Thanks to those who have continued on to this second installment! Obviously, I don't own FMAB, or I would be lavishing in my millions instead of posting fanfiction. Enjoy!


Ode to Forgotten Histories

Chapter One:

"Stalker"


3rd March, 1811; Central City, Central Amestris

It was her fault. All of this was her fault.

The self-accusation hung heavily on the mind of Nadine Huntly. Despite how the irresponsible side of her cooed soothing words that denied her involvement in all the unfortunate matters that had transpired over the last four years, she could no longer disillusion herself. The part she was playing was clearly not that of a victim.

Perhaps it had begun that way, but it was here, in this moment, where it became clear that had changed. For she currently stood in a pool of blood that was not her own while clutching the trigger of a pistol resting against the temple of a man whom she had once claimed to love.

It was then that she finally admitted to herself that the shoes she filled were clearly the role of a villain.

Feasibly, she thought some could argue, "villain" was too soft a term to express the true fiend that she had become. Rather the word "monster", especially taking into light the feral expression that she knew to be scrawled across her face, seemed to fit her much better. Not even the force of the driving rain could disguise the horrid twisting of her features.

The sides of her mouth quirked the slightest way upwards as a haggard laugh escaped through her chapped lips.

What irony.

She could not help but to scoff at the caustic nature that her life had taken. There she stood amidst a downpour, ready to execute a man with the simple twitch of her index finger, a self-proclaimed monster.

Such a pity, for she had once been such an innocent girl.

She could clearly pick out the moment that had sent her life spiraling down the path towards villainy. It was a day very much like this one. One where she also had nearly been soaked to the bone with foreboding clouds sagging overhead. If only she could have warned the naïve girl she was then of the tragic future that she was to behold.

"Oh, Nadine, you were such a fool…"

A deafening gunshot filled the alleyway.


29th April, 1807; Wellesley, Western Amestris

Nadine Huntly had come to two conclusions. One, they believed she was a complete and utterly oblivious moron. Or two, they had somehow come to the baseless conclusion that she was blind. However, since she knew they could clearly see her reading both a text on medicinal alchemy and a thick newspaper, then it was unlikely that they thought she was sightless. Therefore, that left the first conclusion, and she hated when people assumed she was an idiot.

The mysterious 'they' in this equation were an immaculately dressed couple lounging on the opposite side of the cafe that Nadine frequently visited, and currently was sitting in.

For the past few weeks, she had taken notice of the couple, a strikingly gorgeous woman and a disgruntled but classically handsome man, arrive in the cafe only moments after she would place an order, and would exit just a few minutes after she herself had left. Each time the pair would seat themselves at a table just outside of Nadine's sight, but in a location where they could easily eye her.

Typically, the voluptuous woman would casually sip on a cup of tea, her movements fluid and deliberate, while the man beside her slouched in his chair completely irreverent of all social pleasantries, not ordering.

Occasionally, he would tilt his chair back on two legs, placing his arms behind his head, and resting his expensive looking leather boots on the tabletop. The woman would allow several seconds to tick by before she would elegantly place her teacup down next to his feet, and grab the man's ankle. From the pained expression he would make immediately afterwards, Nadine guessed that the woman must have had an amazing grip strength. He would then sit properly in his chair and glower at her for a bit before resuming his lackadaisical pose once more.

Their lavish clothing and hauntingly attractive features clearly demonstrated that they had no place belonging in such a rundown, family-owned cafe as the one they were in. It was painfully obvious that they should have had no business being there, and that, more than their seemingly odd attempt to stalk her, is what set Nadine at unease. But, that was about to change. This game was about to end.

The seventeen-year-old girl planned to take matters into her own hands starting today, and the weather, which was currently a raging downpour, had offered her the perfect opportunity to do such a thing.

Her plan was simple. The idea was that, in the next few minutes, she would gather her things up and step out into the driving rain, and if the dark-haired man and woman vacated the warmth of the little shop to step out into the torrential downpour, then she would have irrefutable evidence that they, indeed, were following her.

However, when it came to matters concerning Nadine, things rarely went according to plan. Today, in fact, was no exception to that unspoken rule.

Narrowed, yet lazy, amethyst orbs met wide, charcoal irises. Unexpectedly, a sickening chill crawled up the girl's spine as she accidentally caught eyes with the male in the pair. His dark eyebrows rose in surprise, and with a self-satisfied smirk beginning to surface on his lips, he offered a condescending wave of his hand, four obsidian bracelets falling from his exposed wrist and into the cuff of his black satin shirt.

"Oh dear, holy geez, gosh darnit, mother of a damned whore..." Nadine muttered the rather childish curses under her breath as she realized that she had been caught stalking one of her stalkers.

The pits of her cotton shirt became damp with nervous perspiration, and she turned her head in awkward directions pretending as if she had just been casually scanning the room rather than outright gawking at the man, whom she could have sworn she heard snickering in the distance.

It was also in this moment that she registered several other details. In her desire to gain a look at the peculiar duo from her unfortunate location, Nadine had apparently, very indiscreetly, leaned so far across her table that she was laying on it belly down, the tips of her worn brown shoes just barely brushing the floor as her legs dangled over the edge from the waist down. More than one pair of eyes were gawking in her direction as her strange position seemed to have drawn an inordinate amount of attention from the other patrons in the conservative-looking cafe.

Oh, all that, and the fact that the ethereal female stalker was now standing directly in front of her.

"It would seem you noticed us, how perceptive." The woman spoke in a saccharine, sultry voice, her eyes an unwavering and nearly hypnotic wine color, similar to the man whom was now watching them with a wolfish grin from across the room, his feet once again on the table now that his more civilized companion was gone.

With a gloved hand, she gestured towards the empty seat across from the dumbstruck girl, "Mind if I have a seat with you?"

"Uh," Nadine began with her usual lack of eloquence, "...huh?"

Taking that as a yes, the woman easily slid into the seat across from her, flipping her long dark tendrils over her shoulder, and settling a knowing smirk upon her ruby-painted lips.

"Oh, uh, well, okay. You're already sitting down. I guess that's, um, fine?" The younger of the two women mumbled anxiously, her grey eyes darting to look everywhere, but at the intimidating beauty in front of her. Occasionally they would unintentionally land on the woman's partner whose smirk only grew bigger with each time their eyes met.

There was something about the type of beauty the woman held. It almost felt predatory, like a well-polished weapon. The dark-haired man, despite keeping his distance and appearing much more like an out-of-place king than a fearsome stalker, also emitted that daunting aura.

Unphased by the abashed young woman's ramblings, the stranger carried on, "I apologize if we have alarmed you in these last few weeks with our attentions. Well, its just that you happened to catch my eye."

Nadine sat ramrod straight, puffing out her cheeks to blow away a piece of sandy-colored hair that had escaped from her her messy updo, and had irritatingly fallen in front of her face, "Sorry, come again?"

"I said, you happened to catch my eye," The woman's smirk grew deeper, "Actually, those did."

Slate-colored orbs followed the silken fabric covering a long delicate finger to find it was pointing at her reading material, the medicinal alchemy text and the 'Help Wanted' section of the newspaper.

"Erm," The sandy-haired girl fidgeted in her seat, "You've been following me, because I can read?"

"Something like that," Was her response.

Nadine frowned, "In this day and age it is hardly unusual to find a woman who can read. I'm inclined to think your reasoning goes a bit beyond my literacy level."

"Clever girl," The inky-haired woman began, "I'm more interested in the subject matter you are reading rather than your ability to. You see, I'm rather curious about medicinal alchemy myself."

The brunette girl immediately perked up at the mention of her hobby, "Oh? It's just a hobby. My mother is an apothecarist, so I'm curious about the connections. Uh, well, I hate to break it to you, but I can't actually perform the alchemy I've read about, so-"

"That's not an issue. Your interest is all that matters," the woman broke her off, then sat back with her arms crossed under her large bosom. "I've been rather rude, I suppose. Following you, and not even offering my name."

"Yes," Nadine drawled in a straightforward manner that was inherently characteristic of her, once again glancing over at the amused man whom had now leaned forward in his seat with his arms draped over his knees.

She was unable to stop herself from noticing the way the sleeves of his shirt strained against his biceps as he watched their conversation. She couldn't quite decide whether his muscular build and strong jawline made him look fetching or just plain frightening taking into the light her situation. Ultimately, she determined that it was his attractiveness that made him all the more terrifying.

"I'm just Nadine Huntly. Reading hobby aside, I'm not an alchemist of any sort. Nothing special here. As you can see from my newspaper, I'm merely a girl desperate for a job while only having a minimal skill set. I can hardly see how someone as...uh, affluent looking as you would take interest in me."

One of the woman's artfully manicured eyebrows gave a slight twitch at the girl's candid statement, before tilting her head back and offering a look of appraisal, "You could prove to be very useful to your country, Nadine."

Before Nadine had time to get in a word of opposition, the woman resumed in her bewitching tone of voice,

"My name is Solaris, and I have a proposition for you."


Aaaand there you have it! Hopefully, this chapter gave you a little glimpse into the beginning of Nadine's journey. Dearest Lust is still using that code name a hundred years later on Havoc, ha. I promise Greed will do more than smirk and look pretty next chapter.

A HUGE THANKS to JMichelleW for reviewing even though there was so little to go on so far. You're the reason this chapter even exists. Also, to that rude spam review I got...really? Come on.

Please favourite, follow, and especially review! All of your comments encourage me to improve and continue on. :)

Much love,

pseudo ~