Fanfic
UNDER THE IVY
The ball was in full swing.
As the heir of Caelin, anyone who married Lyndis would become the Marquess. It was therefore entirely proper to introduce her to high society; in other words, to present her with appropriate candidates for courtship. And, of course, it was only appropriate for them to be accompanied by their families, and since the journey was so long, of course it was neccesary for them to stay a certain number of days.
Before they knew it, the debutante and her grandfather had agreed to host a three-day party at the manor. They weren't thrilled. Lyn went through the entire engagement fiddling with her dress and spending as much time as possible with Eliwood, who unfortunately had to depart a day early and leave her with people best described as "pickle-headed."
Fortunately, no bad thing could last forever. It was the grand ball of the last night, and in the morning everyone would finally go back home.
Unfortunately, there was a problem.
"She's run off again," whispered Kent, nudging Florina with one armour-plated foot. "If you would kindly go and find her..."
Florina was in a fairly awkward situation herself. Being a Pegasus Knight had put her above her expected position in House Caelin, which meant that she was forced to attend the ball. Being at the ball meant that men were asking her to dance. Men asking her to dance made Florina thouroughly distressed. She wore her uniform, stood in a corner of the room with a glass of champagne, and tried to avoid anyone she saw coming towards her.
Kent was a different story, of course, as her commanding officer. "Y-yes," she stuttered, so glad to have a temporary route of escape that she barely noticed he was a man. "I'll go at once. Sir."
And so she headed out, into the cool darkness of the grounds, with occasional cries of "Milady!" that echoed through the night wind.
In the end, it wasn't too difficult to find her. Lady Lyndis was sitting on an ornate stone bench at the edge of the Manor, ripping pins from her hair one by one, gazing wistfully northward at the dark landscape that eventually, far out of sight, gave way to the plains.
"Milady," said Florina once more, trying not to stare. Lyndis wore a wide-skirted silk gown of pale green. Her hair, free from its pins, fell across her bare shoulders and down her back. Her skin was as flawless as that of any noblewoman, but darker from the sun; a striking contrast to her dress. By all rights she should have looked stunningly beautiful.
She would have, too, to anyone who had never seen her in the clothes of Sacae. To anyone who had never seen the true Lyndis. This was a poor substitute for the real thing.
"Milady," she repeated, trying to regain her train of thought. "Won't you come back to the party now? I know it's been a long night, but it's proper for a hostess to be entertaining her guests, and everyone is so... so anxious to see you..."
Lyndis sighed and shook her head. "You act so proper these days, Florina," she responded. "*You* should understand my feelings. How do you feel, in there, with all those people? Having to dress up and act so stiff? It's not you. It's not me, either. I can't stand it!"
Florina could have honestly agreed with her. She'd understood what would happen when she made the choice to serve under Lyn as a soldier, but still, somewhere in the depths of her heart she wanted things to be different.
No matter how she wished it, though, they would never return to the way things were. This was the only way they could remain together and still be mainly themselves. For now, at least, it was their lot in life. They could only weather it as best as possible.
"Lady Lyndis..." Florina's glance darted nervously around the gardens, searching for another topic. "It's starting to rain. You'll ruin your dress."
Rising from the bench, Lyndis strode towards the neatly trimmed bushes that marked the edge of the garden. She pushed them down and stared out again into the night. "Florina, you too miss your home, don't you?"
"Yes..." replied Florina, thoughts turning to Ilia and then back to Lyndis. "To tell the truth, I even miss the plains, sometimes. They were very beautiful."
Lyndis turned around and smiled. "You remember, right? How we first met? Making friends... travelling together... our first kiss...?" The smile turned pained. She took a step towards Florina.
Biting her lip, Florina dropped her gaze to the damp grass underfoot and tried to stay stoic. "I... Lady Lyndis, please don't. It's in the past now..."
"I can't accept that." Lyn caught Florina in her arms and pulled her close against her breast. She was warm even in the rain, her heartbeat loud as thunder. "Florina, I want to kiss you again. I want to go back to the plains with you."
It took everything Florina had to break away from that embrace. When she did- and Lyndis, saddened but not surprised, didn't stop her- she stood trembling before her for several moments trying to regain her composture.
"I'm sorry," she said. "Lady... Lyn... for now, this is all I can do. Please understand."
Lyndis sighed, deeply. "I understand."
Then she wiped her eyes and smiled. In an instant, the pain was hidden behind a wall of dutiful cheerfulness. "Well, I suppose we should be heading inside now. You were right. It is starting to rain."
"Oh!" exclaimed Florina, playing along with the change in mood. "Then you are coming back with me, Milady?"
Taking her hand gently, Lyndis started back towards the hall with Florina in tow. The rain was starting in earnest now, running down their hair in tiny drops. "Of course! After all, I guess I can't leave you at a boring party all by yourself! Let's go!"
Florina smiled and squeezed her hand for a moment.
But that night, she dreamed of the plains, and cried.
END
(This starts off sounding vaguely Jane Austen, but then veers off into "Victorian lesbian melodrama." Which, hey, who doesn't love lesbian melodrama of any variety? I think this is like the third time I've said this in commentary, but this fic was to have a sequel, which didn't happen because I have trouble writing porn. Pretty much it would just be about Lyn and Florina's happy honeymoon.)
And as a special bonus for people sick of my constant fanfic archival posts, here is an mp3 of the song the fic is named after. And yes, I am unhealthily fixated on Kate Bush. Thank you for noticing.