Author's note- yeah I got some more reviews. Thanks. It's good to know people are reading this.

Chapter Ten

"See, isn't this nice?" Ling's cheerful tone was not enough to make Edward forget everything that was going on.

"Why is it that I feel you're trying to distract me?" The emperor squinted over at him, almost in a hurt manner.

"Aw, now you're not being fair. I just figured you would enjoy this and besides, can't I make up for all the hospitality you showed me in Amestris."

"You mean sneaking into my room and ordering a ridiculous amount of food that I had to pay for? That hospitality?"

"I don't remember it happening that way." Edward reached his arm up and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Why am I not surprised." He sucked in a deep breath, inhaling the hot air around them. Ling had shown him to his own personal hot spring, right in the palace. He really did want to enjoy it but then he also had the desire to choke the emperor as well now that there weren't any guards around. It still wasn't a good idea though even in a solitary place like this. Instead he leaned his head back, staring at the ornate ceiling above.

"I still feel like I'm wasting time and you're perfectly okay with that."

"Why do you have to over analyze everything? It's just like with Al. I'm sure there's a simple reason someone would want him."

"It's not always something simple. There could be some huge conspiracy going on here."

"Come on Ed, conspiracy?" Ling noted the annoyed look he was getting and chose to look away.

"You're talking to someone who served under a leader that wasn't even human. So yeah, I think conspiracy is the right word." He pointed an accusing finger at his friend. "And you'd better be completely oblivious to whats going on when I get to the bottom of this." Ling got really quiet at that point, as though he had nothing snide to reply with. Almost as though there was some truth behind Ed's statement. He seemed to get lost in thought and Ed swore he saw a worry on his face that he was feeling as well. But there was no way Ling's concern could really be for Alphonse. The awkward silence hung between them for quite awhile, leaving the only sound in the room the water pouring into the hot spring. Finally an ironic smile spread across Ling's mouth.

"You must think being the leader of an entire country is easy with just a bunch of perks, don't you?" The blond was shocked at the accusation.

"What makes you think that? I never said anything about it being easy. I'm sure there's a whole bunch of responsibilities a lazy slob like you manages to avoid on a daily basis."

"Gee, thanks. I'm serious though. Everyone thinks you can do anything and that you don't care about anyone under you. On top of all of that, any decision you make, they assume you have some hidden agenda behind your choice. And then there are those who try to use you for their own benefit. You can never show any signs of weakness or someone might use it against you." By this point, Edward seemed bored with the conversation and appeared to be thinking of something else, probably a plan to rescue Alphonse.

"So why are you telling me all this?" He wasn't even looking in Ling's direction as he spoke.

"Because it's relevant." Ed noted the irritation in Ling's voice and glanced back over. "I'm sure that whoever has Al, has no intentions of hurting him."

"You sound as though you know that for a fact." Instead of shrugging off what Edward pointed out and making light of the conversation, he kept his serious tone.

"I'm just saying that you should make sure you know all the facts before jumping into a situation you can't control." The Amestrian sucked in a breath before scratching the back of his head.

"Sheesh, it's like you're talking in riddles or something. It doesn't make any sense. Either you know something or don't." Ling had to hold back a laugh at Ed's ranting. When he was frustrated like this, Edward was pretty amusing.

"Trust me, if I was able to do anything I would." Edward's whole body seemed to slouch, bringing him all the way into the water up to his nose.

"Not helping," He muttered from under the water. Before Ling could say anything else, the door slid open and two female servants entered the small room.

"Excuse us, my lord. We brought you and your guest something to eat as well as some extra towels." One of the women set down a tray of food while the other set the towels down. She then went over to Ling and offered him a cold cloth for his head. Ed noticed she kept her head down the entire time. He could only assume it was a sign of respect. Neither of them even made eye contact with the emperor. When the same servant came over to his side of the spring, he found himself feeling self conscious, the closer she got. Only wearing a towel, he still felt somewhat indecent and looked away from her as he reached for the cloth offered to him.

"Uh, thanks." His voice cracked slightly and his face turned red and not from the heat in the room. As she moved towards the door with the other servant, he let out a deep breath. Despite his hope that Ling didn't notice, he caught the grin he was receiving from across the way.

"If there isn't anything else lord, we'll leave the two of you to your privacy." Their statement caused the already flustered blond to stand up and turn to the door in quick defense of himself.

"We don't need privacy. We're just friends." He pointed at Ling in case there was any confusion who he was talking about. Before he could embarrass himself anymore, Ling couldn't hold back anymore as he laughed.

"Yes, thank you ladies. We really would like to be alone." Ed turned back to him, now completely mortified at the implications. As the door slid closed, he could hear the two servants giggling as they hurried away.

"Th...that's not funny, Ling." The Emperor's laughter erupted even louder.

"When did you get so perverted?"

"I'm not," he whined back. "They were the ones saying perverted things." Ling placed his hands up in surrender.

"Alright, alright. Just sit down before you loose your towel. You certainly jumped to the wrong conclusion pretty fast." Edward took his seat again, trying to calm down.

"You didn't help either. You know their going to talk about you too."

"I've gotten use to all sorts of rumors. I've learned not to care. Since I don't have twenty wives yet, people have come up with all sorts of ideas about me."

"So then you and Lan Fan haven't..." Ling sighed heavily in response to Ed's observation.

"Things are complicated with her. It's not exactly a desired matching to the countries standard. I'm suppose to marry someone I'm betrothed to first."

"Sounds stupid."

"It is but the class system here determines quite a lot. So what about you. I saw how nervous my servants made you."

"Well they barged in like that and it was just weird. Besides, I'm already spoken for and have no desire to die any time soon." Ling thought about his statement for a second before smiling wickedly at his friend.

"Ah Winry. Yeah I get it now. But she's not going to find out about anything that happens here."

"Doesn't matter. I made a promise and I'm gonna keep it. I don't want twenty wives, thanks."

"I don't think I do either," Ling agreed. Edward found himself smiling at the thought of Winry. It made him realized how much he wanted to find Al, not just for Al's sake but also so that he could go home quicker. There really was no way to contact Winry from Xing.

"Hey so what about Mae?" Ling glanced over his shoulder, a large shrimp tail hanging from his mouth.

"What about her?" His answer was muffled and Ed sighed heavily before moving closer to look over the food.

"Well if you have to be betrothed to someone does the same thing go for her too since she's royalty? Maybe someone didn't like the idea of Al getting so close to her and that's why they took him." Ling shook his head before swallowing his bite.

"Trust me, Al is considered an honorable posibility for Mae." Ed raised an eyebrow at the statement.

"Why? Cause he's from Amestris?"

"No, it's because of how he looks." Edward rolled his eyes now as he picked up a bowl of rice.

"You mean that whole immortality thing? Shato or whatever. We can't help it if we're stuck looking like that bastard Hohenheim."

"It's Shaneto, and it's not just a supersitious thing around here. You go take a walk through the city and see what happens. People in this country think of you as a God."

"Is that what you think?" Ed started eating his meal, now realizing how hungry he was. Ling smiled at the thought before simply saying:

"Please Ed, I know you too well to think that highly of you."

"Thanks a lot."