Chapter 11- Tension

Ling woke up to the sound of Fu knocking on his door.

"Young Lord. We are leaving in two hours. It's best that you wake up now." He said, and Ling assumed he went to go wake up Lan Fan.

Oh no.

Ling's eyelids flew open, a moment of panic etched on his face. He remembered Lan Fan coming to his bed last night because she couldn't sleep. Once he finally got a hold of himself and took the time to actually scan the bed beside him, he chuckled.

She managed to slip out of his grip once again without waking him up.

Of course she thought ahead before coming to his room. She knew how dangerous such an action was, but he wasn't fully aware of the magnitude of the risk she was taking. He wasn't at all hurt by her leaving without a "good morning" or even a "see you later". If it saved both their asses, then she could slip away like that all she wanted.

He yawned and sat up, the desert sun shining through his window and onto the blue carpeted floor. It was pretty hot, and Lan Fan must have known he would get that way, because she opened the window for him. He grinned again as he stood up and stretched. She always looked out for him.

After taking another shower and dressing himself in his usual white pants and open-faced shirt, and left the room while fastening the strap of his Dao sword to his chest. He looked both ways down the hallway before walking over to Lan Fan's door and knocking.

Lan Fan was currently pulling her hair up into its bun, the foreign color still bouncing off of the dark of her eyes. "Come in!" She yelled, finalizing the style. A few strands of her hair wouldn't pull into the hold, and she decided just to let them stay out.

Ling opened the door with a bright smile. "Good morning~!" He greeted her with a small wave. He closed the door behind him and walked over to her. "You look." Kiss. "Absolutely." Kiss. "Wonderful today."

She rolled her eyes, fixing the cuff of her shirt, positioning her kunai just right under sleeve. "You're in a good mood this morning." She smiled, while wrapping her studded strap around her wrist. "Did you sleep that well?"

He kissed from her shoulder, covered now with black fabric, to the flesh of her neck then to her ear. "We hadn't slept in the same bed together for a few nights. I guess my mood was a bit off." He smirked.

Lan Fan shook her head and sighed. She wasn't looking forward to this rest of this journey, simply for that reason. It had been a moment since they got to enjoy time together freely. "I hope you enjoyed it. That'll probably be the last time for a few weeks. There's no telling what kind of shelter we'll have to find. Halling was nice to let us stay here for free."

Ling sat down on the bed and continued to watch her get ready for the day. "Yeah, I guess you're right. It was nice..." He smiled at her.

She picked her mask up from the dresser and held it in her hands. "It was." She answered thoughtfully.

Ling's smile fell and his expression became concerned. "What's wrong?"

Said woman sat beside him, fiddling with the ties on her mask. "Nothing. I just…" What was wrong? She couldn't place a finger on it. Maybe the pressure of chi here was weighing on her. "I don't know. Maybe I'm just being silly." She smiled and stood back up. "We should go meet with my grandfather. I'm sure he was a plan for us to get what we need."

Ling watched her for a moment. Was there something she didn't want to tell him? She told him everything, and she never kept secrets from him. He frowned a bit in aggravation. Maybe there really was nothing wrong with her and they were both just tired. He let out a breath and nodded. "Alright. Let's get going." He didn't want to be in this country any longer. The odd feeling probably had something to do with her vacant mood.

Just as Ling was about to stand up to go to the door, it opened, with Fu on the other side. "Good you're both ready." He confirmed and closed the door behind him. "The man in charge here gave us tickets to Rush Valley. We owe him a lot for showing us some kindness."

Lan Fan shrugged and stood up to walk over to him, bowing before straightening and speaking to him. "I thought telling him our names might soften him up a bit. For a moment, he was reluctant to let us stay." And another night in some godforsaken nowhere didn't sound very optimal.

Ling shoved his hands in his pockets as he stood. "When do we leave?" He asked, standing beside Lan Fan.

"About half an hour. The train is already in the station getting refreshments and fueling up. We should leave now to avoid any seating complications." The seating arrangement sounded petty, but it was crucial. Despite their location, they still had to protect Ling. Fu placed the map of the country and tickets in his pack. "Let's get moving."

About fifteen minutes later, after thanking for allowing them to stay and a rib crushing hug from Halling, the three headed to the train station, Lan Fan and Fu with their masks on. She could put it on now without burning herself , and it was best to have it on while boarded on the train.

"I really wish you would take that thing off." Ling mumbled to her.

"You know I have to keep it on." Lan Fan told him with a straight face. She knew why he wanted her to have it off, but it was for her own personal good. She flipped the hood of her shirt up to hide her hair and continued to walk. "It's not just to keep me safe, it's to keep you safe too."

Ling really hated that thing. He liked to see her beautiful face every time he looked over to her. She always had such a set, determined look on her face, yet it always showed precision that not much people had. It was as if she was completely aware of her surroundings, noticing every sudden movement. His favorite moments were when she caught him looking at her, and she quickly turned her deep dark gaze away from him with a light pink blush gracing her cheeks.

Once on the train, Fu had arranged for Lan Fan to sit at the front of the car by the door, himself by the back door, and the prince somewhere in the middle. A child sitting with her mother stared at Lan Fan, wondering why she was wearing such a beautiful mask. "Mommy look! Her mask is pretty!" said the child to her mother, and tugging on the woman's sleeve. The woman looked up to Lan Fan and whispered something to the little girl, after which the little girl completely avoided looking at Lan Fan.

Lan Fan smiled slightly and sat down, the child and her mother still in sight. It must be nice, she thought. A child without their mother is a very hard thing to bear. She was fine without knowing her father. If he hadn't bothered to get to know her, then she really wouldn't mind not meeting him for the rest of her life. He was the one that sent her mother away. She didn't even want to look at his face.

Soon, the train began to move. This was the first time Lan Fan had been on a train in a long time. She had gone to the country's capital for The Coming of The New Year, which was also her birthday. It was a long time ago, and she hadn't celebrated her birthday much since she started watching Ling.

At that thought, Lan Fan leaned over in her seat to look down the aisle for the said Prince, whom she found gazing back at her. She flushed pink and quickly sat up. She was glad the mask was on her face for now. She really didn't want him to see her blush like that.

Ling leaned back up with a grin. "That will always be my favorite thing about you…" He mumbled and looked out the window as the desert sped past them, making the mission official.

***(-)***

A few hours passed, and the sun had very nearly set behind the mountains now in view. The sand had turned to lush, green, rolling hills. There were rivers in sight, and the air was clear. Lan Fan even opened the window to take a breath. It was damp, but fresh and cool. There was no air like that in Xing.

The train made a stop in a town called Resembool for a water refill. Fu had told the other two that they shoulder stay on board, and that the wait wouldn't be too long. Ling groaned impatiently.

"Patience Young Lord. We will be there soon." Lan Fan reassured him lightly. She had come to his side a few moments ago to get orders from her grandfather.

Ling looked up at her and smiled. "I guess you're right. I just want to get it over with is all."

Lan Fan rolled her eyes. For wanting to be a ruler of a country, he was very impatient. Being a ruler is nothing but patience, responsibility and chivalry to his people. He had two of the skills down. But she knew how to fix the patience.

She bowed to them both and shuffled back to her seat, catching sight of the little girl and her mother, the girl now curled up in the seat, her head resting on the woman's lap. The assassin was about to take her seat once more when the lady spoke. "Excuse me, miss? You are a woman right?" The lady asked.

Lan Fan looked around a moment. Was she talking to her? "Y-Yes I am. Can I help you?"

"My name is Arimi, and this is my daughter Farrah." Arimi stuck out her hand for Lan Fan to shake. But Lan Fan simply bowed slightly. "It is a pleasure to meet you." The Xingese responded.

"Uhm, right…" Arimi blinked. She cleared her throat. "I apologize for earlier. Farrah is a very curious girl. I didn't mean for her to stare."

Lan Fan shook her head and smiled. "It's no trouble at all. I know how it can be." She responded with a nod. "She is a sweet girl, I do not take offense."

Arimi nodded and moved the brown curly hair out of Farrah's face. "She's all I have left now. Her older brother was killed in the Ishvalan War, and my husband disappeared." Lan Fan's heart dropped a little, but became curious at the same time. "Ishvalan War? There is war in this country?"

The woman nodded. "We have been at war since the country was born. Currently, we have a border war in Aerugo and Creta. But the worst had to be the war in Ishval." She began to explain. "It's a religion and race of people out in the east. Apparently, an Amestrian soldier shot and killed a child there, and it sparked a civil war." Arimi stopped to take a breath. Talking about an extermination of a race wasn't the easiest thing in the world, especially not when you lost someone to it. "After a few months of war, the Fuhrer, King Bradley, passed a document that started the War of Extermination."

"Extermination? You can't be serious?" Lan Fan asked rhetorically with an incredulous expression. What kind of King would exterminate his own people?

Arimi nodded. "It ended a few years ago. But that blood is on the alchemists and the soldiers that served in it hands. I can't imagine too many of them thought the order was justified."

Lan Fan couldn't believe what she was hearing. They had never really had an all-out extermination of each other. The more she heard about this country, the more she thought they never should have come. "I'm…sorry for your loss…"

The woman smiled. "It's alright. We're picking ourselves back up from it though…"

After another moment of conversing, Lan Fan went back to her seat. The train whistled sounded it's last boarding call. She couldn't wait to tell Ling and her grandfather what she had learned. Not that it had anything to do with their mission, but her heart was bursting with empathy. This country's leader was a horrible man, and she hoped she would never have to face him at all.

Two men stepped on board, with dark colored skin and grey hair, slightly lighter than Fu's. Ling thought it a bit strange; they looked fairly young, that was no reason to have grey hair. The people of this country are strange…He thought and looked back to Lan Fan. She was out of sight for now.

They sat a few seats ahead of him and Ling relaxed once more, closing his eyes so he could sleep for the rest of his journey. He had no idea why he was so tired. He slept like a rock last night once Lan Fan crawled into bed with him. Part of him wished that wasn't all they did last night. He really shouldn't have blown it when they were in Xerxes. He let out a self-loathing breath.

Once the train got rolling, Lan Fan felt a stale intention in the air. She had noticed the men that boarded the train had a very strange flow in their chi, like they were prone for attack. Who could cause trouble on this train? Besides Lan Fan and Fu, everyone looked pretty harmless…

At the same moment she became suspicious, the two men sprang into action. "Everybody get your hands up! We're taking this train!"

The people on the train gasped in fear and immediately their hands flew up. Lan Fan, Ling and Fu put their hands up, but Lan Fan was concerned for their lives. It was especially stomach wrenching when one of the men picked up Farrah and held the gun to her head. "If anyone makes a wrong move, we kill her!" Arimi cried. "No! Please don't hurt her!" Farrah woke out of her sleep and looked up to the man holding her hostage, and began to scream.

Lan Fan looked to Ling, who shook his head. This was very dangerous, and holding the little girl hostage was terrible, but they needed to stay out of it. This wasn't their country or their people. She moved her eyes to the man, standing so close she could touch him.

This was wrong. She couldn't sit quietly and let things unfold the way they were, especially when she had the ability to stop them. And Arimi, she didn't have anyone else. She knew what it was like to live without a mother, but a mother without both children had to be the worst.

Lan Fan moved her eyes up to the men. She was going to get a lot of grief from Fu and Ling for what she was about to do.

She let her hands down and stood up. "What the hell do you think you're doing? I told you to get your hands up!" One of the men said and directed his gun towards her.

Ling nearly jumped out of his chair, but felt a hand on his shoulder. Fu shook his head when Ling looked back to see who it was. "This endangers you too Young Lord. It's best to let Lan Fan take care of it."

The prince gritted his teeth. He was fine. They weren't threatening him directly. They were threatening Lan Fan, and subordinate or not, he didn't want any harm to come to her. This country was a force to be reckoned with.

Lan Fan continued to stand, a kunai in her hand. She didn't speak a word. "Are you trying to be a tough guy?" The first man said, throwing the girl back to her mother and advancing towards Lan Fan with his gun now directed to her.

She was done hearing him talk. She moved quickly, cutting down the barrel of the gun with her kunai and completely slicing off the majority of the barrel. The Ishvalan looked at it, stunned. But he didn't have much time to react because she caught him with a fist to the face, the studs from her wrap leaving imprints on his cheek, and then a swift kick to the gut and he was sent flying to the other end of the train car. He wouldn't be getting up any time soon because he was knocked out. The other made an advance towards her too, and she ducked out of the way, kicking the gun out of his hand and it skidded away from them.

"You damn bastard!" The other said, throwing punch towards her, only this time Lan Fan barely dodged it. He was a little more skilled than the other. He managed to catch her by the neck and lifted her off the ground, his intent to throw her as she had the other man that advanced towards her first. Lan Fan's hands moved up to his and tried to pry them away. How could she be so careless?

"Lan Fan!" Ling yelled to her. "If you don't kick his ass I won't be happy with you!" She decided to start the fight, she better fucking end it! He thought. It went without saying that he had a bone or two to pick with her when they got off this train.

The man turned around to Ling as he shouted, but kept Lan Fan up in his hands, her consciousness slowly started to deteriorate. "This little shit is yours then eh? And what would you do if I gave him a one-way trip out the window?" He asked with a stupid grin, and walking over to the nearest window.

Ling paled. He couldn't just sit here and do nothing. He attempted to get up again, but Fu held him firm. "No Young Lord. Lan Fan would not simply give up this way, she has a motive." He whispered. Ling growled at the old man and then looked to Lan Fan. Her eyes were beginning to close.

Just as Ling was about to stand up and slice the man into a million pieces, the train's police showed up. Damn, what took them so long? Lan Fan thought. It was the perfect distraction.

"Drop the passenger and get your hands up!" One of them shouted, brandishing a pistol. The man only grinned. "Of course I would expect Amestrian dogs to come after me. You came just in time to see a little squirt fly out the window."

Just as he was about to push her out, she wrapped her legs around his neck, twisted, and flipped him to the ground, his neck still crushed between her legs. One thing was for sure, he wasn't going anywhere. The man groaned and slipped into unconsciousness. Lan Fan continued to try and catch her breath and let her vision straighten out from the lack of blood running to her head while he was choking her.

The officers went over to the man and picked him up out of Lan Fan's grip. She stood up, still breathing heavily but making it barely noticeable. "Thank you for catching these guys for us, they've been causing a lot of trouble for us lately." One of the officers said and giving her a curt bow. Lan Fan nodded in return without speaking a word. It did make her skin crawl a bit that everyone thought she was a man. Her chest wasn't that flat under these clothes…were they?

"What is your name? I'm sure the fuhrer would like to know who did this country such a good deed."

Lan Fan shook her head and sat down. They didn't need to know her name, because she didn't do it for the fuhrer or whatever. She did it to keep Arimi and her daughter safe, but most importantly to keep Ling safe.

The officers shrugged and took the two men away.

She closed her eyes and sank down in her seat with a slow breath. Just before she dropped into sleep from exhaustion, she felt a hand on her sleeve. Immediately going on the defensive her eyes flew open, but looked down to see the little girl, tugging at the fabric for Lan Fan's attention.

Lan Fan stood up once more and looked down at her. "What is it?" She asked softly. Farrah hugged Lan Fan's legs and looked up to her. "Thank you for helping me and my mommy. I'll never forget you."

Lan Fan smiled and blushed lightly under her mask. "It was no trouble at all."

***(-)***

A few hours later they got off the train and started into Rush Valley. "We have a few bucks left from the money we got from Halling. I'll go find us a place to stay." Fu told them, and walked off.

Lan Fan looked up to Ling, who had a set and hardened look on his face. He hadn't cracked a single smile at her since they left the train. "Young Lord, are you alright?"

Silence.

"Ling?"

Still no answer.

Lan Fan sighed and continued to wait by the door of the inn Fu had picked out, watching people come and go, and sensing no aggression from anyone. It was getting pretty dark out, and she was sure everyone was going home and closing up shop. It still bothered her. He had never treated her this way, much less not answer her when she prompted him. Was he angry that she engaged the men on the train?

Fu came out with each of their room keys and handed it to the respective persons, then bid them a goodnight, reminding them that they would be starting early tomorrow.

Lan Fan's room was right across the hall from Ling's and she looked over to him before she opened her door, but was met with nothing but his closing. She blew out an exasperated breath. "What the hell is your problem?" She muttered and went into her own room.

After about an hour, Lan Fan heard her door open and close from the sitting room. She had already changed into pajamas, a shorter version of the one she wore the night before, and was reading another one of her favorite romance novels. She slid the glasses off of her nose and folded them up before sitting it aside with her book. "Ling?"

Ling came into view, the expression still on his face. "You're an idiot, you know that?"

Lan Fan stopped in her tracks to meet him halfway. "I…what?"

"An idiot. That little hero act you pulled on the train could have caused us more trouble than we needed!" He growled at her.

Lan Fan furrowed her eyebrows. "Protecting your life and the life of two people who have already had enough taken from them is a hero act?" She shot back. "I was trying to do the right thing Ling! You didn't hear the story I heard…"

"That's not the point Lan Fan!" He yelled and walked towards her. She stood her ground, and kept her eyes fierce and steady on his. "What if they had others following them that wanted to avenge their partners? What if they had bested you?" He continued to yell, his eyes open and piercing through her being. "I thought I was the one who didn't think things through but you made such a stupid move with that!"

"What if the roles had been reversed Ling? What if it had been me that he was threatening? You would have just sat there and let him kill me?"

A slap resounded in the room, so fast that the other had not seen it.

But Ling immediately felt guilty and retracted his hand as if the contact with her skin had burned his.

Lan Fan's gaze had moved to the floor after the impact, her bangs hid her eyes, and a bright red mark welled up on her cheek. She moved her hand slowly up to the spot, tears welled up in her eyes, but she didn't want to let him see. It wasn't right for her to cry from punishment. But punishment from Ling, had never happened until now.

"L-Lan Fan…I…I'm s—"

"If you apologize to me, I swear I will pull my kunai out and cut you into pieces!"

Ling jumped back from the comment, his heart dropping a thousand miles an hour. He didn't know what to say, or how to remedy the situation.

Lan Fan exhaled, her voice shook as she spoke again. "Have you done what you came to do?" She asked quietly. Her hand still trembled over the spot and her gaze was still fixed on the red carpet beneath her feet.

Ling's breath caught and swallowed hard but the lump in his throat had failed to disappear. He didn't mean to strike her, he swore to himself that he would never do something like that to her. He loved her too much…

"Okay then…" She walked over to the door and opened it. She bowed, like she should have been doing all these years, and still not meeting her eyes to his. "I will see you tomorrow morning Master Ling…"

Ling looked from her, to the door and back at her again. He couldn't say anything, couldn't think up anything to say that would show how sorry he was. He sighed and ambled towards the door, and looked at her once more. He hated this, bowing to him like a working class girl. He liked it when she looked straight at him, when her beautiful eyes made contact with his and she greeted him with a smile each time. He looked away and went out the door.

Lan Fan closed it carefully behind him and leaned against the door for a moment, to try and contain herself. She hated to cry, because it showed weakness, it made her vulnerable. It blurred her vision. She took a few slow breaths and went back into the sitting room area and turned out the lights. The slap had obviously hurt her feelings. Ling had never showed such aggression, and when he made the action there was no remorse in his eyes until after the fact. If he really hadn't wanted to do it, he would have stopped before his hand made contact.

She thought this over and over in her mind a few moments before shaking her head, as if trying to shake the memory from her brain.

Lan Fan tried to finish reading the rest of her book, but couldn't stay focused enough. The end result was to try and get some sleep.

She climbed into bed, pulling the blankets over her and turning off the bedside light. After a few moments of laying in the silence, all that she had been holding back crashed down on her in one setting, and the tears fell out of her eyes without her making a sound. She hated to cry, crying was a weakness…

And the more she thought about it, her relationship with Ling was making her weak too...

A/N: I would first like to say that I'm sorry I didn't update sooner. I got a really bad case of writer's block once again, and my college work has gotten a bit out of hand so I haven't been popping out chapters like I used to. You'll know when my semester's over once I start posting within a week.

Anyways, thank you for reading my story! I've gotten some amazing reviews and I would like to thank everyone who has followed, favorited or reviewed. It keeps me motivated to know that I have so many supporters. I hope I continue to fulfill your LingFan dreams!