Dr Knox's house was a strange one. The walls and floors were wooden – not uncommon for houses in Amestris, it seemed – and the furniture was unassuming enough, but something just felt off. Maybe it was the parasites he had joked about, proving themselves real in time. Though maybe, Lan Fan thought as she scowled at her food, it was the parasite sat across from her.
She had seen the little Chang girl before, a handful of times. The Chang were not a particularly wealthy family, unlike the Yao, but occasionally she had attended court for special events. The brat had never been foolish enough to make an attempt on the Young Lord's life, but she wore her heart – and her disdain – upon her sleeve. She also tended to look down upon servants, simply because she was able; Lan Fan had never really liked her much.
The little princess did seem different now, though. Her pink robes were dirty, stained with filth and blood, and she had currently abandoned them for a nightdress twice her size. Although her dripping hair was still braided as usual, a touch of her royal air had dissipated. It almost seemed like she was trying to relax… Until she glanced up from her own plate and met Lan Fan's eyes, of course, at which point everything sharpened again.
"Stop staring at me," she demanded. "It's improper for you to make eye contact with royalty."
Lan Fan lowered her eyes obediently, muttering something vulgar under her breath. They weren't in Xing now; there was nothing the kid could do to her. Even one-armed, she could fight better than that child.
Between them, Dr Knox huffed. "No fighting out of you two, alright? Just eat the damn dinner and then leave each other alone."
"I could take my food elsewhere," Lan Fan suggested, already pushing her chair back from the table.
"Oh, that would be great! I'd feel more comfortable if I wasn't eating in front of a servant," the Chang girl agreed.
"Too bad!" snapped Knox. He glared at Lan Fan. "Sit the hell back down. I said it before and I'll say it again: I won't have patients fighting."
Lan Fan sank back into her seat. The princess grumbled sulkily to herself as she resumed eating. Dr Knox wasn't the best chef in the world, but he had tried to prepare something close to Xingese food; the noodles were soggier than intended, and the sauce coated her tongue, but Lan Fan was grateful for the effort nonetheless. This was the first full meal she had managed to keep down since her amputation, and it felt good to fill her stomach. Unfortunately, she wasn't very practised in eating singlehandedly; keeping the bowl in place, she discovered, was ridiculously difficult.
She hissed under her breath as the bowl slid slightly away from her again. The Chang brat tittered to herself. Knox rapped her knuckles with the flat of his knife. "Knock it off! God, I'm gonna go and find a strong drink."
He scraped his chair back and stomped from the room, mumbling about annoying patients until he was out of their hearing range. The Chang girl shot her a fleeting glance, then pointedly looked back down at her food, twisting it around absentmindedly. Jealousy flared in Lan Fan's chest, fuelled by indignation. Show-off, she thought bitterly. Once more, she faced her own bowl, stabbing the fork into it furiously.
The Chang girl snickered. "Having some trouble there, renowned bodyguard of the 12th prince?"
"Shut up, Chang bitch," Lan Fan snarled. It was unprofessional, and obscenely out-of-line, but she was too prideful to take the words back. Not that she could, regardless.
For her part, the princess was stunned. The clueless confusion on her face was almost endearing – or would be, if she hadn't scrunched it up immediately and hunched over in her seat. Lan Fan ignored the nagging feeling that had liked the openness. She returned her attention to the offending meal before her, determined to conquer this enemy. The noodles slipped and twisted around her fork, never quite staying put long enough for her to lift them. The bowl itself rocked dangerously, and eventually she gave up.
With a grunt of frustration, Lan Fan dumped the fork into the bowl with a clang and slumped forwards, resting her good elbow – her only elbow, now – on the table. Some shameful part of her wanted to cry (why couldn't she just eat the damn noodles?), but she had been raised to swallow that urge down and resist it. She had been through far worse than this, and she would survive. That didn't make her face flush any less, though. Stupid Chang brat.
The chair opposite her shuffled closer. Chang's clothes rustled as she stretched across the table, but Lan Fan didn't raise her head until she heard the bowl clink again. A tiny hand, marred with callouses and scars from years of training, was gripping the bowl, stabilising it. Chang refused to meet her eyes, but didn't take her hand away as Lan Fan cautiously picked up the fork again. Finally, the bowl was still enough to eat from. The food tasted better now that she wasn't struggling for it.
In the doorframe, Knox made a satisfied little noise. Chang – Mei, wasn't that her name? – blushed crimson, but still held the bowl's rim. Knox re-joined them, blessedly choosing not to comment further, and the trio ate in silence. Mei only released Lan Fan's bowl when her own was unsteady, and when the two had finished their meals, she collected both dishes and carried them to the sink. Lan Fan idly wondered if Mei had ever needed to carry her own dishes before. Possibly, judging by the familiarity as she stacked everything together. Perhaps May wasn't as pretentious as she thought.
As the princess passed her, Lan Fan touched her remaining hand to her shoulder. Mei's face was distrusting, but her eyes were curious. Lan Fan bowed her head and dropped her hand. "Thank you, your highness."
A small smile pricked at her lips. "You're welcome, Yao guard."
The Promised Day was finally over. It had taken its toll on them all, left them all scattered and broken and helplessly lost, but those who had survived were grateful and unified. After bidding the Elric brothers goodbye (Al had been taken into hospital for recovery and Ed would be damned if he left his side), the trio of Xingese visitors had set off on horseback for the long journey home. They stopped at an inn on the outskirts of Amestris to recuperate, and finally it all crashed down.
The guard had collapsed into pieces trying to move her grandfather's "coffin" – really a burlap sack, as they lacked money for anything else – and the Yao prince had taken her into his embrace as he sobbed too. Was he weeping for the lost homunculous? Mei didn't know, nor did she really want to. Regardless, she found herself dragging the hefty sack into the stable, out of reach of the horses but concealed enough to avoid suspicion.
With the money they had available, which had primarily been gifted from their kind friends, they could only afford one room, but the double bed was just large enough to fit them all. Their weapons were piled at the other side of the small space to encourage loyalty. The guard had suggested she watch over the royal half-siblings (something that admittedly comforted Mei a little), but the Yao prince had refused, insisting they were safe and that she should rest too.
"You need it more than any of us, Lan Fan," he crooned softly.
They shed the outer layers of their clothing and left them to soak in the sink, then the trio squashed themselves into the lumpy bed. The prince lay in the middle, but he kept his back to Mei; he had curled into Lan Fan as he fell asleep and no amount of wriggling could free her from his grasp. From the sheer silence Mei would presume Lan Fan was slumbering too, though she was never particularly loud anyway.
She drew her knees up to her chest. The bedding was scratchy and irritating against her skin, but the aches of the day were starting to creep into her bones and she didn't care anymore. Her eyes stung. She wouldn't cry, though. She couldn't. Yet her lip quivered, and something wet ran down her cheek. Wallowing in her own pity, she buried her face into the pillow in an attempt to stifle her tears. What was going to happen to her now? She had failed her clan. Would they cast her out?
Suddenly, a chill bit into her skin. She glanced over her shoulder and saw metal fingers splayed there, their arm reaching across the Yao prince's body. Mei nibbled her lip, then breathed, "That's really cold."
A moment of hesitation, then the metal hand withdrew. She heard the bedding shift and the mattress bob, before a flesh hand snaked beneath the prince's neck. Mei threaded her own fingers through Lan Fan's gratefully, then closed her eyes to sleep. Lan Fan held her hand under she drifted off.
Disclaimer: Don't own FMAB, don't sue me. Also this is my first completed piece on these characters, so feedback is appreciated :) I just really like the idea of Ling and Lan Fan looking after May, and I don't know why. Anyway, thanks for reading! xx