Chapter one: waiting.
Alexia absently traced her slim, tapered fingers across the back of her glove. It was already three minutes past the appointed time. It was like she had been sent here for nothing. She leaned back into the plush, red fabric chair. The room was relatively large. Or at least, it was larger than anything she was used to. It had whitewashed walls, and dark wooden furniture. The rug sat in the middle of the floor, and was the same deep red as the chairs and curtains. Alexia was the only occupant, the slight girl sprawled in an armchair, seemingly lost in it.
She was waiting for the results from her alchemy exam. The exam which would give her the state certification she had always striven for. She had thought she'd done well. She had completed every constructional matrix laid out in front of her, created everything they had asked of her, and shown off her own unique brand of alchemy. She called it glass alchemy. Most alchemists transmuted stone or metal during combat, as its weight and strength served well in that role. Transmuting glass, Alexia had discovered, had its own advantages. She had explained these to the examiners, along with a few demonstrations. Firstly it was fast. Using her patterned alchemical gloves she was able to launch glassine missiles at an incredible rate, or create walls of gleaming glass blades too quickly to dodge, or easily counter with other alchemy. In addition, she had learned to create glass bombs a year back. She did this by transmuting the glass with a hard, thin outer shell, but a semiliquid core. This combination created enormous internal pressure within the bomb, meaning any breaks in the shell would cause it to burst, spraying glass shards everywhere. She had come up with the idea after dripping molten glass into a pool of water. The glass became exceptionally strong, but any damage would cause the glass to explode into shards.
She leaned forwards, elbows on knees and hands clasped together in front of her face. She had to have passed. She had worked for too long, and lost too much to fail now.
She had taken an interest, well, more of an obsession, with alchemy about seven years ago. The day she had felt her soul ripped from her body and dragged, howling and wailing, across the entire country to be sucked into that whirling vortex of despair. Anything with that much power was a force to be reckoned with. A science worth studying.
She had devoted her life to the art of alchemy, as much as her parents had disapproved. She spent every spare hour poring over books of alchemy, or practicing in the back garden. Eventually she started experimenting with her own circles, creating her very own circles and formulae. They hadn't always worked properly, but some of them had been real successes. Her glass alchemy was a prime example.
She ran her fingers across the raised stitching on the back of her gloves. The pattern had a circle, with a series of fractal lines that moved towards the centre. Around the circumference were a series of symbols for heat, and deconstruction. All the necessary ingredients to turn most solid substances to glass.
She stood up and straightened her shirt, tugging the material down by the hem. She bit her lip and started pacing back and forth slowly. What was taking them so long?
She laced her fingers into her red-brown hair. An old habit she had apparently started when she was just a girl. Her parents had always trashed her about it. Right up until she started studying alchemy. They hadn't understood. In their minds, alchemy was evil. Alchemy had destroyed ishval. Alchemy had nearly killed everyone in emestris seven years ago. Alexia had tried to explain. She had told them that the government had changed, that state alchemists had changed. That she wouldn't fall into the same trap. They hadn't cared. They had tried to burn her alchemy books, and destroy her transmutation gloves. When she had confronted them her mother broke down in tears, and her father called her a monster for putting her mother through the pain. Alexia had laughed at them, incredulous. What would they have suggested she do? Stay in grotty old creektown? Marry a shopkeeper and waste her life and talents on raising a brood of children? Please. She had collected her belongings and left, staying in west city and earning a living as an alchemist for hire.
The door opened, and a young, brown haired military officer stepped inside the room, holding a large, ornate envelope. Alexia spun on her heel and stared at the letter with hopeful eyes. The soldier walked over and handed her the letter, then withdrew an item from his pocket. He handed that to her next, laying the small object in her hand.
It was a silver pocket watch. It had the state alchemist seal on the front, and was made of toughened steel, plated with silver.
She closed her fist around it possessively. She had done it.
The soldier cleared his throat.
"The envelope in your hand contains your official letter of appointment as state alchemist, and the silver pocket watch will serve as ID."
He handed her another pair of envelopes.
"Tomorrow morning you will report to the office of lieutenant colonel Sebastian Carter, and give him the larger envelope, with the wax seal. Do not open that envelope, breaking the seal will be punished. The smaller envelope details the location of his office, and the nature of your appointment."
He saluted her, then left the room, closing the door smartly as he left.
Alexia counted to three, waiting till he was out of earshot.
"YES!" She shouted, jumping slightly off the ground as she pumped her fist in triumph.
She looked triumphantly at the envelopes and pocket watch in her hands. These were the symbols of her new office, and the gateway to a whole new realm of alchemy and alchemists. She couldn't wait.
She stuffed the envelopes on her bag and slung it over one shoulder. Then, she clipped the chain of the pocket watch to her lapel, and put the watch itself in her breast pocket, letting the chain hang conspicuously across her jacket front.
She smiled elatedly. She was a state alchemist.
Ten minutes later she was strolling through the streets of west city, gloved hands in pockets. Her apartment was just around the corner, secreted in a pretty nice area, if she did say so herself. The buildings were tall, but well ornamented, and each block had a pleasant ornamental garden in front. She stepped from the street onto the path to the doorway. A sign next to the door read: 363c Argentum street. Alexia had found out later that it actually meant silver street. Weird. She pushed through the heavy oak doors, stepping into the pleasant interior of the apartment building. The lobby was carpeted in a deep blue, trimmed with gold. The walls were paneled with dark wood, about a foot high, the wall above was whitewashed, as was the ceiling. She looked around, then ascended the stairs towards her own apartment.
She ascended the two familiar flights of stairs, making sure to step over the rickety third step on the second flight. The stairs were the same dark, varnished wood as the rest of the decor, as was the carved banister.
She reacher her room, and quietly let herself in, closing the door firmly behind herself. She put down her bag and walked over to the window, closing the curtains. She glanced around once more.
Her apartment was spacious, and well appointed. Her work as a freelance alchemist had made her quite a bit of money, although it was half what she would now earn in the employ of the military. Her furniture was functional, and had an elegant simplicity she found appealing. She had made most of it herself, out of specially toughened glass she had made to be as hard as iron. It was amazing how strong you could make glass, once you started experimenting. She pulled off her transmuting gloves and laid them on her glass topped table. Next she withdrew her pocket watch, inspecting its surface critically. It was brand new, and bore the symbol of the state alchemists on its burnished silver face. Other than that it was remarkably simple in design. She popped open the cover and inspected the clock face. It was simple, and practical. It had an enameled white face with black Roman numerals around the circumference. The hands were stylized arrows, and made of ornately crafted steel. The whole face was covered in a clear glass bubble to protect it. The inside of the lid was electroplated in silver, and polished to such a sheen that she could see her own face in it.
Her face was pale skinned, with finely crafted, delicate features. Her dark red hair hung either side of her face in straight, even locks that pooled on her shoulders. Her eyes were a dramatic sapphire common to emestris. She stood about five feet and six inches tall, and had a slim, athletic frame.
She snapped the pocket watch closed and stretched. The exam had really beat her up. After she had told the examiners that she was a combat specialist, they'd had her demonstrate her fighting style to them, as well as how she used her alchemy when fighting. That had clearly been impressed with her work, judging by the pocket watch in her hand.
She locked her front door and wandered over to her cupboard, inspecting the contents with a cursory glance.
Damn.
She really needed to go shopping.
There was almost nothing left. A loaf of bread, some apples, butter, raspberry jam, and a part of the apple pie she had eaten most of yesterday. Fine. That was dinner. She withdrew the whole lot and dumped it on the glass counter of her kitchen. She rolled her shoulders and popped her neck from side to side. She set to work quickly, slicing hunks off the bread and lathering them with butter and jam. She added several of these to a plate, along with a sliced Apple and a slice of apple pie.
So many apples. Ugh.
Alexia sat down on her sofa, plate in her lap.
Even with all her money, she still ended up eating crap food most days. Guess she wasn't much of a cook, huh. She leaned back, and closed her eyes, breathing in deeply through her nose. It felt so strange. She had been building up to this for so long, trying as hard as she could to become a state alchemist. It felt amazing to have the watch in her pocket. Still, it was unusual to be assigned to a superior officer right away, most alchemists weren't treated like this at all. Lucky her?
She opened the small envelope with the details of her new commander.
Sebastian carter. The smoke alchemist. His picture was of a young man, perhaps twenty five, with medium length brown hair and hazel eyes. He was a detective with the military police. Odd. She hadn't pictured herself the police type. She closed and sealed the envelope, then withdrew her own letter of appointment. It was a stuffy, ornate looking document, with a wax seal and handwritten ink on the front, addressed to her. She broke the seal and opened the envelope reverently. The paper inside was just as high quality, and had a decorative border around it.
She read down the page, a smile dancing across her lips. She found her title about halfway down. The glass alchemist. She leaned back, chewing her lip. She liked it. Simple, memorable, not too pretentious or flashy. She set the certification on her coffee table carefully. She'd transmute a frame for it later.
The glass alchemist.
Oh yeah, she could live with that.