Hello friends! Here's the next chapter! Thanks, as always for your lovely feedback! Reading everyone's reactions to the last chapter was super fun, lol. I'm glad yall liked it!
By the way, I was so so SO happy to find that an artist on tumblr drew not one, but TWO, wonderful pieces based on the scene from the last chapter. If you want to see them (and freak out as much as I did) check out thesilentwatcher on tumblr! Their art is wonderful and the way they depicted the scene is EXACTLY what I had in mind which is just so cool. Please give them lots of love!
A shiver wracked through Roy's body and he fought to contain it. Ever since his impromptu rescue mission, he couldn't get rid of the chill that had completely overtaken his body. While it made perfect sense that riding a horse soaking wet through the early morning winter cold would make him feel this way, something told him it wasn't just the weather that was freezing his bones at the moment.
He pulled the last piece of a new, dry tunic over his head, used a nearby cloth to somewhat lessen the water dripping from his raven locks, and grabbed a short cloak for extra warmth. One of his attendants eyed him warily as he did this, and the king knew exactly why. He was already mentally prepping himself for the lecture Lady Helena would give him as soon as she had him alone for a minute, so he wasn't about to defend his actions to a mere attendant.
Wrapping the cloak securely around himself, still not feeling any sort of relief from the harsh cold, he made to leave his bedroom, intent on returning to the room many a noble and friend had gathered outside of for news. It was enough of a victory that the servants had managed to drag him away from it long enough to change out of his damp clothes.
As soon as he stepped out of his bedroom, he was greeted with a calculated and reprimanding glare courtesy of his old caretaker. She blocked his path out into the main corridors so he knew there was no avoiding the inevitable.
"I was just on my way to her room," he told her by way of explanation. Her expression didn't change at his words.
"I was, as well. We'll walk there together," Helena spoke with a flat tone before she turned and began moving away in silence. The fact that she didn't ask for his permission indicated her feelings toward him at the moment. He sighed and followed after her obediently. He may still be her ruler, but years of being disciplined by her as a child made it difficult for him to do anything else when she was like this.
They walked in silence for a few moments, both contemplating a way to start before Lady Helena asked, seeming nonchalantly, "Are you alright?"
Seeing no point in skirting the issue any further, Roy released a deep breath before answering, "Yes, Helena, I'm fine. A little cold, but that's to be expected, all things considered."
"You're sure?" she countered, no doubt searching for any trace of dishonesty in his tone.
"Quite sure. I'm not the one you should be concerned about right now."
"Maybe so, but that still doesn't change the fact that you did something you know is dangerous. The last time you were in a situation like this, you almost died, and now you're here saying you're perfectly fine? Forgive me for being a little worried." Helena's voice was a mixture between harsh reprimanding and motherly concern. It caused Roy to stop in his tracks in order to face her head on. She stopped alongside him and they shared a look that could only be born from years of loyalty.
"Helena, I assure you, I'm alright. I know what I did was stupid and I know it could've done even more damage than before, but I really am okay." The king did his best to make his words sound as sincere as possible.
"Roy," Helena replied in a low voice, the use of his first name rather striking given that it had probably been years since she'd referred to him using anything but his proper title. "The last time you went into that water, you almost didn't make it back out. Now you tell me that not only did you return, but you rescued the queen and made it here perfectly unscathed? How is that even possible? What's different this time?"
Roy paused as he contemplated her words, really giving thought to the issue for the first time since he had gotten back to the castle. What was different this time? Based on what they knew about this mysterious drowning pond hidden deep in the forest, both he and the queen shouldn't be here. It was a miracle he had been saved, and his rescuer didn't have the ties to the pond like he did. Merely remembering the ones he loved wouldn't have been able to give him the strength to go in and come back out. Yet he had done it, almost without thinking. What was it that had saved him this time?
"Honestly? I don't really know. I haven't given it much thought. My only concern right now is the queen. That's a question to be answered another day."
Helena silently pondered his response before she nodded her head to concede his point. "Alright. But you should know I'm not the only one who is going to be asking you these kinds of questions. I would prepare yourself, if I were you. Come, we've wasted enough time as it is. There might be news of Riza's condition," she said with a finality in her tone that didn't have Roy second guessing her. They both began walking in the direction of the room that had been prepared, wondering just what they would find upon arriving. The medical worker, Marcoh, had arrived promptly and had been busy attending to the queen while they were away. They both had to wonder if he would be able to give them a positive report or not.
When the pair arrived in the hallway outside the door leading into the room where the queen was being treated, they were both surprised to find a bit of a crowd had formed. Everyone present looked thoroughly overcome with worry.
Both Edward and Alphonse were pacing back and forth, while Rebecca stood still near the wall, nervously biting her nails. Other members of Roy's court were present, all gathered around waiting for news. Roy also noticed Sir Claudio, the only other Aerugonian court member remaining in the castle, leaned up against the wall closest to the doorway with his arms crossed and an unreadable expression on his face.
As Helena and Roy approached, a few acknowledged them, but most went back to their anxious thoughts. Only Ed and Al seemed to really address them. As Roy walked up to the brothers, he asked the question on everyone's minds, "Any news yet?"
Alphonse was the first to respond. "No, nothing. They've been in there a while, so it can't be much longer," the younger Elric brother replied with a shake of his head and a grave tone.
Before the king could acknowledge this, Ed let out a frustrated huff. "It's been way too long. I can't decide if this means he's going to come out with good or bad news. I mean, if something really bad happened, we'd know by now, right?" the golden-haired knight asked, looking about ready to pull out his long locks from worry.
"Perhaps. It's best to let Marcoh do what he can. He's the best medicine worker in the kingdom. If the queen stands a chance, he'll see to it that she survives," Helena told him, trying her best to sound reassuring even though she had her own fair share of doubts.
A voice from the other side of the gathered group caused all heads to turn in their direction. "What if she doesn't?" Rebecca asked, speaking the question everyone didn't want to acknowledge, but were all thinking. A strange sense of uneasiness passed like a plague throughout the group and they all turned to their leader for answers. Roy looked at all the faces of the people he most loved and trusted, and knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that their concern was genuine and born out of a deep fondness for the Aerugonian queen. Though she hadn't been here long, she had forged her way through their group much like her younger sister, and none of them wanted to think about the possibility of losing her...least of all, Roy.
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," was his firm response. His voice didn't leave any room for argument and his court knew this was something he was just as concerned about as the rest of them. They would all handle whatever happened...together...just as they had done before.
Suddenly, breaking through the tense silence, the door they had all gathered around suddenly opened wide, and a short, aged man walked through, noticed everyone who was looking at him rather expectantly, and took a step back in surprise. It seemed even the great medicine worker, Marcoh, hadn't been expecting this kind of vigil.
Roy stepped forward, clearly no less anxious than the rest, before he asked in an almost pleading tone, "What's the news, Marcoh? How is she?"
The old, wise doctor turned toward his ruler with a peculiar look. "You should know, Your Majesty," he replied, his voice cracked with age.
Roy deflated a little at his words, but he still pressed on, needing to know specifics. Thankfully, Marcoh could sense the same desire from everyone else and he continued. "She's alive...for now. I think that would be the best way to describe the situation. She's stable, but very, very sick. It's strange, whatever it is that's ailing her. It's almost exactly like what you had, Your Majesty."
So, exactly what he had been expecting. That could be good news, given how he turned out. "So, does that mean she'll be alright?" he desperately asked.
"Hopefully. History suggests that she can make it out of this alive, but right now that's completely up to her, as I'm sure you know. I've done everything I can at this point. It's her battle now. All we can do is hope she fights it with the same ferocity and determination as when she leads her army."
Well, it wasn't particularly fantastic news, but there was still hope. Roy believed, as he did before, that if he was capable of getting through something like this, so was she. However, the only person who truly knew how much mental strength the queen possessed was still inside the room, no doubt stationing herself at Riza's bedside for much of the foreseeable future. And, speaking of Winry…
"The princess would like a word with you, Your Majesty," Marcoh addressed, quickly summoning the king from his thoughts. His eyes widened at the request.
"Really? She wants to see me specifically?"
The aging doctor nodded his head. "Yes, that's what she said. And alone, too."
The king nodded his head at this, not before chancing a quick glance at Ed and Al, who were both eying him with something close to suspicion. He chose to ignore them as Marcoh bowed before him and moved to speak with Lady Helena to coordinate the queen's minor care and form a plan in case anything changed. Roy cautiously moved to the door before he steadied himself, grabbed the doorknob, and swung the wooden structure aside.
He entered the small bedroom, already feeling far more warmth emanating from the fireplace blazing away in the corner than was present even in his own room. Preparing himself, his eyes drifted toward the other side of the space, where the bed lay. Once they fell upon the two sisters, he had to stop himself from sucking in a harsh breath at the sight.
His feet moved practically in slow motion as he gazed upon the ailing queen and her distraught sister. Riza was sprawled out beneath the sheets, her still damp hair in disarray. Winry was gently dabbing a wet washcloth along her forehead as the queen, in her feverish state, would give small shivers every so often. Though Roy didn't remember much of his time being ill after jumping into the pond, the sight before him was exactly like the state he'd been in. It was strange, to fall into freezing water and then immediately go into a frightfully powerful fever, but, then again, so was being led through a forest by the calls of a dead person.
Winry didn't turn to look at him as he approached, even though he was sure she heard him. Her movements were slow, but precise, and her eyes never strayed from her elder sister. Not knowing what else to do, as he waited for Winry to acknowledge him, Roy took a seat in a chair on the other side of the bed from where the princess sat.
The silence seemed to stretch agonizingly long until, finally, the she spoke. "You knew," were her quiet and targeted words. Roy couldn't help but widen his eyes at her statement, but he let her continue before he attempted to explain himself. "You knew this would happen. You've been dealing with this for years, and yet you said nothing. You didn't warn her, you didn't warn either of us, even though you knew all about the danger." Winry's eyes finally tore away from her sister to rest on him, and he found himself withering beneath the power of her glare.
"Why?" she asked, her voice no louder than a whisper, even though it still carried all the force of her anger.
Roy sighed and avoided her stare as best he could. "I didn't know how to," was his honest response. "It's not something that happens everyday, and it's not something a lot of people know about. I wanted to warn her, but starting a conversation with 'oh by the way, watch out for when it gets kind of nippy outside because your dead mother's voice might try to kill you' would've made me sound crazy."
"You could've at least done something! Have some kind of safeguard in place without telling us the whole story. Instead, you just let her give in to something like this without even trying to stop her."
The rising anger in Winry's tone told the king that he was doing this the wrong way. There was no point in defending himself any longer. "I'm sorry," he began quietly with an air of defeat. "I really am. I know I should have handled this better, otherwise we wouldn't even be in this situation to begin with, but you have to understand...when you hear the voice, all rational thought leaves your mind. I was too focused on trying to keep myself from giving in, to worry about stopping you or your sister."
It might not have been the best thing to say, but it was honest. Winry stayed silent as she weighed the sincerity of his words. And, while Roy knew he was in no place to be asking his own questions, there was something at the forefront of his mind that he needed to know before they could continue this discussion.
"Winry," he began, and he watched as her eyes met his questioningly. "You knew too, didn't you? Even though I'm sure you both were called, you knew exactly what had to be done. You didn't give in. You came directly to me to ask for help. You knew I was the only one he could do anything to save her."
The princess's eyes widened slightly at his words, but she tried her best to keep her expression neutral. She lowered her gaze and nodded her head slowly. "Yes, I...I heard it too. The voice of my mother. Even though I didn't even know what it was supposed to sound like, somehow I just...knew."
"So then why didn't you do anything. You knew this would happen as well but you clearly didn't warn your sister any better than I did."
Immediately she was on the defensive. "But I didn't know what to expect! I had never experienced it. Part of me didn't even believe it was real, let alone that it would be so...powerful."
"Then we're both at fault, aren't we?" Roy offered in a an attempt to keep the peace. Honestly, it was pointless for them to even be talking this way. What happened had happened. Placing blame would only divide two people that needed to stick together to stay strong for the ailing queen.
Winry conceded guiltily. "Yes, I suppose so."
"How did you find out?" Roy asked after another pause in the conversation.
"Ed told me, not long after I arrived in Amestris. He told me the story of what happened to you and I remember even then being scared. I had no idea what to expect, though."
The king let her continue on, as the words practically spilled from the princess's mouth. "I woke up this morning to my mother's calls. It was terrifying. Every part of my body practically screamed at me to follow her, but I knew I couldn't. Ed had told me that you mentioned, in a roundabout way, how to fight it. My first thought was of Riza and that's when I realized how vulnerable she would be. I rushed into her room and found that she was gone. When I saw her robe and slippers were missing, I immediately knew what she had done. Then, my first solution was to go to you. It was a decision based solely off of fear, but I think it was the right one."
"I agree," Roy added, after listening to her recount her own experience intently. "There were only minutes to spare. Any longer and she would be gone. Believe what you want, Winry, but you saved Riza's life far more than I did."
Winry's eyes softened at his words and she fought to keep the moisture from leaking out of her eyes. "Thank you, Your Maj-" she quickly cut herself off, paused to shake her head, then met the king's gaze head on. "Thank you, Roy."
Roy couldn't help but smile at this, feeling something akin to sisterly affection as he looked at the princess. He couldn't quite explain it, but ever since Winry had first arrived here, he'd felt a need to protect and love on her in the way an elder brother would. He'd never had siblings of his own, but she was starting to become the closest thing to it. It was a comforting thought, in the midst of all the other turmoil in his brain.
Without a word, as if their thoughts were connected, the Amestrian king and the Aerugonian princess both turned back to look at where Riza lay on the bed, completely oblivious to their conversation. Both Winry and Roy's smiles faded as they continued to watch her shiver and struggle to breath normally. In the short time he'd known her, Roy couldn't possibly claim he knew what seeing Riza in this state must feel like for Winry, though he figured he could, at least partially, understand.
"Roy," Winry started as they continued to watch the queen, her voice feather quiet. "Do you think she'll be okay?"
The raw sincerity of the fear in the princess's voice made the king's heart ache. "If I can do it, she can," he said honestly.
Winry nodded her head at his words, though she didn't look overly convinced. Before he could say anything else to try and reassure her, she spoke again. "I have one more question, then."
"What is it?"
"Ed said the way to fight the pull is to think of the ones you love. I did that, and even then it was difficult to resist all the way back here in the castle. I can't even imagine how strong it must be in the forest, let alone in the actual water. How did you...how could you have possibly gone in and come back out?"
Ah, so his old caretaker had been right. "Lady Helena just asked me that, so I'll tell you exactly what I told her. I really don't know. Every other time I've heard Isabella calling me, I've thought of Margaret and my friends here in the castle. But when I was there, trying to get to your sister as fast as I could, there wasn't anything else in my mind. My only thought was that I had to get to her, I had to save Riza. Everything else just...washed away."
Winry's face scrunched up in confusion at his words. "That still doesn't make any sense. How could you have fought against something so strong with nothing but the thought of saving my sister? Unless…" the princess immediately stopped short, as the cogs began spinning in her brain while she tried to process everything he was saying. She quickly looked up at him and found that his gaze was not on her, but on Riza lying sick in the bed.
Winry's eyes gradually widened in size as she watched him, analyzing the look on his face. The only way to fight against the strange voice was to think of those one loved the most. Roy had done that for years, but this time, even though he was literally in the water (theoretically the strongest the pull could possibly be) he only could think of Riza.
Another thought appeared in Winry's brain, and it caused a flurry of emotions to flare up inside of her. The look on the king's face...she recognized it. She had witnessed him make that far-off, dreamy look that spoke volumes about the things he must be feeling only once before.
"But Bella and I weren't just betrothed because it made sense. We were in love...and nothing was going to stop us." Here, Roy's eyes found a point on the wall behind Winry, as he fell into whatever memory this story had drudged up. Winry could tell he wasn't lying, if his expression was anything to go off of. He clearly had been fiercely in love with Isabella Catalina.
He...he couldn't possibly be...no, surely he wasn't...but then how did he make it back to them alive and unscathed? Did that mean he really was…?
The realization hit the princess with the force of a typhoon wind, practically taking her breath away. He must be. It was the only explanation for how he could've gone all the way to the pond, swam through the water fighting off the call to drown in it alongside her sister, and made it back perfectly fine, even though he had almost died the last time he had been there.
Winry almost shook her head when she thought about how she had asked to speak with him so she could get most of her questions answered...and then he had only given her hundreds more.
Oh, Winry. Girl's got a wild imagination, no? Lol let me know your thoughts! To be quite honest, I'm not overly thrilled with this chapter, but it's a transition one and they're always kind of blah for me. That being the case, I'll have the next one out earlier (so in 2-3 days). All the Edwin fans will probably appreciate it. I've been neglecting them since Riza appeared on the scene, but they'll get their time, I assure you ;)