Look to the past and remember to smile
I think tonight, I can breathe for awhile
I'm not in this scene, I think I'm falling asleep
But then all that it means, is all I'll always be dreaming of you
Feeling This, Blink 182.
Chapter One: Beginnings
"And why do you want to become an Alchemist, exactly?" Fuhrer King Bradley proposes the question as I look at my hands folded neatly in my lap. I searched the library of my brain, searching for at least a decent answer.
"I…Because my parents." I answered lamely, trying to further elaborate. "They died, their name never once being recognized. It was," I paused briefly, looking the Fuhrer dead in his eye. "A sort of dream of theirs. For our name to be known for the good we can bring to the world." He smiled.
"Well, by all means. The State Military welcomes you, Faythe Chevalier, to the final round of the State Alchemist Program." The grin on his face caused absolute delight to overwhelm me. I bowed my head with respect.
"Thank you very much, sir!" I ended with a salute. I hoped I didn't look too eager as I exited the private meeting room. I still had so much to do.
"How'd it go?" Caden asked, lazily looking up from the daily newspaper. I tried to force back my smile.
"I'm in the preliminaries." I had to bite my own tongue, just to prevent myself from exploding in joy. I could see him smile, even behind the flimsy gray papers.
"Congratulations." I hung my coat up in the closet, placing my shoes inside the rack my father had made. My stomach let out a light growl of hunger.
"What do you want for dinner Caden?" I asked, my eyes bouncing all over the pantry, in hopes to find something to satisfy my hunger. I heard no response from him. "Caden?" I called again, the shuffling of a paper turning was heard.
"Anything's fine." I sighed out of relief. Living with Caden was so easy. He was never a burden of any sort. I suppose that's the effect you receive when you understand death, and watching your parents die. It wasn't anything tragic, oh no. It was just a slow and peaceful death. No getting shot, no rescuing someone from something. Just regular old age. Well, maybe it wasn't that old. But for a dusty country side home, it wasn't exactly young.
My mother had been around her mid 40's when she gave birth to me, and my father being in his late 30's. They weren't into the whole scene of marrying young. They fulfilled their lives as best they could, filling their craniums with vast amounts of knowledge. When mom gave birth to Caden, she was about 54. Old to be giving birth, I know. I suppose she thought I was lonely, being all by myself for most of the day.
But now, I raise Caden with the wisdom that I was passed down from my parents, at age 19. Caden could have practically lived on his own now, considering how mature and responsible he was, but what kind of sister would I be if I had left him to manage for his self at only age 10? I wasn't irresponsible, nor stupid.
I set the table in an elegant matter, although no formal company had been making their arrival. I suppose it was just out of habit.
"Caden, dinner's ready!" I called out, although he wasn't too far away. The paper he had been reading was folded neatly and placed on the living room coffee table. His feet came shuffling in.
"Looks good, Faythe." He commented, taking his seat across from me on our oval shaped, four-man table. I pulled my own seat out, sitting with my back straight. "What do you plan on doing for the preliminaries tomorrow?" Caden asked, taking the first bite of his spaghetti.
"I'm not so sure. Any ideas?" I twirled with my own dinner on my plate, before carefully placing it into my mouth. He hummed while chewing, thinking of any ideas. A lengthy amount of silence thickened within the air.
What exactly was I going to do for the preliminaries? I definitely needed to do something eye catching, but it still needed to be safe. A mental groan released itself within my thoughts. I wasn't extraordinarily good at alchemy. I wasn't even that good at fighting, now that I thought of it. The best I did with my alchemy, was work with water and ice. I wasn't spectacular.
"Have you learned anything new?" Caden asked, bringing me out of my trance. I looked up, trying to think of my recent training sessions.
"Umm…well I have attempted to give myself Alchemic additions." His eyes widened.
"Human alchemy?" I coughed, choking slightly.
"Of course not! Caden, you know I would never do that!" His erratic breathing had dimmed slightly.
"Then what did you mean?" He asked quietly, returning to eating his dinner.
"I meant like, wings, shields, things like that." He breathed out a sigh of relief.
"Thank god."
And so, the Preliminary Examination rolled right around the following day. Hopefully, the practice I had attempted this morning would be enough to pay off. My clenched fists were still shaking aggressively. One more deep breath, and I was off to the Preliminaries, where my career would make or break.
I watched as one by one, the contestants showed off their Alchemic skill. It made me worry deeply, if what I had prepared was enough.
"Chevalier, Faythe." At the sound of my name, I stepped forward slightly. Many quiet murmurs escaped. I got the gist of it, most of it concerning my gender. Taking a deep breath with my eyes shut, I touched my right hand to my left shoulder blade. It appeared as if I were injured or something.
I activated the transmutation circle on my back, a pale blue light shining into the heavens. Pain and power surged through my body as I could feel the flow of energy circulate. I breathed heavily as my helpers became intact. In the blink of an eye, I dashed off before everybody could see the product of my result.
"Where'd the sun go?" One of the opposing alchemists asked dumbly, a faint cloud covering the area. Once again, I dashed off, this time head first into the lake right below me. "What's happening!" The same alchemist asked, as the lake slowly began to freeze over. It almost seemed like a portal as I exited the lake. As a finishing touch, I molded some ice into a chair. I sat down gracefully, crossing my legs. My wings were spread out far and wide, nothing behind me could be seen.
"Abnormal speed, perfect execution of alchemy, all to accent grace. I think we've found our alchemist." Everyone's eyes widened at the Fuhrer. He small smile tugged into a full blown grin. "Welcome to the State, Chevalier."
"This is for you, Chevalier." Basque Gran says in his usual rough tone as he lobs the metal pocket watch towards me. I barely caught it. "This as well." He adds, handing me an envelope. With tenderness, I opened it up and carefully pulled open a letter.
The state hereby issues the title of The Holy Alchemist to Faythe H. Chevalier.
That was all I needed to see. There was nothing more that could boost my joy. I was an official State Alchemist, a dream never fulfilled by my parents. A dream I never thought I would be ever to reach on my own.
It had been months since that day. Getting along with the others definitely wasn't impossible, although I preferred solitude more often than not. I had gotten along specifically well with Hughes and Mustang. Maes' optimistic disposition helped brighten my own, although that wasn't hard. And, even though Roy had been a bit of a womanizer, he was a wonderful person to know. Being with them had pretty much become a daily routine. Today's topic had been the subject of my Alchemy Exam.
"I don't understand, how did you get a name like that?" Roy questioned, not understanding the Fuhrer's humor on this case. I wasn't exactly sure myself, but I had a pretty good idea.
"I think it had to do with my whole wing scene, and his whole "graceful" comment." Roy pouted.
"But that doesn't explain why you get a more mysterious name. I mean, mine's so obvious." He paused slightly, still moping and pouting. "Flame alchemist, I use fire." He blew a little raspberry.
"Actually, I think the Fuhrer's kind of funny." Maes said with a smirk. Roy and I looked at him questioningly.
"How's that, Maes?" I asked, his grin still visible.
"Faythe Holly Chevalier." There was silence.
"Damn the Fuhrer and his lame humor." Roy muttered, turning away. I laughed, finally catching the humor. It was kind of funny, but my laughing died down as I regained my composure.
"So what shall the game be today?" Roy pulled out a deck of cards, preparing us for a daily card game.
"Bullshit." I called with a devious smirk. Roy glared with a murderous intent. Maes groaned.
"Why can't you to just get over it? Faythe is impossible to beat." Flames burned in Mustang's eyes.
"I will not be defeated!" He claimed, although his bitter end was futile. His game face was on, as if nothing could stop his determination to beat me. I pushed my luscious mahogany locks behind my ears, my devilish grin spread far across. Game on.
I dropped down my last card, watching Roy and Maes very carefully. Any little hint would have sufficed, but today, they were giving it their all.
"1 Nine." Roy growled.
"BULLSHIT!" He screamed, angry that I was down to my final card. I laughed hysterically.
"Sucker!" I flipped over, revealing the Nine of Spades.
Now that he exhilarating game of cards had been done and over with, there were other matters at hand. Like, how damn HOT it was in the room. I was boiling to death, even with my hair pulled up, my skirt above mid-thigh, and jacket unbuttoned. Roy would've been having a field day, but he too was dying of heat.
"Okay, that is it! Roy give me a bottle of water." I begged. He chucked one from the fridge at me, I caught it in my left hand. I pulled my right hand to my transmutation circle, residing on my left shoulder blade, allowing my alchemy to freeze the bottle in hand. The cold felt absolutely amazing against my hand. I put the bottle to my neck; it felt incredible.
"That's the spot." I practically moaned; Roy turned to stare at me.
"Hey, give me that bottle!" He whined. I shook my head, being greedy about my personal savior. He wasn't particularly happy with my response. "Faythe, give me that bottle." He repeated, standing from his chair.
"No!" I said stubbornly, making my way to lay down on the couch. He sauntered his was over, staring down at me.
"You have five seconds to give it to me, or I'll hurt you much more than I need to." Roy was threatening me, his fingers pressing together slightly. My eyes narrowed into a harsh glare.
"I'll freeze over hell before you get the opportunity." As he was about to snap his fingers, I punched him in his groin, causing him to topple over, and land on top of me.
"Roy, you big lummox, get off of me!" Struggling beneath him wasn't much of a help, but he finally felt the cool rush of the frozen bottle. He felt no reason to move. "Roy, get off! You're hurting me."
"I hate to interrupt you, Flame, but the Fuhrer has business with us. So make yourself decent. He wants the girl there too."
I stopped fighting Roy and snapped my head towards the door. A man stood there, watching us. Had he heard us, too? How long had he been there?
"It isn't like that Kimbley. In case you haven't noticed, it's burning in here." Roy answered in a groggy tone, sliding off of me and onto the floor.
"Really? I wonder why?" He looked over to me with a disgusted look, noticing how my uniform had been slightly altered to adjust to the heat. I blushed heavily before covering myself up.
"What are you implying?" I asked bitterly, now that my uniform had been back in order.
"Nothing at all. Just get to the Fuhrer's office." He glared over at me, then to Roy. What the hell was his problem?