Hello! I'd like to thank FullMetalWing for commissioning me. Crystal belongs to her. Charles Parson belongs to me.
Crystal laughed as she looked up to the skies. It had been a month since the run-in with the creeps who had been seeking revenge for her mother's (apparent) murderous streak. Beside her stood the man of her dreams, her lover and soon-to-be husband, Edward Elric. They were taking a train to visit their appointed dressmaker – taking the scenic, romantic route, of course. Crystal watched in amazement as the beautiful countryside blurred together to form a seemingly never-ending canvas of blues and greens. Her haired whipped about as the wind blew it away from her face. Ed walked up to her slender frame and embraced her, pulling her tightly against his chest, his nose buried in her coffee-brown hair.
"You're so beautiful," Ed whispered into her ear. "Just like a goddess. My goddess."
Crystal giggled at the love-filled comment. "And does that make you my knight?"
Edward squeezed his arms together gently. "Only if you'll let me."
Crystal spun to face the blond haired man. "Ok then," she grinned, "prove yourself to me."
"And how should I do that, goddess?"
Crystal pursed her lips tightly for a moment as she came up with an answer.
"Think of me, and only of me for an entire day," was her reply.
Ed took a small step back. "Only that?" He had been expecting something bigger, something more… explosive.
"Well," Crystal grinned. "It's not every day you get to control someone's thoughts and make them think of only you for the whole day, not is it?"
Ed, satisfied with her answer, nodded. "I guess not."
The young couple, encompassed by their ever-lasting love, continued on their way to the dressmaker's, dreaming up their upcoming wedding and making it a day that everyone would remember for many years yet to come.
As the loving couple got off the train, a shady figure began to trail them. It was a tall man with greasy locks that hung heavily around his gaunt face. People stopped in their business to glance suspiciously at the stranger as he followed the two people. Some whispered to one another as he passed them. Finally, the couple stopped in front of a brightly decorated dressmaker's store. The man paused in his advance, worried that the duo had sensed his presence. The brunette lady laughed and said something to the blond man, before grabbing his arm and pulling him into the store. Still, the man watched. Those who had been watching at the time, those who had not been glaring at him with suspicion, would have noticed the pain that clouded his eyes.
"Ed! What about this dress…?" Crystal held up a beautifully embroidered white silken dress. Tiny pearl roses decorated the dress in intricate patterns. "It's so beautiful!"
Edward stepped forth and inspected the dress. "Yes, it's beautiful, but don't you think it's a little plain?"
Crystal pouted. "It's a wedding. You're meant to wear white."
Edward sighed mentally at the brunette lady's words. "Ok, we'll get this one."
"Great!" Crystal smiled. "Then, we can focus on your tux!"
The blond man cringed at the words.
Crystal glanced up at the golden skies. It had been a day spent looking for (and forcing Ed into) the ideal tuxedo. It had to be perfect, something that suited him, yet was still formal. It had to match her dress, but still have a little bit of his personality reflected in it. Every thing, every part that made up the upcoming wedding had to be flawless. It all had to mesh together and not clash. It just had to.
"Crystal!" an unfamiliar voice called to the brunette girl. "Crystal!"
The girl spun around to face the source of the voice, only to face the strange man she had noticed following her and Edward since the start of the day.
"Who are you?" she asked the man tersely. Who was this man? Why was he following them?
"You don't remember me?" there was a hint of sadness in the voice.
"No. Who are you?"
"Charles. Charles Parson."
Crystal stepped back, a shocked expression upon her face. "No way, it can't be…!"
Ed was standing in front of a bakery, watching the birds as they flocked off to the horizon, as he awaited Crystal to return from her walk in the park. She'd said that she wanted a little space for herself for a moment, a little breather, but she hadn't come back. Ed sighed as he paced back and forth a bit. Where was she? Had something happened to her? He turned to face the peaceful park once again. Should he? He thought for a moment. Intruding on her alone time was something he did not want to do, but something was making him feel uneasy. Tentatively, he stepped toward the park. There was no going back now.
"Why are you here?" Crystal's terrified voice drifted upon the wind, to reach Ed's ears. "Why are you here?"
Ed turned to the direction of the voice. Who was it who was frightening Crystal? His Crystal. A soft growl left his lips. An unshaven man stood afore Crystal, who was petrified, rooted to the spot. He stepped softly to the man, like a dangerous predatory animal who was stalking its prey.
"Please, leave the young lady alone. She is very obviously distressed, and so I'd like to ask you to please go," Ed whispered dangerously to the man. His teeth were gritted. How dare this man scare his Crystal!
The unshaven man slowly glanced at Ed, and then turned to Crystal, then back to the seething blond man. "Very well."
He took a step backward, away from the trembling brunette. "Crystal, I will make you love me again."
The man fled.
Ed waited a moment for the man to disappear into the crowds, before turning to face his beloved.
"Crystal, are you ok? Did he do anything to you?" Ed gripped the girl's hands anxiously. "Crystal?"
Something crystalline fell from the young woman's cheek and landed on Ed's hand. Said something was wet and small.
"Crystal?"
"'I'm sorry," Crystal wiped the tears from her eyes, but still, they came. "I'm fine, you don't need to worry about me…"
Yes I do, Ed thought to himself as he walked the young lady home as she tried to pull herself together. Yes I do.
Edward heaved a sigh of relief as he ran his eyes over the silently slumbering figure in the bed. Finally, he had gotten the brunette girl to calm down and get some rest.
"Ed, there's some kind of weird letter for you," Winry called to the man quietly. "I think it's from the guy who got Crys so shaken up earlier."
Ed snatched the plain white envelope from the blonde lady's grasp and tore it open. His golden eyes scanned over the words within and growled softly.
"Winry, look after Crys for me while I'm gone!"
"Oi, Ed!" Winry cried as she tried to get the man to stop. "What's going on? Where're you going?"
"To kill that guy," came the grim answer.
Outside the cosy cottage, the wind was whistling unnervingly between the trees of the woods. Despite that, Ed walked straight into the forest, his mind seemingly set on one thing – killing, or at least seriously hurting – the man who had written the letter. His brows knitted together as he thought of the many horrible ways he would kill the man. He stepped into a silent grove – the same one that he had, a month ago, proposed to the beautiful woman of his dreams.
"Oi, I'm here, you creep!" he shouted to the wind. "So come out wherever you are!"
There was a deep, evil chuckle behind him, and a dull thump as someone dropped down from a tree.
"Good evening, Mr. Elric," the unshaven man from before grinning threateningly. "How is the Goddess?"
The blond man resisted the urge to disfigure the man beyond all recognition and dump him into some river. "She's fine," he said between gritted teeth.
"That's good," the man smiled. "As long as she's ok, then everything will be fine."
"What do you mean?"
"What I mean is," the dreadlocked man turned to Ed and bared his stained yellow teeth. "I will marry Crystal once I kill you."
"Mmm," Crystal groaned as she awoke. She rubbed her eyes and yawned. What a horrible dream she'd had! She'd dreamt that Charles Parson, the guy she once had liked, had become some unshaven ape, and was trying to marry her!
"Ed, where are you?" Crystal looked about when she noticed that her beloved was not slumbering gently beside her. "Ed, where are you?"
Winry's voice drifted to her from the doorway. "He's not here."
"Where is he?"
WInry's face was serious for a moment. "Do you remember what happened yesterday?"
"That doesn't answer my-"
"Just answer me. Do you remember what happened yesterday?"
Crystal's brow furrowed as she thought hard.
"No, not really," she said after a while. "What happened?"
Winry stepped into the room and sat herself down on the bed. She grasped both of Crystal's hands and looked the brunette girl straight into the eyes.
"Yesterday, a strange man was following you and Ed around as you two looked for a wedding dress and a good tux for Ed," the blonde said.
Oh no, Crystal's breath caught in her throat. No way, he can't be…
"This man approached you in the park. Ed saw, and went to help you," Winry continued.
Please, no…
"Last night, this man sent a letter to Edward, calling him to the forest. Ed went, and he hasn't come back yet."
"Why did he call Ed to the forest?"
Winry reached into her pocket and pulled out a plain white envelope. "I haven't read it yet. Maybe you'll find the answer here."
Tentatively, the brunette girl took the letter from her friend's hands. Her hands trembled as she opened up the envelope, and unfolded the paper within.
Mr. Elric,
Meet me at the glade in the woods where you proposed to Crystal.
There, we shall fight to the death for her hand in marriage.
Come at midnight tonight.
I await your appearance.
-Parson-
Crystal's hands gripped the page so hard her knuckles turned white. How dare they fight to the death for my hand in marriage? Doesn't my opinion count?
"Winry!" she got up from the bed abruptly. "I'm going to be gone for a little while, so please wait here."
"But where're you going? Ed told me to stay here with you!"
"Winry," Crystal growled dangerously. " I suggest you stay here. I'm going to teach these guys why they should never ignore a girl's opinion in a marriage."
With that said, Crystal walked out of the door, leaving in her wake a dark, dangerous atmosphere.
"You're pretty good at this, I'll say," Parson said as he wiped a spot of blood from his lip.
"You're not bad yourself," Ed complimented as he rubbed away the blood that was dripping down his face, "but I'm not giving Crystal up to you."
"Neither am I."
There was a clash of light as the two men, both gifted in the secrets of Alchemy, began to fight once more.
Crystal's breath was ragged as she fought her way through the forest. Why was it that the woods suddenly seemed so scary and dangerous without Edward beside her? In front of her, she heard a boom as two beings clashed into one another.
There! She thought to herself, they must be there!
Then, I hope I'm not too late to stop them….
"Haa… Haaa…." Both Ed and Charles' breaths came in irregular gasps. They glared at one another – they were wolves, fighting for their rightful title as alpha, as Crystal's husband.
Charles's hand glowed softly as he created a fire from the heat of his body. This should end this soon.
Ed noticed the small flames licking up Charles's arm as he summoned a fire. I'll be a goner if that hits me…
"Aaargh!" Charles rushed towards the stationary man at an inhuman speed. His fist was clenched beside his body, like an arrow ready to be fired.
"Charles! Ed! Stop this!" Crystal's voice cried desperately.
Ed turned to face the girl, but Charles, who had been caught in the moment, ignored the lady, and continued racing toward the defenceless Edward.
"No!"
Elsewhere, in another part of the forest, a raven screeched as it took to the skies, its peace disturbed by none other than Winry.
"Get outta my way," she said tiredly as she batted away the braches that snagged her hair, entangling her. Where are they?
There was a loud scream somewhere to her right. Maybe there?
A loud 'BOOM!' followed the scream. What's going on?
Gathering the last strands of her courage, she began to walk in the direction the explosion and the scream had come from.
Why the hell did they have to disappear into the forest? She grumbled to herself as she walked. Behind her, the orange sun began to fall lower and lower, until it rested in a cradle in the horizon.
"Edward!" Crystal screamed as she rushed toward the unmoving figure lying on the ground. There were still some flames dancing on the burnt earth, but the girl ignored them as she ran to the blond man. "Edward, can you hear me? Ed?"
Charles picked himself off the ground and dusted himself off. "Crystal, come to me now, dear."
Crystal turned to face the man at the mentioning of her name. Her eyes glared at him, bright and brimming with tears. "How dare you. Why did you kill him?"
"Because he was in the way. He was stopping you from marrying me." His mien remained calm and uncaring. "Now, come to me. Allow me to be the one to take your hand in marriage and matrimony."
Something in the way he talked – perhaps it was his nonchalant treatment of what he had done, perhaps it was his arrogant way of speech – made something within Crystal snap.
She picked herself off the ground and walked toward the man, whose hand was stretched out for her to take. She ignored his hand, and walked straight up to him, raised her hand and…
SLAP!
Charles's mouth was agape as he looked, shocked, at the girl who had dared to slap him. His eyes were wide, wider than humanely possible.
"What, why, what?" His mind couldn't make sense of what had happened.
"Crystal!" a voice said behind her.
Crystal turned, "Winry! Why're you here?"
"I was looking for-!"
The man, Parson, suddenly wrapped his arms around Crystal's waist. "If you want to live, I suggest you take your pretty little self away from this place, and hide somewhere for a long, long time."
Winry stood stock-still. Was it because of fear? Was she paralysed because of something else?
"Go!" the man barked.
She obeyed.
Edward was traversing a dense rainforest. The only thing he had to defend himself from the monsters that awaited him was a half-rusted machete. Whacking away the branches that barred his progress, he continued. There was an amazing prize awaiting him – a massive gold statue of the sun god of the mysterious peoples who once lived here – but only if he got to the temple, alive.
You can do it, Ed! A silent voice said. I know you can!
"Let me go, Parson," Crystal said evenly as she glared at the man defiantly.
"No. I have yet to forgive you for hitting me, let alone allow you to escape my grasp," came the reply.
The girl tried again to escape the man's hold, but still, she could not escape.
Oh, please Ed, save me…
He'd gone past traps, slew tigers and slit snakes with his machete. Now, he faced the greatest danger of them all – the mighty leopard-headed people of the area. Often called the cat-tribe, they were a truly ferocious force to be reckoned with – especially if one was planning on taking their beloved golden statue from them. He readied himself for the onslaught. I'm gonna do this. I'm gonna get out of this alive, and get that statue.
The moon rose steadily over the world, its ethereal light showering everyone below in a heavenly glow. Crystal glanced up. No way, he couldn't be…
She glanced back at the man. Silver-grey fur was spreading all over his body. Is he? Can he be? Is he a…. a werewolf?
The man roared, and his transformation finished. His body was a grotesque mix of human and wolf. Drool dripped out his mouth, making his yellowed canine teeth glisten and seem even more frightening then before. His eyes, which had once been blue and human, had become beady black spots on his face. He snarled as he glanced at Crystal, and lunged forward, his teeth bared and his clawed fingers ready to tear at Crystal's neck.
Ed, save me!
Blood dripped down his machete as he made his way to his prize – the fabled golden statue of the leopard-headed peoples' tribe. He'd bested snakes, tigers, traps, and the cat-people themselves to get this statue. It stood upon a decorative stand in the centre of a meeting hall. His took it into his hands and looked at it in an almost endearing way. It was then when he noticed the statue's face. It was Crystal's face engraved upon the statue, and her face was distorted by fear. Ed's heart thumped in his chest. Crystal… was she ok?
Suddenly, the world went dark as he floated in a sea of shadows. A tiny voice yelled as he drifted in the darkness.
Ed, save me!
"Ah!" Crystal squeezed her eyes shut and braced herself for an attack as the werewolf Charles jumped up and began to descend, ready to crush the girl beneath him.
Behind her, there was the sound feet hitting pattering upon the ground. There was a clap, then the ground began to stretch and reach up above Crystal's head, making a canopy on which the werewolf-man landed. Charles growled one last time, before the fur on his body began to fade, and his teeth began to return to normal. Crystal glanced to the east – the sun was rising. She breathed a sigh of relief.
"Crystal!" Ed was running towards her. "Are you ok?"
"Yup. I'm fine," Crystal smiled.
They embraced one another, and, as the sunlight danced between the trees and made the air golden, their lips connected. When their lips separated, they gazed into one another's eyes lovingly.
"My knight," Crystal sighed happily.
They kissed again.
MY KNIGHT OMAKE: OUR WEDDING DAY
The church bells rang above their heads as the crowd clapped and threw petals at the newlywed couple. Winry was cheering and clapping as she threw handful after handful of rose petals at Ed and Crystal. Al was clapping and laughing as he committed the memory of seeing his brother wearing a suit to memory – it would be nice to remember such a rare occurrence for many years yet to come. Ed and Crystal's arms were linked together. Crystal walked in striding steps, her white dress trailing onto the petal-scattered pathway. She smiled gently as she waved at the people in the crowd. Ed walked by her side, smiling and waving at the crowd. Finally, they walked under the arch at the end of the path, and got into the carriage that awaited them there. Edward opened the door for Crystal, who, after some effort, got into the carriage. Edward then got onto the horse and snapped the reins, getting the horse to awaken from its daydream. As the carriage, decorated with many ribbons and bows and bells – and complete with an old boot tied onto the back with a piece of leftover ribbon – began to move off, the crowd raced to the archway to bid the couple a happy life together.
"Have a nice honeymoon in Briggs!" Winry said as she watched the carriage, pulled by a thoroughbred Arabian, disappeared into the distance.
-Fin-
Now that you've read it, please review and help me improve as a writer! I love critiques!