After Elysia married Edward, Gracia Hughes decided to permanently reside in Central to be near her only daughter. She was so glad she did so after her granddaughter was born. She got back in touch with old friends and ladies clubs she had been involved with when she was married. The activity kept her from feeling too lonely.

Before Erika was born she would brag to her friends about Elysia's artwork that lined her walls throughout the townhouse. It would of have been a bit much if Elysia was a mediocre talent but even Gracia's friends had to agree that her daughter's work should be displayed prominently in galleries throughout Amestris. But Elysia didn't want that. She just loved to paint and draw. It was a fun hobby but at the same time it was something she had to do. Her passion led her to build up a large collection of finished canvases that stood in the wings, waiting for their turn to see the light of day. Some were given as gifts and soon Gracia's friends were asking for more until her stockpile was no more and they were still requesting more and their friends were asking, and their friends and so on and so on.

Business really picked up for Elysia once the Fuhrer's portrait was revealed and displayed at the State museum. Not only were landscapes being requested but portraits too. In Central for only five years and already she had four paintings in the museum. The Armstrong family was quite taken with her talent and commissioned one for each of their two eldest children, Olivier and Alex, as well as one of the entire family. Those were displayed in their own wing of the museum that was dedicated to the Armstrong family for their support over the years with generous monetary and artifact donations.

Once the Armstrong's had their portraits done, other wealthy, prominent families were soon requesting their own, not wanting to be outdone by the Armstrong's. Many of those families had daughters who Elysia had gone to school with… and didn't get along with very well. Elysia was rather amused by how friendly they suddenly were when she came for the scheduled sittings.

She suspected that it was not necessarily the Armstrong's influence that kept her in such high demand. She was married to the most famous General and State Alchemist in Amestris. She knew they were looking forward to a possible visit by Edward. But Edward always stayed away and Elysia knew that was what they were hoping for when she was greeted with looks of disappointment that were soon smoothed over and set back to polite niceties.

Edward didn't care too much about rubbing elbows with Amestris' elite families. Throughout the years they were always throwing their daughters at him, despite his reputation, and always trying to influence his decision when it came to their son's ranks in the military. But if Edward wouldn't join his wife then oh well… they could just hope that Elysia would mention them and the General would recognize their family name when it came to a promotion for one of their sons.

It kept Elysia busy but she didn't mind. As long as she was painting, that was all that mattered to her. Even if some of the work was commissioned by families to show off their wealth and presumed influence, Elysia figured there would be someone who would enjoy gazing upon her paintings as much as she enjoyed the freedom to paint.

However, her favorite subjects would always be of Edward and Erika. She appreciated how Edward and her mother were always so willing to watch over Erika while she painted but she would always make sure to get some alone time with her daughter who was growing faster by the minute. She didn't want to miss it so she drew constantly to keep a record of Erika's growth. Edward was just too good looking not to draw. When she would catch him unaware, she would try to talk him into sitting for a real portrait instead of a sketch. But he was never that unaware and or easily distracted enough to flat out refuse almost to the point of a childish stubbornness that still manifested itself from time to time. It was the one thing Elysia could never talk him into and it turned into a game between the two of them.

Today she was starting a new painting that she had promised for one of her mother's friends. The painting was a last minute gift idea that was desperately needed. Gracia's friend's oldest son was getting married and the spot Elysia had started painting was a fountain where he had proposed to his fiancée. His mother wanted to give the painting as a wedding gift.

She liked these smaller commissioned pieces because she was able to work on them on her own time and usually in a setting of her choosing. Though she didn't choose this particular spot on her own – and she had a schedule to meet - she still enjoyed it since it was in the park, one of her favorite places to paint. It was always so peaceful and quiet. With the start of summer, the weather was perfect making the park an even more ideal setting for painting.

When she last checked the time she had another hour before heading to military headquarters to get Erika for lunch and then put her down for an afternoon nap. Elysia didn't know how long she had been absorbed in her work. It couldn't have been that long after checking the time when she felt she was being watched. She ignored it, thinking it was just her imagination. Usually, when someone happened across her painting they would normally say something immediately. But the feeling wouldn't go away and she finally turned. She jumped in surprise when she found a man standing behind her no more than a foot away.

At first she thought it was Edward. The man had blond hair but he was slightly shorter than Edward with blue, gray eyes. If it had been Edward, he wouldn't have been rooted to the spot. Edward liked to look and touch.

"I didn't mean to startle you," the man said with an apologetic smile. "I've never had the opportunity to watch an artist at work."

The smile looked like it was meant to put Elysia at ease but it did the opposite. "That's alright," Elysia said trying a smile of her own but feeling too nervous to make it genuine.

"Well, before you think I'm some weirdo I should introduce myself. I'm Russell Tringum," he said reaching out with his right hand as if his introduction should put her at ease.

Elysia shook his hand, hesitating a moment before doing so, trying to remember where she heard the name before. She was sure she had. The name seemed very familiar. "I'm Elysia Elric," she then said in return.

"Yes, I know who you are."

He smiled again and it made Elysia want to take a step back. "Oh, you do?"

"Of course, I read about my good buddy Ed getting married in the papers. That was... what... about five years ago?"

"Almost, we have a few months to go. How do you know Edward?"

"I'm sure he's told you about me. I was under his command for a little over a year during the war."

"Oh!" Elysia exclaimed, blushing with embarrassment when she remembered who Russell Tringum was. "Yes, Edward did mention you."

Edward had told her about Russell and what he said wasn't very nice. The two of them didn't get along very well, especially when Russell thought Edward had him transferred. But even though Edward wasn't exactly kind with his retelling he would joke that they were just two competitive teenage boys. She got the impression that whatever bad blood there had been was forgotten. That seemed to be the case on Russell's part too. There was nothing in his demeanor that showed he had a grudge against Edward. Elysia thought maybe he was coming back to reunite with Edward; to let bygones be bygones. They had worked together at point when they were even younger before the war.

"So where's Ed? I actually came into Central to catch up with him; to bury the hatchet," he said with a wink.

"Uh," Elysia stammered, the uneasy feeling settling in again. "He's at military headquarters."

"And not here with you," he said with mock surprise. "Leaving a pretty girl like you alone for someone else to take away from him."

He was joking. Elysia understood that. But she also understood there was more buried within the joke.

"Well, I'm not much of a catch so I wouldn't worry about anyone else taking me away." She was trying to joke but she could hear her voice tremble with nervousness.

"You must be," Russell said with a dark glint in his eyes that didn't match his smile. "Or why else would the great General Elric have married you?"

Elysia didn't like the way this conversation was going but she had no idea how to get out of it; her natural ability to get out of things with good excuses failing her. Russell stood his ground, like he was waiting for her to answer and she had none to give.

"I really like your use of color here," he said stepping forward before Elysia could think of something to say.

She moved aside so she wasn't directly in front of the painting. Russell lifted his left hand to point out the area he was talking about and Elysia felt the air catch in her throat and she suddenly felt cold all over.

On the man's hand was a mark she had seen before. Edward had shown it to her once and knew what it meant. She felt seeing it that one time was enough when she knew the story behind it. Seeing the symbol on someone else was something she thought she'd never see. But she couldn't understand how it was possible. Edward told her they were all destroyed; she shouldn't be seeing that symbol on anyone.

"That's an interesting tattoo," she said forcing herself to step back further, wanting to run but fear had a hold of her and it was paralyzing. Her heart quickened and she couldn't tear her eyes away from the marking.

Russell looked at the back of his hand and grinned. "Yes, I'm quite fond of it."

The grinned disappeared quickly and the mask of friendliness was removed.

Elysia wanted to run but she still couldn't get her body to cooperate.

"So he didn't bother hiding it from you."

"No," Elysia whispered, finally able to take another step back to no avail.