A/n- This one is pretty long just for the fact that I'm not sure any of my other comms fit this verse so I had to put all my ideas I had for this AU into the same story. So the main difference is that Sacae is now an underwater nation full of merfolk. There are other slight changes, but it's still the same time period-ish as FE6. Enjoy!
The Commission Files- File #1051 Out of the Deep
Characters: Rutger, Lilina, Astore, Roy
Based on: a commission by Shaya_Kanako on Twitter
Life under the seas of Sacae wasn't so different than life for land walkers from the rest of Elibe. Take Rutger for example. The merman with a strikingly red tail was exploring the cave system he lived it, rummaging around for something to eat for lunch. The cave was full of jellyfish, but those really weren't safe to eat unless you were careful about it and Rutger was a bit too famished to try. He cursed himself for not bringing his trident with him so he could spear a couple fish, but he could settle for some plant life to tide him over until later. He found a nice patch of seaweed to dine one, but before he could reach out to take it the cave started shaking violently from something up above.
"Damn those Bern warships! This is the third day in a row they've been up there blowing things up. I think it's high time to give them a piece of my mind." Rutger said to himself angrily. You see, he had a deep hatred for Bern and it's ships because it was the main reason he was one of the only merfolk in this region of the sea. In the past they used to come at random times to snatch up friends and family to sell as 'pets' or slaves, or sometimes even worse. His mother Lyn would always try to fight them off as best they could, and his father Mark, a human from Bern ironically enough, was trying to change the laws of the land so the poaching of merfolk became illegal, but both of them met with some pretty grizzly ends at the hands of the monarchy of Bern.
So now Rutger was wandering the seas alone, trying to find some way, any way to avenge his parents and hopefully live a life that would make them proud, but it was tough without their guidance. Either way, he quickly stuffed a handful of seaweed into his mouth, swam over to where his trident had been to pick it up, and started surfacing to see what was going on. When he got up to the surface he hid behind a large rock to see what was going on. And the scene was very strange to him. The ship waving the Bern flag was actually much smaller than most of their armada and it looked like they were chasing a lifeboat, or trying to blow it out of the water, one or the other. Rutger couldn't get a good look at the person in the lifeboat, but it looked like they were able to outpace the larger ship because they were using wind magic to push their sail along. He knew which side he wanted to help, but he had to make sure that the person in the lifeboat was worth it. As much as he hated Bern, humans in general were a touchy subject as well, even if his father was one.
"Well, here goes nothing. I hope you're watching over me out here." Rutger muttered to himself before he quickly swam over to the lifeboat. Merfolk could easily swim faster than most ships, but their sheer size meant that if they were found in a large enough group one or two were bound to get unlucky. Either way he reached the boat and rested his arms over the edge, using his tail to keep steady and not hinder the boat's speed in any way. "Looks like you could need some help."
"What?! Who?!" The sole occupant of the boat asked looking around and seeing who was talking to them. Getting this close Rutger could see it was a young woman who looked around his age with long blue hair flowing down her back with a mainly red outfit with tints of blue. She looked like she was from Ostia, but he wouldn't jump to conclusions.
"Over here." Rutger noted and the woman looked down to see him on the edge of her boat. "Seems like those Bern dastards are hot on your tail, why is that?"
"It's a long story, but the short of it is that Bern has started a war with the other land fairing nations of Elibe, and I'm a Lycian noble trying to get home to warn my homeland about it." The woman said quickly, not really realizing that she was talking to a merman and how rare of a moment it was.
"First they mess with the sea and now their going after everyone else?" Rutger commented, his anger rising by the moment. "Alright, that's enough for me, I'm stepping in!" He was about to dive back into the water to go attack the ship, but the woman grabbed him by the arm before he could get fully back into the water.
"Wait! Don't you know what Bern does to merfolk like you? It's dangerous!" She told him with a voice full of worry.
"Why do you think I'm so angry about this?" Rutger replied, his face showing his emotion well. "This won't be even close to the payback they deserve for what they did to me and my people! And if I get caught and die trying, well at least I'll get to see my parents again!" And with that he ripped his arm away from the woman's grasp and started bolting towards the Bern ship.
"No! Don't! You don't know what you're getting into!" The woman yelled out, but it was no use. "He's gonna get himself killed out there, he doesn't know about the new defenses Bern ships have against his people! I have to help him!" So she turned her ship around and started sailing with her wind tome towards the Bern ship.
"Captain! The ship we're chasing is turning around to face us!" The sailor in the crow's nest called out as he looked out to the sea.
"Finally coming to her senses then I see! Good, we might just get back to land before the week's end." The captain stated confidently before the ship rocked a bit violently. "Gah! What was that! She doesn't have any weapons on that ship does she?"
"Only a wind tome sir!" One of the sailors responded. "Maybe could cut our sails, but then she'd be out of uses to get away!"
"Then what is making the ship shake like this!" The captain called out as the ship rocked again.
"Sir! Reports from the lower decks! We're taking on water!" A sailor stated as he burst through a door and onto the top deck. The captain steadied himself, now knowing what was going on.
"Unloose the ballasts and get the thunder nets ready! We under attack from the merfolk!"
And he didn't know just how right he was! Rutger was below the ship, sizing up just where to strike with his trident to try and make holes in the ship's hull. He knew he couldn't take the whole ship on by himself, but if he sank it and all the sailors had to start swimming around then it would be easy to pick them off one by one.
"It's a good think father used to be a sea navigator and taught me where most ship's weak points are." Rutger said to himself, finding a measure of happiness knowing he was causing trouble for these men from Bern. Of course it would be fleeting, once it was over he'd go back to being alone with just his thoughts and the jellyfish, but he didn't want to think about that at the moment. He just cared about giving these sailors what they deserve. Eventually he saw nets being thrown out from each side of the ship and that let him know that they knew he was there. The number of nets let loose made Rutger think that the Bern ship thought they were facing more than just one merfolk, and that made him smirk a bit at how much damage he was causing. He easily dodged all of the first wave of nets, even cutting some of them in half with his trident so no other fish or creature could get caught in them.
"This is almost too easy." Rutger commented as he continued to confidently bob and weave through the nets while also sticking his trident into the ship's hull to damage it. He figure with just a few more minutes of this the ship would be too distracted with sinking he could whisk the Lycian noblewoman away to safety before coming back to finish the job with the ship. He was so confident that he continued to keep cutting at the nets with his trident, but that's what began his downfall. As soon as his trident touched one of Bern's new Thunder nets the electricity ran all the way up the metal shaft and into his hand, shocking it so badly that he had to drop his weapon and making him instinctually grab his injured hand with his free one.
"Gods damn! That's a new one." Rutger spat as he held his hand limply. He could barely feel anything from it and he couldn't move it that well either. "Well, I've probably done enough damage anyways, let's get that trident back and see where that lifeboat is." So he dove down to the sea floor and grabbed his trident with his non-shocked hand and swam out far enough so that the Bern ship couldn't zap him with any more nets before he surfaced again. What he saw when he surface confused, enraged, and impressed him all at the same time. The Lycian noblewoman had turned around and started facing the Bern ship and she was using her wind tome to pierce through it's sails so it couldn't move as swiftly. It confused him because he wasn't quite sure why she would want to help him, it enraged him because it was a pretty foolish move and she could get hurt, but it mostly impressed him with how bravely she was acting, and for working with some merman she just met to boot!
"Well, can't leave someone like that out to dry." Rutger said before diving back into the water and towards her lifeboat. He still couldn't move his arm that well, but that didn't affect his speed that much and soon enough he was back up to the side of the lifeboat. "Alright, I think it's high time we book it out of here, yeah?" He asked the Lycian noblewoman, his shocked arm well in view.
"Agreed." The woman said. "But I'm almost out of tome uses, you might have to push the boat a bit. Is your arm going to be alright?" She asked seeing it be a bit burnt from electricity.
"I'm sure it'll heal up eventually, now let's get you out of here!" So Rutger helped turn the lifeboat around and with her last use of her wind tome the noblewoman it pushed away from the Bern ship. The both of them were confident that they had sown enough confusion and strife to get away, but there was one person on deck of the Bern ship who had kept a cool head.
"Not so fast you sea monster, your tail will be a wonderful trophy for me to brag about back home!" A blonde sailor with a garish outfit yelled before pulling out his modified harpoon gun. The modification was that it shot out a Thunder net and not an actual harpoon, so it would easier to hit and incapacitate the target. His shot was true and the net landed right on top of Rutger and started electrocuting and constricting his movement as he started to sink towards the ocean floor.
"Get out of here!" Was the last thing he could yell to the Lycian noblewoman before he couldn't think straight any more and he started to go unconscious. The last thing he felt was a hand reaching out to pull him up and a hard thud on his back before he fully passed out.
After what seemed like an eternity, Rutger slowly woke to consciousness. The last thing he remembered was getting caught in one of Bern's new Thunder nets and the second after he realized that he could feel the burns and marks all over his body and he winced in pain. Though it wasn't as bad as he thought it should be. After what happened to his hand he figured that he wouldn't be able to move at all for a long while, but even that hand and arm that got shocked first was feeling measurably better. Feeling that he started moving his other extremities and that's when he really got worried. He had his legs out! You see, one of the advantages of being half human was that if he so chose he could dry his tail out and it would turn into a pair of long human legs. He had used them a few times in the past of course since his parents told him about his ability, but he never truly enjoyed feeling or using them, preferring to always be in the sea.
Where the hell am I? He wondered to himself, keeping his eyes closed in case anyone was watching him for movement. Well, I feel a slight rocking back and forth, so I'm probably on a ship of some type. Am I on the Bern vessel?! No, if I was there I'd be tied up or something and I can pretty easily move around if I want. Huh, I can tell someone put some pants on me now that I can feel my legs a bit more, so I might be somewhere safe, but I'm still going to be cautious. What else can I feel before I open my eyes? Well, I'm in some sort of bed or cot under a light cover, perhaps I'm in a medical section of the ship? Those are usually on higher decks from what father told me, so if need be I could probably easily get to the top and jump back into the sea. Hm, something is touching my hand. It feels like someone else's hand, a bit light and delicate. Is that Lycian noblewoman here with me? Well, I might as well see what's going on.
Rutger opened his eyes and pretty much everything he had perceived was correct. He was in a medical bed on a ship and the Lycian noblewoman was sitting next to it in a chair asleep holding his hand with a magic staff in her other hand.
"Did she heal me?" Rutger muttered out loud, trying not to alert anyone that he was conscious. "Now that I get a good look at her, she is quite good looking, but that's not enough of a reason for Bern to be that pressed to capture her." But between that and him moving his hand slightly the Lycian noblewoman started to stir and Rutger's heart started to race not knowing how he was going to handle this and also from trying to push his other thoughts away as well.
"Did someone say something?" The Lycian noblewoman asked groggily as she looked around the room to see it was still just her and her merman rescuer. It took a moment for her to get to her senses and realize that the one who had been speaking was him. "Am I dreaming again, or are you really conscious this time?"
"Beats me." Rutger commented. "If you are dreaming though I would love if you woke up so I can go back home. Not that I'm not appreciative of whatever you've done for me, but you know, I don't really belong on ships like this."
"Yeah, I'm awake, you were much more polite in my dreams." The noblewoman commented. "Not that I blame you, you have every right after what happened to you the other day."
"About that, the last thing I remember is getting caught in that Thunder net, I assume you can fill me in on what happened next." Rutger noted.
"Well, we got lucky is all I can say." The noblewoman replied. "As soon as I pulled you up into my lifeboat and threw the net off you this large merchant ship from Etruria came onto the scene and scared the Bern ship off. They were still in pretty bad shape, so with any more luck they sunk and are stranded in the Sacae see for however long it takes them to get rescued. Either way, as the ship got closer to us your legs appeared out of your tail and I convinced the ship to help us out and take us aboard."
"I don't like the way you used the word 'convinced' in that sentence, what did you tell them?" Rutger asked, raising his eyebrow.
"Well, they didn't recognize me as Lycian nobility, so I used that to our advantage so they wouldn't take advantage of us." The noblewoman noted. "I told them that we were runaways from the Bern military, not wanting to partake in the conquest they were undertaking, and that we were heading to Ostia to give the Lycian army important war information when they caught up to us."
"That's not exactly a lie I guess." Rutger commented. "So I was right in thinking you were Ostian, it's the hair I guess."
"You're very perceptive for someone who lives in the sea." The noblewoman replied slightly impressed.
"Well, my father was a human." Rutger explained. "That explains the legs and me knowing more than your average merfolk about human topics. Thank you for the pants by the way, sorry if you had to see anything you didn't want to."
"I've seen worse." The noblewoman commented. "But I'm not done. I kind of went overboard selling our plight and told the captain that we're also lovers." Rutger proceeded to glare at her after saying that. "I know, I know, I shouldn't have done that without asking you first, but I was scared and not thinking straight still. So sorry, but we'll only need to keep the act up for another day or two, we're almost to Ostia."
"That's tolerable I guess." Rutger replied, still a bit perturbed. "At least you're pretty so it shouldn't be too hard."
"Hey, I'm much more than a pretty face I'll let you know!" The noblewoman replied back with a huff. "If it wasn't for my quick thinking you'd probably be stuck in that net still, or we'd be trying to sail back to Ostia in my lifeboat."
"Calm down, I was joking, mostly." Rutger noted. "I really do appreciate you helping me out like this, most humans wouldn't give someone like me a second thought, so thank you. I do still think you're pretty though."
"You're very open about your opinions for someone who claims to be angry all the time." The noblewoman commented with a small smile. "But yeah, I couldn't just leave you out there, you came to my rescue first so I had to help you out in return, fair is fair and all that stuff. And it helps that I was raised to have a better view of merfolk than most, my father once had a grand adventure with a mermaid and it really changed how he viewed them as a whole."
"Well, your father seems like a respectable man, I wouldn't be opposed to meeting him if I had to." Rutger said truthfully. "There is just one thing though, if we're going to pretend to be lovers for a few days I'm going to need your name."
"That would help wouldn't it?" The noblewoman chuckled. "My name is Lilina, first princess of Ostia and first in line for the throne after my father."
"Well Lilina, my name is Rutger, son of Lyn and Mark, nice to finally get introduced." Rutger replied back, getting an interesting look from Lilina in return. "What? Is that a strange name?"
"No, it's more about your mother's name." Lilina noted. "You said your father was human so your mother was a mermaid obviously. Lyn was the name of the mermaid that my father had the adventure with. Did she ever tell you about a man named Hector?"
"I heard a few things here and there about someone with that name." Rutger noted. "Most of them pretty positive. Kind of got the feeling he's the type of man to think with his heart and not his brain, but he sounded like a good man."
"Yeah, that would describe my father for you." Lilina said with a chuckle. "Well now you have to meet him, I'm sure he'd be happy to see someone like you, even if your story isn't the happiest."
"Hey, worse case scenario he get's more upset at Bern and wants to help fight them off more, seems like a win-win for me." Rutger chuckled back. He was actually feeling a bit of happiness talking to Lilina like this, it was very easy for his words to come out and he was glad she could handle a bit of back and forth ribbing and not take it personally. Of course like any feeling of happiness he figured it would fade away quickly, but why not enjoy it while it lasted.
"Good point. Now, let's see how your body is shaping up and see if I need to heal you any more." Lilina noted. And with that their adventure on the Etrurian merchant ship began in earnest. Eventually Rutger was given a makeshift red outfit to wear around the ship as he was able to walk around after one last round of healing. Lilina was sure to follow him around to make sure he was safe, and to make it look like they were lovers. Rutger could have just jumped ship once he got to the top deck, but he respected what Lilina did for him enough to not leave her in a lurch like that. If he had to take a detour to Ostia to see someone from his mother's past it wasn't going to be that much of a hassle. At one point while they were on the top deck a bucket of water was accidentally thrown and some of it splashed on Rutger's shirt. Lilina was worried that it would cause his tail to come back, but luckily it didn't. Rutger saw the fear on her face so he took her aside to a spot where the sailors couldn't see under the guise of being romantic so he could explain.
"Hey, you don't need to worry about me outing us like that." He whispered closely into her ear. "My tail only comes back if my entire body is submerged in water, it's very convenient."
"That's good to know, sorry for freaking out like that. I know these merchants helped us out, but if they find out you're a merman I don't know what they would do." Lilina whispered back.
"If it comes to that we can both jump ship and I can swim you to Ostia, no problem." Rutger noted. "You'd just have to ride on my back or something."
"Okay, I'll keep that in mind." Lilina replied. Then there was a bit of silence between them as Rutger continued to loom over her a bit with his mouth up to her ear. "What are you doing? Do you need to tell me something else?"
"I'm just selling it for the sailors." Rutger whispered back. "A guy like me would be lucky to snag a woman like you, so I've got to make sure they don't make any passes at you."
"O-Oh, good point." Lilina stammered slightly as she blushed a bit. She hadn't told him, but even without his legs Rutger was a very handsome looking man, and it didn't help that she had gotten to see his well toned chest for as long as she had in the past few days. Some of those dreams she had been talking about ended up a bit on the dirty side, though she wouldn't ever admit it.
"Okay, I think that's long enough, sorry if I made you uncomfortable." Rutger noted before pulling back his head.
"Oh, no, not at all." Lilina stammered some more. "I'm just glad you're such a good actor."
The rest of the trip to Ostia was pretty drama free. Rutger and Lilina made sure to sell their 'relationship' a few more times, just to make sure nothing was suspected, but other than that they actually had an alright time and got to know each other a little better during those days. Though things were about to change once again when they reached the docks. It started when it was noticed that they were the only ship coming into port while there were a large number sending out.
"I thought Ostia was more of a military nation from what my father told me, what's with all the random merchant and travel vessels heading out, some sort of festival?" Rutger wondered as he and Lilina stepped onto the dock. He was getting more used to walking normally by the hour and he was confident that he could run at top speed if he had to now.
"Not that I know of, and these people passing us don't seem like they are very happy either." Lilina noted. She was about to ask someone what was going on when a hooded figure walked up to the two. Rutger got into a fighting stance and Lilina pulled out an Elfire tome she bought off one of the merchants, but the figure quickly threw down his hood and Lilina seemed to recognize him. "Astore?! What are you doing all the way out here on the docks, shouldn't you be back at the castle with my father?"
"You know this guy?" Rutger asked to confirm.
"Yes, this is Astore, the head of security measures for Ostia castle." Lilina explained. "If he's all the way out here that means something has gone horribly wrong."
"Unfortunately, it has Lady Lilina." Astore confirmed. "But I can't talk about it here, there are too many people about and Bern's spies are everywhere."
"There is a checkpoint near here though right? Let's go there and talk." Lilina suggested.
"I would love to, but it's been overrun with Bern soldiers." Astore explained.
"Well then, we'll just have to get rid of them then." Rutger stated confidently.
"Milady, who exactly is this man?" Astore wondered, sizing Rutger up.
"This is Rutger, he was out at sea and saved me from a Bern warship." Lilina replied, not exactly lying. "Things went south and we had to hitch a ride on a Etrurian merchant ship to get here. He has my trust and he should have yours as well."
"And how can I be sure that he's not a Bern spy?" Astore wondered. "He looks like he's from Bern. No offense, but you can understand why I'm wary of you boy."
"Would a Bern spy cause a Bern warship to sink almost single-handedly?" Rutger asked back rhetorically. "Look, I hate Bern, despise them. They killed my parents for no reason and I'm looking to do anything I can to get back at them. If I have to start here I will."
"Aye, I can see the truth in your eyes." Astore noted, looking into Rutger's eyes as he spoke. "But can you even fight?"
"Oh, I can fight alright." Rutger said confidently. "I just need a weapon, preferably something pointy. Speaking of that, did you happen to see where my trident went during our fight with the ship?" He asked Lilina
"I think it sank down to the ocean floor, sorry." Lilina replied.
"A lance fighter eh? I think we can find something for you." Astore said before starting to walk away. He led the pair to a run down armory that no one was working at. "I'm sure they'd be fine with us taking what we want, considering who we're with." So Rutger looked around the shop to see what weapons were left. He saw a few lances, but none of them really spoke to him like his trident did. Then he laid his eyes on a pair of swords with serrated blades and they lit up. He picked them up to test their weight before giving them a few test swings and he loved how they felt.
"Be careful with those Killing Edges, those are some of the most deadly swords in Elibe." Lilina warned.
"Oh, I know, I had one back home that I pulled out when I had to fight sharks off." Rutger noted. "These should do just nicely. Now, where is that checkpoint of yours?" He left the armory, but before Lilina got the chance to follow him Astore stopped her.
"Did he just say he fought off sharks with a Killing Edge?" He asked her.
"His family were whalers." Lilina replied, making something up. "He's lived on the sea for pretty much all his life, I'm sure he's probably fought pirates off before from what I saw of his skills."
"Whoever he is, if he can live up to those statements, we might be able to take more than just the checkpoint back." Astore stated. Eventually they made their way to said checkpoint and luckily they got some support from some leftover Ostian knights that had stayed in the area to try and help people out.
"Alright Rutger, just let the knights take the lead and you can jump in when you feel ready." Lilina noted as the knights prepared to break open the door to the checkpoint. She had the feeling that Rutger was about to go a bit wild, but she hoped he kept himself safe. Eventually the knights broke the door down and started to slowly charge in, they were met with Bern soldiers and at first they were able to hold their own, but once the battle moved into a wider room the Bern soldiers started getting the advantage. That's when Rutger made his move. Living under the sea his entire life gave him a few advantages here on land. For one he was much stronger than the average human from all the pressure he had to live with under the sea. That also made him faster as well, so with one huge leap he made it to the other end of the crowded room and started making the Bern soldiers fight on two front.
"Who wants to die first!" He yelled before starting to practically bounce off the walls from solider to solider, cutting them down as quickly as he could. He had actually been quite unsure if he could fight like this with his human legs, but it seemed the little bit of training his father gave him was paying off in spades. Eventually the Bern soldiers had to try and focus on taking him down first and not the Ostian knights and that's when the fight was pretty much over. They just couldn't take the onslaught from both sides. Every single Bern solider was killed, Rutger didn't want to leave any alive and honestly neither did Lilina or Astore since they realized they could use Rutger as a surprise resource for later so they didn't want anyone escaping to tell about him. After the battle was done and the knights cleaned out all the dead bodies Astore took Lilina and Rutger into a side room to tell them the situation.
"Alright, I'm gonna be truthful about this, it's not looking good." He started out. "And I know you're going to be upset at me for not telling you this right away Lady Lilina, but I needed to make sure you were in a safe location before I did."
"What are you talking about Astore?" Lilina wondered, though there was an ache in her heart that was trying to tell her something before he could.
"Lady Lilina, your father Lord Hector is dead." Astore stated as calmly as he could, though even Rutger could tell he was struggling a bit. "He was- he was in Araphen when it happened."
"Who?" Lilina asked quietly at first, not wanting to believe it. But her own anger started to rise in her chest and she had to know who did it. "Who killed my father?"
"It was Bern." Astore answered. "Somehow they knew he would be there and they sent all three Wyvern Generals to try and take him on, we don't know how they got that information but we're looking into it."
"And what of Ostia? I'm sure with my father dead it's been chaotic." Lilina asked, doing her best to try and keep her emotions in check, now wasn't the time to start breaking down crying, she could do that later.
"It's almost just as bad." Astore replied. "As soon as news of your father's death came to the castle General Laygance led a revolt to take it over. He plans to hand Ostia over to Bern when they arrive there. We don't know how many of our men defected, how many are being detained in the castle, or how many got away, but we've gotten reports that some of our strongholds on the way are still under our control, so the men aren't laying down just yet."
"Do you think we can retake the castle, or do we need to retreat?" Lilina asked, respecting Astore's opinion.
"There is a chance. Lord Roy of Pherae is heading this way with a sizable militia force, if we can meet up with his forces then I believe we can retake Castle Ostia and stamp out this rebellion." Astore answered. Lilina took his words into account and mulled over her options. She could try and fight and save her people, risking her life alongside them to try and deal a blow to Bern in the process, or she could flee. She could run to Etruria with Astore and Rutger, building up what remained of the Ostian army to make a push at a later date. But with every passing day the revolution would get stronger and would hurt more people, she couldn't stand for that, couldn't stand to let the people who got her father killed stay in control and ruin Ostia's standing and legacy. And her pride wouldn't let her do it either. Her father always taught her to stand up and fight for what she believed in, and she believed in Ostia and it's people.
"How organized is this rebellion?" Lilina asked Astore.
"It's still gathering it's feet, the faster we act the better chances we have of catching them by surprise." Astore replied. Before pulling out a map and spreading across the table. "The outposts here in blue are the ones we still control, the red ones are the ones the rebels control. As you can see it's pretty even as of now, but the rebels are gaining ground every day."
"Can I comment something?" Rutger asked coming up to look at the map.
"What is it?" Lilina wondered.
"I'm sensing a pattern here with the outposts, the rebels are taking the ones without forests surrounding them. If we can get a foothold in the outposts in the forests here and here we can pinch the rebels in and take multiple outposts at the same time." Rutger pointed out.
"That's... actually not a bad plan of attack." Astore noted as he looked over the map. "It'll take a bit of man power, but I think we can find enough soldiers to do that."
"Rutger, how did you come up with that so quickly?" Lilina asked impressed.
"Well, before my father was a sea navigator, he was a tactician for the Bern army." Rutger admitted. "He would tell me stories about battles he won and I picked up a thing or two."
"I had a feeling you were from Bern, but since you admit it I'll still trust you for now." Astore replied. "But alright, we should be able to do this."
"Astore, can you leave the room for a bit?" Lilina suddenly asked.
"Alright." Astore replied slowly before he moved to the door and exited the room. When the door closed again Lilina's shoulder slumped down and she sat down at one of the chairs near the table exhausted.
"Are you going to be alright, I know a lot of stuff just got dropped on you." Rutger asked her. "Do you want to talk about it, I kind of know how it feels."
"I'll be fine for now, but thank you for asking." Lilina answered slowly, breathing deeply to keep herself calm. "I might feel like talking about it later, but now isn't the time for talking, it's the time for action."
"That's what I like to hear." Rutger noted with a smirk. "We're going to stick it to Bern right?"
"I don't know, are we?" Lilina wondered.
"What do you mean?" Rutger asked confused.
"Well, you saw me to Ostia like you said you would, you're free to go back home if you want." Lilina stated. "Don't you want to get back to the sea where you don't have to worry about being found out?"
"I'll admit, some part of me wants to cut and run, but most of me wants to stay here and help you out." Rutger stated. "I'm in too deep with you already, and if I go back now whose to say you're going to make it back to the castle? Like it or not, I'm sticking around a little while longer, especially when I can get my hands on more of those Bern dastards." There was a bit of a silence after he said that, but eventually Lilina got up off her chair, walked over to Rutger, and gave him a hug. It was definitely not what Rutger was expecting, but he hugged her back, mostly because that's what he wanted but couldn't get when he found out his parents died.
"Thank you Rutger, thank you so much, you don't know how much that means to me." Lilina said after a while as some tears finally ran down her face. "Gods, I'm sorry you have to see me like this, I'm just so tired and frustrated right now, I don't know how to act."
"No, no, don't be sorry, like I said I know how you feel." Rutger assured her. "If you need to stay here and hug for a while, I'm glad to be your hugging dummy." That last part actually got Lilina to chuckle slightly through her tears. "What now?"
"You really are a dummy aren't you?" Lilina teased him, trying to lighten the mood a bit.
"Maybe, but I can take a hit it seems, perfect for your needs at the moment." Rutger replied. "Now chin up, you don't want your men seeing you like this, they need a strong leader and a strong hand to get your castle back."
"You're right, I need to get myself together. Now isn't the time for all these tears, now is the time to go out and save my people!" Lilina said confidently as she wiped her eyes clean. "Come on Rutger, let's both get our revenge!"
Outfitted with a new red hooded jacket Rutger helped lead the charge on taking back Ostia alongside Lilina and Astore, stealthily hiding the fact that he was a merman along the way. Of course there were a few times it almost slipped, like that one night he really felt like going swimming and he didn't realize some of the other soldiers had the same idea, or when it was found out he was, kind of ironically, way weaker to fire magic than a normal human was. But either way he was able to keep it under wraps to everyone. Well except for one particular man that is. And it all came to a head the night before they were to take the last remaining rebel outpost before meeting up with Roy's militia at Ostia castle.
Rutger was sitting next to a small fire by himself, as he usually did. It wasn't as if he hated the other Ostian soldiers, he was just used to being alone and found it comfortable. Though he was starting more and more to enjoy it when Lilina came over to join him so they could talk and blow off steam and learn more about each other and their cultures. Either way he was hungry so he started picking up clumps of grass out of the ground and started to eat them like he would seaweed back home.
"Rutger, don't tell me you actually enjoy eating grass!" Lilina suddenly laughed beside him, it seemed like he hadn't noticed her coming up to him, which was getting more and more common as well.
"I mean, it's not as good as seaweed, but it'll do." Rutger stated as he munched on a few more blades of grass.
"You know we have fish and meat in the food cart right?" Lilina wondered. "You're totally allowed to eat those you know?"
"But wouldn't it be weird if people saw me eating raw fish?" Rutger answered. "That would kind of tip them off about, you know..."
"This might be a dumb question, but have you never had cooked fish before?" Lilina asked curiously.
"Considering I'm thinking that I'm allergic to fire, what do you think?" Rutger teased back sarcastically.
"Fair point." Lilina noted. "Well, would you like to try it, I can go get some and cook them for us if you'd like."
"Might as well see what the fuss is all about." Rutger answered with a small smile. "I'll widen out the fire pit as best I can while you go get them. And thank you for coming out here and checking on me, I appreciate it as usual."
"Hey, what are friends for?" Lilina asked rhetorically with a smile before she went off to get the fish.
"Friends?" Rutger wondered to himself when she was out of earshot. "Well, I guess that's what we are, as strange as that sounds. I have a friend, who would have thought?" After he said that though he heard a stick snap on the ground near him and he went on high alert. "Whose there? I have no problem putting a dent in your armor with my fists if you're from Bern!"
"Calm down boy, it's just me tripping up in my old age." Astore said coming out from behind a bush.
"Do you always have to be watching us like that, it's a bit disconcerting to think about." Rutger asked a bit put off since this wasn't the first time he'd caught Astore spying on him.
"Yes, I do." Astore said with confidence. "For whatever reason Lady Lilina likes you and wants to be around you more and more, and since I'm the head of Ostian security and she's more than likely going to be the queen of Ostia soon I have to make sure she's safe."
"I think I've displayed time and time again that I'm trustworthy and I'm not going to do anything to hurt her." Rutger stated a little offended. "If I was going to do something to her or run off, don't you think I would have done it by now?"
"Yes, but that's not why I'm keeping tabs on you." Astore replied. "Why I keep watching you in particular is because I know you're hiding something?"
"And what would that be?" Rutger wondered, swallowing slightly because he didn't actually knew if Astore knew his secret.
"I think you're not telling the entire truth about who or what you are and I think Lady Lilina is helping you hide it as well." Astore answered. "Things just don't add up. You say you can't swim, but you also said you've fought sharks off before to which Lady Lilina said your family were whalers. You're always off on your own, never really trying to make friends, except for Lady Lilina. And I just saw you eating grass and heard that conversation about you eating seaweed and raw fish."
"And, I could just be a strange fellow." Rutger replied weakly, he knew Astore had him pegged.
"Well, that you may be, but I also think you're something else." Astore stated. "I think you're one of those merfolk from Sacae that people talk about. And honestly, I could give a rat's ass if that's true, I just need to know so that I can be confident that Lady Lilina is 100% safe around you." Rutger could tell that Astore was telling the truth, he couldn't care less if he was a merman, he had his job and responsibilities and he was going to get them done.
"Astore, I want you to know that this secret is very important. If it gets out, I'm gone. I'm not dealing with the soldiers and what they might think. They might like me now because I'm strong and I help them win battles, but if they were to turn on me they might turn on you and Lilina for trusting me. So I hope you know what you're getting into." Rutger said seriously, looking into Astore's eyes strongly as he did so.
"Rutger, I am a man of many secrets, some that I will take to my grave if I have to." Astore replied with calmness. "I think I can add one more to my list and keep track of it. And I agree, if it did get out it would cause some trouble. You have the men's respect, but that only goes so far. As of now, some of them might not care, but some would, so I'm willing to keep things under wraps for as long as you and Lady Lilina want to."
"I appreciate that." Rutger stated before going quiet for a bit, mentally deciding how he should state this. "Alright, it's true, I'm a merman. Bern was chasing Lilina in her little lifeboat and shooting cannons at her which disturbed my lunch that day so I went up to see what was going on. I really do hate Bern for killing my parents, of which my father was a human from Bern, and that's why I decided to help her out, and things went from there. She saved me from being caught from Bern and healed me up on that merchant ship and we got to know each other because she lied and told them we were refugee lovers from Bern. After that we met you and you know the rest."
"Hmm, that's an interesting story." Astore commented. "I take it the legs come from your father's side then?"
"Yes, when my tail get's dried out it turns into a pair of human legs." Rutger confirmed. "It'll only come out again if I'm fully submerged in a body of water."
"And that's why you said you can't swim, makes sense." Astore replied. "Alright, that's all I needed to know, I'll leave you be now."
"Wait, just like that?" Rutger wondered.
"Just like that." Astore confirmed. "Look, like I said Lady Lilina likes and trusts you, and now I do as well, I feel she is safe under your protection so I don't have to keep watching you, as much. I'll still be around, but I'll let you two have your private time when it's needed."
"Something tells me you know something else you aren't telling me." Rutger questioned.
"Perhaps it's something you haven't quite figured out yourself boy, but I'm sure you will soon enough." Astore replied with a chuckle before starting to slink away into the night. "Enjoy the fish!"
"What a strange man, but he does his job well so I have to respect that." Rutger commented to himself before getting to work on making the fire pit bigger. Soon enough Lilina came back with two large fish and she taught Rutger how to cook them up over the fire before they started to dig in. Cooked fish actually tasted pretty good, it was nice to get an actually warm meal in your stomach from time to time, or that's what Rutger thought anyways.
"So, what do you think?" Lilina wondered when they were done.
"Maybe a little dryer than raw fish, but it's warm so that's nice. Maybe a bit of that butter stuff I tried the other day would make it taste better too." Rutger replied.
"Fish with butter is amazing! You'll have to try some when we get the castle back!" Lilina commented excitedly. "And luckily for you it shouldn't be that much longer! Just a few more battles and it'll all be over with." After she said that though she let out a pretty big yawn.
"Don't count your tadpoles just yet, we can't get ahead of ourselves." Rutger noted before pulling out the blanket he had been given and wrapping it around himself and Lilina so she could rest her head on his shoulder.
"I know, I know, but with how great things have been going I just know we're gonna win!" Lilina replied tired but still excited. "Then I can finally have a good night's rest in my bed. But sitting here like this with you is nice as well Rutger, so thank you."
"Well, like you said, what are friends for?" Rutger commented, thinking back to what she told him earlier. "I'm actually kind of happy we're friends, I haven't had a good friend in a while."
"Hmm, me either, my father always sheltered me a bit too much and gods forbid I wanted to spend time with a boy or anything." Lilina noted with a bit of sarcasm. "I like these little moments between the two of us, they are really cozy and warm, and not just because of the fish or the blanket."
"I like them too, they are nice and calming and I can think clearly, even with you around." Rutger agreed.
"I hope we can have more moments like this after this fighting is done with, don't you?" Lilina wondered.
"Yeah, that would be nice wouldn't it?" Rutger asked back wistfully, knowing full well that he'd probably be going home after Ostia Castle was retaken. Even if they were friends, a long term relationship would never work out between them, would it? "But let's not get to ahead of ourselves like I said, let's enjoy this moment as best we can."
"Hmm, you're right Rutger, I want to cherish moments like this for as long as I can." Lilina muttered as she was dozing off to sleep.
"Me too Lilina, me too."
A couple of days later Lilina's remnant of Ostian soldiers, which had actually grown in size as they picked up more survivors and some Ilian mercenaries her father had hired before he died, met up with Roy's militia from Pherae and set up camp right outside the gates of Castle Ostia. As the day grew nearer Lilina had been telling Rutger all about Roy and how they were great friends so he was interested in meeting him as well. What he didn't expect was to see Lilina practically throwing herself at Roy for a hug the moment they saw each other.
"Roy! It's been so long since I've seen you!" She said excitedly as she hugged him and started messing with his bright red hair. "You're looking a lot more mature than the last time we met."
"Well, leading a militia kind of does that to a guy." Roy replied humbly, though deep down he was enjoying the attention his best friend was giving him.
"I kind of thought you'd be taller from how Lilina talked about you." Rutger commented openly, not really caring if he was ruining a moment or anything.
"Yeah, that's what a lot of people say when they first meet me." Roy admitted. "You must be this Rutger fellow I've heard so much about. I have to say, the descriptions were not far off, you do look quite imposing and stoic."
"You've been hearing about me?" Rutger wondered.
"What, you though I'd just talk Roy up?" Lilina teased him. "I've been sending letters to Roy's camp about our progress, and of course I told him all about you and how great you are!"
"Huh, thank you I guess?" Rutger replied, not really knowing what else to say. Though he did like the fact that he was the one she talked about in her letters.
"And it's been much more than that as well, you're practically a legend around these parts Rutger." Roy added. "I've heard so many stories of a crimson blur that throws himself into battle in a flash before ending that battle in mere moments, making sure that everyone is safe and protected."
"Well, I would think some of that is embellishment, but some of it is true." Rutger noted with a small content smile, something he had been doing more and more lately. "Honestly we'd be nothing without Lilina's guidance and literal firepower, she's the one the legends should be about. She can make a fireball bigger than a medium sized boulder with little effort."
"Now who is embellishing?" Lilina commented, blushing a bit and elbowing Rutger in the side playfully. "But either way Roy, thank you so much for coming to my aid, it really means a lot to me."
"After I heard about what happened to Lord Hector, I had to come to help out. My father Lord Eliwood would have joined me, but he is still quite sick so he couldn't." Roy explained.
"Well, give him my regards as soon as you can then." Lilina noted. After that there was more setting up the camp before a strategy meeting was called. Since Roy had the larger fighting force it was determined that he should be the leader of the combined forces, and Lilina was fine with that. Roy might not have been the best fighter in Elibe, but he was a great leader that could get men and women to fight at twice their strength if need be.
"So, this is the layout of Castle Ostia." Roy said spreading out a map on a table. "As you can see it's halls are large and winding, a good defensive mechanism to stop invaders or to give time for reinforcements. There are no shortcuts to take so it's going to be a battle of attrition in there."
"These rooms here and here on the way are armories." Lilina pointed out. "They will probably be locked, but Astore still has his master keys and lockpicks if need be, so if we need more supplies we can restock there."
"What is this room here?" Rutger asked pointing out a room on the top left of the map.
"That's the entrance to the holding cells, probably where any prisoners are being held." Lilina explained.
"Hmm, that gives me an idea." Rutger noted. "If we bring extra weapons and sets of armor, we can open this door and give them to the soldiers inside. If I've learned anything about Ostian soldiers on this little adventure of ours it's that they are resourceful and never give up, there are bound to be some trying to break that door down if they hear the commotion of us breaking in."
"That's not a half bad plan." Roy commented as he thought it through. "And it would be a big surprise for the rebels to see the soldiers they thought they put down fighting once again, a real morale killer. I say we do it and see what happens."
"I agree, another wonderful plan from you Rutger." Lilina praised with a smile.
"Oh, so he's been doing this the whole time?" Roy asked. "Are you trained in battle tactics Rutger?"
"Not really, I just picked up a thing or two from my father, he was a tactician for Bern before he retired to be a sea navigator." Rutger explained. "The man loved to talk about anything and I loved to listen." Lilina was surprised that Rutger was being so open about talking about his father, he was usually even more reserved about that topic.
"So I take it you get your martial skill from your mother then?" Roy mused.
"You could say that." Rutger noted, not wanting to give too much away, even if Lilina trusted Roy.
"Good to know. Well, with that out of the way I'd say it's high time to get some dinner, would you two like to join me so we can get to know each other better?" Roy offered, mainly to Rutger.
"Sure, I don't see why not." Rutger replied, which made Lilina happy. So the three of them procured some food for dinner, and Rutger made sure not to eat grass in front of Roy. The conversation was lively between the three of them surprisingly. Rutger in particular really was caught up in Roy's optimism, even if it felt like he wasn't too confident in himself underneath. He was just like Lilina in some ways, someone who was true to themselves, even if it wasn't always the easiest path for them, something Rutger wished he could go back to being.
"Can you two promise not to beat each other up if I excuse myself for a few moments?" Lilina asked eventually, having to relieve herself from all the food and drink she had.
"I can promise because I know I'd win." Rutger replied confidently.
"You haven't even seen me fight yet, how do you know?" Roy commented back. "But we can behave ourselves, yes."
"Good, I shouldn't be too long." Lilina said before leaving the area. After that there was some silence between the two men until Roy spoke up with a question for Rutger.
"You know she likes you right?" Roy asked simply, like it was an obvious thing.
"Yeah, of course she does, we're good friends at this point." Rutger answered simply back, not quite getting the tone of the conversation yet.
"No, no, you don't get my meaning Rutger." Roy continued. "Lilina likes you, in a romantic sense."
"What?!" Rutger replied almost spitting out his drink. "No, no, no, she doesn't, she can't."
"Rutger, I've known Lilina my entire life, we've grown up together because our fathers were very good friends." Roy noted. "And what I know is that the way she acts around you is like no other person, not even me. Now I could be wrong, I will admit to that, but unless she's leading you on for some reason that I don't know about that's my assessment of the situation."
"If she's leading me on then she's doing a very good job at hiding it, though I wouldn't put it past her with how smart she is." Rutger commented. "Besides, if she was trying to lead me on then that would assume I have feelings back for her, which I don't."
"Uh-huh, sure." Roy replied before sipping his drink.
"I don't!" Rutger pressed.
"I never said you did." Roy answered back calmly.
"Okay, okay, even if I did, it wouldn't work out between us, we're too different." Rutger continued to sputter on.
"Stranger things have happened." Roy replied.
"I mean we just met like a month and half ago, feelings can't develop that quickly can they?" Rutger went on.
"Whose to say?" Roy commented, almost teasing him at this point. "Look if you don't want to admit it now or to me then that's your choice Rutger. I'm just stating that if you do end up catching feelings for Lilina and then proceed to break her heart not even the seas of Sacae are going to be a safe refuge for you."
"Safer than you would think." Rutger muttered under his breath, wondering if Roy somehow knew what he was.
"What was that?" Roy asked, hearing Rutger speak but not what he said.
"I said you're a really good friend Roy, Lilina is lucky to have a guy like you on her side." Rutger answered with his true feelings.
"It goes both ways honestly." Roy commented. "And I could see being friends with you as well Rutger, if you'd be interested."
"I'll think about it." Rutger mused before Lilina finally came back and sat between the two again.
"You two look like you're in deep conversation." She commented. "What's the topic?"
"Whether dragons actually exist or not." Rutger made up. "I say no but Roy says yes."
"Look, if merfolk are a thing in Sacae, dragons can't be that much more out there, can they?"
After a long and hard fought battle, Castle Ostia was retaken by it's rightful owners. Rutger was even right about soldiers breaking out of the holding cells and the ones that joined the fight made it so it ended even faster and with less bloodshed. After that the next couple weeks were a blur for him and Lilina. First they had to gather up all the Ostian survivors and get the news out that things were hopefully going back to normal, then they had to asses the damages to the castle and the surrounding land. Then of course there was a proper funeral service for King Hector which Rutger decided to attend because he knew Lilina would need the support to get through it. And then finally there was Lilina's coronation as the new Queen of Ostia. All in all there were ups and downs as it had been recently, but at the end of it all there was hope which always felt nice.
Eventually though Rutger felt like it was time to go back home. He couldn't stay here in Ostia forever, it wasn't safe for him or Lilina if he stayed around. And even if Roy was right in his assessment of Lilina's feelings and even if deep down he too had feelings for her, he knew it couldn't work. Yeah his parents ended up together, but that was different, neither of them were important people in the grand scheme of things, Lilina was. She'd have some great stories to tell her kids about merfolk though, and hopefully that would soften Ostian relations with them enough for the next starstruck couple to stick it out together.
So on the night of the full moon Rutger snuck out of the castle, leaving a note on the bed he had been sleeping in for Lilina to read in his absence. He made his way to the lake near the castle and started to undress, knowing that it had a river passage that would lead back to the seas of Sacae. He was about to take his pants off and dive in when he felt a twinge of pain in his chest. Was it sadness? Regret? Longing? Bad food? Whatever it was it caused him to look back towards Castle Ostia one last time and when he did, she was there, right in front of him.
"Lilina?!" Rutger asked in shock. "What are you doing out here this late?"
"I figured you would try to leave without saying goodbye, so I've been coming out here for the last week or so trying to catch you." Lilina explained. "I got suspicious when you started asking about the lake and where the river went. I'm here to say that your little plan isn't going to fly, you're gonna say goodbye to me whether you like it or not."
"Willful and observant as ever aren't we?" Rutger teased weakly, knowing he had been caught red handed. "Look Lilina, this is for the best, I can't stay here. It's too dangerous for me and it's way too dangerous for you. What if your men found out about me being a merman? They might turn on you and start another rebellion!"
"If you would have said that when we first started out I might have gone with it, but now Rutger? You're a war hero to them! You helped give them their land and livelihood back, they love you!" I love you. She wanted to add, but it didn't seem appropriate. "If they found out you were a merman I know that like 95% of them would say something to the effect of 'Wow, that's amazing! I never knew merfolk were so strong and helpful, I understand why he hid it though.' or something like that."
"That still leaves 5% of them that would be against it." Rutger pointed out.
"Yeah, and they can leave for all I care." Lilina stated. "But honestly Rutger, do you really think I don't know what's really going on here? You're not leaving because of my men or because of how I feel, you're leaving because you can't handle how you feel." That statement felt like an arrow shooting through Rutger's heart with how it stung. But she wasn't wrong.
"And so what if I am?" Rutger asked back. "Look, I've really enjoyed the time I've spent with you Lilina, I really have. This last three months have been some of the best of my entire life, but we both knew that eventually it had to end. There was no way that a woman as important and influential as you and a guy like me were gonna stay close like this. Even if I wasn't a merman, I'm just a commoner, nothing special about me at all except where I was born."
"And you just get to make that decision for the both of us?" Lilina asked as she stepped closer to Rutger. "That doesn't seem very fair to me does it? I'm the Queen now, I get to associate with whomever I please from wherever they are from. And people don't like that they can bite me. I want to be close with you Rutger, I want to keep having moments together like we did when we were travelling together, I want to have moments together that are even grander than that and I want moments that are just small but wonderful in their own right. And deep down in that locked up heart of yours I know you want that as well." Lilina was really hitting deep with her words, Rutger couldn't deny their truth and impact as his heart started to ache even more.
"But, you know, I'm not worth it." Rutger replied weakly. "I'm just a guy who was angry at Bern because they took his family away, I didn't help you because it was the right thing to do, I helped you because I thought it would make me feel better about myself."
"That may have been true at the start Rutger, as of right now I can't believe that." Lilina stated a bit more softly. "You could have run off and left me multiple times. After we docked in the port, after we took the first outpost, after we took the last one, after we retook the castle even, but you didn't. You stayed and helped and supported me through all of that, and honestly I don't know if things would have gone so well if you weren't there for me. You knew the pain of losing your parents suddenly, you knew how to be the comfort you didn't get when you needed it, you knew how to make things stable for me. And I'll be truthful with you Rutger, I'm scared. I'm scared that if you leave then things are gonna start crumbling around me and I'm not going to know what to do or have the strength to do them. That's what you give me Rutger, you make me a complete person, and I just hope that you feel the same." As she was saying all of this she was getting closer and closer to Rutger, to the point that she was cupping his chin with her hand when she was done.
"I do, but I've never been this close to anyone before, as much as you think I know there is a lot I don't know and I don't want to end up hurting you even more than me just leaving now would because that would break me even more than I already am." Rutger replied. "I don't know what to do, and I wish I did."
"Rutger, this is probably one of the few times I'll ever say this to you, but how about you just shut up and stop thinking so much?" Lilina said before moving in and finally kissing him on the lips like she had been wanting to for a while now. As she expected his lips were a bit wet, but they were also nice and warm as well as a perfect fit for hers. And to her great enjoyment, Rutger didn't pull back suddenly, he didn't jerk away, he stayed right there and let her do as she pleased. "Rutger, I like you, maybe even love you, but I'm never going to find out if you leave now. Eventually the day might come when we have to go our separate ways, but for now things are good between us, and I don't see why they can't stay good. So please, can you give this a shot, for my sake?"
"If you're really this determined to see this through, then yes, I would love to see where this relationship goes." Rutger admitted, his heart being pretty much completely melted at this point. "But if things go south, one way or another, I'm going to leave for your safety. Though you'll obviously know where to find me."
"I understand, and I'm glad to know you feel the same." Lilina replied. "When did you know?"
"Oh, probably that night we had the fish and you fell asleep on my shoulder." Rutger noted. "That was nice, we should do that again sometime."
"Well, we'll actually have a chance to." Lilina commented. "You see, now that things are calm here in Ostia, we're working towards joining the Lycian army's push to drive Bern out of the other nations it's invaded. And I'm going to be there leading the charge as well as my father did before me. And I want you to be there with me of course."
"So it's turning into a full scale war then?" Rutger mused. "Well, I'm still willing to stick it to Bern if you are, though shouldn't we make it official or something? Like me enlisting in your army?"
"Actually, I was thinking you could be my royal bodyguard, that way it wouldn't be strange for us to be together all the time and it would help me protect your secret while your protected me from other threats." Lilina explained. "You'd get paid of course, though I'm not sure what you'd do with human money, we can hash out those details later though."
"As long as I get to see your smiling face every day, that should be payment enough." Rutger noted before smirking a bit. "Though a nice supply of new swords and seaweed wouldn't hurt either. And maybe a new trident as well."
"See, that's the spirit!" Lilina replied with her own smile. "And see, this will be easy, we'll just go on like we have been for the last few months and see how it goes, we'll see how close we can really get."
"Well, I've always loved your optimism and positivity, so I'm looking forward to it." Rutger agreed.
"And sorry for taking what I'm assuming was your first kiss so suddenly, I just felt like I needed to do that to seal my argument." Lilina apologized.
"Oh, that wasn't my first kiss." Rutger replied with a slightly deeper voice as he leaned back in towards Lilina.
"This, is my first kiss, our first kiss."
To Be Continued? Maybe?