Disclaimer: I don't own FMA.
Interruptions
It was really a lovely evening, in terms of weather at least. It was pleasantly cool, only partly cloudy, and the moon shone brightly. A light breeze rustled the trees along the dirt road that they traveled toward the Cretan capital. Roy and Maes talked as they rode, letting their horses tread leisurely down the path.
"Roy, have you ever tasted Gracia's apple pie? It's divine. She won't even permit the chef we've hired make it."
"I don't believe I have. I'll have to try it sometime. Though, you are a bit biased when it comes to your wife." His men surrounded them with Breda in front, Falman to the right, Havoc to the left, and a few more armed men bringing up the rear.
"Nonsense. You're simply jealous that you didn't find her first." He saw Maes' head swing around and take in his surroundings. They made sure to maintain vigilance, only wishing to give the impression that they were not paying attention. You never know when problems might find you.
"I'm truly not. Don't misunderstand me, Gracia is wonderful. I just don't consider her to be my type." They had plans to visit one of the Führer's lackeys in a town near the capital to keep up appearances of being loyal to Bradley, and to get any information they could. After that, they would travel directly to Grumman's estate to find out what Elric had discovered about Lady Mustang's location. Hughes' wife would be awaiting their arrival there as she had gone ahead to spend time with some of the ladies already in residence.
"I believe I know who you're thinking of," Maes replied, his voice taking on a wise quality. "She has plenty of skills, however, I'm not sure a bring-you-to-tears apple pie is among them. I could be wrong, though, since she's also full of surprises."
Roy gave his friend a look and said, "I'm not sure we should talk about that right now." His head spun to the left and his eyes searched the tree line in the growing gloom. He would have sworn that he heard something: perhaps the snap of a twig breaking, the crack of a weapon making contact with a tree, or a horse hoof hitting a stone. Having served in the military, he was always on the lookout for potential threats. It was a both a blessing and a curse.
When he turned back, Maes was looking at him with raised eyebrows, wondering if he saw anything. Roy shook his head, though it was nice to know that Hughes had heard it too.
"Yes, you're probably right."
Suddenly, they heard the familiar scrape of a blade being drawn from its scabbard. Roy quickly followed suit with his own weapon and heard Maes do the same to his right. They both directed their mounts up next to that of Breda, who had stopped in front of an especially tall man that stood in the center of the road. Normally, they might not have stopped right away, but the man also had six of his closest friends with him.
"What's the meaning of this?" Roy said, employing his most authoritative voice. From what he could tell, these men were dressed in the traditional garb of a prolific Aerugonian smuggling ring. He looked around when he heard the sound of more footsteps coming out of the trees: they were now surrounded. Fantastic.
"Forgive me, my Lord, for the delay. I'm sure you have a busy schedule and we won't take up much of your time. We will, however, take whatever you gentlemen have of value and be on our way."
"That's interesting. Really. Because you seem to be at a bit of a disadvantage Mr…?" Roy was quickly evaluating their situation: it would be difficult to defeat this many men without suffering any losses. He'd also rather not give them whatever they wanted as that was still no guarantee his men would leave this encounter alive.
"Just call me Virgil." The man was tall, with dark hair, and stood with his arms crossed, clearly confident.
"Very well, Virgil. And if we give you our belongings, what assurances do I have that you won't kill my men anyway?" Roy was becoming quite curious: Virgil neither looked nor spoke like someone from Aerugo, and he carried himself like a seasoned soldier.
"You have my word."
"Of what worth is that to me? I'll be honest, Virgil. I'm inclined to fight my way out of this." He heard several more swords and knives being drawn along with the creak of a bow nearby. Roy found himself wishing he could just use his flame alchemy to get them out of trouble, but he generally tried to refrain in an attempt to keep that particular skill a secret. Not everyone knew he was the other flame alchemist, and the incineration of every threat would leave a rather distinctive trail in his wake.
"Ah, that would be unwise." At those words, an arrow whistled right past Roy's head, fired from the trees behind him to his left.
"Any more friends out there, Virgil?" Roy was pleased that he'd gotten him to reveal one archer, but there were likely more.
"You'll see." Virgil still stood with his arms crossed, appearing relaxed and unconcerned.
Roy gave his interlocutor a small smile when he saw Virgil's expression of surprise upon hearing the thud of the archer falling to the ground. He always liked to have a few men trail behind his group at a sufficient distance, just as a precaution. "I certainly hope you do, for your sake." With those words, Roy and his men exploded into action. The clash of blades rang out in the night air accompanied by the whistle of more arrows.
His own weapon made contact with Virgil's and, dropping down from his horse, he fluidly drew a knife in his left hand. He parried his enemy's attack with his sword and then spun around to bury his knife in Virgil's back. Roy moved on to help Breda and Hughes with the men remaining from the group that had initially stopped them.
He was just looking around to check their progress when he felt a piercing pain on the left side of his abdomen. Roy looked down, and saw the shaft of an arrow sticking out of his stomach. With a grunt of pain, he fell to his knees. He felt a strange tingle emanating from the wound and was quickly losing consciousness. Before his eyes closed completely, he saw Maes running over to him, arms out, trying to catch him.
Hughes ran up to Roy and eased him to the ground, shouting his name and trying to wake him. He looked up as Alex Armstrong approached and asked, "Are they all dead?"
"The fake smugglers? Yes. Sadly, we've lost two of our own men."
"Dammit."
"How is he?" Alex asked, gesturing toward Roy.
"There's some green substance on the arrowhead. I assume they poisoned him." Maes' fury tinged his words.
"What do you suggest we do?"
"We're going to have to arrive at that house party a little early. At least Gracia will be happy to see me." Maes gave a wry smile with his last words.
Hughes held Roy's unconscious body as Armstrong carefully snapped the arrow in half, removing it from the wound. As hazardous as that was, it was more dangerous to keep the poison in such close proximity. They tightly wrapped Roy's abdomen in a torn up cloak to provide as much pressure as they could.
Maes mounted his horse and Alex lifted Roy and set him in front so Hughes could make sure he remained astride. Armstrong mounted a horse as well and Maes looked back at the rest of the men. "You all know where we're going?" He saw everyone nod in confirmation. "Good. We ride fast. If you fall behind, we won't wait. Let's go."
They directed their horses towards Grumman's estate, which it would likely take an hour or more to reach. Hughes held onto his friend, hoping he could make it that long, yet aware they had no other choice. Riza would know what to do with this injury, and that estate would be the safest place for them. They had to get there.
Riza sighed with a smile as she lowered herself into the hot water filling the large tub in her private washroom. It had been a great day and this was the perfect, relaxing end to it. Grandfather had returned home early from some errands and visits, to their surprise, and they all went for a hunt which led to a delicious rabbit stew for dinner. Their cook really had a way with rabbit; it was astounding.
She was sore from riding, crouching, shooting, and running all day, and she could feel the heat from the water melting her tense muscles. There was a nice fire burning in the fireplace and the candles lit around the room flickered. She breathed deeply and exhaled once more, letting her body relax and stretch out in the tub.
Riza planned to lie here for a little while, then perhaps have a glass of wine and read with grandfather in his study. It was always one of her favorite rooms to be in and she figured it had something to do with the scent of books and a roaring fire. These were all comforts to her as they marked the place that had become her escape from Lord Hawkeye.
She heard a shout from somewhere far off and thought nothing of it, though a small smile crept onto her face: Rebecca occasionally became quite boisterous when playing cards. After sounds of running and more shouts Riza began to think very much of it, especially when she discerned that the heavy footfalls were leading right to her location. She heard her name shouted from outside the room and, reaching with her right hand down the exterior of the tub, she grabbed the knife she put there.
Suddenly the door burst open and she heard her name shouted again, only now she could actually recognize the voice. Maes Hughes came barreling into the room and Riza shouted, "Maes?! What the hell?!" She saw him cover his eyes when he realized she was not exactly prepared for a visitor, and added, "Yes, you had better avert your eyes, because I'm good friends with your wife, and you're like my brother."
"Riza! We need you. Now!" Maes was pacing frantically back and forth, obviously agitated.
"What the hell is going on?!"
"Mustang's wounded. Poisoned arrow. This was the only place I could think to bring him." As he replied, she stood and began to dry herself off, throwing on her pants, an undershirt, and a robe since she did not have an appropriate shirt available. She slipped her throwing knife in its home on her thigh, pulled his hand from his eyes, and saw his look of surprise that she was already dressed.
"Where is he?" Rather than responding with words, Maes led her out of the room at a run and down to the entrance hall. There a group had gathered including some men she did not recognize, a few estate employees, and Fuery.
Riza strode quickly to Mustang who was being supported between Alex Armstrong, to whom she directed a quick nod of greeting, and one of the men she did not know. His left side was covered in blood, so much that it had saturated his pants as well. Pooled on the floor near his feet were what looked like the bloodied remnants of a cloak. Putting a hand under his chin, she lifted his head to have a better view of his face.
"Maes, tell me what happened after he was shot." She put two fingers to his neck checking for a pulse, which was weak, but present. Placing both hands on his face, she noted that he was incredibly warm and drenched in sweat, and in his breath she could hear a slight wheeze.
"He yelled in pain, fell to his knees, and was unconscious in mere minutes." She checked his eyes and the pupils reacted to the light in the room.
"How long ago was that?" Riza started to move the fabric of his shirt to get a glimpse of the wound.
"Approximately an hour and a half has passed."
She looked up sharply at Maes. "Do you have the arrow?" Riza was fairly certain she knew which poison had been used on him, but the possibility of verification would have reassured her somewhat.
"No."
Riza began doling out orders to the people around her. "Fuery, set up a perimeter around the house and place archers on the roof. Send a few men to retrace this group's steps; make sure they weren't followed." With a nod Fuery was gone. To Patricio: "Close the gates to the property and bring Mei as quickly as you can." To Maes and the men carrying Mustang she said, "Follow me." Nicholas approached to walk beside her and she said, "Nicholas, I need hot water, bandages, the small medical kit as well as the mortar and pestle, ginger root, peony root, and thyme. Bring it to Curtis' room and then take care of our guests, please."
Her grandfather met her halfway down the hallway on the second floor, sleep shrouded voice and eyes indicating he'd been napping in the study. "Riza, what's happened?"
"Mustang's wounded." She gave him a pointed look and added, "It was a hit squad." Her grandfather's expression was wide-eyed and grim.
Throwing open the door to her cousin's old rooms, she led the little group in and was thankful for the efficiency of their staff when she found a fire started and candles already lit. She directed Alex and the other man to gently lay Mustang down on the bed, where she sat next to him and tore off his shirt to see the wound. Looking up when she heard footsteps she saw Nicholas and said, "Over here. On the table by the bed, thank you."
Maes was next to her in case she needed assistance and her grandfather, along with the two other men, had moved around to the other side of the bed. "Maes, moisten some of those bandages in the hot water," she said. Riza checked the entry and exit wounds and was slightly relieved to find that there did not appear to be much debris from the arrow. What was worrisome, however, was the dark discharge mixed with blood oozing from the wound. Taking the wet bandages Maes handed to her, she wiped the blood and discharge from both wounds, throwing one in the fire and holding the other to examine.
Without the arrow, there was only one way for her to determine the concentration of the poison used, and she needed to know if she was going to save him. There would likely still be more of the substance nearest the wound than elsewhere in his body, but she could account for that. Riza dipped a finger in the ominous mixture and brought it to her lips but stopped and looked up when she heard her grandfather speak.
"Riza, no." His eyes held a slightly pleading look, as if asking her to not die.
"I have to, grandfather. It's alright, I'm sure I have a bit of a tolerance left." As she looked at the amalgamation of blood and poison on her finger, she hoped that her last words were true. Bringing her hand the remaining distance, she put the substance on her tongue and closed her mouth.
Her taste buds were assaulted by a forceful bitterness and the poison stung her mouth and burnt the back of her throat. She could not stop her eyes from squeezing shut in response to the unforgiving flavor that tasted like dandelion greens and tar had produced a horrendous salad dressing. Opening her eyes, Riza took another taste to double check and started to make some calculations. She considered the intensity of the poison she tasted, and the fact that enough had reached his bloodstream to cause him to lose consciousness quickly. Riza also took into account the fact that this particular substance, while potent, was not an especially quick killer. At around two hours, however, they were reaching the limit. She stepped over to the table and began to add certain amounts of the herbs and ginger into the mortar.
She still felt alright which meant she did in fact still have some tolerance to the poison. Of course, it helped that it had not gone directly into her blood as it had with Mustang. Picking up the pestle, she began to grind the ingredients, adding a little of the water to form a paste. Looking up at Maes, she said, "Moisten some more bandages and wipe down the wounds one more time. Remove as much blood and discharge as you can, even if it hurts him."
Once Maes had done as she asked, she stepped over to Mustang's prone form, applying the poultice to both wounds and covering them with fresh bandages. They carefully wrapped some around his waist to keep them in place. Then, Riza prepared more of the herb mixture, this time with a slightly different ratio, and let it steep in a glass of hot water. "Maes, help me lift him from the bed, then you sit behind him and hold him up."
When Hughes had Mustang in a seated position, she sat down next to him and tried to wake him. "Lord Mustang," she said a few times, and started to slap his face lightly. Raising her voice she tried again, "Roy!" Finally, she saw his eyelids flutter open and he looked at her, though his vision may have been slightly unclear. "You must drink this." She held the glass up to his lips and tipped some of the tea into his mouth. He coughed a little, but managed to swallow it. The process was slow at first but as he came more fully awake he was able to drink more quickly.
Riza took the glass, refilled it with hot water, allowing the mixture to steep again, and returned to her seat next to the two men. She was raising the glass to his lips when she started to feel a little foggy and had to catch herself by placing a hand on the bed on Mustang's other side. She breathed carefully in an attempt to calm her own body.
Maes looked at her with concern and said, "Are you alright?"
"I'll be fine. Just make sure he drinks that." She handed the glass to Maes and stood to face the bedside table, swaying slightly, and felt hands grab her shoulders. Turning her head, she saw her grandfather and told him, with a small smile, "Thank you."
Riza repeated the beverage preparation process and then drank the liquid as quickly as possible. Placing both hands on the table before her, she leaned on it for a moment, breathing slowly. Then she took the other glass from Maes' outstretched hand and helped him lift Mustang out of his way and then ease him back onto the bed. More footsteps were heard entering the room so she turned around, head still spinning but only slightly, and saw Mei walking up to her.
"Mei, thank you for coming." She greeted the younger woman with a smile and a hug. The Xingese princess had helped them on many occasions and her skills in alkahestry had proven to be invaluable.
Mei examined her patient and then drew an array on the floor, placing her knives in the appropriate positions. With Maes' assistance, the two women placed Mustang on the circle and soon the room was aglow with the crackling light of alkahestry. They carefully returned him to the bed and then Riza shooed everyone out of the room, leaving Maes with Mustang.
"Were you successful, Mei?" Riza inquired once everyone was out in the hall.
"I believe so. I detected some internal bleeding, which I corrected. I did not close the wound fully, however, in order to give your poultice time to draw more poison out."
"Thank you. Ah, here comes Nicholas, he will show you to your usual accommodations."
"Thank you, Lady Riza."
She smiled as the princess walked away with Nicholas, and then turned to her grandfather and Alex, holding out her hand to the third man. With a pleasant grin she greeted him, "I'm sorry, I don't believe we've met."
"Sir Jean Havoc," he replied, taking her hand briefly. "It's a pleasure to meet you Lady Hawkeye. Thank you for all your help."
"Please, call me Lady Riza. And it was no trouble. I'm just glad you all made it."
Her grandfather touched her arm to get her attention and said, "Alex and I will go check in with Fuery. I understand you gave him a few orders. If you need anything, Riza dear, let me know."
"Thank you, grandfather." She watched the three men walk away just as Gracia was approaching practically at a run.
"Maes?!" Her face was full of concern, her eyes wide.
"He's fine. Give me just one moment. I'll send him out to you and I'm sure he'll fill you in." She gave the woman a hug and opened the door, re-entering the bedroom.
"Maes, Gracia is outside and waiting to speak with you. Go ahead and get something to eat, too. I'll stay here in case he needs another dose."
Maes walked up to her and grabbed her shoulders, looking her in the eye. "Thank you, Riza. I was afraid we'd lost him." He pulled her into a fierce hug that conveyed both his extreme concern and relief. Hughes left the room and she closed the door behind him, after which she walked over to the bed to check on Mustang. Seeing that he seemed to be resting peacefully, she doused some of the candles around the room. Riza grabbed the armchair near the fire and moved it closer to the bed, taking a seat and making herself comfortable for the long night ahead.
AN: Just to clarify, I have no medical knowledge. Thus, if what has been depicted here is numerous kinds of wrong, my apologies. Thanks for reading and hope you like it!