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Ninian looked ethereal under the falling snow, her mint blue hair fell just in place with the pure white frost that covered the ground and trees. She was so beautiful in the snow, so so so so beautiful that it left Florina completely, utterly, stupidly, speechless.
“Dame Florina?” A soft, gentle voice ushered the pegasus knight back to reality. “Is something the matter?” Her eyes settled on Ninian’s light ruby eyes, a perfect compliment to her pale complexion, and ice blue hair.
“A-Ah!” Florina stammered out, waving her arms frantically in surprise, and embarrassment. “No no, nothing at all! And I told you to not call me that anymore, Ninian.”
A blush rose to her face, realization that she had been caught staring at the dancer again finally dawned on her.
Ninian gave her a sweet smile, and Florina wondered if she had ever seen anything more angelic in all her years. The dancer let out a small melodic giggle. “My apologies, Miss Florina, bad habit I suppose, hm?”
“Florina is fine. In fact, Ninian, you are royalty now so you really don’t need any formalities around me.” The pegasus knight could see a prosperous future for Pharae with Ninian as their lovely Marquise.
“Ah!” She exclaimed, her eyes widened. “Sh-should I call you Lady Ninian instead…I probably should huh? Geez, I can’t believe I’ve been so nonchalant talking to the new—”
The dancer shook her head in a fervor, her cheeks painted in slight pink. “No! No, n-no no! It’s...really okay.” Her lips curved into light sheepish smile, and Florina could feel the edges of her heart melt (just a teensy bit).
“In fact,” she murmured, “I really appreciate you speaking with me the way you do. Even if my title happened to change slightly, I’d be eternally grateful if our friendship could stay the same.”
Florina felt a shiver run up her spine as a gust of frosty wind whooshed past her. Friendship, huh.
She tucked her arms together, her hands rubbing up and down her arms. She never understood how someone like Ninian could be so comfortable in the cold. Well, of course she knew why, she just didn’t get why.
Even if she was a godly ice dragon, even being from Illia herself, Florina was still prone to shivers and chills from Pharae’s winters. And yet Ninian with her thin dancing garments, while definitely not a bad sight for the gazing eyes, surely were not the best at keeping her warm.
Another chill ran through her, a cold frost of air came out of her lips as she let out a breath.
Ninian’s eyebrows furrowed, concern painting on her face ever so slightly. “Are you cold Da-” she caught herself, “...ah, Miss Florina?”
Florina shook her head in response. “N-no it’s okay! I’m good.” She flashed a grin as if to reassure the dancer of her concerns. “But Ninian,” she started. The dancer’s head cocked to the side slightly in response, her eyebrow lifted in curiosity. “Aren’t you cold?”
Ninian shook her head to the side. “No,” she mused, a playful smile set on her lips. “The cold has never bothered me, in fact, I think it’s when I feel most comfortable...it reminds me of home, and of Nils...”
“Are you homesick?” Florina couldn’t possibly imagine leaving her life behind the way Ninian had, her family, her home. While Florina was in fact staying in Pharae, she could always go back to Illia if she so desired, and of course she could visit Fiora and Farina anytime she wanted to as well.
“I’m not sure I have the right to be, everyone here is trying to make me feel as homey as possible…” The dancer trailed off, her head lowered slightly.
Florina reached her hand forward, resting it on the dancer’s shoulders. She gave her a pat, and tried to not think about how she could practically feel Ninian’s skin underneath that thin silk garment of hers. “You have, every right to be sad, no one expects you to simply forget everything, everyone you left behind.” Ninian looked up into the pegasus knight’s eyes, showing a slight hint of a smile.
“Thank you, Miss Florina, you are far too kind for someone like me…” Her words fell silent as she cleared her throat. Her hand rested on her chest, as if attempting to coax the cough that was to come.
Florina’s eyes narrowed in concern. “Are you sure you should be up, Ninian? You’re still sick…”
Ninian’s face faltered just a bit, Florina only noticed because she was paying attention to (staring at) her. Immediately guilt weighed itself down on her chest as her stomach felt like flopping over.
She hurriedly bluttered out several ‘i’m sorry’s in a barely coherent mangle of a sentence. Ninian grabbed her hand, and Florina held back a tremble at how cold her touch was, but she felt so warm inside. She brushed her thumb against the surface of the pegasus knight’s palm.
With a smile, she reaffirmed her, “Please, don’t apologize Miss Florina. I am grateful to have such a caring friend by my side.” She felt a slight hot rush to her cheeks, coloring them shades of pink, but oddly enough there was a slight tug in her chest.
Friend. Friend. Right. They were friends.
She was her friend. Florina was her friend, right. Friend friend friend friend friend (more than?) friend friend friend.
Florina coughed. “Of course, I am equally as lucky, if not infinitely moreso, to be your friend.” There was that word again. It tasted slightly bitter on her tongue, leaving her lips. Strange. She’d never had an aversion to that word before, did she?
Lady Lyndis was her friend, proudly so. Why was it so hard to call Ninian her friend?
A cough scattered her train of thoughts. Then a trail of them, which turned into a fit, which turned into Ninian doubling over, palms cupped over her mouth, her face in anguish. Florina bent down to Ninian’s side in an instant, concern overflowing her brain.
“N-Ninian?!” She asked in alarm. She knelt beside the frail dancer, knees bitten by the cold frost of the snow, (but at that point she didn’t care, couldn't even notice) her hand rubbing her back, up and down, back and forth, in a vain attempt to quell the violent coughing fit. “Sh-should I call Lord Eliwood over?”
Ninian shook her head fervently, her face paling by the minute (more than usual). After several minutes her coughing fit subsided, as she breathed in and out to steady herself. The blood had drained slightly out of her face, leaving it less of an angelic glimmer, but more of a waning pale.
“I’m okay... I’m okay... I’m sorry Miss Florina. I didn’t mean to concern you like that,” she had an uncharacteristically wry smile painted on her face. “We were having such a good time together…” Ninian must’ve seen the worried expression on Florina’s face failing to subside, as she one hand over Florina’s own, giving it a gentle squeeze, as if to say ‘everything is okay’.
It wasn’t suppose to be Ninian comforting Florina right now, the pegasus knight thought bitterly, one hand enveloped in Ninian’s palm, the other resting motionlessly on her back. “Perhaps, we should continue this inside?”
Ninian gave a weak nod, slowly pushing herself up; Florina’s hand hovered against her back, a silent support, waiting to catch her in case she fell. Ninian squeezed the pegasus knight’s hand again, her nimble fingers gently pressing into Florina’s palm, a silent show of gratitude.
“Please don’t mention this to anyone, Miss Florina. My husband is already stressed enough as it is… I don’t want to cause a fuss over such a simple matter. ”
Ah, right, of course. She almost forgot, almost deluded herself enough to forget. So caught up in her daydreams and gazes that she buried it down, so down, to when she just almost forgot.
She nodded.
“Lord Eliwood won’t hear a word.”
She was such a hopeless idiot.