A/n- This is the continuation of Chapter 10 and this is the last part of this duology. I've recently been introduced to the idea of Cecilia/Erk so I decided to put that into here as well.

The Commission Files- File #106 Happy Anniversary Part 2

Characters: Rutger, Lilina, Cecilia, Erk

Based on: a commission by NaylasTTs on Twitter

"But you weren't the only one who got a present with a story behind it." Lilina said pulling out a package and placing it in Rutger's lap. "Go ahead, open it!" She was a bit more confident in her anniversary present after seeing what Rutger's was so she was waiting for his reaction to it.

"Alright, I will." Rutger said wondering what it could be. He slowly undid the bow and the wrapping, making sure to keep it in tact in case Lilina or someone else wanted to use it again or save it for some kind of memento. Eventually he got it open and when he saw what it was he just had to chuckle a bit. Inside the box was a small painting of Lilina, completely nude, in a very similar position to the one he was painted in for her present. Of course she looked a lot more confident in this portrait than he did in his.

"So, what do you think?" Lilina asked in a bit of a teasing tone, but it was just her being playful as usual.

"I think it's very ironic that we ended up getting the same present for each other without even planning it." Rutger noted. "Sounds like something that would happen to my parents honestly. But you said that this has a story behind it like mine, you care to share it with me?"

"I thought you would never ask." Lilina teased him some more. "So remember a few months ago when I went to visit Lady Cecilia..."

-Flashback-

Lilina was waiting patiently at the door to Cecilia's manor. She had knocked and a butler had answered it, telling her that he would tell the family that she had arrived. Lilina was a bit confused, to the last of her knowledge Cecilia was single. But when a tall, purple haired, man appeared before her that statement made a bit more sense.

"Ah, you must be the late Lord Hector's daughter." The man. "Come on in, Cecilia is finishing up a bath and will be able to meet with you shortly."

"Yes, that would be me." Lilina said stepping into the manor. "My name is Lilina by the way, can I get yours?"

"It's Erk milady." The man answered. That name felt familiar to Lilina, but she couldn't quite place it at the moment. She had definitely heard it in passing before, but she couldn't remember in what context.

"That must be a tough name to have if you don't like puns." Lilina commented.

"It used to be, but I've kind of mellowed out a bit since things like that annoyed me." Erk replied. "So Lady Lilina, what brings you here to visit my lovely wife?"

"Well, I was hoping she could help me with a present I want to give someone." Lilina replied as the two sat down in a living area inside the manor. And it was nice to know that this Erk fellow was her husband. "I don't know if she told you, but Cecilia was my best magic teacher and I really respect her opinion and skills in all sorts of things."

"Yeah, she told me all about her teaching you and Lord Roy of Pherae, she still talks about you all the time, I really think you two made a great impression on her." Erk noted.

"That's good to know." Lilina commented. Cecilia wasn't done yet so she decided to make some more small talk. "So, the last time I saw Cecilia she didn't say she had anyone special in mind, how did you two come to meet?"

"Well, we've known each other for a while actually." Erk explained. "You see I used to work as a sort of bodyguard and a few years ago I was assigned to protect Cecilia as she traveled across Elibe honing her magic even more than it was and helping out when she could."

"You're a bodyguard?" Lilina wondered seeing as Erk was a slim looking man.

"I'm good with magic, I was personally trained by Lord Pent of Etruria." Erk explained. "I could have been the Mage General if I wanted to be, but I felt it was too much for me at the time. Honestly them picking Cecilia was the better choice, she's flourished in the position and I haven't seen her happier ever since her appointment."

"That's impressive, and you sound like a really supportive husband, I respect that." Lilina noted. But before Erk could respond Cecilia was behind him and kissed him on the cheek.

"He really is, and he loves keeping things low key which is nice, most of the time." Cecilia told Lilina. "I would have told you sooner, but it never came up."

"Oh, I don't mind Lady Cecilia, I'm just glad you found someone special you can be happy with." Lilina assured her.

"And the same goes for you, though I never would have thought it would have been with who it is. I always kind of thought you and Roy would get married." Cecilia admitted.

"I thought that too, but things and feelings change." Lilina admitted. "Roy is happy with Guinevere and I couldn't be happier for him. I'm very happy with Rutger as well, he's really grown to start being the guy I used to know him to be."

"That's wonderful." Cecilia said. "Speaking of Rutger, your letter said you wanted some help in getting a present for your anniversary in a few months, what were you thinking of?"

"Well, I was thinking I could get him a painting." Lilina answered. "Nothing too big, just a small portrait he could carry around in his robes for when I'm not around. And since I know you're good at painting and I trust your vision, I thought you could do it for me Cecilia. And I'll pay for it of course, you don't have to worry about that."

"Oh, nonsense Lilina, I would be glad to paint you a picture for your anniversary, think of it as my present to you both." Cecilia told her. "Why don't we discuss more about it in my studio? Erk, dear, I may be busy for a few hours so you can decide what we have for dinner okay?"

"Of course, I'll leave you two to it." Erk said standing up and bowing to Lilina. "It was a pleasure to meet you Lady Lilina, I hope your present is to your liking." And with that Erk went off to his own office since he had a letter to Lord Pent to write. After that the two women walked up some stairs and Cecilia unlocked the door to her art studio. It was very well organized and there were a lot of great pieces to look at, which gave Lilina even more confidence that Cecilia would do a wonderful job.

"Okay, you can sit on that platform there in front of the white cloth." Cecilia said as she sat on a stool behind a desk with some art supplies. "So, what kind of piece were you thinking of? Maybe you in an action scene, fire magic flowing everywhere? Or maybe something cute, like you laying in a field of flowers? What do you think?"

"Those sound like great ideas, but I was thinking of something more on the sexy side." Lilina replied. "I was thinking of something like a tasteful nude portrait, that is if you're comfortable with that of course."

"Well, if that's what you want, I can do that for you Lilina." Cecilia assured her. "But do you really think that's something someone like Rutger would want?" She was still a bit unsure about what Lilina had been telling her about him being a different person than he was during the war, but she did trust her judgement for the most part.

"If you knew who Rutger's parents were, you'd know it's something he'd enjoy." Lilina replied. "So, how should we begin?"

"I suppose you should take your clothes off, I have a changing board over there." Cecilia said pointing to it. Lilina nodded and walked behind it before taking off all her clothes except her headpiece and folding them neatly. While she was doing that Cecilia got a soft pillow and laid it on the platform Lilina had been sitting on so she would have something comfortable to lay on.

"Oh, that's a nice touch, thank you Cecilia." Lilina said taking a laying position with the pillow. "Is this position good?"

"Hmm, I think so, but put your left hand on your hip like this, and rest your head on your other hand like this." Cecilia said moving her around a bit. Lilina was now currently an adult, but it was still a bit awkward seeing her former student like this.

"Okay, what else?" Lilina wondered.

"Let's move some strands of your hair into some better positions like this." Cecilia replied as she drew out Lilina's long blue locks over her shoulders and between her arm and chest. "Alright, that looks good." And with that Cecilia moved back to her desk to work on the sketch.

"Do you mind if we talk some more and catch up while you work, or is that going to be too awkward?" Lilina asked.

"I think talking will make it better honestly." Cecilia admitted. So that's what they did, and it did help Cecilia feel more comfortable, making her see Lilina as an adult more and more as the conversation passed. "You really do have quite the beautiful form Lilina, most women would be very jealous of how you look."

"Why thank you Cecilia, I may not go out of my way to look like this, but I like keeping good care of myself." Lilina replied with a smile.

"Ooh, that's a good one, I'll have to remember that smile." Cecilia noted. "So, before you noted that if I knew who Rutger's parents were I would understand this situation better. Care to enlighten me a bit?"

"Oh, sure thing." Lilina noted. "So, have you ever heard the story of Lady Lyndis of the former province of Caelin?"

"I have, Erk told me all about it since he was one of the people who helped her take her land back from her granduncle." Cecilia explained.

"That's how I heard his name before!" Lilina exclaimed, the realization coming to her quickly before laughing a bit. "What a coincidence. Well, I assume he also told you about my father and Lord Eliwood's adventure as well?"

"He has, but I'm still not following." Cecilia admitted.

"Has Erk ever said anything about my father's tactician Mark?" Lilina asked.

"Yeah, he has actually." Cecilia noted. "Told me he was one of the smartest men he had ever met, even including Lord Pent of Etruria, also noted he was a huge flirt along with his wife."

"Well Mark's wife was Lady Lyndis and their son was Rutger." Lilina explained. "And 'huge flirt' is an understatement. You've heard the stories about Lord Pent and Lady Louise and other couples in Etruria right?"

"The ones where they spent nights of passion together?" Cecilia questioned.

"Well take those and multiply them by three and you have Mark and Lyndis." Lilina noted. "And they were very open and truthful with their lives with everyone, especially Rutger. So yeah, I think that eventually he'll love having a present like this."

"Hmm, I shouldn't have doubted you Lilina, this is very well thought out." Cecilia admitted.

"Thank you." Lilina said with a cheeky smile.

"I just have one last question about Rutger and his parents. You said that they 'were' his parents, did something happen to them?" Cecilia asked carefully.

"Yes, they were killed right before the war during the invasion of Sacae." Lilina explained. "Rutger was the only survivor of the fight for Bulgar and that's only because of his Bern heritage saving him. And that's why he was how he was during the war. Before that happened Rutger was a very happy person as you would hope with who his parents were, he always had a smile on his face and was the first to laugh at anything, even if it wasn't that funny. I miss that Rutger, and I know that he may not fully come back, but I have to do what I can to bring him back, especially now that we're married and in love."

"That's...that's a lot to take in Lilina." Cecilia admitted. "But now I feel I understand your relationship and Rutger a bit more, which I appreciate because, just being honest, I was a bit worried about you. Not because Rutger is Sacaen of course, but just because he was a big mystery and kind of dangerous."

"It's understandable, and I'm glad you were worried about me, but now that you know more I'm sure it'll be an ease on your mind." Lilina commented.

"It will be, I'm sure." Cecilia assured her. "And with that, I'm done with the sketch. You want to look at it?" So Lilina got off the platform and walked over to the desk.

"Yeah, that looks really good, though my feet look a little off." Lilina said looking at it.

"I'm not the best at feet yet." Cecilia admitted. "I'll see what I can do to fix it up, but no promises."

"Okay, just do your best." Lilina said before going behind the changing wall again and putting her clothes back on. "Well, now that that's over, how about we see what Erk decided about dinner."

"I would like that very much Lilina."

-End Flashback-

"And after that we had dinner and I stayed the night." Lilina said to end her story. "I hope you don't mind I told Cecilia about your parents and stuff, I felt it was important."

"I totally understand, I would have done the same as you in your position." Rutger assured her. "I just think it's funny that Erk and Cecilia got together, I wonder what my father would say about that since he was such a matchmaker during his time working with your father."

"He'd probably be happy for them at least." Lilina commented.

"Yeah, he was always an advocate for love in any form." Rutger commented with a sigh. "And speaking of love, I love this present and I love you Lilina. I know this is only our first year together like this, but I think I'm gonna remember this for the rest of my life."

"Me as well. And I love you too Rutger, even when no one else understands why." Lilina said as she rested her head on his shoulder. They were both holding their presents for each other and after a few moments a smirk creeped onto her face. "So Rutger, you wanna see that for real? It's still our anniversary for the next few hours."

"I would love to, as long as your okay with me taking it nice and slow to appreciate the view." Rutger said with a bit of smoothness he wasn't expecting from himself.

"I wouldn't have it any other way."