"Edward Elric. You are hereby sentenced to execution at dawn on charges of deception and treachery against the State."
The judge's hammer fell with a resounding thud and an irritated buzz rose about the court room. A young, twenty year old male stood proudly amidst it all, his mismatched hands bound before him. His golden blond hair was restrained in a pony tail, his bangs falling about his handsome face. Burning, honey-gold eyes flashed like miniature suns when they tugged him off the podium. A steel arm and leg glinted as he stumbled, giving those present another reason to hate him.
There was only one who wasn't cry out in anger, cursing the man and his country. She just stood there, hands clasped, face blank. Her brown hair was visible under a gauzy shawl, her eyes like sorrowful pools of chocolate. The skin on her left arm was lighter than the rest, unnoticed under the shawl.
Gold met brown as the man looked up at the woman, their eyes meeting only briefly.
"Get moving," demanded the guard, prodding the man in the back. He stepped forward, striding confidently from the court.
How did they find me? How did they figure out that I was the spy? I thought I covered our tracks. No one could've figured it out, he thought as he sat in his cell.
The clank of keys and quiet footsteps reached his ears from down the hall, and he braced himself for another assault. They had attempted to beat him after the trial, but made the mistake of removing his bonds. It was just too bad that the cells were alchemy proof.
A new guard stood in the doorway, a woman behind him. The woman from before. His fellow spy. His lover.
The cell door shuddered open on rusted hinges, the guard stepping aside to allow the woman in. He closed and locked the door behind her, retreating down the hall. He would be listening.
They stood facing each other for a moment, before he nodded. They had planned for this. She knew what to do.
"Edward," she said quietly, slipping into her role.
"Kira," he responded.
She snarled deep in her throat, smacking him across the face. "How could you!? How could you betray us like that!?" She sounded hysterical, but her hands were calm as she flicked out a message. Sign language. How are we going to get you out of here? What's it looking like?
"I had no choice," he said as his hands moved rapidly. Too many guards. Four at each door, two assigned to each hallway. Too many for you to handle.
"You always have a choice!" she sobbed. I could take them.
"This time, I had to do the right thing." Not fourteen armed guards at once. I'm not sure escape is possible.
"The right thing!? You betrayed all of us!" Don't talk like that. I promised myself that we'd both make it out of this alive. There are still options. I'll get you out.
"I'm sorry that's what you think." Their act was coming to a close. If I don't make it -
Kira placed her hands on his, shaking her head. The tears that stained her cheeks glistened, a product of true sorrow, not just the act. "You're horrible! You traitor! I hate you!!" I love you. Oh God, I love you. I'll get you out. We'll make it. I promise.
"Kira....Kira please..." He stepped forward, pulling tightly to him. "I love you," he whispered.
A quiet sob shook her body and she clung desperately to him momentarily. Then she roughly pushed him away. "Get away from me! Help! Someone! The traitor! Help!"
She was wrenched from the cell, away from him, almost instantaneously. A rough looking guard filled Edward's view, blocking his love from sight. A swift kick to his abdomen had him doubled over, collapsing against the back wall.
"Keep you filthy hands off our woman, you traitorous scum," the boulder of a man growled. The cell door slammed shut with a loud, protesting shriek.
"Are you alright?" another guard asked, helping the bereft woman to her feet.
Kira hastily adjusted her clothing, dusting herself off and dabbing at her water eyes. "Y-yes. Thank you for saving me."
He smiled softly at her, and Edward felt his gut twist in anger.
Kira turned on her heel, almost running from the dungeon. The guards watched her flee, before tuning their hatred-fulled gazes on their prisoner.
"You're the worst kind of scum there is," the burly one spat. "A traitor and a heart breaker."
Then they left him there, curled in a ball on the dirty cell floor, unseen tears sliding down his face.
A mob stood at the door of her home, demanding her presence. They were angry, suspicious. If her lover was a spy, she could be one too! Why didn't anyone do anything about it? It was so obvious! They had to be partners!
"Why do you accuse me of such trespasses?" the sad woman asked. "Have I not suffered enough this day?"
"You lying bitch!" one man shouted. "You loved him!"
"I did," Kira responded, "but he betrayed me and my country. I can never forgive him for what he's done. I hate him."
Such passion was in her voice, such deep rooted loathing, that the crowds were silenced and parted for her as she moved into her home. Within minutes, they had dispersed, not a trace of them left. Kira sunk to her knees just inside the doorway, her mouth open in a wordless cry of anguish. The tears rushed down her face in an endless torrent, miniature waterfalls cascading over her tanned cheeks. "Oh Edward...Edward, my beloved, I'm so sorry..." she sobbed, burying her face in mismatched hands. "I love you. I'll save you, or I'll die trying. I promise. I love you."
As the long hours of the night inched towards a close. Edward found his thoughts turning to his beautiful brunette. He missed her dearly, and regretted that he would not be able to keep his promise to her. He missed the touch of her fingers as they trailed over his skin, the feeling of her calloused hands as they ran though his hair, her slick, sweaty body moving against him, her bitting, nipping, loving kisses that set his heart and body singing to her tune. Oh, how he longed for her! She was his drug, his life, his missing half. He wanted to hold her, touch her, tell her how much he loved her.
The sun peaked over the horizon, its bright rays filtering through the tiny window of the cell. It painted a small square of the grimy wall gold, as though to symbolize some small hope that the blond alchemist still held in his heart.
"I'm sorry love," he whispered. "I guess we won't be getting married after all."
The tramp of booted feet rang through the hallway. Death had come for him.
The small execution ground was crowded. Angry shouts and insults flew through the air, directed at the blond alchemist on the podium. He stood impassively, his hands bound before him to prevent his use of alchemy. The executioner sharpened his blade. Edward was to be decapitated.
"We found his cohort! He had a partner!"
The shout riled the crowd, but they parted for the armed civilian and his captive all the same.
Brown met gold and Edward felt the blood drain from his face. Kira stumbled up the podium stairs, shoved up them by her captor. Her left hand was missing, torn wires and circuits dangling from the severed end. Her right hand was bleeding from a gash that interrupted the transmutation circle she had tattooed there.
"Kira," he called mournfully.
She raised her eyes to his, her gaze aggressive and determined. She intended to fight.
"This wench is his partner!"
"Who is she?!" the crowd called.
She wasn't surprised that eh people didn't recognize her. Her auto-mail was displayed for all to see, arm and legs both. Her hair was drawn back in a pony tail, where she had worn it down before. To them, she was a feral beast, and improper woman in men's clothing.
"Do you not see it? It is his woman!" the captor exclaimed.
"No!"
"Not Ms. Silverland!She is such a good girl!"
The protests continued, until the man hauled her to her feet. Edward snarled, struggling against the men that held him back.
"Get your filthy hands off her!"
Edward's warning went unheeded and Kira's captor ripped the hair tie from its position. Brown tresses fell in a flurry about her face, and an audible gasp went up from those present.
"It can't be!"
"You bitch! How could you!? Traitor!"
Kira stood tall against the stinging insults, a mirror of her blond partner's previous position.
"Thy are traitorous alchemists! Spies from Amistrice! They must not be allowed to live!"
"Get the information from her first!" another shouted from the crowd.
"Like I'd give you anything," she spat vehemently. "Besides, it's too late. The report is already on its way."
"You slut!" her captor cried, swinging his fist at her face. She dodged with easy grace, sweeping his legs out from underneath him. She then faced the advancing guards, taking them down with a few swift kicks. She found herself beside Edward, who had gotten his hands on a blade and began sawing at his lover's bonds.
"You're an idiot," he growled, freeing her hands.
"I love you too," she replied, starting on his bonds.
"Stop!" another guard contingent had arrived, cutting of the pair's escape route.
"Not gonna happen," Kira hissed.
The leader of the contingent smirked, causing Kira to frown. "What's so - ?"
"Kira..." Edward's strangled gasp reached her sensitive ears and she whirled, her heart shattering in her chest.
Edward stood, golden eyes wide, mouth agape. A glinting blade poked out of his chest, staining everything around it red.
"NO!!" she cried, catching her beloved's body as it fell from the bade. "Ed! Edward! Answer me, damn it! Please!"
"I love you...Kira..." he whispered weakly. He gently caressed her wet cheek, attempting to wipe away her tears. She grasped his hand with her own, pressing it to her face. The tears rolled down her cheeks and over their fingers, painting them with her sorrow.
"Don't leave me Ed. Please...please, I need you. I love you. I love you," she sobbed.
Her lover smiled weakly, his body failing. Within moments, he was gone.
"Edward...Ed...no...God no! Please! Edward!" She howled in anguish, clutching his corpse to her breast. All was silent as she mourned, her sobs reverberating off the walls of the execution ground.
"Take her into custody," the leader muttered.
"But sir-"
"Do it!"
The guards tentatively moved forward, approaching the mourning woman. She snarled at their approach, snatching up the nearest blade.
"You will not touch him!" she barked.
They wavered, wary of the distraught brunette. Her brown eyes were wild, her teeth bared at her attackers, the sword dancing in her hand, As they watched, some calm seemed to possess her and she slowly nodded.
"Yes. Yes, love. I'm coming. I know you don't want me too, but I can't stay here without you. Alright, I'll let them go. Fine. I'll see you soon," she muttered. No one could figure out who she was talking to. All they could do was watch as she turned the blade on herself.
"Stop her! She could have valuable information! We need her alive!"
A fountain of red burst forth from her throat, a satisfied smile on her features. Her body collapsed over her lover's, their blood intermingling.
For many years, no one could forget "Death's Embrace", as they called it. When Kira had fallen, her body had landed in such a manner that she and Edward appeared to be embracing. The image had been grotesque, that much was certain, but it had conveyed pure and simple love, that those present couldn't help but be moved
Many speculated on who she had spoken those final words to. Most believed that she had just lost her mind, that the blond's death had driven her mad. A minority believed it was the spirit of the man, who stayed just to save her from herself. No one knows.
But, every one remembered their deaths, and passed the story on to the new generations. Their love had transcended death and the ages. And, for Kira and Edward, all was as it should be.