A/N: Hi. This is my first attempt at a Royai, so I decided to do the Royai 100. This is the prologue, the chapters will subsequently be put in arcs.
theme 010- promise
word count- 816
The Ishbal war of extermination is where it all went wrong.
Mustang had to give up his naïve ideals of being a soldier.
Hawkeye gave up her innocence, tainted by the blood she spilled.
They never were the same again.
They wanted to change the country for the better.
He would see to it. She would see to it too. Through him.
This was the basis of their professional relationship; a loyal subordinate following her superior for he had a worthy dream; his ambition was hers. He wanted to become the Fuhrer and change the country. She wanted him to become the Fuhrer and change the country through him.
Their private relations were of a much different nature. She entrusted her father's biggest secret; a very destructive alchemy, a secret etched onto her back. She trusted him with her back, and so he trusted him with hers. It was equivalent exchange, the fundamentals of all alchemy. Alchemy was the way they met and forever entwined into each other's lives.
He was her father's apprentice, with an insatiable thirst for knowledge. She was the little girl that kept the three of them alive with her domestic talents. That was how they started off. But along the course of time, they became friends.
He showed her that there was more to life than cooking, cleaning and studying. She showed him that there was more to life than alchemy.
It was a wonderful life of explorations through the fields, and blanket forts and hot cocoa with marshmallows. Of storytelling that went into the wee hours of the morning and laughter that echoed throughout the manor destitute of joy.
Everything they knew changed when he left for the military, with the hope to change the nation. He left the manor with naïve dreams and when he returned, he promptly got told off by his master. He was already a decent alchemist, but not good enough to fit state qualifications. He needed flame alchemy for that.
His master was dying, he could see. A small amount of pity overtook him as he tried to convince his master of joining the state alchemist program. He also wanted the secrets to flame alchemy, to qualify as a state alchemist. He was so close to his childhood dream.
How fitting was it that Master Hawkeye passed away on that very night?
It was at his funeral when he revealed his dreams to Riza, that she knew he was the right one to study flame alchemy. He was the one to entrust.
He was shocked to say the least when he found his master's way of concealing his work. For once in his life, his curiosity was outweighed by something else. He felt angry, guilty and stupid. How could that man use his daughter like that? How could he be so blind to not see what was really going on in the Hawkeye household? How could he believe that alchemy was the solution to everything?
She insisted he learn it, and he did.
His learning, it would seem, to not cease at mastering flame alchemy.
First he would get his reality handed back to him on a silver platter in Ishbal, murdering countless innocents in war that should not have happened. Then, when he saw Hawkeye out in Ishbal, he was hit with a staggering force of his guilt. Sharing his dreams with her seemed inviting enough to join the military and be sent out to this horrid place. Using something she entrusted to him and him only for extermination of the innocents. When she asked him to burn the tattoo of her back, he was hit with everything all at once.
That was the final straw for him.
He no longer wanted to change the nation, he needed to. He would not rest until he did. When Hawkeye promised to protect and follow him at all costs, it seemed that Riza had grown up. While her promise to protect him was vocalized, his was a silent vow to himself. He would protect her. Not because he was returning the favour, but because this was Riza Hawkeye; the most important person in his life. He needed her and he was a selfish man.
The long battle against the homunculi and Father only seemed to prove their significance to each other. She had been overcome with grief when she thought she was dead. He was in emotional agony when she was transferred out of his command. He was in so much rage when she was used against him. He never doubted her significance before, and this was just more proof for him.
When the aftermath of the Promised Day was gone, he made her a new promise. They would restore Ishbal before he became the Fuhrer. They would atone for their sins the best way possible.
They would bring the promise of a new day.
please tell me what you think. read and review please. much appreciated:)