Chapter 61: Jealousy or Love is in the air!
The EternalGardens were beautiful – more beautiful than the palace garden. It was Victoria who was the most interested and who kept asking hundreds of questions while Laila was keeping an eye on her surroundings. They followed Cai through the huge garden until he stopped at a little pond.
"Beautiful," Victoria stated as she sat down with crossed legs. "So … how is the mission going so far?"
The prince smirked. "I hadn't counted on Qiang's behaviour but it helps us more than anything else. I had the impression that Olivier was seconds before ripping of her head…" he chuckled. "I never thought that it would be so easy to get behind her façade … I mean … usually she had a better control about her actions, wouldn't you agree?"
Nick nodded. "Your sister should think about a new nose and a long, long trip to Drachma," he stated.
"Honestly," Victoria agreed while she held her face into the sun.
"Oh, I think that she will challenge Olivier to a fight," Mei shrugged while she sat down. "And I would sell my soul for the change to watch this fight. Qiang isn't brilliant but when she really wants someone, I can imagine that she will make it hard for Olivier…"
"…especially since Olivier just fought against Sloth," Alphonse added. "But somehow I love it how Olivier of all people gets involved with jealousy. That seems so strange for her…"
"It's her mistake that makes it difficult for all of us now," Nick said. "She had so many years to tell him that she wants more from him than siblinghood or friendship. She never said anything. I mean, she even dated Miles who could also be named the anti-Bendix. Honestly, should I ever fall in love with my childhood friend, I would tell her right away. It makes things less complicated…"
"Much fun while explaining Uncle Maes that you are in love with Elicia," Victoria giggled.
Mei sighed deeply. "Can't you two stop to argue for at least one day?" she asked.
"We will try," Nick said before he kissed his sister's forehead. "Well … you think that Qiang will challenge Olivier for real? I don't know what you think about it, guys, but she will go down."
"I give her five seconds before Liv will take her down," Laila agreed. "There is such an easy rule: you do not mess with Olivier Mira Armstrong when it comes to him. That's just … suicidal, end of story."
"As I said, Qiang isn't that bad. She could never last more than ten seconds against Lan Fan, that's clear, but she isn't as spoiled as other princesses. She could actually take me down in the last fight we had – but that was before I went to Amestris," Mei shrugged. "This fight will be interesting. Olivier won't allow anyone to come too close to Bendix and Qiang wants Olivier to back off…"
Cai grinned. "Whatever the outcome will be – Ling won't be happy and Olivier will keep Bendix. She wouldn't let go of him just because of a petty fight she lost against some random idiot," he stated.
His older sister nodded. "Ling will be the one who has to pick up the pieces in the end…"
"…and my guess would be that Olivier will shatter Qiang," Alphonse said calmly. "And as much such a fight is against my pacifistic beliefs, I have to say that Olivier has the right to defend what is rightfully hers. Winry would throw a wrench at her if she would try to hit on Edward…"
"Maybe we should go back to the palace," Laila said. "I would like some action…"
"Well, let's finish our picnic first," Cai said as he handed her a basket. "That way we will be back for the most interesting part of the fight. They will be both very careful because they never fought before."
"I just hope that Ling and Lan Fan won't stop the fight before it gets really interesting," Mei sighed.
"Are you insane? They want to see that as much as we do!" her younger half-brother chuckled. "And the stupid girl had it coming. I mean, she tried to flirt with Ling and he is her half-brother!"
"So we can assume that Lan Fan will close her eyes and enjoy the fight…" Alphonse concluded.
"Yeah," Mei nodded. "She never forgave Qiang for hitting on Ling…"
Olivier was enjoying the sun on her face as she walked through the PalaceGarden. She enjoyed the sunlight and the bright colours of the flowers. It was a beautiful garden but the roses here were not as beautiful as the ones Charlotte had in her garden.
"You!" the Xingese princess with the crush on Bendix said darkly. "Miss Armstrong or whatever!"
Olivier turned around and grabbed her sword. "What do you want?" she asked annoyed.
"You claim Mr Llewellyn for yourself, don't you? Well – you will have to fight for him!"
The blonde sighed deeply before she unsheathed her sword. "You aren't the first to make the mistake to challenge me when it comes to him," she said dangerously low. "And you can see that I am still here. That means that all the morons before you failed. You can try to get me down. You will fail."
"I trained many years to become Empress one day – tough luck, Ling got the throne but I want allow anyone else to take something else away from me!" the Princess hissed.
"Don't say that I didn't warn you when you are bleeding," the blonde said while she bound her long hair to a ponytail. "I have to warn you – I am used to hard fights … and I guess that I can give you the credit of having a good training … that will make things more interesting…"
Ling sat in his study and worked on a new law as Lan Fan entered. She stopped in front of the desk and bit her lower lip. "I saw how Qiang went in the garden," she said. "And Olivier is there too…"
"Qiang is such a fool … she lost against so many women who are considerably weaker than Olivier and she still tries to go against Liv? That would be funny if the circumstances weren't so serious…" he sighed. "Usually I would have hoped that Olivier would decline the challenge but after the glare she threw at Qiang at the breakfast table, I guess that she is happy about an excuse to beat her up…"
The empress nodded. "Many women are waiting for a good excuse to show this woman where her place is," she said darkly as she extended the blade on her automail. "I can break the fight up or we let it happen and enjoy the show…" she said calmly.
"Nah, I think that we should enjoy the show," he grinned as he got up. "Qiang will go down."
"And Olivier probably doesn't even realise that she is playing right into our hands…" she said.
"I knew that it would bring more entertainment to invite the kids and the adults," the emperor said.
"You shouldn't be so amused by a fight between a member of the Imperial family and a guest," his wife scolded. "It's not good for our reputation…"
He smirked at her. "When did we ever care about our reputation?" he asked. "And if we have any reputation it would be the fact that we are total badass!"
She sighed deeply as she followed him. "Remind me why I married you, would you?" she asked.
He laughed as he wrapped one arm around her. "It's because I am incredibly smart!" he exclaimed.
"You lost every game of chess you ever played to your six-year-old brother."
Bendix awoke from his nap as Mei shook him roughly. "Mr Bendix," she said excited. "I am sorry for being that impolite but I heard from a servant that Miss Olivier and my stupid sister Qiang are going to fight each other on your behalf," she went on. "I thought it could interest you…"
The blond man used some words his mother would never approve of as he jumped up. "Where is she?" he asked and his voice made clear that he meant Qiang and that he would rip her apart in thin air if she would dare to hurt Olivier. For the first time, Mei really realised how tall and muscular he was and she came to the conclusion that he could be quite intimidating when he wanted to.
"I heard that they are on the old training yard," Mei said while she took a step back because the aura which radiated from him was at least as scary as the one of his mother when she had a bad day.
Olivier was careful as she fought. She dodged the first blow and hit back while she held back a good part of her force. It was smarter that way for she had heard of the great skills of the Xingese warriors. She felt how anger and annoyance pulsated through her veins. It had been a long time since she had such a personal reason to win a fight. Of course, the fight against Sloth had been important to her but not as important as this fight. Bendix belonged to her … and not to some random princess who thought that she owned the world. Maybe it was true, maybe Qiang owned the world – but she would never ever own even one hair of Bendix Llewellyn.
The most painful and terrible thing about loving someone she really shouldn't love because he was her best friend and she vowed that she would never fall for him? He was always there for her and she couldn't push him away because if she did, she would hurt herself because his pain was her your pain
And sometimes she felt guilty for enjoying his comfort that much. More than one year ago, they had lost Kay and Charles. That had been a horrible thing for her because she had really liked them. They would have been great soldiers at Briggs but then some cross-dressing bastard had decided that they would be more useful when they were dead. It was a terrible blow for everyone with a heart.
Olivier had nearly cried when Bendix had called her to tell her.
She had travelled to Central City for the funeral. Usually she wouldn't have left Briggs to watch how two soulless bodies entered the cold, dark earth but that time, it had been different. She hadn't believed it and she had hoped that she would be able to grasp the fact that they are really gone when she attended their funeral. It would have driven her insane if she wouldn't have gone.
The only real problem had been that Bendix had come too. She had met him when she had reported to The Pirate King. He had been pale … he had suffered too. He had been friends with Charles since the academy … they had had some shooting lessons together. Usually, she would have been happy to see Bendix … but not when I felt that terrible. He had come over to comfort her. It had always been that way: when she had been down, when she had felt like the whole world was crashing underneath her feet, he would always be there to catch her.
Sometimes she thought that he liked her vulnerable side … or that he liked to fix her up when was a complete mess. He was wonderful. He somehow managed to make her feel good again when she was her own worst enemy. He even could make her feel pretty again. She never knew how he did that. She didn't cry but when she grieved, her eyes took a pained expression … guilt.
She had never a reason to feel pretty in any way when she was sad … but even though she had nothing left to prove that she was still alive, he could pull her through everything. And she already knew that she would follow him should he die … because there can be no Olivier Mira Armstrong without a Bendix Jonathan Llewellyn.
She cursed under her breath when Qiang's sword touched her upper arm. She needed to focus on the fight – not on Bendix. She wondered what he would say if he knew that she got into a fight because of him but she knew that he wouldn't be delighted. Usually, he would be a little bit angry at her.
"…so that's what you do when you have nothing else to do?" Jade asked curiously as she tested the weight of the sword in her hand. It had been a while since she had held a sword. Her father had taught her the basics but she had forgotten many things about it. She had Claudio were in one of the many halls of the Roy al castle which weren't used any longer.
"Basically, yeah," her new boyfriend nodded while he took another sword from the wall. "I could teach you some moves if you want to. You never know when it will come handy…"
She smiled at him. "The last time I held a sword, I nearly stabbed Phil," she confessed. "It was when we went to the academy and I didn't pay attention for a second and the next thing I know it that he looked at me like it just tried to murder him…"
"You get distracted too easily," he said while he moved his sword through the earth. "It's rare for you to be completely concentrated … I bet that you are just totally focused on your work when you work on your alchemy. You have to improve your resistance against distraction or you will get killed."
She sighed deeply. "It's always the same lecture I get," she said. "My aunt keeps telling me that I could be much better when I would concentrate more since I was a child … and I really try…"
He patted her shoulder. "We will work on it together," he said seriously.
Bendix had known Olivier for more than twenty years and it wasn't the first time that he saw her fighting but he had never seen her that focused. She looked like her glare would be more enough to kill her opponent as she forced Qiang backwards. Her hair had left the ponytail and flew around her shoulders as her blows showered down on the princess faster and faster before Qiang's shoulders hit the wall.
Olivier looked at her for a second with her sword above her head, ready to deliver the final blow but then she stepped back and sheathed her sword again. "There is no reason to spill blood when it is so obvious that I won," she said coldly and turned away. "You don't need to apologise for my arm," she said as she looked over her shoulder. "There were other women who hurt me worse."
She headed straight over to Bendix who stood at the edge of the yard as she noticed how his eyes widened in shock. It was the only warning she got – along with a sharp breeze which touched her neck. She jumped forward – avoiding the worst of the cowardly attack. Still, Qiang's sword hit her back and ripped apart her favourite shirt which had belonged to Bendix when they had gone to the academy. She felt her own blood running down her skin and how her body hit the hard ground.
Ling was shocked while he hurried forward, preventing the chance for Qiang to kill Olivier. It was a dishonourable attack to stab someone from behind after the fight was obviously lost. While he restrained his half-sister, Mei and Cai rushed over to take a look on Olivier's injury while Bendix was pale as snow and needed Lan Fan to keep him from losing his balance. It was obviously that Olivier had thought that Qiang would have enough honour to accept that the blonde had won but even though Qiang's clan had more honour than many other clans, their princess was obviously a insane bitch who was too proud to accept it when she lost a fight to a foreigner.
"It hit nothing important," Mei said calmly as she rolled the blonde over to her stomach to take a first look on the injury. "It's just a gash … I will fix it up and she needs to rest some days but that's all."
"That's better than I thought it would be," Lan Fan muttered under her breath.
Cai nodded while he helped Mei with the array. He was studying alkahestry under Mei's mother who was one of the few wives of his father who had been invited to stay at the court by Ling. He was quite talented because he was more patient than his older brother.
There was the typical flash of light and the wound closed.
Bea didn't think that the passenger seat has ever looked this good to her but it was Phil's car and they were driving to his favourite restaurant because they had finished their work earlier than usual and he wanted to treat her with diner for her unwavering loyalty. He told her about his night, about the terrible nightmares he had had – always regarding a woman with dark brown, nearly black hair and eyes which were so green that they seemed black. She knew that he loved this woman more than he had ever loved anyone else and she tried not to get jealous because the other woman was his twin sister. She was lost in his deep green eyes while she counted the little golden spots in the emerald orbs. They were nearly invisible but she had visited him in the hospital after his so-called accident and she had leaned very close to him when he had told her that he would leave the Western Area to get an automail.
He swore on his alchemy and his honour that he would never fall in love as he ran his fingers through his black, silky hair, she laughed because she hoped that he was wrong. She didn't think that the thought that she had a reason to follow him from West to EastCity had ever crossed his mind because he was too focused on his sister.
He told her a joke while he parked the car and she faked a little smile while she wondered if he knew that she knew all his favourite songs. But on the other hand … she knew nearly everything about him for they knew each other for four years by now.
She could tell everyone that his favourite colour was a light green – the colour jade had to be exact. It was just another evidence for the fact how much he loved his twin sister who was called Jade after all. He loved to argue – especially with his sister when she had a date or about paperwork which he loathed. He was born on the 1st of January 1892, three minutes after midnight, twenty-eight minutes after his sister. His older twin sister wasn't beautiful, she was gorgeous. She knew that he had his mother's eyes and his father's temper – and his aunt's stubbornness and endurance when it came to alchemy.
Whenever he came to work these days, he would always look around in the room before his face would darken when he saw his sister's empty desk. He saw so many things – but he was a master when it came to overlooking the truth about her feelings. Sometimes she wondered if she should tell him how much she liked him but she didn't want to destroy their relationship. (She suspected that his twin had noticed it by now but there was no way that Jade would ever tell someone about it. That was too low for her standards.)
However, in the four years she had worked for him, she had memorised every single millimetre of his face … the dark, soul-searching eyes … the pale, flawless skin … the black, messy hair … the wonderful, angelic lips and the perfect, straight nose. She had even grown to like the automail which had replaced the lost hand.
He saw everything black and white without any shades of grey in between and he would never let anyone but her see the tears he had cried when his sister had left the country.
She would never let anybody see that she wished that he was hers because she would take care of him. He needed someone who cared for him because he was as reckless as his sister but unfortunately not as lucky as her.
She knew the sound of his chair when he got up to leave the office and whenever he passed her on his way out; she held her breath for a second because his wonderful smell would most likely cause her brain to shut down completely.
He would never tell anyone but he could play guitar – quite well so. She knew because one day, she had walked in him playing the guitar while his sister had sung a silly song from her childhood. (She had a wonderful voice, deep and dark like chocolate.) His sister was his best friend and his worst enemy and Bea knew that it was better not to ask when they came to work with bruised faces and bodies on a Monday.
Sometimes she wondered if he could see through her façade and right into her heart because sometimes he seemed to know that she was thinking. (She hoped, however, that he didn't know because her first thought every morning when she saw him was: 'Oh my god, he is so beautiful, it has to be a sin!' as she handed him his loathed paperwork.)
She knew that he would never notice her as long as she wore the bulky uniform so she made a point of wearing make-up every single day when she went to work and whole she did so, she hoped for a miracle because she really, really loved him – even if she would never admit it. She had always been a good liar but she had gotten better and better since she had fallen for him.
She had always looked down on women who fall for their superiors because in most cases the superior was unattainable and which idiot would run with full speed into a knife? Of course, there were always exceptions like Riza Hawkeye and Roy Mustang but they had known each other long before they had become subordinate and superior, so it was okay.
But then had come the day when she had been assigned to work under Major Philippe Mustang. She had been a captain back then and it had been hard for her to respect someone who was just one rank higher than her but she had grown to like his serious yet mischievous attitude. He could act like a complete child to annoy his sister or like an old, wise man when he spoke with his old commander, Charlotte Llewellyn. Bea had liked the fact that every day was different from the day before. She hated routine and liked to know that she didn't know what would happen as soon as she opened to door to his office.
It was a beautiful Friday night as they walked beneath the stars, headed to the restaurant. Phil looked up to the dark sky and imagined to see her face written in the stars. They knew each other for four years by now and sometimes they didn't have to say a thing. He had known this kind of comfortable silence from his better years with Jade but the silence he shared with Bea was different, somehow. He inhaled deeply as he heard the crickets sing in the grass next to the path they were walking as he came to the conclusion that everything he needed was right there by his side. He knew everything about her … how she liked her coffee … that her favourite colour was a deep emerald green … that she enjoyed reading romance novels in her spare time … that she worked hard on her aim … He even knew all her favourite songs. But the most important thing was that he knew that he didn't want to live without her.
Well, she drove him crazy half the time when she had to nag him to do his paperwork … and when she came over to his desk to ask him if it was so hard to read and sign reports, he was often close to tell her that it was hard as long as she was in the room and kept him distracted with her very existence. The other half of the day he was trying to let her know that he had his reasons to drag her along from West to EastCity as Grumman had transferred him.
With all his military experience, Phil was still just a small town boy and he knew that Bea was a girl from an equally small town. She would relate to his annoyance about all the disadvantages of living in a crazy city like the capital of the Eastern Area. They were still busy with figuring out what was and what wasn't true in this down.
And he didn't have to hide his tears about Jade's departure when she was around. She knew all his secrets, all his deepest fears, his nightmares about losing Jade – even though he had never told her that he was in love with her. Nobody but Jade and maybe Roy knew him the way he did.
He could only be happy when she wasn't sad. He had always a hard time to leave EastCity (or WestCity before) when she wasn't with him.
She cleared her throat as they sat down on his favourite table. "Is there a reason why you asked me to come with you, Phil?" she asked while she took in the elegant surroundings.
"It's never comfortable to eat alone," he said with a smile, "and I wanted to do you something good. You are working so hard … keeping everything in the office working … I wanted to thank you properly and Jade always says that diner is the best way to thank someone properly."
His sister had never had a particularly strong connection to one of her subordinates – maybe because her personnel were always changing. Phil had never understood that. His sister was one of the most laid-back higher-ranking officers and she was kind with everyone as long the work was done by the deadline. He also knew that she had never requested that one of her subordinates was transferred under another command.
"Are you missing her?" Bea asked while she read the menu.
He nodded. "It's empty in my house without her," he said. "And I have to wake up without her waking me up in the morning…" he shrugged. "But other than that, I am perfectly fine."
"You used to be a better actor before," she stated while she tilted her head. "You aren't fine."
He lowered his head. "You are right," he admitted. "It gets pretty lonely after works and on the weekends. I am used to her telling me what I am supposed to do…"
She cringed slightly as she spoke again. "You could always get a girlfriend," she said slowly.
"I hate to say it but my chances used to be way better when I still had both hands," he said while he raised his automail. "I like it because it saved lives before but I can hardly imagine a woman who would take me after such a terrible injury. Most women would think that I am trying to get myself killed like Jade suspects it ever since we turned fifteen…"
Bea smiled at him. "I like it," she said calmly.
Olivier stirred slightly as she awoke from her unconsciousness. She looked over to her right side where she expected Bendix and she wasn't disappointed. He sat on the edge of the bed, reading while deep in thoughts. She cleared her throat and noticed how much her back hurt – well, it hurt less than it was supposed to seeing that she had been attacked. Venom ran through her veins as she remembered that she had turned her back on Qiang because she had really, really thought that this woman would have enough honour to accept her defeat. She sighed deeply. "How long was I out?" she asked.
To his credit, Bendix didn't jump at all. He just raised his gaze from his book to look at her. "Nearly three hours," he said. "You missed diner but Ling said that a servant will bring you something when you wake up. None of us expected her to attack you again…"
She laughed bitterly. "You saved me again," she said. "If I hadn't seen your shocked face, she would have hit me where she really wanted to. This way, I could avoid the worse." She sat up, ignored her aching back and kissed his cheek. "I owe you my life – twice by now…"
"I could never forgive myself if you would die when I could prevent it," he said. "By the way, Ling was absolutely furious. He sent Qiang back to her people with some guards who have to make sure that her elders hear what she did. Lan Fan said that she will be punished severely because the clan is very proud of the honour he usually possesses. Qiang has to be a really bad example." He carefully wrapped one arm around her. "Care to tell me why you let her challenge you? Usually you are smarter than that and I would love to hear an explication because it really, really scared me to see you hurt…"
She growled. "She wanted to steal you away from me," she said darkly. "And that was something I really can't have. Honestly, I may be injured but it was really worth it. I warned her. I glared at her this morning for a reason. I told her to back off because you belong to me."
He chuckled softly. "Aren't you a jealous little girl?" he asked while his fingers combed her bloodied hair. "You might want to wash it out as long as it is still possible."
"Don't joke around about my over-protectiveness, Ben," she warned. "I meant it. When she stood with her back against the wall … for a second I really thought about killing her for trying to steal from me. I nearly did it. I restrained myself … and now I nearly wish I would have killed her," she said with a pained hiss. "This woman had no idea who she was dealing with, I guess."
He nodded slowly. "No one would mess with you if she had an idea of what you are capable to do if you want to," he said. "Well, come on, we need to wash out the blood. You would have to cut it if we don't get it out and I grew to love your long golden hair, so it would be a shame if it were gone."
"I guess I misheard," she said as she carefully got up. "As far as I remember, your type was dark-haired and my hair is – as you just stated yourself – blond."
He sighed. "But it is your hair," he said while he wondered how she could be that dense.
"You always made a point of dating dark-haired women like Breeze Soul…"
"We went out because her brother had no time for her and you had no time for me. I enjoyed her company because she is incredibly funny if she tries to be all serious but I never had any intention to make her Mrs Bendix Llewellyn," he said. "I guess I started to like golden-haired women by now…"
She clapped her hands. "And do you have already something in mind?" she asked while she wondered who she would have to beat up next. "I mean … you don't have to tell me if you don't want to…"
"She is incredibly beautiful, insanely smart and someone you can always count on," he smirked while he supported her on the way to the bathroom. "She has quite a temper and tends to be violent when the things aren't going the way she wants to. She is also pretty jealous and over-protective. Her favourite colour is emerald green and she likes to listen to love songs even though she would never admit it. She can play piano – pretty good so to tell the truth. Her birthday is on the 4th of May … and I knew her all my life…"
Olivier stopped on her tracks.
Phil gathered all his courage as he opened the car for Bea. "We are a pretty good team, aren't we?" he asked carefully. "Many people think that this was the reason why I asked Grumman to transfer you along with me. I have to admit that it was one of the reasons I had when I asked him but there was another reason which was much more important to me: I don't think that I will ever be able to work without you." He inhaled deeply before he went on. "I mean … I would understand it if you don't want to overstep the boundaries between superior and subordinate … but … I really, really love you."
Her green eyes widened as she replayed what he had just told her in his head. "You do?" she asked.
He nodded in complete silence.
"But you said that you would never ever fall in love…"
"One cannot fall in love when he already fell," he said calmly. "As I said, I would accept your rejection and I wouldn't bother you again. Your friendship means a lot to me and I don't want to lose it."
She shook her head. "I … I don't reject you!" she exclaimed. "In fact – I love you too!"
He was too happy to say anything, so he decided to let his actions speak as he grabbed her waist to pull her closer to kiss her sweetly.
Olivier stared at Bendix like he had just told her that he had fallen for her – oh well, he had just said it. Her hands started to tremble as she raised them to brush back a strand of his hair which covered his eyes. "You complete and utter fool," she told him calmly. "Why didn't you say so earlier?"
He was relieved to be still alive and looked at her. "I was afraid that you might kill me for breaking our promise," he said lowly. "And I really like my life to tell the truth. It would be sad if I couldn't see your smile again, Liv. I really love your smile, you know?"
"Bendix," she said while she looked into his eyes. "When I was fourteen, I had a crush on a wonderful, handsome blond boy who could play the guitar like no one else I ever knew. This boy liked the same love songs I liked. His favourite colour was – and is – an icy blue. He was born on the 5th of May and I knew him for a very long time. But I and him, we had a stupid pact that we would never fall for each other, so I fought against it. When he stole my first kiss, I even punched him even though I really, really liked the kiss … but it was forbidden to feel that way so I ignored my feelings. I eventually started to love someone else but … this crush never vanished completely."