Chapter 4: Torn apart
Not a bird dared sing on that painful morn. The cemetery was quiet, with only a handful of individuals crowded around a new grave.
They included a sobbing blonde, embraced by a brunette who comforted her and offered her multiple tissues and a raven haired young man whose pale face refused to show any emotion.
All wore black, clashing with their pale faces.
The funeral of their newborn son had only just ended. They had been the only ones to attend, saying their farewells to the child they knew only briefly; the child who could have accomplished so much, if he had only had the chance.
The raven haired boy turned to the pair of young women. He stared on at the blonde, who sniffled and wiped away a tear.
"I'm sorry, but I don't think we can work this out," he stated. The blonde pulled a bemused expression that, if he was not so shrouded in melancholy, he would have chuckled at.
"What do you mean, Roy?" she asked. He sighed, stealing a glance at the gravestone which bore the name of his son. He smiled sadly, and turned back to her.
"Us, we can't be together. I mean, after this, I don't think we can patch things up," he mumbled. "I'm going to work to become a state alchemist, and I want you to go and live your own life, away from me. I'm sorry if it sounds harsh, but it is for the best."
The blonde opened her mouth to speak, but after quick debating, she closed it again, and simply nodded.
"I agree. I'd guess this is goodbye then," she broke away from her friend's embrace and put her hand to her finger. She pulled off the engagement ring, looked into the dusk eyes of her former lover and grabbed his hand. She placed the ring in his palm and closed his fingers over it.
She then smiled and kissed the young man on the cheek, and then turned and calmly walked away, her friend quick to follow.
The young man watched as they disappeared into the crowded city streets. He sighed, and looked in the opposite direction, at the gravestone.
"I promise you, Nicholas, I will make you proud. I'll become the best state alchemist there ever was, just you wait and see," he told the gravestone, before turning and sauntering down the hill himself, alone.
…
"Catherine! Come on, we're gonna be late!" Isabelle shouted.
A few moments later, a flustered blonde toppled down the stairs, pulling on a white cardigan. She wore a blue pinafore with a matching blue hair band.
"I'm sorry! Let's get going!" She grinned and grabbed Isabelle's hand, yanking her through the front door.
They giggled as they ran through the streets, avoiding many collisions with other pedestrians.
Today they would start their new jobs, as assistants to seamstress Rosalie, who provided the best clothing to the elite and wealthy.
"We're so gonna be late!" Isabelle whined. Catherine laughed as she continued tugging her defeated friend through the streets.
"Come on, we're almost there!" She exclaimed.
They slowed their pace as they reached Rosalie's shop. As they entered, a brunette scurried up to them. She wore a coat which contained numerous items for stitching, sewing and fixing.
"You are only just on time! A minute later and I would have fired you for being late on your first day!" The woman scolded them.
"Sorry, Rosalie, it won't happen again," the pair spoke in unison. Rosalie smiled.
"Good. I hope you have learned your lesson. Follow me," she led them into the back rooms, where tons of fabrics and various materials littered the place.
"Get to work, girls. I need this place spotless for my first client at eleven," Rosalie trotted off. Isabelle groaned.
"Cleaning? I thought we'd get to do some sewing!"
"We still might, if we get to work now!" Catherine pulled up her sleeves and skipped over to the first pile of materials.
…
Months passed, and they soon got to assist Rosalie with sewing and stitching clients' dressed and suits.
One morning, they were all sitting in the front room of the shop, sipping on warm cups of tea. Their next client was not due until twelve, so they had time to sit around and relax.
The bell of the door sounded, and so all three turned their attention to the front of the shop.
A young man with light brown hair stood in the entrance. His blue eyes danced in the beaming sunlight from the summer's day outside. He wore a grey suit, with a blue tie.
Catherine was awestruck at his beauty.
He smiled and shuffled over to the desk where the three sat.
"Hello, what may we do for you today, sir?" Rosalie swiftly placed down her mug of tea and stood to greet the man.
He kindly shook her hand, his smile making Catherine weak at the knees yet again.
"Good morning, I was wondering if you could fix this," he removed his suit jacket and tossed it over the counter, pointing to a hole in one of the lapels.
"Yes, of course we can. Would you like it done now so you can take it straight away or would you like it sent to you sir?" Rosalie asked, taking the jacket.
"Well, if you don't mind, I have a meeting later on, and I do not wish to look scruffy…" The young man blushed. Rosalie chuckled, tottering into the back room, followed by Isabelle.
That just left Catherine and the young man. She continued to gaze at him.
"Hello," he greeted her. "What's your name?" He held out his hand for her to take. She graciously took it.
"Catherine. And yours?"
"William," he replied.
"Pleased to meet you William. May I say, you look dashing?" Catherine giggled excitedly. William laughed softly.
"You are very upfront, aren't you Catherine?" He chuckled. Catherine bit her lip. William put his hand under her chin, prompting her to look at him.
"But I must say, you are beautiful. Your eyes, they seem so electrifying," he whispered. Catherine gasped and giggled.
"Likewise," she replied.
"Um…would you like to go to dinner sometime? Like, tonight, perhaps?" William asked. Catherine blushed.
"Of course!" She exclaimed, jumping up and down excitedly.
"…here we are, all fixed ready for your meeting," Rosalie and Isabelle re-entered the room. Rosalie handed William his jacket, which he quickly pulled on.
He thanked her and Isabelle, and then made his way to the door, taking one last glance back, and winked at Catherine, who giggled and blew a kiss at him.
…
And so their romance blossomed. Soon they became engaged, and then married, and not long after, welcomed three children into the world.
Catherine still worked at Rosalie's shop in West City with Isabelle, even though the family already had enough wealth from William's career. She couldn't let go of the shop that easily.
As she walked down the main street of the city, carrying her youngest daughter, Lily on her hip, and gripping onto her eldest daughter Poppy, with her spare hand, she spotted the national newspaper outside the grocers. For some reason, she felt compelled to buy it, so called to her son, the eldest of the three children; Robert, and bought the paper without even glancing at the front page.
Once back home, she sat down to read it once the kids were all entertained in their toys. She looked at the front page.
Liore in turmoil after FullMetal Alchemist exposes fraud priest! Read the headline.
Catherine sighed. Yet another outbreak of violence in the country. But who was this FullMetal Alchemist? It couldn't be Roy, as he had written to her shortly after he had become a state certified alchemist, named 'The Flame Alchemist'.
She decided not to put too much thought to it as William came through the door after a long day's work. Lily ran up to him, and being the good sport that he was, he twirled his daughter round and round and round in the air until both became dizzy.
Lily and Poppy looked so much like their father, with their brown locks and bright blue eyes, but Robert got most of his looks from her. He had short blonde hair and striking golden eyes.
Sometimes she wondered if that was what her very first child would have looked like if he had grown up. It got her depressed, so most of the time, she simply made herself forget.
…
Ring, ring. The phone tinkled away in its holder. Catherine sprinted over and picked up the receiver.
"Hello?" She breathed heavily from exhaustion.
"Hiya Catherine. It's me, Roy Mustang." She gasped at the name of the man she had once loved.
"Roy? Why are you calling me out of the blue like this? We haven't spoken in 16 years." Besides the odd letter if something major happened.
"Well, I have some news," Roy mumbled on the other end.
Go on," Catherine urged.
"Well, I just met our son," Roy said.
"Our son? Maybe you should visit a doctor, Roy, because our son is dead," Catherine stated.
"No seriously. This may be hard to explain, as I have just found out myself, but our child did not die. He was stolen by Trisha Elric, the woman who was in labour at the same time as you," Roy explained.
"Trisha? How did she steal him? He was right beside me," she mumbled.
"Well…while you were asleep and Hohenhiem and I were out having coffee, her baby Edward died. She was…distraught and not in a good state of mind. She looked over at our Nicholas, and then waltzed over and swapped them. So, she raised our child while we thought he was dead. The child we buried had brown eyes, not golden. And the boy who has worked under me for five years and I have just discovered in a letter by Trisha is my son, has the golden eyes which he got from you."
"I don't understand," Catherine mumbled.
"I didn't at first, until I read the letter. It was by Trisha, since she signed it and the boy who is in my team's office distraught at the moment was her so-called son, Edward Elric," Roy emphasised the last part.
"Oh…oh my gosh," Catherine gasped. "Our little Nicholas, is he still there?"
"Yes, he's being comforted by my team."
"Can you put him on the line? I'd like to speak to him," Catherine said.
"Sure give me a minute," there was a clunk as Roy put the phone down onto a hard surface. While she waited, Catherine glanced into the front room where her three children played happily. She looked specifically at Robert, and imagined what her grown-up eldest son looked like. Did he look anything similar, or completely different?
"Hello?" The soft question startled Catherine.
And so ensued a brief conversation between Catherine and her long lost son. William came and put his arms around her nearer the end, kissing her neck flirtatiously.
As their conversation ended, and Catherine put down the phone, William raised his eyebrow at his wife.
"Who was that?" He questioned. Catherine smiled, snaking her arms around him, planting a soft kiss on his smooth lips.
"I'll tell you later, when the kids are in bed," she giggled, and skipped away into the front room much like she did when she was far younger.
She would soon be meeting her precious son for the first time in so many years. After finding out on the phone call that he was in fact the famous FullMetal Alchemist, she was even more excited and proud.