"And she'll pretend to be busy when inside she just wants to cry."
Miss Invisible- Marie Digby
"Your Excellency, I hope I'm not disturbing you."
The servant bowed without looking at the man in front of him.
Ling let go of the girl in his lap and sighed. He waved her off and rearranged his robes.
"No, you're not." The emperor cleared his throat. "What is it this time?"
"There are a few new invitations for you that arrived this morning."
He groaned. These persistent clan's chiefs really were a drag. They knew he wouldn't find the time to visit any of their pointless parties yet they continued sending him messages. How could anyone be that obsessive?
"From what clans?" he asked as he rose.
The young man bowed and answered with a level voice: "Two form the Han Clan, one of the Chang Clan and one of the Yao Clan, your Highness."
Ling who had been busy tying his hair back jerked to a stop. He stared at his subordinate.
"Yao, you say?"
"Yes, your Highness."
Yao.
Jian Yao.
At least he believed that was his name. He was the new clan's chief. Considering his family line it was possible he was closely related to him.
"Show me the letter from that clan." He barked rushing out of his quarters into his office. He was glad that the two rooms were next door to each other. The rest of his palace was huge enough that two houses would have easily fitted in it. He sat down in the armchair and tapped his finger at the wooden plate impatiently.
A gut-freezing laugh echoed through his head, causing his temples to ache terribly.
'Why in such a bad mood, your royal Excellency?' Greed grinned mockingly.
Ling rubbed his forehead with both of his hands.
"Shut up…" he murmured. "I haven't slept at all last night. Thanks to you." He added acidly.
'You said I could do what I want. Show mercy and spare me the complaints.'
"You sure haven't shown any mercy on that poor girl. What was her name again?"
'She's got a name?' Greed howled with laughter.
The emperor grinded his teeth and poured himself some wine from a jar prepared for him. He sniffed at the fluid; mostly out of habit, there was no way he could die from poisoning. When the drink passed his lips and filled his mouth he sighed. The fresh flavor of fruits bloomed on his tongue. For no reason at all, it seemed, his thoughts wandered off to that day almost a month ago.
Ran Fan…
He'd meant what he'd told her back then. It really would have been more fun with her around even though she wasn't much of an entertainer. But now…
What had she said?
The Yao Clan's new chief was her husband. She'd given birth to children. It was weird how much that startled him. Children meant that she had slept with a man. In his opinion Ran Fan shouldn't even look at other males.
Damn it, she was a warrior!
'She is a woman.' Greed smirked, though Ling could feel the homunculus' avarice and envy raging.
"You hate it, too, don't you?" Ling sighed and let go of the glass in his hand.
'She is my possession yet someone else got to know the sweetness of her body. Of course I hate it.'
"She isn't yours. Never yours." Ling replied coldly.
The door opened and the servant from before entered, interfering the conversation Ling had with seemingly no one. He bowed once again and handed him an elegant envelope. The paper was heavy and thick; the emblem of the Yao house was printed on the front. He weight the letter in his hand as his eyes skimmed through the introduction and formalities. He stopped when the words 'tenth anniversary' appeared. He leaned over the great table made of first class oak wood and eagerly absorbed the words written with expensive blue ink.
'I, Jian Yao, Chief of the Yao Clan, and my wife would gladly welcome your Excellency at the head mansion of the Yao Clan. We are going to celebrate the tenth anniversary of our wedding day the first day of the second week of the third month...'
This was followed by exact information about the location and the event. Ling grimaced. So he couldn't deny it anymore, could he? In fact, he never tried to but an illogical part of his mind had kept babbling that this all was just a huge misunderstanding on his account.
Ran Fan was married. She was a mother. She was safe now. She was happy.
He looked at the paper in his clenched fists.
…She was better off without him.
Though he was the greedy one, the one even the sin itself was impressed by. He was the one who had swallowed a monster to gain his goal. If he wanted to enjoy her company one more time he would do it -even if he had to share it with someone else.
Ling grabbed the phone nearby and smugly smiling he demanded: "Connect me with my first secretary! I need to rearrange some of my dates."
"There'll be another party this soon?" Maria Ross blinked surprised.
"Jian just loves to celebrate. No matter how insignificant the occasion might be." The other woman replied, rolling her eyes. She struggled to keep her daughter in place as the little girl desperately tried to escape her mother's embrace.
"Mommy, I want to find Li now!"
"Are you playing a game?" Ran Fan asked.
"Yes! Hide-and-seek! Like Daddy showed us."
"Oh, fair enough." She released the twin from her hug and watched her running away already searching for her sister. An amused smile appeared on her lips and lit up her whole face.
"But, Ran Fan… Your anniversary isn't insignificant at all. I mean how long has it been now? Ten years?"
"Yes, but it's really no big deal." The young woman shook her head and sighed as she looked out of the window.
The former Lieutenant lived in house down the road, a bit distant from the actual city of the Yao Clan where Ran Fan's place was. During their journey through Amestris they had met Maria Ross. Her master had offered her help and therefore Ran Fan's grandfather had escorted her to Xing so she could hide from the military there.
Maybe it was because of that they became friends so easily. Besides Ling and herself, of course, she was the only person who came to know her grandfather better. Sometimes they'd talked for hours about him and the country and even the emperor. It had helped Ran Fan a lot while she was grieving over her last family member's death. Now her visits were part of her normal schedule. She liked the friendly nature of the woman who had been dragged into a world filled with monsters and threats just like Ran Fan herself.
"Hey? Are you listening?"
"Huh?"
"Geez, I asked you who will come to your party." Maria crossed her arms before her chest and pouted disapprovingly.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Err, as far as I know: you, of course, Jian's parents and brothers, the high-ranking members of the clan and their families, some other noble people and that's everyone, I guess." She shrugged. The woman disliked such events and everyone knew that, not that they cared.
Suddenly she could hear the muffled shriek of two little girls.
At once her whole body tensed and she was totally on alert. Growling she grabbed the kunai tied to her waist, she never left the mansion without a couple of weapons and of course she had her automail as a backup. The other woman jumped to her feet already releasing the safety catch of her gun. Ran Fan's vision trembled slightly then her soul seemed to expand. It reached the walls of the house, but didn't stop there, just reached out further until it contained the entire premises. There was nothing too unusual to be found though. The flow of Chi was steadily pulsing, thickening around the single beings nearby. There were two more accumulations now. One body was surrounded by the energy as usual, but the other was different from the rest. This one seemed to be connected with the Vein of the Dragon in some way. As the former bodyguard sprinted out of the door still trying to gain speed she wondered what was with this one. Well, no matter who or what it was, she would rip it apart if her daughters were hurt in anyway. Just for scaring them she could have beaten the newcomers to a pulp. When she entered the garden Ran Fan leaped right up in the air, drawing a second blade from her belt. Then without any proper warning she tossed them at the strangers. Yet the daggers didn't sink home. She could hear the metal screaming as it crashed against a blockade. She whirled her body around still rushing through the air and landed again right in front of her children in a low crouch, ready to fight. Her artificial limb was now fully transformed and a lethal blade showed up from her elbow. Hissing she faced her opponents.
She heard Maria arriving at the scene. The twins ran toward her and hid behind her legs. Ran Fan didn't mind. They better kept their distance. When the woman's eyes focused on the new arrivals she just could see one, obviously male, person. Yet a second later a blurred shadow darted to his side from above. There it changed into the shape of a young woman. The man held up his hands to show that he was unarmed.
"I'm sorry!" he called. "We didn't mean to scare them."
Her eyes widened. The woman's jaw was practically on the floor. Slowly she relaxed as she tried to recover her self-control.
"Is that… Oh my God! Alphonse?!" she shrieked.
The man nodded, flashing a bright smile at her. His arm was curled around the strange female's waist which now stared at him with childishly glistening eyes.
"Then you must be…" she pointed at the other woman. "Aren't you Mei Chang?"
"Correct. And you are Ran Fan, no longer watchdog of the Yao Clan but wife of its leader."
Al and his fiancé had come all the way from the province of the Chang Clan. Ran Fan had to admit that it was quite surprising for her to meet the young Elric again. She had expected him to stay in Amestris to help the others rebuilding the country.
"Yeah, it was pretty tough. But they can handle it on their own now. We went to Xing to tell Mei's Clan about our engagement." The amstrian laughed aloud. "They debated for three days about that. Well, no matter what they would have decided we made our choice." He smirked and gave his woman a kiss on her flushed cheek. She squeaked and giggled bashfully. The little pet panda on her shoulder mirrored her actions perfectly.
Maria entered the room again. She carried a tray with four cups. The strong aroma of the black beans filled the air. To everyone who wasn't used to it the xingese coffee was quite strong and even a bit too bitter. It was invented to refresh the warriors on the battlefield during the breaks after all. It wasn't supposed to be tasty. Ran Fan took her mug and stared into the dark fluid. The woman inhaled deeply. She couldn't stand much caffeine or alcohol, not many bodyguards had that ability. They were to watch over there masters silently, not to have a good time.
The steam was enough to make her senses tingle. Carefully she took a nip.
It was hot.
Way too hot.
Yet she didn't flinch just placed the cup on the table again. Her eyes traveled to the two children standing in a distant corner, embracing each other and glaring at the strangers.
Their mother smiled, titling her head to one side.
"Don't be afraid. These two are actually totally harmless." She joked. She held out her arms for her daughters and then the little twins stumbled toward her.
Mei rested her chin in the palm of her hand. "I still can't believe you have a family. You seemed like the silent-follower-without-a-life-of-her-own-type."
The clan's chief's wife scowled at her and muttered something indecent under her breath, too low for her children to understand. The Chang woman grinned slyly and fed her pet a slice of the peaches prepared on the table. Al rubbed the back of his head an apologizing smile on his lips.
"So, tell me!" Maria suddenly said. "How is everyone? I sure left too early to see Amestris recover."
"Oh, everyone is fine, I guess. Of course it was a tough time for us to watch all the burials. Geez, there were so many dead people lying around. The military's headquarters were completely destroyed and I don't think they have rebuilt them yet." He sighed. Suddenly all heads raised. Ran Fan stared at Li and Ming who just made big eyes as they listened to Al's report. One second passed; then another…
"Mommy, what is a burial?"
"Mommy, who is 'military'?"
"Mommy, what means 'dead'?"
"Mommy, what means 'destroyed'?"
"Who is Amestris?"
The questions pattered down on her like a cascade. Both of her daughters turned around to eagerly stare at their mother. Ran Fan wringed her hands as she searched for the right answers. She could feel the metal pressing against her skin; it seemed to be as cold as the steel of her automail. She inhaled deeply as if she'd made a decision.
"A burial is the proper way to say goodbye to someone who passed away. The military is there to protect the people of a country. 'Dead' means that someone isn't by your side right now but always watching over you. 'Destroyed' means that something is gone but with a strong will it can be restored." She spoke without stopping to breathe.
As she looked up again she became aware of the other's gazing at her.
"What?"
Maria suddenly flushed and looked down. "Nothing." She mumbled being busy giving her coffee a stir.
Mei blinked. "Do… Do you answer such questions often?"
"Ehm, yes I do. They are still so young. They have a lot of queries." Ran Fan replied, tilting her head to one side, confused.
Al cleared his throat.
"And, Ran Fan? Have you spoken to Ling lately? Or is he to busy playing emperor?" the young alchemist joked.
"I have met him a few weeks ago…"
Much to her surprise Alphonse and Mei insisted on staying until their anniversary and- not as much to her surprise- Jian was fine with it. He was a very social person after all. He got along well with the amestrian and even with the Chang woman. As long as there were no successors the different clans were totally at peace. So, maybe it was even better Ling had no children? Ran Fan shook her head. She wouldn't think about such things while decorating the great hall for the event coming soon. In her opinion it was a bit too early to start with the preparation but her Lord wanted everything perfect. First the maids had declined as she offered her help but Ran Fan just had started hanging up the garlands and they gave up talking her into leaving pretty quickly. Unfortunately this kind of work just kept busy her hands; her mind, though, was free to follow whatever path it might find to distract her. As often she asked herself the probably most hated question ever.
What if…?
What if everything had gone a little different?
What if Young Master hadn't been able to obtain the philosopher's stone?
What if she hadn't been such a coward and had told him how she felt?
Her chest began to ache as if someone pressed her lungs together. But she had learned to deal with it. The young mother sighed and continued working.
It would have made no difference, she decided. Ling had never seen anything else then a loyal guard in her. She had been fine with it, because she'd believed that was the way it should be. But now that she had so many things… A family, a big mansion, servants… So many things a lowly guard wouldn't even dare dream of, she still wasn't happy. She had already giving up hope that she would be someday.
Note: I have no idea why Maria Ross returned to Xing after the Promised Day. I just didn't want to make up so many new characters. So please don't ask me what she's doing there.
I'm not very happy with it. It seems more like a filler than a real chapter, but hell! Enjoy!
Equivalent Exchange, my friends!
I give you a story! So I gets reviews? *-*
