously, pointing to the hand currently dangling from Kent's 
shoulder. As Sain glanced at it guiltily, she added, "Isn't that 
the map you were supposed to give the tactician?"

"Er..." began the cavalier, who glanced at Kent for advice... His 
friend shrugged helplessly.

"You must be mistaken, milady," Sain told her, shoving the scroll 
behind his back again, hurriedly.

"No, I'm certain that's the same one," said Lady Lyndis, firmly. 
"Let me see that roll of parchment, Sain."

When he hesistated, Kent sighed to his fellow knight, "You'd 
better just give it to her, Sain..."

Reluctantly, Sain handed her the scroll... Lyn promptly unrolled 
the parchment, and glanced down at it.

"Wait a minute..." she said slowly, as she began to read. "This 
isn't a map...! It's... It's..." Kent watched the change of his 
liege lord's expression, nervously. 

"Maybe I should take that back, milady," he started to tell her. 
"That really isn't the sort of thing a lady like yourself should 
be reading..." 

The knight reached out for the scroll hastily, but Lyn just 
avoided his grasp... She then gazed fixedly at each of the 
knights, in turn.

"You mean... You..." she began, pointing to Sain, "Wrote this 
scroll for him...?" She pointed to Kent. 

Figuring he had nothing left to lose, Sain nodded. Lyn then 
turned to Kent.

"So... This is the reason why you told me this parchment was a 
map... Why you climbed up a tree... Why you were chasing Sain 
around the compound...?"

When Kent also nodded mutely, Lyn turned her back on the two 
cavaliers for a moment... At this, Kent immediately felt guilty, 
and tried to explain himself. 

"Lady Lyndis... I'm sorry about the things I did..." he told her, 
miserably. He tentatively patted her silently shaking shoulders, 
in a reassuring fashion. "I swear, it won't happen again..." 
Then the knight trailed off, as a suspiciously unladylike snort 
came from Lyn.

"Lady Lyndis... Are you... Laughing at us?" asked Kent, weakly. 

At this, Lyn finally turned around, revealing the smothered 
laughter she had been trying to hide.

"I'm sorry, Kent..." she said to the hurt-looking knight, and 
tried not to chuckle. "But the thought of you recieving romantic 
advice from Sain is... Is..." She broke into a fresh peal of 
laughter.

"Hey!" cried out Sain, in protest.

"I'm so sorry, Sain..." said Lyn apologetically, finally managing 
to compose herself... She then wiped tears of mirth from her eyes.

"Well, this sure does explain what's been going on, today," she 
added, then glanced down at the scroll in her hand. "Although... 
The poor tactician never did get her map..."

Kent's eyes widened. "You don't mean to actually give that to 
her, do you, Lady Lyndis?" he asked, absolutely mortified at 
the thought. Lyn shook her head, reassuringly.

"Don't worry, your secret is safe with me," Lyn said, though 
her eyes sparkled with amusement. She then offered the scroll 
to the knight. "By the way, Kent... Do you need this back?"

Kent blushed. "Uh... Not really..." he stammered. "But I would 
like to ask you a favour, milady... Perferrably in private." He 
shot Sain a significant look, and his friend took the hint.

"Oh, sure! I'll just... Walk over here for a bit, shall I...?"
Sain said, winking, causing Kent to flush even more. Once the 
knight was certain Sain was out of earshot, he addressed the 
curious Lyn, in a low voice.

"Um... Lady Lyndis... I don't suppose... You could give this 
to Guy for me...?" asked Kent uncertainly, tapping the roll of 
parchment she held. "I gave it to him earlier, but he must've 
dropped it, by accident..."

When Lyn gave him a questioning look, he added hastily, "I'd ask 
Sain do it, but I think he's already puffed up with pride at the 
thought of anyone else wanting his advice; he'd never leave the 
poor boy alone, if he knew who it was..."

"You've got a point," remarked Lyn wryly. "Sure, I'd be happy to 
give the scroll to Guy."

"Thank you, milady," answered the knight gratefully.

Lyn looked like she was about to leave, when she turned back for 
a moment.

"You know, Kent... You don't really need advice on love," she 
began slowly. "Just tell the person you like how you feel about 
them, okay?" Lyn gave him a gentle smile, then turned and walked 
away... Leaving Kent to stare after her.

"Just tell them how I feel..." repeated Kent softly, under his 
breath. "Perhaps there's hope for us yet, milady..." he murmured.

Then the knight smiled quietly to himself, and walked back towards 
Sain.

*

Chapter 6: What Comes Around, Goes Around... 

"So... Somebody else really wanted my advice on affairs of the 
heart, huh...?" asked Sain pleasantly, as Kent approached him.

The other knight sighed. "Yes, Sain..."

"You know, I'm flattered that you thought my scroll was useful 
enough to give someone else," continued the other cavalier, 
beaming.

"Don't make me regret that decision, Sain..." warned Kent, 
irritably. "Remember what they say, 'Pride goeth before a 
fall...'"

"That's true..." mused Sain. "Still, I will never forget this 
one time, where my best friend actually thought my advice was
worthwhile, for once..."

Kent shook his head. "You'll never let me forget this, will 
you...?"

"Nope," replied his fellow knight cheerfully. "Now, let's get 
you back to your tent, so you can rest that ankle..."

And with his friend's help, Kent hobbled back to his tent, his 
right arm resting companionably on Sain's shoulder... And Kent's 
crutch, left discarded in the grass.

***

Meanwhile, in an out of the way part of the camp, Guy sat 
dejectedly on a hollow log... He had had no luck in finding 
the lost scroll, thus far; plus, there were far too many mages 
carrying books similar to the one he was looking for, that the 
swordsman didn't want to end up in a similar predicament like 
he did with Priscilla, earlier...

Priscilla... Guy sighed heavily to himself. There was no way he 
could ever hope to win her over, now...

"Um... Hello, Guy..."

The swordsman scrambled to his feet at that greeting, as he 
recognized the sound of Priscilla's voice.

"Oh... Hi Priscilla," Guy mumbled, tugging on his braid sheepishly. 

"By the way," he added, as the swordsman remembered something. 
"Congratulations on your becoming a Valkyrie..." 

"Thank you," replied the healer demurely. "Oh, that reminds me..."
She placed a hand on the myrmidon's forehead, causing to him to 
flush.

"Are you feeling all right, Guy?" asked Priscilla, in a concerned 
tone. "You were acting so strangely, earlier; as if you were 
feverish, or something..." The swordsman blushed even harder.

"I'm really sorry about that; I'm fine, actually..."

"Are you sure? Your face is awfully red at the moment..."

"I'm... I'm sure," stammered Guy.

"All right..." said Priscilla skeptically. "But just remember... 
You can come to me for healing, whenever you're not feeling well, 
okay?" 

The myrmidon nodded wordlessly at her, causing the healer to 
smile kindly at him. Then she turned, and left... Guy watched 
her go.

"She still likes me..." murmured the swordsman to himself, in 
wonderment. "Perhaps I haven't lost hope with you yet, dear 
lady..." 

Just then, the myrmidon felt a polite tap on his shoulder.

"Excuse me... Aren't you Guy?" 

The swordsman turned around, to find a young woman dressed in 
Sacean garb, smiling down at him.

"Um, that's right..." The myrmidon's brow furrowed in recognition. 
"And you're Lady Lyndis, correct?"

"Yes, I am... I believe you know Sir Kent? He asked me to give 
this to you." Lyn handed the scroll to him. 

Guy's eyes lit up. "You found it!" he exclaimed. "I've turning 
the camp inside out looking for that thing...!" He then paused 
for a moment, as he realized something.

"Uh... You didn't actually read this scroll, did you, Lady Lyndis?" 
asked the swordsman tentatively.

"Actually, I did," replied Lyn, causing Guy to blush. "But that's 
not really important..." Noticing the swordsman's embarassment, 
she patted him reassuringly on the back.

"Look Guy," Lyn began frankly, "What you decide to read in your 
off time is your own business... Just try not to lose this again, 
okay?" She tapped the parchment he held, and gave him a sisterly 
wink.

"Uh... Sure, milady..."

"Just call me Lyn. We are both Sacaen, after all..."

"Okay, then... Thank you... Lyn."

Lady Lyndis smiled at him and then walked away, leaving Guy alone, 
clutching the scroll.

The swordsman was just about to unroll the parchment eagerly, 
when he paused... Hadn't this document caused him enough trouble, 
already? 

Besides... Priscilla still seemed to like him, without any help 
from the scroll's advice...

Guy stared at the roll of parchment for the longest time... 
Finally, he came to a decision.

Quickly crumpling up the scroll, the myrmidon tossed it over his 
shoulder... Then he left, without casting it a second glance.

*

Epilogue: Whatever Happened to...? 

As Guy left, the wadded-up piece of parchment dropped to the ground 
and rolled away... And hit the booted toe of somebody walking by.

"What's this...?" asked Canas curiously. The monacled shaman knelt 
to pick up the discarded parchment, and unfolded it carefully... 
He then began to read it, his eyes widening a bit.

"What an... Odd document," observed the shaman, adjusting his 
monacle in astonishment. "Oh, well... No information should ever 
be wasted, I always say..." Smoothing out the parchment, he 
carefully tucked it into the tome of dark magic he was carrying, 
and slowly, walked away.

***

"What is with all that shouting?" complained Lord Hector, as he 
walked up to the area where all the winged mounts were tethered.
There was quite a crowd surrounding the place already; presumably, 
they were wondering what all the fuss about was, as well.

As the lord spoke, a familliar face turned around... Hector then 
immediately recognized Lord Eliwood, his longtime friend and 
leader of their growing band of mercenaries. 

"Eliwood, do you have any idea what's going on?" Hector asked his 
fellow lord, irritably. "If this racket goes on any longer, it's 
going to frighten away all the pegasi and wyverns!"

"I'm afraid I do," sighed Eliwood, uneasily running a hand through 
his red hair. "It seems that Wallace and Vaida are having another 
one of their little... Disagreements..."

"Another one?" exclaimed Hector. "Are those two at each other's 
throats again?" He shook his head. "I swear... One of these days, 
those two will kill each other..."

"Well, that's the odd thing..." began Eliwood slowly. "They're not 
arguing because they hate each other... They're arguing about who 
loves the other the most."

"What?" asked Hector, bewildered. He then placed a hand over his 
face, in disbelief. "Never mind... I don't think I really want to 
know about it..."

"What do you think I should about this though, Hector?" asked 
the other lord, worriedly. "Their fighting is distracting everyone 
else in the camp... Should I just break up it up?" Hector looked 
thoughtful, for a moment.

"Nah... Let them blow off steam," he concluded. "They'll lose 
their voices eventually, anyways..." Eliwood lifted an eyebrow 
at this.

"Well, that's a callous way of putting it," observed the young 
leader.

"But true," grinned Hector. "However, we should probably break up 
the crowd surrounding the place..." He then imposed his armoured 
bulk among the spectators, and began separating them.

"C'mon, move it, people... Nothing to see here..."

Shrugging to himself, Lord Eliwood then followed his fellow lord's 
example.


END

*****

As with the original "Sain's Guide to Dating", I've already come 
up with a title for the next installment... "The Canas Sutra". 
*laughs* But there's something so wrong about that title, I 
may not decide use it, anyways... Besides, just like before, 
I don't have enough ideas to start on the next story... Yet. ^_~

***

Copyright, Aviatrix8, 2004. Fire Emblem and all related characters 
are property of Nintendo et al., and are used without permission. 

    Source: geocities.com/aviatrix8