Chapter Nine

The Arrival of the Kings

Wednesday

The Aerugo Party and the Drachma Party were both to arrive this morning. Originally, the Drachma Party was to arrive tomorrow, however, to avoid a stormfront in the mountains they had moved ahead of schedule. The Aerugo Party had already departed by the time word had gone out of the change, therefore it was now impolite to attempt to stagger their arrivals beyond the two hours it seemed they would receive.

Among other things, this meant that they would need to remain in their formal uniforms and near enough the front hall to arrive before the procession. For Edward and Ling both this was annoying, as they were not fond of their formal uniforms. Ling reminded himself, and Edward, that they only had a few more days until coronation day, at which time the rest of Ed's stay could be spent casually.

Prince Claudio of Aerugo arrived first, with a line of carriages and guards in company. Only Claudio, and his personal guard would be in the palace, the remainder of his party would be housed through out the city. This was the cause of a brief argument that was settled with very little shouting, and the Amestrians stood off to the side throughout it. Neither of them, as only Edward and Roy attended, pointed out that their entire party was allowed in the palace…because they had brought a small party.

As it stood Claudio was mollified until the arrival of the Drachmans. Unlike Claudio, they arrived with just one car, and only the Tsar, Viktor himself, as well as three guards and his wife Anya. As such they were all allowed in the palace. Claudio had also somehow learned that the entire Amestrian party was being housed in the palace. He refused to listen to reason on the matter. After all both other parties were considerably smaller and all in one apartment each.

Finally, to prevent the negotiations from falling apart before they could begin Roy agreed to go talk to Claudio. Claudio had stopped complaining about the Drachmans when he learned it was just the leader and his wife being housed. Roy hoped to mollify him by pointing out that it was similar in their situation.

He walked into the conference room where the yelling could be heard, and cleared his throat. "Excuse me gentlemen. It appears the Prince has been misinformed of our situation and I felt it best to come correct the situation personally."

"Oh, so now we shall hear of the silver tongue of the great flame general. Tell me general why should your party be allowed to remain together, while mine has been dispatched throughout the city? Will there be another attempt on my life then?" Claudio demanded.

"Not at all sir. That is what I wanted to clarify. My party consist only of part of my family. My son, you might remember him, Edward Elric or Fullmetal as he is known professionally, his fiancée Winry Rockbell, a lovely girl. My grandson, Yuery, and my own fiancée Riza Hawkeye." Roy said calmly, ignoring that he had just upgraded his own relationship without asking.

Claudio stared at him with a frown for a moment. "Edward Elric? He saved my life a couple of years ago, he appeared no more than eleven or twelve, but very brave. I was unaware he was your son."

"His full name is Mustang- Elric, but Mustang is dropped in his military paperwork. He's sixteen now, was fourteen then." Roy confirms. Claudio nods, he remembered the boy kindly, and Roy saw no reason to give him the full details of their situation.

"It is good that he was able to be under your command so young. I was under the impression your military was not kind to their baby soldiers. However, to allow the boy to be under his father's command and retain his mother's name to give him freedom to develop under his own steam… yes I believe I may have misjudged your people."

"I agree." Added Viktor, who had been sitting quietly in the corner as he had listened to Claudio throw a tantrum. "Had we known that you were so efficient at protecting your son, we would have had an easier negotiations perhaps."

"It's something we do try to keep quiet about, especially while under Bradley's rule. He was not the kindest of leaders." Roy said delicately. It was always a careful balance when sitting in these meetings. "Our current fuhrer, Grumman, is very family oriented. It is his desire to change the way our neighbors have been seeing us, and hopefully have an understanding grow that one bad leader does not indicate our entire people."

"You seem to know the fuhrer well?" Claudio said.

This is the moment of gamble, and Roy knows it. If they hate Grumman the whole talk will fall apart right here and there will be little he could do to pull it back together. "I do. He is Riza's grandfather."

Both other men nodded calmly, which is the best Roy had hoped for. Yes, he was implying his country was considering declaring itself a monarchy which it wasn't, but as long as he never outright said it, and continued to make it seem like an early staged plan, then he should be able to pull it off. Ed wandering off helped, though the boy had just slipped into the room just as Roy thought it.

"I see. He had recently suggested when we were speaking, that he may be naming you his new Lt Fuhrer in the new year." Viktor said thoughtfully.

"He had not said anything to me yet, I assure you." Roy said smartly.

Ed snorted quietly. "Dad, Grampa's going to name you his next in line we all know it." Roy smiled back, clearly the boy had overheard at least part of the conversation, had understood the game Roy was playing, and had decided to play along. This was a relief.

"It has not been confirmed Edward, simply speculation at this point." Roy said, but smiled so Ed would know he approved of Ed's input.

Ed rolled his eyes in response, before snipping. "If Grandpa named anyone other than you it would be Riza."

"You call your mother by her name?" Viktor asked.

"Stepmother. She's wonderful and I love her, but my Mom was the best." Ed said. Even for this charade he wouldn't deny his mother. His father was no problem for him, but he still loved and missed his mom.

"As I said, Riza is my fiancée. Edward and Alphonse's mother was a wonderful woman and devoted mother. She died several years ago now, when the boys were young and I was still in the war." Roy said.

Edward nodded, as Roy cleared his throat. "Too many families have been torn apart by war after endless war. Too many children left alone while their mother's die and their father's fight. I vowed one day to reach high enough in our country to stop the wars. Grumman shares my opinion on the matter."

"I believe… we shall think on what has been said, yes. Prince Ling will be joining our conversation tomorrow. We will continue then." Viktor said and Claudio nodded in agreement. Roy bowed to them then lead Edward from the room. It was for the best they had already agreed Ed was going to have to take part in the peace talks because that conversation made his presence mandatory.

Evening Feast

Now that the representatives of all four countries involved in this treaty had arrived, it was decided by the advisors the best solution was to throw a feast in honor of their guests and the prince. An invitation to attend was delivered to their doors at three, giving everyone roughly two hours to prepare.

Luckily for the Mustang-Elrics they were required to wear their uniforms to any form of state affair. Unluckily, that left Winry and Yuery without proper evening attire. Ling had thought of this when he learned of his father's plans and had enlisted the help of Lan Fan and Mei for them. Lan Fan was roughly the same size as Winry, and could easily lend her one of the many gowns the new princess had been gifted over the last few weeks. She hadn't worn any of them yet, so no one would notice. Yuery seemed at first to be a more difficult issue, until it was pointed out that Huan was slightly stockier and just as tall as the elder toddler.

No one pointed this out to Edward. They needed him in a good mood for the feast. That left the argument with Hawkeye. She, like Winry would easily fit into Lan Fan's gowns. She was a bit taller than the girls, but the dresses were cut long and loose. The problem was she refused. Like the men, she was required to wear her uniform. However, both Emperor Shi and Prince Claudio would find it offensive to remind them that she was serving in the military.

In the end, she agreed reluctantly to wear a gown, provide it covered her back and torso completely. It was the biggest reason Riza never wore gowns, was the tattoo on her back. Lan Fan assured her that it wouldn't be an issue. A few minutes later she returned with several garment bags, that included two blue gowns, and a tiny black suit. The gowns were nearly identical, cut high, floor length, with a high waist designed to hide the early pregnancy of anyone who wore them, this was the standard for any high ranking official's wife. The difference between the two dresses was that one had three quarter sleeves and the other full length. Winry took the one with shorter sleeves, assuming Riza would prefer the other.

Once they were all dressed, hair, jewelry, and makeup completed they were escorted to the ballroom by the guards placed outside their rooms. They waited, along side the other foreign guests to be announced. The other clans in attendance were announced first, in order that they had arrived and were seated so Ed assumed, correctly, that they would be as well. The prince and princesses would be seated after the visitors, but their clansmen were to be seated and settled before anyone else. The Yao- Chen clan was seated first, closest to the Emperor and Crown Prince. Then came the Yang clan. Then, the Wang, followed by the Li. The room was growing crowded, and these were simply the top advisors and their families to each clan.

They had been standing there about twenty minutes, long enough for Yuery to grow restless, when the doors opened and a caller announced "From Amestris, General Roy Mustang, Flame Alchemist. His bride, Lt. Colonel Riza Hawkeye-Mustang. His son, Colonel Edward Mustang-Elric, Fullmetal Alchemist. Colonel Elric's bride, Winry Rockbell-Elric. Their son, Yuery Elric. "

The group walked calmly through the door, and were applauded, before stepping over to the table where they were directed. Winry whispered to Ed once they were seated asking about the way they were introduced. Ed shrugged while Roy leaned over and said. "They assume when one says they are dating or engaged it is the same as being married, just another word for it. There's no point in arguing with people who you are trying to arrange a treaty with over their misunderstanding of you culture."

Winry was still frowning, more for Riza than herself, when Riza placed a hand on her shoulder to calm her before saying. "You are going to be the wife of a politician. Like it or not, sometimes we have to just let these things go. It really doesn't bother me. In some ways it's like I've been his wife all along anyway. Who do you think takes care of the idiot?" Winry nodded with a giggle at Roy indignant scoffing. They all knew it was true, even if he wasn't going to admit it. Riza was the one who took care of him when he wouldn't take care of himself.

Before they could say anything, the door reopened to introduce Tsar Viktor Nikolai and Tsarina Anya. The couple walked in wearing a dark purple suit jacket and white slacks for Viktor and a deep purple floor length gown for Anya. Her gown was almost identical to Riza's, Viktor's suit closely resembled Roy's in cut. The couple were escorted to a sperate table, close to theirs. Anya's auburn curls hung freely down her back.

After the couple had been settled, Prince Claudio was announced alone. He entered wearing another similar outfit, in silver and gold. He was seated at the same table as the Drachmans but several spaces down. He did his best to smile politely at the couple, before they awaited

A different door was opened to announce the arrival of Chen Li, wearing a dark rose colored gown. Not Red, because the color was reserved for the throne, but close as it had always been her clan's color. Her hair was braided and pinned to her head in a complex twist. She was seated next to Prince Claudio, much to Edward's relief.

After she was settled, the doors reopened, and announced the arrival of Naoko Wang, his wives Erity Wang and Jia Wang, and his daughter Emiyo Wang. His mother was excused from the party. The prince, and both of his brides, were dressed in matching traditional robes colored the burnt orange that marked his clan. The baby, Emiyo, was carried in a sash on her mother's chest and dressed in a white gown. Both Wang brides wore their hair in the same single plait. Naoko wore his hair down, loose around his shoulders hanging nearly to his waist. The Wangs were placed at the same table as the The Mustang-Elrics, seated at the end closest to Mustang.

Kenja Yang, and her husband Akira Yang were announced next. Like the Wangs they were dressed in matching traditional robes, theirs in a dark green. Kenja and Akira had their hair in topknots, and were seated next to the Tsar.

Finally, a third door opened behind the high table, as Prince Ling Yao, Princess Consort Lan Fan Yao, Prince Huan Yao, Prince Ping Yao, and Princess Mei Chang-Yao were announced. They filed in, also dressed in traditional robes, all of them down to baby Ping who was in a sash on Lan Fan's chest wore the red of the imperial court. Ling, Lan Fan, and Mei all wore their hair in braids weaved with ribbons of yellow and pink for the clans they represented. When they were seated at the table, the Emperor was introduced from the same door. He moved forward until he sat next to his son.

The room was silent, until he waived his hand. Music began to play as the staff served dinner and the guests began to quietly chat among themselves. Erity whispered that she hoped not to spill on her robes, since this was the clothing she had packed to attend the coronation and had not intended to have to attend a ball before hand.

Winry was surprised and started to ask about how the whole thing usually went, but Ed touched her arm with a small shake of his head and leaned around her to inform Erity that should they need it, he could easily use his cleaning array for their clothing. The women then relaxed and returned to chatting about the state of their village to each other. Ed waited until they were distracted before whispering to Winry that Mustang had informed him it was considered bad luck to mention the coronation directly in the final few days before hand.

Winry nodded in understanding, glad to know not to ask about it. She was also ready to put this whole trip behind her to be honest. She had enjoyed seeing Ling again, and had enjoyed meeting a few of the people here but she was tired and wanted to go home. It was only a few more days, and she knew how important the meetings were to their country's future. She needed to get used to this, because as Riza had pointed out, she was marrying a politician now. She doubted very much that Ed saw himself that way though.

Author's Note about this series

As I begin planning book seven of this series, I am open to suggestions moving forward on what people would like to see happen in this series, in particular with secondary characters like Team Mustang. I will happily take suggestions into consideration as long as it will fit into the overall storyline.