The Love of a Human
Chapter four: The Orphan's Train
Tennessee
"Let me go!" Olivia exclaimed as David tried to keep her from taking another step towards the train station.
"You can't go alone!" David protested keeping a strong hold on her shoulder.
"I'm taking Ren and Danny! I'm not going to be alone!"
"Take Aaron with you!"
"I don't want to take him!"
"You know how you'll look on a train alone with two kids?!"
"Like a target? To who, David?! To who?!"
"Just take Aaron with you!"
"So he can protect me?!"
"Exactly!"
"I don't think so, now let go! Ren come on, we're going!"
"Coming Mama," Ren smiled skipping out of the house followed by Danny. "Come on Danny! You're going to see your Mama!"
Danny smiled, "Mommy's home?"
"And we're going to see her now!" Ren chimed.
"No you're not!" David said stepping in front of the two, his hand still on Olivia's shoulder.
"Uncle Davi, we get to go on an adventure!" Ren exclaimed.
"I'm not letting you go all the way to Resembool."
"It's not like I'm going to stay there!"
"You planned to meet her half way!"
"Rose can't make it out!"
"That's a full day there and a full day back!"
"So?! Come on," Olivia said shrugging off David's hand and extending a hand to the two.
"Take-!"
"I'm not taking Aaron! Let's go guys."
David stood in the door way and watched Olivia walk off into the dusty distance towards the trains until they were gone from his sight.
"Mama?" Ren asked tugging on the corner of her long brown skirt, "Are you and Uncle Davi mad at each other?"
"Oh, Ren," Olivia said wiping her eyes and wrapping her daughter in a hug.
"It's okay Mama, don't cry," Ren replied patting her mother on the shoulder.
"Don't cry, Aunt Livia," Danny said also hugging her.
Olivia's tears continued to flow down her face collecting the dessert dust and turning her sorrow to mud.
"….Alright," she sighed wiping her eyes with a smile after a moment, "I'm okay. Let's go before we miss our train."
Olivia hoisted her overnight bag onto her shoulder and patted both children on the back, pushing them along.
David sighed as the whistle blew and the train departed, caring his little sister on it, then walked back into his house immediately picking up the phone.
"Hello?" Aaron said picking up the phone.
"Aaron, do you have a minute?" David asked.
"Sure, just a second." There was the sound of metal on metal as if Aaron were taking something off the stove top then he returned to the phone. "What's up?"
"Have you ever heard of Resembool?"
"… No, can't say I have," he replied after a moment.
"I'm not surprised, really."
"… Oh?"
"It's just a little farming town, you know crops and sheep, that's pretty much it."
"… So… I'm sorry, but why are we talking about Remsembol?"
"Resembool."
"Why are we talking about Resembool?" Aaron sighed.
"Because Olivia just left for there."
"What? Why?"
"She's going to bring Danny back home, that's where he lives."
"And she took Ren too, didn't she?" Aaron asked, basing this assumption on what he knew to be true of her.
"Yep," David sighed.
"I'll get on the next train," Aaron nodded.
"It doesn't leave 'til morning, and this one's already left."
"Then I'll catch tomorrow's train."
"Alright, just make sure she's okay?"
"No need to tell me twice," Aaron grinned hanging up.
If David had really wanted he could have stopped her, he could have let Aaron know that much sooner, but why didn't he? Maybe it was because he was trying to let his sister go, to find out that she did need someone else and she couldn't do everything on her own. This would be a learning experience for her, and if anything went too wrong Aaron would be there just incase.
"Stop it now!" Olivia scowled catching Ren by the arm as she ran through the train car for the third time.
"How long! How many minutes!" Ren smiled.
"You need to sit down… people are trying to sleep," Olivia said glancing around at the other people who watched her skeptically.
"How fast?"
"Very fast, now sit down."
"But how many minutes?"
"… I wasn't counting…."
Ren hung her head and sighed.
Olivia looked over the darkening train car quickly before whispering to Ren, "You better run real fast to beat your dad's record."
Ren exclaimed happily and took off through the car.
Olivia was now beginning to get very tired, after all it was nearing eleven o'clock, so it wouldn't be long before Ren crashed. She usually didn't stay awake this long, and the only reason she was still up now was the pure excitement of getting to go somewhere new and the fact that she had taken a long nap earlier. However, there was the possibility of her having sucked all the energy out of Danny, for he lay sleeping with his head on her leg while his legs were curled to his chest and his thumb in his mouth.
She loved Ren, probably more than anything in the entire world, but there were times she wished she was less active.
Again Olivia sighed and looked around for Ren, but found she wasn't yet running back. She bit her lip and craned her neck, she was just about to stand up when she saw her daughter walking back.
"What's wrong, did you give up?" Olivia said as Ren hopped up onto the seat beside her.
"I'm tired, Mama…" she yawned.
"I'll wake you up when we get there," she said as Ren curled up next to her.
Stroking Ren's hair, Olivia rubbed her eyes with her arm and looked up over the top of the seat opposite her to see a boy, around fourteen years old, facing her, his head bobbing and his bronze colored eyes glazed due to his tiredness. His face was round and freckled, while his light brown hair was tied back in a long ponytail. He wore a red cloak overtop of a black jacket that zipped up the front. He was just an all-around good-looking boy.
Olivia chuckled as a wide grin spread across her face.
The boy blinked hard, rubbed his eyes, and yawned as a man, dressed in a suit and tie, entered the booth and said something like, "I have all of my luggage in here, do you mind moving?"
"N-no, no, not a problem," the boy yawned standing up with a suitcase looking so stuffed Olivia guessed he had most of his clothes in it.
Olivia scowled at the man, who obviously couldn't see her, and called to the boy, "Excuse me?"
He looked over, holding his suitcase to his chest with one arm and rubbing his eyes with the other. "Me?"
Olivia nodded. "You can sit here," she smiled patting the spot beside her and Ren, her voice loud enough for the man to hear her and hopefully feel badly about kicking the child out of his seat.
The boy smiled and nodded, flopping down next to the sleeping Ren with a tired sigh.
"I'm Alphonse Elric," he smiled extending a hand, which she shook offering the same warm smile.
"It's nice to meet you, Alphonse."
"Everyone calls me Al though."
"Alright, Al," she smiled.
"You're an Ishvalan, aren't you?" he asked before she could tell him her own name, it was clear he'd only started this conversation so he could cover this topic.
Olivia nodded, "Yes, I am."
"I've never been to Ishval, is it nice there?"
"It's hot and dry, and we're still only getting started with most of the rebuilding, but it gives you a nice feeling to be able to raise your kids where you were raised."
"Is she your daughter?" he asked looking at Ren.
Olivia nodded. "Ren."
"And is Ren's father Ishvalan?"
"… No… he's… uh, not," Olivia stuttered.
"Oh…" Al mumbled, not wanting to push the conversation in this direction.
"… So where are you headed, Al?" Olivia said trying to change the subject as not to make him feel awkward.
"Well, I've been traveling a lot for the last couple months, pretty much just going wherever me and my brother did when I was older."
Olivia blinked hard and shrugged the "older" comment off, believing she had heard him wrong.
"My teacher was very sick and passed away a few months ago, so since then I haven't been in one spot for too long. But now I'm headed back home, to Resembool."
"… R-Resembool?"
"Yes, it's a little farming town, you probably haven't heard of it."
"No, no, I have. That's where I'm going."
Al grinned a sort of surprised smile and said, "Oh, why are you going there?"
"I'm friends with a girl named Rose, she lives at the… R-Rockbell-?"
"Rockbell's automail shop?" Al asked excitedly, "I live there too!"
"Oh! Well I guess we do know each other!"
"Why're you going to visit Rose?"
"I take care of her son when she's away."
"Danny!"
"He's right here," she said patting Danny, almost fully covered in blankets, on the back.
"… So that makes you… Olivia?"
Olivia smiled and nodded.
"… But Rose calls you all the time… and Ishval's just starting up again…" Al said slightly puzzled.
"My father was a high priest before the war… you were probably really, really little then. That's why-…" she began, without realizing she was beginning the story of how she and Envy had first met and why her family had been taken captive. "…I mean… he was pretty important, so my brother and I are treated pretty well."
Al nodded, "Uh-hu. So then you'll be staying with us?"
"Well I was thinking I could find an inn or something."
"… I don't think they're any inns in Resembool, not since I was there last anyway."
"…."
"Well you can stay with us, I'm sure Granny won't mind," Al grinned.
"That's very kind of you," Olivia beamed. "I'm only going to be staying a night."
"It's fine!" he exclaimed, perhaps a bit too loudly, for Ren stirred and looked up and Olivia.
"We there, Mama?" she yawned.
"Not yet, honey, you can still sleep a while," Olivia replied stroking her hair as she looked up at Al.
Al blinked hard and leaned in closely, looking at her eyes.
"Can you smiled for me?" he asked.
Ren looked up at her mother, who raised an eyebrow in confusion, but nodded.
Ren smiled a set of jagged teeth which seemed to confirm Al's answer. When he said nothing more, the child curled up and fell back to sleep.
"… What was that about?" Olivia asked after a few silent moments.
"… I know someone… who looks a lot like her," Al said biting his lip in concentration.
Olivia's heart skipped a beat, her mind tripping over the idea of Alphonse knowing Envy. He'd looked at her eyes and at her teeth, both on which she had gotten from her father, so this could quite feasibly be him.
"Who?"
"… Well it's not possible so-…."
"Who do you know?"
"He came back with Winry a few days ago for repairs… I think, so you'll be able to meet him."
Well this is a long one XD I just couldn't put the first part up because that would be to short though
Well uh thanks for reading as always! And there's a link to pics on my profile (you probably knew that already) I love all polite reviews and I hope you enjoyed this one!
Tennessee