Author's note: Stahl is characterized a little differently in this story, but don't fret. His goofy, hungry attitude we love will start showing up in the following chapters more often.

The morning had went exactly as Stahl had planned. Some of the butterflies had left his stomach, and he and Cecilia were alone. They were riding Stahl's horse across the plains of Ylisse to a special place Stahl had saw on the march to thier current camp. It was a long journey there, but the view of the haildom must be truly breathtaking.

He felt Cecilia poking him in the ribs to get his attention. He looked at her over his shoulder. "Yes?"

"When can we take a rest, honey?" Stahl could tell that the tactican was already bored from the 10-minute ride they have been on. She could barely hold her eyelids open, and he could hear the faintest snore eminating from the small woman at the start of thier journey. She was leaned up against his back lazily, probably to keep herself upright on the horse.

"Well, I guess we can take a break anytime you want. I'll find a nice spot for us to sit, and you'll get to relax all you want." He found a clearing a few meters up the hill in front of a dense forest. Stahl got off and pulled off the blanket attached to the saddle and layed it on the ground. He turned around and helped Cecilia dismount. When she got to the ground, Stahl couldn't help but notice that the small woman was standing a bit bow-legged. He had to force himself not to laugh at her becaus it was her birthday.

"Gods, how do you even ride that thing and not walk wierd for weeks?" She was trying to message her thighs, but she saw Stahl watching and stopped. The paladin chuckled. "What? Keep going. I'm really enjoying this." He finally let out a laugh.

"Oh shut up and sit." She had already sat down to rest her sore arse and she she realy just wanted to talk to her goofy husband. Stahl sat down next to her and laid his head in her lap, his green eyes facing her. She looked down at him, her eyebrow shot up in intrest. "What're you doing now?" The paladin smiled that endearing simle of his, and she knew exactly waht he wanted her to do. "You want me to pet you, don't you?" Sure enough, he stuck out his tongue and nodded playfully. "Okay, but only becaus I love this side of you." She started to run her small hands through his perpetually-messy hair, twirling the ends around her fingers. It was soft like silk, but the color was her personal favorite part of it. At least he's handsome, she thought. She certainly didn't dislike doing this type of thing, especially if it meant she got to see him up close.

After a while of petting, Celia heard Stahl lightly snoring in her lap. She ran a hand down his jaw line, down his neck, and eventualy to his biceps. She picked up one of his hands and examined it more closely. His fingers were calloused from holding one too many pairs of reigns, and the was a scar going across his hand from where a enemy soldier had nicked him with a sword weeks ago. He certainly didn't take much care of his hands as much as others in thier group, but his mucular arms told a different story.

Stahl had once told her of his training regiment he does everyday to engrain practice drills into simple muscle memory. That was almost a year ago now, wasn't it? Celia thought, Gods. It's been a long time. She began to relive such fond memories.

A year ago, Cecilia had been thinking of ideas for birthday presents for Chrom, and Stahl had happened to overhear her ramblings. They had talked, and Stahl had thought of making a tonic to help the prince's almost-constant migraines. He explained that he was an apothecary's son, and that hand-made gifts are always some of the best. So Celia provided the funds to buy the rarer ingredients and the man had mad ethe potion in just a couple of days. The whole expierance had brought the couple closer, and Cecilia had learned the paladin's birthday in the process. She had taken a liking to the goofy man, so she bought a couple of fried fig cakes for his birthday.

After that, Stahl seemed to avoid her gaze, and he had seemed to have lost interest in her. Cecilia finally learned why when Stahl had came to her tent one evening for a chat. He was extremely shy at first, and he semmed to be hiding something behind his back. He finally pulled around a small wooden box with a small, golden ring inside of it. He got down one knee and asked her that classic, funny way of his. He had said, "Oh Celia, even a blind man could see jsut how happy you've made me! If you choose to accept this ring, I shall never take my eyes of you again! Unless I'm abojt to run into something of course." His emerald eyes shone when she said yes, and proceeded to slode the ring onto her small finger. Celia then wrapped her arms around his neck and rained kisses on his face until he begged her to stop.

The next morning, they newly engaged couple announced the news to the Shepards at breakfast. Everybody was estatic,and excited to know when the wedding was planned. The men had joked with Stahl, and the women chatted and gushed about the wedding preperations. Stahl and Cecilia had thier wedding one month later at the Chapel of Naga in the city of Ylisstol. It wasn't thier intial choice, but Chrom and Lissa had conjoled them into making the occastion a grand one. The young princess had designed the look of the event and even thier attire. Stahl had been wearing traditional attire, except for strinking green jacket. Cecilia's dress, however was stunning. It was a lilac-colored dress with a long train. She wore white flowers in her hair, which was left down to accent her smal face. The whole room was silent as she walked down the asile. She could see Lissa sitting in the front row, and nodded at her. The royal sister winked in return and gave her a thumbs up. All the female shepards were the brides maid, and Stahl had chosen Frederick as his best man for the event. The normally-rowdy men had actually sobered up to see the couple be married. When Stahl had kissed his newly betrothed, the whole room erupted in cheers.

Cecilia sighed as she relived possibly the happiest moments of her life since her amnesiac awakening on that fateful day. Her small fingers made circles around Stahl's lips as she looked out across the vast, rolling hills of Ylisse. She could see the smallest of campfires in the Shepards' camp near a wide stream in the distance. The mountain paths of Plegia stretched out westward, and the capital of the haildom could be seen towering over the land on the horizon. She looked up the massive hill in front of them; a large red oak stood over all the other trees at the crest of the hill.

She whispered to herself, "Is that the 'special place' you plan to take us?"

She had to wonder...