Flashback from Friday…
Enjoy!
"Who's there?"
"Madame. I apologize for intruding at this hour. I am Lt. Hawkeye of the Furher's personal guard. His excellency has requested I deliver some urgent documents."
The Furher's wife sighed. "Oh my! You're a dear to be working so late!"
"He said he needed them by tomorrow."
"I'm so sorry… I'm afraid my husband is out. Tomorrow was it? Don't worry, I'll hold on to them."
"Thank you very much." Her hand steadied to hand the manila folder over, until a dark, spine tingling sensation alarmed her. Almost dropping the documents, she turned around.
"Salem, you're still up? You have school tomorrow."
"Oh… Master Salem?" Riza stuttered.
"Sorry, mother. I heard someone at the door and thought dad might be home."
"Well, Salem, This is Lt. Hawkeye from the personal guard."
"Hi Lt. Hawkeye!" he said cheerfully.
"Greetings." She nodded politely.
"You're working late, huh? So hard-working!"
"Yes, we had some urgent documents to deliver. I apologize for waking you. I'll be leaving in a moment."
The boy frowned. "Already? That stinks."
"Come, young master, you need your rest." escorted a butler. "We can't have you oversleeping, can we?"
"Awww…… okay…"
The door closed behind them leaving Riza with the Furher's wife.
"Salem loves his father so. He wants to join the army as soon as he's old enough."
"He seems like a smart young man." 1st Lieutenant complimented.
"Ho ho ho…. Isn't he? He's my pride and joy. If we were his birth parents, everyone would roll their eyes at us making such a fuss over him, but since he's adopted, we can brag as much as we want."
"He must get his friendly personality from your relatives, then."
"Oh, no, Salem takes after my husband's side."
Riza turned to the madame. "Oh…wasn't he your relative's child."
"No dear, he's the son of some distant relative of my husband."
Riza's eyes widened.
"Let's get out of this drafty hall. Would you like to stay and have some tea until my husband returns?"
"No, thank you. I'll be on my way now."
"Oh? What a pity…"
Walking too fast down the dark hall, Riza Hawkeye was close to exiting the Furher's mansion.
Even though it was a full moon, the night around her looked dark and mysterious, as if covering some unknown truth. Step by step, she only concentrated on one thing, one epiphany.
The colonel told me King Bradley grew up as a test subject, isolated and alone.
That's where he became a homunculus…
He doesn't have a single relative anywhere!
And that feeling I had earlier…
It was… …
That boy….!
"You figured it out, didn't you?"
She halted. That voice…
"Oh, that mother of mine… she just loves to talk about me and my 'dad'."
Her stiff shoulders didn't dare to turn around. Cautiously, she said,
"I sensed a hint of bloodlust earlier. I've felt it before, but I couldn't remember where. Now that it's behind me, though, I think I know… It's the same sensation when the homunculus Guttony snuck up on me." Raising her voice a little louder but no braver, "Salem Bradley, who or what are you?"
"You're pretty brave to ask about my true form, Lt. Hawkeye. And you're smart not to draw your gun."
No… not smart, only scared.
"… your weapons cannot defeat me. If you remain still, I won't attack."
Remaining still won't be a problem… she thought. A sweat slid across her smooth, shivering face.
"How kind of you. So, are you a homunculus like Gluttony? But, no you can't be… this pressure is a lot worse than it was with him…"
"Yes and no. I am the same as Gluttony." Salem smiled. "But you'd be making a big mistake to put me on the same level as him. I am the original Homunculus. My name is Pride."
Her words were spoken clear enough. "What do you mean "the original"?" She felt the same bloodlust feeling creeping behind her.
"Exactly what I said. Nothing more, nothing less." The young boy chuckled at her. "Trying to get whatever information you can out of me? You're a brave soul, Lieutenant Hawkeye." He tipped his head to one side with interest. "I like you. Would you be like to join us?"
In her head, she quickly remembered the things Colonel Mustang and the Elrics said about homunculus and her own dreadful experiences with them. "Never. I know how you people work. You don't want "comrades"; you want pawns that you can use at your convenience."
Salem didn't consider much. "That's too bad… very well."
Silently crawling, the black snake-like arms and hands traveled past her ankles, up her uniform and started to wrap around her neck snuggly. Paralyzed by the homunculus' trick, she only had a few seconds to think logically.
"You can stop making idle threats" she realized. "Killing me doesn't benefit you at all, does it?"
A pause. He finally said, "You're very smart, Lieutenant." The thin, black arms unwrapped itself and traveled back down her. "You know what will happen if you speak of this to anyone. Your friends and Colonel Mustang will suffer unspeakable pain.
I'll be watching you from the shadows."