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.