~ My Silver Lining ~
She wasn't the Elric's long lost sister or Roy Mustang's beautiful daughter, or even an Alchemist.
She wasn't a cliche in a story full of happy romance and tied up endings. Her face wasn't beautiful in a way that caught attention, her body was one meant for survival.
She was a worn-torn Ishavlan girl with PTSD who had to carry on best she could.
This story isn't just about this one girl, the stories of others are changed as she brings forth the past. The stories of those around her are opened, the pages of their past re-visited and deeply felt.
The connections she makes are not always good, there is hatred woven deep within the Ishvalan girl who had lost all she every wanted - People that stayed by her side.
All she wanted was family and revenge but the day Greed orders a small group of Chimeras to find Alphonse Elric and bring him back to Devil's Nest she gets more than she ever expected.
"NO! PLEASE NO! WAKE UP! MAMA! PAPA! OH GOD NO! YOU CAN'T – I NEED YOU! I HAVE NO-ONE LEFT! I DON'T WANT TO DIE ALONE!"
The small Ishvalan child screamed, her voice hoarse and her throat tasting of blood. She opened her eyes, hot tears running down her face like a never-ending waterfall she'd once read about in a book she had found in the wreckage of a town. The child moved her red eyes to stare at her legs and cried the louder when she only saw blood and bone – her legs, they were gone. The right half of her face burnt more so then the left, her right eye felt as if someone was burning the liquid from inside it.
"I don't want to die." She murmured hopelessly, pain filled her voice – it filled every sense she had.
The child reached down to pat her dress, searching for something in the pocket. A small silver lighter dropped to the ground with a small 'clink'. A salamander adorned the lighter, the carving was beautiful and obviously hand drawn there. She had received it from a soldier on the battlefield, the Ishvalan had run away from her parents after hearing cries form her people, she ran in fear and bumped into a rather handsome, broken type of man. He sat with her in secret for possibly only three minutes, he stroked her hair timidly. His hand shook as if he thought he was going to hurt the child from simply touching her. He let the child fiddle with the lighter, she was fascinated by the carving and the feel of the silver. The girl had heard her parent's screams for her – see this little girl had enhanced senses, curtesy of living and hiding underground with no light – and she had run to them, still clutching the lighter in her small palms.
Once the girl had finally gotten hold of the lighter with steady hands she flicked the side of it and a flame appeared. She struggled to sit forward but once she had a clear few of her legs – well, the stumps where her legs were – she brought the flame to them and tried to burn the wounds shut. She screamed and cried, the taste of iron in the mouth became overwhelming and she vomited on the ground beside her. But soon enough, despite the pain, the stumps had been burnt shut. Her body dropped to the ground, her breathe shallow and eyes heavy. Before black covered her vision, the child took once last glance at the destroyed bodies of her parents.
"Fuck! Martel, come here!"
"What is it Docletto!? We're trying to get out of this fucking country and you – "
"Shut up for one second! It's a little kid! Come here!"
"Jesus Christ…."
"She's alive!"
"Roa help me bandage up those stumps, I'll use my shirt."
"What about her face? Her eye – Fuck, it's gone and that whole half of her face is probably infected."
"Martel…"
"We'll wrap my jacket around the stumps, it'll be softer on the wounds. And we'll use your shirt to bandage up her face, it'll be lighter."
"Right!"
"Good boy! Wanna treat?"
"JUST HELP ME SAVE THIS RUNT!"
The small girl slowly opened her eyes – well eye – her right eye stung, and she was having trouble seeing with her left but she could clearly make out the desert.
"Docletto, she's awake." She head a gruff male voice announce.
"Uh? She is? Hey kid, you alright?" The second voice sounded closer, it startled the child and she whipped her head to look around, her body became alert and her senses quickly began to work.
She was being carried by some shirtless man who was grinning down at her with a dog-like smile, her eyes widened and she tried to scramble out of his grasp.
"You scared her you idiot!" A woman yelled.
"I didn't mean to!"
"I can't believe she can move like that." The first male voice said.
"Yeah, you'd think with her injuries she'd be out for months – maybe years." The female voice agreed.
Injuries?
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH" The child yelled, she groaned in pain and flopped back into the dog man's arms.
Docletto was trying to stop himself from snickering as Martel and Roa stared at the child.
"My family – "
"I'm sorry kid." The man holding her gripped her tighter, only slightly but enough for her to notice.
"I really do have no-one."
"We can be your family!" The dog-man announced suddenly.
"Stop yelling!" The woman scolded. She turned to look down at the Ishvalan and a soft look came over her features. "You see, as it happens us three don't have anyone either. We'll be your family, if you'll be ours."
"Who are you?"
"My name's Martel, the big idiot carrying you is Docletto and that big guy over there, is Roa. Who are you sweetie?"
"I am – My name is – I do not – I do not recall."
"That's alright," Martel comforted. The child was so young, too young. She looked around 9 or 10 and although all children had perfect grasp of their names by the time they were 2 this child clearly had no recollection of it. Perhaps her brain had taken a hit due to the war? Or maybe her parents never told her? Or maybe, just maybe, she really had just forgotten.
"For now," Martel began. "Until you remember, your name will be 'Tauriel'. Is that alright?"
Docletto and Roa had stopped walking, they'd never seen Martel this soft before, this open to feeling.
"I like it." Tauriel whispered, her voice had finally given out and her eyes finally shut. She wasn't content but she wasn't dead…She wasn't old enough to question whether that was a good thing or not.
"Martel, I –"
"KEEP WALKING!"
"OKAY!" "OKAY!"
"OH AND IF YOU DROP TAURIEL I'LL KILL YOU!"
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH"
"Hey kid, you alright?"
"I'm 16, I'm not a 'kid' anymore. Just because you're an old fart – "
"I AM NOT YOU BRAT!"
"OH GO PISS ON A BUSH YOU MUT!"
"I DID THAT ONCE! ONCE!"
"You both are such children."
"HEY!" "HEY!"
"She's ~riiiiight~!"
"Bido I swear to God."
Laughter filtered through the room.
"Tauriel I'm sorry!" Bido chuckled as he looked at the young woman sitting on a crate.
A cigarette hung from her lips as she stared at Bido with mock distain before her face split into a wide grin.
"Oh I could never stay mad at you!"
"I knew it!"
Bido and Tauriel ran towards each other and hugged, rubbing their faces together in affection.
"How come you're never that cute with me?" Docletto asked with his arms crossed.
"What have you done for me?"
"I CARRIED YOU FOR MONTHS IN MY ARMS! YOU KICKED ME IN THE FACE AND I DIDN'T DROP YOU!"
"Oh yeah." Tauriel deadpanned.
Martel laughed as Docletto stared at Tauriel is shock, his jaw dropped and his eye twitched as Tauriel went back to hugging Bido.
"Glad to see you're all having fun." A strong, laid-back voice chuckled.
"Greed!" Tauriel exclaimed. A smile spread over her face.
"You all ready to get me my immortality?"
"You mean kidnap a stranger because you THINK it'll be the secret to immortality." Tauriel grinned.
Greed waved his hand.
"Details, details." A toothy grin shined. "I'll be waiting for you return."
Roa, Martel, Docletto and Tauriel all nodded.
They owed their lives to Greed, they'd do anything for him.
"Well, well what do we have here?"
Docletto stared at the man who stood in front of them. The man looked about in his mid-forties, handsome but cunning. A furry neck vest, along with a tight shirt and tight pants showed off the muscles that adorned his body – the group readied themselves for whatever was to come as Tauriel stared at the man in curiosity, her head tilted to the side studying him with her left eye.
"You all look oddly suspicious." The man laughed a little.
And they did.
A beautiful, scary looking woman, a short man carrying a sword and a large, muscle man who looked like he could murder six people. The short man, Greed noticed, was pushing a small girl in a wheelchair. The child looked around 10, maybe younger but Greed didn't care. She was dressed in miss-matched clothes with a light blue blanket covering her legs, and a bandage – Greed could see – covering her right eye and half of her face. A black beanie shielded her hair and sun-glasses covered her eyes.
"You can try and fight us." Docletto laughed. "But you won't win."
Greed cackled. "Oh, really now?"
Docletto sent a toothy grin the man's way. "We've got skills you'd never win against."
An intrigued expression filtered onto Greed's face. "Oh please do tell me."
"Chimeras." Greed whistled.
They sat in a bar, an old run-down bar in Dublith.
"And what can she do?" Greed pointed to Tauriel.
"She's smart as hell." Docletto answered. He tightened his fist, Greed noticed, he was ready to attack.
Greed hummed and looked away from the child.
"If you give me some legs, I can show you what I can do." Tauriel stated. A small smile tweaked at her lips. She didn't look at Greed, her head was facing forwards.
"Where did you find this one?" Greed grinned.
Tauriel slipped off her sunglasses, her red left eye finally stared at Greed. "Ishval." She answered. "My legs are probably still there."
Greed laughed, he covered his mouth as he stood up to kneel in front of the small Ishvalan child. He pulled the blue blanket off her lap, bandages wrapped tightly around the stumps where her legs should be. He looked up and was fascinated by the grin Tauriel sent his way.
"Pretty cool, right?"
Greed stood back up, patted his knees down and grinned at the three former Amestrian soldiers. "Let's go get this girl some legs."
"And an eye." Roa added. "Her right eye was completely melted when we found her."
Greed payed for Tauriel's Automail legs and glass eye. He wanted to test the girl's ability as soon as possible so after the Automail had been attached, he took the girl to his apartment and dropped only a small sliver of his Philosopher Stone into the girl's blood running down to her legs. Greed held out a hand and told her to stand. Tauriel gripped the side of her wheelchair and pushed herself forwards onto her new legs, she felt no pain and she cried. She cried hard and hoarse. It seemed she had cried nearly every day since she was taken from Ishavl. There was a time when Tauriel liked to have thought she was strong.
"You'll need to stop doing that." Greed advised. "Crying, I mean."
The sobbing subsided as Tauriel's eyes locked with Greed's. One red iris and one silver, Automail orb.
"Okay."
Greed took control of Devil's Nest, he made his men refurnish it and he grinned as he watched his hide-out being made.
They soon found more Chimeras, Bido joined them.
It wasn't the family Tauriel had when she was younger. Her mother cried all the time and her father did all he could to save his family, even if it meant forsakening the rest of the Ishvalan people. She didn't remember a time when they were happy, when her family said her name with happiness. She doesn't remember a time her mother and father said her name at all.
The Devil's Nest gang were her family, she decided.
They were fucked up, broken, crazy, alcoholic, mercenaries who didn't care for people outside their own circle.
(Okay maybe they weren't that different from the family she had when she was younger).
"That's him?" Docletto asked as they stood atop a tall building in Dublith.
"Yes," Tauriel drawled. "How many giant suits of armour do you see on a daily basis?"
"Sarcastic little bitch." Docletto muttered.
"Will you two quit it?" Martel groaned.
"We do have mission to accomplish." Roa added.
"Kid here will slow us down." Docletto nodded to Tauriel.
"Oh really? Okay, I'll let you handle the suit of armour. And when you fuck up, I'll swoop in and save the day."
"YOU WANNA BET!?"
"I WANNA BET!"
"I'll cut both of you if you don't shut up." Martel threatened.
Tauriel stood up and kicked Docletto off the roof, she waved him off as he hit the ground.
"Go be a good Dog and do as you're told." Tauriel shouted down to him.
"You'll have to buy me a drink when I get this guy you runt!" Docletto promised before he run off.
Roa and Martel followed as Tauriel jumped from building to building, keeping an eye on the trio.
"How did I know?"
Martel and Roa stood up with matching grins as Tauriel walked in the mess of fighting.
"Sit down Dog-boy and let me handle this."
Docletto huffed but jumped away from the armour.
Roa, Martel and Docletto hadn't been able to get close to the armour. He'd cut them off by this Alchemic attacks. Tauriel had been excited when she'd seen the Alchemy.
This guy had no idea what was coming.
Tauriel ran towards Alphonse Elric. He threw Alchemic attack, after Alchemic attack at the girl who only looked about Ed's age but she dodged them all. Al gasped as she did. It was if she sensed where the attacks were going to go, she jumped off them, away from them, kicked them and broke them into pieces. She jumped at Al and kicked him in the chest pushing him down on the ground.
"Martel! Do your thing!" Tauriel laughed.
Within a second Al couldn't move. That Martel woman had complete control over him.
'But how!? That girl – how did she know where my attacks were going to be? She defeated me without breaking a sweat - !"
Tauriel strode over to where Al's helmet had landed, she picked it up and stared at it with an emotionless expression. Al was surprised when she put the helmet atop her beanie covered head.
"Hey Dol, how cool does this looks?"
"CAN YOU BE SERIOUS FOR ONE SECOND?!"
*First chapter of my very first fanfic!
I hope you guys like Tauriel, I'm very proud of her as a character and her upcoming development (I've written a few chapters so far).
Tell me what you like! What you hate!
Thank you xoxox*