Author's Note: Thanks to Cap'nHoozits, QueenCari1129, and forgottencharacter for the reviews and ideas! This one's a bit longer that the last few chapters. It's still a bridge chapter, but it's the last one, I promise.
Kaliq
After the meeting ended, I helped Mida back into her chair and began the walk back to my house. We didn't say much on the way back, mostly thinking to ourselves about what had just happened. I knew Karimi had strongly opposed a stronger military presence in Ishval, but his words to Mustang were harsher than any of us expected. We turned the corner from the main street onto where I lived, and there were two people waiting for us.
Mustang waved as we approached. "Hello Kaliq, Mida. I was hoping to talk to you, if you have a minute." Hawkeye smiled warmly at us, standing as she always did, two steps behind him.
I nodded as Mida greeted them. As they followed me into the house, Mustang asked, "How have things been going around here?"
"Before the riot, the reconstruction was going fairly well. We were still dealing with a few accidents, now and then, but nothing major." I helped Mida maneuver onto one of the mats on the floor.
"Havoc's been keeping us informed about the investigation." As Mustang spoke, I gestured for them to sit on the mats and they took their usual spots. "How long have you and Mida been on the Council?"
Mida answered, "I have only attended two meetings, including this one. Kaliq has been going for a few weeks, since the Gathering House was attacked."
Hawkeye jumped in, "I heard you were there when it happened. How are you doing?" Her previously stoic demeanor turned soft as she leaned in to hear Mida's response.
Mida seemed a little surprised by her attention. "I'm recovering well. I'm able to walk a little bit, which is sooner than the doctors told me I should expect that. Kaliq has been very helpful, Agniya and Cemal, too."
"I think Agniya pushes you a little too much." I interrupted, reiterating a point I'd made to both of them several times before.
Mida rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. "Just because I fell down one time, he won't stop worrying."
Mustang raised his eyebrows and tried to hold back a smirk as he looked back to me. I tried to ignore him, not wanting to indulge his ideas, no matter how accurate they might have been. He changed his face back into a more pleasant expression and said, "You're lucky to have such a supporting family." His eyes flicked back to me. I glanced over to Mida, whose smile was full of warmth.
Looking back to Mustang, I asked, "How have your first few months as fuhrer been?"
He sighed heavily, letting his shoulders sink. "Busy. Lonely, as well. Most of my team has been reassigned, except for Lt. Col. Hawkeye. We still get together regularly, but it isn't the same as sharing an office. Especially compared to the headquarters here." His wry smile faded. "You were both there, right?" We nodded. "One of my own men was injured."
"Lt. Falman?" Mida asked.
Mustang grimaced and Hawkeye answered in his stead. "A burning piece of timber fell on him when he was trying to put out the fire. His leg is badly burned, but he should recover well."
"I'm more worried about the Ishvallans who aren't receiving treatment because of the tension between the military and the civilians." Mustang growled.
"Oh, Agniya and a few others have been helping them. The biggest problem with the tension is that the Ishvallans are afraid of retaliation. It's not that they're being turned away; they are too scared to go to the infirmary." Mida tried to reassure him, for which she was given a small nod and smile.
"What is the mood in Central?" I asked.
"About the riot?" I nodded in response. "Most people want to avoid another war, considering everything else we've got on our plate right now. But then, there are a few people who think that a show of force is the only way to end this. Fortunately, they're the minority, even if a very loud minority." Mustang had a different tone when he spoke business like this. His voice had a tone of authority that wasn't present in most of our conversations.
Mida shifted so that she was sitting up straighter. "I don't mean to overstep, but the riot is a by-product of the Wardens. They need to be the focus right now, before anything else happens." She did much better in one-on-one conversations, rather than large groups like the Council.
Mustang nodded. "The investigation is now my top priority. All of the soldiers that came with me will be working on that, and I've talked to Capt. Havoc about a more aggressive approach. Col. Miles is also focusing more on that, investigating the military itself to find the Wardens within the military."
Mida did not seem quite satisfied. "What about you?"
"I have done what I can." He sounded less sure of himself. "As the fuhrer, I don't have the liberty to devote all my energy to this. I will be here for the trial, but I have to make sure that my work in Central doesn't fall behind." I could hear the strain in his voice and understood that he was a man who preferred to do the work himself rather than delegate it and wait.
"How are your projects in Central progressing?" I asked, giving him some respite from the obviously distressing subject.
"Fairly well. Changing the system from the inside is slow going, even when you're in charge of it. Parliament is currently working on the democratic process for their own elections. There was some disagreement over the last part about having to retire or resign from the military before running for office. But we're-" Someone knocked on the doorframe.
I got up and pushed the curtain back to see Capt. Breda with a hardened expression. "Hey, Kaliq. Is Fuhrer Mustang with you?" He usually spent more time on pleasantries. He also wasn't known to come to my house. Something was up.
"Yes, he and Lt. Col. Hawkeye are here. Come in." I stepped aside to let him enter. He nodded in greeting to Mida before turning to his superiors.
Pulling an envelope from his coat, he said, "We received this letter for you, sir. It looked suspicious, so Havoc checked it to make sure there was nothing dangerous inside. You need to see this." He handed him the letter, acting like his muscles were tightly-coiled springs.
Mustang pulled the letter out of the envelope, scanning it quickly, his eyes widening. "Where did you get this?"
"Col. Miles said it was found among the unclaimed personal effects from the barracks. We think someone planted it there for us to find." I helped Mida back into her chair, as the conversation was clearly over.
Mustang turned to us. "I'm sorry about this, but we need to get back to the infirmary."
"Of course." I answered. Mida smiled at both of them as they stood up. They followed Breda out, talking about how the letter was found. It was obvious that he had enemies in Ishval, considering the alchemist who had tried to attack them yesterday, but this seemed like an inside job. My heart grew heavy again. What was in that letter?
Hawkeye
We all gathered in Lt. Falman's room to discuss the letter. Falman himself was propped up in the bed, adopting his usual stern expression. Havoc and Fuery stood near the door, with Miles and Breda next to the window. The fuhrer sat next to Falman with me standing by his side.
"This is a threat on my life," he said. I had suspected as much, as did we all, judging by the lack of reaction. "Strangely enough, it has nothing to do with Ishval. Whoever it is seems to be more upset by my actions in Central." He turned his head toward Havoc and Fuery. "You read this, Havoc?"
"Yes, sir."
The fuhrer nodded. "I would rather as few people read this as possible. Of those of you in this room, only myself and Havoc will know the exact contents."
I felt anger building up inside myself again. He never shut me out of things like this. "Sir, we need to be able to protect you."
He shot me a glance, seemingly annoyed that I was questioning him. "I will tell you the most important parts, but I want you all to be as objective as possible when handling this. Some of the phrases are provocative and we all need to keep our heads clear." I continued to stare him down, silently protesting every word he said.
Miles cleared his throat. "So how do you want us to handle this?"
Fuhrer Mustang looked down at his hands. "I can't handle this properly without my resources in Central." He grimaced. "I also can't leave Ishval until after the trial is finished. I have to be here."
"Sir, the only people who even know about the trial at this point, let alone your involvement in it, are the Ishvallan Council," Breda said. He had a point, but we had a hard enough time with the Council as it was. Mustang's unfocused eyes suggested he was thinking along the same lines.
"Perhaps you should talk to them." Falman shifted slightly. "They are all reasonable people, even if they don't all like Amestrians." Considering how our last talk with them had gone, I wasn't convinced that they would be reasonable enough to let Mustang leave Ishval right now. Reasonable or not, though, it was necessary. We couldn't protect him enough here.
"You're right, Falman. I won't tell all of them, to keep this quiet, but maybe we could talk to Elyakim."
Miles gave a grunt of discontent. "Yes, colonel?" I asked. He wasn't a part of our team and he didn't know how we worked. If we had a problem, we said so. I wondered if he had ever grunted like that at Gen. Armstrong.
"Elyakim usually presents himself as a neutral party between the two sides of the Council, but you might garner more trust if you talked to someone less in favor of the military."
Havoc started, "Look, yeah, we want to strengthen the relationship between the Ishvallans and the military, but I don't know if we should use something like this to do that. I mean, -"
"Hang on." The fuhrer had his eyes trained on Miles, working things out in his mind. "Col. Miles is right. I could talk to Shazad Ismat. He's a military-minded man who isn't fond of the Amestrian presence here. But he's reasonable and conscious of what it takes to lead. What do you think?" He directed his question to Miles alone, who nodded slowly.
"That should work, but you would have to go to him. He won't agree to meet in here."
Mustang nodded. "That's fine. As long as he'll agree to meet." Reaching toward me, I pulled out my notebook and a pen for him. He scribbled down a note and ripped out the page carefully, folding it over and handing it to Breda. "Deliver this to Ismat personally." Considering Breda's first-hand experience with the Council from when he worked with them on logistics, he was a good choice for the job. It just frustrated me that we couldn't take action immediately. We needed to get the fuhrer somewhere more secure with soldiers specifically trained for security. But no matter the danger to himself, he would always use every opportunity presented to him to reach his goals. At the moment, that was helping Ishval.
After a few tense hours inside the infirmary, most of which was spent getting everything I could about the letter out of the fuhrer, Breda returned. Miles and Fuery had left to keep doing their regular work - Fuery had been asked to help repair some of the communication equipment. The rest of us stilled when Breda entered.
"He wants to meet as soon as possible in his own home. It's on the eastern edge of Kanda, almost in Wahir."
The fuhrer nodded and stood. "Did he say anything about an escort?"
"No, sir."
"All right." He turned to us. "Lt. Breda and Lt. Col. Hawkeye, you two will accompany me. I'd rather not bring anyone else along." He looked at me when he asked, "Is that acceptable to you?" His voice was strangely bitter.
If Breda noticed, he didn't say anything as he saluted. I followed suit and answered, "Sir." It was not what I would have liked, but I could handle it. I was tired of fighting.
He nodded again. "Then I'm entrusting my back to you." He said that with none of us usual familiarity, like he was saying it out of habit without really meaning it. What was happening to us?
Kaliq
Mustang and Hawkeye left the day after they visited us. The official excuse was that a problem had arisen with the negotiations between Drachma and Amestris that the fuhrer needed to resolve. Ismat explained the real reason to the Council. Karimi was clearly angry at him for leaving, but everyone else supported his decision. We set the start date for Osman's trial to be in a week, and then there was nothing to do but wait. Our entire lives had been turned upside down in the past few days, but we still had to perform our mundane tasks. I needed to air out the linens in my home.
I took down the curtain at the entrance to my home to better beat the dust from the bottom. Toby barked incessantly as I smacked the fabric, aggravated by the sound. He was almost fully-grown now and felt the need to challenge my dominance over the home. He nipped at the curtain once or twice before backing off and jumping around it like a dueling opponent. I heard Mida laughing and turned to see that she had walked into the room, leaning against the wall and a cane for support. I went to put the curtain down on the table, and my back seized. I dropped it and groaned, catching myself on the table so I didn't fall. Agniya had said I probably gotten hurt from someone waving a pair of shears around during the riot. Most of the time, I didn't notice it, but every now and then I would twist in just the right way and …
Toby rushed forward, putting his front paws up on the bench. He had stopped barking, his body on full alert. He certainly inherited Black Hayate's protective nature. Mida gasped and asked, "Are you all right?"
It still twinged a bit, but I gingerly pushed myself up off the table, stopping every time I felt it pull. "Yes," I said after a few moments. "I just pulled on it wrong, I think." I turned to face her, using my feet to turn my torso, rather than my waist, just to be safe. She was hobbling toward me.
"No, that's not necessary." I reached toward her to give her extra support. She took my hand and let me lead her to the bench. Toby trotted out of the way. He always respected Mida's space, but never mine.
She chuckled. "We make a great pair, you with your back and me with my legs." I smiled, rubbing my thumb over her hand. She pulled her hand away to pick up the curtain. "I can handle this, if you want to rest for a minute."
I frowned. "You shouldn't strain yourself." But she waved me off.
"I can do this sitting down. Besides, Toby will help me." She leaned toward the dog, who perked up and stuck his nose onto her lap. Why was he always so calm around her, when I couldn't get him to quit jumping up on me?
"Suit yourself." I said, sitting down on the bench. It did feel nice to sit down and give my back a chance to relax. I sighed and closed my eyes for a second, but then Mida shoved something in my hand. Opening my eyes again, I saw a corner of the curtain.
Looking to her for an explanation, she smiled sheepishly. "I needed the extra tension to get to all of it." She raised the stick and started beating it in rhythm, brushing off the dust that came loose and settled again. Watching her concentrate, I thought about how nice it was, to do something so simple and mundane with her. I imagined what it would look like to help her wash the bed covers or mend tears in our clothes. I remembered when she and Agniya had worked together, dyeing Vedran's new sash for his upcoming birthday, when he'd start taking on the responsibilities of a man. She was laughing and flicking dye-soaked fingers at her friend while Suraya scolded them for taking it so lightly. I hardly noticed that the rhythmic beating had stopped when Mida said, "There. What do you think?"
The curtain was cleaner than I had ever gotten it on my own. I nodded, impressed. "Thank you." Taking the rest of it from her, I stood up. I hung it up on the rod in the doorway and admired the fabric. It had been a much lighter red when I had taken it down, and you could now see the pattern on it, the sharp angles and dots. Kammani had given this to me when it had started getting cold, and it was meant to be used during winter, when it was colder. It didn't get as cold here as it did in Amestris. I was grateful to Ishvalla for keeping her people warm.
Mida had somehow come up behind me without my noticing, so that when I turned around, I almost knocked her over. She didn't seem to care, though, and leaned into me. I brought up my arms to surround her as she buried her head in my chest. "Is everything okay?"
She nodded, her forehead rubbing against my chest. "Seeing you put the curtain back up … I feel like I'm home." My heart turned over and I looked down to see if she could feel it. Her eyes were closed and her face was glowing. I wanted to tell her that she made my home feel like a home, that she made me feel like I was living for something, but I couldn't get the words to come out. So I tightened my arms and just held her.
Author's Note: Talk about an emotional rollercoaster. Hawkeye's annoyance with Mustang is her own doing and has very little to do with me. It won't last long, trust me. Their lives are about to change drastically. I'm so excited for you guys to read the next chapter. It's been in my mind since mid-April. This next bit has been a part of the story longer than the riot. (And forgottencharacter should find the next chapter familiar - thanks again for our conversations about plot!)