Hello y'all!

This is another part of the Amestrian Chronicles, and this time the them was "oeil", "eye" in French. I could have written about Riza, about Roy's blindness, but I chose another character, way different from them. So, after Greed, here you go with Pride!

Rating: K+

Characters: Pride/Selim Bradley, Father, Mrs Bradley

Genre: Angst, Pride being proud

Enjoy!

I'm Father's pride

Pride loved Father. He was his maker, he'd parted from a part of his philosopher stone to give him life, so Pride had to obey and respect him. For more than 300 years Pride served his maker with the skills he'd given him. He'd seen Amestris' foundation and quick expansion; he'd been part of the rise and fall of many in successive governments at the head of the country. His child appearance made him seem invisible, he could fit in easily and people could think he was the son of some high-ranked General or senior official when he was Father's eyes and ears in public.

As Central undergrounds – where Father had settled – expanded and became more complex under the city, as the circle tunnel around the country was dug, Pride placed his shadows, weaved his web, ready to observe everything happening when a light was lit there, and take action if needed.

Pride's influence extended on the surface too, and he pressured the mayors to put lamp posts in the streets under the excuse of safety for citizens at night. Thanks to that, he could go further, watch and listen more easily each time.

Pride was Father's first child, the first homunculus, the one he'd created the most in his own image. He was proud of that. His outer appearance was one of a child. That could be a struggle sometimes, but his real form made up for his weak form. How many people had he scared with his eyes? How many had disappeared after they'd met his shadows and teeth? He wasn't counting anymore, he'd never counted, and that didn't matter anyway. All that mattered was Father's will and making him proud of Pride.

Promised Day was almost there, Amestris' transmutation circle would be done soon and Kimblee had been sent to place a blood crest at Briggs. Pride was roaming everywhere he could when Selim Bradley was resting on his bed where Mrs Bradley had tucked him in before kissing him on his forehead with a smile. A light in the tunnel caught Pride's attention. Briggs' soldiers were there and he noticed with annoyance that he'd missed two insects from their previous expedition. They had stayed in pitch black to avoid him. He'd to destroy them, to ensure they wouldn't tell anything, he'd to keep them under the surface, once and for all.

His shadows approached, silent and deadly.

And stopped right on track.

Someone was in the Fuhrer's manor, and an unknown voice rang in the main hall. Pride came back as Selim and left his room to get a look. He opened the door and saw a blond military woman chatting with Mother. She might be Wrath's assistant and was bringing urgent files to sign.

As he approached her in her back, she turned swiftly, moved by a sudden intuition, and Pride could see her widened eyes and the strange mix of fear and hostility on her face.

The butler escorted him back to his bedroom, but he kept an eye and a shadow on her. This young woman had already fought Gluttony, so even if she couldn't detect homunculi like the Xingese people Envy had met, she might have been marked by his aura. She was intelligent enough to know Wrath wasn't the only one of them close to the government. Mrs Bradley felt obliged to tell too much about his origins.

Threatening Lieutenant Hawkeye was easy, despite the strong character of the woman. She was a hostage already so she couldn't tell anything without putting her companion in danger. He let her leave, but not without one last threat. "No matter where you are, I will be watching you, from the shadows..."

Pride executed all Father's orders and put all his homunculus pride into their realization. Alphonse Elric didn't last long when he took control of his armor, but Edward Elric, Greed and some chimeras made his job more complicated. The situation became worse when the Xingese arrived, but Hohenheim won the fight, locking him with Alphonse in a dark cage. He knew rescue would come, but his patience ran scarce.

It wasn't hard to come back to Central. He just put on an angelic face, opened wide eyes and asked with a tiny voice if someone could take him to the city. People were surprised that such a young boy wanted to go to Central with Mustang and Briggs soldiers' attack ongoing, but he managed to reach the underground.

During the last months he'd talked with Father about the best way to get their fifth sacrifice, and he'd reluctantly accepted to become a catalyst for the human transmutation if they hadn't any other choice. Even if it cost him, seeing Colonel Mustang in such a state of weakness brought him a feeling of superiority he loved.

In Father's lair, Mustang realized quickly he'd lost his eyesight. Pride snickered. Truth could be cruel, Father declared. The man who had such a beautiful view of the future of Amestris had lost the use of his eyes.

"Explain to me why are you so eager to be his willing lapdog? He's wearing you ragged, breaking you down, he doesn't even care!"

Father hadn't even looked at him, hadn't glanced at him as he rose to recharge his stone at the surface. Pride was running out of his own, but it was normal, he reasoned. Becoming a perfect being was Father's priority, not his children.

But his last thought, his last vision before Edward destroyed his stone was for his mother. Mrs Bradley had taken care of him, she'd loved him, and only seen him as the smart boy he was in front of her. She'd always been proud of him.