[FMA Big Bang fic] Down the Road - Chapter 3
Title: Down the Road
Author: bay115
Beta: The lovely and great alchemyotaku75
Artists: seta_suzume, ghosthax (thanks so much you two!), and bay115
Genre: Drama, Action, Flashback
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 36,028
Pairing/Characters: Ling/Lan Fan (UST), May, Shao May, short appearances from various OCs and canon characters (including one from the Daughter of the Dusk FMA Wii game)
Warnings: Violence, deceased body being carried throughout this story.
Summary: Ling, Lan Fan, and May took the long road back to Xing by passing through Aerugo and crossing the ocean, carrying Fu’s deceased body with them. As the group was traveling, they got to know Fu better by reading his journal. Unfortunately, the journey doesn’t go smoothly as a water alchemist, the Aerugo royal family, and thieves make sure to delay the trip.
Author's Note: For the 2010-2011 fmabigbang . Second time doing Madam Shan here. First time doing her is from my springkink fic Like a Radio Drama, and that didn’t go so well, LOL. I hoped I did her okay this time. And why no, chapter title not stolen from All Quiet on the Western Front. *whistles*
Chapter One: Before the Trip
Chapter Two: Meeting With May
Chapter Three: All Quiet on the Southern Front
The next morning the group woke up early and left the inn. Like last night, Ling took control of the wagon. There were many soldiers already outside and the prince couldn’t help but listen to their conversations. He was curious how Central was doing at the moment, so eavesdropping would be one way to know.
“There are plans already underway at Central for the successor of Amestris.”
“Yeah. Looks like Grumman from East City will be our new leader. I won’t mind him.”
“Well, whoever receives the title of Fuhrer, I hope that person will do something about our battle against Aerugo soon.”
“Things have been quiet at the southern front ever since Fuhrer Bradley almost died in that train accident. However, Aerugo’s king and their generals won’t hesitate to use the Fuhrer's death to their advantage.”
Ling sighed mournfully. Even after the Promised Day was over, Amestris still had conflicts with Aerugo and other countries. This was all Fuhrer Bradley's fault for having alchemists become tools for war. Thinking that made the prince's blood boil.
Still so much unease in Amestris. Wonder when they will have peace.
+++
Ling, Lan Fan, May, and her panda got out of the city safely and traveled down the road to Aerugo. For the first couple of hours, they were in an area made entirely of grassland. A cold breeze picked up and everyone’s clothes billowed. The prince slightly shivered, but didn't bother to button his shirt.
When mid afternoon came, they decided to take a short break to eat lunch. Before the group left South City, May found a small restaurant where the group bought some noodles and bread to save for their dinner. The girls were eating silently while Ling was looking intently over the map one of the soldiers back at the train station had given him.
“We can make it to Aerugo by nightfall if we keep going. However, General Armstrong did say there are mines hidden at the borderline, so that might delay things.”
“I think it would be best if we wait until tomorrow morning to cross the border as it’ll be hard to get through the mines at night,” Lan Fan suggested.
May nodded. “I agree. Even with my alkahestry, I won’t be able to detect the mines very well in the dark.”
“All right, we’ll go a little farther, then set up camp before sunset.”
With that settled, everyone continued eating. All was quiet save for the munching and the breeze, which had become slightly stronger.
As something crossed Lan Fan’s mind, she stopped eating. She glanced back at the wagon and her mouth trembled as an ominous feeling swept through her whole body like a storm.
This trip will be a long one and Grandfather's body will decay, eventually.
This was the first time she was worried about her grandfather smelling badly. She, May, and Ling would most likely get in trouble for carrying a corpse across borders. Part of her thought that maybe they should have buried Fu back at Central so that he didn’t have to go through the hardships of this trip, too. However, she was sticking to her word that she and Ling would bury him in Xing. Maybe later today, she would to stay close to her grandfather.
The flaps on the wagon seemed to separate her and her grandfather, making it feel like they were in different worlds.
+++
After everyone finished lunch, it was back to traveling. Less than half an hour passed before Lan Fan turned to look back at the cloth-covered body. When Ling saw that, he frowned. He had an idea what his guard longed for.
“Lady May, my lord, if you don’t mind, I would like to look over my grandfather for a bit.”
The two siblings looked at her and they smiled.
“Go ahead,” Ling told her.
Lan Fan bowed in gratitude, said her thanks, and went inside the wagon. May glanced at the other side for a second and with thoughtful expression on her face.
“Did Lan Fan get along with her grandfather?”
Ling chuckled. He didn’t expect May to ask that question, but he assumed she wanted to know more about him and his guards. It was cute, actually.
“They loved and respected each other very much. He raised her after Xue, Lan Fan’s mother, passed away.”
“How about her father?”
Ling was silent for sometime. Each time someone asked about Lan Fan’s father, it pained him to answer that question.
“Her parents never married. Lan Fan’s father left Xue after she became pregnant because he didn’t want to have children. Lan Fan was actually glad Fu took care of her. She had a lot of fun with him, even if most of their time was spent protecting me.”
“That’s nice.” Before May continued talking, she sighed in annoyance. “I actually wish my mother raised me like a daughter instead of just someone intended to become an empress. I mean, I want to become one, but my relationship with my mother isn’t great.”
“I’m actually envious of their relationship. My grandfather and mother were never there whenever I needed their emotional support. Instead, I rely on Fu and Lan Fan for that.”
Ling gave a tiny smile. He always thought of Fu and Lan Fan as his father and sister. There was never a dull moment whenever he was with them. Now, he was talking to his half-sister, which was still taking some getting used to. This was the first time he had talked with a sibling for more than a day and found he enjoyed it.
“You know, we aren’t so different after all, Brother,” May said with a grin.
Ling beamed back. “No, not really.”
The two fell quiet, enjoying the breeze. It wasn’t long, though, until May thought of something.
“You told me that you three left Xing around the same time I did, though I took a different route. Can you tell me what happened during that trip?”
“Sure,” Ling said, chuckling. He didn’t mind at all, and talking with his sister was a nice way to pass the time.
+++
Lan Fan overheard their conversation.
She was still somewhat upset she never knew her father but was happy her grandfather had raised her. Without him, she wouldn’t have matured into a better person. The young woman gave a satisfied smile, also happy Ling and May were getting along.
The girl then glanced at her grandfather’s body. She actually felt good staying by Fu’s side. It didn’t matter that he had died; as long as he was going back home with her and Ling, it was fine.
“Just hang in there,” she whispered.
She sat, looking at the cloth covering her grandfather for sometime, then stared over at the sack containing his journal. Lan Fan hadn’t read much of it last night because of her exhaustion, but decided to take this opportunity to do so now, before Ling stopped to rest.
+++
May 20th, 1914
Master Ling wouldn’t stop asking if we’re at the Xeres ruins yet. I told him we’re almost there and to be patient. He then complained how hot the Great Desert was and would like a nice bath if there was water somewhere. It took every ounce of me to not hit him with the hilt of my kunai.
(Banner by me. Original source of art)
When we finally made it to the Xeres ruins, the site took our breaths away. It was like stepping back into history. Sure, there was rumble everywhere, but we could still tell Xerxes was a huge and influential city. The three of us took a quick tour of the place and entered many buildings, like the library and school. We also went inside some of the dwellings, which was simply fascinating. When we came to a fountain though, Master Ling immediately dived into the water, creating a small cloud of steam. My granddaughter and I shook our heads in disbelief. As soon as the prince dried himself off, we continued walking through the ruins. It didn’t take long until we found something the prince was looking for.
Inside what was left of the courtyard, there was a huge wall with a human transmutation circle inscribed upon it, or so the young lord told me. During one of his lessons, he learned that the people from Amestris would use it to bring people back from the dead, which was forbidden. There were two symbols, one which was a two headed dragon and the other a sun. When I glanced at the prince, I saw disappointment on his face.
“There are supposed to be more symbols here. The top portion is missing. I can’t remember what the others were, though.”
I joked how maybe the Western Sage had taken it with him, which made both the young master and my granddaughter laugh. It still disturbed me, though, that the Amestrians would do something insane like human transmutation. If the legend of Xerxes was true, maybe that was how the city met its demise.
The three of us stared at the human transmutation circle, unaware someone was behind us the whole time. That person almost hit me with a stick, but I immediately used my kunai to cut it in half. He backed away, avoiding my next swipe at him, and glared at me. The young lord and my granddaughter had their weapons ready in case he might attack again. Not minding it was three against one, the man clenched his fist. Everything came to a halt, though, when a female voice called out not too far from the four of us.
“Alsike, don’t!”
Both us and the man turned around and saw an elder woman, who came out from hiding. Then a crowd of people followed her. She seemed to have an air of authority about her. Alsike bowed.
“Sorry, Madam Shan, sorry but it seems they’re intruders.”
The woman glared at Alsike with a cocked eyebrow, but immediately up to us. She was eyeing us like an assassin.
“You three aren’t from Amestris, correct?”
We all shook our heads, and then I spoke. “No, Lady Shan. We come from Xing.”
Lady Shane had a surprised look on her face. “Xing? Isn’t that from the east?”
The three of us nodded and Lady Shan’s expression changed to annoyance.
“Hm, we Ishvalans have nothing to do with Xing people.”
I saw Ling’s eyes fill with shock. It took him a while to finally speak. “Wait, Ishvalans? I thought you people had been exterminated, or so I heard.”
I urgently whispered “Master” to Ling, hoping he wouldn’t go any further than that. The old woman didn’t take offense though, sighing heavily.
“Too much blood covered our holy land but many of us were lucky to get away and stay safe, at least for the time being. I actually thanked Ishvala, though, for sending a doctor couple from Amestris to save my life and countless others.”
The old woman pointed to her eyepatch, indicating she once had a serious eye injury. I felt something sickening rise inside my stomach when I thought Lady Shan might remove her eyepatch. Luckily, she didn’t.
“You all look worn out. Come, have something to eat with us,” she said without a smile. Apparently she was suspicious of us, but at the same time didn’t want to be rude.
During lunch we ate meat and drank water. I felt refreshed since Master Ling, Granddaughter, and I hadn’t eaten or drink much. Lady Shan was still apprehensive about us, her stare looking as if we had done something not to her standards.
“Why are you all here?” the woman asked in a harsh tone.
“I’ll put it short and simple. I came here for immortality. I want to gain power to help my people,” the prince explained. I was surprised he didn’t stutter while talking.
The lady glared at him. She seemed to be the person not taking this “immortality” talk lightly. I could sense she was trying to contain her anger.
“What makes you think these ruins have what you need?”
“There’s an old legend of a man that came from these ruins and taught our people rentanjitsu, or alchemy, as most people at Amestris called it. We call him the Western Sage.”
“Really?” Lady Shan laughed in a rude manner. “Alchemy was what destroyed Xerxes in the first place. Alchemy is also what destroyed Ishval.”
“Well, we use it to heal our people, not to harm them. I want to know more about Amestris’ alchemy to help my people. Clearly, you don’t think everyone in Amstris is evil, do you? Some might use it to help others, also.”
Lady Shan shook her head, the irritated look never leaving her face. “No. Like I said, the doctor couple came from Amestris. However, they didn’t need alchemy to heal the people. They did it with their own hands.”
I could hear the young lord groaning to himself in frustration. He was losing the battle at this moment.
“I can see you care for your people, Ling, but power can distract someone away from their true purpose for using it. I suggest going back to your country instead of entering Amestris. It seems the fluids you took for this trip has been wasted.”
Wasted fluids wasn’t something my young lord wanted to hear. He groaned again and clenched his fist, but took deep breaths to calm himself.
“Perhaps it’s best we leave now,” I whispered to him. Granddaughter nodded in agreement.
There was nothing Master Ling could do to change Lady Shan’s mind, so he stood and bowed to the woman. He never liked being defeated. My granddaughter and I stood, too.
“I want to thank you for giving us food and drink. Sorry if we wasted your time. We’ll still go to Amestris to seek what we're looking for, and there’s nothing you can do to stop us.”
The elder leader just stayed silent. I could tell in her eyes she thought the prince was foolish to keep going on with his search for immortality.
We left the Xerxes ruins, hoping we indeed could find something in Amestris.
+++
“…And after I told Madam Shan that, we left Xerxes and headed for Amestris. It took us three more days until we arrived there, though.”
The princess was silent for a while, thinking over what Ling had told her. She was fascinated by his description of Xerxes as she had never seen a ruined city before. The most shocking part was Madam Shan. The way he spoke of how much she disliked what Ling and his guards were searching for made her feel uneasy. May felt the elder lady hated her already for using alkahestry and wanting to gain immortality.
“I see. She’s really against alkahestry, huh?”
“Yeah. Her people believe alkahestry, alchemy, or anything of that sort are against God’s will.”
May pondered over this for a minute. She assumed the Ishvalans had decided any sort of “alchemy” was forbidden ever since the start of their culture. Part of her wanted to say alkahestry and alchemy could also be used to help people. However, she had learned that she must respect other people’s beliefs.
“Well, I hope they’re doing okay, even if they didn’t give all of us a nice welcome.”
“I’m fine with them not treating us like guests. At least we got to visit Xerxes for a bit. To think, it was Edward’s father who was the Sage of the West and originally from that place.”
“Hey, don’t forget he’s Al’s father, too!”
Ling laughed and patted May’s head. “You’re right, he’s also Al’s father.”
The half-siblings laughed together while the sun began to set. Inside the tent, Lan Fan concealed a tiny smile.
+++
That night, Ling and the others had set up camp. After they ate dinner, they went to sleep. The next morning, everyone woke up early and set out on their journey again. At first, there were still nothing but grasslands, but not long after they entered a forest.
For an hour, the group enjoyed the changing scenery. There were a lot of trees, but not as much as the forest next to Central that Ling, Lan Fan, and Fu had visited. Occasionally, a bird or a squirrel would pass by. Many flowers bloomed on the grassy ground, filling the air with a fragrant scent. The sun peeked out and Ling thought the surroundings had a stage-like feel to it.
When they made it out of the forest, the stage had switched to a new set and terrified expressions shot across everyone’s face.
There was nothing but dirt at the borderline, foxholes scattered everywhere. One could smell the stench of dead bodies, despite the fact they could see no corpses lying about.
“So this is how war is fought in Amestris,” Lan Fan said in remorse.
“I hope the new higher ups in Central will work something out concerning Amestris’ war with Aerugo,” Ling said, agreeing with what one of the soldiers at South City had said earlier. He then turned to May. “You should get started on deactivating the mines.”
The little girl nodded and got out of the wagon. She used a stick to make a quick alkhestry symbol and threw five kunai on it before finally slamming her hands onto the ground. A couple hundred feet from her, piles of dirt shot up like fireworks.
“That’s the farthest my alkhestry can reach. We’ll have to pause a few times while we’re crossing this battlefield.”
Ling nodded. He knew this would take time, but it had to be done.
An hour flew by and they made it to the middle of the battleground. After May did her alkhestry for the tenth time, she sat down and took deep breaths. Ling and Lan Fan gasped with worry.
“May, are you okay?” Ling asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just need to take a break, that’s all.”
“If you want, we can rest here for a little bit.”
“It’s okay,” May said while giving Ling and Lan Fan the “okay” hand gesture. “We need to get through this place as soon as we can.”
As if she had already regained her energy, the princess got back up and performed alkhestry once more. Each time she did it, Ling’s heart seemed to clench in his chest.
She’s really trying to make our trip easier for us.
He wanted to tell her to rest, but knew she would say no. She wanted to do this. All the prince could do now was watch as his sister continued to deactivate the mines.
Another hour passed before May finally finished her task. She sat down again, but her breathing sounded wheezy this time. Ling rushed out of the wagon and picked her up.
(Art by seta_suzume )
“You really need to rest now,” he whispered.
May gave a weak smile. “Of course.” She then dozed off to sleep.
Ling shook his head and sighed. He was glad his sister was able to get rid of all the mines, but it had worn her out.
“My lord, should we continue now?”
Ling turned to gaze at Lan Fan and nodded. “Yes, we should. You take control of the wagon while I watch over May, at least until she wakes up.”
“Certainly.”
A small smile lit the prince’s face and he climbed onto the wagon with May in his arms. Lan Fan shook the reins and they were off again. It wasn’t long until Ling looked back to see Amestris for the last time.
Onto to Chapter Four!
Author: bay115
Beta: The lovely and great alchemyotaku75
Artists: seta_suzume, ghosthax (thanks so much you two!), and bay115
Genre: Drama, Action, Flashback
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 36,028
Pairing/Characters: Ling/Lan Fan (UST), May, Shao May, short appearances from various OCs and canon characters (including one from the Daughter of the Dusk FMA Wii game)
Warnings: Violence, deceased body being carried throughout this story.
Summary: Ling, Lan Fan, and May took the long road back to Xing by passing through Aerugo and crossing the ocean, carrying Fu’s deceased body with them. As the group was traveling, they got to know Fu better by reading his journal. Unfortunately, the journey doesn’t go smoothly as a water alchemist, the Aerugo royal family, and thieves make sure to delay the trip.
Author's Note: For the 2010-2011 fmabigbang . Second time doing Madam Shan here. First time doing her is from my springkink fic Like a Radio Drama, and that didn’t go so well, LOL. I hoped I did her okay this time. And why no, chapter title not stolen from All Quiet on the Western Front. *whistles*
Chapter One: Before the Trip
Chapter Two: Meeting With May
Chapter Three: All Quiet on the Southern Front
The next morning the group woke up early and left the inn. Like last night, Ling took control of the wagon. There were many soldiers already outside and the prince couldn’t help but listen to their conversations. He was curious how Central was doing at the moment, so eavesdropping would be one way to know.
“There are plans already underway at Central for the successor of Amestris.”
“Yeah. Looks like Grumman from East City will be our new leader. I won’t mind him.”
“Well, whoever receives the title of Fuhrer, I hope that person will do something about our battle against Aerugo soon.”
“Things have been quiet at the southern front ever since Fuhrer Bradley almost died in that train accident. However, Aerugo’s king and their generals won’t hesitate to use the Fuhrer's death to their advantage.”
Ling sighed mournfully. Even after the Promised Day was over, Amestris still had conflicts with Aerugo and other countries. This was all Fuhrer Bradley's fault for having alchemists become tools for war. Thinking that made the prince's blood boil.
Still so much unease in Amestris. Wonder when they will have peace.
+++
Ling, Lan Fan, May, and her panda got out of the city safely and traveled down the road to Aerugo. For the first couple of hours, they were in an area made entirely of grassland. A cold breeze picked up and everyone’s clothes billowed. The prince slightly shivered, but didn't bother to button his shirt.
When mid afternoon came, they decided to take a short break to eat lunch. Before the group left South City, May found a small restaurant where the group bought some noodles and bread to save for their dinner. The girls were eating silently while Ling was looking intently over the map one of the soldiers back at the train station had given him.
“We can make it to Aerugo by nightfall if we keep going. However, General Armstrong did say there are mines hidden at the borderline, so that might delay things.”
“I think it would be best if we wait until tomorrow morning to cross the border as it’ll be hard to get through the mines at night,” Lan Fan suggested.
May nodded. “I agree. Even with my alkahestry, I won’t be able to detect the mines very well in the dark.”
“All right, we’ll go a little farther, then set up camp before sunset.”
With that settled, everyone continued eating. All was quiet save for the munching and the breeze, which had become slightly stronger.
As something crossed Lan Fan’s mind, she stopped eating. She glanced back at the wagon and her mouth trembled as an ominous feeling swept through her whole body like a storm.
This trip will be a long one and Grandfather's body will decay, eventually.
This was the first time she was worried about her grandfather smelling badly. She, May, and Ling would most likely get in trouble for carrying a corpse across borders. Part of her thought that maybe they should have buried Fu back at Central so that he didn’t have to go through the hardships of this trip, too. However, she was sticking to her word that she and Ling would bury him in Xing. Maybe later today, she would to stay close to her grandfather.
The flaps on the wagon seemed to separate her and her grandfather, making it feel like they were in different worlds.
+++
After everyone finished lunch, it was back to traveling. Less than half an hour passed before Lan Fan turned to look back at the cloth-covered body. When Ling saw that, he frowned. He had an idea what his guard longed for.
“Lady May, my lord, if you don’t mind, I would like to look over my grandfather for a bit.”
The two siblings looked at her and they smiled.
“Go ahead,” Ling told her.
Lan Fan bowed in gratitude, said her thanks, and went inside the wagon. May glanced at the other side for a second and with thoughtful expression on her face.
“Did Lan Fan get along with her grandfather?”
Ling chuckled. He didn’t expect May to ask that question, but he assumed she wanted to know more about him and his guards. It was cute, actually.
“They loved and respected each other very much. He raised her after Xue, Lan Fan’s mother, passed away.”
“How about her father?”
Ling was silent for sometime. Each time someone asked about Lan Fan’s father, it pained him to answer that question.
“Her parents never married. Lan Fan’s father left Xue after she became pregnant because he didn’t want to have children. Lan Fan was actually glad Fu took care of her. She had a lot of fun with him, even if most of their time was spent protecting me.”
“That’s nice.” Before May continued talking, she sighed in annoyance. “I actually wish my mother raised me like a daughter instead of just someone intended to become an empress. I mean, I want to become one, but my relationship with my mother isn’t great.”
“I’m actually envious of their relationship. My grandfather and mother were never there whenever I needed their emotional support. Instead, I rely on Fu and Lan Fan for that.”
Ling gave a tiny smile. He always thought of Fu and Lan Fan as his father and sister. There was never a dull moment whenever he was with them. Now, he was talking to his half-sister, which was still taking some getting used to. This was the first time he had talked with a sibling for more than a day and found he enjoyed it.
“You know, we aren’t so different after all, Brother,” May said with a grin.
Ling beamed back. “No, not really.”
The two fell quiet, enjoying the breeze. It wasn’t long, though, until May thought of something.
“You told me that you three left Xing around the same time I did, though I took a different route. Can you tell me what happened during that trip?”
“Sure,” Ling said, chuckling. He didn’t mind at all, and talking with his sister was a nice way to pass the time.
+++
Lan Fan overheard their conversation.
She was still somewhat upset she never knew her father but was happy her grandfather had raised her. Without him, she wouldn’t have matured into a better person. The young woman gave a satisfied smile, also happy Ling and May were getting along.
The girl then glanced at her grandfather’s body. She actually felt good staying by Fu’s side. It didn’t matter that he had died; as long as he was going back home with her and Ling, it was fine.
“Just hang in there,” she whispered.
She sat, looking at the cloth covering her grandfather for sometime, then stared over at the sack containing his journal. Lan Fan hadn’t read much of it last night because of her exhaustion, but decided to take this opportunity to do so now, before Ling stopped to rest.
+++
May 20th, 1914
Master Ling wouldn’t stop asking if we’re at the Xeres ruins yet. I told him we’re almost there and to be patient. He then complained how hot the Great Desert was and would like a nice bath if there was water somewhere. It took every ounce of me to not hit him with the hilt of my kunai.
(Banner by me. Original source of art)
When we finally made it to the Xeres ruins, the site took our breaths away. It was like stepping back into history. Sure, there was rumble everywhere, but we could still tell Xerxes was a huge and influential city. The three of us took a quick tour of the place and entered many buildings, like the library and school. We also went inside some of the dwellings, which was simply fascinating. When we came to a fountain though, Master Ling immediately dived into the water, creating a small cloud of steam. My granddaughter and I shook our heads in disbelief. As soon as the prince dried himself off, we continued walking through the ruins. It didn’t take long until we found something the prince was looking for.
Inside what was left of the courtyard, there was a huge wall with a human transmutation circle inscribed upon it, or so the young lord told me. During one of his lessons, he learned that the people from Amestris would use it to bring people back from the dead, which was forbidden. There were two symbols, one which was a two headed dragon and the other a sun. When I glanced at the prince, I saw disappointment on his face.
“There are supposed to be more symbols here. The top portion is missing. I can’t remember what the others were, though.”
I joked how maybe the Western Sage had taken it with him, which made both the young master and my granddaughter laugh. It still disturbed me, though, that the Amestrians would do something insane like human transmutation. If the legend of Xerxes was true, maybe that was how the city met its demise.
The three of us stared at the human transmutation circle, unaware someone was behind us the whole time. That person almost hit me with a stick, but I immediately used my kunai to cut it in half. He backed away, avoiding my next swipe at him, and glared at me. The young lord and my granddaughter had their weapons ready in case he might attack again. Not minding it was three against one, the man clenched his fist. Everything came to a halt, though, when a female voice called out not too far from the four of us.
“Alsike, don’t!”
Both us and the man turned around and saw an elder woman, who came out from hiding. Then a crowd of people followed her. She seemed to have an air of authority about her. Alsike bowed.
“Sorry, Madam Shan, sorry but it seems they’re intruders.”
The woman glared at Alsike with a cocked eyebrow, but immediately up to us. She was eyeing us like an assassin.
“You three aren’t from Amestris, correct?”
We all shook our heads, and then I spoke. “No, Lady Shan. We come from Xing.”
Lady Shane had a surprised look on her face. “Xing? Isn’t that from the east?”
The three of us nodded and Lady Shan’s expression changed to annoyance.
“Hm, we Ishvalans have nothing to do with Xing people.”
I saw Ling’s eyes fill with shock. It took him a while to finally speak. “Wait, Ishvalans? I thought you people had been exterminated, or so I heard.”
I urgently whispered “Master” to Ling, hoping he wouldn’t go any further than that. The old woman didn’t take offense though, sighing heavily.
“Too much blood covered our holy land but many of us were lucky to get away and stay safe, at least for the time being. I actually thanked Ishvala, though, for sending a doctor couple from Amestris to save my life and countless others.”
The old woman pointed to her eyepatch, indicating she once had a serious eye injury. I felt something sickening rise inside my stomach when I thought Lady Shan might remove her eyepatch. Luckily, she didn’t.
“You all look worn out. Come, have something to eat with us,” she said without a smile. Apparently she was suspicious of us, but at the same time didn’t want to be rude.
During lunch we ate meat and drank water. I felt refreshed since Master Ling, Granddaughter, and I hadn’t eaten or drink much. Lady Shan was still apprehensive about us, her stare looking as if we had done something not to her standards.
“Why are you all here?” the woman asked in a harsh tone.
“I’ll put it short and simple. I came here for immortality. I want to gain power to help my people,” the prince explained. I was surprised he didn’t stutter while talking.
The lady glared at him. She seemed to be the person not taking this “immortality” talk lightly. I could sense she was trying to contain her anger.
“What makes you think these ruins have what you need?”
“There’s an old legend of a man that came from these ruins and taught our people rentanjitsu, or alchemy, as most people at Amestris called it. We call him the Western Sage.”
“Really?” Lady Shan laughed in a rude manner. “Alchemy was what destroyed Xerxes in the first place. Alchemy is also what destroyed Ishval.”
“Well, we use it to heal our people, not to harm them. I want to know more about Amestris’ alchemy to help my people. Clearly, you don’t think everyone in Amstris is evil, do you? Some might use it to help others, also.”
Lady Shan shook her head, the irritated look never leaving her face. “No. Like I said, the doctor couple came from Amestris. However, they didn’t need alchemy to heal the people. They did it with their own hands.”
I could hear the young lord groaning to himself in frustration. He was losing the battle at this moment.
“I can see you care for your people, Ling, but power can distract someone away from their true purpose for using it. I suggest going back to your country instead of entering Amestris. It seems the fluids you took for this trip has been wasted.”
Wasted fluids wasn’t something my young lord wanted to hear. He groaned again and clenched his fist, but took deep breaths to calm himself.
“Perhaps it’s best we leave now,” I whispered to him. Granddaughter nodded in agreement.
There was nothing Master Ling could do to change Lady Shan’s mind, so he stood and bowed to the woman. He never liked being defeated. My granddaughter and I stood, too.
“I want to thank you for giving us food and drink. Sorry if we wasted your time. We’ll still go to Amestris to seek what we're looking for, and there’s nothing you can do to stop us.”
The elder leader just stayed silent. I could tell in her eyes she thought the prince was foolish to keep going on with his search for immortality.
We left the Xerxes ruins, hoping we indeed could find something in Amestris.
+++
“…And after I told Madam Shan that, we left Xerxes and headed for Amestris. It took us three more days until we arrived there, though.”
The princess was silent for a while, thinking over what Ling had told her. She was fascinated by his description of Xerxes as she had never seen a ruined city before. The most shocking part was Madam Shan. The way he spoke of how much she disliked what Ling and his guards were searching for made her feel uneasy. May felt the elder lady hated her already for using alkahestry and wanting to gain immortality.
“I see. She’s really against alkahestry, huh?”
“Yeah. Her people believe alkahestry, alchemy, or anything of that sort are against God’s will.”
May pondered over this for a minute. She assumed the Ishvalans had decided any sort of “alchemy” was forbidden ever since the start of their culture. Part of her wanted to say alkahestry and alchemy could also be used to help people. However, she had learned that she must respect other people’s beliefs.
“Well, I hope they’re doing okay, even if they didn’t give all of us a nice welcome.”
“I’m fine with them not treating us like guests. At least we got to visit Xerxes for a bit. To think, it was Edward’s father who was the Sage of the West and originally from that place.”
“Hey, don’t forget he’s Al’s father, too!”
Ling laughed and patted May’s head. “You’re right, he’s also Al’s father.”
The half-siblings laughed together while the sun began to set. Inside the tent, Lan Fan concealed a tiny smile.
+++
That night, Ling and the others had set up camp. After they ate dinner, they went to sleep. The next morning, everyone woke up early and set out on their journey again. At first, there were still nothing but grasslands, but not long after they entered a forest.
For an hour, the group enjoyed the changing scenery. There were a lot of trees, but not as much as the forest next to Central that Ling, Lan Fan, and Fu had visited. Occasionally, a bird or a squirrel would pass by. Many flowers bloomed on the grassy ground, filling the air with a fragrant scent. The sun peeked out and Ling thought the surroundings had a stage-like feel to it.
When they made it out of the forest, the stage had switched to a new set and terrified expressions shot across everyone’s face.
There was nothing but dirt at the borderline, foxholes scattered everywhere. One could smell the stench of dead bodies, despite the fact they could see no corpses lying about.
“So this is how war is fought in Amestris,” Lan Fan said in remorse.
“I hope the new higher ups in Central will work something out concerning Amestris’ war with Aerugo,” Ling said, agreeing with what one of the soldiers at South City had said earlier. He then turned to May. “You should get started on deactivating the mines.”
The little girl nodded and got out of the wagon. She used a stick to make a quick alkhestry symbol and threw five kunai on it before finally slamming her hands onto the ground. A couple hundred feet from her, piles of dirt shot up like fireworks.
“That’s the farthest my alkhestry can reach. We’ll have to pause a few times while we’re crossing this battlefield.”
Ling nodded. He knew this would take time, but it had to be done.
An hour flew by and they made it to the middle of the battleground. After May did her alkhestry for the tenth time, she sat down and took deep breaths. Ling and Lan Fan gasped with worry.
“May, are you okay?” Ling asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just need to take a break, that’s all.”
“If you want, we can rest here for a little bit.”
“It’s okay,” May said while giving Ling and Lan Fan the “okay” hand gesture. “We need to get through this place as soon as we can.”
As if she had already regained her energy, the princess got back up and performed alkhestry once more. Each time she did it, Ling’s heart seemed to clench in his chest.
She’s really trying to make our trip easier for us.
He wanted to tell her to rest, but knew she would say no. She wanted to do this. All the prince could do now was watch as his sister continued to deactivate the mines.
Another hour passed before May finally finished her task. She sat down again, but her breathing sounded wheezy this time. Ling rushed out of the wagon and picked her up.
(Art by seta_suzume )
“You really need to rest now,” he whispered.
May gave a weak smile. “Of course.” She then dozed off to sleep.
Ling shook his head and sighed. He was glad his sister was able to get rid of all the mines, but it had worn her out.
“My lord, should we continue now?”
Ling turned to gaze at Lan Fan and nodded. “Yes, we should. You take control of the wagon while I watch over May, at least until she wakes up.”
“Certainly.”
A small smile lit the prince’s face and he climbed onto the wagon with May in his arms. Lan Fan shook the reins and they were off again. It wasn’t long until Ling looked back to see Amestris for the last time.
Onto to Chapter Four!