Hey everyone,
Sorry about the long wait, I've had other projects vying for attention, as well as stuff happening offline. Thanks to all who reviewed, subscribed or favorited, I appreciate your support and patience. I have a feeling that a fair few of the following chapters for this are going to be a bit short until I get this story's momentum going, but hopefully it won't be like that for too long. I've also fixed up the previous chapter a little with some of those pronouns.
...
Maes led Harry out of the alleyway and back onto the main road, occasionally glancing behind him to make sure he hadn't collapsed. The kid had outright refused his help, declaring that he could walk there by himself. Maes, thinking of his daughter's occasional bouts of stubbornness, wisely left the matter alone.
"So, apart from being in that alleyway, which we'll discuss later, are you enjoying your visit here in Amestris?" Maes asked, slowing down so that he was beside the boy.
Harry frowned at the question. "What do you mean?"
Maes blinked. "Oh, you're not from out of town?" He scratched his head thoughtfully. "I could have sworn you were, is your family from one of the northern countries?"
"What?"
Maes glanced over at him, filing the kid's reactions for later. "I'm sorry," he replied, smiling pleasantly. "It's just that I've never heard that accent before."
Harry's expression grew wary. "You haven't?"
He shook his head. "Nope."
The kid grew awfully quiet for a while afterwards and Maes couldn't help feeling a little concerned. Adding in the behaviors with where he was found, it was possible that there was a lot more going on. Who would leave a child in an alleyway?
It wasn't long before the pair approached the main entrance to the Eastern Command Center. There was a small group of guards loitering around the almost ridiculously tall bars that made up the front gates, who all gave Maes a sharp salute.
"Lieutenant Colonel, sir," a young private managed to utter before saluting again, after a measured glance at the insignia on Maes' shoulder. "And the -" he started again, taking notice of Harry standing off to the side.
"The kid's with me," Maes interrupted, giving the private a stern look. "And if you wouldn't mind, I have other important things to do right now." It took less than a minute after that to get the gate open to allow them both through. "Come on, Harry," he called out as he stepped onto military property. "Follow me and we'll get this all sorted out."
Maes was relieved to hear the boy's quicker footsteps echoing behind him as they approached the main building. The gates groaned slightly when the enlisted guards closed them, a quick glance over his shoulder told Maes that Harry was completely out of his depth.
The kid made no move to hide his awe of their surroundings; Maes had to stifle a chuckle when he flat out gaped at the massive Amestrian Coat of Arms hanging off the front wall. He turned around, walked over and clapped a reassuring hand on Harry's shoulder, startling him. Maes immediately felt bad for it, he didn't realize the kid was so jumpy.
"Pretty impressive, huh?" Harry nodded numbly, his attention obviously wavering back to the building in front of them.
"Yeah," he croaked.
"You all right, kid?" Maes asked as he silently coaxed the boy into walking again, arm still draped over his shoulder while they passed yet another group of guards at the door.
"M'fine," Harry murmured, giving the guards a wary glance. Maes' eyes narrowed at that; he rarely met a kid who was this shy. The receptionist at the front desk waved him through and he was hoping to cheer Harry up before they reached his office.
"You know, I have a daughter who's a bit younger than you," Maes offered. "Do you have any siblings?" Harry's face fell at his last word, making him feel guilty again. "Okay," he said, backpedalling quickly. He hated it when kids cried, especially Elysia, it really pulled at the heart strings. "What do you do for fun?"
So far Harry was growing more confused by the minute. Lt. Colonel Hughes was nice and all, but he had said some really strange things. Some of it made sense, though, like with the accents. To Harry the man sounded American, which reminded him of some of those cartoons he'd occasionally hear Dudley watching on the telly after school. Maybe the man thought he sounded funny...
But that was the confusing thing about it. Why did he think Harry was a visitor? He'd lived here his entire life, sometimes coming out to the main part of the city for an excursion if Uncle Vernon allowed it. The one who'd sound weird here should be the colonel. Harry was in Britain, wasn't he?
The building was still huge inside, probably the biggest one he'd ever been to. The local library near the Dursleys' house was nowhere near as impressive. If he had come in by himself, Harry was sure he'd get lost in all of the long, narrow corridors they passed to get to wherever they were going.
Lt. Colonel Hughes made plenty of stops along the way, talking to all sorts of people. They were all smiling and laughing, and Harry figured that this man was probably friends with everyone here. The laughing seemed to stop when he reached into his pocket, though. It was like they all wanted to run away. After that Harry struggled to keep up as Mr. Hughes started walking again. Watching it happen was weird.
There was one group of ladies behind a tall desk that gave him weird looks when they saw him. It was almost like they were going to jump out of their seats to hug him. Harry nearly shuddered at that thought and it made him feel really uncomfortable. He didn't even know these people!
"Harry, are you coming, kid?"
Harry jumped at the sound of his voice and nodded. "Yeah," he said, scurrying over to Hughes. The man was standing next to a plain wooden door with a fancy nameplate in the middle of it. Harry ignored it for the moment and followed him inside the room.
It was an office with a few desks here and there, cluttered with piles of folders and paperwork. A dark filing cabinet stood off to the side of the door; across from it were several bookshelves lining the wall. Old, dusty volumes filled the shelves, and it looked like any extra books would topple the case over it was so full. Several doors branched off of the room, probably leading off into smaller work areas. All in all the place had an almost cozy feeling about it.
Mr. Hughes motioned for Harry to stay where he was as the man entered one of the other rooms. When he returned there was a girl following him. She glanced between the two of them before giving Harry a smile.
"Harry, this is Szceska," Hughes said, motioning to the girl beside him. She waved politely. "She'll be with you for a few minutes while I check up on a few things. Don't worry," he added, noting Harry's frown. "It won't take long, I promise."
Harry watched Hughes leave the room, the door closing behind him. Szceska smiled and motioned for him to sit in one of the nearby chairs. He obeyed wordlessly; after such a long walk to get here, Harry was grateful for the chance to rest. His legs were tired and his feet were sore.
"So, Harry," she began, pulling up a chair to sit across from him. "Do you like to read?"
...
I was going to add more to this but every time I tried it didn't sound right. I'll make sure to post the next one a bit quicker.
Shadow
