Commission for the lovely FullMetalWing. Crystal is hers. I'd like to apologise in advance if my interpretation of what people do on honeymoons is wrong. I've never been on one, and it's too wierd to ask my parents.
Note for my KH readers: I have decided to discontinue I Shall But Love Thee Better.
Now, on to the story!
The country plains were the emerald green of a pure lake, and the skies were the sapphire of the seas. Winding around the hills was a simple beaten dirt track. A black carriage slowly followed this track, the bay horse at the front trudging slowly as it pulled its load behind it despite the heat. Within the carriage was a beautiful woman, whose sparkling azure eyes gazed outside and appreciated the view. Her name was Crystal, and she had been married just yesterday.
Commandeering the horse was her husband, a young man by the name of Edward Elric. He wore an elegant tuxedo, with long coat tails at the back.
"Crystal, we should be there by nightfall if we hurry," he called to the lady in the back.
Crystal smiled at his words. Finally, she would be able to escape the warmth of the countryside, and return to the bleak ice-encased mountains of her youth.
"Let's get there as soon as we can. I can't wait to show the Major General this pretty dress!"
It was late in the night when the carriage finally arrived at an elegant hotel located in North City. Like the rest of the town, it was beautiful and had a sophisticated air about it.
"Let's stay here for the night," Edward said to Crystal as he helped her out of the carriage. That way, we won't have to sleep out in the cold.
Crystal patted down her dress when she got out of the carriage. "Ok. I need to get some warmer clothes anyway."
Edward paled. "You do that. I'll stay here and look after the horse. It'll be a shame if he freezes out here, after all…"
Crystal glanced at the shaking man and paused for a while, pursing her lips as she thought. "Let the hotel boys look after him. You need some new clothes too, you know."
Edward groaned inwardly.
The inside of the hotel was something from a little girl's dearest dreams. The crystal chandelier that hung from the pristine roof shimmered as it reflected the light of millions of lights. On the polished marble floor, two rows of tables were laid out. Various fancy foods were presented upon the tables, the foodstuffs varying from cakes to moneybag parcels to truffles. There was a dance floor, where couples wearing glamorous dresses and stylish tuxedoes danced to the tunes the girl sitting at the piano played. Her voice was melodic, and she managed to hit all the high and low notes perfectly. She wore a simple purple dress, which complimented her amethyst earrings. She had dark hazel hair and a lightly tanned complexion.
"Wow…" Crystal gaped at the sophisticated elegance of the hotel. "Amazing…"
Edward snickered a little at his beauteous wife's reaction to the hotel, earning himself a short glare from her. Crystal went straight to the tables of food. They were all beautifully served, and the silver platters upon which they rested were pristine. Ed approached her, a flute of champagne in each hand.
"Well then, my princess," he handed her one before offering her his hand. "Shall we dance?"
Crystal giggled and took the gloved hand delicately in her own. "Of course! Let's dance."
Meanwhile, outside, a shadowy figure watched the jovial celebrations with a smirk upon its face. It wore a long cloak made of a dark, heavy material. The people who passed it turned around and glanced at it nervously. Who was this person? What were they doing here? It gazed at girl playing the piano, leered one final time, then turned to leave.
No one ever noticed the wickedly sharp blade it had concealed beneath the coffee-coloured cloak.
The next morning was the same as any other morning for the city. The sun rose, radiating its light upon the icy world. The glow filtered through the buildings and the trees, casting a gentle orange lustre upon the stunning city. The people soon woke up, and slowly, the city, too, awakened from its slumber.
In the midst of this was a mysterious young woman who had come from some other place to make a living in this eternally frozen town. Her complexion betrayed her origins as from a country town, but her mannerisms did not. She was, on the surface, a beautiful, sophisticated woman in a beautiful, sophisticated town, but deep within, she was running from something. Something dark and sinister.
Crystal grinned as she took in the beautiful interior design of the shopping mall. It was, like every other part of this town, stylish and cultured place. Everywhere one gazed, women wearing fine dresses, with suited men by their side, milled about, each one seeking out a fine, luxurious or just plain expensive set of clothes in preparation for the winter that was quickly approaching the town.
"Ed! Ed! What do you think of this?" she held an ivory cocktail dress in front of herself. To the unsophisticated eye, it would have seemed basic and plain, but to the refined, it was just enough; a balance between simplicity and ornate.
The blond man beheld his stunning wife for a moment, imagining her wearing the gown, and dancing with her. His beautiful goddess…
"Well, what do you think of it, Ed?" Crystal's voice snapped him out of his deep thought.
"I think you'll look majestic wearing that," he said with a smile.
Crystal beamed. "Let's go get some warmer clothes now."
Inwardly, Edward groaned. Why did she drag me into this shopping frenzy?
Outside, the snow was drifting down to the world, borne by the soft wind that meandered between the buildings. It felt cool and gentle, but within it, it bore something darker, more sinister. As it made its way through the city, it spread its poison throughout the town. Soon, the people of this town would be at their mercy, and there was nothing that they could do to stop them.
If only this girl would stop meddling with their plans…
It was some time during the evening when Crystal and Edward finally returned to their hotel room. Only moments after they came in, there was a soft knock at the door.
"I'll get it," Crystal said as she went to open the door. The knock came again. "Coming, coming."
She opened the door, revealing a frail and shaken looking woman. Her face was gaunt, and ashen with fear. Blood dripped steadily down her arm, pooling on the plush carpet. Her dress was torn in several places, and her face was bashed up pretty badly, but there was no denying it – she was the pretty singer at the ball yesterday.
"Hey, are you okay?" the girl suddenly pitched forward just as the last syllable left Crystal's lips. She caught the young woman just before she hit the ground, and pulled her up. Her eyes were closed, making her seem even badly bashed up.
"Please, don't call the cops…"
Crystal and Edward just glanced worriedly at one another.
In that building, he cackled. Finally, the girl was out of the way. He turned to them, and croaked,
"Tomorrow night, we strike."
Crystal closed the door quietly behind her, which closed with a thump. Sighing, she took a seat beside Edward, who offered her a warm cup of coffee, which she accepted gratefully.
"So, how is she?" Ed asked.
Crystal leaned back and exhaled. "I don't know. I hope she'll pull through, though. I wonder who did that to her…"
Edward shrugged. "I have no idea, but I think that whoever they are, they're pretty dangerous."
Crystal gazed pensively at the closed door as she held the mug of coffee in her hands, and then turned her gaze to the rising sun. Never had she seen such a brilliant sunrise, as far as memory served her. A smile made its way across her otherwise worried features.
"They probably are really dangerous. That's why we need to fight them, and stop them," Crystal stood up. "I'm going to go to prepare some more bandages, in case we need them. Edward, you make yourself useful and make another cup of coffee."
Sighing, Ed pushed himself off the couch and went to the kitchen to do as he had been told. Who would have ever thought that the great Fullmetal Alchemist would be reduced to making coffee for his wife?
"All systems are go, sir," one of the younger men in the group said as he pressed a big red button. "Heat is at seventy percent, and it's holding stable. Energy is at twenty percent, and rising rapidly – at one percent every minute. Everything's ready for tonight, sir."
A glass-wearing man at the front of the room smirked uglily as he pushed his glasses up his fat nose. "That's wonderful. Now," he glanced briefly in the direction of two Lycra-wearing mercenaries, "you know what to do."
The condottieri nodded curtly, and disappeared from the room in a cloud of white smoke.
"Tonight, everything that we've done, everything that we, the Order of the Headless Snake, have done for the past millennia, will come together. Tonight, we will imprint our name upon the history books for millennia to come, worshipping us as the feared gods come to eradicate the evil from out world," his voice grew sinister. "Starting with this city."
"Is there anything else you can tell us about these people?" Crystal asked as she wringed out the water from a towel. Gently, she laid the wet material on the slightly feverish girl's forehead.
The girl, whose name was Lena, shook her head sadly. "I'm sorry, but that's everything I know about them."
"It's ok," Crystal smiled gently at the resting girl. "What you've told me is really useful. Do you want something warm to drink? Coffee? Tea?"
"Coffee, please."
Nodding her head, Crystal left the room.
Outside, two Lycra-clad figures silently watched from the building across the road, carefully watching for the perfect time to strike. Swiftly, the taller of the two – the one with the brunette pony-tail and the striking virescent eyes – unpacked a long sniper from a bag, and aimed, making sure that her target would die as quick and painless death as possible.
"Crystal," Edward said as he dried the mugs and placed them back in their spots. "There's someone watching us from outside."
"I know," the lady took a sip from her coffee as she spoke. "But I can't tell where from."
"Ah!" suddenly, there was a shrill scream from the bedroom. Ed and Crystal glanced at each other for a moment, and rushed into the adjoining bedroom, to find Lena groaning and clutching her arm.
"Where did the shot come from?" Crystal asked as she held a cloth to the bleeding wound. "Lena, focus on me." It was evident that the pretty brunette was in shock. "Please, focus on me. Where did the shot come from? Which direction did it come from?"
Weakly, Lena pointed across the street. "Th-there…" she managed, before collapsing in a pile. Gritting her teeth, Crystal gazed across the road. There was nothing out of the ordinary there. It was just a shopping mall there. A giant multi-storey shopping mall with a hotel in the upper levels.
"So that's where our mysterious watchers are, huh?" Crystal said as she gazed at the splendid building. She turned to the blond man beside her. "Ed, we're going there tonight."
"Huh?" was all the man managed to say before he was dragged off to get more bandages.
"Lena, I'm sorry for making you come out with us, even though you need to be resting," Crystal said to the pretty lady beside her. Lena was wearing her hair in a ponytail. It looked both simple and elegant on her.
Lena turned and shook her head. "No, thank you for looking after me. Anyway, if I had stayed in the hotel all by myself, the assassins might have tried to kill me again," her voice grew distant. "And this time, they might have succeeded."
"Oh my," Crystal raced towards a designer-brand store. She picked up a stylish amethyst dress and held it up in front of herself. "Lena, come here. I bet you'd look wonderful wearing this!"
"You reckon?" Lena gazed at the purple dress. "I think you'd look lovely wearing this," she took a stunning azure dress off the rack, and then glanced at a sable gown nearby. "Or maybe this."
Giggling, the two women began choosing clothes for one another, happily enjoying themselves in this shopping haven.
In the meanwhile, Ed watched them; glad that he was did not understand them.
The two Lycra-wearing assassins watched them through their long telescope. Today, they were wearing long dresses over their outfits, effectively hiding their weapons, too. As she watched, the shorter of the duo – a lady with lengthy flaxen hair – pulled her hair back into a stylish bun. Her sapphire eyes complimented her azure dress. Pulling an extra knife from the table and strapping it onto her thigh, she turned to the brunette woman behind her and grinned, a maniac-like bloodlust in her eyes.
"Let's go, One," she said.
One nodded, "Let's go, Two," as she turned to turn off the light behind her, she grinned bloodthirstily. "Tonight we'll win back the boss's favour."
The door closed behind her with a thud.
They were shopping, walking around while hoisting heavy bags, filled to the brim with all sorts of designer clothes. Edward, following glumly behind them with a bored expression upon his face, carried the majority of the bags – all twenty bags full of garments and shoes.
"Ah!" suddenly, the lights went out. The air filled with the screams of frightened people just as abruptly. There was a blind rush, as people of all genders and ages ran for the exits, which had closed and locked shut in the midst of the terrified stampede.
Crystal's voice cut through the dark air like a ray of hope. "Everyone, please calm down!" Her voice, filled with a commanding element, made everyone stop almost instantly – even Edward stood silently at the sound of her voice. "I'm sure the lights will come back soon, so please calm down!"
Almost as if on cue, the lights came back on. Only now, they were red. A circular stage rose from the marble floor, a man perched upon a seat upon the twisting thing. He was an elderly man of about fifty. His eyes, bloodshot and filled with madness, glared at everybody in the shopping mall, scrutinising each person with an insane meticulousness.
"Everybody, freeze," he said. His voice croaked, like a dying old frog that had been pulled out of the water for too long. His long, bony fingers tapped infuriatingly upon the cheap plastic seat as he continued speaking. "Tonight, you have all been invited to enjoy the Order of the Headless Snake's taking over the world. Please sit back in your seats and enjoy the show."
His rasping voice, whose unpleasantness matched his disfigured and wrinkly face, filled the room. Children whimpered and clutched harder to their mothers at the sound. Gritting her teeth and clenching her fists, Lena scowled at the elderly man.
"I'll kill you," she muttered under her breath.
"Ah," the old man turned his attention to Lena, who was now trembling with anger. Her fingernails were digging painfully into the soft flesh of her palm, but she paid it no heed – all she wanted to do was to get rid of this horrible man afore her. "Lena."
At her name, the young woman glared up at the old man's bloodshot eyes. Her eyes flashed with anger. "You have no right to speak to me in such a nonchalant tone," she seethed with pure, unadulterated hatred. "You disgust me."
"And you, me," the man said. Casually, the man turned attention to his long, uncared for fingernails. They were yellowed, and curled and twisted about like snakes writhing in agony. "Men," he nibbled on the end of one of his many tangled nails, and continued to speak. "Please get rid of Lena for me."
On cue, the two Lycra-clad assassins, One and Two, rappelled down to the ground. Brandishing flashing knives in front of them, they approached the brunette woman with bloodthirsty looks upon their faces.
"Lena, run!" Crystal yelled as she turned a puddle of water into ice, and manipulated it into a crystalline wall. "Ed, take Lena and run. I'll keep these people occupied for a while."
"But-!" Ed tried to protest, but was quickly cut off by his wife.
"No buts. Now go!" the last word, uttered at the top of her lungs, was enough to spur both the blond man and the brunette lady into a gallop.
"Crystal, we'll come for you! Just you wait, we'll get you out of there soon!" were Edward's parting words.
Watching as Ed and Lena's figures disappeared down the darkened hallways and corridors, she turned to the two assassins, creating two frosty knives as she did so. Wielding it threateningly afore her, she approached the Lycra-wearing duo, a serious look upon her face.
"If you want to get to them," she got down into a battle-ready stance. "You've got to go through me first!"
"Come on, Lena," Ed yelled as he pulled the stumbling brunette along. "We've got to get out of here!"
"But," the dress-wearing lady began. She was soon cut off by Ed's voice.
"No buts," Edward said. "You heard Crystal too. She'll stall for us. We can't let what she's doing go to waste."
Nodding unsurely, Lena followed Edward's lead into the ever-growing darkness.
Block, block. Parry, parry, strike. Strike, strike, parry, thrust. The air sparked with the skilful knife fight. The battle seemed to be going nowhere – these assassins, these Lycra-clad people who called themselves One and Two, seemed to be equally matched with Crystal in a battle of blades.
"Tch," gritting her teeth, Crystal parried a downward strike that would have otherwise ended her life. Silver flashed in the air, streaking in long arcs. Clang, clang, the blades crashed into one another, steel biting into ice.
"One, Two, come back," the old man produced a big handheld device from within the depths of his pockets. It seemed pretty weighty, and was coloured a cold, dull steel grey. Baring his yellowed stumps of teeth, his grin was worse looking than a skeleton's.
Nodding their heads, the assassins returned to his side, and the revolving stage began to retract to deep within the ground.
"Oi!" Crystal started after them.
Suddenly, there was a roar, and red filled the room.
BOOM!
The ground shook. Gasping as they spun around, Edward and Lena watched as the building behind them, once so grand and imposing, went up in leaping flames.
"Crystal!" Lena screamed as she spun around. In front of her, there was a shadow – Edward – rushing toward the leaping flames. There was a grimace upon his face. Sweat beaded upon his face, dripping down and sizzling away as he neared the fire. There was a determined air about him, and Lena knew, he truly was in love with Crystal. Opting to allow the blond man to save the brunette, Lena went about getting as many people out as she could.
There was no way she'd let that man get away with this!
Crystal screamed as the flames engulfed her world. Leaping pillars of red and gold filled her vision, blocking out everything else.
"Crystal!" a lone cry, floating about, conveyed upon the wind, drifted to her ears. A wave of relief surged up from within her. It was a familiar voice that conjured images of safety, and love, she flung herself at the blond man. Nothing mattered to either of them more than one another.
And now, Crystal was safe.
"Crystal, let's go," Edward carried the woman in his arms, bridal style. Emerging from the flames, the crowd of people Lena had saved from the flames clapped as they exited the smouldering building.
"Edward…" their lips connected, and the crowd's applause grew louder. "I love you."
"I love you too, Crystal."
After that day, the Order of the Headless Snake laid low. Lena, Edward and Crystal tried the best they could to track down the elusive organisation, to no avail.
Parting ways, Lena returned to the town, singing at concerts and balls in North City, whilst Ed and Crystal returned to Briggs, the newly wedded woman brimming with excitement. How long had it been, since they met here, in the bleak, cold peaks of Briggs, she could not remember.
As their carriage disappeared into the black and white landscape, melding into the ceaseless snow, Lena smiled and whispered.
"The Order of the Headless Snake will live on."
HONEYMOON TROUBLES: A NOT-SO-TYPICAL ENDING
When they arrived at the Briggs fortress, the place where Crystal had once lived, the place that was so dear to her, grins and smiles and cheers greeted them. Smiling as they waved back at the soldiers, Ed and Crystal walked into the building, talking to Buccaneer and Olivier, amongst others.
"It's so good to see everyone! How have you been?" Crystal asked as she waved and smiled at the various familiar soldiers.
There was only good news, as the weathered footmen shared their tales with the brunette beauty.
Outside, as they continued to share tales of what had passed, the wind picked up ominously.
Please comment, and help me keep writing! Comnments makes the world go round!
Critiques are also welcome. Writing's fun, and nothing's better than getting a good, informative and helpful critique.
Bai bai, and see you soon!
-Xescay