Chapter 7- Invidia
I dug my nails into the side of my belly. Clawing at the flesh and ripping threw it effortlessly. Warm red liquid spilled over me, the couch and on to the floor.
"Orchid!" Envy yelled in shock.
I jumped but didn't look up at him. I didn't sense his energy source. That worried me. His hand gripped my wrist but I ignored him. At the moment, I was stronger, much, much stronger. I knew that I could kill Envy if I needed to, despite his years of fighting and everlasting strength. My nails slashed threw my skin and womb, revealing a plump tiny pair of legs with the umbilical cord tangled around them.
Gently I reached at the legs and carefully pulled them.
"Help me." I growled at Envy, as blood continued to spill from my body and the room started to spin and get hazy.
And he did help me. He held out his hands and helped me retrieve the baby. He took its torso and held out his other hand for its head. I unwove the umbilical from its ankle and cut threw it with my nails. And then it was out of me. Envy caught its head and pulled it away from my healing stomach. As my stomach healed and blood was restored threw out my body a stinging pain shot threw my body.
"It's a girl." Envy whispered in awe, wiping blood from her face gently with his fingers.
"Invidia." I smiled. Than realization hit me. "Why isn't she crying?" I demanded.
The only reassurance that she was alive was the steady rise and fall of her tiny chest, clearly breathing. Not knowing what to do I screamed, "Riza!"
I felt two energy sources jolt awake and jump from bed. They came rushing down the hall and towards the stairs. Roy was directly behind Riza.
"Roy call Winry!" Riza spat in his direction before running to the kitchen.
Roy ran to the foyer where the phone was. I looked at Envy who was staring at me with wide eyes. I looked down. The couch, my clothes and the floor was stained with a dark red liquid. Blood.
"I'm fine." I said. "My blood already regenerated. I have more than enough." I reassured him before he could even ask.
Riza rushed back in to the living room with a cloth in her hand. She crouched down beside Envy and began wiping the blood from Invidia.
"How are you feeling Orchid?" She asked, her voice shaky.
"I'm fine." I murmured. "I'm not sure about your couch or floor though."
There was no more pain in my stomach. The stinging pain disappeared and I felt almost hyper. My face beamed with a smile.
"She's on her way." Roy said, entering the living room.
"She isn't crying." Riza murmured. "But, she is breathing."
Roy looked to me and smiled. Finally Roy was showing some kind of emotion other than anger or remorse. And then he smiled at Envy. That was all I could ask for. Roy's acceptance. This made me even more hyper.
I felt three Energy sources enter the estate and heard doors slamming and the pattering of running feet.
"Sorry, it took me so long!" Winry yelled bounding threw the door.
"Jeez did you floor it the whole way here?" I laughed.
"Well its good to see you smiling again!" Alphonse said with a chuckle of his own.
"She isn't crying." I said to Winry.
Winry dropped the black bag she carried and dropped to her knees by Riza, while Ed and Al stood behind the couch looking over me.
"Well she's breathing." Winry said.
"Yes, that's the third the that's been stated." I said sarcastically.
Winry took Invidia from Riza and put at little blue device in her mouth. She squeezed the end and blood was sucked into the device and out of the babied mouth. And then a cry rang out threw the room.
I let out a sigh of relief as well as Envy and Roy and Riza. Winry removed the blood from Invidia's mouth and nose before wrapping her in a towel and offering her to me. I leaned back and shook my head. My smile vanished. I wasn't sure why but I had no desire to hold her.
"You don't want to hold her?" Winry questioned, surprised.
"N-no." I said as tears rolled down my cheeks.
Ed put a hand on my shoulder, reassuring me that it was all right. Winry offered Invidia to Envy and he took her just as her eyes popped open and her crying lowered to whimpers.
Her eyes were a bright purple but glowed like mine. I smiled again despite the tears. She looked at me and smiled. I let out a surprised laugh.
"You sure you don't want to hold her?" Envy said.
"Yes. For now." I looked to Riza. "Im really sorry about your couch…and floor." I whispered.
"Its fine. We can cover the stain up and replace the furniture, just as long as your all right." She said with a smile.
"I am!"
I stood up from the couch and stretched. My slender figure was once again back to normal. I sighed in contentment.
"I'm going to change my clothes, ill be back." I said walking towards the stairs.
I took my time in the bathroom, deciding to shower and rid the dried blood from my stomach. It felt amazing to not have a huge belly in front of me. After my shower I walked to my room with a towel wrapped tightly around me. I shut the door and dropped the towel. My hands found a red tank top and white knee length shorts. I slipped them on, looking out the window. The sun was beginning to rise in the sky.
My feet patted down the stairs to see Riza scrubbing the carpet and the couch gone. I looked to Ed and he saw the confusion spread across my face.
He pointed behind him, indicating that the couch had been pushed outside.
"Great. The garbage men are gonna think we killed someone." I rolled my eyes.
"Well, just tell them we spilled wine on the couch." Alphonse laughed.
"Yes because wine looks like blood." I giggled.
I looked around the room. Winry was on the floor looking at the recliner Roy was sitting in with Invidia in his arms.
She was big. And already dressed in a floral sundress. She had long dark brown hair and her eyes shined brightly, just like mine. Her hair had purple tints in some places. Her face was round and a smile enveloped her face as soon as she locked eyes with me. I smiled back. Envy put an arm around my shoulders and I leaned into his.
"How's it feel to be a grandpa?" I asked Roy.
"Great." He smiled at me. "Im a little young though."
"Well Im a little young to be a mother." I said.
He rolled his eyes. I laughed as well as Envy.
(Time skip.)
Exactly one week had passed and Invidia was the size of a three year old. She was growing by the minute it seemed like. It worried me deeply. I still hadn't held her. Her hair was well past her shoulders. She was already walking and she was constantly trying to get my attention. Weather it was throwing books or plastic toys at me or screaming she needed eye contact with me. Every time she approached me, I would shy away from her. I hadn't touched any part of her except her legs when I was taking her out of me. She did not need formula. She had no heart beat which could only mean that her heart was a Philosophers stone.
We had gotten a new couch and Ed and Winry's Wedding was tomorrow. I had bought Invidia a white dress and Winry had given me a light pink one.
"I know you went here to help me plan it but I want you to be my maid of honor." She said before I jumped on her and hugged her.
Today Envy, Riza and I were sitting in the living room. Envy was sitting on the floor with Invidia playing with her toys. Roy was reading the newspaper and Riza was watching Envy and Invidia with a smile.
"Next week Im returning to work." I said setting down the book I had been reading.
"What will you do with Invidia though?" Riza murmured.
"Well Envy doesn't go with me to HQ so he could take care of her."
"Fine by me." Envy said.
Invidia began pounding her toy set of keys on the floor. I looked to her.
"Yes Dia?" I said using my nickname for her.
Usually she would just smile at me but today she surprised us all by clearly saying, "Mommy, why won't you hold me, or hug me?" She had a sweet voice, like melted honey.
My mouth fell open surprised and shocked.
"D-Dia…" I shuddered.
My insides melted with remorse. And I held out my arms for her.
"Come here." I whispered.
A huge smile spread across her face. She stood up and walked over to me. My hands reached for her sides and as soon as I touched her my vision clouded over. Instead of seeing my child's face in front of me I saw a picture of Envy, Dia and I she looked about ten years old and then I knew that when she would stop aging. Forever frozen at age ten. My sight returned to me. And I saw Dia's confused look clouding her smile.
"You stop aging when you're ten." I smile lifting her on to my lap.
She wasn't exactly heavy but she was surely weighed more then I expected. She wrapped her arms around my neck and nuzzled into my neck.
For the rest of the night we were inseparable. She refused to let go of me. Even when I grew hungry she clung to me. I shifted her to me back where she hung on tightly as I made a sandwich with one hand and the other held her against me.
"Want a bite?" I asked as she sat on my lap at the table.
She eagerly took a bite. Her face turned to a grimace as she swallowed it.
"Yuck." She spat.
I laughed. Envy walked into the kitchen.
"Well she defiantly doesn't need food." I said still laughing at her puckered face.
At night I laid her sleeping form down in her crib and fell asleep next to Envy in my bed, preparing myself for tomorrows wedding where the Military would meet my daughter and Envy.
