This chapter covers the majority of episode 16 of FMAB (besides the very beginning which was the last chapter)
As always, the characters and storylines of FMAB are not mine!
"Thank you," Winry accepted the basket of apples from the shop-keeper with a grin and turned to Julin. "Miss Gracia makes the best apple pies!" She said in way of explanation. "I decided that I'd learn to make it just like she does. I've been practicing. I'm sure Garfiel has offered you a piece before."
"I think so," Julin nodded. "If I remember correctly, it was delicious! Grandfather wasn't much of one for baking and with no one to teach me I never really had a knack for it either. Maybe you could teach me sometime," She suggested shyly.
"I'd love to, Julin!" Winry slid her arm through Julin's in a gesture that made Julin smile. "Maybe Gracia can even teach both of us. Oh, here we are!" The pair stood outside of a towering brick apartment building with wide glass doors. Julin looked around in awe. She'd never been inside a building that was more than two stories tall.
Winry gushed about the Hugheses as the two climbed the flights of stairs. "Oh, Julin, I know you'll love them. Gracia is so sweet and one of the most beautiful women I've ever met. And Elycia is the most adorable little girl! She has the biggest brown eyes. And Mr. Hughes," Winry paused to laugh, "He goes on and on about them like a proud mother duck. Colonel Mustang and Ed get a little fed up with it, but I think it's sweet. I hope the man I marry cares about me and our children even half as much as Mr. Hughes cares about his wife and Elycia." She finally paused in front of a brown doorway. "Here's their apartment!" she rapped on the door and within seconds it flew open revealing a darling little girl.
"Daddy?" The hope and joy in her eyes melted Julin's heart. Elycia's face fell when she saw Winry and Julin standing there instead of her father. She threw herself at Winry's legs and tears began to stream down her chubby cheeks. Winry's mouth formed a perfect O as she stood, paralyzed, uncertain what to do.
A woman appeared at the door, every bit as beautiful as Winry had described, and a soft smile spread across her cheeks but didn't quite reach her eyes. "Hello, Winry. And…"
"This is Julin," Winry's voice came out strained and shaking. "Miss Gracia, I-"
"Please come in." The woman's voice was quiet but strong. Julin didn't know what to think, but she knew that somehow, something had gone terribly wrong. And here she was in the middle of it. "Sit down," Mrs. Hughes directed the girls to seats on the couch across from her. Elycia crawled into Winry's lap and buried her face in Winry's stomach, the occasional hiccup all that remained of her tears.
"Winry," The woman began, "I'm so sorry you had to find out this way. Mr. Hughes was killed soon after you left Central."
Winry's face contorted. "What?" The word was barely audible. Julin felt her stomach drop. She wished there was a way for her to fade out of the scene, because she didn't belong here. She hadn't known the man, though after hearing Winry's stories she desperately wished she had. To think that just a few minutes earlier all of them had been so happy.
"They still haven't found the murderer," Mrs. Hughes continued, eyes filling with tears. "I wish there had been some way to let you know," She choked out.
"Oh, Miss Gracia, I'm so sorry." A tear slid down Winry's cheek and Julin felt her own eyes fill with tears as well, both for the man she'd never known and for the loss she herself had felt so deeply. A knock on the door startled them all, and Mrs. Hughes answered it to find Ed and Al standing there, Ed with a heartbroken look on his face. So they'd found out as well.
"Miss Gracia? I'm sorry, but there's something that I'd like to talk to you about. If I may." Julin felt terribly out of place as Ed began speaking. Almost before she could stop herself, she leapt to her feet.
"Can I use the bathroom?" She felt bad for interrupting Ed, but this wasn't something she was meant to be a part of. Mrs. Hughes pointed her in the right direction and Julin closed the door behind herself, leaning against it with a sigh. All she could hear through it were muffled voices, and despite her curiosity she was confident she'd made the right decision in leaving them to their conversation.
Julin fought back tears as she took a seat on the still-closed toilet. It seemed everything was rushing over her at once: The strange feeling prickled the back of her neck, the death of an innocent man lay heavily on her heart, and she missed Grandfather with a hot intensity. She had no choice but to let herself go and clenched a hand over her mouth so those sitting in the living room wouldn't hear her sobs.
After Julin had calmed down, she looked bleary-eyed into the mirror and splashed cold water onto her face in an attempt to clear up her red, swollen eyelids.
She quietly slipped back into the living room as she heard Miss Gracia admonish, "You boys have to keep moving forward, any way you can." Winry's red-rimmed eyes met Julin's.
"I think we're ready to go," Winry said quietly as she and the Elrics stood. Julin nodded and followed them out. As Ed eased the door shut, Mrs. Hughes's quiet sobbing met Julin's ears.
"Mommy, please don't cry." Elycia's words coupled with the broken yet determined look on Ed's face broke Julin's heart all over again, and she had to clench her fists driving her fingernails into her palm to keep the tears from flowing again.
"Ed, we need to tell her." Al's voice was muffled through the door that connected the rooms, but Julin could still make out what he was saying. It's not that she was trying to eavesdrop, but the mention of her name earlier in the conversation had caught her attention. Ed's murmured response was softer, so she didn't catch what he said.
She sat cross-legged on the large chair near Winry's bed. Her friend's blond hair was splayed on the pillow and her face was buried in it. Hiccupping sobs occasionally sounded from the pillow. Julin wished desperately that there was something she could do to ease her pain, but there were some things even alchemy couldn't mend.
Julin straightened with a start when the door of their room creaked open a few inches. "Winry?" Ed's whisper drew Winry's head up from the pillow. With one quick swipe beneath her eyes, she went to meet him at the door. After a short whispered conversation the two stepped out.
"I'll be back, Julin," Winry promised hoarsely. Julin hoped Ed could do something to comfort Winry that she couldn't.
"Julin?" This time it was Al's head that poked through the door. "Mind if I come in?"
"No, of course not." Julin readjusted to a more comfortable position on the chair as Al took a seat on the bed nearest her.
"You must be so confused." Al's voice was quiet. "I know I would be. I feel we owe you more of an explanation. There's a lot you don't know." He heaved a heavy sigh. "Wow, I don't even know where to start."
Julin's stomach started to crawl, but she gave him a look that encouraged him to continue.
"I guess I should start with when Ed and I were younger. When I was 6 and he was 7, our mother died. Our father had left us even before that. The only people we had left in the world were Winry and her grandmother Pinako. They took care of us, and we truly appreciated that they were there for us, but it's not the same as having a mother." A snatch of memory came to Julin then: her dark-haired, dark-eyed mother leaning over her bed, planting a soft kiss on her forehead and saying goodnight. Telling Julin that she loved her so much. Julin understood too well where he was coming from.
"I'm sorry, Al." She couldn't think of anything more to say.
"We missed her. So much that we were willing to commit a taboo." His voice shook slightly and Julin felt her breath catch in her throat. She had a sinking feeling she knew exactly which taboo he spoke of. "We tried to transmute our mother, to bring her back to us. Needless to say it didn't work. That – thing – That wasn't our mother. Ed and I were pulled into the truth portal where Ed lost his leg. And I-" There was a hitch in Al's voice and he paused for a few moments before continuing.
"I lost my entire body." Julin couldn't help the quiet gasp that escaped her throat. Suddenly everything made perfect sense.
"Ed bonded my soul to this suit of armor. In fact, he traded his arm for it. It's the only way I'm here now. And ever since we've been searching for a way to get our bodies back. It's why Ed decided to accept their offer of being a state alchemist. It's why we have been researching the philosopher's stone. And ultimately, it's why Maes Hughes was killed. Because he was trying to help us and learned something he should never have known."
Julin's voice was soft. "Wow." She didn't even really know what to say. "Thank you, Al. For telling me. I'm sure it wasn't easy. Are you getting close? To getting your bodies back, I mean."
"It's hard to say I guess," Al shrugged with a clank of armor. "We definitely know more than we did three years ago, that's for sure. We're hoping to find something soon. That's why Ed was so excited to learn that you knew about alkahestry. He thinks it might help us."
"Well, I'm glad to be able to help you. It's the least I can do." Julin paused, but knew what she had to do. "Al, there's something I need to tell you, too. All of you. It's only right." She tried to steady her shaking voice. "When Ed and Winry get back," she promised. Al nodded. Julin wished he had a face whose expression she could read. She went to her suitcase to retrieve the one thing that she knew would give her the strength to say what needed to be said. She carefully laid it facedown beside her. Al had watched her curiously, but didn't speak a word. When Ed and Winry returned, they looked surprised to see Al and Julin sitting together.
"Hey," Ed greeted quietly.
"Can you guys sit down?" Julin clenched her fingers together to keep them from shaking too much. Ed and Winry complied, both with slightly confused looks on their faces.
"Ed, Al told me everything," Julin began. She saw the quick glance that passed between the brothers. She felt fleeting relief that Ed didn't appear too mad. "And now that I know your story, I think it's time you knew mine. I guess the best place to start is the beginning. It may not be what you expect." She paused and drew a shaking breath. She was about to share what Grandfather had made her swear she wouldn't tell another human being. She'd been fully prepared to keep that promise, but she'd never expected to meet people like them. She braced herself for her friends' responses to what she was about to say.
"I'm half Ishvalan."
I know, I know, this chapter is jam-packed. How did you like that ending? ;)