The Waters of Lethe
Disclaimer: I don't own FMA, I just like to play around in it's world and torture Ed for awhile
Author's note: post series. Some movie events may happen, but differently
Warning: May contain movie spoilers. Has contained,and will contain violence, death, and sex.
Beta: Jedimasterwithapen
51. Prisoner (Gefangener)
The unremarkable man was having morning tea in the sitting room of his cabin when he heard faint noises emanating from the bedroom. "The Shambalan is awake, Rudolph. Would you bring him out here, bitte?"
Rudolph set down his own tea cup, "Jah Wohl, Herr Doktor."
He went to the bedroom door, which stood ajar a few inches, and entered. The man who called himself Dr. Schwinghammer heard some low muttering, followed by shuffling sounds, and presently Rudolph returned to the sitting room. With both hands, he gently guided the prisoner to a seat on the sofa opposite his employer
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"Unnhh." Edward's first perception was of subtle movement,up and down and side to side.. At first, he was very groggy, but he quickly become more alert after his sluggish brain processed the information. Something was different. He kept his eyes closed and tried to figure it out. It didn't feel like the movement of a car, but more like Harry's airplane.
I'm-flying-but.
Edward listened harder. He could hear propeller noise, but it was muted as if far away. He finally opened his golden eyes, looked at the white ceiling above him, and blinked a few times.
Where am I?
He pushed himself up on his elbows and looked around. He was in a small, rectangular bedroom. Next to the bed he lay in was a square wooden table with a brass lamp upon its surface. Nearer to the footboard was a matching chest of drawers with an attached mirror. A few feet away was a grouping of four armchairs arranged around an oval coffee table. A door at the far end of the room stood open and Edward could see one side of a white pedestal sink with a mirror above it.
There was a window in the wall to his right, and Edward was startled to see clouds float past. He pushed the bed covers back and had another surprise. Someone had taken his clothes off and dressed him in flannel pajamas, plus put a woolen sock on his right foot. The pajamas were too large and he was easily able to roll the right leg up past his knee. The dart was gone, replaced by a small white bandage. Edward felt cold all over especially in the pit of his stomach.
I've been kidnapped!
He rolled out of bed and cautiously placed his feet on the carpeted floor. It swayed ever so slightly, and Edward shivered at the cold prickle of fear he felt. He stared blankly out the window for a moment before he looked up. But instead of wings, Edward saw grey material, stretched tautly over a framework. A Zeppelin. And he shivered again. He remembered his first sight of a Zeppelin. That night in London after his mind and soul was flung through the Gate.
Edward looked away from the view outside, and squeezed his eyes shut. But the tears still came; they trickled hotly down his cheeks and dripped onto the carpet. That awful night, when he'd temporarily joined with his machine world alter, then fought for Al's life and lost his.
He didn't want to remember the pain, but memories had a way of sneaking back. He fought back the urge to cry, sniffled and wiped his face off with a pajama sleeve. A wooden coat rack with a dressing gown hanging from it stood near the window. He grabbed it and slipped his arms into the sleeves just as Rudolph entered.
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Rudoplh's touch made Edward feel queasy, but his knees trembled and he was glad of the support until he could ease down on to the sofa. He leaned back against the soft cushioned back and regarded the other man with a jaundiced eye.
Edward was especially displeased to see the bags he'd been carrying on the sofa next to the other man. Even with his mask off, he looked - blank - in some odd way. Edward wondered if he had ever seen him before. Maybe he had, but even if prodded, he could never have remembered such an unremarkable face.
"I take it you slept well, Shambalan?" There was that word again and a small spark of anger arose in Edward's midsection. The other man poured tea from a blue pot into a delicate red teacup and pushed it, upon a matching saucer, over the polished wood surface of a low round table. "You must be hungry, please have some of this delicious tea. Would you like a scone? Do you prefer jam, or clotted cream?"
Edward tried to pierce him with a stony glare, but the man seemed impervious to "hairy eyeballs". He wanted to say he wasn't hungry - but he was very hungry - and thirsty too. So he settled for a simple factual statement, "You kidnapped me."
"Close, Shambalan,but not not quite; I captured you."
Edward's voice grated in his ears, "My name is Edward. And my home is not Shambala, it is nothing like Shambala. It's not a utopia. We have wars, disease, death, and suffering, just like this world. And you took me against my will, I call that kidnapping."
Having said his piece, Edward bent forward and carefully used his left hand to pick up the teacup by its handle. He sat back and cradled it in his right. The cup was hot and the heat radiating into the fingers felt good on his cold flesh. The tea smelled good too, steam swirled off the surface and Edward's nose recognized the scent of a good breakfast blend. He brought the cup to his lips and blew on the surface before he took a sip. He swirled the brew in his mouth and let it quench the dryness before he swallowed. Warmth blossomed inside him,and Edward's head felt a little clearer.
Despite Edward's outburst, the wretched man continued to smile at him. Now he pushed over a deckle-edged china plate with two scones on it, one spread with a reddish jam, the other with a mound of white cream. Edward sipped more tea before he picked up the jam-ridden scone and bit into it. It tasted heavenly and he devoured it in three bites. He took his time with the second scone; he chewed thoroughly and sipped more tea between each bite. Now replete, he drained the cup, and set it back on its saucer before he sat back with a small sigh of satisfaction.
The kidnapper resumed speaking, "We will land in Berlin in an hour, and there you will be handed over to others for the final stage of your journey. You will not see Rudolph and I again for a new assignment is waiting for me at the Chancellory. I must say chasing you down was the most fun I've had in years. Especially because I was ordered to take you alive. Bringing you back unharmed was quite a challenge. You were wily and cunning, a most worthy opponent."
Edward frowned at the "handed over to others" statement. He stared hard at the man and wanted to ask him just what he meant by that. But he suddenly felt very sleepy. He blinked hard, but his eyelids kept trying to slide closed, and his head seemed heavy as lead. He toppled sideways on the sofa and found himself on eye level with the china plate that had held the scones.
"You drugged the scones," he accused and he heard the man laugh as if from a great distance.
"No, Shambalan. Not the scones, it was the clotted cream I drugged. It was rich enough to hide the taste better than the jam. Now rest a while then you will wake up refreshed at your destination. Goodbye, Edward."
My destination? Edward wondered before swirling darkness rose up before his eyes and took him.
