author's note: ive been tinkering with a riza/oc fanfic for a couple of days now. its not this, HEAVENS NO the riza/oc fanfic im workin on rn is so complicated that i gotta rewatch the series.
but this was one of the first drafts for lillie monet and her family and her Love Story w/ riza hawkeye lmao. have fun y'all.
Lillie Monet is a singer.
She's got a very good and soothing voice that can be powerful, a very nice face to look at, a witty personality and the connections to be where she is right now (though don't be unwise, even without these connections her father is giving her she'd still be popular amongst the people and still would have fancy gigs to keep herself alive).
Lillie Monet is a great singer, perhaps one of the best in history and she's got to partly thank her father—Lucas Monet—into shaping her into becoming who she is right now. Lillie could probably not work for five years and still be well off with the money she made when she was still fifteen. She's nineteen now, and the money keeps on flowing.
However, singing isn't really what Lillie wants to do. It's fun, sure—it helps pays the bills and it does vastly improve the information network Lillie has, but it's not what she really wants to do. Her grandfather was after all—Claude Roza Monet, a former State Alchemist under the name "The Floral Alchemist". He was a good man and often taught Lillie basic alchemy when she wasn't in her voice lessons when she was young. (Although when she turned fifteen, she all but threatened her father to let her grandfather teach her his trade.)
State Alchemist is the occupation she's eyeing and gunning for. She so desperately would want to continue the research and legacy of Claude Roza Monet even if she's going to be considered as a dog of the military. She does not care; all she cares about is finishing the research her grandfather started.
(All this talk makes it sound like the former Floral Alchemist is dead, he is not yet—not quite really, he's still alive and kicking but because of certain issues concerning his health he was forced to resign. He's glad that his only granddaughter wants to become a State Alchemist like him but she should really refrain from wording it in a way that makes people think he died or something.)
All she needs is a little push—maybe a big push. As much as she loves the thought of being a State Alchemist and having a sizeable grant to continue researching on the wonders of alchemy that helps plants. It's—it's just a little scary, not knowing anyone there except her grandfather and even he doesn't actively push Lillie into becoming one so becoming a State Alchemist without any external cheer quite scares her.
She firmly believes she'll pass though, despite not being great in combat; she's an excellent reader and has furthered the research of Claude Roza Monet a bit ever since she's started studying alchemy seriously. It's just that, if she does indeed become a State Alchemist, will she have friends? Military life, from what she's heard from her grandfather is quite scary and she thinks she would like a friend with her before she does anything (like join the freaking military!)
"Ten minutes to stage Missus Monet." The stage manager calls and this snaps Lillie out of her stupor. She can think about this later, what she needs to do first is to perform in front of these people and for the first time in forever she's cursing someone's birthday.
"Ah, yes." Lillie replies and she takes a deep breath. She steadies herself, she can think about what she'll do from now because she fears that if she continues singing as her occupation she might—she might fall apart like her mother once did. She checks her looks in front of a mirror and blows out a tuft of her hair. Warm brown eyes stare back at her and she's been told her eyes resembled her mother's sparkling ones. Black hair fashionably cut into a messy bob frames her face, making her look sixteen when she was nineteen and her lips were colored a bright red. She wore a red dress that was loose on her but was still fitting that her curves could still be seen.
"All right, Lillie, dear. It's show time." She whispers to herself as she slaps her cheeks for motivation. She goes to the stage, waits for her introduction to be finished and when it's her time to sing, she puts on a big smile on her face and opens her mouth to—
Riza Hawkeye sometimes is sent to these kinds of Intel collection to find anyone that can help them into overthrowing the fuhrer. It's sometimes a busy job, but a girl's got to do what she needs to do so she sucks it up, hides a pistol somewhere on her dress (often times body in really rare cases), and goes to these boring parties. Roy Mustang would probably like doing this more but he was god knows where and this event was apparently one of the few chance they'd have to talk to the granddaughter of the former Floral Alchemist.
The first thing she thinks off when she sees Lillie Monet come on stage was wow that girl had curves. The second thing she thinks off is wow that girl can sing really well but of course, that's not really a surprise considering who her father was.
Lillie Monet sings like it is the last time she'll be singing—like it is her last day on earth. She sings a sad song—something about not meeting your lover as they left you, Riza notes, but she sings it in a way that makes the sniper want to go and meet her soulmate (not that she has any time in all honesty. Roy was only a friend, contrary to popular belief, and she's long known that men weren't really for her). Lillie Monet swings her hips to the song's rhythm and Riza feels like her heart has been shot at—which is weird considering she can control her emotions rather well but there's something about that voice that just sets Riza on edge.
She doesn't really know If she likes it or not, but she's looking forward to talking to the singer.
Lillie Monet comes off the stage, somehow with a ruby drink and there is a blonde woman waiting for her. The blonde woman might just be the prettiest woman she has ever seen and Lillie looks away when the woman notices her.
"Elizabeth Eagleneck. You must be Lillie Monet, I presume?" The woman introduces herself and Lillie might just die.
"I'm anything you want, dear." Lillie blurts out all of a sudden and she just wants to slap herself for being so so so so SO FREAKING dumb!
"Excuse me?" The woman—Elizabeth, Lillie's mind supplies,raises an eyebrow almost in an amused manner.
"Terribly quite sorry darling," Lillie says as she sways her hips (don't do that girl! you'll just make yourself look embarrassing!) "Haven't been myself lately, stress been taking quite a toll on me. Ya know?"
"Ah, yes. Quite." Elizabeth replies and Lillie sees a faint splattering of red on the cheeks of Elizabeth Eagleneck and somehow she feels a bit better. "Now, see here Ms. Lillie—"
"Just Lillie please, being called miss makes me feel old, love." Lillie replies as she puts down her drink on a nearby table and takes a seat near it.
"Well, Lillie, I understand that your grandfather was a State Alchemist?" Riza asks the singer, and it is quite infuriating how Lillie just uses pet names for random strangers she's just met and how she sways her hips as she walks and even the way she seats just messes up Riza in ways she didn't think was possible but it's not the time to think about that. She still has a possible spy to secure, a possible informant that will help them.
Lillie narrows her eyes and crosses her legs. "Dear old sir Claude is indeed my grandfather but I don't quite see why you need to ask me about this, hon. Actually, I'm quite interested about how you got this information."
"Ah. Claude Roza Monet brags about you almost every time we see him." Riza admits, "Besides, Sir Claude Roza Monet was also a known subtle anti-Fuhrer in the military."
"My grandfather?" Lillie's voice tilts in a way that kinda drives Riza crazy. However there is no change in the other's body language so Riza assumes that Lillie knows of her grandfather's escapades.
"Yes, your grandfather…" Riza trails off, "You see, we thought we could use the expertise of your grandfather, he was an alchemist that studied plants, was he not?"
"Not quite, dear." Lillie's body language droops down and Riza is almost alarmed at what made the other girl become disappointed. "He pioneered research on plant-based alchemy. He did not only studied plants as you quite put it."
"Ah, then my sincerest apologies. Our information on Claude Roza Monet is quite lacking, you see." Riza admits. Claude Roze Monet was the type who made you think he was an open man but when in reality—he was not.
Lillie's mouth quirks up. "I understand, don't worry." She closes her eyes, "If I am to understand, you want me to put you in contact with him, do you not?"
"Well, yes." Riza replies, and somehow she feels that the conversation will turn to a different road.
"Ah, then might I propose to you a new and better answer?" Lillie asks, and before Riza can answer, the singer continues as she dips a finger into her drink and begins to draw with it on the wooden table. "See, Elizabeth dear, my grandfather would say no. I know him well-enough that he doesn't want to fight anymore and he just awaits death to be with my mother and grandmother. Lucky for you however." She flashes a smile as she drops something round-shaped to the wet lines she did on the table. She taps on the wet lines lightly with both of her hands and a blue flash fills the room. "I am his last protégé, desperately trying to find a good excuse to take the State Alchemist test."
Riza looks at where Lillie dropped the round-shaped object and is surprised to see a seedling directly planted on the wooden surface of the table.
"You're an alchemist." Riza states the obvious and Lillie grins a cat-like smile.
"Not just any alchemist," Lillie says, and Riza's heart is hammering as she looks at the singer. "An alchemist that's about to rock the foundations of plant-based alchemy. So what'd you say, hun? Want me instead of a probably going senile old man? Might even have more contacts than him, now that I think about it. Grandfather was always a private man."
God, maybe even more than that. Riza suddenly thinks and suddenly flushes red at thinking of something she should not even think!
"I—uh—I—"Riza takes a deep breath. She shouldn't stammer just because of a pretty girl!"—I need to check in with my commanding officer."
(Which is a damn lie because Roy Mustang will probably just say yes.)
Lillie giggles, "Well, you know where to find me dear."
The singer stands up, sways that sway as she walks away from Riza but not before bumping into the blonde and subtly sliding something into her pocket.
"Wait!" Riza Hawkeye blurts out before she can think about it anything more. She continues once she hears the clacking of Lillie's heels stop. "It's—it's not Elizabeth Eagleneck, but Riza. Riza Hawkeye."
"Well," Riza can practically hear Lillie's cat-like grin from her words as she walks away and Riza thinks about the singer's hips swaying, and the almost purr in her voice. "It was quite nice meeting you Riza Hawkeye, I'm Lillie Monet—just in case you forget."
Riza takes out the piece of paper Lillie slipped in her pocket and subtly grins. She stuffs it back into her pocket and makes her way out of the theatre to tell Roy Mustang that they have the cooperation of Lillie Monet, just as long as they'll back her up and recommend her for the exams.
On the piece of paper, there is cursive that looks messy. Riza doesn't know when Lillie wrote this, but it's okay—because at least now she has her address.
Lillie Monet walks away from Eliza—Riza Hawkeye a tad bit embarrassed and a tad bit in love and really really excited. She's finally found her reason to take the State Alchemist exam, and perhaps has a friend inside too. Now all she needs is to prove she's a valuable member in taking down the Fuhrer too.
"Oh god, grandfather will be made once he's figured out what I did! Well, s'not like he'll be hearing about this though." Lillie whispers to herself. She thinks about her encounter with Riza Hawkeye for a moment before she feels herself going red. "Although, oh dear… Did I really have to go do that! She's probably think I'm a weirdo!" Lillie grumbles to herself when in fact Riza Hawkeye was very much smitten witht the singer, the same way Lillie is too.