I was more than intrigued and felt as though something were physically forcing me to take the actions that I did. I knew that it was wrong, that the item on the chair that had caught my eye belonged to either Ed or Roy. I knew I was invading their privacy but they had built up iron walls around everything! I had merely stumbled across what appeared to be a crack in the barricade.
I drew back the chair and looked at the small object that sat there in a way that was far too innocent. I tried to push my memory back to moments ago, searching for the finer details available in the vivid imagery supplied by my short term memory. It was almost an absolute certainty that Roy had his pocket watch on his person, whereas Ed did not. The unease that had arrived with my guests stirred violently, deep within my stomach.
The watch was glistening silver, appearing brand new in that sense but aged in another. I ran my thumb over the familiar insignia, watching a my pale skin skimmed the shining surface. I could feel my thumb gently dipping with each of the many divots worn in to the material with overuse.
I had become convinced that this watch was my son's and the very thought made my knees buckle beneath me. I caught myself before I could fall and unsettle the haphazard stacks of tomes that filled the room. I grabbed a fistful of the skirt of my dress and gripped it as hard as I could to prevent myself from crying out at the rather awful realisation that had very suddenly unloaded itself onto me. I could feel what seemed to be a physical weight on my shoulders settle decidedly into place. I suspected the force that had urged me to invade the privacy of my own son had made itself a residence there.
I didn't doubt that the watch had seen battle after battle. I attempted to flick it open to check on the quality of the clock face and see how much time I had spent gaping at the watch and the realisation it had brought forth. However, I found myself unable to do anything at all. The watch itself resisted against the very best of my efforts until I finally was forced to concede to the inanimate object. The fabrication of the lies my son had told me since the second he had came.
I think it was then that I realised that the name Fullmetal was not a name bestowed upon my son by the people whom he aided, rather by the Fuhrer himself. Would it be a bad thing to admit that I began to think of my son as another military dog, just like Roy who was no doubt his superior?
I stumbled back to the kitchen, book clutched tightly in my hand. The book fell on the table in front of me as I tripped into the room after a walk that seemed much longer than it could have possibly been. My hands followed soon after. The resounding bang caused by each was a reason of concern for Edward and I could see why he would view the situation in such a light as I as certain he was. I knew I looked far less than great, I'm sure I had gone a bright, unappealing red at some point as I bit on my lip to stop it quivering (the metallic taste it drew out was certainly not helpful as I tried to clear my head). My hands shook as badly as my lip would have done had I not restrained it from doing so and my knees were knocking together. I looked up at Edward in desperation and suddenly just how distraught the event seemed to make him made less and less sense. It appeared he was awaiting something, something very specific to come upon me. He stared forwards with wide eyes that seemed slightly detatched, leaving Roy to help us both.
"Trisha! Sit down and speak to us! Tell us what's wrong! We'll fix it." I mumbled an incoherent string of nothing as I waited for the quivers that unrelentingly flooded my being to die down by some modicum.
"Fullmetal - you don't know it's that. Take your own seat and listen, something tells me that something interesting is brewing."
As I took my seat laboriously I heard a clatter - a sound that was very distinctively metallic. It was more than suspicion when a sense of dread crept slowly up, from the bottom of my spine to the last of my vertebrae. The watch had fallen from where I had hidden it in the folds of my skirt.
"Shit!" Both alchemists yelled as they simultaneously took in my face and the scene.
"When the fuck did I leave that in there? No no no no no no no..." Edward addressed no one as he spoke, rather choosing to reprimand himself with a range of language I prefer to suspend from my memories.
Roy, however, appeared at least a little triumphant "I knew it would be something interesting." He declared smugly, seeming to fit the profile of a young child far more than that of a colonel at that point.
"Explain!" The word escaped my lips, laced with venom that I regretted putting into it as the grating tone creeped in through my ears.
"What is there to explain?" Roy asked, genuinely sounding as if he was completely befuddled by my demand.
"This!" I snapped again and raised the watch violently. The chain attached swung around, appearing rather hypnotic. I forced myself to remove my eyes from it, instead, choosing to seek answers from Roy and Edward.
"It is the mark of a state alchemist, Trisha. I am fairly certain that you already know, going by the nature of your arrival, but this watch belongs to Edward." It was the first time that I had heard Roy regarding my son with his given name and it had taken me aback. The entire situation appeared considerable heavier in nature on all parts.
I decided at that moment, as I watched Edward act so much like the boy I had raised and yet so very different, that a little repetition was certainly necessary in some situations. "Who are you?"
"Who am I?" His voice sounded slightly hoarse but it was perfectly clear and certainly not a sound that I woulda allow to slip through my memories. "Mum, I'm Edward Elric." I urged him to continue, watching him rearrange the way he had been seated into a rather contortionist-like pose he must have found comfortable (despite the obvious way that it should have posed an incredibly difficult challenge to assume)
"I am Major Edward Elric. I am The Fullmetal Alchemist!" The newfound confidence he displayed did prove to be an asset when it came to the planned interrogation.
