At last! A new chapter is ready. I apologize to those of you who were waiting for a long time, but I have to admit it to you right now; I went on vacation, and was therefore unable to write. Sorry. But I got back on Friday, and yesterday, I got bored and seized the computer somewhere around 5 or 6ish and started writing like mad. I had no idea I had this much inspiration, but it just kept coming, and in somewhere around an hour, I had written over a page. Sooooo...expect more soon, as long as I can besiege the computer. Anyway, enjoy!
Roy awoke again to the aroma of coffee being brewed and light jazz music. He tried to sit up, but it was still a little painful to do so, so he remained laying down. Hayate, as though with radar of people who could play with him bounced into the living room and stood on his hind legs next to the couch, his forepaws pressed against the bottom of the cushion. Roy smiled and pet him, earning him a playful bark and wag of the tail. Excited now, Hayate bounced into the kitchen, where Roy heard his paws skid on the wood floor and then the pup ran back into the living room, a small stuffed rabbit in his mouth. Roy looked at him, knowing the young pup wanted to play, but did not make a move to follow his lead. So after a few minutes when Hayate seemed to grow impatient, and growled while he wagged his tail and looked expectantly to the man, he took the rabbit in a stronger grip of his teeth and stood against the couch once again. Roy looked at him with a coy smile, and this earned him another growl. Finally, he moved his hand and took hold of the stuffed toy, wrestling it out of Hayate's mouth and throwing it across the room. The pup instantly broke into a run to chase it.
"So, you're awake," Riza's voice said. The sound of it relieved Roy; her voice held laughter again.
"Yes. And it seems your dog likes that idea very much," he said, bringing himself to sit despite the pain.
"You probably shouldn't move around yet," she suggested with a hint of worry in her tone.
"No, it's ok. It doesn't hurt too much. I'm fine."
Slowly, he stood and walked to Riza, nearly falling over several times, as he was a little dizzy now, and Hayate didn't help matters much by jumping onto his leg. When he finally got to her, he embraced her, putting his head over her shoulder and shutting his eyes, thankful to be able to feel her warmth again. For a while, he was afraid that he had lost too much blood, and that he was going to die, and he would never be able to hold her like this again. And during that time of unbearable pain due to the injury, he had had to lay in bed for countless hours, barely able to talk. But now he could hold her again, and he was grateful for that.
When she felt Roy's arms go around her, she gave a small gasp, but quickly returned the embrace, fighting the hot tears that came to her eyes. She had been so afraid that he wouldn't make it, and this had dashed her chance of sleep for several days. But now, she knew he would be ok.
"I'm sorry I worried you," Roy said quietly.
"Don't be sorry. It wasn't your fault," she scolded lightly.
"It was. And I'm so sorry. Really."
"..."
"How's Maes doing?" he asked suddenly. He had just recalled that his friend had been injured, too.
"He's doing fine. He went home yesterday," Riza replied distantly.
"Good. I should make it up to him. He carried me from the bar to here, with an injured arm no less. I've got to repay him somehow."
"I'm sure he would refuse payment of any kind. He really cares about you. You're so lucky to have someone that close to you who'll do anything for you."
"You have someone like that, too," he said quietly. "You have me."
She gasped and then held him tighter, tears coming from her eyes now. "Thank you."
A long silence followed as they stood in their embrace. Finally, Riza pulled away from him and guided him into the kitchen. Already set upon the table were two cups of steaming coffee, and there were various food items on the counter. She led him to a chair at the dining table in front of which sat one of the cups of coffee and then went to the counter where she busied herself with the preparation of the food.
"I bet you must be hungry," she said cracking five eggs and whipping them in a bowl.
"Yes, I am. But you don't have to go through the trouble– I can go home and make something," Roy protested, feeling the first effects of hunger.
"No, no. It's ok. Besides, with your wound and four days worth of an empty stomach, you probably wouldn't make it to your house, even with help."
She was right. He felt weak, partly because his abdomen was still in pain, and partly because he was ravenously hungry. But wait, didn't she just say that he had been asleep for four days?
"Four days?" he asked.
"Yes, that's right," she replied simply as she dumped the eggs into a heated frying pan, producing a hiss from it. He noticed there was also two other pans on the stove, and the smell of bacon became evident for the first time. Then, toast jumped from the confines of the toaster, and Riza shuffled over to it to butter them and place one on each plate. She then returned to the stove and tended to the eggs, bacon, and pancakes, which magically appeared in the third pan.
"But what about work?"
"I called in Monday and informed the office that you'd been gravely injured, and that I was taking care of you during your time of recovery. Lieutenant Havoc came by that morning to verify the claim and left, giving you his best wishes."
"Thanks. You are going to a lot of trouble to help me out, you don't have to, you know?"
"I know that, but you said yourself that you were going to become Fuhrer one day. And you have to be alive in order to climb the ranks," she said, putting the eggs and bacon on the plates. She turned and looked at him sternly. "And I will follow right behind you, every step of the way."
He nodded and gave her an affectionate smile. She was being so kind to him, at her own price of sleep deprivation. He could see it in her eyes, just how tired she was. He took a sip of the coffee and watched her while she finished the pancakes, and slipped them onto the plates. She puts the pans into the sink and carried the plates to the table, setting on in front of Roy and one in front of the empty chair next to him, at which she sat. Hayate followed the scent of food to the kitchen, sitting between the chairs and looking up expectantly at the two. When he didn't immediately receive food, he whined and Riza looked down at him and sighed, throwing a few scraps to the floor. Instantly, he darted to the discarded morsels and snatched them in his mouth, licking his lips before sitting back between the chairs.
"You're such a pig, Hayate," Riza commented with a laugh. "Be patient, you can have what I don't finish."
Roy chuckled and the two ate quietly for a while. Roy's stomach was delighted at the idea of food, and he couldn't get it into his mouth fast enough. It didn't help much that Riza's cooking was so good either, and his stomach wanted more, more and more. He controlled himself though, and ate like a gentleman, struggling not to wolf down his breakfast.
"You know, Roy, I was just thinking about the book," Riza said suddenly.
"What do you mean?" he asked before stuffing a section of pancake into his mouth.
"Well, it bears a striking similarity to a book I've read before. It's called 'Intertwining Sins,' and it was written before the Ishbal rebellion, by an author who was believed to be somewhat of a prophet. It was said that he could see the future, and portrayed it in his novels. 'Intertwining Sins' is supposed to be a prediction of what would happen in Ishbal, although it was written the year before it actually happened. Although, in 'The Sins that Bind Us,' there is mention of a location of something, although throughout the entire novel, the reader is never informed of the location. But other than that, the two books are surprisingly similar."
"Is that so? Hmm... perhaps there is a connection?" Roy pondered. "There could have been two authors who were believed to foresee the future, and maybe they both wrote a novel on the same thing."
"That could be true, I suppose. But 'The Sins that Bind Us is not in any book store I've seen. I've only seen the two copies, and despite where I look, there isn't one anywhere else."
"Where did you get them?"
"From the Fuhrer's secretary, Juliet Douglas," she replied, looking at him. "Why?"
He shook his head, thinking. "Where did she get them?"
"She never mentioned it, she just said that it was found in an Ishbalan home towards the end of the war."
"Something's not right here," he muttered ominously.
"You don't know that. Maybe it's just an extremely rare book," she contradicted.
"Maybe," he said as he finished his breakfast. He stood and smiled to her. "I should be heading home."
"But Roy, your wounds--"
"I'm ok. I have some things I have to take care of."
She nodded slowly and accompanied him to the door, Hayate in tow. Roy gathered his things and opened the door, but before he walked out, he turned around and pressed his lips tightly to hers in a strong and passionate kiss. She was surprised, but she slowly put her arms around him and returned the kiss. After a minute he pulled away, and they were gasping for air. He smiled and took a step backwards.
"Thank you, Riza, for everything. I'll see you tomorrow at work," he breathed.
"Yes, see you tomorrow. And take it easy, so that your wounds have a chance to heal," she said worriedly.
"I will. Don't worry."
And with that, he turned and walked out the door, stepping cautiously down the road, and turned the corner, out of Riza's sight.
Yeah, yeah. I know, this chapter is short. But I had to get Roy home so the fun could start! Gomen nasai if you feel this chapter was too short. Anyway, I've got big plans for the upcoming chapters, and to be honest, I have no idea how long this story will be. But I'm gonna work hard, and hopefully, I can get you some nice long chapters soon.
Now onto business. AHAHAHAHA! Alas, now Roy's suspicions are aroused, and he knows a little bit of the history behind the book, though not all. How will he react to this information once he's home? How will he find out the book's true history? Will he figure out that he's just a pawn? Will Ed ever get taller! The answer to these questions and more coming soon! But for the last question...no. Ed will never get taller, and is forever doomed to be short. horror music plays
Words of wisdom;
IfEnvy spins around fast enough, he can become the world's first palm tree helicopter.