"Rachel, are you paying attention?"
"Yes, Maes, I heard you. Your friend Mustang is coming over today. I got it."
"Never ignore someone," her dad would say, "It's rude. If you're going to be a lady, you have to be polite to everyone."
But Maes was her brother. She was allowed to ignore him sometimes, wasn't she? He did the same to her sometimes.
"He'll be here any minute. He's very punctual."
That made a good impression on Rachel. She was impatient by nature, so she hated sitting around waiting for anyone. Not that she was waiting for this Roy Mustang. She'd never even met the man, and she didn't know why Maes was raving about him. All she wanted was to read the book in her lap.
Her father had brought her a new alchemy book, and she spent all her free time perusing its pages. Maes didn't understand the appeal of alchemy, not like Rachel and their father did.
Their father was an alchemist for the military, and taught Rachel everything he knew. She wanted to be a great alchemist someday, just like he was.
A knock at the door interrupted Rachel's thoughts, and Maes jumped to his feet.
"Oh! That's Roy!"
He ran from the room as though Roy would break the door down if not allowed in quickly, but Rachel just shrugged and returned to her book. If Maes wanted her to meet Roy, he'd let her know. She certainly wasn't going to follow him like a lost puppy.
And apparently Maes didn't want her to meet his friend, because moments later the two returned to the dining room.
"Rachel, this is Lieutenant Roy Mustang."
Laying a finger on her book to keep her place, she glanced up, prepared to give the stranger a nod and brief greeting before returning to reading. That's polite enough, isn't it? But when she looked up, she found herself unable to look away.
She wasn't sure what she'd expected of this Roy Mustang that Maes had been talking about all day, but it wasn't the man standing before her. Deep, piercing eyes peered out beneath slightly shaggy black bangs, and an easy smile play against his lips. The look in his eyes was of someone who knew a secret, one that he'd just shared with her. And somehow, Rachel felt like she was supposed to know what it was.
"So you're Rachel," Roy said, easily taking her hand and kissing it lightly, "I've heard a lot about you."
"I-it's nice to meet you, Lieutenant," Rachel managed, surprised to even find her voice.
"Please, call me Roy. And believe me, the pleasure is all mine."
...
Roy just received the news that morning; Brigadier General Eli Hughes was dead. He'd been killed in combat in Ishbal, fighting to quell a rebellion that threatened his homeland. He died fighting for his children's freedom.
Roy had requested to be present when Maes and Rachel were told, and now stood at the front door of the Hughes' home beside an officer of the court.
Maes opened the door almost instantly, glad to see his friend for this unexpected visit. His smile faded when he saw the look in Roy's eyes. Suddenly he knew that this wasn't a social visit. Behind him, Rachel wore the same worried expression.
Rachel stood in the dining room, staring at the three men. Her brother looked as lost as she felt, and the sorrow in Roy's eyes was clear even from across the room. The court officer looked moderately indifferent, but Rachel paid him little attention.
"No..." She whispered, "It can't be true. H-he can't be..."
But she couldn't even say the word, couldn't even imagine that it was true. Her father, dead? It wasn't possible!
"I'm sorry, Miss, but it is true." The officer said, "Your father was killed in action in Ishbal. I'm very sorry."
But he didn't look sorry.
"No..."
She stumbled backward, away from the officer. She stared at him almost as though he had been the one to kill her father, and she had to get away.
"Rae..." Maes tried, reaching out to lay a hand on her arm gently. Tears stung his eyes, but she shook him off as he touched her.
"No!"
She didn't look at anyone again as she fled the room, leaving the house behind moments later. She tore down the sidewalk as though putting distance between herself and the others would make the truth untrue. Slipping on the rain-soaked pavement, she fell a couple times, but simply pushed herself up and kept going.
She didn't know how far she ran, but pushed on until her legs would carry her no further. Then she collapsed. Crawling into an alley to avoid attention, she used her alchemy to surround herself with a metal wall to keep everyone out.
...
Roy had tried to stop Rachel as she fled, but she'd ducked under his arm and got past him. He followed her out onto the sidewalk, staying a few steps behind her as she ran.
If he'd followed too closely, she would have gone further, even if she'd had to crawl to do it. She wouldn't let him catch her. So he stayed back, waiting until she stopped. He wasn't surprised to find the metal wall surrounding her - she'd always been skilled at drawing trace elements of silver from the ground and bending them to her will.
But it was no match for the Flame Alchemist, and he melted it with a mere snap of his fingers. Once it was gone, he stood looking down at Rachel until she met his gaze.
"Go away."
But he didn't. Instead he sat down beside her, ignoring the wet ground as he put an arm around her and pulled her close. He sat there, silently holding her as she cried, gently brushing her hair back from her face. Even when her tears were spent, he still didn't speak, waiting until she was ready to do so herself.
"How can he be gone?"
Roy didn't answer that. He didn't really know what to say. He'd known Eli for a long time, but he'd never told Rachel that.
"What am I supposed to do without him?"
"I don't know, Rachel," Roy whispered, "I honestly don't know."
That was when she finally looked at him. That simple statement, and the brokenness with which it was delivered, drew her eyes up to meet his. Ans in them she saw the same sorrow she knew was reflected in hers.
"He was a good man," He said quietly, "He was my mentor and friend."
"You never told me you knew him."
Her tone wasn't accusatory, but Roy lowered his head as though he were being chastised. After a moment he offered a brief explanation.
"It was through him that I met Maes and, indirectly, you as well."
"I'm sorry."
She knew that Roy would never agree with her, but suddenly a thought rang through her mind - she was being selfish. She had run off and tried to shut everyone out, not bothering to consider that she wasn't the only one who'd lost someone, the only one who was hurting.
"I have to go back," She whispered, "I can't believe I ran out on Maes like that..."
"Well come on then," Roy said, standing and offering her his hand, "We'll go back together."
She took his hand and he helped her to her feet, and held her hand all the way back to the house. As they approached, Rachel saw the court officer standing at his car, but she paid him little attention as she went inside to find her brother.
He was sitting on the edge of a small sofa in the front room, and stood when he saw her. Neither of them spoke, but he held out his arms to her and she wasted no time running into them, feeling fresh tears spring into her eyes.
Maes held her for a long time, and she knew by the shaking of his shoulders that he was crying too.
How were they going to survive without their father? He was the one who kept them together when their mother died, and now he was gone too? What would they do now? Sure, they had Maes' salary to support them financially, but what about emotionally? How were they going to get through this? How did they deal with another death?
...
"So what will you do now?"
Roy and Rachel were seated at the dining table. Alchemy books were scattered across the table's surface, but it wasn't Rachel who gathered them. Since her father's death, she hadn't even been able to look at them without thinking of him.
It was Roy who'd collected the books. He was trying to get Rachel to resume her studies.
"Are you just going to sit there moping?"
"It's only been a month, Roy," Maes interjected, "Give her time to think."
Rachel didn't answer Roy, except to say 'I don't know' to most of his questions. She felt dead inside. And she knew she didn't look much better on the outside - she wasn't eating, wasn't sleeping, barely ever left the house... she was falling apart. And neither Roy nor Maes knew what to do about it.
Roy sat at the table everyday with Rachel, trying to engage her. Her brought out her alchemy books, and even bought some new ones that she'd never seen, but got no reaction.
He tried being harsh with her, trying to bring out the spark of the girl he knew was inside her. He hadn't seen that side of her since the funeral, but he knew it was still in there. And he was going to find it.
He didn't like the new girl that took its place - she was quiet and withdrawn, and when she did speak, which wasn't often, her voice was barely above a whisper. She refused to meet his eyes, and her own were dark, dead inside.
Standing up from the table when it was time for him to leave, Roy moved behind Rachel's chair to give her a hug. It was a simple gesture of friendship and support, one that he had started doing after Rachel had withdrawn from everyone. She never returned the embrace, or even responded at all, but it didn't matter.
This day, however, when he moved to pull away, Rachel's hand snapped up and latched onto his, seemingly moving of its own volition.
Sharing a surprised glance with Maes, Roy leaned closer to Rachel.
"Thank you."
He had to strain to hear it, but those two words gave Roy hope. Maybe she was starting to snap back. Maybe the Rachel he knew wasn't lost to him.
The next day, he arrived at the house to find her buried in one of the books he'd bought. She didn't speak to him, or even look up as he slid into the seat beside her, but that didn't matter. He watched her in silence, studying the movement of her hands as she scribbled notes and drew diagrams in the notebook nearest to her. Her lips moved as she silently read over the words in the book, but her eyes never wavered from the pages.
When he prepared to leave he leaned down to give her a hug, and like the day before she took his hand and thanked him.
"You're welcome," He said, straightening and turning away. When he reached the door he paused, watching her with a thoughtful expression.
"You know," He began casually, "You could always join the military. Aim for being a State Alchemist, finish your father's work."
With that he walked out, Maes close on his heels.
"How could you suggest that to her?!" He railed, "Now that Dad's gone, its my job to look after her. You knew I didn't want her getting involved with the military!"
"She has to make her own choices, Maes. I merely gave her one option. The military could give her the stability she needs right now."
"She's only sixteen, Roy! She's not old enough to be a State Alchemist anyway!"
"That doesn't mean she can't study for it, or apply to the academy if she chooses. I studied my whole life to get where I am."
"But-"
"Wait." Rachel's voice sounded from behind them.
It was the first time she'd spoken so clearly in a month, and she looked right at Roy. He even thought he saw some of the old fire in her eyes.
"I could really... become a State Alchemist?" She asked, and Roy grinned.
His Rachel was back.
Fin
The sequel to this story, called "Silverlake" is now available. Thanks for reading!