"Do you think this smells good enough for him to notice?" The Xingese princess asked her panda sister, who shook her head furiously right after smelling it. They have been in the perfume store for almost an hour and Mei still can't find the right perfume to wear. Why did she need it, you were asking?
Tommorow, Alphonse will be arriving to Xing and staying there for a maximum of 2 years. Mei was pretty excited since she had a massive crush on the man. The last time she saw him was in Promised Day when they got their bodies back, but they did write to each other almost every day to know what was happening in Amestris and Xing. The princess wanted Al to notice her and be attracted to her, the problem was, she didn't know which fragrance to choose.
"How about peach and lullabies? It smells great" Mei let her panda sister, she sighed as she got the same response from the last ones. She groaned.
"Why am I even letting a panda like you to decide?!" Mei half shouted, trying not to disturb the other customers. An older saleslady saw her and decided to walk to her.
"Hello princess, is there something specific that you need to find?" Mei looked at the woman and smiled.
"Yes, there is actually. You see, there's a guy who I haven't seen in such a long time, and I really wanted to look presentable. I just can't find the right scent" Mei lied, she couldn't just tell her that she was trying to find a scent that would attract men!
The old woman's eyes narrowed, Mei gulped and held her breath. The woman then started laughing
"You don't have to hide it, princess. I know you're here to find a perfume that would attract that man."
Mei looked at the saleslady in shock, she felt heat rise up on her face as she stuttered. "W-what?! No! That's absolutely ridiculous! Me, trying to attract men? Ridiculous!" Mei laughed awkwardly, in the corner of her eye she saw Xiao Mei facepalm but ignored it.
"Alright princess, I think I know the right one for you. The one I will be showing you isn't really in stores anymore, but this store has tons of reserved. I shall be right back princess" As the lady left, Mei glanced at Xiao Mei to see her laughing. Mei frowned and picked her sister up.
"Why are you laughing?" Xiao Mei squealed
"It's because you looked absolutely ridiculous"
"I know I looked ridiculous, but don't bully me for it or else I'll throw you down a river" Xiao Mei gasped and crossed her arms.
"Panda abuse"
By the time they finished their little quarrel, the lady was back with a bottled scent. "This was the only one I was allowed to give, as I said, preserved"
Mei smelled the fragrance, it was a sweet strawberry with Sakura blossoms. She rubbed some on her hand and let Xiao Mei smell them. Suprisingly, she nodded.
"Great! So how much is this?"
"No need to pay, princess. The emperor knew you were coming here and told us not to accept payment, I'm sorry but we have to follow him." Mei nodded and smiled
"Alright, thank you!" The woman gave her the scent and waved when they walked away.
The next day, Al along with Jerzo and Zampano arrived at the castle. Mei was wearing the scent and on her way to the front of the castle she got at least 10 compliments. As a carriage neared the castle, Mei gulped knowing it was them.
Al was excited to see Mei, he hadn't seen her since he and his brother got his body back. When he saw a short girl with black long hair waiting for something, he immediately knew it was Mei.
"Oh look, it's lover girl" Jerzo joked as he noticed Al staring at her with googly eyes. Zampano laughed and Al sighed.
"She isn't like that!"
When they reached the front, Al got off and hugged Mei. "Long time, no see huh?"
"Yeah, come, I'll take you to the emperor" Mei winked and walked to the main thrown, Al and the two chimeras behind.
I hope he notices the scent. Mei said in her thoughts. And I hope it doesn't work on Mr. Zampano and Mr. Jerzo.
When they reached the thrown room, Ling was seated on the main chair with Lan Fan beside him.
Ling looked at the guards. "You may leave us alone" All guards left and soon, it was only the six. Ling cheered and jumped out of his thrown.
He jumped at Al. "Oh how great it is to see you, Al! It's been so boring to sit in a thrown acting like royalty, I just want to spend time with my friends!"
Al laughed. "Well, it's great to see you too"
For the rest of the day, Al never spoke about Mei's scent and she was getting worried and impatient. Soon, it was time to go to their perspective bedrooms and Mei gave up. It was only Al and Mei who were left when they separated.
"I guess I'll just go " Mei said sadly
"Wait" Al said, grabbing her hand. Mei was shocked, what was he gonna say?
"That scent you're wearing, it's Sweet Sakura Strawberry isn't it?" Mei looked at him shocked, then nodded.
Al smiled at her. "That was my mom's favorite scent, she always wore it everyday"
Al neared her and hugged her, inhaling more of the scent. "Thanks for letting me remember it, keep wearing it everyday." He kissed her on the head before saying good night. All that Mei could do was daydream and process everything that happened. She then touched the spot he kissed her.
"So it did work"
