[FMA Fic] The Haunted House
Title: The Haunted House
Author: bay115
Series: FMA manga/Brotherhood
Word Count: 1,262
Rating: G
Characters: Roy, Riza, an OC
Summary: Roy and Riza snuck inside a haunted house and found something unexpected there.
Warnings: None.
Author’s Notes: Just in time for Halloween! Second story from the prompt meme, this time for halighfataliter as she requested the prompt, “Teenage Roy and Riza, mischief.” Thanks to cornerofmadness for the great betating! Any other grammatical mistakes scattered around are mine.
“Roy, are you sure we should do this?”
“Why not? It’s not like we’re going to find any real ghosts in here.”
Riza and her father’s apprentice, Roy, were inside an old house not too far from her own place, walking as quietly as possible. There was a story in which an elder lady passed away in her house, but her spirit could be seen wandering around inside. When Riza told Roy that tale, he insisted they go check the house out and prove that ghosts don’t exist. She didn’t believe in ghosts but thought it wasn’t a good idea to be sneaking out of the house in the dark.
“Maybe not,” Riza whispered, her tone tense, “but what if my father finds out that we left?”
“Don’t worry, I’m sure we’ll be able to make it before he wakes up from his nap. This won’t take long.”
Sighing, Riza shook her head. Roy could be immature for a sixteen year old sometimes.
There wasn’t much in the living room except for a sofa, a coffee table, and several pictures on the wall. Everything was dusty, which was to be expected from a house several generations old. One of the pictures caught Riza’s eye, so she headed for it. Riza hadn’t notice Roy looking at her with a puzzled expression.
“Riza? Riza?”
Not paying attention, Riza used the sleeve of her sweeter to wipe the dust off. As soon as the image was polished, it revealed a smiling woman in a formal long sleeved dress and cursive handwriting scribbled down on the corner.
“To Velma. Your love, Kyle.”
Riza found herself not able to take her eyes off the photograph, mesmerized by her beauty. The young teenager wondered what her life was like. She remembered hearing stories in which the woman had a love interest, so Kyle must be the one. Maybe their relationship didn’t work out, leaving Velma to be heartbroken and live alone for the rest of her life. So many questions began forming Riza’s mind.
“She looks very lovely.”
Riza jumped upon hearing Roy’s voice. She spun around and narrowed her eyes at him.
“Don’t scare me like that!”
Roy burst into laughter before saying, “Sorry. Come on, we better get moving.”
They continued further into the house, now taking the stairs. They eventually made it to the top landing and glimpsed around to see four doors across the hall. Riza thought there would be more, but she mentally shrugged.
“Let’s go for the first one on the right,” Roy suggested.
“Are we going to go through all of the rooms?”
“Perhaps.” Roy offered Riza a smirk, which she returned with a glare.
They entered the room Roy suggested and what greeted them were a couple bookshelves next to the walls and a desk with some notebooks on it. Roy looked at the collection of books while Riza flipped through the pages of the notebooks. As she skimmed through them, it was apparent to her that these were Velma’s notes, most likely from university lectures. Riza glanced at Roy and saw great interest flickered in his eyes.
“Looks like Velma’s very interested in world history. She has many books on other countries.”
“I noticed that as I was reading her notes. Here she writes about Creta.”
Roy walked close to Riza and looked at the notes with her, but then they flinched as a crying noise was heard.
Hooooowl
“You heard that?” Riza asked, her eyes still blinking.
“Yes,” Roy replied with a nod. “It must be coming from the basement.”
The teenagers made haste back to the living room and had no trouble finding the basement door. Riza looked at Roy and saw him wore the same uncertain expression as she was. The cries rang out once more.
Hoooooowl
“You open it first,” Roy spoke first in a timid matter.
“Why me?” Riza raised her eyebrow at Roy.
“What if it’s something else more sinister than a ghost down there?”
“Like what?”
“Er… a vampire?” Roy made an embarrassed chuckle.
Riza let out an exasperated sigh. Shaking her head, she stood in front of the door. The teenage girl hesitated at first, her hand trembling, but took a deep breath and opened it. After Riza flicked the light switch on, she made slow steps down to the basement with Roy following behind. They shortly made it to the floor and glanced around with watchful eyes until-
Woof, woof!
A surprised gasp escaped from Riza and she almost stumbled. In front of her was a brown dog that looked to be a year old. It wagged its tail and made a sad noise.
“Riza, are you okay? Did you find…” Roy stopped when his eyes were set on the dog, his frightened expression softening. “A dog?”
“Not just any dog.” Riza bend down to pet the dog, who gladly accepted it. “I think this is Miss Henkins’s dog, Marigold.”
Roy’s face went blank. “Who is Miss Henkins?”
“Oh, you haven’t met her yet. She’s the cashier over at the little market downtown. When I went there to get some vegetables a couple weeks ago, she mentioned how her dog ran away.” After Riza bend down to pick up Marigold, the dog yelped joyfully and licked her face, which caused her to giggle.
“I think we should give the dog back to her, then.” A smile played around Roy’s lips. “You know where her house is?”
Riza nodded, both to Roy’s question and in agreement.
+++
Miss Henkins’s place was only a few houses from the supposed haunted house, so it hadn’t took the two teenagers long to get there. When they presented the woman Marigold, tears had streamed down on her face and she held her dog in a tight embrace.
“I’m so glad the both of you found her. I thought I would never see her again!”
“No problem,” Riza said. Both she and Roy beamed.
“Would you guys like something to eat or drink before heading home? It’s the least I could do to return the favor.”
“That’s nice of you Miss Henkins, but Riza and I better go. Master Hawkeye is going to kill me if we don’t get back home soon.”
Miss Henkins chuckled. “Okay, then. Good night!”
“Good night!” Riza and Roy yelled. They waved goodbye to Miss Henkins before heading back home.
“So, did you enjoy your first time sneaking out?” Roy asked as they were walking.
“I guess I did enjoy it a little,” Riza said, smiling a little. “It was fun being inside a haunted house. And there were no ghosts! ” One thing Riza wished was to find out more about Velma. Such a shame she wouldn’t get to visit the house again anytime soon.
“See? It isn’t so bad. You should get out more often.”
Riza felt her cheeks burned slightly. “I guess, as long as we let Father know first.”
Roy pouted. “I’m sure he won’t like that, so it’s best if we sneak out without getting caught.”
A part of Riza didn’t like the sound of that, but she had a hard time disagreeing with Roy. Her father would definitely not allow them to sneak out of the house. There was only one solution she could think of.
“We can’t do it often, then.”
“Agreed.”
They remained silent the rest of the way home, Riza thinking that maybe she should have some fun once in a while. She smiled, wouldn’t mind spending time with Roy more often.
Author: bay115
Series: FMA manga/Brotherhood
Word Count: 1,262
Rating: G
Characters: Roy, Riza, an OC
Summary: Roy and Riza snuck inside a haunted house and found something unexpected there.
Warnings: None.
Author’s Notes: Just in time for Halloween! Second story from the prompt meme, this time for halighfataliter as she requested the prompt, “Teenage Roy and Riza, mischief.” Thanks to cornerofmadness for the great betating! Any other grammatical mistakes scattered around are mine.
“Roy, are you sure we should do this?”
“Why not? It’s not like we’re going to find any real ghosts in here.”
Riza and her father’s apprentice, Roy, were inside an old house not too far from her own place, walking as quietly as possible. There was a story in which an elder lady passed away in her house, but her spirit could be seen wandering around inside. When Riza told Roy that tale, he insisted they go check the house out and prove that ghosts don’t exist. She didn’t believe in ghosts but thought it wasn’t a good idea to be sneaking out of the house in the dark.
“Maybe not,” Riza whispered, her tone tense, “but what if my father finds out that we left?”
“Don’t worry, I’m sure we’ll be able to make it before he wakes up from his nap. This won’t take long.”
Sighing, Riza shook her head. Roy could be immature for a sixteen year old sometimes.
There wasn’t much in the living room except for a sofa, a coffee table, and several pictures on the wall. Everything was dusty, which was to be expected from a house several generations old. One of the pictures caught Riza’s eye, so she headed for it. Riza hadn’t notice Roy looking at her with a puzzled expression.
“Riza? Riza?”
Not paying attention, Riza used the sleeve of her sweeter to wipe the dust off. As soon as the image was polished, it revealed a smiling woman in a formal long sleeved dress and cursive handwriting scribbled down on the corner.
“To Velma. Your love, Kyle.”
Riza found herself not able to take her eyes off the photograph, mesmerized by her beauty. The young teenager wondered what her life was like. She remembered hearing stories in which the woman had a love interest, so Kyle must be the one. Maybe their relationship didn’t work out, leaving Velma to be heartbroken and live alone for the rest of her life. So many questions began forming Riza’s mind.
“She looks very lovely.”
Riza jumped upon hearing Roy’s voice. She spun around and narrowed her eyes at him.
“Don’t scare me like that!”
Roy burst into laughter before saying, “Sorry. Come on, we better get moving.”
They continued further into the house, now taking the stairs. They eventually made it to the top landing and glimpsed around to see four doors across the hall. Riza thought there would be more, but she mentally shrugged.
“Let’s go for the first one on the right,” Roy suggested.
“Are we going to go through all of the rooms?”
“Perhaps.” Roy offered Riza a smirk, which she returned with a glare.
They entered the room Roy suggested and what greeted them were a couple bookshelves next to the walls and a desk with some notebooks on it. Roy looked at the collection of books while Riza flipped through the pages of the notebooks. As she skimmed through them, it was apparent to her that these were Velma’s notes, most likely from university lectures. Riza glanced at Roy and saw great interest flickered in his eyes.
“Looks like Velma’s very interested in world history. She has many books on other countries.”
“I noticed that as I was reading her notes. Here she writes about Creta.”
Roy walked close to Riza and looked at the notes with her, but then they flinched as a crying noise was heard.
Hooooowl
“You heard that?” Riza asked, her eyes still blinking.
“Yes,” Roy replied with a nod. “It must be coming from the basement.”
The teenagers made haste back to the living room and had no trouble finding the basement door. Riza looked at Roy and saw him wore the same uncertain expression as she was. The cries rang out once more.
Hoooooowl
“You open it first,” Roy spoke first in a timid matter.
“Why me?” Riza raised her eyebrow at Roy.
“What if it’s something else more sinister than a ghost down there?”
“Like what?”
“Er… a vampire?” Roy made an embarrassed chuckle.
Riza let out an exasperated sigh. Shaking her head, she stood in front of the door. The teenage girl hesitated at first, her hand trembling, but took a deep breath and opened it. After Riza flicked the light switch on, she made slow steps down to the basement with Roy following behind. They shortly made it to the floor and glanced around with watchful eyes until-
Woof, woof!
A surprised gasp escaped from Riza and she almost stumbled. In front of her was a brown dog that looked to be a year old. It wagged its tail and made a sad noise.
“Riza, are you okay? Did you find…” Roy stopped when his eyes were set on the dog, his frightened expression softening. “A dog?”
“Not just any dog.” Riza bend down to pet the dog, who gladly accepted it. “I think this is Miss Henkins’s dog, Marigold.”
Roy’s face went blank. “Who is Miss Henkins?”
“Oh, you haven’t met her yet. She’s the cashier over at the little market downtown. When I went there to get some vegetables a couple weeks ago, she mentioned how her dog ran away.” After Riza bend down to pick up Marigold, the dog yelped joyfully and licked her face, which caused her to giggle.
“I think we should give the dog back to her, then.” A smile played around Roy’s lips. “You know where her house is?”
Riza nodded, both to Roy’s question and in agreement.
+++
Miss Henkins’s place was only a few houses from the supposed haunted house, so it hadn’t took the two teenagers long to get there. When they presented the woman Marigold, tears had streamed down on her face and she held her dog in a tight embrace.
“I’m so glad the both of you found her. I thought I would never see her again!”
“No problem,” Riza said. Both she and Roy beamed.
“Would you guys like something to eat or drink before heading home? It’s the least I could do to return the favor.”
“That’s nice of you Miss Henkins, but Riza and I better go. Master Hawkeye is going to kill me if we don’t get back home soon.”
Miss Henkins chuckled. “Okay, then. Good night!”
“Good night!” Riza and Roy yelled. They waved goodbye to Miss Henkins before heading back home.
“So, did you enjoy your first time sneaking out?” Roy asked as they were walking.
“I guess I did enjoy it a little,” Riza said, smiling a little. “It was fun being inside a haunted house. And there were no ghosts! ” One thing Riza wished was to find out more about Velma. Such a shame she wouldn’t get to visit the house again anytime soon.
“See? It isn’t so bad. You should get out more often.”
Riza felt her cheeks burned slightly. “I guess, as long as we let Father know first.”
Roy pouted. “I’m sure he won’t like that, so it’s best if we sneak out without getting caught.”
A part of Riza didn’t like the sound of that, but she had a hard time disagreeing with Roy. Her father would definitely not allow them to sneak out of the house. There was only one solution she could think of.
“We can’t do it often, then.”
“Agreed.”
They remained silent the rest of the way home, Riza thinking that maybe she should have some fun once in a while. She smiled, wouldn’t mind spending time with Roy more often.