New lines

"…how did she feel when you saw her?" Roy asked as he slowly went upstairs.

Kain sighed deeply. "She tries to be strong for Hawkeye but she seems to be tired of it all."

Roy frowned a little bit. "Poor little girl," he stated. He pitied Laila because she had gone through hell during the past months and it was just natural that she was tired now.

"She is trying very hard to keep her act together but we all see that she is slowly losing her touch," the younger man said sadly. "All those years she was so mature and strong, she always was the strong pillar in everything Riza did … she had always someone she had to live for. But now, I guess we can say that Laila's youth is catching up with her."

"Shouldn't it be 'her age is catching up with her'?" Roy asked.

"Can we really speak of 'age' when the topic is a six-year-old girl?"

"I guess you are right," the blind man sighed while his fingers danced across the banisters.

"She needs someone who listens to her now," Kain said.

"I will listen to her," the colonel said with a little smile.

They found Laila asleep on the couch and Kain gently shook her because her position would most likely cause her a nice, little neck ache and no one who could still remember (and they were hard to forget) the Golden Days when she had gotten her first teeth would allow her to feel pain ever again because – to cut it short – a Laila Hawkeye in pain was a very dangerous and aggressive Laila Hawkeye – and even though she didn't have a gun (yet), her aim with the things surrounding her was really good – and it was not so comfortable when an edition of An Eternal Love: The Return which consisted of 1203 pages was connected with ones forehead.

She slowly opened her eyes and walked over to Roy to hug him tightly. She didn't cry but it was obvious that she was very upset. It was visible in her stiff shoulders.

Roy smiled sadly down at her. "Can't mistake that hug," he said as he held her close. "It's always nice to … eh … see you, Little Miss Sunshine."

"It's good to see that your hands are better," she said as she looked at the bandages around it. "So … you stay here now if I got everything correctly, yes?"

"Yeah…" he nodded as he sat down on the couch. "I hope we'll get along."

She rolled her eyes. "We usually got along in the past, so I don't worry about this problem now."

"So, princess, I need to get back to the hospital. Lieutenant Ross will come around later to check on you and to take the next watch."

"Miss Ross?" Laila tilted her head. "The nice woman with the short hair? I really liked her."

"You nearly scared her to death," Kain sighed.

"Just because I suddenly left Miss Lan Fan's room…" the girl pouted.

"Stop acting like you were an innocent little girl," the soldier chuckled. "We all know that you know to outsmart most of us. I would say you spent too much time with Edward as a toddler."

"The guy is stupid and has no sense for style," she said with another frown.

Roy was cheering. "Can I quote you on that when I see him the next time?" he asked.

"Of course," she said with an unimpressed shrug.

"Wonderful … finally someone who seconds me," he grinned.

"He destroyed her favourite doll as he tried to make it look 'cooler'," Kain said. "She nearly killed him for that … and the bruise on his forehead was visible for days…"

Roy chuckled as he gently stroked the girl's golden hair. "I will make sure that the world will never forget Major Edward Elric, the no-sense-for-style Fullmetal Alchemist," he said amused.

"Especially the no-sense-for-style-part shall never be forgotten," she agreed before she fell back asleep, still cuddled up to him and Hayate.

"Finally," Kain said. "She hasn't slept properly in a while."

"Can't say that I would blame her," Roy said. "The poor girl … she and some other people were the true victims in everything what happened."

"Now she will be back to business soon and maybe she can have a normal childhood now … well … as far as this is possible, regarding the fact that Riza is her mother…"

Roy grinned a little bit as he closed his eyes. "The best thing about the Hawkeye-girls is that they always go their own ways without caring about any rules," he said. "And it would be a shame if Laila would be the last of them … they are great allies after all…"

"I have an easy solution for you if you really don't want Laila to be the last of her kind," Kain said with a little smirk. "Marry Riza and get some pretty kinds."

Ling Yao, heir of the throne of Xing, sat in his hospital room as he stared at his sleeping girlfriend-slash-bodyguard. Lan Fan looked so peaceful whenever she finally fell asleep and he blamed himself for dragging her through this mess.

His mind wandered back to his homeland and he smiled as he remembered his little brother, Cai Yao. Cai were one of the youngest kids of the emperor and as such, he had no issues with the fight over the throne. He was still a child, barely six years old by now. Ling chuckled a little bit as he thought about his serious and smart little brother who had a real obsession with Amestrian literature and the culture of the western countries. And Ling scowled as he remembered how his little brother had walked up to Lan Fan to ask her if she wanted to marry him as soon as he was a little bit older. Afterwards, Ling had taken him outside to explain him really kindly that he should find a nice girl in his own age and that Cai should stop to ask Lan Fan to marry him because she was Ling's future wife. (Her own opinion had never really mattered in this discussion and none of the princes had ever cared about it because it had been the only true rivalry they ever had. Fu had scolded both of them and Lan Fan had started to wear her mask afterwards whenever she left the little house she shared with her grandfather.)

He was enjoying his memories as Lan Fan finally awoke and he left his bed to give her a kiss. She glared at him. "The doctors said that you shouldn't move that much," she said.

"They have no idea what they are talking about," he grinned.

"I am pretty sure that they studied," she sighed.

Izumi's feet left nearly no sound as she crossed over the graveyard until she reached her destination: the grave of Serena Hawkeye Hamilton. The housewife had never met the younger female alchemist but everyone who had known her had told her that Serena had been probably the calmest out of her sisters. Izumi looked at the little photo on the gravestone that showed her Serena in her happiest days. She was wearing the standard uniform of the Briggs' Bears and who looked close enough could make out a hint of silver on her shoulder: Buccaneer's automail.

Izumi sighed deeply as she sat down in front of the grave. "You know, Miss Hamilton," she started with a hint of hesitation, "I never met you … even if we had met, I am sure that I would have judged you without knowing you properly. I am sorry that I am that stubborn … and that I still can't believe that so many great alchemist I know sold their souls to the state." She raised her hands and opened a little hole in the gravestone before she put the ring into the hole. "He really loved you," the housewife said with a little smile. "The soldiers told me that you were his last thought. I am sure that you will be together again by now. Tell him that rumour says that Major General Armstrong cried over his death."

The evening softly fell about Central City as Ling and Lan Fan finally left the hospital. The young prince had wrapped his arm around the girl and led her towards the restaurant. He knew that she had missed her older sister and he had to ask Jun Li some questions about the power of the emperor and since she had worked for his grandfather, she was probably the person who knew the most about the rules even the emperor had to play by.

"What are you planning?" Lan Fan asked as they entered the restaurant.

"I believe it's time that you meet the infamous owner of the Golden Dragon," he grinned.

The waitress who looked a little bit tired since her restaurant had been touched by the fights in the capital and she had rebuild everything turned around as she felt their familiar chi. Her black hair reminded of a veil as she crossed to her little sister to hug Lan Fan tightly. "In Dragon's name!" she exclaimed as her hands cupped her sister's face. "You honestly grew up, Lan-Lan!"

The younger sister looked down. "It has been a while, Jun Li," she whispered.

"Time was nice with you," Jun Lin smiled. "You look wonderful, my darling. I am pretty sure that I will have to visit Xing soon to attend your wedding." She grabbed Lan Fan's automail-arm and beamed at it. "I love these things, little sister," she said. "They are totally awesome and I always told myself that I would get one should I ever lose a limb."

"You are a goddamn fool."

Jade turned around as fast as she could with her broken ankle. "What did I do this time, Phil?" she asked tiredly as she looked at her younger brother. Funny how nothing could change that he could make her feel like a complete idiot without any effort. She was renowned for being the most intelligent state alchemist – even surpassing geniuses such as Helena Hamilton (her stomach churned as she thought of her old friend) or Edward Elric (her stomach churned again but this time for other reason). Just as she had said before, her highest priority was knowledge because this was the basis of her strength and her whole existence was focused on gaining more and more information and therefore knowledge with every passing day.

"You know what you did – or at least, you should know," Phil said darkly.

"I obviously have no clue so please, humour me," she sighed as she closed her left eye.

"Llewellyn, I am talking about him there," the male air alchemist said as he moved closer to his sister. "I know that you like to annoy me, Jadelina, but someone with your bad luck when it comes to dating should consider if it's not a little bit suspicious that it works this time."

"For me, it works just fine, Philippe," she replied as she crossed her arms and narrowed her dark eyes. "You are forgetting that I do many strange things, Phil. I know what I am doing."

"You heard the rumours, didn't you? What … what if they are true?"

'They are,' she thought while her face showed no emotion. She had learned to suppress the urge to be open with her thoughts and emotions during her time as Bradley's knife and no matter how much she hated what she had done, she was happy that Phil couldn't read her eyes. Still, he expected an answer and she would give him one. "I am too smart to care for rumours," she said with a faint hiss. "People want me to believe these lies after all, right?"

"You are such a bad liar, Jade," he said before he turned to leave.

"At least I lie instead of staying silent for a whole decade," she snapped before the painkiller kicked in and knocked her out. She was used to broken bones and usually, she would have refused the painkillers because she hardly needed them anyway but she had decided to be a good little girl for once … and sleep would be nice after weeks of unhappiness. Lynn was avenged, finally, but somewhere in the back of her mind stayed the nagging thought that it hadn't been everything and that she would take more broken bones to get behind it all.