Author's Note: Written for Schellibie for the fma_ladyfest exchange on LiveJournal. She requested a fic about May Chang's reasons for and experiences learning alkhestry, and this is the result!
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Against the Tide
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The Chang clan is as remote as it is small.
May has been to the capital precisely once since she was a newborn. The Emperor's City is a week and a half's journey by cart, and a dangerous one at that, and there is little need for her presence there. She grows up instead in the largest of the three Chang villages, a homely little place in the southern foothills, surrounded by bamboo thickets and with only one winding dirt road in and out.
She is a daughter of the emperor, a princess, but there can be very little consideration for that when there is too much work to be done, not enough hands, and many mouths to feed. Although she is young and small for her age, May spends her mornings doing chores like any other member of the household, but three hours of each afternoon are spent in lessons with her mother. She learns to read and write, the history of Xing and the genealogy of her clan, rudimentary things a young lady should know, basics she will need if she hopes to one day garner favor for her people. Afterward, May trains in martial arts with her uncle, for unlike the larger clans the Chang can afford no bodyguards, so she must learn to rely on and defend herself.
May is young, but she understands her responsibility and does not take it lightly.
But she is still young. And while she doesn't mind her chores, they are a little tedious.
"And then he'll come and sweep me away!" May sighs dreamily, clutching a half-empty bucket to her heart. Xiao Mei follows her swoon with a tilt of the head, always the attentive audience. May continues her daydream breathlessly.
"We'll ride to the Capital and defeat the evil assassins together-—rushing in to save the emperor at the last second! And Xiao Mei, he'll be so grateful, he'll reward the entire Chang clan and throw the gallant prince and me a beautiful wedding party, one that would put even the Zhao clan to shame!"
Her next words are stilled in her throat when the sound of incomprehensible shouting cuts through the relative quiet of the day. May starts and Xiao Mei lets out a loud squeak and they pause a moment to exchange a look of alarm.
In a rush of movement, May upends the pail, dumping the rest of the feed on the ground and sending the chickens scrambling in surprise when she drops it and bolts towards the origin of the noise.
She darts beneath the fence that keeps in the livestock and careens around the small group of huts that blocks the view to the center of the town. A large cluster of people are gathered about the entrance of the Clan Head's home-her grandfather's home. A knot of sudden fear clings in her throat, and May's earlier thoughts of dashingly exotic princes and royal weddings flee in the face of worry.
May takes a deep breath, bends down to gather Xiao Mei into her arms and scurries towards the crowd. She pushes her way through the press of bodies, using her small stature to the best of her advantage and trying hard to dodge sharp knees and feet.
With some effort, she reaches the doorway, only to trip at the last second. She lands just inside on her hands on her knees, dropping Xiao Mei in the process. The little panda squeals in injured protest. The cry draws the attention of May's mother. She looks up from her seat near the center of the room, face drawn and pale. Relief creeps in when she sees her daughter.
"May, come here," she says, waving her forward urgently. Ignoring the stinging in her palms and knees, May clambers forward and her mother immediately wraps her into a tight embrace.
May peers up at her mother's face. "What's going on, Mama?"
Her mother gives a long sigh, then leans back and cups May's cheek in her hand. Her eyes are impossibly weary, but she does not spare her daughter the bad news. "Your grandfather was attacked by assassins on the road back. He was injured badly."
"Is he okay?" May asks quietly. This is not the first time an attempt has been made on a family member's life. Although the Changs are neither wealthy nor favored, they have one thing many clans do not: a royal child. May knows she has very little hopes of ever gaining influence, let alone the throne, but a little hope is a lot compared to none at all.
Her mother is silent for a worrisome time, but she is spared from answering when another interruption arrives.
"Move aside! Now!" A sharp looking woman bursts into the small house, her gray-streaked hair loose about her shoulders and a cloth bag over her shoulder. The healer of the Chang clan—Huan. Her eyes land immediately on the mother and child. "Where is he?"
May's mother lets go and rises to her feet quickly. "In here," she says, and the two women move swiftly into the next room—-theirs is the only house in all three villages with more than one room. May hangs back for an indecisive handful of seconds, then creeps forward after them. Her other clansmen still wait at the outer door as she peeks around the wall and into her grandfather's room.
Huan has removed a brush and a bottle of ink and is rapidly painting a circle roughly the size of a rice basket on the floor beside the bedding. May watches with bated breath, too stunned by the sight of the kunai embedded in the Clan Head's side, blood staining the entire front of his clothing, to even think to cry. Her grandfather has always been strong, lively despite his age, and she cannot quite reconcile that man with the sweating, trembling body she sees now. But Huan works efficiently, wielding the brush in fast, broad strokes until a five pointed star fills the space within the circle.
"Help me move him," she commands the men who had been standing watch over the old man. They leap to follow her instructions, too quickly for her tastes. "Gently!" Within moments, they have him settled in the center of the array.
"When I say so, remove the knife," Huan tells one of the men, a farmer named Jian. She shifts forward, holding her hands close over the edge of the circle. "Now!"
With a strong tug, the kunai is pulled out, and the old man utters a pained groan despite his unconscious sate. Huan slams her palms to the floor and a clear, blue light begins to emanate from the ground.
May's fear takes an unexpected turn for awe as the light clears. Where, just heartbeats before, she had seen the awful, angry wound, there was smooth skin again, raw but whole. She had heard of alkhestry before, no doubt, but to see it... Her grandfather moans again, softer this time. He is already stirring.
Huan leans back on her heels, sighing. "That's enough. You can clean him up and get him back in bed. He'll need plenty of rest before he's back to normal, and medicine as well, but the worst is over."
May can see Mama's eyes are filled with tears. "Thank you, Huan. Thank you so much."
Huan smiles, bowing her head politely. "The kunai missed most of his major organs and arteries, but he was bleeding fairly badly. Fortunately, since the knife wasn't moved, the damage was limited and I was able to use his body's energy to redirect the blood flow easily enough. It's no trouble."
Mama says something else, but May's attention has already flagged.
"He's alright," she tells the man lingering expectantly by the doorway, and he nods and goes to tell the rest of their clan the good news, leaving May and her panda friend alone. She moves away from her spot and leans back against the wall, drawing her knees towards her chest. Xiao Mei makes an anxious little noise and May reaches down and hugs her tight.
"Is it always going to be like this, Xiao Mei?" she whispers.
May thinks back on all of the things she's learned so far, the multitude of tricks to defend herself against attackers, the endless struggles of her country's people, and the quiet hope that permeates the looks her people give her sometimes. They think she's too young to notice these things, to realize what they are for, but she understands more than they know.
The expectations are high, but she wants desperately to meet them all. May wants to see her clan happy and prosperous, to see her extended family thrive as it hasn't for many generations. The Chang are a strong people and need only the chance to prove themselves, to show the rest of the clans that they have been underestimated for too long.
May remembers the sight of alkhestry in action: the swiftly drawn circle, the press of hands and the glow of light—a deathly wound sealed in an instant. She remembers that healing is only the beginning. She has also heard rumors of people who could use it to rebuild homes and move mountains, to defend and to attack. These are important, tangible things; things her people need.
"I want to learn," she says and realizes all at once. "I want to learn alkhestry."
Rising to her feet and brimming with excitement, May turns and faces the doorway once again. Huan the healer is still inside. She sets her jaw and clenches her fists. "Come on, Xiao Mei," she says. "We can do this."
May is young, but she is also determined.