Chapter 4

Mustang leaned back in his chair, massaging his temples for what seemed the hundredth time that day. How many headaches did this make? Ten? Twelve? A million? Ah, who was counting? What was important was that his head was killing him beyond any and all description and his worry over Fullmetal wasn't helping in the least.

Major Armstrong hadn't gone simply as Ed's diplomatic tutor, that was for certain. Mustand had ordered him to go as his personal eyes and ears. Observe and report back, and if necessary, protect the Elrics and get them out of the situation. Armstrong had been very careful in sending his reports back (letters to his sister and mother with hidden messages encrypted in the text for Mustang) and all of them just added to Mustang's ever-building headache. He'd read about the level of devotion Ed was being shown, all of the little attentions that the boys received, and countless other things that made Mustang worry. What was so special about Ed? Why was the whole country crazy about him?

Mustang picked up the latest report and read it over again, wondering what all of it meant.

Dear Sir,

The Elrics and I are well. Ed and Al are treated like family members by the King and Queen. (I am, as well, since I never let the boys out of my sight.) The King insists they take their meals with them, spend their evenings with them, and they even stop by every night to say 'good night.' I do not understand what this means.

Ed and I have been to a few meetings (Al made himself decorative in the corner, and no one noticed him) to discuss fiscal policy and possible trade. I have noticed one thing: Ed is not included very much. In fact, he is often told that he is not needed and that he should go play. (He does not take this well, but he keeps his temper.) Why send for him when they do not require his presence?

I shall keep my eyes open, Sir. Expect another report soon.

Armstrong

Again, Mustang marveled at how much information Armstrong could cram into his letters while writing about the beauty of the place and how gorgeous some of the flowers were. Cyphers were incredible things, weren't they?

"Sir?" said Riza as she entered the office. "Any word from Armstrong?"

"He and the Elrics are fine, he still doesn't understand what's going on," he summarized, knowing that she wouldn't leave him alone until he'd told her. He paused, thinking about what he'd read, and then realized a fresh perspective could probably help. "Riza, when you take someone into your home and treat them like one of the family, what does that mean in regard to your intentions?"

She blinked and looked at him. "Let me guess: the Elrics are being treated like family?"

"By the royal family, no less. I don't understand it."

It was Riza's turn to be thoughtful. "Neither do I. I mean, most royals I've heard of are very exclusive, and they don't like outsiders at all. Why is this group different?"

"I have no idea, but that's how matters stand. The king and queen have the boys eat with them, they spend time with them, and they even say 'good night' to the boys before they go to bed. I don't like it—It's really not normal, but I can't find anything wrong with what they're doing."

"Perhaps there's something we're not seeing," Riza suggested. "Maybe we need to know more before we can understand it."

"That's what's worrying me. I just hope we learn enough to help the kids out before they get into trouble, because I'm sure they will."

Riza didn't feel the need to say anything in reply. She was thinking the same thing.

Space

"A garden party? That's what's going on this afternoon?" Ed muttered. "I'm sick of parties."

Al giggled, remembering what had happened at the last party. "You mean like that party when Grandmamma fell in love with you?" he teased.

Ed took a swipe at Al, but his brother dodged it easily. Al was referring to the party held at the King's mother's house, and after she'd been greeted by the King and Queen and her granddaughter, Ed had been introduced. The next thing Ed knew, he'd been pulled onto her lap (she'd been strong for an old woman!) and was given a hug that almost crushed his ribs. For almost the whole time she'd insisted on holding him and offering him enough candy to rot his teeth. As they'd been leaving she'd called out "Be sure to come and see Grandmamma again soon! You too, Edward and Alphonse!"

"She was a sweet lady," Al said, remembering her.

"She seemed more like a pincer crab," Ed retorted.

"Edward, you should be more respectful toward your elders!" Armstrong admonished, holding out his newspaper for the boys to look at. "She was very kind."

Ed glared at him before taking the paper. "Sure, you think she was kind! You didn't have to sit on her lap!"

"Oh, there's one about us, Brother," Al said, pointing to an article.

Ed looked and muttered something. It had been at Grandmamma's party, and there was a picture of him being hugged and another of him on her lap. The captions read "Edward Elric greets the Queen Mother" and "Master Elric and the Queen Mother keep one another company."

Ed handed the paper to Al and sank into an armchair, draping his legs over one of the arms. "Stuff like that wouldn't happen if I weren't so small," he grumbled.

"Maybe it's because everyone here likes you, Brother," Al suggested, trying to improve Ed's mood. "Everyone we meet likes you."

"Frankly, that's starting to creep me out," Ed said, kicking his legs a little in thought. "I mean, why is that? Everyone likes me, everyone knows me, but I've never been here before, and there's no reason why everyone here should know me. Also, there's no reason for anyone here to know about what I do in Amestris. It's all the way on the other side of Drachma."

"It is a good puzzle, but now we have to get ready for the party," Armstrong reminded them.

Ed muttered something under his breath, but he went and got ready. He chose one of the lighter suits since he didn't have any more uniforms. His uniforms had mysteriously disappeared, and any servants that Major Armstrong questioned all gave the answer that the uniforms were being cleaned. Now, Ed had to resort to what was in his closet (and that was a considerable amount of clothing), but all three of them wondered about the disappearance of the uniforms.

"How do I look?" Ed asked as he came back out of the dressing room. "Think this is all right?"

Armstrong motioned for Ed to turn around in a circle, and as Ed did so, Armstrong had to admit that the boy cut a fine figure in tailored suits. It was a soft shade of fawn or tan, he'd chosen the right shoes to go with it, and even his gloves matched.

"You look fine," Armstrong told him, straightening the boy's collar. "Now, try not to wrinkle your suit while I change, all right?"

Armstrong should have realized that his words would be pointless, for when he went back into the sitting room, there was Ed, jacket off and sleeves rolled up, oiling his brother's armor.

Space

They took an open carriage to the garden party, which was being held at the Prime Minister's house. As they rode through the city, Ed looked around at all of the buildings for the first time, noticing how different they were from the ones at home. He was used to clean and simple lines of houses and larger buildings, but here in Paxia, almost every surface was ornamented with carvings and statues. Men, women, children, plants, and animals stared down from the buildings, and there were even combinations of people and animals as well. Remembering Tucker's chimeras, Ed shivered and fought down a feeling of revulsion. He really hoped that those statues weren't what he thought they resembled.

Al noticed them, too, and decided to ask about them. "Your Majesties, what are those statues that look like animals and people mixed together?" he asked during a lull in their conversation. "The statues on all of the buildings, I mean."

The Queen looked where Alphonse pointed and smiled. "They are the lirri, Alphonse," she explained. "They are the guardian spirits of Paxia. They're known to especially care for children, but they protect every citizen in the country as well, since they were at one time children."

Ed looked up at the buildings, examining the statues. "It looks like there are a lot of them. You've got a guy who looks like a lion, another like a bird, and another like a cat, all on one building. Then there's more on the other buildings. Are there that many lirri?"

"Oh, there are thousands more than we could ever manage to portray," the King said, giving the boys a wink.

Ed gazed up at the buildings, still perplexed. "If those statues are the lirri, then what about the rest of them? The men, women, and children?"

"They were the first citizens of Paxia," Amalda said, speaking for the first time. "With them they brought the plants and animals you can see in the statues. They had been fleeing a wicked and cruel king, and they traveled for ages and ages. When they arrived in Paxia, all they found was a wasteland, but they were unable to continue, so they all lay down and slept. When they woke, the plants had taken root and the animals had all gone off to graze in the fields that had appeared or to live in the forests that had grown up during the night. There was a spring nearby, and as they drank the water, the lirri came out of the forest and told the people they might remain for as long as they liked if they promised to keep this land peaceful. That's how Paxia got its name: pax means 'peace.'"

"You're leaving out something, Amalda," her father said, jumping back into the conversation. "You forgot about the Child."

"Oh, that's right. Thank you, Father. There was only one person who did not look like an animal with the lirri, and it was a Child. He was quite small, but his eyes were the eyes of an old man. He also gave his blessing, but he added something else: every parent in Paxia had to raise their children well. No child could ever be neglected or harmed in any way. Many feel that it is that blessing that has ensured our children's happiness over these last five centuries."

Ed nodded. Well, now we have an explanation of their religion and how it started, as well as an explanation of how the child became so important.

"What happened to the lirri?" Alphonse asked. "Were they ever seen again?"

"Oh, occasionally they are seen," the Queen told them. "They'll appear in dreams, sometimes, or at night when someone is alone and in need of comfort, or when someone is afraid or dying, but they are the only person to ever see them. No one else will see it except the people they choose to appear to."

Ed asked other questions as they rode along, usually about the history of the city and country (a very peaceful history) and the people. From what they gathered, people usually married in their early twenties and had families. Their economy relied most on manufactured goods and raw materials (Ed and Major Armstrong noted that for later) and the city had a festival every fall.

"You'll be here for that," Amalda said, sounding excited. "It's a great deal of fun, you'll see. There's music, and dancing, and food, and performers, and—well, there are stalls where you can buy things. It's so wonderful every year!"

"Ah, sounds like fun," Ed said, surprised at the level of enthusiasm that Amalda was showing, but he wondered what it was she'd stopped herself from saying.

Space

The garden party was a repeat of the Grandmamma visit. The Prime Minister's wife met Ed and patted him on the head, saying "Why, you're such a handsome little thing! You must come and sit with me while we have tea, and you may call me Auntie Cora!"

So Ed found himself perched on yet another lap, being hugged and spoiled to the old woman's content. He only managed to get away from her when she had her duties as hostess to see to, so he went to find Al. He found his brother after ten minutes of searching, deep in conversation with Amalda.

Amalda noticed him first. "Hello, Ed. Enjoying the party?"

"Yes, it's very nice, thanks," Ed said as politely as he could. "I'd wondered where you two had gone off to."

"Amalda was just telling me about her duties as Priestess," Al explained. "It's all fascinating, Brother."

Amalda smiled and blushed, saying that it was really nothing. "I had to choose something to do, so I chose that," she said modestly. "Would you like to play a game with me?"

Since she sounded so hopeful, both boys agreed, and before long they were on the lawn, hitting a ball back and forth. The game was a strange one: they could only kick the ball up into the air or hit it back and forth with their fists. You got a point only if someone else missed returning the ball to you.

Ed didn't realize how involved he was in the game until he heard clapping. People had gathered around to watch, he and Amalda were filthy and sweaty, and Al's armor was smudged. He wanted the earth to open up and swallow him whole. Here he was, acting like a kid when he was supposed to be a foreign dignitary. Oh, if this got back to DR in Amestris, he'd never hear the end of it.

Space

The garden party ended that evening with fireworks. The boys noticed that no one had seemed upset with them for getting filthy or interrupting the party. While they sat on the lawn and watched the fireworks, they asked Amalda about it.

"Well, no one stopped us from doing so because that was what the ball was for. It was lying on the lawn waiting for us, and we were expected to play if we wanted to," she said, gazing up at the fireworks.

"So if we start sliding down the railings at the palace, no one will stop us?" Ed asked, grinning. "After all, they're just there, waiting on us."

"There's a difference between a ball and a railing, Brother," Al reminded him.

Amalda giggled while Ed shrugged his shoulders. "Just a thought," he said.

Armstrong was sitting behind them, not looking up at the fireworks, but keeping an eye on the rest of the people. The king and queen were talking instead of watching the fireworks. He tried to read their lips, but too many people were around them for him to see what they were saying properly. He saw snatches--they were talking about the boys, and they were talking about the festival that was coming up. What did the two have to do with each other? He didn't think they were jumping around from topic to topic, and he was sure that the two were related, but how?

In the carriage on the way back to the palace, the boys chatted with Amalda while the king and queen watched them with indulgent smiles on their faces. Armstrong did not like that. They were too...proprietary. They acted as if the boys were pets, and that just bothered him to no end. Why did they behave that way? What did they think of the boys? He had no idea, and that was what bothered him the most. He was no closer to figuring out what was going on than when he had first arrived.