Chapter two~Underdog

Malaina sat behind her desk, writing the letters to all of the soldiers who are under her command. The letters all stated that they would soon be going to Xing to fight against Drachma's soldiers. She sighed as she wrote the letters to the soldiers and their families. She had never been into a war zone so this was a very scary thing that was going to be happening by the end of the week.

All of these emotions were hitting her all at once. She was really only afraid of one thing: dying. She shook her head and then stood up, with all of the letters in her hands. She went to all of her soldiers and gave them their letter.

Once the last letter was handed to the last soldier, she started to head out of HQ. She was almost out of the building when she heard a voice behind her that stopped her. "Lt. Colonel Bolin, may I have a word with you before you head home?" A deep voice asked her from behind. Malaina turned around. She saw Roy standing there. "Of course, sir" She walked back towards him and back up the stairs to his office.

Once they got up to Roy's office, Malaina sat down at a chair in front of his desk. "What is it that you would like to speak with me about?" Roy didn't answer her question right away. He took a seat in his tall, black leather chair and looked right at her. "Well, as you know, you are going to be sent to Xing in two days…" He paused for a second. Malaina nodded. "Yes sir, you told me that earlier and I already sent letters out to my soldiers stating that they would be sent to Xing so they already know." She said as she waited for him to finish his statement.

"That is one thing that I love about you Lt. Colonel. You are always one step ahead of the game. I know that you have never been sent into a war before, which is probably terrifying you right now…" He took another pause. Malaina nodded. "Yes, sir, it is really scaring me right now but I know that you are sending me for a reason."

"Yes, I am sending you for a reason. I will explain my reasoning tonight. Would you care to take a walk with me?" He asked her as he stretched in his seat. Malaina's cheek turned a slight pinkish color. "Sure, I will take a walk with you." She replied as she stood up and put her jacket on.

Once they were outside, Roy began to talk again. "Well, Lt. Colonel, I am sending you to Xing because I believe in your ability to fight and be a soldier. I know that you have been getting some comments lately from other soldiers who think that you can't be a soldier and that you don't deserve to be in the military. Am I correct?" Malaina looked up at Roy. "Yes, you are correct. Right now, I am an underdog to everyone."

"Well, that is the main reason I am sending you to Xing. In Xing you have two options, live or die. That is war. And trust me, Lt. Colonel, Bolin, you are going to have a hard time living with what you did in that war once it is over but that is alright. The only important thing is that you come back to Amestris alive and ready to prove yourself to your fellow soldiers." He explained to her softly.

"Yes, sir, I completely understand where you are coming from. I am scared but I also know that I need to come back alive, not only for my family but for my country. If I die in the battle in Xing, I am only letting the soldiers who are mocking me right now, win. They will be right if I die, I am not going to let them be right." She said, getting worked up a bit.

"Lt. Colonel, I have no doubt in my mind that you will come back alive. I believe that you are one of the smartest, strongest soldiers in Central. I am not even kidding about that. You have a mind that can outsmart the best of the best. You are always one step ahead of everyone else and I will gladly welcome you back when you do come back to Central." He stopped walking and turned to her, hugging her briefly.

Malaina's face flushed once more. She hugged him back and then they broke up the hug soon after that. "Fuhrer, who knows how long this war is going to take, but I can't wait until I come back to Central. I want to see the look on all of the soldier's faces when I return. They will wish that they had never underestimated me." She stated with a grin.