"Elena Bloodstone." The Fuhrer's gravelly voice echoed over the spacious courthouse, booming in the ears of the girl sitting at the defendant's stand. Almost all the military was present, working as the jury- after all, this case directly involved several military officers. Regardless, however, of how many men there were, everyone realised the final decision lay in the Fuhrer's hands. "You have been accused of participating in the murders of eight high-ranking military officers and over ninety civilians. Is it true that you plead guilty to all of these crimes?"
The girl sitting placidly before him couldn't have been older than sixteen. She was stunningly skinny, with hair cut to her shoulders, a black down in colour, so dark it bordered on black. She seemed both frail and sturdy, like a marble statue with a hairline fracture in its base. Her wrists were imprisoned in wooden cuffs, the kind that held her hands apart and prevented her from performing any alchemy. Visible on her palms were alchemic tattoos, circles depicting stone and human transmutation symbols.
She stared out at the crowd of officers, her slender shoulders tall and noble. Her blank blue gaze took in hundreds of angry, hateful faces, and saw only a few officers whom expressed pity.
An officer she didn't know the name of spoke then, his voice confident, as though he knew the answer, but wanted her to say it anyways. "And were you a voluntary participant in the aforementioned murders?"
"I..." the child hesitated, her middle and ring fingers on her left hand curling to scratch at her palm, "...I did not refuse to participate, sir."
"But were you voluntary?" Another officer insisted- that was Colonel Roy Mustang, the man whom had found her, and one of the few to show her any sign of pity.
She did not answer, staring at him with a peculiarly distant expression, as though her mind were miles away.
"Children do as they are taught. If her parents taught her to kill, of course she would grow up believing it was right." He added, returning her gaze with his focused stare.
"Aye, but she attended school." A greying officer mentioned. "It's not as though all her influences were telling her to kill. She had teachers, classmates, friends...her own mother was one of the victims. The only person encouraging her to murder was her father. She could have ignored him and followed everyone else's advice."
Another: "Even if she was trained in that way, it'd be a danger to let her live. She'll just keep killing...If she were an adult, we wouldn't even be having this trial."
A clamour of voices roses up, until the Fuehrer raised his hand, requesting silence. He looked at the girl, whose posture had become so stiff she nearly trembled from the strain of holding it. "Do you regret killing your victims, girl?"
She stared directly forward, and the words that passed her lips were small and quiet. "I do not know, sir. I cannot remember."
Again the officers spoke up, nearly screaming, demanding she be executed at once. So very few came to her defence, and the girl seemed to grow smaller.
Then the voices trickled away once more, diminishing into whispers until they disappeared altogether, the officers distracted by one thing: a uniformed man was moving across the court floor, approaching the teenager surrounded by guards.
This man was monstrously tall, muscled and grisly, with a black, thick moustache and tanned skin. His mouth was pulled into a permanent scowl, and he seemed unafraid, moving closer and closer until he was standing directly in front of the young Elena Bloodstone.
"General Grande, don't get too close!" A voice urged, but the general Basque Grande merely brushed them off, looking at the girl with a frightening glare. "How fast does your alchemy work?"
"Sir?" She asked, taken aback by the strange question.
"How quickly is your transmutation completed, Elena Bloodstone?" He growled, his voice urging her to answer quickly.
"A minute if I'm touching the victim directly. Up to five if I'm working through stone."
He nodded slowly. "My alchemy can work in a matter of seconds. Are you conceited enough to think you could defeat me in a fight?"
The girl shook her head.
"Answer aloud, please."
"No sir."
"Of course you couldn't." He smirked. "But you could probably take down most criminals." The general turned to face the Fuehrer, and spoke loudly, so that everyone in the courtroom could hear him. "This girl is a valuable resource. We have never seen transmutation circles quite like hers, and only she has them, available for research. She's already skilled at combat, and could best most criminals- specifically, serial killers, murderers, and the like. People normal soldiers can't handle. She has a very advanced form of alchemy that she's taken her whole life to perfect, at a skill level that no other person will possibly be able to reach. Are we going to throw that away?" He folded his arms behind his back, taking a breath and ignoring the teen staring at him with wide, unreadable eyes. "We'd be fools to execute her. Give her a chance first. Let the girl prove her penance...her loyalty."
"And how do you suggest we do that, Iron Blood?" The Fuehrer requested. Whispers of shock broke out in a rash, soldiers unable to accept that their Fuehrer would listen to what they considered nonsense.
"Let her work for the military, as a state alchemist, of course!" He placed a hand over his chest, continuing. "She'll work under me, and I'll keep a close eye on her at all times. If I get even the smallest inkling that she's betrayed Amestris in any way, let alone murder, I'll execute her without hesitation!"
There was a moment of silence, a pause as the men digested this new suggestion. Then, there came a polite cough, and the colonel spoke. "With all due respect, sir," Mustang said, directing his comment to the Fuehrer, "my alchemy works just as quickly as Grande's. I can take care of Bloodstone as easily as he can."
"Yes, but you're far too close to the situation." Grande interrupted with a ferocious scowl. "You've befriended the girl, and allowed yourself to grow soft towards her situation. There's no knowing if you'll have the heart to kill her when-if-the time comes. There's no risk of that happening with me."
Mustang looked ready to argue, before interrupted by the Fuehrer. Bradley looked at the child, a smile forming on his lips. "Well, Bloodstone? Would you rather go to jail? Or will you serve your military, under the supervision of General Grande?"
The girl looked to the tall man standing with his back to her, before looking back to the leader of her country. "I'll take General Grande, please," she requested in her soft voice.
