Hey guys! So, this is my second fanfic that I've written (my first was for Black Butler, but I dont know if that counts? I dunno, go read the thing if your curious :P) but the first that I've written for FMA. It actually started out as a headcannon, but when I began writing it out, it basically turned into a third person fanfic. Oops. Well, anyway, I decided to post it here because what better than to upload fanfiction on, right? Also, I've included the actual shortened version of the headcannon at the end of this fic. It's basically a TL;DR of this thing, but if you enjoy a good fanfic, I suggest you read through the actual story first. Sorry, the fic itself is a little long.. Okay, I'll stop rambling now, but I hope you guys enjoy it! Please don't review me too harshly, I'm still new to the fanfic business 'round here, but of course, favorite if you like! ARIGATO GOZIMAS!~~ ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ
Thirty to forty some-odd years before the Promised Day, and before he'd met Trisha, Hohenheim is said to have traveled the world in pursuit of further knowledge of alchemy and its related forms, such as Alkahestry. During his travels around the world, Hohenheim once met a young Amestrian woman in West City at a bar after a long day of tiresome work. The two chatted for some time, and he came to know that she too, was deeply engrossed in learning the technicalities of alchemy as well. Hohenheim became quite interested in the woman for her sharp tongue, keen intellect, and fiery tactics, and stayed in West City with her much longer than he normally would in any other city of the like. They came to be good companions and colleagues, exchanging information with each other frequently. Early on, they even became roommates, however, they never had any further relations beyond that of 'just friends.'
Hohenheim, however, knew that he could not stay with her forever, as he knew she would eventually, like Pinako, question him for his unchanging age and appearance as a grown man. Two years after their first contact at the bar, he informed her of his quickly approaching leave. She was melancholy at the news of his depart, but she soon came up with the quick and obvious solution at her near disposal: to take her with him on his travels. Knowing that her stubborn persistence would render his counters futile, he brought her with him on his seemingly endless expedition.
Several years after she began to accompany him, Hohenheim decided to pay a trip back to Xing to see if any further developments in alkahestry had been made since his last journey there at least sixty years ago. Upon trekking across the vast Desert Area (and paying a short, and considerably nostalgic, visit to the remains of Xerxes as a rest stop on the way there), Hohenheim and his female companion arrived at Xing many long and grueling months later.
Xing was a rather isolated and secluded country from its neighboring, and not to mention other outside, countries and it was quite uncommon for visitors, like Hohenheim and his acquaintance, to approach Xing to begin with. As such, after being unceremoniously taken prisoners for their "illegal trespassing" as foreigners into his country and Hohenheim's comprehensive explanation that he and his colleague had come for the valuable research of alkahestry in Xing, it was decided by the Emperor of Xing that they were to reside in his palace during their studies, and to be under strict and heavy surveillance at all times to ensure not only his own safety, but also that of his country's citizens.
Unwilling to argue against the Emperor's orders, and, in fact, grateful for his hospitality, and even then in such a lavish and extravagant palace of the like, Hohenheim and his female companion set to work at once. They refreshed upon the basic principles of alkahestry, then moved on to the more complicated fine points of it, studying and restudying the ample elements of chi. After poring over enough textbooks to last a lifetime, they began to practice themselves, at first quite taken aback by the exhilarating and invigorating feeling of being able to sense such intricate and vibrant patterns and textures of the ribbons of chi flowing throughout the earth beneath their feet. Of course, this rather perplexing and sophisticated form of alchemy was indeed difficult to grasp, however, soon, Hohenheim and the woman from West City began to master the art with much time, patience, and practice.
During their visit to Xing, which lasted, like most other temporary stays in a variety of cities, only a year at most, the Emperor began to take notice of his visitors' onerous, and tedious endeavors about six-months into their stay. Subsequently after quietly observing their dedicated, later successful, attempts at alkahestry, the Emperor invited Hohenheim and the woman from West City first to many traditionally cultural and decorative festivals that he held outside of his palace, and eventually, even to personal dinners with the Emperor himself. Hohenheim and the woman from West City steadily sparked good will and a closure with the Emperor. As for the emperor himself, however, he began to take special regard of the woman from West City. She was indeed a very beautiful, charming, and charismatic young woman, in his eyes.
One fine evening, the Emperor held yet another of his now commonplace dinners with Hohenheim and the woman, who he introduced to several other clan leaders, who had arrived earlier in the day and were invited to gather for dinner as well, as his "fellow foreigners who had come to research the ancient ways of Xing's afamed alkahestry." Much was discussed that evening, first upon the politics of Xing and what could be done to repair the infrastructure of the 50 clans Xing was composed of, but gradually evolving to a casual conversation between all guests along with the Emperor himself, during which much laughter was spent and wine well drunk.
Later that same night, while lying in bed, replaying the day's events in her head while gazing upon the gleaming stars outside of her window that could never be spotted from the polluted skies of Amestris, the woman heard a knock on the door of her quarters. She quickly pulled away the sheets she'd bundled herself in to answer the door. To her surprise, she met an attendant, who hurriedly relayed the Emperor's message to have her summoned to his chambers. The woman hesitantly complied, slightly worried as to what he could be requesting her for at this late hour.
A few minutes later, she stood outside towering, heavy double doors that led to the Emperor's bedroom. The doors were trimmed by smooth, solid gold, but in contrast to the plain border, however, a sophisticated and intricate design of a fiery red-hot dragon soaring in azure skies, across grassy green, rolling hills framed the inside of these golden borders. The slabs of ruby, lapis lazuli, and emerald stones emblazoned on each door exhibited their true artistry and elegance. The bulky, solid gold handles of each door was molded into the shape of a curvy dragon, with each dragon scale chiseled to a blunt point. On either side of the door, an armored guard stood, straight as a stick, staring dead ahead, paying the woman hardly any mind. The woman took a deep breath and stepped up closer to the door. The two guards automatically moved in synchronization to open the hefty doors before her. As the woman stepped inside the darkness, she inhaled deeply, drawing in the thick scents of Jasmine and Bonsai into her spirit of being. A deep, familiar voice beckoned her to enter his dwelling...
. . .
The next morning, the woman stirred in the Emperor's chambers, awakened by the rays of sunlight that escaped the wrath of the opaque curtains on the far side of the room. She propped herself up on both forearms to get a better sense of her surroundings. In the somewhat better lighting than last night, she could now clearly see the furnishing and lay out of the room before her; The room was decorated in a common Xingese fashion, with the walls painted a deep maroon, trimmed with a shimmering gold on it's borders that connected with the ceiling a good thirty-five feet up. Directly in front of her rested the heavy doors that led to the Emperor's room, just as ornately designed on the inside as they were on the outside. On the left side of the room stood three sets of tall, amber colored curtains that easily concealed three separate windows, each 30 feet high and equidistant from one another, located on the west wall of the room. Opposite to the curtains, on the far right corner of the room, was a small nook with a low, mahogany tatami table with a leather-bound book laying atop of it. The bed on which she laid now was also low like the table, however it was elevated slightly from the rest of the room as it was placed on a raised platform two steps above the rest of the room. It had a high headboard as well as lofty pillars on all four posts of the bed, both of which were lacquered with a mahogany finish that matched that of the tatami table.A sheer sheet, the color of a light Plumeria flower draped over the tops bed posts and drooped slightly inward towards the mattress of the bed. The bedspread was a nearly identical shade of amber as the curtains and the rug beneath the tatami table. As the woman took in her surroundings, she began to recall the events of the prior evening.
She'd initially entered the room the previous night to find the Emperor sitting at his tatami table, reading a leather-bound book, the spine of which she could not see in the dim light. He called her in, put his book down on the tatami table before him, and motioned for her to sit in across from himself. At first he'd apologized to have sent for her so late in the night, to which she'd immediately replied that it was not at all an issue. They had then began simply talking, first about her progress in the alkahestry project, then about his position as emperor. Eventually, the talks led to those about Hohenheim and his relations in regard to her, and after a certain while, one thing led to another, and that was essentially how she'd found herself nestled comfortably within the silky sheets of the Emperor's bed the following morning.
Suddenly, it dawned on her that her actions with the Emperor last night were illegal. As she began to recall the rules and regulations she and Hoheheim were forced to memorize upon their arrival in Xing, she remembered interracial marriage, let alone affairs with an Emperor of all people, were illegal in Xing. At this, her eyes widened as she shot up upright, clutching the bedding to her bare chest. In her haste, she'd managed to wake the Emperor as well, who groaned and stretched his limbs from his side of the bed. He looked up to the woman who looked back at him with fear in her eyes. She quickly explained the predicament to him.
The emperor thought about this for some time, and although he had the power to legalize interracial marriage, he knew the process would be lengthy and take a few years to pass at the very least. He also knew that if he proposed this law change to the Head Legislative Council in Xing, they would most certainly grow suspicious in regard to why he'd suddenly be interested in passing such a reform. He finally decided that it would be best for the woman to leave Xing as soon as possible. The woman readily agreed with the Emperor, and after gathering her belongings, promptly left the room.
Later in the day, she explained what had happened the previous night to Hohenheim and the Emperor's simplest solution to the situation. Hohenheim was respectful of her wishes and proposed that the two leave early the next day. The rest of the day consisted of preparations and the woman's profuse apologies to Hohenheim for having to cut the trip short. They left in the early morning hours the following day, with an abundance of food and other necessities as well as a blessing from the Emperor for their crossing across the desert. About two weeks into the journey, the woman realized that she was pregnant with the Emperor's baby. For the remainder of the trek, the woman became very cautious and made sure she ate well every day.
When she returned to Amestris nearly eight months later, she stayed with Hohenheim in Central City at an apartment they'd rented together. She stayed inside most of the time, playing countless games of solitaire as Hohenheim was usually out at various libraries, continuing his research. She told no one else about the affair. A month later, she gave birth to a baby boy, who was now technically the fourth Prince of Xing, since he was born the son of the Emperor. Just for precautionary purposes to keep the baby safe in the event that news of the affair were to ever resurface, the woman decided to entrust the baby in her elder sister's care. She left him in a crate on the doorstep of her sister's home, who also happened to live in Central, in the very early hours of the morning. She left no note as to who it was that left him or where he'd come from. After doing so, she left to her apartment to pack up her things and leave for her home in West City to continue her own research as well. She left without telling Hohenheim, who returned to the vacant apartment and chuckled to himself, since in the end it was she who'd left him for her own safety.
Four years later, Hohenheim returned to Xing to finish his research on Alkahestry. Ten years after that, he retired to Resembool to meet Pinako and tell her of his discoveries of alkahestry as well as his adventures with the woman from West City. Before he could meet with Pinako, he decided to pick up some fresh apples for her as a returning-housewarming gift. While he was there, he met another lovely young woman at the marketplace who told him she was new in town and had always loved apples since she was a child. When Hohenheim asked for her name, she said she went by the name Trisha Elric.
~ . ~ . ~
A gruff, slightly heavyset woman with a mole on near her mouth trudged to the front door of her home in her robe and slippers. She yawned as opened her front door to retrieve her daily newspaper. She was instead greeted by a wailing baby, who seemed to be only a few days old. She peeked outside to see if anyone was nearby who'd supposedly left the baby there, and upon surveying no one, she smiled to herself as she picked him up. She brought the baby inside and fed him some warm milk from a small bottle she found the back corner of a cupboard. She then gave him a small rattle with the emblem of the military painted on the side of it that she bought when for her own son before she had her miscarriage. When she saw how happy and content he was with the rattle, she decided to name him after her late husband who used to serve under the military before he'd passed in the war with Drachma fifteen years ago: Roy Mustang.
* . * . *
HEADCANNON: 30-40 years ago, the Emperor of Xing fell in love with a woman from Amestris, who'd traveled to Xing with Hohenheim because the two wanted to do more research on Alkahestry. The baby conceived was technically the fourth Prince of Xing, however, interracial marriages and affairs were illegal in the country. To save herself, and her baby, trouble from the officials, the woman fled back to Amestris as soon as possible and left the baby on the doorstep of her sister's home in Central City with no explanation of who he was or who'd left him there. When Madame Christmas opened the door, she decided to name the boy after her late husband: Roy Mustang.
Okay, well, I hope you guys enjoyed that Fanfic! To be honest, I came up with this one day when FMAB feels were just constantly washing over me as I laid in bed at like 4AM. And I remembered another headcannon I once saw that said that Roy was actually part Xingese. So, then I started thinking that Roy actually looked a lot like Ling too.. So then I came up with the idea that they could be half-brothers and the whole emperor thing came into play, and as I was trying to think of specific circumstances under which that could happen. And that's basically how a simple headcannon became a more or less legit fanfic. Well, as I mentioned earlier, please don't review me too harshly, I'm still new to the fanfic business 'round here, but of course, favorite if you like! Thanks for reading guys!