Title: Glazed Over

Authoress: Lady Constantine

Fandom from Which This Fiction Hails: Fullmetal Alchemist

Genre: Fantasy/Angst

Warnings: None that I can think of...maybe character death.

Summary:

So nonbelievers we preach you this song! Listen for it all day long, for we come back alive, but no one shall see. We come back to die, so no one can bleed. Crucify us painfully so none will hear it. Crucify us shamefully to kill our spirit.

Author's Note: I'm so sorry this chapter is so late. I mean late doesn't even describe it! I own you all an apology. So in honor of my apology I made this a three-shot (and an epilogue) in each person's third person point of view. First up is Gracia, then Elysia, then Hughes himself and lastly an epilogue to tie the knot.


Disclaimer: I don't own FMA, but as far as we're concerned I might own the word 'liopleurodon'.

Glazed Over

"The best thing about dreams is that fleeting moment, when you are between asleep and awake, when you don't know the difference between reality and fantasy, when for just that one moment you feel with your entire soul that dream is reality, and it really happened."

-((Unknown))

The little girl with rolling blonde hair and soft emerald green eyes that seemed to sparkle with every defining moment. The little girl with a smile that always caused a tinge of blush on her delicate frail skin. The little girl with pigtails that cried depressingly when she finally realized her father was truly dead.

Gracia missed that little girl... a lot.

Because not too long after that day-maybe a couple of months she was given a new child-a new Elysia that claimed desperately that her father was still alive, and tangible to her. A new Elysia that swore she played hide-n-go-seek with him every Friday, and visited his castle every Tuesday. Gracia had warned that girl, she had told that child many times that her father died and was never coming back. But the child persisted with her nonsense stories, even at the age of ten...

This wasn't her child, Gracia always told herself, her child had died a long time ago in that train crash. She used that mentality to stop herself from showing this new child any love. It wasn't hers; therefore she had no reason to care for it. Gracia constantly got in fights with the new Elysia, she would always claim,

"Ya huh! He's king of a new world, and he's naming it after me. Guess what it's called... Elysium! He says that he's having fun there with all his friends."

Gracia growled at her reference and how the new Elysia had mocked all of her friends' deceased memories. At first it was a tolerable way to cope, but now it was just sickening.

All of the well known State Alchemists had died, whether too heartbroken by both deaths of Edward and Maes or teetering on the edge of senility and thinking that suicide was a better compromise than medication... She was beginning to think the same thing too.

Gracia would always ask the child of all the people who were in this 'Elysium', and she would always reply,

"Well there's Mr. Mustang, Riza, Mr. Armstrong, and even Black Hayate is there!"

When Gracia asked of the Elrics, Elysia would always say,

"Naw, they went to another world! I want to go there too someday..."

After this remark Gracia would always deliver a slap to the child. Cursing her for ever thinking about killing herself, but Elysia would just respond softly,

"It's not dying; it's sleep, with a perfect dream, because when you wake up you're always surrounded by happiness."

Gracia hated that child so much for this. Didn't she see that it was hard enough working on a waitress's wage, trying to support an otherwise brilliant girl, in a private school? Didn't she see it was hard? Apparently not, because everyday they would have to run through the same story over and over again.

Until finally, Gracia was fed up-she indulged the child no longer...

"SHUT UP!" Gracia screamed at the top of her lungs. "You're lying! You're lying!"

"B-but Mommy, you told me never to lie. I never lied in my whole entire life. It's real, if you only could see-

"All make believe and fantasies. It's not real."

"Not real?" The child was clearly confused, obviously no one told her the concept of reality yet.

"All those voices-they're fake. Figments of your imaginations made so you can cope with the loss. Aren't we the lucky one?" Gracia didn't mean to act so maliciously, but the child was going to have to learn one day or another about reality and fiction-something her real daughter had already known. She sighed, trying to release the negative energy in her. "I'm sorry girl, but it's just not real."

"But...," Gracia's solemn look scared her from venturing to question. "What if they start to talk to me?" The child looked over her shoulder as if they were doing it right this moment.

"Ignore it."

"Ignore it?"

"Ignore it with all your might." Elysia looked away. "Elysia... Elysia! Look at me." The child quickly faced her rapidly angering mother. "Promise me, that you'll ignore them. And never tell anyone about those voices ever again."

"I... I promise," When she was sure she defeated the child's imagination Gracia hugged Elysia.

"Now off to bed with you..." Gracia was happy it was over.

But some how, it wasn't...

For whatever happened late that night...

Had caused her mother to carve on her bedroom wall "Elysium..." with a knife before dying with a grin on her face...

Elysia would never forget that moment as long as she lived. It still remained a vivid picture even now, four years later.


A/N: I know, confusing much? But it'll clear up over time. Next chapter is on Elysia (but it's not the next, next chapter)! The quote really is Unknown (tried searching every where for the author). I promise the next chapter won't take as long to put up. So I'm telling you now, if the next chapter is not up by May 1, you're all allowed to be angry. Have a nice day everyone!