welcome to my convoluted post-FMAB Xing world. This is one of my headcanon (although not my main one) but Siyao wanted me to write a piece where Al and Mei were separated for a long time and I figured I'd finally put this world I thought up to use.

The day Al got the letter announcing Ling and Lan Fan's engagement, he was overjoyed.

After all, he had watched them for most of his six months in Xing, dancing around each other as if they were two separate beings instead of the one, pulsing life they created together. However, the moment Al pressed pen to paper to write back his congratulations, he paused. Going to the wedding meant going to Xing.

Going to Xing meant seeing Mei.

Five years ago, when Al was traveling to Xing for the first time, the idea of seeing Mei after two years of letters was thrilling. It was hard to forget the girl, regardless of distance, and she had greeted him with a coy smile and open arms. It was obvious they were crazy about each other. Ling spent most of his time teasing them, when he wasn't running a country. Lan Fan smiled gently and knowingly; side-glances across the dinner table as Al and Mei argued about whatever alchemic text they had been reading that day. Maids whispered about the golden foreign boy that had captured the young princess' heart despite her many suitors; men who would love to have the Emperor's favorite sister on their arm.

But when it came time for Al to continue his journey, they were faced with chaos.

A group of clans had risen up to rebel, forming the Iron Dragon Alliance, hell-bent on reforming the dynasty. They pillaged towns and stole from the people; large riots spread against the country like a cancer, dripping into the waiting cesspool that had formed once Ling became Emperor. They were determined and they were angry and Ling Yao was drowned in treaties and declarations of peace, to no avail. The more violent they became, the more difficult it was for Al to get into the country after his visits around the East. Mei studied alkehestry and helped her brother when she could but he spent most of his nights buried in his room, growing old and weary even though he was only twenty-one. It was the first time in a long time Mei Chang had felt truly alone: Lan Fan was too busy making sure Ling didn't collapse from exhaustion and Alphonse couldn't even send letters into Xing. The country had become a war zone and the more Ling tried to fix it, the more people rebelled.

Two years passed before Emperor Ling Yao declared full-out war with the rebel faction after an assassination attempt that left Lan Fan nearly dead. Poisoned, for the careless mistake of asking one of the cooks to give her his food after countless days of watching her panic over security detail. The Iron Dragon, once faced with an organized army, quickly splintered into smaller factions, each wanting different demands. Some wanted a parliament; some wanted Ling off the throne. Some however, wanted the concubine system eliminated. Ling jumped upon the moment the rumors spread, disregarding the protest from his biased advisors. Without a concrete hold on the throne by his brothers and sister, the rebellion lost its legitimacy.

And so, he dismantled the concubine system.

Al had not heard much from Xing after this announcement; the country isolating itself from world affairs so they could focus on repairing the damage near civil-war had inflicted on their people. And now, out of the blue, an invitation. Al pressed his pen against paper before he could change his mind; checking yes and stuffing it back into the envelope.

He was twenty-two; surely he could manage to see Mei without the world crumbling at his feet.

He had missed Xing.

It felt silly to say something like that, considering he had only spent the better of six months there. But no matter how far east he traveled, nothing compared to the extravagant beauty of Xing's capital. Ling waited for him at the top of the steps, swathed in red silk with gold trimming, looking every bit like the distinguished Emperor he had turned out to be.

"Alphonse," he said, stepping forward and wrapping the golden boy in an embrace. Alphonse felt his guards stiffen, blades at the ready, until he spotted a black blur make her way to his side.

"Ling, it's not proper."

"Damn propriety; I haven't seen my friend in ages." Now he knew why he had missed Xing. No matter how welcoming the natives, how large the oceans and the scents and the experience, the ache of his friends (his family) brought a pang to his chest. Lan Fan was still the same, even as Ling grew taller, and she seemed even fiercer now that a scar marred his long neck. He stepped back and bowed, lowering himself until his head dipped over his hips.

"Your majesty," he said then took Lan Fan's hand, smiling. "Future queen." That got her sputtering.

"Don't remind me," she said faintly, adjusting her robes. She looked beautiful; golden silk spun to mold into her skin. Ling glanced at her, troubled for only a moment before dismissing it back into a blissful smile.

"I'm making my guards nervous by standing out here; let's retire inside."

Alphonse bit his tongue and followed Ling into the castle, his eyes flickering to the gardens, the banquet hall, long hallways as they passed them. Where was she?

"Mei left for a brief campaign in the East," Lan Fan whispered to him, leaning back as Ling laughed loudly at his vice-commander.

"I didn't ask," he squeaked, off-guard. Lan Fan managed to smile indulgently before shrugging, sharp eyes catching the hesitance in his stare.

"…When will she be back?"

"The day before the wedding but there's likely something you should know…"

"What?" But Alphonse knew it; the dread pooling in his stomach and spilling to his veins.

"She's engaged."

He should've known.

The imperial princess of Xing did not just wait around for cowardly commoners to make an appearance; especially after so many years. And so it should come to no surprise that Mei was marrying a Lord, as an alliance of pace between the Iron Dragon and Ling's empire.

"You made her agree to an arranged marriage?"

"I did what had to be done," Ling said calmly, folding his arms on his lap. He sat on his throne lazily, eyes roaming over his court in disinterest. However, Al could see the faint curl of his knuckles, the clench in his jaw. Much had changed since the last time he was in Xing.

"You know she wanted the ability to choose her own freedom," he said at last, looking away from Ling's beady stare. Lan Fan paused her conversation with the imperial guard to cock an ear over to the conversation, despite Ling's insistence that he tell Alphonse himself.

"My empire was in tatters. Her freedom wasn't my top concern and it wasn't hers either. Marrying this man was her idea, not mine. She knew that sometimes we must sacrifice for the greater good."

"And yet you get to marry Lan Fan." Alphonse bit his tongue and Ling leaned forward, his carelessness gone.

"I was prepared to live my life without her, Alphonse," he whispered, entirely serious. Chatter continued in the room but Alphonse could only hear the edge in his voice. "The opportunity rose and I took it but I wouldn't have forced Mei to do something that she refused to do."

"So she wanted this."

"It is not about want," Ling sighed, pushing his hair away from his face. Alphonse felt like a fool, watching Ling carefully weave his words in a way he would understand. What would he know of nobility and empires when he had lived his life as both a regular being and a victim of dictatorship? "It is about doing what is necessary. I am sorry you had to find out this way; Mei will likely kill me when she hears she didn't get to tell you herself."

~~

"You seem stressed." Lan Fan smiled thinly as Alphonse pulled up behind her in the training ground, watching her snap on her gloves like a second skin. She seemed much more comfortable here than outside; the rough leather making up for the gaps in her conversation skills. She didn't need to know how to speak when she was punching someone in the throat.

"The wedding is in a few days and we've barely escaped a civil war," she said, glancing over as he took off his vest and hung it on a hook reserved for horse saddles. "I have plenty of reason to stress."

"But it's not why you look like you're about to cut someone's throat off," he unbuttoned his sleeves and rolled up his shirt; it had been awhile since he has worn his Amestrian clothes but his previous room had been untouched since his disappearance so long ago. She smiled and the sight was so familiar, so achingly normal that it made his heart swell. His friends were safe; damaged and worn for the wear, but alive and breathing.
It was all he wanted and all he thought about in his travels, no matter how many miles he put between himself and Xing.

He watched her glance at the guard that stood near the back, watching them through half-lidded eyes.
"Leave us," she said and before he could hesitate, she pinned him with a glare that froze even Alphonse to stand straight.

"They never leave me alone," she growled. "I'm the head of the imperial guard and yet they're guarding me!"

"Well, you will be Empress soon," he said, weaving his words carefully. However, his sentence did nothing more than tighten the tension in her shoulders.

"You were almost killed; it makes sense Ling would be cautious in making sure you're safe," he tried again.

"It was months ago and it wasn't like I was attacked; having an extra pair of hands won't prevent me from dying of poison." But he knew from experience, from the panic and pain on Ling's face the day her arm was ripped from its socket by her own blade, that he would make sure she was never hurt again. Naturally, he had failed. Alphonse did not fault him for keeping her in a bubble; but in all the ways Lan Fan was like Ed, this was one of them.

"Someone else will be assigned as his imperial guard and I will spend my afternoons steeping tea for foreign princesses, smiling and pretending I care about what they're talking about," she stuffed the dummy full of hay, rough fingers working the worn ropes into place.

"I will stand by his side in name only; forced to wait here in this palace while he travels. Who else can keep him safe aside from me?" Alphonse swallowed his protests because he knew they'd be of no consequence. Lan Fan had clearly been thinking about this for weeks before she decided to spread it out on the table in front of him, fists clenching in frustration.

"A blade could slice his throat and I would not know until days after," her voice had dropped to a whisper, staring at her calloused hands. "And it would be because I was not there to help him despite the fact I pledged my life to him."

"You'd still be his."

"No, I'd be Xing's."

They fell into silence; the only sound the slam of Lan Fan's foot against the side of the practice post.

chapter two soon! advanced thank you for any favorites, follows, or reviews :)