A/N: Sorry for the missed update. I didn't take the holiday into account in my timing.
Drums of War
Chapter Five
Calm Before the Storm
Outside the Imperial City
Takeshi Zhao was livid. They had lost his best bargaining chip. After he'd gone through all the trouble of having them grab hostages, these morons just let them be taken! Ling was going to make this a fight; he saw that now. His foolish brother thought he could stand against Takeshi.
It was a set back, this would take a bit longer now, but Takeshi relished the fight. His whole life had been a struggle, nothing had ever gone according to plan, but he wouldn't let that pampered little brat win! What did Ling know of suffering? What had he ever lost?
The wizards were in an uproar. Apparently, the ones who popped in worked for the English Ministry of Magic, and they were making a fuss about being recognized. He just shook his head at their concern. They had nothing to fear. They had taken care to hide their faces, and he had taken care to avoid their names. They were no better than his brother, especially Malfoy. What did this man know of the suffering?
It was a further blow when he realized the troops that appeared behind his were here to support his brother. Not only had the majority of the clans sided with the brat, somehow, he had convinced Drachma, Aerugo, and Amestris to send aide. How he had managed treaties with all three was a complete mystery to Takeshi, though it did explain the wizards.
Edward Elric had made friends among wizards, so rumor claimed. He used his appearance to his advantage, looking as he did, so similar to Flamel and the Sages, to form alliances. He also had the child the Death Eaters were looking for not that Takeshi was giving that information for free. That kind of leverage was best kept for a rainy day. Today though, he was focused on his own problems. Should they send in Alchemists the fight would last longer? He had no doubt that he would eventually win.
Malfoy approached now, as Takeshi stared at the wall as if the force of his will alone. "Your brother didn't surrender. He wasn't going to surrender even if the women hadn't been rescued."
"So, he is a bigger fool than I assumed. What is your point?" Takeshi growled.
"How long are you prepared to fight?" Malfoys asked with a sigh. "I told you before you moved ahead with this, you moved too quickly, too rashly. To take the throne from your brother you need patience."
"Really, how many thrones have you reclaimed Lucius? How many wars have you won?"
"You invited me along because of my superior strategy skillset. Yet you refuse to utilize my knowledge. There is a reason why The Dark Lord named me one of his top lieutenants so young."
"To stroke your ego, no doubt. You would have me wait. Withdraw and reform my campaign years from now. Do you not understand the longer I wait, the more I will have to fight my people in the role of their leader?"
"It seems too late for that concern. Of the fifty clans you mentioned, forty currently stand against us. Literally with the troops that are arriving, and two are dead. How can you hope to win against them? Then they brought in the outsiders including wizards and yet you are still convinced that you can win."
"Should I retreat now, it may as well be a surrender. I will not." Takeshi said as he returned his gaze to the wall that stood between him and everything he'd been working for his whole life.
"I will not remain away from my wife and son long. Whichever you choose to do, remember you only have wizard support for a limited time. Our debt to you is not so great that we must exhaust ourselves."
"It's no wonder he was defeated with men like you at his side. You don't understand the beauty of sacrifice. The joy of suffering."
Malfoy said nothing more as he retreated back to the others. They had aligned themselves with a madman they realized, but it was not really their concern beyond staying in one piece until they could go home.
Royal Palace
The argument between Ling and Lan Fan had grown steadily louder as the staff vacated the area and Ling's family tried to pack quietly and lightly. He had informed her that now that the other women had been rescued, he expected her to join them in hiding. She had continued to refuse, leading to the screaming match that could be heard throughout the family wing.
"You are going to our children! They need their mother." Ling yelled.
"Are you ordering me to leave your side?" Lan Fan yelled back.
"If that's what it takes to make you do the right thing, yes!"
"My place is by your side keeping you safe!"
"Your place is protecting our children and raising them to love their country and people. I don't need you to be my bodyguard, I need you to be my wife!"
"What kind of wife abandons her husband?"
"A proper one!"
"So now I'm not a proper wife?"
"No, you're not. If you were, we wouldn't be having this argument because you'd already be with our children."
"Maybe you should have picked a better one then."
"Maybe I should have!"
"…"
"Lan- "
"Don't. I need to go make sure the others are ready to go."
Lan Fan appeared through the doorway, and everyone who had gathered for transport pretended not to have overheard the last few minutes of their argument. Ling trailed in after his wife, who pretended not to notice him as she checked over everyone's bags and spoke quietly to the wizards who would be handling the move for them. Ling's eyes never left her, even as Naoko and Kenja approached him for final instructions.
"Jia and Erity are ready. I'm staying here, we decided." Naoko said quietly. "You'll need help and I know how to command forces."
"Thank you." Ling said quietly as he watched Moody grumbling before he pulled out a small satchel and somehow managed to begin shoving all of the luggage inside of it.
"Akira and I are both staying. It would be different if we had children- "Kenja said before cutting herself off with a glance in Lan's direction. "I apologize, I meant no disrespect or to imply- "
"You've said nothing worse than I have in the last hour." Ling said with a wave. "I welcome your help, thank you Sister."
"Is she going with them, do you know?" Akira asked quietly.
"I would like to say yes." Ling said with a sigh. "She's being stubborn though and now that I overstepped it's unlikely, she'll listen to me anymore."
"Let me try Brother." Naoko offered.
"If you would."
Naoko started off toward Lan Fan, as Akira whispered a good luck and Jia muttered it was hopeless. He squared his shoulders and asked his sister-in-law for a moment of her time before leading her back down the hall to speak privately. Moody grumbled again about keeping with the timeline and Shaklebolt tssked at him to be quiet.
"I'm not going." Lan Fan said as soon as they were out of hearing.
"It is important to him that you go, so that he knows you are there to keep the children safe." Naoko said.
"It's important that I go so that I don't embarrass him you mean. I am not proper."
"He didn't mean that and we both know it. I've watched the two of you for years, he loves you."
"Perhaps. However, that doesn't change the reality of it. I was not bred to be royal. I am not a proper wife or mother. You should speak to him, convince him to take a proper wife." Lan Fan said sounding very sad.
"Yeah, Ling taking a second wife is about as likely as him giving up the throne. He loves you. That's what matters."
"You have two wives."
"Yes, and I love them both. And chose neither. We know it. He CHOSE you. That makes it a different situation altogether. I can't imagine him choosing someone else now. If you were to die today, I doubt he would ever remarry."
"Don't say things like that."
"This is outside of my intended conversation at any rate. Ling needs you to leave so he isn't distracted by his concern for you. Has there never been a situation where he threw himself in danger to keep you safe? Do you really want him to suffer that again?"
Lan Fan said nothing, instead returning to her apartment. Naoko hung his head for a moment before returning to his brother with a frown. "I tried. She's stubborn. Apparently, she also wants me to talk you into taking a second wife who is 'more appropriate.' I don't even know what more to say to that."
"I told her when we married, I wasn't taking a second wife. That would just leave the clans fighting among themselves."
Fuhrer's Mansion
Amestris
Edward laid in bed, pretending to sleep. He had hoped if he pretended long enough, it would happen. At times like this, he almost missed the eternal exhaustion he experienced as a teenager. When he was busy supporting his brother's body, researching a way to fix his brother, raising an infant, and trying to save the country he had been exhausted. So much so that he was almost famous for his ability to fall asleep in any situation if he was still and not reading for more than five minutes.
Now though, now he wasn't supporting his brother's body. He still did his fair share of research but not in the desperate levels he once endured. His infant was now a child, and while he had been joined by two others, Ed also had a partner who took half the burden. The country was stable, although things were growing tense with the situation in Xing it wasn't the same desperation either.
The problem, therefore, was that his mind wouldn't shut up. He couldn't reach the level of exhaustion that turned it off. He sighed before slipping out of bed silently, so he didn't wake his wife and sons. Winry had been very tired lately, adding to Edward's guilt. He was clearly not sharing enough of the responsibilities if his wife was this tired and he wasn't.
Maes stirred around so Ed scooped him up before leaving the room. Maes cuddled up against his chest and went straight back to sleep against his heartbeat. Ed went into his study and pulled out the paperwork he had brought home with him. The lists of troops and supplies they had sent toward Xing.
Armstrong would be leading the operation, of course, but had been instructed to send full reports often. The last thing either Edward or Roy wanted was for the situation to get out of hand. He had Heymans Breda, Sheska Harris, Denny Broch and Laurence Carter would be leading the troops. Armstrong would be overseeing the whole operation as well as overseeing the Alchemists directly.
Roy had been sure to instruct Armstrong that the Alchemists were not to be used until they were absolutely needed. He knew that Alex would not jump right into it anymore than he himself would. Alex was also only sent four alchemists, including himself. Edward had argued long and hard over the choices. Trigham had wanted to go, and honestly, he wasn't terrible in a fight, but his power set was not fit for combat.
Ed knew that Mei and Chen would be joining the fight as protection on the palace and city but wouldn't be fighting directly. Roy selected three others to join Armstrong. Walter Carson (Iron Alchemist), Samuel Masterson (Waterfall Alchemist), and Hannah Greeves (Wind Alchemist). All four were suited to fighting, though it made Edward nervous that they were all also new. All enlisted this year.
He slowly read through the preliminary reports again. He knew reading them over wouldn't change anything, but he hoped to calm his nerves enough to sleep at last. A shadow fell over his notes when his Dad decided to stop lingering in the doorway and greet him. Ed glanced up briefly, to note his youngest brother seemed to have joined them as well.
"Tomorrow is early enough to worry about this Edward." Roy said with a sigh as he sat next to his son and grandson. "Reading the reports won't change the numbers."
"The numbers haven't started coming in yet. That's the biggest problem. How many people are going to die here Dad? How many people are going to come back broken? Are we doing the right thing?"
"There is no clear-cut right in war Ed. The question is did you do the best you could with the options you were given?" Roy said with a sigh. "For example. Had we decided it was nothing to do with us and stayed on our side of the desert… Ling may still have won. However, there was a larger chance that he would be dethroned than there is with our help. So, the question is, could you live with Takeshi Zhao as the ruler of Xing?"
"No."
"Had you not spent months on the run with Ling, would you be alright with Takeshi over Ling?"
"No."
"Had you never met Yuery, never known the truth about magic, would you be alright with Takeshi?"
"No. He's a dictator in the same style that we fought to displace here. He cares nothing for his people, the condition of his clan was proof of that."
"So, there you go. We made the best choice of our selection of bad choices. That does not make it easy. It should never be easy to send your people to war."
"Still, I'm sorry to have to have brought you this problem when I know war is what you hoped to avoid."
"I always knew that ordering troops into battle was a possibility in this seat. The important part is that I am not sending them to cause unnecessary pain and suffering." Roy said as he stood back up. "Now I need to go lay Tad back down and I seriously suggest you do the same with Maes. Tomorrow will come early."
Feeling slightly better Ed carried his sleeping toddler back to bed and laid him between himself and Winry. She stirred as he settled himself and rolled over waking long enough to wrap an arm around their son before drifting back to sleep. Ed smiled at the sight, and then over at Will and Yu who were sleeping wrapped together on a futon against the far wall. Ed and Winry decided that the boys were better off in their room, at least until they knew no one was going to be suddenly appearing in their apartment again.
Edward once again laid there, willing himself to sleep. This time promising himself he would not get up until the sun or one of his sons got him up even if he didn't sleep. He rolled onto his side to watch William and Yuery sleep, hoping that would lull him at least into a light doze.
He did feel slightly better, less guilt stricken, after speaking to his Dad, but he still was concerned for his people and Ling's. He hoped that the large numbers standing against him would put an end to Takeshi Zhao's bid quickly so they could put this whole thing behind them, but he knew that history proved that Ed wasn't that lucky.
Train bound for Xing
Somewhere mid-desert
Officer's Car
Breda sought out Armstong's company shortly after ordering his own troops to sleep while they could. He knew Alex had a hard time with pre-battle nervousness and wanted to make sure the other man was handling things alright.
Part of Breda wondered why Mustang would send Armstrong of all people into this. Everyone knew Alex had a hard time with the idea of another war, even if he had handled Promised Day perfectly. As he expected, Breda found the general in his private cabin, nervously staring out into the dark sand. "Hello Breda, how are you handling this?" Armstrong asked without looking over. Breda had to assume Alex saw him in the reflection of the window.
"I'm fine. Better than usual actually. Central is taxing for me these days. Thankfully, I will be joining Alphonse when he moves to the school." Breda said with a shrug.
"As I said to you the day we talked about your mental health, you can always come to see me. Even if I cannot help exactly, I can certainly listen."
"Central and East City both remind me greatly of what I have lost. Resembool would be even worse I imagine. It's getting easier. It is. Especially when I stay busy or visit friends. I'm thinking, once this is over, I might look into getting a roommate. Just because it's easier when I'm not all alone to my thought."
"Excellent idea! I never would have thought to suggest it. I think you should make the move as soon as possible. I can arrange for a member of the staff to pack your apartment up if you would like, and of course we can store you belongs at the estate until we return- "
"I appreciate all of your help, Sir but please don't trouble yourself."
"Nonsense. Your mental health is my concern." Armstrong said with enough feeling that he seemed to sparkle. Breda sighed; it would be easier all around to just let the man take care of it.
"If you're sure it's no trouble. Thank you General." Breda said politely.
"Alex, when we are in an informal setting, please just call me Alex. We're friends after all."
Breda wondered briefly when they had become friends. He supposed it was somewhere around the time that Breda, in a fit of grief, revealed to Armstrong his relationship. Armstrong had been going out of his way to be supportive since then.
Breda and Armstrong chatted lightly for a bit longer, both grateful for the distraction from the upcoming battle. Neither was terribly happy over having to go into a battle, though Breda had the added concern of knowing the Emperor and his family rather well after spending so much time as Alphonse's personal guard.
Palace
Emperor's Apartment
Ling, Naoko, Kenja, and Akira had spent most of the night in the war room, planning their next move, after the wizards had helped move Naoko's wives and several other men, women and children from the palace. Hey, had now relocated the conversation to Ling's private rooms. When they came in Ling seemed to look through his wife before leading the others to the sitting room. Lan Fan drew a deep breath, and silently followed them into the room.
She knew her husband was angry. She knew that he wasn't completely wrong to be disappointed with her. However, she couldn't imagine leaving him behind when she could help. It reminded her too much over the time she lost her arm to force him to go on without her. He needed to leave her behind then, and she had insisted, she was a liability. Now was different. She could help him. Keep him safe.
She could finally make up for her failure then. Only he didn't want her here, and now he was angry with her. She knew she had failed him as a bodyguard. She did not to fail him as a wife as well. He seemed to feel she was failing as both a wife and a mother at the moment. She was hurt by this, she admitted to herself. She was simply trying to protect him as was her duty.
Instead of starting yet another argument on the matter however, she stood silently in the room and waited for him to acknowledge her. In all of the years she's known him, long before she was anything more than his protection, he had never failed to do so. Even when it was less than proper, he would at least tilt his head in her direction to let her know he saw her.
He ignored her completely as he sat with his brother and sister. It was then she realized how angry he truly was. He had even gone out of his way to send her a message when he was possessed, yet now she might as well be invisible. She had no idea how to bridge the gap between them. With every passing moment, it felt like the gap grew until it may as well have been a canyon.
She flinched slightly when it was Akira, not Ling, who invited her to join them. She shook her head, before Ling, with a sigh said. "Do not trouble yourself, Brother. She has decided already. Until this ordeal is over, she intends to see herself not as my wife but as my personal guard."
"Can you not be both?" Akira asked as he once again gestured at the seat between him and Ling.
"I have offended My Lord with my disobedience. I will not further insult him by sitting without his invitation." Lan Fan said simply.
"What truly offend me is that even after all this time, you act as though you have no place by my side." Ling said sadly. "One threat, and the last three years mean nothing. Excuse me everyone. I think I'll retire for the evening."
"My Lord- "Lan Fan begins as Ling started to pass her.
"Never to you. Not to you, Lan. I am the leader of this country. One of the most powerful men in Cselkess. To the world I must be distant. To my guards and advisors, I must never show uncertainty or fatigue. I only wish you would finally understand this." Ling said, dejected. "You are the mother of my children, the love of my life, and it breaks my heart that you still see yourself as beneath me. I will see you in the morning everyone." Ling left the room, and Lan Fan deflated slightly. It was impossible to do the right thing when she still didn't know what the right thing was.
Naoko and Akira both frowned at the interaction while Kenja rolled her eyes. In her opinion they were both being dramatic. Lan Fan should have left with the others, she agreed, her children needed their mother with them since they were going to be away from home and in hiding for who knew how long. That said, Ling ignoring her wasn't going to change anything, and how would he feel if something did go wrong, and they lost her? If his final days with his wife were seeped in anger. How would she feel if they lost him without them ever working this whole thing out?
No, in her opinion, they needed to work this out now. Tonight. Tomorrow it was likely the fighting would begin, and they would have no choice but to put this aside, so tonight was the only option. If only she could get them to see reason on the matter. Kenja was not great at talking people into this kind of thing. Akira could attest to that. Perhaps it would be best to leave it to her husband and brother to talk sense into them.
Akira took one look at his wife and knew that he was going to be drafted into helping the young couple fix the argument between them. He sighed in understanding as his wife smiled at him and stood to go to bed herself.
Naoko and Akira sat in silence for a few minutes while they waited to ensure neither Kenja nor Ling would be returning before they notice Lan Fan slip from the room. Akira sighed. He thought over his options and decided to go talk to his wife, meanwhile Naoko just sat there for a few more minutes before he went in search of Lan Fan. Wen he found her, asleep on Huan's bed, he decided Akira was right and left the young mother to sleep. Tomorrow was soon enough to worry.