ShadowReaper13: Good guess. It wouldn't be much of a story if they weren't somewhat related.
13-Goth-Gyrl-13: I'm glad you're enjoying my story. Here's the next chapter. Hope you like it.
3: I would laugh too. I hope you laugh when the truth is revealed.
Cap'nHoozits: Oh, you'll be surprised all right. I think Scar only likes small cute and furry animals like Xiao-Mei, not big dogs like Den.
Taciturn Wolf: Thank you. I hope to be a published novelist one day. Writing fanfiction gives me practice.
Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. If I did, I'd probably make a sequel about what everyone's doing years later. Just to play with the characters a bit and have some fun.
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Chapter Seven: Faces
The next few days were agony for Winry.
Scar took her on a tour of the village as promised. She wasn't paying much attention, though. She was too busy searching the faces of the people around her, trying to see if any of them looked like her mother. Over the next few days, any time she saw Miles she would ask him if Den and the rosemary had arrived yet. When he answered "Not yet, but soon," she would be restless until she finally went to bed. Scar was almost getting sick of it. If he saw Miles before Winry did, he would steer her away from him.
Another thing that occupied Winry's mind was her appearance. She had noticed that her skin was tanning, faster than it normally did. Her eyes were also getting darker, more like purple. Her hair, however, stayed the same. Scar noticed these changes immediately, and it unnerved him to see Winry look more like an Ishvalan every day. He hoped that she would find her family soon, so that she would finally move out of his house and he could forget that she had ever been there.
It was the fourth day after she had received the message from Pinako, and Winry and Scar were at the market. It was just after lunchtime. Scar had gone into a store that sold books that specialized in teaching ancient Ishvalan. Everyone who worked there spoke the language, and Scar was conversing with them in that same language. Winry had no idea what the heck they were saying - which was why she had let Scar buy those books for her - so she stayed outside talking with some girls her age.
They ogled over her changing appearance, and wondered if it would change any more and what she would look like when the changes stopped. On this day, her skin was a light brown when it had at first been white and her eyes were the color of violet flowers.
She was chatting with them about her crush on Ed when there was a commotion heard on the next block. Everyone stopped talking so they could listen.
"Where did that thing come from?"
"Stop it!"
"Don't let it get away!"
Everyone watched in astonishment as a black and white dog with a metal leg dashed onto the street, stopped, and looked around.
"Den!"
Den turned towards the sound, and barked when he saw Winry. He ran over to her. She knelt down and scratched him behind his ears.
"You silly boy," she scolded half-heartedly. "How did you find me?"
She heard laughter, and looked up to see Riza Hawkeye standing a few yards away.
"I'm sorry, Winry," she said in between giggles. "He caught your scent and just took off."
"Hi, Riza," Winry replied. "I don't mind. I'm just happy to see him."
Winry and Riza hugged as a few children started showering Den with pets and scratches. He, of course, loved every second of it.
"Is the rosemary here?" Winry finally asked.
"Yes, it is," Riza responded. "Miles already took it to your house. He said he'll leave it in your room."
"Thank you," Winry said calmly.
"I hear you've been staying with Scar." Winry groaned and rolled her eyes. "How's that been?"
"Awkward," was Winry's reply. "He's so confusing. I thought I knew him, but every time I turn around he does something that contradicts the man I pictured him as."
"Like what?"
Winry told her about the blanket on the first night, then that heartfelt moment after clothes shopping.
"He's so kind to me now. He's like a puzzle that I'm trying to put together, but I don't have all the pieces and I don't have the slightest clue as to what the final image is supposed to even look like."
"Maybe you'll find the other pieces while you're here," Riza told her. "And with people, you are never given a hint about the final image." Winry sighed.
"I have to leave you," Riza continued. "I'm staying with a military friend, then leaving on the train in the morning. I only came to see you reunited with Den. He's a bit of a handful."
"Yes he is," Winry said with a laugh.
They hugged and said goodbye, then Winry watched as Riza walked away. She waited until she could no longer see her before sprinting away towards the house. She called to Den over her shoulder as she ran. He untangled himself from the crowd of children, to their disappointment, and followed his mistress.
When she finally got to the house, completely out of breath, she ran up the stairs and into her room with Den in hot pursuit. She saw the rosemary on her desk and resisted the urge to shout for joy. She immediately went over to her treasure box and got out the locket. She then grabbed a small shovel that was beside the rosemary and began to carefully dig around the tree. She heard metal on metal and fished around. Her fingers touched the small key, and her heart did cartwheels. She pulled it out, cleaned it off with a bit of cloth and oil, then picked up the locket and paused.
This was it. She would finally see the faces of her family. It was what she wanted, what she came here for. Then why was she so afraid?
For the past few days, she had been having nightmares in which she found her mother's family. One night, there were only charred or rotted bodies. Another time, they denied her and said that no person with Amestrian blood could ever be their family. And another night, it was a cruel and abusive family who took her in and turned her into a slave. But no matter what the situation, none of the dream families had faces.
Winry would wake up in a cold sweat, wishing, praying, that her real family would be nothing like her nightmares. But now that she could finally see their faces, she was afraid that her mother's family might really be like they were when she slept. She was almost reluctant to open the locket.
Den whined beside her, and Winry looked down at him. He looked up at her, and she smiled.
"You're right," she whispered. "I can't let my nightmares scare me. This is what I came here to do."
Winry slipped the key inside the lock, then slowly turned it until she heard a click and the lock opened. She took it off, setting it down on the desk, and opened the locket.
The first two faces she saw must have been her grandparents. It was an older couple, and they each had some wrinkles and smile lines to prove their age. Her grandfather's smile was proud, and his eyes said "strength" and "protection." This was a man who provided for his family and taught them the gospel of Ishvala. Her grandmother's smile was warm and friendly, and her eyes said "wisdom" and "love." This was a woman who raised her children to be kind and taught them how to care for the home. Winry smiled. These were grandparents who would accept and love her despite her Amestrian blood.
Winry turned over the thin silver divider to the next two pictures. These faces were Sarah's brothers, Winry's uncles. The first brother's smile was bright and cheerful, and his eyes said "intelligence" and "curiosity" behind his glasses. This was a man who devoted his life to studying the mysteries of the world beyond the one he grew up in. This man was a scholar. Winry was sure that her uncle would probably sit her down and give her geography or language lessons. She could just imagine submitting herself to that.
Winry's eyes turned to the second brother, and her heart stopped. She knew this face, but, at the same time, she didn't. This man's smile was proud like his father's and warm like his mother's. His eyes spoke of generosity and endurance. This was a man who had devoted his life to helping others. His hair didn't include a ponytail and his face was clean of any signs of old wounds. But there was no mistaking it.
It was Scar.
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Dun dun duuuuuuuuuuuun. Did I catch you off-guard? What do you think Winry's going to do now? Better yet, what's Scar going to do? Please review and I just might tell you.
End of Chapter Seven
