Thank you for the reveiws all of you. Now I'm hoping to break twelve? Maybe even hit the big thirteen (my lucky number!)? I'll satisfy with twelve, of course. Anyway, what do you guys think? I really want to know, tell me your thoughts and entertain me. I'm needing a little inspiration to get the writing going as it is. The plot is set, but I need some ideas or hints about something you feel would go along with the story. Oh...I'm just wondering how many of you out there already have a pretty close idea to what's going to really happen...hm...the anticipation is killing me!
Journey Again
Chapter 6: Separate Ways
Emilie weaved her way through the city, tears stinging in her eyes. She had dared to trust someone. No one in this wretched country was trustable. All they wanted was to impress Hitler and maybe get praised by their darling leader. It was no doubt all of them would have some serious punishment. And to think she had called them her brothers! They probably thought it was the stupidest thing they had ever seen.
So she found her way back to the café, slipping in the back door and flashing her darling smile at the owner. "Back again?" he asked her gently. "I thought for sure you'd be taken away after getting his by that car. Those boys took care of you, I'm assuming?" The man had a kind glint in his eyes, and he was quite built.
"Yeah. They took care of me. Then I found out they were working for Hitler's kind." She held her head low as the owner wrapped his arm around her shoulders. It was comforting, fatherly. His arm seemed to melt her sadness and worry and pull her back to the cold reality of the real world. People were always traitors, people were always liars.
"How about you get some rest in the back room. You can put on your show tomorrow evening as usual. Just take care of yourself, alright? I'll bring you another dress. You can't be putting on a show in men's clothing." He was kind, allowing her to borrow when her usual dress was out of commission. Of course, she'd never be getting it back now.
"Alright." She slipped into the back room, peeling Edward's clothes from her body and slipping a thin nightgown over her body. The owner of the store had lost his daughter to a terrible sickness years before and had decided to lend Emilie everything she needed. They were the same size. Emilie had to look after the shop when she was around, but other than that he gave her a living.
She glanced in the dark mirror, seeing the red swelling up her eyes. Had she really been that close to crying? In an instant, she found her knees on the floor as she wiped them away, every last cloudy tear, so she could climb into bed. Sometimes kindness was only skin deep, like the handsome face many men seemed to wear.
Her hand gripped around her dear ruby necklace. As she sat on the bed, she slowly loosened the grip so that it rested in her hand, reflecting back a very distorted face that was meant to be hers. Her mother had given the necklace to her, a gift from her father. Edward had said the other side held true alchemy…She shook her head. It was just sheer stupidity, believing in such a fairy tale. Alchemy was a crazed science practiced many hundreds of years ago. A pathetic rip off of an attempt at magic.
Still, she stretched out on her bed and pondered it. Soon, she found her lips singing the words to her mother's song. The verses Ed hadn't heard would have made him even more delusional. They talked even more about magic and freedom and a gate to a world of dreams and hopes and the worst of fears. They weaved a story within the lyrics, a sad story if someone took the time to put the little bits together.
Her mother had told it to her, sad and strong. When she met the man who encouraged the song, he was hurting and aching, so she sung lullabies to calm him. Her voice was so soothing; he begged it of her near every night. And one day, she woke and found herself pregnant and him gone on a journey. Every day, she would wait for him, watching the horizon until he was to return. He was gone for two years, and she was unable to go to find him with a daughter to raise. But he did return, with gifts and apologies, and a very slight explanation. He had changed, and she didn't love who he'd become. Still, she asked to journey with him, and was told only his daughter could do that.
"You will have tasted a dream,
A dream you shall not wish to let go.
You'll have found the best of it all,
And feared everything there is to fear.
Our dances, our dreams around the fire,
You find when you walk down the path,
Through the gate of ever-piercing light.
My darling, my brave darling."
She closed her eyes, considering what she had been told as a tear still found its way down her cheek. Her father had left on journeys that only he could embark on, for only he knew the way. For some reason, he couldn't just lead someone else that way. He brought back and extraordinary gift fit for a goddess, and he had entrusted it to his daughter. She was the only one who could follow him, even though he ripped his loves hearts to shreds. All he cared for was the child she had given him through her lullabies.
Emilie let out a sigh, wanting so bad to become the girl she called Emilie forever. Instead, as soon as she truly left the Elric brotherhood, she would be little gypsy Sythia again, pawn and poor. Confused and apparently destined. She began to wish even more her mother and that ever faithful tarot deck were there to advise her. Slowly, she lifted her own palm up and looked deep into the lines, broken and chained with all her trials. It was a dangerous future, no matter who she chose to be.
"You'll not teach me the path,
I'm not strong enough for fear.
If not me, then your daughter,
Lead the way so one will always know.
Take us to a world, through her.
Teach us of dreams unknown,
Point out a star that grants wishes,
And you'll both be gone to a land so far."
XxXxXxXxXxXxX
Edward woke and dressed in a hurry, slipping out to the streets. He walked along the sidewalk, his head held as high as ever. He was on a mission to find out how the doctor was. Investigators were never a good sign at all, and worry for the doc had lifted up above the worry for Emilie. She could handle herself, he knew that. For all her bruises and scratches and problems, she had to have done something right to still be alive now.
The weather still held strong clouds above, but the rain was over for the morning. There was no doubt it would be pouring again by nightfall. Soon, though, the rain clouds would break and give everyone some much needed autumn sun before winter set it. It was already getting chilly, the least Mother Nature could do was show a little sympathy before all of Germany froze. Not that freezing the Nazis would be a bad thing…
As he walked by the girl's schoolhouse, he noted that Winnie wasn't there. She was normally the first to arrive and the very last to leave, a true teachers pet and truly doing a good job. Although he knew, deep inside, that she was as against Hitler as her father, she still put up the best of shows, making it appear she was the best of followers. But now, her being missing and all, his heart beat a little faster and his feet moved much quicker. In half an instant, he was outside the office, making his way in.
The door was unlocked, and he found the place empty. There was no sign on the door saying "Closed Today." He picked his way through the trashed rooms; no doubt the work of the inspector, just to hassle the dear doc. Edward found his way to the bookcase, finding many of the books gone. Probably lost in flames somewhere by now. Ed kicked a tipped chair, looking around in sadness.
"They took you, didn't they?" he whispered to the wall. "Emilie was the last straw for them…I'm sorry, really I am. I suppose…It must be my fault. Was Winnie's mother taken like this as well?" He shook his head and righted the chair, setting himself down in it. "Just like Winry's parents…"
"Really?" he heard whisper out of the shadows. On instinct, he spun around, knocking the chair over once again. But the face that greeted him instantly calmed his adrenaline. His fists came down as his voice fumbled to find words to offer her.
"Winnie…You aren't in school?" A little laugh slipped past her lips. They both knew it was a stupid question, but what else was there to say? It was probably the most uncomfortable situation ever.
"You know that very well." She walked up, her eyes gazing into his. He could see the sadness drenched in them.
"They took your father?" Yet another stupid question. It was obvious what had happened, and there was no getting around it. Doctor Reitay was gone for good, and everyone knew it.
"I don't know…He never came home last night. And, when I came here, everything was trashed. Who is Emilie?" Winnie was quick to change the subject, and Ed understood why.
"A gypsy girl…She was hurt bad. Your father…He helped me help her. I was sure no one would notice she was gypsy. She wasn't dressed like one, she wasn't even acting like one at all. But her dark skin…They just assume, always."
"You know, for being a perfect Arian, you sure aren't as stuffy as the others like you." Her eyes seemed to pierce though him, trying to find the stuffy Arian that he wasn't.
"I know. And I know why I'm different."
"You said…Winry, that girl…her parents were like mine?"
"Yeah, real doctors. They took care of people on both sides. The only difference was that their killers weren't screwed up in the head. They were just following orders because there was nothing else they could do. If they didn't, Winry's parents would have suffered a worse death."
"Mine met that worse death." She seemed to take it well, at least on the outside. Edward's eyes hit the floor, his emotions showing through and clean. It hurt, and it was infuriating. "You know…I'm sort of glad."
"Glad?" His head instantly lifted in confusion.
"That he died because he was doing the right thing, not just because he was fighting for a pointless cause." She smiled a little, but her eyes still betrayed her.
"Winnie? Could you do me a favor?"
"What favor?"
"I'll take you to the café I met Emilie at, and can you talk some sense into her? She heard Al and me talking about something and mistook us for Hitler supporters and Nazi lovers. Then, you can gather whatever you want and come stay with us."
"Or you can come live with me, the three of you. My house is bigger after all. My grandmother had her room, before she died, and there was my parent's room, and then there was mine. Three bedrooms are more suited than two. That way you and Al can have your separate rooms and Emilie will have a bed to sleep in."
"I'm thinking I like your idea. So I'll sell my house and then we'll bring everything in to stay with you?"
"Pretty much. I'm sure the money from selling the house will help us get by a bit better. And I'll probably be able to get a small job somewhere, perhaps at the café with Emilie?"
"All this money and we may just make ourselves into rich people." She laughed a little as he offered his arm, a true gentleman, to lead her out of the office. There was nothing left there.
"What does Emilie look like?"
"Like…a gypsy angel. Her skin and eyes are dark, her hair is black, and she is probably the most beautiful girl ever."
"Is that so?" He felt Winnie playfully lean her head on his shoulder.
"Not like that! I mean, I don't like her like that…I worry about her. She's clumsy. But, looks wise, she is beautiful."
"And you're not the kind of guy that falls just for that?"
"I hope not." She laughed a little as he led her down the street.
"Well, we'll see when I meet her." People would look their way, but Ed wasn't worried about what they thought. Winnie was Al's age, much younger than Ed now. So she either passed as his sister or some other such relative. There was no worry about her passing off as his wife.
"First, though, I'll go tell Al our plans and then we'll have to swing by the factory and beg for a few more days off to execute all this. And we'll need to give Emilie a few days to cool down anyway, and for her to get to trust you. Will you be returning to school?"
"I don't think so. At least not any time soon. Besides, there's no better time to try what they've been teaching, the cooking and the cleaning and all the other such things good little girls should be wonderful at." Edward nodded, watching her reactions. "By the way…I love what you've done with your face." Her feminine fingers reached up to poke one of his matching bruises.
"Yeah. People seem to love picking on those that seem small in general."
"It looks like they did get the end of the fight though." She laughed as he grumpily hurried her along to his brother's schoolyard, standing firm as the teacher rang the bell for lunch, sending the boys out and Al to his brother.
"What's going on?" was the first thing out.
"The doctor is gone," Ed whispered, letting Winnie go off and eat her lunch happily under the shade of a tree, with many boys prancing past her, all watching closely to see if she took interest.
"Oh…Poor Winnie…"
"We're going to move in together."
"What?"
"You, me, Winnie, and Emilie."
"Emilie? You found her?"
"Not yet, but Winnie told us that she would try to talk some sense into her. The whole reason is that Winnie can't live alone, and she has more bedrooms at her home. So if we sell ours, we should have enough money to get by pretty well."
"That's…really sudden." Al seemed a bit hurt that the plans had been made without him.
"I know…But we're about to go into debt as it is. It'll be easier if we have more incomes. That being selling our home and, if Emilie comes back, some singing money. It'll keep us out of debt."
"I guess so. So we pack up and go?"
"Only what we need. The furniture is all there already, so we can sell a set for even more money. That'll keep us out of debt for a while."
"Yeah…Ed, this is going to be weird. I don't think Emilie is going to be happy when she finds out she's staying with us again."
"She has to learn we're not the bad guys…Garr…" His hands went up to his head as he tugged a bit of his hair in frustration.
"What are we going to tell her we were talking about?"
"Alchemy."
"What?"
"That's what we were talking about, the book that had that crap about alchemy. We were joking around, you know?"'
"Oh, I get it! We were reading from the book sort of, acting it out as we went?"
"Something like that." Al nodded, then went over and sat by Winnie, who then smiled at him as if to tell the other boys 'back away, me and him are together' even though they weren't. Edward smiled a little as his face looked towards the ground. People walked around him, wondering who the crazed man was. He had a plan, though, to make everything work out. Now he was just thinking about how much he wanted to punch that inspector with his metal arm…perhaps at a train station?
"Let's hurry!" Winnie called cheerfully as she latched onto his arm once more, a little unexpectedly. "I want to meet this Emilie. While I'm talking with her, you could go to your factory and go get all the arrangements made, alright? That way you don't bore me with all that and you have something to do while I'm talking with Emilie."
"I suppose…" He shook off the surprise, once again leading her down the sidewalk towards the familiar café. Every time he glanced across the street, though, he caught his eyes on someone else. A man in a dark brown trench coat with his hat pulled to cover his face. This man also appeared to be on his way to the café, and he was on the right side of the street for it, too. "Remember, don't mention me or Al. She's really smart. Well, she thinks she is."
"I know that feeling." They both laughed a little as Ed kept his eyes on the man across the street and his arm hooked with Winnie. Things were going to work out just fine. So much for a 'strange adventure.' He was beginning to think Emilie just made up the palm reading because she didn't have half a clue about how it really worked. And he was so looking forward to some excitement…Of course, the beating at the train station hadn't happened yet, so who knew?
