Chapter Two
Where Ushio stumbles through a very awkward night.
Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.
Night had fallen over the caravan's camp, the sky navy and scattered with twinkling stars. A crisp wind cooled the desert sand, causing the temperature to drop at least twenty degrees. When the sun had set was about the time that someone came in to check on Lan Fan and Prince Ling – Ushio's father, Jiang, returned to their tent with enough water to last the three of them a week, stacked bowls of rice, and sleeping mats.
The sleeping mats were laid out in a row, a bowl of rice placed on each of them, and the water used to refill the cups each of them already had. Ushio had not moved from her spot in the corner of the tent as she watched her father set the room up for them, she had not offered to help Ling, and she had not said anything to Lan Fan, the unconscious prince, or her father.
It took several minutes of convincing Lan Fan to release Ling from her arms, to give him into the care of someone with medical experience – even though she had been the one to request another's help in the first place. Ushio wanted to tell her to just give up, to worry about herself for the night, and let her father look after Prince Ling for a couple hours. The only thing that kept her from doing so was fear she would not be able to explain that correctly, she had trouble with words and Lan Fan would most likely assume she was being protective of Ling when she should not be.
Ling was laid down on the mat towards the back of the tent, a thin cotton blanket draped over him from his waist down. Every minute or so, Jiang poured a small sip of water down his throat. A cold cloth was pressed against his forehead, and after several minutes of drinking water, Ling broke into a coughing fit. Lan Fan's eyes grew wide and watery, sparkling with a sense of relief. Ushio was simply glad that he was showing signs of coming to; he passed out quickly after trying to speak hours ago. From there, Jiang deemed that he was to be confined to bed rest until morning and that there was not much they could do for him until they exited the desert.
"You have to tell them to turn around," murmured Ushio quietly, reaching up to grab her father's arm as he pulled back the tent flap. "They have said we should not go to Amestris."
Jiang gave her a questioning look. "What does that mean?" he asked. "We spent two weeks to get to this point; I cannot tell everyone else that we must turn back now."
"You must," breathed Lan Fan from her seat beside Ling. She had dropped to her knees to watch over him, her dark hair shading most of his pale face. "They are in a state of panic."
The older Xingese man's eyes darkened. "I suppose we will have to then," he sighed, no questions asked. Jiang already knew in a sense that Amestris was not doing well, their military was far beyond corrupt and they were overcoming a civil war. Hearing that it was crumbling before them was not very surprising. With that, he slipped out of the tent.
Ushio watched as Lan Fan began stroking Ling's face with the cloth, her other hand pushing his inky hair out of his eyes. Even in the dark tent, she could tell that there was something different about Lan Fan's arm; one of her hands was constructed with metal. Her previous trips to Amestris saved Ushio from having to ask what it was, automail – a type of prosthetic that connected to your nerves. She thought she looked naïve when she asked questions, which was something she tried to avoid at all costs.
Lan Fan then picked up the small bowl of rice that had been brought in for him. She struggled to position the chopsticks correctly, and was hardly able to keep her hand steady as she tried to feed Ling. Ushio felt she should be doing something to help, stronger now than before. She stepped over the sleeping mats and extended her hand, offering to take the bowl from Lan Fan.
"Again," she whispered, finding that was about as loud as she could make her voice, "you need to worry about yourself. I can take care of him for the night." What Ushio meant was that she could look after Ling until Lan Fan was healed, but she felt that was going to cause unneeded worry.
"Lan Fan," slurred Ling, his eyes fluttering open. "Food…"
"Yes, my lord," the woman breathed. Ushio retracted her hand as Lan Fan began to scoop rice from the bowl again, attempting to put the food in Ling's mouth without spilling it. Her hand trembled and grains of white rice seemed to land everywhere on the lower half of his face aside from his mouth. Ling's eyes closed weakly. Lan Fan stared at him for a moment, as if she did not know what to do.
"Let me feed him," insisted Ushio, reaching out again. "Try to eat something yourself, or at least drink."
Lan Fan froze. It was clear that she had no argument. Finally, she said, "But I must look after the young lord. It is my duty, not yours." Her voice was soft and raspy.
Ushio had learned many things about the woman in several hours; one of her most prominent characteristics was that she was very driven, very stubborn. She did not plan to let that fact stand in her way, however, she was set on the idea that she was going to do something to help Prince Ling while Lan Fan took care of herself. "I understand," said Ushio. "But you are straining yourself just to sit upright, I can see that. You need to take a break."
Lan Fan's head dropped, her chin tucking in against the base of her throat. She closed her eyes and her shoulders began quivering. Ushio listened as the woman's breathing grew shallow and watched tears swelled along the rim of her eyes. She saw Lan Fan as a strong person, maybe realizing that she had to abandon her duty for a night was her breaking point.
When the guardian woman began sobbing, Ushio knew that it was far past her breaking point. She was just as delirious as the prince. Lan Fan could no longer hide it.
Ushio slowly took the bowl of rice from Lan Fan's hands and knelt beside Ling. She gently brushed the scattered grains from his cheeks and jaw, trying her best not to blush as she did so. Being so shy her entire life meant being sheltered from boys, she only remembered ever talking to a select few before she joined her father's caravan. The fact that Ling was handsome did not help, either. Ushio redirected her eyes as she forced his lips apart and began to set clumps of rice on his tongue. What surprised her most was that he actually chewed the rice before swallowing; Ushio had not realized he had that much energy.
"Where is Lan Fan?" asked Ling, his charcoal eyes fixed on Ushio's face. She was avoiding making eye contact with him; she was embarrassed by her reddening cheeks as it was.
"I am right here, my lord," Lan Fan assured, placing a hand on his forehead. She had finally refilled her cup of water.
The prince gulped. Ushio set another clump of rice in his mouth. "Thank you," Ling sighed in between chews, his mouth stuffed with food. He gulped, opening his mouth wide for another bite.
Ushio smiled, amused. She skillfully stirred the rice around in the bowl, sticking it together so it was easier to pick up with the chopsticks. She placed the wad on Ling's tongue. His lips spread into a gleeful smile as he chewed, his squinty eyes locked on Ushio's face.
"Thank you," repeated the prince.
"Don't thank me," insisted Ushio, dishing out the last of the rice into his mouth. "You don't even know me."
Ling's tense body relaxed, as if he was sinking against the sleeping mat. "I know you fed me," he grinned. "What's your name?"
"Ushio Han. I found Lan Fan holding you unconscious in the desert and now you are staying with my family's caravan. We are returning to Xing with you." Ushio turned away from him, placing the empty bowl and chopsticks on the floor beside the edge of the mat.
"I am Ling Yao, twelfth son–"
"I know who you are," muttered Ushio, glancing at Lan Fan. The woman was gulping down a cup of water; a half-empty pitcher sat at the front leg of her chair. "Lan Fan told me." She immediately felt like she was treating him too casually, like she was not recognizing that he was a higher being than she was. The Han clan was not very important when it came to Xing's emperor, aside from its trade routes. Ushio was definitely not royalty, either, even if she spent several of her early years in the palace. "Your highness," she added promptly.
Ling's eyes slid shut. Ushio's blush deepened; she could not handle talking to someone so attractive. His lips began moving, Ushio was so caught up in herself that she almost missed what he was saying. "You saved my life, I don't need the formalities."
Ushio nodded, knowing that it would be inappropriate for her to disagree with him. Her eyes flickered up towards Lan Fan, who had moved on to eating one of the remaining bowls of rice. Suddenly, Ushio felt stuck. She did not know what else she could do for the prince. She wanted to ask Lan Fan, but that would trail back to her fear of appearing naïve. Ushio knew that she could care for him well, if only she had instruction.
Ling rocked back and forth on his shoulders, his torso tense as he tried to prop himself up on his elbows. Ushio slid an arm under him, his sharp shoulder blades digging into her forearm. She gently brought him to sit upright.
"Lay him back down," chastised Lan Fan sharply, spitting out her words. Ushio turned to the woman wide-eyed, carefully lying Ling back against the sleeping mat.
Ushio sat quietly at the prince's side, avoiding looking at his face by whatever means necessary. She began twisting her fingers around strands of her ebony hair, which had grown to reach her lower back, in order to keep herself distracted. That aside, she did not show the usual signs of being nervous; Ushio was not biting her lip or twiddling her thumbs. She glanced up at Lan Fan, silently asking what else she could do for them. She did not want to simply sit, doing nothing, when there had to be a thousand different things she could help with.
Lan Fan's dark eyes flashed as they looked up from the bowl cupped in her hands, catching Ushio's eye. "Let him sleep," she ordered. "We are going to be up and moving in the morning."
"Are you sure it is alright for him to do that?" asked Ushio, glancing down a Ling.
Lan Fan masked a scowl as she observed an unmistakable gleam of worry in the girl's eyes. "Yes, I am positive," she nodded. "I don't think we can afford to sit still."
She tensed, the sharp tone in the woman's voice slicing her to the core. "Alright…" Ushio decided it best not to protest; who was she to tell Lan Fan what she could and could not do? Ling was out of the question as well, considering that she knew nothing about him. She already had a sense of attachment to him, but it was not in his best interest. Lan Fan was.
"You do know that you will have to continue travelling with us, though," Ushio reminded her quietly. "You won't be able to make it without food and water."
"We have to return as soon as possible, I don't know if a caravan is fast enough to keep up with our pace. The young lord has been called to the palace."
Ushio nodded, understanding. Being called to the palace was almost unheard of, so naturally he would want to rush. She believed that was how her mother was, too, since she had been working for royalty since Ushio had been born. Ling was different; however, he was sick and dehydrated. "He will be fine with his condition?"
"I believe so." Lan Fan sighed, breaking off the conversation.
Ushio felt torn. She knew she should have no feelings for the prince, she knew she should not care as much as she did. She wanted to keep him under her own care until she was sure she could feed himself, let alone cross the desert. But Lan Fan knew best, she had known him longer; she cared for him on a much deeper level than Ushio ever would. Ushio dismissed what she was feeling as some sort of deep-rooted maternal instinct, yet to be released otherwise; Ling was just an excuse to do so.
She glanced at the prince's sleeping face. It was surprising that she was amazed by his inability to keep his eyes open. Ushio shifted, pulling her legs out from under her. As she did so, Ling moved unconsciously, mirroring her movements almost identically. The only difference was that when he finally rested, his arm was draped around Ushio's waist and his head was resting on her lap.
Ushio stared down in shock, but found she was unable to move him.
"Let me care for him," snapped Lan Fan, falling onto the floor beside Ushio. Hastily, she pried the prince's arms from around the girl and pulled him to lean against herself.
Her personality was very unstable at the moment, Ushio observed. The girl scooted away quickly. "I'm sorry," she apologized under her breath, her eyes fixed at the floor.
Ushio remained in the same position, staring at Lan Fan cradling Ling like a baby, for what seemed like hours. She knew that time could not possibly be passing that fast, but it was unbelievable that her eyes had begun to droop and her shoulders hunch over sleepily. Having ended up crawling onto her own sleeping mat, she was soon falling asleep. It was just as her eyes slid closed for what would have been the final time that Ling's voice caused her eyes to snap open.
"Lan Fan, there was no need to be harsh with her," said the prince, his voice slurring in sleep. "She was trying to help you as well."
"But…my young lord, it is my duty to look after you."
"I know that. Ushio knows that. That doesn't affect the fact that she means well."
Lan Fan paused, as if having trouble thinking of the words she could string together in reply. "I want you to be safe. You have to remember the fate of Xing is on the line, they need you."
"Of course they do," Ling agreed. "But travelling with the caravan back to the palace is not going to work against that."
"You are saying that we should continue with them through the desert?" asked the woman.
"Why not?" sighed the prince. "I just hope that Ushio did not take how you have been acting towards her too personally. I assume that it will be the three of us staying together for a while, so it's best if you two are on decent terms. Besides, I think I may need someone like her by my side."
Lan Fan hesitated. "Excuse me, my lord…?"
Ushio could nearly hear Ling smiling. "Take that any way you will."
That…actually did not turn out terribly. I am a little bit shocked with myself. I have a long, important chapter planned so I hope that people are willing to stick around for it. But anyways, I would like to thank everyone who is reading this story, especially the reviewers. The response I received for the first chapter blew me out of the water! (Let's see that again, hm?)
